Week 67: Feliz Navidad de Colombia!

Wow hasn’t this month just flown by?!!  It felt like just yesterday that it was p-day. That’s just the magic of missionary work, to be able to just get lost in His work!

This week we were able to see an amazing blessing with an investigator that we found.  His name is Luis and he’s 18. We talked to him two weeks ago but just this last week we were able to teach him!  We talked to him about God and what he believed and he wasn’t sure.  He told us that his mom passed away a few years back.  We were able to testify to him that we know he can see his mom again.  It was a beautiful spiritual experience and it really grew my testimony of the plan of salvation.  I know that this plan is perfect and that our Heavenly Father made this plan so that we can be happy and have hope!  He accepted the 21st of January to be baptized!  He also went to church the whole three hours and he loved it! When we first met him, he told us that we were wasting our time in the mission and that it’d be better if we were studying.  But he is feeling the truth of the gospel in his life and he is changing day by day!  I’m super excited for him!

Also, an investigator that I haven’t mentioned a whole lot, Bibiana P, is going to get married this week and the 23rd is going to get baptized!!  I’m soo happy for her! Her husband Carlos and kids are less active members but have been coming back to church.  Carlos is a super awesome guy.  This week, we are going to give our Savior the best gift in the world, helping one of his children enter into the waters of baptism.  Que bendición!

I love this gospel and the Savior!  He is my best friend.  Have a very merry Christmas!  I love you all!

Elder Marsh

Conference with Presidente Baquerizo

My boy Alain! 

Week 66: Mission Christmas Activity

  

Hello Friends and Family!  

So there were emergency transfers here last week and my new comp is here!  His name is Elder Centurión and he’s from Argentina! Che!(an expression Argentine’s use.  It usually means “hey”) jajaja vos sabes!(you know!)  He has 20 months in the mission now, so he’s about to die here soon(means the end of his 2 year mission is coming soon)! haha  He’s a super awesome guy and we get along super well.  I’m pumped to be able to work with him and bring people to the gospel.

On Tuesday the whole zone went up to Bogota (there’s 20 of us).  On Wednesday we went to the temple with Presidente Baquerizo and his wife!  It was such a spiritual experience.  I loved every moment.  Then on Thursday, we got together as a mission!  We had a few activities that we were able to be a part of and it was sweet! haha Overall, the activity went really well and it was SO good to see everyone that I’ve made friends with!

We were able to have a lesson with the familia Gutierrez, but they asked us not to continue with the discussions.  This was hard for me.   I felt a sadness.  It was seriously such a sad moment for us as missionaries.  It explains it pretty well in Preach My Gospel.  If people don’t accept the gospel you will feel a sadness for them as children of God.  

Anyways! Have a great week everyone!

Con mucho amor,

Elder Marsh

Part of the Zone Neiva

Elder Damiano!

Sister missionary calling to let me know when to shut water pipe so water doesn't drain the baptismal font.

Che! Elder Centurión!

Week 65: Fe y Diligencia (Faith and Diligence)

Hello to everyone!

This week, we traveled to Bogotá for a leadership council meeting.  It went really well!  The focus was on finding new investigators.  Elder Amaya and I were able to find 10 new investigators this week!  It was great!  I’m so grateful for the faith and diligence we were able to put forward.  We saw many miracles!  It was seriously such a blessing to experience!

One thing that happened last night, is that my companion got emergency transferred! :(  He’s no longer a zone leader, but don’t worry he didn’t do anything wrong!  He is just getting close to the end of his mission and he’ll probably end up training instead until the end!  Sorry for another short email.  We haven’t had very much time lately but it’s the life of a missionary! haha

Love you all so much!

Elder Marsh

Week 64: Forgiveness, A Week of Lessons

Hello everyone!  

This week was a great week of work in Neiva!  We were able to find many new investigators like Adriana, Andres, Dimitrio, Bran, y Horacio!  They are all super receptive and willing to listen to the gospel!  We set up their baptismal date for the 17th of December but will need to postpone because they couldn’t attend church.  It's a requirement they attend church before they can be baptized.

One lesson that I learned this week was about forgiveness.  I got a haircut from our upstairs neighbor, which is a member, and she cut my hair SO short!  I felt so bald!  I was seriously so upset with how it came out!  You all know that my hair is one of the most important things I have to take care of! ;)  When I would look in the mirror, I’d feel so sad.  I felt like a baldie haha.  Anyway, this week we had stake conference and three of the talks that were given were about forgiveness.  I felt that they were all talking right to me!  After the third talk, I sat thinking that I needed to forgive and forget -the secret in life.  From then on I changed my attitude about it, and decided that it’s all good!  My hair will grow back and everything will be okay! haha.  It sounds pretty dumb, this whole story, but I learned that there’s no point in staying upset with something or someone.  Just forgive and forget, and move on.  The Lord taught us to forgive and so should I.  Besides there’s nothing I can do about it anyway. ;)

Sorry for the short email again!

Love Elder Marsh

This poor dog has a problem with its two back legs where the joints of the knees and ankles don’t bend.  It seriously looks SO funny especially when it walks!  I’ll try to get a video of it one of these days!

Week 63: Week 1 of Transfers!

Hey so this week was a little crazy with the transfers and everything but we have everything under control now.  It’s been an awesome week for the Neiva zone!

As a zone we were able to find a bunch of people, and not only that, but baptismal dates with them!  My comp and I are super proud of what they’ve done for sure!

Sorry for the short email this week.  Time is really an issue!  One sad thing that happened this week is that my bike got stolen!  We were at the church teaching Eliana and her kids for only 30 minutes.  When we came out my bike was gone. L My comp's was still there.  We thought someone was playing a joke on us so we looked all over the church property just in case.  As it turns out it was stolen.  That bike I sent a picture of last week was jacked!  I was super sad that day.  We had another appointment we needed to get to and I had to ride on the bar between the handle bars and the seat.  Wow, it was sooo uncomfortable.  It all turned out though.  I had an awesome tender mercy after we got to our appointment.  The family we were visiting is a less active family we are helping to activate.  We told them what had happened and they offered to let me use one of their bikes.  So I’ve been using that now!    

Thanks for everything and all you guys are doing!  

Have a good week!

Elder Marsh

The new district

Week 62: Cambios!

Hey everyone! 

So this week was a pretty good week here in Neiva!

We had a bunch of really good lessons this week especially two with my boy Isidro!  But I have some sad news… Isidro left for Villavicencio this last week and he’s gonna be there working for almost a month.  He asked if he could keep receiving the lessons in Villa-o and get baptized there.  So, we passed the reference over to the Elders there.   Now, he is out of our hands :(  He is such an amazing guy and has the greatest desire to just learn.  He was really just soaking everything up like a sponge.  He started to share the gospel with his brother!  So we’re super pumped to start teaching him the restored gospel!

The Gutierrez family nor Eliana and her kids were able to make it to church this week.  We’re still working hard with them and trying to prepare them even more! We had an awesome lesson with the Gutierrez family about marriage!  We were able to get two married couples to be able to testify about marriage and how it’s really going to bless them!  It was such a wonderful spiritual experience.  They committed to get married! So woohoo!  We are so happy for them.

Last week there were a group of college students dressed in scrubs that came to church.  One of them is a member of the church but less active.  They had a huge questionnaire for my comp and I.  It went really well!  At the end we asked if they wanted to listen to our message and they accepted!  So the following Saturday we passed by their place and taught them about the Restoration of the gospel.  We extended a baptismal date, which they accepted for the 10th!  They’re all super awesome and we’re excited to work with them!

Anyways, transfers came and Elder Amaya and I are staying here in Granjas, Neiva together!  It’ll be another great transfer of work!  I can’t wait!

Love you all!

Elder Marsh

The university guys! (Leidy, Andres, Maria Paula, Duvan, Elder Amaya y yo)

Biker Gang ;)

First DP I’ve had in 14 months

Week 61: Service and a Surprise Along with It!

Hey everyone!  

What a roller coaster of a week, with lots of ups and downs!

First off, we had a service project this week.  We helped dig holes and put old tires in them.  I know it sounds weird but that’s the best explanation I can give haha.  It was great serving which was the upside.  The downside was that there were a billion baby mosquitos and they seemed like they were starving or something because they just about had a feast on my legs, not my arms, ONLY my legs!  They were after the good meat or something, I don’t doubt it was due to my muscle-ly-ness ;) .  The next two days, I kept waking up in the middle of the night (around 2:30) with the worst sensation to just scratch my legs!  But don’t worry mom, I didn’t scratch.  I ONLY rubbed.  I tried just about every trick in the book to help them stop itching!  I rubbed on a mix of lemon water(Colombian trick, anything with lemon gets healed apparently), alcohol, lotion, I took a shower and rubbed my legs with soap, some powder, and anti-itch cream.  Yeah let’s just say I tried everything!  I was able to get some pills and some antibiotic cream to put on my legs.  They have been feeling better ever since!  So yeah I’m feeling great now :) 

My comp and I had one of the most amazing experiences happen to us this last week.  We were going to the chapel for a visit with Eliana and her kids.  They have their baptismal date for this upcoming week!  But when we got there, there was another guy there that just happened to show up on his own.  His name is Isidro P.  We started to teach him and Eliana at the same time about the plan of salvation.  After getting to our purpose here on the earth, we invited Isidro to be baptized and he accepted!  He then started telling us more personal things that have been happening in his life.  That he was separated from his wife and he hasn’t been seeing his daughter.  He said he’s been looking for an answer to all of it.  He started searching for God and one day he showed up at the church!  He then attended Sacrament this last Sunday.  I’ll never forget 2 things that he said to me.  One being after the sacrament was passed, he said it was the most beautiful experience he had ever experienced in any church.  It was the perfect time for the Spirit to talk to Isidro’s heart.  Second, towards the end of the meeting, he asks me, when’s my baptism? The 3rd of December? I responded yes.  He said okay, pulled out his phone and added the date on his phone calendar.  He told me he is excited! How amazing!  Our Heavenly Father prepares his children to receive the gospel.  I am so grateful for everything He has done for me.  And I’m so grateful for my mission!

Thank you all for the birthday wishes!  You’re all the best!

Love,

Elder Marsh

-Front and back of my legs from the bites!!