Talking Fast

Dear family and friends,

I met my new companion, Elder Ortiz, this past Tuesday.  He´s from Ecuador, he loves soccer, he was in the zone Huaraz in the mountains, and....he talks so dang fast that I barely understand a word he says.  Seriously, not even the other Latinos understand him! I´m always like, "What? What did you say?" It´s kinda embarassing, but you gotta do what you gotta do! My pride is being reduced even further, which is a good thing I think haha.  By the time I leave him though, if I can understand him, it will mean that I can also understand every other person in Perú.  Heavenly Father´s preparing me for something I suppose!

I´ve eaten so many exotic fruits here! Guanabana, ciruela, guayaba, granadilla, this past week I ate sugar cane, which isn´t exotic but it was still a first! It was kinda good I guess.  Super sweet...duh.

On Friday I hit my 180th day in the mission!  I get home on November 6 or 7, which is 720 days after I left. 180/720 = 1/4! Now officially more than 25% done.  It´s been the longest and shortest six months of my life.  

I love Elder Bednar´s talk about baptism, the holy ghost, and the sacrament.  Elder Whitney, the senior couple missionary that lives beneath us, printed one off and gave it to me to study.  It´s so good!!! One of my favorite talks ever given.  It gives me so much purpose and perspective with our day to day work.  We visit people and many times just go through the motions, but realizing the importance of those ordinances and their relation to the grace of Jesus Christ gives me lots of motivation as a missionary.

I was reading a little bit in Mosiah this past week, and love the story of the people of Alma.  There´s lots to learn there about covenants.  They made a covenant to bear one another´s burdens, then 6 chapters later had their own burdens born! Compare that to the people of Limhi, who hadn´t made covenants, and the Lord was slow to hear their cries.  It´s so interesting to think about the covenants we make and renew every week.  In the moment we make them, we recieve some sort of right/authority/privilege/knowledge.  However, the power and grace of Christ comes as we KEEP those covenants! The people of Alma weren´t delivered only because of the covenants they had made, but because of the covenants they were keeping! As we keep our own covenants, power, mercy, and delivering grace from Jesus Christ comes into our lives, and we are strengthened.

That´s the week! Hope you´re all well in wherever you are!

Love, Elder Hart