Sunday, July 22, 2012

Pictures





Noche de Talentos

Hola!
 
So this Saturday was a Noche de Talentos in our ward. It was quite fun! Paola, an 11 year-old recent convert, wanted me to sing a duet with her from High School Musical. That is not really missionary appropriate, so we sang "I hope the call me on a mission" in English. We sang it was a country song (we received the idea from the RM soundtrack). Elder Cuevas played a guitar and Elder Dixon played the violin. Paola, Elder Rockwood, and I sang with some small cowboy choreography. It was a last minute thing, but we weren´t too terrible. It was a lot of fun. There were some really good acts. Aaron, a two year old, danced Michael Jackson for 10 minutes. It was AMAZING! The Relief Society did a really funny dance, dressed like old ladies. We had several investigators that enjoyed the evening!

At the beginning of this week I was praying really hard for a miracle to start off the new companship well. On Wednesday that miracle came. Right as we ended district meeting a couple and a young woman entered the capilla to ask us about English class. As it turns out the man is a menos activo member who wants to return to the church. The wife and step-daughter are not members but are interested in learning about the Gospel. Later in the week we had our first visit with them. They are a great family! When we invited the step daughter to be baptized, she accepted! Also during the visit we met 3 other friends who are interested! This was just the miracle we needed to start off the transfer. Heavenly Father always answers righteous desires!

¡Hasta luego!
 
Love,
Elder Buchkovich

Priesthood Blessings

Hola!
 
Well we had a suprise baptism this weekend! Alejandro was baptized a week early. It is incredible how much faith he has. He bore his testimony during Elders´ Quorum. He challenged everyone to keep strengthening their own testimonies and endure to the end. It was amazing!
 
We experienced another miracle as a result of prayer. We have a family that, due to difficult circumstances, usually only meets with us in a park. On Wednesday evening we knew that we would, by chance, be passing by that park, so we stopped and said a quick prayer, asking God for the family to be there and also to find a new family to teach. As we passed through the park, sure enough our family was there! And with them was one of their friends and her family! We invited both families to come to a ward noche de hogar on Friday. They came! The members welcomed them well, and they enjoyed the noche de hogar! I really have no doubt that Heavenly Father answers prayers when they are righteous desires.
 
Elder Tayler was a phenomonal missionary! He worked hard up to the end. I am so glad to have been his companion. My new companion, Elder Cuevas, is just as wonderful. Elder Cuevas was actually already here in Valencia. He was in the other area, but now he is with me. He was transferred across piso. haha. I am quite excited to work with him and see the miracles that are to come! He is super humble and open to the Spirit. Despite the Spanish name, he is American. He´s from Utah (my first Utahrd companion in over a year!). His dad is Mexican, hence the last name. Fun story, more than a year ago he spent is first day in the mission field with Elder Manotas and me.
 
Back in Burgos, I prayed to find two more Bolivian families to baptize before going home (By now you all know that I love Bolivians). Shortly after arriving in Valencia, the high priest group leader told me about two families that he wants to introduce to the church. Tomorrow we will finally have a noche de hogar with them. I am super excited. They could be my two families!
 
We gave little Iker a blessing on Saturday. It was quite a special experience to imagine that I, someone who is alive due to the priesthood blessing I received as a baby, was able to bless another young baby. Hopefully someday Iker will hold the priesthood and do the same. We visited him yesterday and the change was impressive. On Saturday he was very mellow and cried when we came too close. Yesterday he was alert, cheerful and playful. The doctors say that he keeps improving. Priesthood blessing are impressive!
 
¡Hasta luego!
 
Love,
Elder Buchkovich
 

Monday, July 2, 2012

Snow in Valencia

¡Hola!
 
Well the past few days it has been "snowing" ash in Valencia. There is a forest fire about 30-45 minutes outside of Valencia. You can even smell it here! (I do miss the smell of campfires) Sadly the fire is where we were just last weekend for the service project. All the members are really worried because is beautiful out there. It rained a little yesterday so I think that helped. Several of the members bore testimony during sacrament that they were praying for rain early Sunday morning and later in the morning it rained! I just love it when God answers prayers!
 
This week we witnessed a milagrazo! Alejandro is an old investigator who had a fecha bautismal. However due to work, he disappeared before he could get baptized. On Tuesday we had a visit planned fairly far from the capilla with another investigator. That visit, however, was cancelled just as we started walking towards it. Thus, we decided to pass by some other people near the capilla. Conveniently a recent convert called us to drop off food for us at the capilla. So, we decided to go to the capilla to meet him there. We arrived first, and as we waited we noticed a man come and sit on the bench outside the capilla (nothing too abnormal). Right after the man arrived, our recent convert came with the food. The man stopped him and started to talk to him. We immediately jumped up and ran out the capilla to talk to this man too. This man was Alejandro. He just returned to Valencia and felt like he should go to the capilla. We had a visit with him right then and set a new fecha with him! It is no coincidence that our visit fallar-ed and we were at the capilla when we were. God put us at the right spot at the right time so that He could lead His son, Alejandro, to us.
 
Maye, who was baptized several months ago, invited us over for an eating visit. She also invited her sister´s family, who are not members. Right before the visit our "third man" was called in to work. Thus we did not have a man to be able to enter. So they invited two men from the street to come eat. As it turns out the one man has a brother who is a member. And he is interested in hearing more about the church. It was really fun, though, eating with two complete strangers. That truly was one of those "only in the mission" moments. haha!
 
¡Hasta luego!
 
Love,
Elder Buchkovich