Week 51: Las Cruces

Hey everyone!

Not a whole lot has happened this week, but I’m super excited for the upcoming week!  It should be super good!

We found a few new people this week, but we’ll see if they progress!  The highlight of the week, is that we had like a training activity but with the ward. Because this upcoming week we’re doing like an open house to be able find some new investigators!  It should be way fun!  So we did this training thing, helping out the members invite people to the open house.  It was a super fun and successful activity!  So I’m pretty pumped for this Saturday! 

I was studying in Ether this week, and I love chapter 12 (Haha) just like everyone!  But it’s seriously an amazing chapter!  I recommend anyone, that if you have a difficulty or weakness, take the promise the Lord gives in verse 27 to heart, and you will feel the Lord´s hand in your life!

Have an awesome week!


-Elder Marsh

Las Cruces!

Week 50: End of Transfers!

Hello!

This week has been a great week!!  We got the transfer calls last night and I’m staying here in Villa Javier for my third transfer, and I get to finish the training of my son! :´) (Elder Sotoski).  I’m way excited for this upcoming transfer and all the things that are going to happen!

First off we had a FHE(Family Home Evening) with the Cuesta Family and the family of the Bishop.  It went super well!  We shared a video about the expressions of love because they are starting to get their papers together to get married!  It was a super fun night.  We visited them again on Thursday night, and we committed them to get baptized the 24th of September!  The only bad thing is that they weren’t able to go to church on Sunday so were not sure what’s going on there! But we’ll keep helping them!

On Thursday we found a new investigator named Marcela Santos.  She is a super humble lady.  She said that all she wants to do is serve and she doesn’t care about anything else.  She’s only interested in helping other people.  Which is awesome because The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints fits her perfectly!!!  She was able to attend a baptism of the other Elders in Villa Javier and she liked it!  But the only thing is that she didn’t accept a baptismal date.  Which isn’t bad, because we still have so much to talk to her about, and to help her!  So I’m super excited to work with her!

Thursday, I had companion exchanges with the Zone Leaders, Elder Momberger again! haha  It was a super good time!  While my companion and my papa’ (father) of the mission (Elder Moises) were together (which is apostasy ;) jk)! haha But it was a super good time and I learned a lot from Elder Momberger!

Overall, things have been good here in Villa Javier.  We’re working our butts off and we’re starting to see more results!  I love our Savior Jesus Christ and I’m so grateful for the Atoning sacrifice He made for each and every one of us.  He lives.

Con bastante amor por todos,

-Elder Marsh

FHE

Wut?? Elder Marsh with comp Elder Sotoski

Random toilets??!! CRAZY!!

Posing with Hermano Paolo and Elder Sotoski

Week 49: Fifth Week in Transfer!

Hello Friends and family! 

Once again super short on the time, but it was a super awesome week! 

The best thing that we had happen, is Haminton, the future brother in law of Sandy, finally came to church!  What a miracle it has been!  He has been saying that he would go, but never did.  But after committing him to get married, he has changed, and he really enjoyed going to church.  It was for sure a tender mercy.  My companion and I weren’t expecting to see him at church, because we weren’t able to visit him all week.  I am so grateful for our Father in Heaven, for always being there for us.  I testify that He and His son Jesus Christ live.  And that They love us. I have been able to grow closer and closer to Him while being here in Colombia, serving Him.

Read your scriptures, and say your prayers.

Elder Marsh

It was Presidente Baquerizo's B-day so we took a picture to send him.

Now a less serious one ;)

Week 48: Humility

Hey guys!  Super quick email, everything is going good here in Villa Javier!  This week was a lot tougher than the rest.  We’ve been doing a lot of contacting and the results haven’t been coming out very well.  That’s okay, we have some future investigators that we’re going to contact this week. 

As a mission we’re learning the Christ like attribute of humility.  And I’d like to share a real quick scripture with you guys :)

In Mosiah 21. 

14 And they did humble themselves even in the depths of humility; and they did cry mightily to God; yea, even all the day long did they cry unto their God that he would deliver them out of their afflictions.

We all need to be able to humble ourselves unto our Father in Heaven.  Knowing that in whatever trial that we have, we need to humble ourselves and look to Him for guidance and comfort.

I’ve been able to study and learn so much from the scriptures.  They have been my guide and my comfort here on the mission.  And I know how much power they have to change you.

Love you all and I hope you’re safe this week!

-Elder Marsh

Week 47: Service Project!

Hey!  How is everyone doing?  This week wasn’t too great but no worries, it’ll get better! haha. 

We had some really bad luck this week.  We were supposed to have the baptism of Sandy Cuesta, but it fell through. It was a real bummer.  So we found out from a lady in the ward that she’s been looking for a job for a while now. And that Sandy is planning on leaving Bogotá to go find work.  But the church isn’t going to be in that part because it’s super small.  I’m not really sure if she’s really going to go.  Her cell phone got stolen so we haven’t had too much contact with her.  She also wasn’t able to make it to church yesterday so we’re not sure what’s going on.

We did a huge service project this week with all the missionaries in Bogotá!  Which is about 90 or so of us!  It was super awesome!  We cleaned a river like canal that was super long!  We found some super interesting stuff and a lot of really gross things as well.  But it was for sure a cool experience!  It was the first time in a really long time that I got to wear normal clothes outside in the real world, and to be honest I felt like an apostate! hahahaha! But it was chill because it was allowed xD!

There were some Elders that came in from Villavicencio this week and stayed in our house because they had a training with the president, and one of them was from Utah.  His name was Elder Thompson and he’s a way awesome guy!  It’s always sweet to have someone from your same state to talk to!

Those were some of the interesting things that happened this week.  Sorry it was so short!

Love,

Elder Aaron Marsh

Ready to work hard!

A few of the missionaries that worked on service project in Bogota

Week 46: COW STOMACH??!!!

How is everyone doing??  This week has been a pretty good week!

This week is going to be a little bit shorter, but we were able to find some new people to teach and help out Sandy as well!  Sandy is planning on getting baptized this upcoming Saturday the 30th.  It’s not a 100 percent surety that she’s going to get baptized, but we’re pretty sure.  We will do everything we possibly can to help her be ready.  I’m super excited for this upcoming week to see what happens!

We’ve been teaching Diana Velasquez for a little while.  We had a super awesome lesson with her about the Sabbath Day and she’s accepted to keep the Sabbath Day holy!  She hasn’t committed to baptism because she hasn’t been married yet, even though she will need to be married before she can accept the baptismal covenant.  She’s honestly got the sweetest soul I’ve ever met, and she is such an awesome lady. 

This last Tuesday, we had lunch with the Villalva family.  I am so grateful for them they are so generous.  They are members of the church and they live WAY up on the mountain.  They’re house is mostly made of metal scraps.  They don’t have any electricity.  For lunch we were given rice, garbanzo beans, and COW STOMACH??!!!  I couldn’t help but think about the last time I ate cow liver and got super sick at the beginning of my mission.  I just couldn’t bring myself to eating it.  I was afraid of getting sick again!  I knew my comp wouldn’t eat it either so I typed a text on mission phone saying ´´paseme su carne´´ (pass me your meat).  When they weren’t looking :/, Elder Sotowski threw the cow stomach on my plate, and I put it in a rag and threw it in my bag.  Phew!!! That was close! When we left the house, I decided to leave it somewhere on the road so a cat would eat it! ;)  It was super funny!  My companion thought it was the funniest thing he’s ever experienced (haha).

Anyways, we have a family home evening tonight with Sandy!  Things should run smooth!  I love you all and hope you’re all being safe!

Elder Marsh

Hermano Villalva, he is a shoe shiner

The view from their house in the mountains.

Eating COW STOMACH!! Just kidding!

Week 45: Patience is a virtue!

Hey everyone! This was a pretty good week with my new Companion!

My companions name is Elder Sotoski and he’s from Brazil!!  He is an awesome guy!  We work really well together and I am super grateful for the chance that I have to be able to teach him the ways of the mission!

This week, not a ton of stuff happened.  On Tuesday, I had to go to the Mission Presidents house to have a training meeting and pick up my new companion.  I had to wait like 8 hours to be able to find out who my comp was, and when they announced who our companions were, President Baquerizo said that my comp wasn’t going to be arriving until Wednesday at 3:30.  After the whole day of anxiously waiting, I had to wait a whole other day! haha I was super excited to meet my new companion.  I could see that the Lord was truly testing my patience! haha! But I met him!  He’s just starting to speak Spanish, so a lot of the time he will throw a lot of Portuguese in there and it confuses me! haha but it’s great, because I’m starting to learn Portuguese as well! haha!

We have this thing called 12 semanas (weeks) that we use to help out the new missionaries, and I challenged Elder Sotoski to put a baptismal date in the first lesson.  Last night we had the chance to put a date, and my stud of a comp totally did it without any fear! It was awesome!!  Can’t wait for what’s ahead!

We ended up giving Sandy a new baptismal date for the 30th of July.  I explained that it was my boy- Elder Wilson’s birthday and that she needed to make that day a special one!  I don’t think she thought it was as funny as I did!

This upcoming week should be a good one!  I’m excited to see what happens!

Love you all and I hope you keep reading your scriptures!

-Elder Marsh

My new companion, Elder Sotoski!

"Yummy Peanut Butter!" (Thanks Almond Family!)