Week 48: Pictures from Bogota

Week 48: Pictures from Leticia

Week 48:Last Conferencia with President y Hna Baquerizo,Leticia, and Neiva!

Hola familia y amigos!

This week was absolutely insane. We were up in Bogota for the last Conference with President and Sister Baquerizo, it was really cool but also really sad, we got to hug Hna Baquerizo and that was awesome! Then after that we went with the other Elder's from Leticia to Cinnabon and I'll talk more about that later. Then Wednesday  we went back to Leticia, got there at 1:00 pm and then we went out and worked until we got home that night.  Since President is finishing his mission we had Cambios that Wednesday  night..and I was told that I was leaving Leticia and going to Neiva! So I packed up all my stuff and Thursday I went to the airport at noon to catch my flight, but here's when the Letician airport problems begin. I get there to check in and the line is taking forever, we later find out its because the system shut down and they were doing every ticket by hand.  I ended up standing in line until after the anticipated time we were supposed to be leaving, I finally ended up getting to Bogota at 6:30pm, I saw Hna Mercedes at the airport, I got to talk with her and take pictures with her.  I'm going to miss her and her family a ton, they were like my second family down there in Leticia! 

Then I got to the mission offices grabbed my bags and they told me I needed to head out to the terminal so I could get on the 6 hour bus ride to Neiva.  I got on the bus at 9:30 and got to Neiva at about 3:00am...traveling in the mission is super fun!! Haha. So now I'm here In Neiva In Las Palmas 2.  My companion is Elder De Lama, he just finished his training and has about 3 months in the mission, he’s from Peru and he's a cool guy. That day I got here the Ward had A party called San  Pedro with a bunch of cultural stuff from Neiva It was really cool. Then Saturday we had a baptism! Alejandra was baptized this Saturday, she's super cool and loves the gospel! Then my comp showed me around the area a little which was cool. Then Sunday we had church, Colombia played in the World cup and won 3-0 against Poland and everyone was going insane in the streets throwing flour and driving their motorcycles all over the place..VAMOS COLOMBIA!!! But then that night we found a really sweet family, they let us right in and we taught them about the restoration, I'm excited to keep working with them. Then today we made our beds here in Neiva, literally constructed bed frames, our area is new they just re-opened it so we don't have a lot of stuff in the house. Beds. check. Next on the list pans and silverware!!! We also went to a pretty cool restaurant and  I had a good burger. I had a cookie today to celebrate 11 months in the mission, it's so crazy the time is flying by, pretty soon I'll have a year! 

Alright back to the Cinnabon story. So after the conference we all decided that we wanted Cinnabon so we go to Cinnabon and this lady comes up to us and she want to take a picture of us.  Her cousin is a missionary in Argentina, so we take the picture and then we ask her where she's from she says Bogota and we write down her address for the missionaries in her area. Then I go to order cinnabon and Elder Hoffman asks her sister where she's from...and she says Arkansas. Then Elder Hoffman says that my brother is going to serve a mission in Arkansas, so then I start taking to her.    I say "yeah but he's going to a place way up north west called Bentonville...and then the sister says she lives in Bentonville!!! At first I didn’t  believe her but then she told me it's the home of Walmart and I was like this is crazy! She's going to be here in Colombia until August and then she goes back..right when Jake leaves for his mission. She gave me her number and I'm going to send the reference in August when she gets back to Bentonville. That was an amazing experience, I know that ther lord puts people in our path, I know it's not just a coincidence that we just happened to leave Leticia to be in Bogota and be at Cinnabon at the exact time that this lady from Bentonville was there. I don't know what will happen with her but I do know that I met her for a reason and I know that in my mission the lord has put other people in my path and he will continue to do it for me and everyone  else. I love and miss all you guys. I know this church is true and I know that Christ Lives and he loves all of you!

Elder McBride

Week 47: Pictures

Week 47: Elections and Bogota!

Hola familia y amigos!

This was a pretty good week. Wednesday I had an intercambio with Elder Hoffman, he's a cool guy and it was fun to go out with someone with my CCM group.   Funny to think that we didn't know Spanish  at all when we got here and now we're not half bad! Then Thursday we taught at the rehab center again, it's always great  to get to go over there and talk with them. Then Saturday I had an intercambio with Elder Saxey, he's a cool guy too we had a lot of fun.  The World Cup started and it's been pretty crazy down there in Leticia, I hope Colombia and Brazil  don't play because If they do I don't think we'll be leaving the house! 

Then Sunday came around, we passed by lots of investigators Saturday and they all said that they were going to church and we passed by again Sunday and no one was going. It is presidential elections here in Colombia and an investigator who will not be named wasn't planning on voting until his neighbor gave him bread and hot choclate to vote for someone.  So he did that and didn't go to church....that was really sad honestly.  Jorge came to church which was awesome, he basically talked with the entire branch about how he's going to get married and baptized this upcoming  21st of July! He's a stud I'm so happy that we found him and that we have the opportunity to teach him about the gospel, he really is one of the people that God prepared for us and put in our pat so that he could hear the gospel. 

Then today we peaced out to the Airport and hopped on a plane to good ole Bogota and we're here again!  We have the last multizone conference with Presidente Y Hna Baquerizo tomorrow, I'm really going to miss them, they've been amazing!  I'm also excited to meet President Palhoa and his wife soon! We got to the Airport and ate at an amazing Itatian restaurant, it was so good I almost cried. I love and miss all you guys I hope you're all doing good! 

Elder McBride

Week 46: Pictures

 With Elder Amick and young men at Kilometros.

June 11th Sacred Heart Day

Picture from week of May 26th

Week 46: Crazy Colombian Week

Hola familia y amigos!

This last week was pretty crazy. Wednesday  I had an intercambio with Elder Amick, he's really cool I was with him when we were both in Villo, had a good day, taught some good people and had a good time.   Thursday and Friday was not to great, I was pretty sick so we didn't get to do a whole lot. Then Saturday was back to normal, had an awesome leccion con Lina y Jorge they're amazing people and they just want to do the right things and come closer to God. It's cool to see them change so fast, they have a better relationship, they're happier and they even invited their family to go to church with them! 

Then we had some other good things, passed by lots of our investigadores to invite them to church. Then Sunday came, we had 6 investigadores at church and that was awesome. Than we had a leccion later that day with some of our investigadores that came to church, they live in a super poor part of leticia. They live in a wooden house on stilts sticking out of a large stream by the amazon river, the told us how every year when the river rises their house floods and they cant live there.  Also how last year  they lived for a month in a public park because they had nowhere to live. It was extremely sad and humbling to hear their story, and even though all this stuff has happened to them and they're super poor they're always super happy no matter what. They’re  a great example to me of what we need to focus on in life and how we can decide if we want to be happy or not no matter our circumstances. We're going to keep working with them and we're going to get them married and baptized!! Then Monday was insane, we went on a bike ride with the young men in a place called "Kilometros" in our area it's literally just a road that goes on for kilometers. We biked out with them on these small women's bikes out into the middle of nowhere where some members friends have a house. It was pretty fun, we played town of salem with the young men, laid in hammocks and ate a good lunch. Then we rode back and got our haircut. 

Was a really good week, excited for this upcoming week, the World Cup is going to start this week so that's going to be crazy here cuz I'm right on the border of  

Colombia and Brazil, we'll see what happens! I love and miss you guys hope you're all doing well, enjoying summer and enjoying life!! I want you all to know that Christ lives and he loves you! He's always there for us when we do our part! I hope you all can put  Christ  at the center of your lives  this week and see the happiness that he brings!!

Elder McBride

Week 45: Pictures

 Leadership training

Starbucks Hot Chocolate

 Mission President

 Tierra’s Amazonicas Restaurant

Pizza in honor of Elder Jeppson

Week 45: Surprise Temple trip, Presidente came down to Leticia, and some weird transfers!

Hola familia y amigos!

This week was pretty crazy. Tuesday started off in Bogota, we had a
leader's meeting and I saw a bunch of my friends including Elder
Gregersen and Elder Gutierrez(pics will come if Leticia allows). Then after the meeting ended some other Elders  from Florencio came up to me and told me we could go to the Temple.  We took the public bus to the Temple, we were running in the streets of Bogota to get there on time and we barely got there but it was amazing to get to go to the Temple again! Then Wednesday  morning we left Bogota we had a  good McDonald's Breakfast and we got Starbuck,  wow It had been awhile since I'd had a Starbucks hot choclate and it was amazing. 

We get back to Leticia and...our house had flooded haha. So we spent all day
taking all of our stuff out of the house and sweeping and mopping the house till it all dried out that wasn't so fun.  Then Friday President and his wife came down and they took us out to lunch with them at Tierras Amazonicas! I love them so much I'm sad they're finishing their mission but I'm happy to get to start with President Palhoa
pretty soon. 

Saturday we did a lot of contacting, we contacted in a super poor part of our area and found some people that don't know how to read, it's extremely humbling to be in a part of the world where the people have challenges like that, it makes me realize how blessed we are to have good education and how we need to take advantage of it.
Then Sunday was good, our investigador Jorge walked 3 hours from Brazil so he could get to church, that was amazing to me, it was amazing to see how important the church already is to him and the sacrifice he made to get there, later that night we had a leccion with him and his wife Lina. We taught them the Word of Wisdom and they committed to drop alcohol and coffee right away, they're super amazing people and I'm so glad I have the opportunity to help them recieve all the blessings that our Heavenly Father has for us when we keep his commandments. 

Then yesterday the Zone leaders got here Elder Amick and Elder Rabelo, they're cool guys, we had some lecciones.  Then we got a call that Elder Jeppson is getting transfered up to Bogota, that was sad I'm really going to miss him. So in his honor we ordered a giant pizza and I mean giant because 6 missionaries couldn't even finish it!
That's it from this last week, pretty crazy, this week is going to be a normal week again hopefully. I love and miss all you guys! Hope you're all doing well and have a great week!!

Nos Vemos!

Elder McBride