Bienvenidos a Rosedal

I absolutely love Barrio Rosedal and my new companion Hna. Neff. These last couple of days has been pretty amazing, and I’m not quite sure where to start. So I’m going to take the advice from the Sound of Music and start from the very beginning because it’s the only good place to start.

Miercoles – So I got here in Rosedal and met my new companion Hna. Neff and hung out with her old companion Hna. Stott for a while. I have kind of met Hna. Neff before - a couple of times, and Hna. Mortensen had told me a lot about her because they were companions in the MTC together. I caught up with Hna. Stott for a while. She was in my district and we got in the misión at the same time. She’s way fun, and we understand each other. So it was fun to chat with her for a while. And then we headed out and went to a Dinosaur Museum with some of the zone. It was pretty weird but kind of fun. It was something fun to do for pday. And then we had a family home evening with the bishop’s family that night. I was pretty nervous, but we just went in and taught; and it went well. I hope that we have success working with the bishop and leadership in the ward. Missionary work is pretty much impossible without the help and the support of the members.

Jueves – we stopped by a lot of our investigators and some of the members. A lot of the investigators weren’t there, but we did find Maricel. She’s a 22 year-old that is interested in the church. She is reading the Book of Mormon everyday, and she has really good questions. But she still hasn’t gone to church. We really tried to focus on that, but she still didn’t make it to church. Sometimes I don’t understand why it’s so hard to get to church. There are so many blessings waiting at church, why don’t people want blessings from God? It was raining that morning, but I don’t think rain is any sort of excuse to not go to church.

Viernes – We passed by a couple of references from members that happened to be some familias that were part menos activos and part nonmembers. But it went well. We tried to help them recognize their testimonies so that they return back to church. I hope it helps, but I think the Spirit will have the most effect and then the members. A lot of menos activos just need a friend in church. And unfortunately, us missionaries don’t really have the time to just be friends. So we’re trying to help the ward understand that important principle. I hope it gets across. We also went to a family home evening with another member’s family. And we also ask for references, and I think the Lord has been testing me. I made a goal that I would not dwell on La Calera. that I would focus on my new area and not be homesick of La Calera. But check it, every time I asked a member for a referente, they gave me one for somebody that lives in La Calera. And every few hours, I would receive a call from the hermanas in La Calera. I miss it, but thankfully I love Rosedal!

Sabado - So we got the help of a member named Diego. It’s this 19 year old boy that is preparing for his misión. He got baptized a year ago, and he’s pretty much amazing! He helped us for all of the afternoon, and I already know that he is going to be an amazing missionary! He knows pretty much everything about missionary work, and he had this excitement that I need to have every minute of the day. It’s a new goal that I’m working on. It just goes to show that you can be an example to anyone.

Domingo - It was raining in the morning, but we went to church. It was a weird experience for me because I’m not used to going to a real church house. It’s been a really long time that I have gone to a ward. They asked me to bear my testimony in sacrament meeting, and I got pretty nervous; but I think I did fine. But I’m excited to be in Rosedal and work with Hna. Neff.

Well I got to go but keep helping the missionaries and just know that I love you all!

Hna. Ellsworth