Dear Family and Friends,
My apologies for the lack of an email last week everyone and pictures.... I'm workin on improving that today. Right so there's been plenty of changes in me as I've been mentioning. The largest I guess would be this intriguing blessing of amnesia that the Lord gives me as he blesses me with singularity of mind in the work. I forgot a lot of stuff and best of all is that it helps me forgive myself for my shortcomings and take advantage of the cleansing opportunity that a mission is. Being able to come home with a clean slate will a wonderful blessing, but I am focused on the here and now of the work. I have also truly been finding myself much more happy, more profoundly speaking: joyful (as any such thing of the world can bring us happiness, but it is the living of the gospel that brings us joy). I find more and more with every passing day that I am falling in love with here and Bolivia and really working on my true desire to be here. Never again after my mission will I be able to feel the blessings of the worthwhile work in which I am engaged in every day after my mission (although I'd love to serve again with my future wife someday). Never again will I experience the adventure with every turn of being in this foreign country as I do now..... etc. I'm finding more things like that and my father, very inspirationally mentioned in his email to me last week that this would start happening.... I'm starting to not want to go home when that time comes (granted I'm only coming up on the one third mark of my mission here.... so you can only imagine how much that will grow with time). I've been noticing that I'm just happier.... as long as I do my best, even with my failures I get to finish the day feeling more achieved and blessed than anyone else in the world (except maybe the prophets and apostles) knowing I have completed another day in the most important work of the eternities. For those of you that know me.... I HAVE to accomplish something each day. :) Anyway a lot of that has been happening.... loving it. :D
I could go on for days now about the things I'm grateful for, but that wouldn't do much benefit for all of you so I'll just list a few: the weather here is in the 70's all the time.... absolutely splendid. We have frequent HUGE lightning and thunder rainstorms (which I realized more fully on my mission that I am in love with). The biggest lightning strikes I have ever seen here and it's not even the slightest bit uncomfortably cold. The thunder just rolls through the valley and strikes you to the soul in the majesty of the creations of our Heavenly Father. My companion is helping improve my Spanish and obedience a ton. I learned how to make truffles and sew this past week with him. This place and the people here are wayyyy chill. They sell more California and Hollister clothes here than they do in California XD it's all completely copied and illegal hahaha but hey it still looks sweet and I'll be snaggin' some of that for myself soon here. So much more but we'll leave it at that for now for the sake of time.
I forgot to tell you all how many things went wrong with my first baptism but it's a rather large story and probably a good after the mission journal story, but let me know if you want to know some more details. I had to baptize the poor guy twice because he didn't go completely under the first time or plug his nose and came up choking. Not many people came, luckily we had one refreshment, there were a few mix ups in the program, but all in all it was a good experience. Had a spiritual moment walkin' down those baptismal font stairs for the first time for someone else and pausing for a moment so Sergio could feel the spirit instead of focusing on not drowning.
Vallegrande is literally the best place you can serve your mission in all of southeastern Bolivia. 'Nuff said.
I tend to struggle while readjusting to the cambios/transfers which hit me pretty hardcore when I got here, but I've seen some definite improvement in my recovery time and become very grateful for the skill of adapting well and quickly to anything that happens in life. My first day here I was just bawling with how lonely I felt with my quiet Latino companion 6 hours away from other missionaries and among maybe 10 gringos that live in Vallegrande and I said a prayer just pleading for comfort from my Heavenly Father. I went into our bathroom to just cry it all out for a sec and had the impression to pick my head up..... there is one window in our upstairs bathroom and one would have to be exactly 6' 2" and slouch like I do to have seen the blindingly glowing Christ statue that stands upon a hill in the entry of the one way road into Vallegrande.... seeing Jesus Christ with arms open, glowing celestially through a 1" square gap.... from that point onward any time I go in that room is and was a humbling reminder that He is ALWAYS there.
Really weird.... I've been having some interesting Deja Vu experiences where I SWEAR I've dreamt about having this experience before coming on my mission. I think I may have had visions and or prophecies of experiences of my mission before I even came out. I share that with a lot of spiritual reverence and trust by the way.
Just a little while ago I was having some dream problems as well. I have always felt like Satan has worked so hard on me in my life.... still don't really know why he's tried so hard... I don't feel like I've made all THAT much of a difference in my life.... maybe something bigger is to come. Anyway I was having these weird dreams of getting sent home early and it felt SO real..... wow it was rough. I haven't had one for a while thanks to many prayers and fasting, but I thought that that was something rather interesting as well that I should share. Be careful what you allow even your subconscious to dwell on.
We had a visit from president I shared a little bit about after being here just a week. I can't express enough how spiritually inspired and Christlike President Willard is.... I love that man. I can share more details about things he shared in his teachings after the mish I guess.... I gotta get caught up haha.
Carnaval really wasn't all that bad being shut up in the house for so long. We had a special study schedule and I came to learn a lot that has helped me become a much more spiritual and persuasive teacher. We were pretty far from the center and main road of Vallegrande so we only saw a few music groups going by and heard some (not allowed but) cool traditional and new Bolivian music blaring a lot. TONS of people traveled here to Vallegrande for Carnaval, I guess it's known for its festivities. Pretty much everyone just gets spray foam cans, water guns (with backpacks of water), water balloons to toss and spray at everyone. Then floats of dance and music groups march up and down the streets all over and sing, play music, and dance.... not all too wicked here..... although there is a ton of drinking. We were actually outside for the first and last days of Carnaval because it lasts longer here in Vallegrande.... we had two water balloons thrown at us (and deflected by the power of the Lord obviously XD) and a group of girls sprayed foam at the back of my head as we passed by in the street, completely washable, all good. No worries.
I also worry about a lot less.... the people in the church here don't even have the slightest idea of the pressures and high class of the church that the futuristic church in the U.S. is now so I don't even sweat directing the music, giving a talk, bearing my testimony, blessing and passing the sacrament, and then teaching the 2nd and sometimes 3rd hours as we have to do for our 30 some odd members that are assisting each week. :) Good improv experience and helps me speak by the spirit.
I have actually struggled a lot with my companion. He is the only member in his family and has more missionaries leaving his home ward in Lima, Peru than I do in mine in Auburn, California. He's lived a pretty rough life mostly with his grandparents working on farmlands. He went to a culinary arts school for 2 years and is a pretty dang good chef. Had possible contracts for 4 and 5 star hotels in Peru that he gave up to come on his mission. Having had the hard life he has had and not much social contact.... he doesn't speak or act much in a loving manner. He doesn't communicate with me all that well and likes to do stuff himself. Loves to tell me how, why, how fast I should do just about everything. A little prideful. Pretty darn obedient. Wants to extend his mission. Has his own struggles but is helping me to toughen up and be more obedient and I am helping him love and be more sensitive in a nutshell.
We get to play fútbol (soccer) with the members and whoever else wants to every Friday night at the chapel from 7:30 to 9:15pm. Helps to build relationships with and between members and investigators. (Not allowed for competitive or injury related issues in wards and stake here in our mission, but all good in the small branches). I've never seen anybody play soccer as amazing as the people do here..... gotta get a vid of it soon.... they just destroy me. They also play more basketball here. They have a lot of public government created and maintained concrete courts here that double for fútbol and basquetbol.... every chapel has one. :) I'm improving a lot in soccer and got to teach a few basketball rules and throw down this past Friday a lil.... made sure to include the kids of course :) love em here.
We're going to have 3 baptisms this Saturday! More on that next week, but one got approved with special permission to get baptized after 3 years as an investigator.... finally a chance to be the harvester/reaper instead of the sower. I imagine it would be because of the increased obedience, hard work, and singularity of heart, might, mind, and strength on the work here.... seeing as there isn't much talk between my companion and I to talk about non-missionary related topics to laugh and joke as I would usually be doing haha.
We were also inside all day yesterday because of elections here.... weird laws that don't allow meetings of any type on election days. Still loved it and got a lot done though. I've now sewn 2 pairs of my pants and a button on one of my shirts! :D Profesh obviously now.
Wow that was a lot.... sorry for lack of individual responses as well this week because of how long it took to write this. I still love and pray for you all. LOVE all of your emails even if I have to take pics of them and read them during the week. Let me know if you want me to pray for something specifically for you!
Love,
Elder Van Horne
(My attempt at a heart with sparklers for Valentine's Day last week.... sorry for not saying anything about that last week haha.... ladies of my life.... you know who you are and how much I love you..... you too guys haha). Yea fireworks aren't allowed for missionaries but I guess my comp is a lil' flexible on some rules since I found these in the house when I got here and we couldn't just throw em out! I figured I'd never be injured enough to impede the work because of sparklers....
Good pic of a paper Elder Gilbert had
This was just a cool chart I found about the past, present, and future that I thought would be good for all of us.
