Monday, December 25, 2017

¡FELIZ NAVIDAD!

Merry Christmas!

I hope that you´re all enjoying yourselves today and that you´re able to be with your families wherever you may be, or at the least be able to video call them. #MissionaryStyle :D

Today is a very special day, not because it´s the day that pur Savior came to Earth, (that being the 6th of April according to D&C 20:1) but because this is the day that we remember that wondrous event with the rest of the world.

Anywho, we sang carols in a plaza Saturday night and Christmas eve was good with a small gift exchange at our pension with the other 2 elders.


I hope you all had a Merry Christmas!

--
Hurrah for Israel!

~Elder Fincher

Monday, December 18, 2017

Elder Fincher has an imperitive update... *PICTURES*

I say that because I feel like I haven´t written all y´all much now recently. So, here´s an update:

Christmas party, basically the videos explain it all, but to explain the unexplainable: We got there, there were people that I knew (because at the Christmas party I met the last missionary I hadn´t met yet, being Elder Castillo. met him, now I´ve met all the missionaries in the mission. #OfficeLife) Juliaca came, Puno Central my zone and Bellavista the other Puno zone were all there. All the remaining office Elders in the mission (Elder Boelter, Elder OrdoƱez, Elder Fawcett and I) are all in Puno, so we got a picture.


There was a really good spiritual start to it all and then each zone played the video that they filmed. Ours was really good until the end. But Bellavista´s was outstanding! Juliaca´s was alright. Then we all presented songs and presentations. Some zones did sketches we did a song and then a song dance thingy. It went really good, my foot went above many heads (please put the video in here). And that was that, I photobombed 1/3 - 1/2 of all the pictures taken that day by people, but it wasn´t with my camera, so just know that many people have me in their pictures now. :D I am a master.

What else? Christmas is next P-day, that´ll be interesting. Merry Christmas! ¡Feliz Navidad! Frohe Weihnachten! all them wishes!

I honestly don´t know what else has happened that´s interesting, other than yesterday for the third hour we attended the baptism of the Bishop´s kid who turned 8 on Saturday? Or maybe yesterday, I didn´t ask. But Saturday there was a party for him, don´t know.


Oh! Raul got baptized! I think I talked about that, but this week I have pictures because I found a place that likes my camera enough to read it and move pictures! So, yeah, pictures of that great day.

I finally ate with chopsticks again at that Chinese place! Because I brought the ones I´d bought there.


It was Elder Ochoa´s birthday the first Wednesday I was here in Puno, the 6th.

Our room when I got here was really, really sad. You know in the movies when the guy goes to boot camp and he´s in a small room with a bad paint job? Yeah, ¡Bienvenido a Puno! But we quickly solved that and had moved by Friday afternoon to a much nicer and closer to literally everything house. The old one is the green one (with shower faucets like the ones I have in my basement bathroom at my house) and the new one is the yellow/orange/redish one. It´s nice. And a bedroom and a study room!




Also, our pension takes us out to eat a few times for lunch, that´s kind of neat. No one else has ever done that.

Also, all the news came and I have many pictures of them, but you can find cooler pictures with descriptions on the mission blog: http://misionperucusco.blogspot.pe/ Cool stuff there, organized and explained.

The Johnsons also invited us over for dinner to have pancakes. AKA: Hotcake Hoedown. ´twas delishous!

I took pictures with lots and lots of members. I don´t know if it´s realistic to say that I´ll name them before I´m back.

Also, some amazing moms from back in the states (the only one I know for sure is the mom of a missionary who´s middle name is Layne) sent Secret Santa gifts for the missionaries! Thanks all of you amazing moms! (I don´t even know if my mom was in on that or no) You´re all the best! Especially my mom though, but I don´t know if she did anything there, but nothing can beat her, because she´s my mom! <3

And yeah, some pictures of Puno from different places, it´s really pretty actually. Just coldish. Like November/December in the house, without snow.




The sector is progressing a little bit, we´re teaching people in the street and we have some future appointments that we´re looking forward to, lots of finding right now, but there are people to be found, so it´s good. What´s sad is trying to get the dad of two people ready for baptism to sign their paper so they can be baptized, but he´s not willing to sign it, he says to baptize them and all, but won´t sign the paper. So we´ll be going back to talk again on the 29th and hope for the best with lots of prayer and maybe fasting too.

And I think that just about covers everything I have pictures for and not much else comes to mind that I don´t have pictures for. So have a great one, enjoy all you Christmas preparations and especially the day of, remember WHY we even have this day, remember all the WHYs and take a moment to be grateful for them. Have a great one and Merry Christmas!!!

--
Hurrah for Israel!

~Elder Fincher

Monday, December 11, 2017

Christmas in Puno!

Really boring right? Actually, I`m going to change the title from "Puno, week 1" to "Christmas in Puno!"

Questions:

How are things going? Are you used to Puno yet? Getting comfortable with the area?

Things are going good, other than trying to get you guys pictures. Yes and no, I`m trying to figure out how to keep being good and when to wear a coat and when not to. We`ve done some service, it`s been good, but we`ve yet to teach much.

As far as the area goes like I said we did some service. Once shoveling dirt inside of a house right before it rained and as it started sleeting, that`s fun without a coat. The other service we did was helping a hoarder to clean their house, we threw about 1 1/2 - 2 of the big black trash bins like we have in Orem of trash away. And that only cleaned about 2/5ths of the one room house up. But it was something.

That`s it this week, I really need the bathroom and there isn`t one in the internet cafe, so I need to find one. These are things that one deals with on the mission.

Also, title came about because we had our Christmas party here in Puno on Saturday, when I can I`ll get pictures, and details, but bathroom...


Love y`all,


--
Hurrah for Israel!

~Elder Fincher

Monday, December 4, 2017

PUNO!!! HEY HEY HEY HEY!!!

That`s an excerpt from almost all the music they have here that`s called Wayno, but they just list off whatever city name they want. I`ll make a video later of how they sing, it`s funny.

I`m in Puno now, I now feel more like Christmas is almost here and that`s nice. It`s colder basically is the thing. Kind of nippy, but it`s not bad.

Raul got baptized!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That`s super exciting! It`s the first baptism the Vista Alegre office sector has had in 15 months. That`s more than a year! AKA, a long time!

But it almost didn`t happen, he passed his interview alright, he`d told us first that it would be at 11AM and then on Tuesday he called and said to have it at 5PM, okay, that`s fine. But on Saturday we went around 4:20PM to clean the room and get everything ready, and we called him to double check he was going to be on time...

He said that he had a fever and wasn`t feeling so great. Could it be next Saturday??? And then the line cut...

And we tried calling him 20 times and nothing.

So I got depressed and knew that I should have done a better job, tried harder, made more of an effort to get out and teach people while I`d been in the office and just generally felt like I hadn`t been enough. So I got really distraught.

The other Elders, Elder Larsen and Elder Pinedo showed up too and they got a little sad, but still trying to be upbeat and optomistic.

Then Elder Lewis comes out of the bathroom and says that Raul had just called him and said he was coming, that he`d gone to the wrong chapel! YAY!!!

So real quick we picked ourselves up and finished preparing everything, made a welcome sign on the whiteboard and wheeled it to the door of the chapel and waited for Raul to come...

And he walked through the front gate and I ran up and gave him a hug and told him that we were so glad to have him there. (even though we were the only ones there for him at that point 5:20-30ish) And we went in and he got changed and the 1st councilor of the bishopric showed up and we took pictures and the Hermanas came and then the Hermanas convinced the Relief Society sister who were having an activity to come join us and then Nefi and Kristina showed up right before we started and the room was full.


We had a very spiritual service and it was very good and Raul got baptized and then the next day Sunday he got confirmed and he`s well on his way in following the Lord Jesus Christ. And I`m happy. I`m in Puno now, but I`m happy and ready to work hard. Elder Ochoa who`s also from Huanaco like Elder Cubillas my second companion (they are from the same stake and they know each other) and Elder Ochoa is super cool. But just wait until next week when I can upload a picture of the two of us together and you`ll probably laugh. Jaja.



I`m going to love this!

--
Hurrah for Israel!

~Elder Fincher