Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Taking Over The Area!

Family!

I don't even know where to begin!  I guess I'll start with my new companion!  His name is Elder Elbaba.  He's from American Fork.  His grandparents are from Argentina, but he is just from Utah.  Because he grew up around his grandparents, he understands Spanish really well, and he speaks it pretty well, though he never really spoke it before his mission.  He has been out the exact same amount of time as I have.  We entered the MTC the same day, and I actually met him in the MTC when me and 3 other Spanish elders met with President and Sister Porter when they were there.  So that's awesome!  Because of that, and because we both just finished training, we are both senior companions!  (and I guess both junior companions too...)

Elder Elbaba is a great teacher, and I've got a lot to learn from him.  We had a few pretty powerful lessons this week, and I'm excited to be working with him.

I'm not going to lie, taking over the area has been stressful.  For this past week and at least the next few weeks, we are relying completely on my knowledge of the area and of the investigators.  It's been a lot of work, and it will continue to be, but with the Lord's help, we'll make it just fine!

We had a new family move into the branch!  They moved from California, and the house they moved into needs a lot of repairs.  They also don't have much money, and they didn't have a lot to bring, so they were in need of a lot of things.  So on Saturday Elder Elbaba and I spent the majority of the day with our branch President gathering items that had been donated by people of the stake.  It was absolutely amazing to see how generous people are.  No one knew this family, but when they heard that they needed help, they donated whatever they could.  We helped collect beds, grills, space heaters, and a lot more things as well.  The service that the members of this stake gave was really amazing.

A few other things:

--I have been told I look like Zach Effron.  One of the members calls me Elder Effron every now and again, and then laughs after he says it... every time.
--We went to a Pizza Hut one day, and it was in the West Dayton area, and I guess the area is dangerous enough that you have to be buzzed in.  Think about that, you have to actually be buzzed in to a Pizza Hut!  I thought that was crazy!
--Elder Elbaba brought a typewriter with him from his last area, so I now have access to a typewriter.  So you may or may not be recieving a typed out letter in the future...
--Elder Elbaba doesn't have a driver's license, so I'm the designated driver!  I drive every single day now, and I have a feeling it's going to get old pretty quick...

That's about all I've got.  Sorry, once again, I wasn't super organized and prepared for this email.  I'll do better next week.  But here's a few pictures to make up for it!  Enjoy!

Love you all so much!  Have a great week!

Love,

Elder Foote
Feet in Ohio?
Ohio Spanish Family
Elder Foote and Elder Elbaba
Elder Foote and Elder Graf
Elder Foote and a Great Member of the Stake
They Must Not Like Cats?
Elder Foote Halloween Package
Dayton Spanish Elders!