Hola from Esteli! July 14, 2014

Hola!

Well this week has turned out to be a super great one! Since basically none of our investigators came to church last week, we decided that this week would be dedicated to completely new investigators, because we were not going to get any farther with the other ones. So this week was dedicated to what we call ´´filling the tank´´.

We were surprisingly very successful! We found a family on accident, and they are very interested. It is really weird because a lot of random people live in this house, so we are always teaching new people every day. The Mothers name is Maritza, and then there are a ton of other people. She is the only one that has been at every one of our lessons, but her daughter and her daughter in law have been at a few lessons and they seem really interested as well! Oddly enough, I still have not met the husband of the family.

I said we found that family on accident, and that is because we were trying to find a referral, and they actually live right next door. The people we were looking for were Cesar and Belsabet. They are a younger couple and they have a little 2 year old son. Just like the Maritza family, Cesar y Belsabet have been showing lots of interest and they seem very positive. Sadly, like the majority of Nicaragua, they are not legally married, they just live together. It is really interesting how that is just the culture here. We have encountered people that have said that they have been living together for like 40 years now, but they are not legally married!! So that is a pretty common problem that we have to address, the law of Chastity.

Then on another day, we contacted another member referral, and they are a family of 6, with 5 of them being old enough for baptism. They are also seeming very positive and stuff, but like most, they will have to get married before they are baptized. Like the other family though, I have yet to meet the husband, but it looks like things are pretty promising with them. The wife's name is Victoria and she has three girls and a boy.

We talked to a girl that I found with Elder Jacobsen when we were on divisions last week. I couldn't remember if I had given her a Book of Mormon or not last week, so we were about to give her one in our lesson, and she surprised us with some unbelievable news. She said, oh I already have one, and I read in 1 Nefi up to chapter 14! We were so shocked! People here in Nicaragua never do that. It is hard enough to get them to read when we just assign one verse!! so after that lesson Elder Alfaro was super happy cause it was me that found her and she is one of our best investigators. Hopefully this will prove to be true.

One more set of investigators was found on Saturday. We had divisions on Saturday with the zone leaders and I went to their area. We are actually in the same branch as them, but there are 2 areas for the missionaries in the branch, so I went to their area and one of the zone leaders worked with Alfaro in our area. When I got to church Sunday morning, I found out that we had two new investigators, a couple that is actually already married!!! And they were the two new investigators that actually came to church yesterday! They are progressing very quickly!

Our last investigators at this point are Walter and Lidia. I don't remember if I have already talked about them, but they are basically ready for baptism, and they want to be baptized. They have been to church several times and really love it. The only thing standing in their way: marriage..... of course. So we have been pushing very persistently with the whole idea of getting married and finally it made it through. Hopefully they will be getting married and baptized on the 26 of July.

So as I hinted, we only had four of our investigators at church; Walter and Lidia and the new ones that I really haven't talked to much yet. That does not mean that we have lost hope in our other investigators. Some had legitimate excuses for why they couldn't come yesterday, and the others just need some extra help getting there, so we have modified our plan. All in all, we have 16 progressing investigators, which is apparently really good! I mean I think that its good, but elder Alfaro said that missionaries in the mission get impressed when someone has like 10 progressing investigators! So I guess we're doing pretty good! haha Hopefully that means that we have 16 baptisms coming up :D

Apparently all of our success this week really motivated Elder Alfaro, because when we were setting goals this week, he had some really high expectations, I mean REALLY high. It is going to be a super busy week if we are going to achieve them, but I'm glad that he is getting more motivated, because it really helps me stay motivated!

This week I had my first fritanga. I don't really know how to describe it, and sadly I didn't take a picture, but basically it is just a fried thing filled with some meat and then they put some lettuce on it and some sort of sauce. The ´´fried thing´´ can be different, depending on what you want. For my first one, it was a fried potato ball, and it had some meat inside of it. Other types are like a fried taco shell with rice and meat inside and other things like that. Speaking of new food, I forgot to mention a while back that I had pino-lio. Pino-lio is a drink that is basically the flavor of watery hot chocolate with a hint of cinnamon. But there's a little surprise, the chocolate powder that they use doesn't really dissolve...at all. So basically there is a bunch of powder in this drink and unless you are constantly swirling it, you end up with a ton of powder in the last gulp, and it is basically really gross. I have started to like it a little more lately, so that is a good thing I guess! haha Last on the food note, I had another nacatamale this week, and here are the stats: Wins(Elder Moser=2; Nacatamale=0). Needless to say, I really am Latino.

Speaking of that, when we were visiting the family of Victoria and all of their kids, they asked where I was from, and instead of answering right away, I asked what they thought. After some time of thinking, they finally guessed Argentina... not even kidding. I then told them that I was actually from the US. Moral of the story, I look like a South American, and my intestines are strong enough to withstand the Nicaraguan food! Coincidence?! I think NOT! (What movie is that from?)

On Thursday this week, I got to spend the entire day in the apartment. Elder Jacobsen was feeling pretty sick, and his companion didn't want to lose an entire day in their area, so Elder Alfaro said that we would lose a day in ours and he would go work in their area with the other )Elder Sotay) while I watched after Elder Jacobsen in our house! Basically I decided that I really don't want a day off, because reading and studying is fun and all, but when you are doing it all day, it is pretty boring! haha

Funny Story:

Throwback to two weeks ago: We were teaching an investigator that we know has problems with drinking and other things concerning the word of wisdom. He was clearly drunk, and told us that he was not feeling well. Elder Alfaro offered to give a blessing and he accepted. Just as we were about to start, he began to bob his head very exaggeratedly to the side, going further and further each bob. It was literally like he was having a seizure, and then he stopped bobbing and was just unconscious for like 10 seconds. (all of this was happening while we are literally just about to give him a blessing). Then he wakes up, and as if nothing had happened, he looks at us and smiles, waiting for us to begin. After we left, Elder Alfaro said to me, ´´I really thought that he was dying´´ and I, being in accordance, couldn't help but just laugh. Had he actually died, I don't know what I would have done, but since it didn't happen, I was very happy. Let this be a small testament of why we keep the word of wisdom. :)

Spiritual Thought:

All of us in our lives have difficulties. Regardless of all the good things that happened to me this week, of course there were super hard times. Also a lot you guys just had trek, something pretty difficult physically and mentally to go through. Every day on the mission, there are always discouraging things that happen. Maybe I get yelled at by a native, or someone doesn't accept us, or something with my companion makes me a little discouraged. Everyone has hard times, and I think that the easiest thing to think or wonder when these things happen to us is why isn't life just easier. But when we are going through hard times like these, and many other possibilities, lets just take a minute and think about our Savior. His life was basically the opposite of easy in all aspects. People made fun of Him, laughed at Him, spit on Him, beat Him, mocked Him, made Him suffer through excruciating physical pain and embarrassment, and killed Him. He suffered for all of our sins, pains, sicknesses, and struggles. His suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane was more than any mortal person could bear. So here is a question for you to think about: If it wast easy for Him, someone who was perfect, always serving, with a perfect love, why should it be easy for us?

I love you all and hope that you are always looking for opportunities to share the Gospel! Or accept it ;)

Love
Elder Moser