Sayago Montevideo Uruguay - June 25th 2012

Hi All,

Yesterday, we went to look for Joel during the second hour of church... He lives an hour walk away so we took the bus and went and clapped and clapped and threw rocks at his door. Nothing. It was a depressing bus ride back to the church. We talked to him that night. He'd gone to the ferria to gather food, because he'd run out.... My counsel to the world is let us be sure that we are not so busy that we cannot hear the Spirit. He will come and knock, but he will not throw rocks at you nor shout. We must be constantly aware of the Spirit and cautious that we are not neglecting His promptings. If we do, he won't be coming around as much...

However despite that setback, Joel is progressing nicely. We were going to baptise him this saturday the 30th but President has specifically asked our ward to do baptisms on sundays, the reason being that our church is considerably outside of the ward boundaires and our attendance on Sunday as it is are nothing to brag about. Therefore, in order to have people come to baptisms, we do them on Sundays directly after sacrament meeting. That said, it's been close to 6 or 8 months since Sayago has had a baptism so....VAMOS ARRIBA!!! :D I'm more than a little bit stoked about Joel's baptism. He needs the help, and the ward is already coming together to help him.  With the added blessings of the gift of the Holy Ghost, I think he's going to change his situation very very soon. Luna, the 8 soon-to-be 9 year-old, is doing great as well and she will be baptised this coming Sunday as well. Carlos and Iria are....old. :) They are struggling to understand and they are still waiting on the okay from the surgeon for carlos to be out and about. So....We'll see what July brings. Eesh, is it really already july? Fa....crazy.


My companion is  a convert of like 12 years and he's the only active member in his family. His dad is inactive and the rest of his family is anti.... It's tough I know, which adds to the greater need for compassion.


As for BBQ....I'll take some pictures of an asado sometime and perhaps of the local butcher shops. Perhaps not. :) Speaking of food... I made meatloaf with my bare hands yesterday. That was a trip. The family forgot they had lunch with us, even though we CALLED the night before so when we showed up they were like crud! So we asked if we could help and they said sure and I made fruit salad and then I made meatloaf, which they actually used to make homemade hamburgers and we had fried beef stakes and fried potatoes. I didn't even get to eat what i made...Where is the justice in that??   I've been watching my intake lately and I'm doing really well. I've upped my work out routine and I stop eating after a plate or two to see if I'm really full. Usually I am, so I'm eating about a quarter or a third less than I used to. Looks like my metabolism is slowing down. That's okay though, because I'm not getting fat. Most of the members in Montevideo like to do fruit for dessert too which helps a bunch and I'm refusing fried foods whenever I can. Gotta watch those trans fats!! 


Weather wise, it's been pleasant this entire week. Sun, slight breezes, moderate temperatures. I cruised around today for a little while in just a short sleeve shirt. I've only been sporting a sweater and I usually have to take it off after bout 20 minutes of walking. I wish it would stay like this all winter long... we'll see what happens.

On Wednesday and Thursday, we did divisons with the Zone Leaders which was fun. I'm really happy I get along with them. THEY HAVE CARPET!!!! It's insane! I still didn't walk around barefoot but CARPET! It's spectacular!

Anyway, that was pretty much my week. It's been going a lot better, because I'm focusing on charity, patience and looking how I can keep us rolling along without problems and on time.

Chau
Elder Andy