Family!
Another exciting week
has passed in Dayton. We plan out the days each night, but things never
go exactly how we plan. I couldn't plan some of the crazy stuff that
happens if I tried... =) Well, here goes my attempt to sum up my week...
We met with Y------
(E----'s mom) a few more times this week before she headed back to New
Jersey. We also were able to talk with her friend M----, who is very
interested in learning more about the gospel. Both have plans to come
back to Ohio to stay before the year is through, and Y------ wants to be
baptized as soon as she is back!
Before they left, we
had a birthday party for E----. Their house still doesn't have
electricity, so we found some glow in the dark balloons and used those as a
light source (as well as the generator-run lamps). It was a super cool
party! One of E----'s friends from school and his parents came, and since
they don't speak any Spanish, the party was bilingual. It was definitely
my first bilingual birthday party held in an abandoned house with no
electricity...
I had to give a
training for the Spanish Zone this week at our Zone Meeting. I was a
little nervous, but things worked out really well and I felt really good about
it. It made me think of something my MTC teacher always said: "The
Spirit honors effort." If we put effort into what we do and prepare
beforehand, it is a guarantee that the Spirit will help us. That's a
promise I've learned to rely on a lot on my mission.
We had interviews with
President this week, and while we were waiting to be interviewed, we did
role-plays for the assistants. Ours was in Spanish to the Spanish
Assistant. They recorded us teaching, and then had us watch the lesson
and critique ourselves. That was the first time I've ever seen myself
teach and the first time I've ever heard myself speak Spanish! It was
super weird... It got me thinking though, and I really wish that I could
have recorded my first lesson in the MTC and compared the two...
We had an amazing
lesson with the less active family that we found through spy work, and they
came to church again this Sunday! We had 48 people in church this Sunday! It was absolutely amazing! The
branch is growing so much! Before I leave this area I want to see 60 in
sacrament meeting. That's my goal; I'll let you know when it happens.
Just to give you a
sample of one of our culturally-diverse days, I'll tell you about a bit of what
happened last Friday. We got a call from our friend from Uruguay asking
if we could help him move a washer and dryer for someone. We met up with
him, then went to his friend's house to move the washer and dryer. His
friend turned out to be a 70 year-old Scottish woman. She spoke her
Scottish accent to us, and it was amazing! After we finished moving her
stuff, she took us out to lunch at an authentic Mexican restaurant. Later
that day we passed by a less active from Honduras, then taught a member from
Ecuador and her neighbor from El Salvador. Lots of countries...
E---- turned 16, so he
got ordained to be a priest yesterday! He'll be going to the temple soon!
Speaking of the
temple, we get to go this Wednesday! I'm super excited!
Well, I think that's
about it. I'm sad to hear about Grandma Pat, but I'm glad that I got to
say goodbye to her and that she passed relatively quickly. Let me know
how the funeral goes.
Love,
Elder Foote
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| Glow in The Dark Birthday Party Balloons |
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| 16th Birthday Party |