What an unbelievable week. My pensionista´s son was killed in a motorcycle accident on Thursday. He was 22 years old with a wife and a four year old son. I could write a book on what happened and my feelings from this past week. Just a few things though. I´ll never forget the scene there in my pensionista´s house, the room where we eat three times a day. There she was, that sweet lady, just broken. I was crying, thinking of the love of a mother for her son. Oh, it was so hard!! I was able to give her a priesthood blessing, and they even asked me to speak at his funeral on Saturday. In both cases, I had no idea what to say. What do you say in a situation like that?? The Spanish wasn´t perfect, but I was just trying my best to say what Christ would say, and praying that the Holy Ghost would lift those clunky words and take them into some broken heart.
There were three other ladies in the ward that offered to feed us for one or two weeks, just to be able to let my pensionista mourn a cope a little. We approached her on Thursday, the very day of the accident. Her answer was something like this: "I won´t lose my place in the Lord´s work even for a day. I want you to keep coming." We did, and there she was every time. Right in the midst of the funeral and programs and everything going on, ready and waiting with our food. What a faithful woman!!
In lighter news, I was talking to a guy in our branch this past week. He lived in the United States for a bit and likes to practice his English and talk to me about the US. He got a tiny bit confused, and began talking to me about the "philly cheese cakes." Oh boy it took everything I could muster not to bust up laughing. If there are any marketers reading this, maybe an idea for a new product was just born??
Also, we were playing checkers with the two sons of a couple that was recently baptized. These boys are 10 and 9, and are right there on the brink of baptism too. There are a few key differences in Spanish checkers and American checkers. For one, they call "jumping," "eating." And the other, there´s a rule that if someone doesn´t want to move his back line the other player can move all the way up the board and "blow" the other players back line right off, making a space for a king. It´s interesting.
Transfer news: I´m training this transfer! Oh man I´m so excited for it. I´ll meet my "son" tomorrow in Trujillo. It´s gonna be a lot harder, but I´m so ready to really get to work!
To close, I was reading the words of Abinidi this week about the Law of Moses. If the people back then just performed the ceremonies without keeping in mind the symbolism and the Savior, the law lost all of it´s purpose. The Law of Moses has been fulfilled, the New and Everlasting Covenant instituted again, but the principle remains, I think. If we pray, read the scriptures, attend church and partake of the sacrament, go to the temple, have family home evening, and do all the other gospel things without the Savior in mind, the gospel loses much of it´s power. I hope that we can always remember the WHY of gospel living, that we can always remember Him, that we may have His spirit to be with us.
Hope you all have great weeks!!
Love, Tanner
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