Everything is Different

Well, being district leader is sure different than junior companion being trained. But, it´s pretty cool. I´ve been learning to love the other missionaries in my district. The thing is that one hermana in the district is pretty sick and can´t work for 7 days, and the zone leaders say that it looks like my elders aren´t working much. So, there´s a bit of stress in the district. Some of the responsibilities are that I verify all their work every night, do the baptismal interviews, do district meeting every week, when they have a problem or question they call me, and also am responsable for having the example area of the district. 

So, the update on how the example area is doing. Basically, everything we had is gone. Regina said she doesn´t want to talk about religion with us anymore because she didn´t enjoy the meeting in church (she thought we´d be clapping and singing, and reading passages from the Bible and yelling Halleluia) and also problems with her husband.   Luz Mary has been pretty resistant to us too, avoiding our citas [appointments] and being a bit odd. 

But, we were able to meet a couple potential investigators this week, one being a 23 year old named Ruen. He´s curious, Catholic, and willing to listen. It really seems like he has a lot of potential to progress and we´ll looking forward to helping him. Also, a drug addict named Libardo who has a very strange situation. He committed to come to church, Stake Conference on Sunday, and Hno Torres was going to come with him, but Libardo (like 50 years old but lives with his mom) never ever got home, and so we weren´t able to meet with him. 

Also, with my companion, it´ll be a rougher cambio. He is a lot more boring, and though he´s obedient, he´s obedient in a way that it´s obvious to almost everyone that he just wants them to see his obedience. But, in this I can see the humour. Before, I was praying to receive a more obedient companion, and so they send m Elder Ríos who has just about never gotten along with companions. 

Elder Routson, who was one of my zone leaders but now left the zone, was companions with him before and calls that time "the Gethsemane of his mission" and would often mention to his comps how much he hated Ríos. But, it´s not like it´s all that awful. Whenever I´m being absolutely perfect, we get along fine. He just sucks a bit of the fun out of being a missionary and has a lack of respect for all leadership, except the President. 

Think of it this way: he's been out 18 months and has continued as junior companion for almost his whole mission with almost no leadership. He has had two cambios as senior companion, and the President put him back down right after them both. But, don´t think that it´s all miserable with him, it´s just that today he´s been bugging me (and Elder Bleazard, one of my zone leaders) a lot (Bleazard has been complaining about him all day) so it´s just more on my mind that way. 

Hey, super cool about Sister Flinders! Also about the snow! Also that Gma&Gpa are there! 

Hey mom, about the Spanish, en corto, nunca o casi nunca tengo pena hablando, o mejor dicho, yo siempre puedo decir que necesito decir. Leyendo esta todo bien, hablando todo bien, la mas difícil es hablar por teléfono porque nuestro celular no es muy claro. 

[In short, I never or almost never have trouble speaking, or better said, I can always say what I need to say.  Reading is going well, talking is good, and the most difficult part is talking on the phone because our cell isn't very clear.]

 

Also, for some reason this computer doesn´t recognize my card reader so no pictures again this week.

Always Great,

Élder Hicken