Week 1 in Piamonte

Week #42
10/13/14
Wow! What a crazy week. 

So after I emailed last week we went to visit Zully, our convert. Elder Martinez and I has arranged to have a member come with us and everything, but we couldn't find her. She wasn't at home, and didn't get there later in the night either. Its sad for me that we haven't been able to find her for a couple weeks, and that I didn't get to say goodbye. 

On Tuesday morning we took off for our stake center for the exchange meeting. My bags weigh a lot. I don't know how that happened, but my bags weighed a ton. Not literally 2000 pounds, but you get what I mean. So we got to the meeting and after the assistants talked for a little bit we met our new companions. I met Elder Soto, and we shortly took off for the area. 

Elder Soto is new in the mission. He is from Peru, east of Lima. He has great desires to work hard, he just doesn't know quite how. He didn't really get the training he deserved. He just finished his training, and has 3 months in the mission. We are going over the training again. He asks a lot of questions, and a lot of funny words in English, like ´overlord´. Hes really great. Things weren't so easy at first, but were getting used to each other, and had a lot of fun today. Teaching with him wasn't so easy at first, but things are getting better. He has just learned a lot of bad habits from his last companion, so were working to be exactly obedient and work more efficiently. 

Elder Jensen is my zone leader again, not sure if Ive written about him before, but hes one of my good friends here in the mission. We live with 2 other missionaries in the house, and its fun living in 4 again, even though we have to look for an apartment. We have found a few, but were still looking. 

I´ve realized I learned a lot in La Candelaria, like the importance of teaching families, improving my Spanish, the importance of visiting recent converts, and I understand better the plan of salvation. I feel ready to work harder, and do things right from the start. 

Our new area isn't the easiest. We don't have many people to teach, and we haven't had baptisms in 3 months, but that's all going to change. Its all flat, and close to La Candelaria. From some spots I can still see the mountain I climbed every day. 

The cool thing is we have members to come out with us a lot here, so we take advantage of that. Our bishop is great, and the ward council is ready to work. A tough part is that for the month, our cell phone is out of minutes, so its like working without a phone, again. But we get recharged the 17th, so we just have to wait a little longer. 

I feel great here. Very comfortable and happy. 

On Sunday, I was filling the sacrament cups at 9:55, and the bishops counselor asked me to speak, so completely winging it, I spoke about the Atonement. It didn't go that bad, and I felt good afterward. 

I'm really happy to be serving a mission. I know that it is when we work hard we are happy. I am so grateful for the new experiences I have had and will have. Thanks so much for reading!

Elder Beck

Sorry, no pictures. I left my memory card at home. oops