¿Qué Tal, Bolivia?: Is It Really 2015?

I remember opening my call last year and thinking to myself..... "Man, 2015 is so far away........" AND NOW IT`S 2015?! Crazy weird....

How was your New Years Eve? What did you guys do?! A tradition here is to shoot fireworks off at midnight, eat 12 grapes, pack your suitcases like you are going on a trip (but then dont actually go), count fake money, and EAT EAT EAT EAT. Hahahahah it was funny. We didnt get to see any traditions, because we had to be in the house at nine thirty, but it was funny to hear all of the stories. We did hear all the fireworks at night. I couldnt see any of them, though! No Martinellis sadly hehehehehe

This week was a great week. We really saw success in our member lessons. We met this really sweet lady in our ward who always lets us teach lessons at her house when we have no other place to go. So we have about 2 or 3 lessons each week with her. I love hearing her bear her testimony each week of the Book of Mormon and the gospel. I think it really helps our investigators, too.

Hmmm..... so we have several people that we are preparing for baptism. I am really excited. One of them is Josè. He is the bishop´s nephew, and we really just met him this past week when he told us that he wanted to be baptized tomorrow if he could! It was a miracle. I actually felt really bad telling him that we had to take it a little slow and make sure that he knew the basics of all the lessons. If he could, he would already have been baptized by now! So we have been teaching him the lessons each day, preparing him. He came to church this Sunday. It is really cool to see a person truly want to change their lives to come closer to Christ.

We have a lot of other great people, too. I wish that you could all meet them.

What else is new in the lives of the two gringas????

- We got our new pensionista this week! Her name is Naida, and she is AWESOME. She makes the best food, and she calls herself part-American. We eat lots of really good food. Yesterday for lunch, we had PIZZA. I have never had a pension that has served us pizza for lunch. She wants to come and visit us when her family comes to the states in a year or two. I feel so at home in her house every day at lunch. It is cool.

- My companion and I got to teach the entire lesson for District Meeting this past Tuesday. As I look back on it, I really think it is a true miracle that I can now teach a bunch of elders for an hour in SPANISH. BOOYAH!

- We celebrated New Years Eve dinner with one of our favorite investigators. They made us this crazy bbq. It was fun.

- We found this new lady who is super super cool. Her name is Carla. We taught her the Restoration this week, and then came back two days later to see if she had prayed about it. She told us that she knew it was all true. It still surprises me when people actually come through with the commitments that we give them! I have been really focusing on the Restoration this week, and how I can teach it better. I really feel my testimony increasing as I teach it more, and see how it changes people´s lives. COOL.

- I love being a trainer because I get to see my companion progress and learn and become better than me. Its a good feeling.

I hope that you are all doing great! Have a great week, and we will see you all soon.

HERMANA ROUTSONG