Año Bisieto‏

Woo febrero 29! How often does a missionary get to say that? Apart from this extra day of the year confusing some people, this week has been pretty interesting, what with the cambios and whatnot. I'll say now that I was a part of some changes, but so that people actually read the rest of this letter, I'll say what those changes were later.

To make the suspense bigger, let's start with Monday. After writing the last letter, we went as a zone to play some games. We didn't stick with just one, so I don't know if they had names. We did do things like tying balloons to our shoe laces, throw cream pies (I think) in people's faces, and run around in circles before trying to kick a soccer ball. It was interesting. After using the rest of the day cleaning and washing clothes, we went to do some small visits in the evening.

Tuesday morning we thought to go and do some service painting a house. However, when we got there, we found the house already painted. Still, being persistent in being of service, we found something to do: scraping the dried paint off the floor tiles with a butterknife. It was certainly a new service, but it reminded me of cutting lawns with a machete, only on a smaller scale. Service is still service. After that, we went visiting. We visited with a young man named Beymar who is progressing a fair amount in the gospel, reading the Book of Mormon and praying every day. I have high hopes for him, as well for 2 others that are going to be baptized the 12 of March. We also visited a young couple that needs to get married, who are also very excited to be baptized. The only downside is that they want to get married in June. Well, looking on the time table of the Lord, I guess it's not too far away...

Wednesday morning we were expecting to visit with the bishop of Paititi for the first time. Also, since he was out of town for the entire cambio, I was excited to get to know him. However, he canceled on us and I went the whole cambio without meeting the bishop. Don't know how to feel about that. The good news is that we spent the rest of the day visiting people. We contacted a guy that was in our area and were teaching him. We were pretty happy until we realized he doesn't actually live in our area. Woops. We also visiting with some converts, thinking to let E' Fusi say his last goodbyes before learning the cambios that night. And so it was. We got home and learned the cambios.

So, now for the highly awaiting time. First, I have a new companion named E' Quiroga. He is from Buenas Aires, Argentina. He is pretty funny, and shorter than me. Second, E' Fusi stayed in the area of Paititi 1 to start his 6th cambio there. So, where am I? I got switched over to another ward in Trinidad called Mangalitos, the exact other side of the city. As such, the rest of the week I was kind of lost, following my companion and trying to piece together the different parts of my new area. It's not too different from Paititi in the sense that the people live humble, but there isn't as much jungle. Instead, there are more ponds and small lakes. A whole bunch of water.

Other points of interested, it has been constantly raining this week. Every day at least a little, and always cloudy. We've been told it's 'water season' here in the jungle. Unfortunately no one knows when it ends, as I've heard answers ranging from the middle of febrero until the end of May. Normally the rain isn't too bothersome, but Sunday it went crazy. A solid 3 hours of hard rain made it kind of difficult to stay dry, and boots a necessity. We also played futbol Saturday morning as a zone, which was fun.

Love ya'll.

Elder Yates

22/2/16

Well, this was a very strange week for me, and a very uneventful one
to write home about. We really didn't do too much this week
unfortunately, and I'll explain why. Also not too excited about the
cambios this week (spoiler) because E' Fusi has already been here in
Paitití for 5 cambios, so it's very likely he leaves me. Oh well, the
mission moves on.

Monday was exceptionally uneventful, as all we went and played some
fútbol for our activity as a zone, and spent the night visiting some
people. Tuesday was also kind of boring, as we spent a lot of the day
walking as appointments fell through. As we were walking, it started
to rain pretty hard out of nowhere. Luckily I always bring a plastic
bag with me during proselyting, so my scriptures didn't get wet.
(Don't worry, the exciting stuff is coming.)

Wednesday we had some service erecting brick walls. It was fun, and it
started to drizzle on us again. When we finished and were super
exciting to start visiting, we get a call from the ZL that we had to
go to the center of Trinidad to pick up another Elder. It would appear
that the missionaries serving in the other cities of Riberalta and
Guayaramarim come here to do immigrations, so after a slight delay we
started visiting around in a trio. I felt kind of bad for the new
Elder, who came in normal shoes while we where in rain boots, as we
were walking around in the mud. A fun little adventure, but then we
had to go back to the center to drop him off.

Thursday all of our meetings were bigger, because of the 10-something
missionaries that came to join un in Trinidad for a while. After
eating lunch in our area, we had to return once again to the center to
pick up a different Elder to come and join us. A whole bunch of
traveling - as we had to drop him off in the night - but it was kind
of interesting to work in trios again.

So, Friday looked like it was going to be a normal day, full of visits
without having to run to the center. and we were pretty happy. But
then, it all started. First during personal study, the ZL tell us we
have to be home by 7pm the next 2 days and not leave Sunday, which we
were expecting. However, during language study, we get another call
telling us not to leave at all until Monday. And there went all our
plans.

As such, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were spent locked up in our
house. We passed the time cleaning the house, washing clothes, and
reading the scriptures. From the little contact we had with the
outside world, we learned that all of the missionaries in all of
Bolivia were on lock-down because of what happened in La Paz. Google
it if you want to find out more.

And now here we are. A very exciting letter, I know. I think I have
some pictures to send, so woo for something.
Elder Yates

15/2/16

Woo we survived the Carnavales! It was 3 days filled with intense
struggle against the mind to keep sane. Well, maybe not too intense.
We spent the time just chilling, reading the scriptures and watching
movies. Not very exciting to write about, sorry.

The good news is that Wednesday, when we were set free, we went out to
proselyte with renewed eagerness. We managed to keep ourselves
visiting all day long, thus keeping out of trouble - and exciting
adventures. The most exciting part is that three of our investigators
accepted baptism dates for the 12 of March. Two of them are siblings
of a recent converts (Victoria y Santiago) and the third is a little,
old man with many years working out in the fields (Antonio). Super
happy for them.

Thursday morning we had our little zone meeting were we learned all
about what the leaders talked about in the last concilio (counsel). We had to
then head out to the otherside of Trinidad again for another baptismal
interview. Since we didn't have too much else to do, we did spend some
time looking for some references we had recieved and getting to know
the area a bit more. And trying to loose some of that Carnaval weight.

Some of you might remember that last year I was stuck in trio with E'
Padilla and E' Camargo. I might have said this already, but if not,
both of them are with me here in Paititi once again. So, Friday we
went to do an intercambio (exchange) with them. This time I stayed in my area,
and E' Padilla came to visit. We spent most of the time laughing and
stuff. We also got a call that the other Elders in Paititi needed
interviews, so we headed out real quick before getting back to work.
We had a good time, and (hopefully) helped out a bunch of people
spiritually.

After more than a full week, we finally found more service to do
Saturday morning. We did the super exciting task of moving dirt. One
of the people helping happened to be a return missionary from the
Puerto Rico mission, so we talked a bunch about his experiences and
the differences in the missions. When we were visiting in the
afternoon, we found a family that was pretty interesting that lives on
the edge of the jungle. Apparently there is a type of vine that, when
a certain part is touched, burns the skin. The father of said family
had his leg 'burned' pretty badly, but it didn't really bother him too
much. At least to the point of sharing his views and jokes with us.
Very interesting fellow.

Yesterday in Church we learned that next Sunday there won't be Church
because of elections. As my past experiences suggest, we may have to
be locked up next Sunday again. Dang elections. Anyway, we found
another strange family in our travels, consiting of a grandmother and
some nietos (grandchildren). The grandmother was very happy that her nietos learn more
about God, and was somewhat strict about them being present,
listening, and participating in the charla. However, she herself
didn't seem too interested. Very strange the people sometimes.

While this letter bay have been kind of short, I do have some pictures to send.
Elder Yates
With Love

Another Elder using my hammock during Carnaval 

A little project I did during Carnaval (The Aircraft Carrier, not the scripture covers)
 
My results of the Carnavales (4 days of not shaving :)) 

A little gator. Well, its head and hide and least 

My top part on the hammock 

My bottom part on the hammock, working hard during carnaval

carnaval

Well it looks like we got some time to send out our last will before
the madness begins. I don't really have much to write about, but I do
have some pictures to send. They will come this time.

The week passed by super fast. Not sure what happened, as we all
thought that it would be a long week because of the waiting. It all
started Monday where we went and cooked hamburgers and played ping
pong together as a zone. We also met a reference we were given,
Beymar, who is a good guy. He played profesional soccer, but then
stopped because I don't know. He's super interested in the gospel, and
the best part is we've visited with him several times already.

When we were doing service Tuesday morning, it started to rain hard.
As such, our service changed from cleaning up the lawn of the family
to putting up raingutters. It was interesting. Luckily, by the time we
finished installing the gutters and heading home, the rain stopped.
But the streets were already flooded, so that was fun. It also rained
Wednesday. And Thursday. And Friday. It hasn't rained yet today, but
we'll see.

After more service Wednesday, we did a little intercambio. Since my
whole district is in the same ward (aside from the Sisters), not much
time was used in travel. We did, however, take a long walk out to a
little aisalated community to preach a while. When we were out there
teaching, it started to rain super hard. We started outside, but
quickly had to move inside the little house, where I still got a
little wet sitting in the doorway. It rained super hard for over
20min. Needless to say, we were very glad we were wearing boots.

Apart from all the rain Thursday, it was a pretty normal day. Because
of all the rain, the people didn't want to leave their houses, so we
got some good exercise in. Friday as well. However, we did get a
little more adventuras Friday, as our planned route brought us out to
the farlands of our area. For info to be given with the fotos. And
Today, not much has happened. The only thing of note is that we, as
the entire zone, got up early this morning to go and play futbol on a
large field. (As a house, we got up to play 2 or 3 days I think.)
Because running kind of sucks, I just played goalie. But a good
goalie.

Love,
Elder Yates

Some stuffed pigs that we wanted to (but didn't) eat. 
We took the picture a while ago, but just now it's getting sent. Sorry.



After a whole bunch of rain, these 2 rainbows (not sure if you can see the second one in the picture) appeared. They disappeared pretty quickly too. 



 There's a little river in our area, and we found this cool little spot to take pictures.



 The trail that we were taking to contact. 

To one side is the little river from photo 3, and to the other side there are some houses.



 The other side of the trail from photo 4. There were some cows blocking our way, but they scrammed pretty quickly when we passed by.



 Here in South America there is something called mate, which is basically a cup filled with water and ground leaves and sticks that is drunk through a special straw. Technically mate is with hot water, but I perfer with cold water (tereré). Essencially herbal tea.



 Part of the jungle



 Evidence that we were there in the jungle of photo 7



 A tree in the jungle. We wanted to do some fun stuff, but time was short and the mosquitos were many.



 In Trinidad, it is common to have giant water tanks, that supposedly help distribute water to the neighborhoods. I wouldn't know. I do know, however, that they can be climbed, and are pretty high up. A good perch to seek out those investigators.



 Another view from the same water tower of photo 10



 'Selfie' from the water tower of photo 10, evidence that I was there.

Febrero

Woo first day of febrero! Hard to believe how fast time flies. It's already the month of the Bolivian Carnavales. This year (since the exact date changes) the craziness shall be this next Monday, so we'll probable be locked up again from Saturday until Wednesday. Nothing is completely confirmed just yet, but I'm guessing it'll be así (so). Maybe we'll be able to write home Saturday like last year, but if not, don't get freaked out if I don't write next Monday; It's because we'll be trying to survive the locura (madness).

With that great news, this last week was super good. I'm getting to know the jungle bit by bit (yes, we sometimes go out there, but not often) and all that it brings. I've seen some beautiful things, from trees and plants to native artwork. Especially since last Monday we went as a zone to a little museum that talked about the ancient cultures of Beni. It was pretty cool, and se saw some cool artisan work. Also on Monday, since we had a little extra time of P-day, we went and played some fussball. And I have to say, latinos are good at more than just football with their feet...

Something super bueno about Beni is that people are more receptive to service, so Tuesday we went to cut the lawn of a family with the good ol' Bolivian lawnmower. We also had to deal with a little swarm of petos that, apparently, wanted to make their hive by the house, so we cleared those little pests out. And, this time, we escaped unscathed. Then, in the afternoon, we had to go out to the otherside of Trinidad because a companionship was going to have some baptisms, and I (their DL) had to give some baptismal interviews. It was a little weird doing interviews again after some time, but it was nice to get to know more of the city. It's a pretty good size, but nowhere near the size of Santa Cruz.

As I said before, we do more service here. Wednesday morning we went to help a family move some more bricks and destroying more of the broken house. We find some pretty cool bugs, spiders, and snakes in the rubble. And no, nothing bad happened here either. That night we were also visiting a family that needs to be married before getting baptized. We had a super powerful lesson, and we had great hopes that they would put a marriage date. (When we returned later in the week, they hadn't, so we talked a bit more and left them the challenge again with more ánimo (energy)) We also got to know the president of the SocSoc (Relief Society) and ate ourselves full before returning home. A good day.

If it wasn't for the District Meeting Thursday, I think that we might've had more service. But we didn't, so we went about visiting as normal. At long last we got to know a less active member that we were trying to meet for a few weeks, and he seems like he really wants to return to the Church. We also had a little Video night in the chapel to invite people. There was a decent turnout. Much better than the English class that we were supposed to have Friday night, which we had to cancel because not even the person with the keys showed up. Oh well, we instead passed by a party one of the Church organizations had going on to see if any new people showed up, and to get some food (not entirely on purpose the second part, but I won't complain).

Saturday morning we once again had more service. Again we went to clean out weeds and stuff, but this time without the machete, just with our hands. Luckily we only found ants and a frog this time. We also had some spare, broken down dressers and bed frames in our house. Instead of just throwing them out, we donated them. Score one for us on cleaning out the house without adding more mess to the streets. Since next week is Carnaval, we decided to fast this weekend. The good news is that it wasn't hot at all. In fact, we didn't even see the sun. It was a rainy and cloudy weekend. It rained pretty hard for algunos (about) 20min Saturday afternoon, and then just sprinkled the rest of the weekend. Even now it continues, but should soon let up.

It's super cool serving in Trinidad, as the people are very receptive, the scenery is very beautiful, and there is rain and mud. 

Love ya'll lots,

Elder Yates

va a disculpar que no los envié la otra semana, pero aquí están ahora.

(I'm sorry I didn't send these last week, but here they are now)

Yo y mi compañero, E' Fusi, con la flor Patujú

(Me and my companion E'Fusi with the Patujú flower)

I also sent him a warning letter about the Zika virus that has been in the news letting him know he should be using bug spray to avoid the virus and this was his response:

The other day in Montero we were talking with a less active that is older (80's) that was telling us how all these new diseases were made by drug companies so that their pills would sell. While not quite related, this email reminded me about said conversation. Luckily I have yet to get dengue, chikungunya, nor zika, even when my companions and room mates have. I plan on continuing the trend. I wished him luck in this goal of his.

25/1/16

And so my first full week in the Jungle has ended. It was a pretty good week, and would like to take a little time to explain my new situation.

While the temperature isn't actually too high (no more than 100 I'd say) here, one really feels the sun. We're just constantly sweating in every moment, whether we're walking or sitting. It's only strange for the first day or two, then it just becomes life. I think i'm starting to enjoy it. There isn't too much wind (almost nothing) and the week was nice and sunny without clouds. I'm told that it should rain this week, but hopefully it doesn't last too long; I need to tan a bit more.

The people here also live pretty humble, in that the majority of the houses are just wooden panels nailed on top of each other. Also pretty common here are houses made of stacked sticks. Sometimes the people slap on cement to stick them together more, and sometimes no. However, the vast majority of people also have their personal motorcycle, a big fridge, their nice TV, and the latest touchscreen phone. Sometimes humanity amazes me.

After writing last week, we went to play some sports before going shopping and the like. I met some new people, super buenos. Since there are 6 of us living in the same house, we all got up early Tuesday morning to play some fútbol in a nearby field. We also had some service after study, where we were asked to haul bricks from one place to another. It seems like the other week the zone (of missionaries) knocked down an old, abandoned house, and the neighbors wanted those bricks. I think it was legal, but we never brought that part up. We only did what they asked. What nice people these missionaries!

After the game and the service and all the walking (since our area is very big) around from Tuesday, Wednesday we were a little tired. We also had a small missionary capacitacion (training). It was the first world-wide missionary training for more than 12ish years (I think, don't remember too well) and we received 2 hours of training from the Church Leaders. Super bueno. We then had a good rest of the day, getting to know the people better. Thursday was then used (without really wanting to) to get to know the area, and we walked from one end to the other and then back. The interesting news is that we found a guy that lived in the States for a while, and wanted us to teach in English so that he could practice. It was really weird trying to give a lesson in English after so long, and pretty funny afterwards as we talked about how it went.

Before Thursday ended, we got invited to eat some BBQ. Naturally, we couldn't turn it down. We slept happy. Friday morning we also got talked into going to play more fútbol in the morning. It's fun, but a little tiring. We spent the day visiting, and ended the day with a small English class in the chapel. It's pretty funny to see Bolivians try to speak English, and then I remember how I was for my first while in Bolivia, and then it gets even funnier. For the first time in a long while, I have a companion that also went through the same fun times so we could laugh together. I made sure to take a picture this week of E' Fusi, so ya'll can see him (Unfortunately, E'Yates didn't send the picture home). He's super funny and super friendly.

Saturday we got up early again to play fútbol. Maybe one day I'll get to sleep in again (I doubt it; we got up early today to play as well). We also went to the feria de Pompeya (an outdoor market), which is basically a super smaller version of the Kumabi in Santa Cruz. We went because E' Fusi needs new shoes, and so that I could get to know it a bit. Unfortunately we didn't find any shoes for my companion since the people here have such small feet. We did, however, talk to a friend of the missionaries to see what can be down to obtain a hammock, since those are all the rage around here. It seems like even the poorest of people here have a makeshift hammock. Why lose out on the culture here?

Life is super out here, and the people are also very receptive.

Much loves,

Elder Yates

Cambios

Well, this past week was the cambios (transfers) for the mission. We learned the changes Monday night and by noon Tuesday the cambios were done for almost all the missionaries in the city of Santa Cruz and Montero. Only the changes of missionaries out in Beni were done later in the week. For all those curious, I did have cambio this time, in that I am no longer in Montero. In fact, I'm not even in the department (state) of Santa Cruz now. I got moved out to a place called Paititi in Trinidad, the capital of Beni. Yes, I finally got out to the jungle. I'm also district leader again. Woo!

Like I said earlier, Monday night we were informed that the cambios were ready, so we rushed to print them out and get ready for the changes. Tuesday morning we headed out with 2 cars to drop off the oldies and pick up the newbies from Santa Cruz. However, one of the cars broke down on the highway, so we had to return to pick them up and keep moving on with only one car. We were able to drop off the 2 oldies and their bags without any space problem, but we had to do some fancy tricks so that the 3 newbies and all their stuff would fit in so we could head back to Montero. It took some work, but we did it. We were then able to use the rest of the day working normally.

Not sure if I mentioned this before, but there is a small branch like 80min to the west (I think I said to the north last time; my bad) that the Elders from anther ward were visiting. Well, when we commented to President Zambrano that we had found a suitable house for the Elders, the branch got their own companionship. The only problem is that the house was bare. So, Wednesday morning, we had to drive out there in the back of a truck hauling beds, closets, tables, chairs, and other things for the house. We left our house at 9 in the morning to pick stuff up and head out. We got back home just after 1. In the trip back, we got a call from the mission secretary telling us that my carnet de extranjero (visitor's card that all foreigners have to carry) had to be picked up by my person before my flight to Trinidad. We got the call at 1:30; the office closes at 3; and my flight was for 7:45 in the morning the next day. We ran to Santa Cruz and got to where the office was at about 2:40, only to learn that the office had moved. We then ran to the new location, but when we got there they told us it was already closed. After a little chat, they let us pass. Then, when we got to the counter to pick up the carnet, they told us the time to pick up cards was until 2. A little more talking and we were finally able to walk out with my carnet in hand.

After the craziness in the morning and afternoon, we though to work calmly in our little temporal (temporary) trio for my last night in Montero, but then it decided to rain alot, so that was fun. In the early morning Thursday we headed out to the airport so I could check in and await my trip to Trinidad. It was to be 2 flights of about 40min each one, first to Cochabamba and then to Trinidad.

 La mayoria son de la avion (The majority (of the pictures this week) are from the plane)

 

I was joined by 2 other Elders heading to Trinidad, and the first flight passed without any problem. However, our second flight got postponed because of poor weather conditions in Trinidad. At first, it only got delayed an hour (10:30), but when that hour passed, it was announced that the flight would be cancled until 8pm. So, we got to know a bit more the airport of Cochabamba. We would have left to see if we could've found the temple, but we were told not to. Oh well. Luckily the weather in Trinidad improved a bit, so we could lave at 4:30pm instead of at 8. When we got to Trinidad we saw why the flight was delayed: a whole bunch of rain water everywhere.

Thursday night I got to meet my new companion, Elder Fusi. He was born in California, but his parents were born in Tonga. I havn't actually taken a picture yet, so ya'll can't see him this week. He's super funny and has already been in the mission for a year. The area of Paititi is also super beautiful, with lots of plant live - and lots of dirt and mud. Friday we were able to work normally and help me get to know the area. Saturday and Sunday were also spent getting to know the area bit by bit. I don't have any super crazy stories just yet (except when we had to try to pass a flooded street to get to a visit) but some should be coming soon.

una es una calle en Paititi que tuvimos que cruzar (a street in Paitit we had to cross)

With loves,

Elder Yates

*A little more info shared in other emails*

Yes, E' Fusi speaks English. I perfer speaking spanish, but the fact that our house of 6 missionaries includes 4 English speakers (one of which has only a little bit of time in the mission) gives way to plenty of opportunities to speak English instead of Spanish. The six of us of the house are in Paititi, and the zone consists of 5 wards and 1 branch, with a total of 12 companionships, 3 of which are sister missioneries

una otra es con el tejon de una familia que visitamos

(One other picture is of the badger (?) of one of the families we visited)