Bueno, the biggst and most obvious thing to talk about from this last week was the 185th General Conference. We got the priviledge to watch 4 of the sessions (the priesthood session plays too late here) these past two days. And, I'm happy to note, we even managed to go and have some ice cream after a Saturday session. It may not be a Blizzard after Priesthood, but it's the best we can do down here. We practically spent the whole weekend in the Stake center since our area is a good distance away and made traveling not much more than a waste of time. The good news is that the benches arn't too bad and is one of the few buildings that actually has AC. Not that we really need AC right now, as it is (finally) cooling down a little. We also managed to find the Conference in English, which we enjoyed to it's fullness - except when the talkers gave their talk in Spanish; then we changed the channel. I can honestly say that, no matter the language, the talks are best in the original language.
While I don't have the time, ability, nor desire to talk about the Conference in its entirely, I'll share a few little notes. First, there was much calling to repentance, especially about the use of cellphones. Interestingly enough, the harshness in English was toned down a little in the Spanish translations. Second, there seems to have been objections in the Sustaining of the Authorities, which I've been told is the first time since the 80's I think. On a side note, a few of the General Authorites looked a little worse for wear. Third, one of the Twelve didn't give a talk this Conference, unusual because, if I remember correctly, all of them always give a talk (I won't tell you who didn't talk; let that be a little scavenger hunt for ya'll if you didn't notice). All in all, certainly a memerable Conference.
Anyway, the week was pretty interesting for us, especially as it was the Semana Santa (Easter Week). As such, people were a little more receptive than normal. Especially in viernes santo (Good Friday) we did significantly less walking than other days. I did manage to gleam a little insights into the largely Catholic traditions around these parts for this time. Apparently this is the great time of fish eating, with all the little tiendas (stores) proclaiming their selling of different fishes, due to the tradition of not eating read meats. And, as I thought before, it is also the time to do one's semi-yearly reconciliation with God in church, as we got many people telling us they already had plans to attend their church this weekend.
In an attempt to avoid bashing on other churches, let's just say that a few other churches also get pretty excited during this season and send out people to proclaim their doctrine. Luckily they tend to avoid us for the most part, but every once in a while things get a little interesting - a situation I had hoped to avoid by not going to the Bible belt. Ah well, I guess mankind really isn't too different when it comes to personal beliefs across nations. However, it really gets interesting when, while visiting with an investigator, another preacher passes by the house and tries to get our attention, and the investigator then proceeds to attack him. That may have happened to us a time or two this week...
We started eating lunch with a different family this week, and I'm not to sure if they'll post pictures (Sorry Mom) but I'll see what I can do. We're also planning on moving houses this week, so I might include some bonus photos en cambio (of the transfer).
Muy lovingly,
Elder Yates
No comments:
Post a Comment