Pioneer Days
Well, this past week was insane!!!
For those of you who know about Pioneer Days in the south, you know that it does happen, there is an event, but I am here to tell you it is NOTHING like it is here. It is bigger than it is in Utah here in the San Luis Valley. Thursday, Friday and Saturday we had events going on. They had carnival rides which we were able to ride by approval from our Mission President. They were so much fun! We were actually able to get tickets because of a guy we had ran into a few days prior at the store. Turns out he ran all the carnival rides so he was able to get us all day passes for free!!! Perks of talking to everyone! Haha. We had a large booth set up for family history. We handed out about 60-70 copies of the Book of Mormon in those three days, it was incredible! We were able to talk to members and non-members alike. It was incredible to be able to help people come closer to Christ. We invited people to read the Book of Mormon, we invited others to write their testimonies in the front cover and give it to a friend before the end of the month. This was such an incredible experience. The small town of Manassa went from 1000 people to roughly 10,000!!! We were also able to teach some people of another faith about what we believed. Some of them were just trying to argue with us but we kept the conversation going because there were 2 individuals who were interested in what we had to say and were not arguing with us. We got their phone numbers are staying in contact with them. There was a rodeo and we were able to watch the rodeo and watch a demolition derby. Alex, the guy who I really admire, entered one of his cars into the derby and we were able to ride on the back of the car into the grand entry by approval of our Zone Leaders.
Oh yeah, my new companion's name is Elder Tillman from Washington. He is very cool and I am very excited to begin helping him to fulfill his purpose. He came in at just the right time for all these festivities. I hope he realizes that this past weekend is not what normal missionary work is like. :P Oh well, he is doing very well and adjusting very well. I can't wait to watch him grow and learn how to best invite and help others come closer to Christ. We will be moving to a new place tomorrow, I will take picture of both places and send them next week.
The spiritual thought this week is very short. Remember the Pioneers and what they did for us all so that this gospel can be here on the earth today. Despite all the persecution, they were able to stay strong in the faith and listen to the commandments of God. I would invite you all to watch this video. Thank you for all the support and prayers.
I love you all, hope you have a wonderful week.
https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2010-07-119-our-pioneer-legacy?lang=eng