Hey,

Transferes arrived and............I'm not going anywhere.  I'm actually relieved because I like being here in Gorgona.  The two missionaries in the other part of the ward both got transferred so I'm the new District Leader.  In the district it's going to be me and Elder R., my ex comp, Elder T., with some gringo I don't know, and a trio of hermanas (sister missionaries).  It's gonna be 7 missionaries in 1 ward under my charge.  It will be nuts at first because neither Elder T. nor his comp know the new area and a trio of hermanas is gonna be nuts. But its all good and should be interesting

We had Linas baptism on Saturday.  It was sick!  Her mom had been inactive 18 years.  They live in Cabuyal too, which makes it even harder for them.  I don't have the pics yet but I'll attach the ones of the Rendon family.  We're actually going to go have a family night in their house tonight with the other members here.

Esta semana debe de ser una semana interesante.  Voy a esforzarme por hacer todo lo posible para ayudar al distrito y seguir adelante con la obra aquí.  Gracias por todo el apoyo.

Elder CHAH-say, como la gente dice aquí.  A veces, tengo que escribir mi nombre en un papel así CHEIS para que lo puedan pronunciar.

Hey,

We had the baptisms of J. C. Rendón M., A. Landazuri A., and V. Landazuri Z.  I got to baptize them which also meant I had to memorize all those names...which was fun, haha.

They've put off the transfers for a week.  I don't know why but I think it has something to do with them wanting to finish the month first.

Not much else is new.  We're still working on the papers to get a branch out here.  It's kind of tough because there's already a ton of other stuff to work on but we're trying.

I wish there was more to write about.  Things are fine in general.  It's super hot all the time.

Hey!

Things are going pretty well.  We should definitely be having baptisms this Saturday.  We have 3  for sure and 2 more possibles. La familia R has 6 people.  Juan Carlos and Alba, their 3 sons Christian (20ish), Rubén (16) and Junior (15), and their niece Valentina (9).  The parents and Valentina are committed.  The oldest kid is never around while we are there, Rubén is really stubborn and Junior has come to church but he's not sure what he wants.  We're gonna do the interviews tomorrow.

There's also Lina (16), who is the daughter of a less active member for 18 years who we got to come to church twice.  They live in Cabuyal, a pueblo that is even farther away than Villa Gorgona. I'll send the map we are going to send to the area presidency so you guys can see.  Lina hasn't had all the lessons but really wants to get baptized,  so well see what happens..

Other than that, not much new.  We hear about transfers Sunday.  I'm really hoping i don't go anywhere.  

Vamos al agua este sábado!

Élder Chase

Hey,

Things are going alright.  The Setenta (Seventy) Elder Christopher Waddell came on Thursday.  He served in Barcelona, España as a missionary and president.  It was sick.  We're trying really hard to get the casa capilla (house chapel) out here.  I have to fill out a whole bunch of papers and stuff.  I'm basically trying to open a branch...pretty sick! 

We're really working hard with the family Rendón.   The baptismal day is 21 of September.  We're gonna try to get as many in the water as possible, but basically whoever wants it that day, we will baptize and then work to get the rest of the family later.  The dad, Juan Carlos was interested when we told him about when Jesus came to the Americas, so we showed him the testaments.  It was sick.

Hey

I'm pretty sure you guys already have heard, but if not, on Saturday one of the elders in the mission was killed in Cali.  He was eating lunch when a stray bullet hit him in the head.  They took him to the hospital but he either died there or on the way.  His name was Elder E. from the Dominican Republic. He was part of my group, meaning he was in the Bogota MTC with me and showed up to the field at the same time.  I didn't know him too well, but I had talked to him before.  It's very sad.  It made the news.  Apparently the police don't think it was a stray bullet and are interrogating the elders that were with him.  We don't know much else but they're gonna tell us later.

There was another "paro", or roadblock strike.  It's settled down a bit but its still going and the missionaries in Nariño had to stay in their houses for awhile.  Apparently some sister missionaries were in a taxi when people started throwing rocks and stuff at it.  Nothing has really affected Cali though.

On a brighter note, we convinced the hermano who has a small bus to come help us pick up investigators for last Sunday.  We broke my previous church attendance record and got 17.  It was dope.

Elder  Christoffer Waddel of the Seventy is coming Thursday to visit.  It should be sick. 

A pesar de las dificultades, seguimos adelante.  Lo que pasó con el élder fue muy triste, solamente puedo imaginarme como se siente su mamá.  Gracias por todo el apoyo.  Nos vemos en 10.

Élder Chase