Week 29

Trace only emailed a few people this week due to limited time, so here are parts from the family email:

Conference was super great and I understood a lot actually. I really enjoyed a lot of the talks this time! 

Mostly my companions eat cereal - I´m cheap and it's expensive haha! But we eat well,  don´t worry! I´m a missionary so I am always exhausted, but I´m alright... I am surviving haha! That's great all the news about the kids! 

I am excited to get a new area! I will miss the people here, but I feel like I am needed else where now. 

Don´t have a lot of time to write today so, I´ll just give you an update of everything next week. We went to the temple today so now we are kinda pressed for time, but it was an awesome experience and I actually learned a lot even in Spanish! I also read my Patriarchal Blessing in the Celestial room so that was super great! Don't worry about me! I'm doing great! Love y'all!

Love,

Elder Cole

Week 28

This week was super good! We ended up having a conference with our mission president, and another zone came to our church to join us for the conference! It was super great to get to talk and meet some of the other missionaries in the mission! We also got to talk to our mission president and that´s always super cool! He´s a super great guy, and I just really learn a lot and feel a lot more excited for the mission work when we get the chance to talk to him!

Also this week we saw a few of the members of the ward come to church for the first time in like 30 years! I almost died when they walked in, because I honestly thought I would never see them come back to church! It was such an awesome Sunday!

We also had a girl come back to church this week (finally), and she seemed really excited to be back. We have been visiting her to try and help her get the courage to come back to church even if her parents wouldn´t. And yesterday all our hard work paid off!

I love the mission and the work we are doing! I am also super excited for General Conference this week! It will be different for sure to listen to it for the first time in Spanish, but I´m just excited to hear the words of living prophets! I just love General Conference, and I really wonder what I will learn this time! We talk to people everyday about the church and the blessing it is to have a living prophet and living apostles, and this week we can learn about the Gospel straight from their mouths!

Love ya´ll! Hope ya have a great week!

 

Love,

Elder Cole

 

Parts from the family email:

 

Hey Ma! It's all good here! My Spanish is pretty good. All the other missionaries say I speak pretty well, but I'm still working on the accent. All the white guys tell me that it´ll come with time, so I´m just waiting for it haha!

 

No, none of us are really good at singing, but if the ward asks us to do something we do it! Haha! The other guy that looks like me is from Sandy Utah and he´s been out for like 13 months or something like that.

 

Tell Grandma Cox I love her! Hope she is doing better!

 

I also need more Spanish CTR rings cause I´m giving them out.

 

You´ll have to send me a picture when you get the pigs! We are planning on having a baptism the 8th of April. That´ll be my last Saturday in Las Piedras. We had interviews with President Eddy this week and he told me that I will be leaving the area after this change. I´ll be in another part of Uruguay by the 12th.

 

I´m doing good! I enjoy it here. My shoes are alright now.... I fixed them ;)  

This week was good... normal.... we did manage to get four investigators in church yesterday and three less active members that haven´t been to church in years so that was really cool! Hey I saw on the news at an investigators house that something is going on in Britain, but I couldn´t watch it.... what was going on? Was it a terrorist attack? Hope ya´ll are doing well! Love ya! That´s so cool that Brenton was the Most Valuable Wrestler! He just needs to keep his grades up! Haha! Love ya!

Love,

Elder Cole

Photo credit to Bro Wankier

 

Week 27

This week was good! I forgot to say last week, I finished six months of my mission! That's kinda crazy cause I feel like I just got here Haha! But I'm loving it here!

This week while we were walking on a dirt road kinda in the middle of nowhere, we came up on a guy that was half laying in the street and half in the weeds. We almost just walked by, but then I started thinking about the story of the Good Samaritan in the Bible, and so we ended up stopping to talk to him. When we started to talk to him, he really didn't respond much. He was just clutching his head in pain. We ended up talking to him for a couple of minutes, and we couldn't get him to tell us anything. He just kept yelling weird things and saying he could see other people.... We ended up leaving him (nicely) because we think he was drunk and just out of his mind! 

Also this week we sang to the Relief Society in our ward! They asked us if we could sing something special for an activity they had, but they told us we couldn't sing a hymn.... We sang "Mujeres" by Ricardo Arjona. It was awful, but they enjoyed it! Haha!

We are doing good work here! There are ups and downs in the mission for sure, but I'm loving it! Hope ya'll are doing well!

 

Love,

Elder Cole

 

Parts from the family email:

 

Hey Ma! Yeah the weather is pretty much what I thought.... I just didn´t know what humidity was until I got here! Haha! My companion is really relaxed so we get along well. Yeah I like the FHE nights, it was just kinda rough to start cause we don´t get a lot of support from the ward, but now we are starting to get some more people.

 

We pretty much baptized all the good investigators we had, so now we are just working with other people. We have one guy that just has to come to church one more time and we will baptize him. His name is Carlos. He was a cop a long time ago and a grenade blew up in his face and he lost an eye, but he´s super cool. He´s like 84!

 

My Echos are doing well, but my other shoes are a little rough... I´ll send pictures next week!  Haha! That´s awesome that Brayden and Misty will be able to stay in KC! Love ya´ll! 

Love,

Elder Cole

 

 

6 month tie-burning

Week 26 - Six month mark TODAY!!!

This week was exhausting. We left almost every day a little early from our house to get to lessons that we had planned, and then we would get home almost as late as we could at night. I´m really enjoying the work, and I have never been so tired but happy at the same time!

This week we had a ward activity that we are in charge of, and it was actually really good. I think the members really enjoyed it!

We also had the chance to teach the primary this past Sunday... It´s been a while since I´ve been in primary, but I don´t remember it like this. It was insane! I appreciate primary teachers so much more now haha!

We are really talking to all kinds of people here and it´s great!  Right now we are teaching a guy that is on parole or something, because he told us that he can´t leave his house at night and the cops stop by every night to make sure he´s there... It´s good for us because we always know where to find him haha! I don´t have the guts to ask him why he went to jail... I kinda don´t want to know. Haha!

We also had a lesson fall through because the son of this lady that is coming to church got bit by some kind of bug, and had a worm growing in his arm from his wrist to his shoulder.... I had no idea there was things like that here. Haha.

The days are starting to go by super fast and I´m loving every moment of it! I just learn something new everyday! Hope all is well at home! I´m praying for ya! Don´t worry, the Uruguayos keep me updated about Donald Trump! Haha! Love ya´ll! 

Love,

Elder Cole

 

 

 

A little bit from the family email:

 

Hey Ma! Yeah I think that my mission has actually gone by really fast!  I was thinking about burning a tie.... My companion and I are going to celebrate a little cause he just completed 18 months in the mission a few days ago.  I knew you would freak with the pictures of my sunburn! Haha! I wear my hat everyday when there is sun. I just got burnt because for like three days because there was rain in the morning and sun later, so I was totally exposed. 

 

This week was a lot of work. We are just working like dogs.... We leave the house almost every day earlier than we are supposed to because we have to walk 30 minutes to get to the lesson. Then we teach and just walk to our next lesson and teach and then do it again! We walked like 45 minutes Sunday morning before church to pick up an investigator and she didn´t even come to the door to reject us. We knocked and called her for like 15 minutes before we finally just left.

 

I am really enjoying the work. We have been spending more time with the rest of our zone on Pdays so that´s nice to get to know other missionaries.  These pictures are from the 3rd family home evening we had as a ward. More or less the missionaries are in charge, and this time we had like 30 people so it was really good! Love ya´ll!!!

Love, 

Elder Cole

 

That is not Trace, but Trace said everyone calls them twins.

 

Week 25

This week was really nice. My new companion is Elder Sarkady from Provo, Utah! He has been out here for 18 months so he´s on the downhill slide. He is pretty cool and we get along well! His Spanish is pretty good so it gives me hope maybe someday I won't talk like such a white guy! Haha!

 

This week we ran into a bishop from another ward here in Uruguay. We talked to him for a little while and then he showed us one of his hobbies.... he uses make-up to change his face to look like Michael Jackson and then he dresses up and performs lip-singing.... He has a bunch of videos on YouTube and it looks like he is pretty good at all the dance moves! Haha!

 

This week I had the chance to show my companion around our area and introduce him to some of the members. It´s really interesting the bond that I have started to build with the people here! I just feel like a part of Uruguay now... still struggle speaking Spanish and I am still sunburnt all the time, but I have so many friends here and I have come to love the people in Uruguay and the missionaries from other countries that I have had the chance to serve with! Love ya´ll! You´re in my prayers!

Love,
Elder Cole


Parts of the family email:

This week we had another baptism! This time it was for Lucia, the sister of Rodrigo! She´s super great and now their mom is starting to come back to church and we are still working to reactivate the dad, but little by little we´ll get there! Elder Ucanan, my past companion, got permission to come to the baptism and it was cool cause we had 8 missionaries in her baptism! It was also super awesome because we asked the YW to sing something for the baptism and they did! It was probably the best baptism I have had a part in so far in my mission! It was kinda stressful because right after we got everything figured out for the baptism the bishop called us and asked if we could move the baptism like two hours earlier! So we had to call everyone again and make sure they could still be there!

My new companion is Elder Sarkady. He´s from Provo, but his family is living in Pleasant Grove right now. He has 18 months in the mission, and he´s pretty cool. We get along well and he is obedient so we shouldn´t have many problems. Haha! Love y´all!

 

 

 

We tried to take a photo as a ward when we went to the temple.....

 

A concert near our house.

Week 24

This week was really great! I am really enjoying my mission and the chance I have to get to know new people. 

This week we had transfers!  And I will be staying in my area for another six weeks! I feel like I have been in Las Piedras forever! I am basically a part of the ward now haha! But after this next transfer I will have been in my first area for six months! It's kinda crazy to think about, but I am enjoying the time I have here! 

My companion also got transferred to be in the mission offices, so I am living with the Zone Leaders here until my new companion shows up tomorrow. He`s from Utah. 

This week I also had the chance to watch my first horse race in person! We live super close to the track and this week we had some free time during lunch, so we were able to watch the horse races for a little while! It was actually really cool! 

We also had the chance to go to the temple in Uruguay today! Usually we only go every six months but we got special permission to go with our ward and it was actually a really great experience to share with the members of our ward! 

These last few weeks have been a blur, and I actually don`t remember much about what happened this week! Haha! My mission is flying by... I still have a lot more left, but I kinda feel like I just got here! I love it here. I love the people here. And I love my opportunity to share the Gospel with the people here! Love ya`ll! I hope all is well with you guys and I`ll see ya in a little less than two years ;)  

Love,

Elder Cole

Parts from the family email:

Yeah that`s Elder Rodriguez from Peru and we swapped ties. They like to do that here I guess.

Rodrigo asked me the day of the baptism to baptize him. I tried talking him into using a member, but he was really persistent and it was a really great experience! We have had a baptism every week for the past three weeks and we have another one this Saturday... and another one planned in four weeks. The work is crazy here right now! I have baptized more people in my first six months than some missionaries here baptize in their whole mission, so I am actually really blessed with the area and companions I have! 

I think I have started dreaming in Spanish. 

This week was transfers and my companion got transferred! He was here for only six weeks! He got a call from Pres. Eddy right before our baptism this week, and the next day he left for the mission offices because he is a secretary now! That's really cool, but I am without a companion until tomorrow so I am living with the Zone Leaders! It also meant that I would be staying in Las Piedras for six more weeks! I love it here and the people are great! But after this transfer I will have six months in my first area and I was kinda hoping to get to know more of Uruguay and more missionaries.  But I will have another companion. Elder Sarkady from Utah. 

We had a baptism for a woman who is 87 years old. We baptized her together, Elder Ucañan and I, because we didn`t want to hurt her. It was good! 

We went to the temple today! Usually we can only go to the temple every six months, but today was P-day and our ward went to the temple so Pres. Eddy gave us permission to go to! It was really great! My first time inside the temple in Uruguay! We did baptisms for the dead and that was cool too cause usually the missionaries only do endowments! I am excited for this transfer and I know this is where I am needed! Love ya`ll! Love,

Elder Cole

Week 23

This week was good! .... this week was hot! We are just running all over the place. We helped the Zone Leaders in their area this week, and that was actually really good! It was nice to be outside my area for a day! Haha! 

We also got to teach some street thugs about the Book of Mormon because they liked my accent and just wanted to make fun of the way I talk haha! 

We tried to talk to an investigator and she didn`t have time. But before we left, we were talking to her brother and his friends while they were smoking in the street and they wanted to have  a lesson, so we stuck around and we ended up giving away three Book of Mormons. And the investigator that didn`t have time, joined us and asked some good questions. I guess my American accent is good for something haha! 

We also had a talent show in our ward and we decided to act too. It ended up really well and even in church, people were talking a little bit about our act. 

I was a little sick this week, but its all good. I`m still alive. Hope all is going well at home! The life here is good! I just can`t wait for winter!  

Love,

Elder Cole

Parts from the family email (again, the beginning is answers to our questions):

No, I don`t think the snakes are poisonous here. Yeah, all the pasta has a meat sauce and so its really good! Mostly I just take pictures of the baptisms because our area is just houses, nothing cool. I have been trying to send pictures, but these computers don´t work well with my camera cord but I`ll try again today. 

They have fast food, but we don`t eat at them. There are food trucks too, but I`ve only eaten once at a food truck. The water in Las Piedras is clean... I think.... but other parts of Uruguay it`s brown haha! 

The investigators are doing good! Everyone thinks I`ll leave Las Piedras this next transfer, but we`ll see... 

That`s great about boys basketball! 

People here love to ask me about Donald Trump and it's always awkward cause really I have no idea what is happening in the US... Really I`d rather teach the law of chastity than talk about Trump with Latinos haha! I`ll pray for Natalie. 

This week we had a baptism. He`s a nine year old kid. He`s pretty cool.... he just has a hard time with my accent so its always kinda a pain to teach him haha! 

I was a little sick this week. I woke up  with a migraine and a fever. But we went to work like normal. It was one of the worst days of my mission. I just felt awful and I couldn't think clearly. But I lived. That night in the house I was just a mess. My companion made me take my temperature and it was 101.8. So we decided to call Hermana Eddy and make sure that I was going to be ok haha. I`ve been slowly getting better, just glad I have ibuprofen. Haha! 

 Baptism of Rodrigo

We can have 2 activities every change now in each zone so we can just get together and play games, sports, eat. Its pretty nice to get to know the other missionaries more.