Querida familia!
Thank you for your emails and updates! We had a good week here in Campo.. So President Franco bought a bunch of materials to build a garden in El Potrillo (the group that we are in charge of that are native indians 6 hours away) so that way they could grow their own food and be self suficient, as well as 100 chairs (because when they have sacrament meetings they sit on the floor underneath a tin roof and bugs bite them). On tuesday night we were informed that at 7:00 a.m. the next morning we would have to accompany the trucker that would be transporting all these materials all the way to Potrillo. So it was quite the strange experience, being in a huge diesel transporting truck with a trucker guy for 7 hours. But it was fun, his name was Aldo and we became great friends. BUT, we happened is that it had rained there the day before, and the dirt road that goes to Potrillo is impossible to drive on after it has rained because it gets too muddy and your car will get stuck in the mud. So we had to stay the night in a hotel in a city named Juarez, with is like 2 hours away from Potrillo. But, it rained the next day too and we couldnt go again. So my companion and I we took a bus all the way back to Campo because we had a branch council meeting thursday night. Then on friday morning at 4:45 a.m. we took the bus all the back to Juarez, and the path to Potrillo had dried up enough and we were able to get there finally.
It was an amazing experience as we were pulling up to where they have church. When I say "church" its really just a big tin roof, theres no walls. And around it is like a big open patch of dirt. Thats where they are going to put the garden. So as we pulled up there, we start seeing the members emerging out of every which way, from dirt paths, from the forest, and formed a group. It was amazing to see that see many members came out to help us unload all the stuff. We unloaded everything, and then we formed a circle and my companion and I we shared a scripture. We stood up in the middle of the big circle of people. I felt just like an old time missionary when they would stand up on boxes in front of a crowd. We read 2 Nephi 25:23, 25. We talked about how just like how the people in the Book of Mormon worked hard to write the Book of Mormon so that their kids would know who Christ is and how to have a remision of their sins, we work hard to do same thing. We talked about how all their hard work in building a garden, coming to church every sunday, sacrificing their time, would all be for the benefit of their families and their kids and the quality of their lifes. It felt so good to testify of Christ to them. It was cool for me to see the prophecy in the Book of Mormon come true that every tribe, tongue, people, would hear about the BOM and hear about Jesus Christ. Now I just need to learn how to speak Nibacle so they can hear it in their own language. haha.
On Saturday night we had an activity here in our church, we watched Joseph Smith: The Prophet of the Restoration and after we ate empanadas. It was a really successful activity and we had like 30 people come! Thats double what we usually have at church on sundays. And 5 of those people were non members. So we were pretty happy with how it turned out. And then on sunday the talks in sacrament meeting were about the Restoration. I talked about the blessings that I have seen in my own life due to the Restoration, I talked about the Book of Mormon and how it is such a powerful testimony of Jesus Christ.
The Lord is definitely blessing us and helping us to run this little branch! Nothing makes me more nervous than when an indian chief asks me tough questions. Like how to build a garden. And I have no idea how to build a garden nor do I know how to explain it to him so that it makes sense. Haha. But luckily the Lord is on my side and helps us to know what to do. There is so much to do all the time and ive never been more stressed out but I know that Im learning lots and im enjoying the ride.
This is the road to Potrillo! Its 2-3 hours on this dirt road, surrounded by wilderness.
This is the chief. He is the one that usually directs the sacrament meeting and does everything. To the right is Aldo, my new truck driver friend! He is cool.
These are the members that came out to help. Theres lots that arent in this picture. Behind us is all the rocks and dirt and the transporting truck, to the right are all the chairs and stuff that you cant see too well.
I hope you all have a great week! P.S.family, we will have to organize amongst ourselves to plan out when I am going to skype call you next sunday, May 8th!
Love, Elder Miles
