Weekly Jig...July 20, 2015

What a wonderful week!!  Tuesday, Elder Lince went home and I received my new companion, Elder Jorgensen!  He is from Willard, Utah and has one more transfer in the mission than I do!  He is a little taller than I am and we definitely stick out in our area!  Part of our area is very nice and looks like a downtown scene with small houses and very small front yards but the other part of our area is very different!  Dirt streets and kids playing soccer in the street yelling phrases that definitely don't make sense and bad words they don't understand but hear in movies!!  I have never had the guts to do it but sometimes my companion will yell at them in English and they just quit talking real quick because they don't understand!  Haha I laugh sometimes because my companion talks so loud in the street and it just makes even more people look our way but whatever!  I guess it comes with the skin color!! (that wasn't a racist joke or anything so quit laughing... :) This week we were able to work super good!!  We had lots of lessons and a couple of the people we have been teaching came to church because we were really able to find things they needed to fix in their lives!  They are twins (about 44 years old) and live separate but do lots of things together (named Magolina and Elicenia).  Magolina is divorced (her husband who was a bishop here a while ago left her for another lady) and  has 3 daughters, one is a returned missionary, and her other two daughters are less actives.  Elicenia isn't married but watches a little girl in her house.  It is interesting and I have come to learn more than anything this week the importance of chastity.  We are also teaching a couple of Recent Converts (Sanchez Family) who moved here from Santa Marta.  The mom (Joanna) is 35 years old and her husband is in jail in Cartagena.  She has 3 kids and her oldest daughter is 16 living with a 32 year old! They aren't married and that is the reason they are living here.  We sure taught them the Law of Chastity real direct but... they still didn't commit to live it.. (welcome to Colombia because it isn't the first time it has happened and not the only hard commandment.) So many of these families don't have a dad living in their house, many have large families with small incomes, and the kids just keep doing the same thing their parents did (maybe they need a tv or something else to occupy their time....) and it just gets worse and worse.  I know the family is the most important unit our Father in Heaven has given us and I am grateful for mine.  I know the family, when based on the principles our Savior taught us, can be an eternal family.  I hope to be able to apply the principles I am learning in my future family and I know that it is all based on our willingness to be obedient to ALL the commandments and work really, really hard for what we want!  I love you all and hope you have the greatest week ever!!

Love, Elder Slack