100 Weeks Down 1 to Go!

Dear Everyone,

One hundred weeks have passed already. I only hope that this will last the longest. I doubt it though. Felipe was interviewed this last Saturday and will be baptized this coming Saturday. We are very excited for him. When he told us about his experience in gaining his testimony of the Book of Mormon, the Spirit warmed my heart and I felt so much joy. He knows it's true. I know it's true. Knowing that, is there room for doubt or confusion? Absolutely not. I'm just glad that he made the right decisions that led him to his testimony.

We spent most of the week looking for new investigaters and teaching those we found in the last few weeks. A fellow named Ramiro just kind of happened upon the church a few weeks ago and after one visit, he wants to get baptized next week. I don't know if we will be able to prepare him so quickly since we can only visit him at 7:00 in the morning, but we will definitely do our best. He has already read to Mosiah and doesn't show any signs of stopping. We had some good contacts and we hope that they will continue to learn more and continue to accept the missionaries.

I just want to thank you all for your support for the long haul. It's been an adventure, and I'm excited to start the next one with you all next week!

Love,

Élder King

Doors

Dear everyone,

Doors have always been figurative opportunities. For missionaries, they present the opportunity to teach the Gospel to a new family. They also offer much unscertainty, as opportunities often do. After spending a lot of time contacting this week, I can tell you that sometimes, doors can be downright frightening, and the people inside moreso. But if we don't look for opportunities actively, we often miss out. That is one of the great fears of a missionary. Not finding the ones who are ready. Unfortunately, we didn't find anybody that was ready this week.

Not much to report this time around. Felipe is still doing well, he is reading a lot. He didn't wake up to come to church which made us a bit sad, but he does live about an hour away. Ediverto turned forty and went on vacation, so he didn't come either. We didn't find many new people that were interested and the ones we found last week didn't seem to find time for our message.

Despite descouragement, I have learned that faith is the key to moving forward. Faith and hope I guess. On top of that, I have been studying charity lately. Many of the talks this week were also on charity. Charity, I have learned, is important because it is the qualifying characteristic of God and His Son. We can't hope to live in their presence unless we have done our best efforts to develop said attribute. It won't work. That is why without Charity we are nothing. Because our whole purpose here is to become like him, and charity is the way we show that we have put forward that effort.

Keep on loving,

Élder King

ps I wrote late today because we went on an excursion to see/climb a big rock. 

La Piedra del Peñol

me on top of said rock (lots of stairs)

The Plot Thickens

Dear everyone,

Walking hurts if you do it a lot. Just in case you didn't know. Although I guess that's true for almost everything. Ediverto decided he needs some more time to get prepped and we agreed. He is working towards being baptized on the 2nd of September. But we have a surprise baptism that fell out of the sky and gave us a welcome smack on the head. His name is Andres Felipe and he lives with a member family. I met him a while back, but thought he was just a less active member! He has been coming to church for the past couple of weeks and we figured out that he was actually investigating the church. So we visited him yesterday and he asked us when he could get baptized. Why aren't all investigaters like this? He had it all thought out, he even knows who he wants to baptize him! He's a bit sad because he can't go on a mission because he has a year-old son. We will be stopping by a lot this week to make sure he knows what he needs to know and does what he needs to do, but the desire is there and that is all we need to make this happen. He will be baptized on the 26th of this month, if not sooner. We are super excited for him.

On the only downside, we need more investigaters and have spent most of the week knocking doors and running up and down hills to find them. It's been taxing but hopefully the fruits show up this week. We met a nice man who has an adoptive disabled daughter. We will be meeting with him tonight. His relationship with his daughter is super sweet and it makes me kind of melt when I see it. It's good to know that there are still good people in the world.

Love you all,

Élder King

Work as Usual

Dear Everyone,

Another week has gone and not a whole lot of news. But the news that I have is all good news. We were talking with Ediverto and my companion asked him how old he was. He said,"I'm 39, but I'm going to be 40 soon" 

"When's your birthday?" 

"The 12th of August" 

"That's a Saturday right?" 

"yes"

"Would you like to get baptized for your birthday?"

"sounds good, I want to be ready though"

"Don't worry, we'll worry about that"

We're going to work really hard with him to make sure he makes it. We found and taught a lot of new pèople this week, hopefully they keep wanting to listen. Chatted for an hour with a Jehovah's Witness that. Made me sad how closed-off people can be. But we found various families and couples that are already married and just need to learn and accept the restored gospel. I'm excited to continue working this week.

We did the first layer of paint on the old house and will probably be finishing it up this week. José blessed the sacrament again this week. Angela and her daughter are doing great, already working on personal progress and family history. My companion and I are doing fine, he's a funny little guy. We went and played soccer today and I'm kind of beat.

July is over. I'm glad for those of you who are enjoying your summer. I'll see you soon enough. The church is more than true, it is divinely directed and sustained. Us missionaries are protected by the prayers of each of you. I thank you so much for everything you have done for me. We have a bright future if we just hang in there and do our best. Keep moving forward. The speed of your progress depends on the will of the Lord and the amount of effort you put in. Remember Repentance. It is my firm testimony that sacrificing bad habits and routines brings blessings.

I love you all,

Élder King

Elder Herrera

Nate saw Deseret on the label

Treats compliments of Dad-for working hard!

Baptisms and Transfers

Dear everyone,

Ana Maria's baptism went off without a hitch! We're so happy to see the conversion of this family. They have been giving us tons of references, including a guy named Jorge. Jorge has had a really, really hard life, but he has been able to turn it around and make his life a faith filled one. He has read the Bible 7 times cover to cover, so we're pretty sure he'll blow through the Book of Mormon we gave him. Hopefully he will be a baptism in this next month. We also contacted the guy that sold us the washer and turns out he is married! So we talked with him, his wife and son and they were very interested. With a lot of work this month will turn out very fruitful.

Elder Steadman got transferred, but he is still here in Medellin, so he didn't have far to go. My new companion is Elder Herrera. I met him when I was serving in Planeta Rica. He has got about a year in here in the mission. He is from Lima Peru. He will be my last companion unless something really crazy happens.

I read this quote from Harold B. Lee this week: "The most important of all the commandments of God is that one that you're having the most difficulty keeping today." It struck me that it is in that way that the atonement is so completely personal. There is no rating scale for the graveness of a sin, only graded difficulty in the repentance process. So whatever seems the hardest sin to let go, that's the most important one for each of us, because it is that sin that will keep us from progressing if we don't bring the power of Christ's Atonement into our lives.

I'd like to share a scripture I found a while back, I feel like it goes along with the theme. It helped me to get over some difficulties.

17 And again, he that trembleth under my power shall be made strong, and shall bring forth fruits of praise and wisdom, according to the revelations and truths which I have given you.

18 And again, he that is overcome and bringeth not forth fruits, even according to this pattern, is not of me.

Keep on perservering, keep on studying and everything will work together for your good.

Love you all,

Élder King

Warm Water

Dear everyone,

We managed to get two baptisms this week! Party in Prado!!! It was a struggle and for a bit there we were worried that they weren't going to make it. But they passed their interviews, the word organized a nice little meeting and we had a great ceremony. Everything went off without a hitch. They are both super committed to their decision and this week, Ana Maria will be following them into the water. We are very happy for them.

I had the privelege of performing Angela's Baptismal ordinance. The water was cold, but I have never felt warmer. I could feel the spirit permeating the room as these two children of God made their first covenant with him. I felt a bittersweet nostalgia, knowing that I don't have much time left to serve these people, but I felt so happy for them having made it here. I'm sure the Lord is pleased with their progress.

This is the last week of the transfer and it's most likely that Elder Steadman leaves this next week. It's been great and we are going to work super hard this week to find some new investigaters.

In other news, we baught a washing machine!! We exchanged our old fridge and some piggy bank money for a washer, a commodity that I haven't had since I got here. Saving pays off!

Stay strong,

Love

Élder King

Yohan Alexis Jaramillo Vargas and Angela Maria Agudelo

Steven

some pictures of the baptism, Washers, and Steven, Angela and Yohan's kid

Service

Dear Everyone,

More fun facts about Colombia: nobody accepts service. The members never ask us to do anything for them. We have to insist physically just to wash the dishes after lunch. Me and my companion will just get up and start washing and some of the sisters will get mad! I guess there is a saying that if someone cleans in the kitchen, they don't ever come back, so maybe that has something to do with it. But we got a desperate call from the zoneleaders begging us to go and help with a move. We were with the other missionaries in the district on exchanges, so all four of us went. It was fun, but it took a lot longer than I thought it would and we kind of wasted the exchange. It was pretty fun to finally do some service. They had me do most of the heavy work just because I'm the biggest. And while flattering that they think I'm so strong, it kind of wiped me out. My forearms are still sore. But I like service pains. They are the best pains.

Johanne and Angela want to get baptized this week. We talked about extending the date a bit so that Ana Maria could get caught up, but Angela said she really really wants to get baptized this week, so yeah. This week is going to be a rush to get all that done. Ana Maria also wants to get baptized but says she is fine waiting until she is prepared. But it shouldn't be too long of a wait. We found a few new people this week, including Santiago, a member's boyfriend. He has gone to another church most of his life, but stopped going there a year or so ago. He was very interested about the message of the restoration and we are very interested to tell him about it. 

Also, last week we also spoke with Anyela and Sebastion, a couple that heard about the church from coworkers. We taught them about Joseph Smith and asked them if they wanted to know it was true. Sebastion looked me in the eye and said, "are you telling me this is true?" And I was taken a bit aback, thinking he would just say "yeah, I'd love to know it's true. How can I?" That's how things usually go. Thankfully, we were prepared for such a question. I said simply "yes, this is the truth". He just sat back and let out a sigh of relief. Anyela also just said, "I believe it". They really through us for a loop! They started asking questions about baptism and sins (they live together). We told them they would have to get married and would need to learn a bit more, but that we would be happy to teach them. Now, as happy as this story is, there is a little cloud of sadness. They don't live in our area... But either way, makes me happy to see people of such faith.

To finish up, I just want you all to know that this is the truth. I am not so foolish as to spend two years preaching something I don't know is true. There is no message more powerful than that of the restoration of the Gospel. God has spoken and He continues speaking. If you have faith and live righteously, you can hear His voice and know that He is! What message could be better?

Keep up the good work, I love you all!

Élder King

Lots of Party

Dear everyone,

I don't know if I have yet mentioned, but Colombia has a lot of holidays. I think the second most of any country in the world. There are approximately two per month. Today is the last of three mondays that were holidays. On top of that, everyone got a July bonus and are spending like crazy. More than anything, it's somewhat frustrating because a lot of our investigaters went out of town. But no matter, the family is still going pretty strong. Ana Maria came to church for the first time and it seemed like she enjoyed it a lot. She is Angela's daughter and is already progressing quite well in the Book of Mormon. We have taught most of the commandments and they have accepted to live them. I'm pretty sure that they will get baptized on the fifteenth, but possibly just a titch later.

Life is as crazy as ever, yet this week seemed to go really slow. We haven't been able to find many new people to teach this week but hopefully in the next couple days we will find some that are willing to listen to us. I met my first atheist here in Colombia. It was kind of sad to talk with him, but at the same time really funny. He just doesn't really understand much of anything. But oh well, we know what we believe and why we do so. I also felt bad because he talked like he was afraid we weren't going to like him or that we would think badly of him because of his beliefs. We made it very clear that despite our difference of opinion, we had no intention of treating him like he was less.

Keep on being good people, be nice to everyone and remember that charity is really just love unfeigned. Love God and love your neighbor.

Love you all,

Èlder King

Moving Buddies

Dear everyone,

So, this week got pretty hectic what with the move and all. We had to figure out how to plan around deliveries and lunches along with teaching appointments and exchanges. It went fast and now we are just trying to get everything organized so we can work in our area better. We have been losing a lot of time to errands and while important, I definitely enjoy teaching and finding than moving furniture and other such nonsense. I guess I'm just doing my part to leave the area better than I found it (thank you outdoor code).

We had six investigaters come to church yesterday, and three of them were people we had never met before. The members are being a lot better about inviting their friends. The only sad part is that most of them live in other areas so we won't get to teach them. What are the odds honestly? We have a massive area. Johanne came but for some reason Angela didn't. Either way we keep teaching them both and they are both going pretty strong. I'm more worried about Johanne because he hasn't been reading as much and he seems a bit more hesitant about baptism. But hopefully all will turn out well. 

Ediverto came to church again. We met him last week when he came to church out of the blue. He is also very excited and we will be talking with him today about a baptismal date. We went up again to visit Luz Dari and she was happy to see us. We haven't been able to pass by for a few weeks now. She says she has been reading and that she wants to take some time out of her schedule to go to church. We talked about eternal families and she really liked that. She said it made more sense than what all the other churches teach. On our way home from where she lives, some guy offered us a ride. We jumped on because there were two of us and just one of him in case he tried anything funny and we were tired on top of that. His name was Efrain (spanish for Ephraim) and he is a Catholic Priest. It was nice to meet a catholic that lives their religion. He was a nice guy.

Just read the 63rd section of Doctrine and Covenants and I really like it. 64 was great too. If you haven't cracked the ol' D&C open in a while, read those sections. Also for those counting 63/7 = 9. Enough said.

Love you all,

Èlder King

Sleepless Nights

Dear everyone,

So this week has been pretty crazy. We have had to run all over the place, making tons of calls and just doing a lot of errands in general. My companion has had a hard time sleeping lately, so we went to the clinic to see if we could get him fixed up. I feel really bad for him because sleepless nights are the worst. On top of that, we are going to be moving tomorrow, and we have to fill out tons of forms, tons of calls for permission, planning a talent show etc. It gets kind of tedious, but we are almost done with all  of that stuff and it will then just be figuring out how to manage our time in a massive area.

Our investigaters are doing great, we took them to see a baptism and they seem pretty excited about their own preparation. Angela has already gotten to Jacob and keeps reading like a champ. This family is seriously awesome. They got to church on their own as well. We had a lot of other investigaters come to church, including one guy that just kind of showed up and accepted missionary lessons. We are going to teach him tomorrow. Unfortunately Gustavo still hasn't been able to make it. Most of the investigaters from the new area didn't come, but hopefully we will be able to fix that this week. Oh, I gave a talk as well. The talent show was kind of lame but that's what happens when nobody wants to take responsibility for the project.

Anyway, Happy Father's Day dad! It is a national holiday here so nobody goes to work. Me and Elder Steadman went and bought about ten pounds of cereal this morning and we found some applejuice too! We are basically making our house a constant gringo party. So that's the good news for this week. Our recent converts are doing well, Jose got the priesthood this week. I hope you are all doing well!

Love you all,

Élder King

Elder Steadman, Elder Jesus, and Elder Meza

Elder Robison and Me

Prado Times Two

Dear everyone,

The transfers were quite interesting this time around. Me and Elder Steadman are staying together, but we have a new area! Prado 1 got closed and we are going to take all of the Prado ward now. Our area is massive to say the least. But I'm super happy to still be with Elder Steadman, even though we are all alone now. We will most likely be changing residence this week so that will be interesting.

One of the families we found last week now has a baptismal date. These are the ones that my companion found that had already heard the missionaries before. We visited  them three times this week, they have already begun reading the Book of Mormon and most of them came to church this week! Their names are Johanne and Angela (the parents) with Ana Maria and Steven (the kids) Ana Maria didn't come for some reason, but she will come next week for sure. They have a date for the 15 of July and if all goes well, they should be our next baptism. We also have taken over all the investigaters that Prado1 had so we will be getting to know them in this week. It's going to be a crazy week for us and I think this last stretch is going to fly by.

Love you all,

Élder King

Diligence and Hope

Dear Everyone,

This week we were blessed with many opportunities to find new investigaters, something we need a lot. As of yet, there aren't any that are progressing, but our recent converts are still going strong.

We have been doing a zone contacting effort recently. We go to each area and just contact a ton of people for two hours. We did it in our area this last thursday. My companion with another missionary found an old investigater that basically said he wants to be baptized. We went back and talked to him yesterday. Him and his girlfriend both received us very cordially and asked us how many times in a week they could visit with us. We responded, "why, as many as you like!" So we will be meeting with them this next tuesday, friday, and sunday most likely. They still have their pamphlets and Book of Mormon from when they were listening to the missionaries before. I guess one of the missionaries just decided he didn´t like them and stopped coming. Kind of sad, but great that we fouind them again.

So we are going to be working hard this week and keeping our hopes high. One thing that is sometimes difficult to remember is that unless we are giving our full effort, it´s not enough. That's where diligence comes into play. Diligence is the attribute that makes us qualified for divine grace in our everyday actions. It can be difficult but it will definitely be worth it. Sometimes the burden doesn't feel so light as promised, but compared to the burden that we justly should have, I would gladly take the yoke of Christ.

Love you all,

Élder King

Weddings and Baptisms

Dear everyone,

We were blessed with a wedding and two baptisms this week. The wedding went off without a hitch, which was the most surprising. It was somewhat stressful trying to organize it all, but we were able to involve most everyone. The Bishop baptized Jose and the new Stake president baptized Deidi. I was glad to have the ceremony over, just because of all the stress involved in organizing it. But for the first time in a long time, the ward was able to see how a baptismal service should be and I hope that in the future, we will be able to do it in a more organized fashion.

So as we left the wedding, I noticed there were a lot of people in the lobby. I heard them talking about something at 9:30. I assumed that they were there for the next wedding. I thought to ask them about it. But I decided not to. Then the thought was persistent. So I said a little prayer and I promised to talk to the young man (who I assumed to be the groom) if I was given the words to do so. So, the same question came to my head and I asked him. After talking to him for a bit, I found that he was to be married that day and I asked him if he would like to learn how his family could be eternal. He accepted and I'm pretty sure the missionaries have passed by his house. I'm going to verify that as soon as possible.

We also had a fun experience with Yolanda, a recent investigater. We went and talked with her and gave her a Book of Mormon. The next time we visited her, she was already in chapter 4 and said that she felt the book was true. We invited her to pray about Joseph Smith and attend church. She wasn't able to make it this week, but considering her situation it is understandable.

So yeah, Love you all,

Élder King

Insights on the Spirit

Dear everyone,

This next week, we should have some good news. We had a bit of a scare this week, because our gold family didn't make it to church. My companion called them in the second hour and he didn't really understand what they were saying. He just remembered one word "apuñalar" which means "to stab". So we were understandably worried. Turns out on the way home from work Saturday, José got stabbed in the arm by some guys that were fighting in the street. He got some stitches and he's okay now, but they were in the hospital all night and couldn't make it to church. He said he even felt prompted to take a different route home, but decided against it. So there was a lesson to be learned and they are still very decided on their baptism this Saturday.

We have been focusing a lot lately on getting help from the members, and we have seen some progress. There is still a long way to go, but I feel like we are at the beginning of a great movement here in Colombia. I just hope we can get it moving as fast as possible.

I had an experience recently. It was very interesting and insightful for me. As members of the church we are constantly striving for improvement. As we improve, we feel the spirit in greater measure in our lives. But as we sin and continue in error, our revelation channel, the spirit, cannot convey its message because we make ourselves unfit to recieve it. I felt as though I had done just that, through personal error. A wave of bitterness came over me. I felt as though despite my efforts to become better, it wasn't working and that I was confined to an annoying cycle of pride and misery. I felt as though I had been abandoned in my struggle, that because I had made a mistake, that help was no longer available to me.

 But then, as I stretched my soul to feel the spirit again to enjoy that wonderful blessing that I had, until my flaws reared their head, been a recipient, I felt the warmth of the spirit as though it were trying to reach me through a thick cloud of darkness. I realized that God was trying to get to me, trying his hardest to get me back. I felt the urgency of his love, I felt just how much he wanted to reach me, but that it had been me that had pushed him away, however unintentional it may have been. I don't know if I have ever felt that way, it's always so hard to remember that joy. I know it must be the joy of repentance. I'm still not perfect, but I know that I'm trying and God knows as well. The more I approach Him, the more I feel that he approaches me.

 Keep on chugging and don't worry about your sins. Christ took care of those. What each of us needs to worry about is how we can utilize the Grace of Christ to overcome our sins and weaknesses.

I love you all,

Elder King

Better Late Than Never

Dear everyone,

Sorry for writing late, we went grocery shopping and I forgot that it takes forever to get people moving around here. I had a great time talking with the fam yesterday, and of course it was mother's day, so once again, Love you Mom! We are going to be heading out to a family home evening with some new investigaters  tonight, so I won't have a lot of time to write.

I'm doing well, especially now that a subway just opened up close to our house. They have delivery as well. I also found a five liter orange juice and couldn't pass that up. So much better that water.

We should be having a lot of new investigaters in this next week. The ward just had a good talking to about missionary work and we will be giving talks this next week as well. Hopefully they will take it to heart and start finding references for the missionaries. Speaking of which, nows a good a time as any to talk to someone about the gospel! It's super easy, you just have to get down and do it.

Anyway, love you all,

Élder King

Almost Mother's Day

Dear Everyone,

This week dragged on a bit too long for my liking. We are still trying to figure out the area changes, we lost a lot of members and a few investigaters. On top of that, one of the members of our family for baptism didn't come to church yesterday. It was really abnormal and we don't know why yet. We'll be dropping by today to see. I'm worried about them and the other less active members that live by them. We talked to Paulina, who got baptized in Cartagena and is kind of put out. She liked the members in her old ward better. Just hearing her talk about it made me really sad. I also heard some sad news about members from my area in Armenia. I just have felt a bit heavy from all the things that are going on.

Now, I hope you all don't start thinking the wrong thing. I'm happy and I've decided to stay that way. It's a blessing that I am able to say so. I am so grateful for the many things that God does for me. It's natural to feel sad or let down when other people choose to stray. But all I can do is keep loving them and serve them with more love. I guess I'm learning to love the people here, because I feel for them and with them.

I honestly don't know how to express how I'm feeling, maybe it's the deteriorated english or just the newness of these feelings. Perhaps ambivalent? I don't know really. Anyway, I'm healthy, don't worry about that. I found some orange juice and I have been loving that. Me and Elder Steadman found some Malt O' Meal cereal and that's been great too. I'll get the call stuff figured out with Mom.

Love you all,

Elder King

Business as Usual

Dear Everyone,

Looks like me and Elder Steadman are going to be together another transfer! I'm pretty happy about it. Our district didn't have any transfers other than Elder Caicedo is going to his mission tomorrow. The limit changes are officially approved by the first presidency and our area got considerably smaller. Unfortunately Antony, the policeman from last week, isn't in our area anymore, but we get to keep the Balderama family. They will be getting baptized the 27th. We are going to have to work super hard to get new investigators this week, but the ward seems a lot more excited to work, seeing as we got multiple references this past sunday.

So I've been thinking about and studying repentance and forgiveness this week. I'm trying to learn to be more forgiving and as I do I feel a weight lifted off my shoulders. I'm still pretty terrible, like when my roommates don't wash their dishes, the neighbors play music in study time, etc. etc. The small things seem to be the most unforgivable sometimes. But if we can't forgive, we can't be forgiven either. It's the difficult reality. Repentance without forgiveness wouldn't make much sense if the great Mediator was the one not willing to forgive. He is, but we need to be like him (at least as much as we are able) in order to recieve said forgiveness. As Amulek told Zeezrom, He will not and cannot save us in our sins. I'm making the conscious effort to retain a remission of sins, and I invite you all to do the same. That is the yoke of Christ, which is easy and the burden is light.

So today we went to the Arvi Park, a cool forest in our area. It was nice to walk around the mountains again. Fresh air and no worries. I definitely want to visit again if I can. Still waiting for my package, although I'm pretty sure it's already here in Medellin. Just waiting for the office people to go pick it up..... any day now....

Love you all,

Élder King

A Special Witness

Dear Everyone,

This week was definitely interesting. Tuesday we had our interviews with President. They were short and sweet and I thank him so much for his wonderful service. We found a new family that we are teaching currently. Antony and his soon-to-be wife were contacted by my companion and another missionary last week in a park. He is a policeman, which makes it a bit difficult for him to get to church, but either way, we have a lot of hope for their progress. We had a stake conference this week as well, but I'll get back to that. (Elder Christofferson spoke at Stake Conference as well.)

As many of you may have inferred from the title, the Highlight of this week was the visit of Elder D. Todd Christofferson, my personal favorite of the apostles. I thought it was too good to be true, which was the main reason in me keeping you in the dark about it. I was afraid something would happen to impede his coming. But he came, and I don't think I'll ever be the same. His excellent ability to expound doctrine will stay with me as long as I live. He taught that the Sabbath is the time, the Temple is the place that we apart for the Lord and his work. He also explained to the missionaries the necessity of both being born and being reborn and the important role that each of us plays in this great work, which is the work of God.

His testimony alone is enough to make me sure of the actuality of the resurrection of Christ. He leads this church personally. Think about that. He actively participates in the leading of this Church. No other organization in the world has such a privilege. My testimony is now bolstered and strengthened by the testimony of this wonderful man.

I'm going to keep working hard, I hope you all do the same.

Love

Élder King

Holy Week in Medellin

Me , Elder Steadman and the couple that are going to get married on the 27th of May

Dear everyone,

So, as you all might have noticed, this last week was easter. Here in Colombia, it's a week of parties and catholicism. Thursday, Friday, and Sunday are national holidays and they are kind of crazy. We spent the last three days just going to big parks and handing out cards, pamplets, Liahonas, and whatever else we could. I don't know how successful of an activity you could consider it, but it's better than doing nothing, which was our only other option. Most of the people we found contacting earlier in the week were busy at catholic mass the last part of it. On the bright side, our wonderful family is going to set a specific date for their marriage today!Woo hoo! So we are happy for that. Also We're getting to know the members better and with any luck, we will be working a lot with them in the weeks that come.

This week we will have a multizone conference with all four zones of Medellin. So I should see Elder Robison, Elder Chipana, and Elder Morillo again, maybe even Elder Fernandez. Should be exciting. We also have a pleasant surprise this weekend, but I'll let you all know about that experience next week. It's essentially one of my dreams coming true.

Also, I'm super excited for Tate, though it looks like it will be a long time before I get to see him. He is going to the Dominican Republic. We have a missionary here that is waiting for his visa to go to the same country, though I don't think it's the same mission.

In the spirit of the season, take some time to study the Living Christ. It testifies of the reality of Christ's mission and that He lives. How great it is that because of Him, we too can live again, and if we are faithful, we can return to the presence of our Heavenly Father with Him! Never forget the great gift that Christ has given to each and every one of us.

Love,

Élder King

Happy Good Day

Dear everyone,

So we have finally gotten all the papers and errands done for the Marriage of Jose and Deidy, unfortunately it's going to take a bit longer than we thought. If we are really unlucky, they will get married and baptized after the limit changes are approved by the area and they get baptized in another ward. either way I'll be happy for them, but it would be a pity for us as missionaries. Aside from that, the work is going a bit slow here. Doesn't help I lost my voice for two days. Kind of hard to teach without talking, even harder to contact.

We are teaching english classes and we are finding a lot of new people that way, but most are just interested in learning a bit of English. Either way it's fun. There is also a little deacon in our ward who is obsessed with the missionaries. He's a funny little guy, and he follows us around for a bit after church. Also, there family that has a missionary out in Ecuador and they showed me a picture. Surprise Surprise! His companion is Elder Parker, my MTC companion. It was good to see him again after so much time. Since there are a lot of missionaries here in Medellin, we get together a lot to play soccer. I'm not very good, but I play anyway.

Anyway, Love you all,

Elder King