So, what are we playing 20 questions or what or what or what? Hey, well I’m glad your interested in my life. Let’s see. Santa Cecilia is awesome, a dream come true. Me and Elder Contreras get along super good and are sharing the load pretty equally. Let me explain how the whole leadership deal is. There are District leaders who have normal junior comps and then the Zone leaders are always the companionship but there are ZL senior comp and ZL junior comp. They have similar responsibilities. For example I was DL with Elder Valdez. Then he left and Acosta came. I was then ZL junior comp and he was ZL senior comp. As junior comp I am still in charge of a district just like a DL in addition to my ZL chores. The senior comp is the one that gets the most blame for the zone ;) ok, so with Contreras its the same. He’s the senior comp.
Ok, family Rico does have a dad, but they have a rough economic situation right now and he sells clothing he makes in the market and if he doesn’t sell on Sunday... he is a super cool guy but has to wait for the change of season when he starts selling blankets and it’ll be easier.
And the truth is they don’t really have a "cool" conversion story, all was super calm, tranquilo.
Well, it seems every other week I’m telling you about a leadership council but here we are again. ZL council was stupendous. We are now going to be teaching our companions English like Preach My Gospel says and they are really expressing work with members. And as always, the President with his awesome sermons/rants. One that hit me super hard was when he talked bout our bodies and how they were made from the dust. It was incredible how we subject ourselves so much to just a little pile of dust. We think we are so great and intelligent but we are whooped by... dust. He took off his suit coat and said this is like our bodies. While it’s on it moves and lives, but when its not, it doesn’t do anything. He threw it on the floor and said some stuff like "get up coat, talk coat, do something" and obviously it did nothing. We are from the dust but we are not dust we are children of a Loving Heavenly Father and as such we all have divine qualities and abilities. I wish I could remember more but I just remember how I felt as he gave us that lesson. Talking about the uselessness of worldly things: he pulled out 100 peso bill from his wallet, he talked about how people kill, commit crime and even prostitute for paper that doesn’t mean anything, then he ripped the bill in half then in fourths. How foolish we are sometimes. Sacrifice family time to pay the debt on the car… "its for the family" we say, but we lose what’s most important.
Another part I loved was talking about the patience. It’s true, there are trials, setbacks, disappointments, etc. In life and it’s part of life. Ask Job if righteous living means you wont suffer. All too often we forget the heavenly virtue of patience. There is no need to panic. We think that the house, the car, the pictures, the dog is all going up in flames when in 20 minutes we find out that nothing is wrong. Patience, patience, patience.
Then... at the end a certain matter came up about the changes. Why certain people were getting favored over many other while they might not necessarily merit the position but they get it on a basis of time (who has the most time in he mission). Well, the Pres laid that one out pretty hard core too. Chewed us out on humility... someday well be judged not on the positions we’ve held but on how we completed what were assigned. Everyone pushes from where they stand. That was quite and illuminating discussion.
Well, we’ve got on person with a baptismal date for this week. I’m still getting used to the area and being grateful for learning the happy routine in the mission. My old comp elder Hoyt hasn’t found it out yet. He is in this zone and for the bad decisions and more than anything the lies he’s told, he is pretty miserable. I really hope I can help him out this change. It hurts seeing a brother hurt.
I hope this letter is long enough cuz my mind just went blank. I love you all. You sound so blessed. The awesome part is I get to enjoy the blessings (like you all) for 6 years after I get home plus the ones I’m hopefully racking up now. The work is awesome and I am working like a you-know-what just so you know. Take care.
-ELDER SOLOMON
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