After being here in the mission office since May as the Secretary to President Rodriguez, I finally just went through my last transfer here and will be back in the field with the next transfer in January. I have learned a lot as the Secretary and I will miss working directly with President Rodriguez, but its time to go back out.
On that note, I know where I might be going after this transfer. My comp and I were just given a very special assignment on the weekends until we leave next month in a peublo called Roboré. This is a town that does not have an active branch yet so the President wants us to go there on Fridays and stay until late Saturday or Sunday and help missionary work get started there, try to find more potential worthy priesthood holders to baptize so that we can open a branch, baptize a 9 year old in part member family there, and help an 18 year old get ready to serve a mission. We are very excited to be given this assignment and know its a lot of responsibility.
Roboré is beautiful, very jungle-like, and very different from Santa Cruz where I am now. And....its about a 5 hour bus ride each way! So far I really enjoy this assignment and I am super grateful to my Heavenly Father for the trust he has put in me and am hoping that the President will send me there on the next transfer to work it full time.
Back here in Santa Cruz, we have had baptisms again and its all been going really well. We had transfers again which is always a very busy week when that rolls around. As always, I coordinate flight itineraries, buses, taxis, etc. Everything went well up until two elders decided to miss their flight due to negligence and then it made my week 100X harder and threw my carefully coordinated plans for the week out the window and had to replan. But, this is what being in management is like and its a learning experience for me....be flexible. Another 17 new arrivals came in and are off in their new areas. To help celebrate the Navidad season, we had an office party and ate a traditional Bolivian soup, which was awesome.
Had to say Goodbye to Elder Florence, who got transferred back to the field in Bermejo (my old area). He has been an AP here in the office since I arrived and we got to be good friends.
There was a national holiday this week where everyone uses it as an excuse to protest the Government and get drunk so we were not allowed to leave our casa or office.
I've been reading "The Infinite Atonement" by Tad R. Callister and if you have not read it before, I highly recommend it. If you have ever had questions about what the atonement is and how it works, that's your book.
We have had good visits with our investigators and many of them seem to be progressing in the gospel and their desire to increase that knowledge even more.
Zone Activity!
I bought myself a churango, which is a Bolivian, ukulele-like guitar thingie, but longer. I am trying to teach myself how to play it.
Awesome things happened on Monday this week. Jackie and Jose Coca, who are friends of my parents and live in West Jordan, UT but are originally from Bolivia, came to hand-deliver my Christmas package from my family. It was so nice to finally meet them. Their son is in our sister mission, Santa Cruz North, and that office is in our same building so I have met him before. Then, I received my package from Kolleen and the Russos so got two awesome big Christmas packages the same day. I am so grateful for all the support I have from everyone at home.
Then came Tuesday this week and ANOTHER visitor. Ted Dawson, father of Elder Dawson here in the mission, flew to Santa Cruz with his older son to deliver Elder Dawson's Christmas present to the office for us to deliver to him. He was amazing and they even brought us treats.
Another weekend to Robore. It is such a blessed area full of wonderful saints. We got to meet all the members today. A sister named Mithra is a store owner who loans her store on Sundays to be used for church meetings. Another sister was so overwhelmed to see us, missionaries, actually in her area after 20 years of no missionaries here. I am really excited to be part of getting this area open and growing in the gospel again.
Another 5 hour drive back to Santa Cruz and we listened to the life story of our driver on the way back
Merry Christmas to all my family, friends, and loved ones. Remember the true meaning of Christmas.
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| My family made me a picture Christmas tree to put on my wall I LOVE it! |
Thought:
"Be a little better today than yesterday"
Love, Elder Connor Ryan deCocq
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