10-22-12

¡Oye! ¿Cómo estaí choro?

That's how all the fligtes (gangstas) here talk. I don't know if google translate will give you a proper translation of that or not.  Haha.  

This past week has been really good for me! I hope the same for you! Everyone looks really good in the videos, especially Kurt. It's fun to see how everyone is still the same, goofy person (that's probably mostly directed at Dad haha).

On Saturday, we had the coolest opportunity to have Elder Bednar come and speak to us. I got a good seat only a few pews from the front! Instead of him giving a talk, he turned it into a guided discussion but also gave us the opportunity to ask him questions! My mind went completely blank when that happened so I didn't ask him anything haha. The best way I have been able to describe that meeting is to first, imagine feeling the Spirit like getting splashed with a bucket of water, now, the meeting was more like jumping into an olympic sized pool of the Spirit haha. It was really powerful and I learned a lot more about missionary work and life.

I have some days in which Spanish still feels hard, but then I have some where I feel like I have almost no problem with conversing. I naturally talk to people now and I don't need Elder Smith to translate for me. So, once I get a Latino companion, I'll be fluent in no time haha. I love Elder Smith though so when that happens it'll be hard to move on to another companionship.

That skitzo investigator we have has gotten a lot more tranquilo (calm) over the past few weeks. Coming to church and talking to us has done him a lot of good, and we still haven't even taught him a lesson! He has come to church every Sunday and actively participates in class. Despite the good things that are happening for him, he still is kind of crazy and I don't know how far he'll really go, but I do believe that he can go the distance if he really really really wants it.

Our primary investigator is doing very well. He is incredibly smart and soaks up everything we teach him and then he seems to do his own studies outside of what we teach and commit him to do. It's good and bad because he looks at anti-mormon stuff too, but he seems to take it all in well and he loves being with people from church. He definitely feels the Spirit I'm sure but he hasn't let himself come around to accepting that entirely yet. He's such a good guy though and I'm 99% confident that he's going to stay strong as he is right now and once he receives a spiritual confirmation, he'll get baptized. We're pushing hard with him though and his friend who originally invited him to church is pushing him hard too. He has a lot of good infuences around him. :)

Another newer investigator we have (I can't remember if I told you about him) is 17 and a very good kid. If Elder Smith and I keep teaching him and he really has a desire to know the truth (which I think he does), then he'll get baptized. We're going to have a Noche de Hogar with him tonight. He has definitely felt the Spirit too, but we might need to help him recognize it.

We're contacting a lot, although I really want to find more people. We have a 13 year old, a mom who did service in Africa with Latter-day Saints, this one man who likes talking to us inside our apartment complex, and we just met a very promising man when we ate lunch today.

For P-day today, we went to a place called Santa Lucia, which was super rich and pretty. It also felt weird to be walking around the city in street clothes! Haha.

I miss you all like usual and I'm always giddy to read what's happening at home and update you on how I'm doing. 

That's all I can write for now. I'll talk to you next week! 

Muchisimo Amor,

Elder Hill

P.S. Can you let Kelly and Susan know that I'm thinking about them and I hope they're doing well? Thank you!