This week I feel like there is actually something you might be interested to know...so I will do a good amount of writing.
Well...........ya. I am now a district leader. I am now in the zone La Cisterna which is the southern most limit of our mission. Its still considered Santiago. My sector is called Fernandez Albano. My companion is............drum role.
Elder Lowry from Draper, UT. He is new in the mission, just finished his first 6 weeks. I will finish off his training. He is awesome. We get along really really well. We both studied at USU. He just was there for 2 years instead of 1. He was actually engaged before the mission but now she is just waiting for him. He is great. He came out of a REALLY hard first 6 weeks with an Elder who didn't want to work. He basically didn't get taught anything by his first trainer. But....it's okay because he has lots of excitement about the work and has been just DYING to really get out there and do it. The down side is that the sector is really dead. Nothing happening. When I got here there were no progressing investigators, the missionaries weren't contacting or really even doing anything. Its fun though because I getta start from scratch. I LOVE the sector so far. I won't lie, every door we have knocked has been pretty rough. BUT. It is just sooooooooo tranquilo here. It's just old people. It has a definite ´old santiago´ feel to it.
I have met some great members. Strangely, the best member we have got speaks english. He is a goofy dude. I am sure that over the next few weeks you will hear more about him. His name is Niabaldo.
When I first walked into the pension here in La Cisterna, it was like my first day of the mission all over. It was FILTHY. Filthy filthy. absolutely gross. You would spaz. But, I am slowly chipping away at it. Photos wont do it justice.
The first night I was here in the sector E Lowry and I had a really cool experience. We were just cruising the street pretty late, around 8:30, when a woman beckons us with her hand to come over. We go over and she starts asking us if we know about any good rehab places for alcoholics. She showed me in her hand how she had recently been to alcoholics anonymous but they only offer classes and support, not rehab. Obviously I was thinking ¨this lady is an alcoholic¨. But, turns out she wanted help for her brother. She invited us in for a minute. We met her husband and daughter. We taught them a short lesson and went on our way. That night, my companion told me that with his previous trainer, they never really found any new investigators and he had never had an experience like that before. It just reminded me of how weird the mission is. One day you are just scrambling trying to figure out what the freak people are saying to you, the next you are helping them find rehab and teaching them about Jesus Christ. We have taught them since. The Mom is a dingle dong but they are all really great.
I am excited about this sector because there is nowhere to go but up. They were teaching less than 5 lessons a week to investigators. That's bad. But like I said. I´m just happy to be here.
Today we played some soccer in Los Arcos. Then we went and ate some cheap spaghetti at a kind of.............I don't even know how to describe it. Just like a restaurant where they only make 1 thing every day and they sell it for cheap. Today was spaghetti with a salad, bread, drink, and dessert. For 2 mil pesos. Or like 4 bucks and change.
Now we are off to do some grocery shoppin in Lider. Tell Dad he can look on Google Earth for the streets Fernandez Albano and Gran Avenida to get an idea of where I am.
I know without a doubt I need this calling as a leader more than the missionaries need me. There are qualities I need to develop. I am just hoping to be able to take all the good things I have seen from other leaders and copy. It is still weird for me, but I´m coming along.
Iré y haré, just like Nefi said. I know this work is true. I am grateful to be a part of it. My companion is awesome. We are gonna kill it.
I love you Mom. Its always good hearing from you. Too bad USU lost. Typical though right?
Have a gggggggggggrreeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaatttttt week. As said by Tony the Tiger
Elder Van Dyke
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