Three baptisms and a wedding!

Buenas Dias!

 

What a great week this last week has been! We had a Zone Conference on Wednesday morning and it was great. I learned a lot about how I can teach better. It was my first and last Zone Conference with President and Sister Call because they are going home in only 5 weeks and then we are getting a new President. I really enjoyed the Zone Conference and it helped to motivate me to work harder.

 

Thursday morning Pedro and Susana got married! It was at the marriage office where we had been a couple times to submit papers. They signed a bunch of papers, we had the 5 witnesses (we had asked some members to be the witnesses) sign the documents, and then a guy in the office legally married them. Afterwards we went to their house and ate some Mole (its chicken with a sauce that is kinda like chocolate but it isnt sweet). Then my companion and I got everything ready at the church for the baptism. Pedro and Karen invited some family and we had a bunch of members come as well. My MTC companion, Elder Girot, was also there because he is the companion of our District Leader. At the baptism, my companion spoke about what baptism means, and then I spoke about what the Gift of the Holy Ghost means (in SPANISH!!) and then I baptized Pedro (first time) and my companion baptized Karen. I was really nervous all day about actually baptizing someone but when the time came I felt ready and excited. It felt amazing and I really felt my love grow for both Pedro and Karen as they took this step in their lives. It was a great first baptism.

 

On Friday we held the baptism for Orquidea. Not very many people showed up because she didnt want to invite anyone, but we had invited some members who came. It was a great baptism and my companion did it. I am stilled a little amazed because we only have known Orquidea for less than a month.

 

On saturday we went to our wards talent show. I felt really homesick. There was a band that played and it reminded me so much of jamming with Tucker, Dakota, and Carlin. A girl also sang a couple songs by Adele very beautifully and a kid sang Forever Young. That made me really homesick because Forever Young is the song that my band played at the baccaloureatte thing about a year ago (it feels like only a couple weeks ago, time goes by fast). Afterwards, we had a last little get together as a zone and I had the most delicous torta and agua de melon. A torta is basically bread with delicous meat and sauces. Agua is water, but if you ask for water here they will ask you what type because they call lemonade and drinks like that agua (water is really agua natural) and agua de melon is like lemonade but with cantelope. I dont like cantelope, but it was really good. It was fun to be with the zone one last time before exchanges.

 

Sunday Pedro, Karen, and Orquidea were confirmed into the church and recieved the Gift of the Holy Ghost. The Bishop and his Counselours did it and it was great, I am really happy for them. For dinner Susana cooked something called Menudo and it was like a soup with this really soft chewy meat stuff in it that I couldnt identify. Mom, dont learn how to cook it.

 

Sounds like you guys had an awesome week! The sushi place sounds really great. and the symphony sounds phenominal, I miss the symphony. I was just thinkinbg that it has been about a whole year that I finished Seminary and I am really grateful that I went because I learned a lot more from it than I thought I had when I graduated. It would be expensive to print off the emails here (they are real cheapos about paper here) so I just need to get faster at typing and emailing. I am sending some pictures of the wedding and baptisms.

 

I love you all and I am so glad to hear that you are all doing wonderfully! thanks for the email addresses of my siblings and Ill try and get some time to shoot out an email to them soon! Have an excellant week!

 

con amor,

 

Elder Johns