Dangggg i could write a multiple volume book on the buses here!!! HAHAHA they dont need a Six Flags here in the slightest!!!!! So as i think if said, we take the bus a few times a week out of our little town here and into Cali where the chapel is for meetings and what not, and it is always such a blast and unique experience haha!!! For starters, the other day we almost took out some dude walking his goat across the street... And one time this week there was a bunch of traffic in another little town on the way to Cali, so the bus, without slowing down at all, swerved hard left, across the lanes of opposing traffic, and into a gas station parking lot!!! It nearly took out a car pulling out of the gas station in the process, and if thats not enough, it swerved around a few people and in between two different gas pumps, one of them occupied with another victimous car and its owner, and then off the curb, not a little dip no, the curb, of teh gas station, and finally back across the lanes of oposing traffic and finally into its correct position on the road!!!!! And it maintained the same speed the whole time!!!! Craziest maneuver i think i will ever experience in any sort of vehicle in my life!!!! Another day, there was again a bunch of traffic, (this time there was traffic because of a huge fire in the crops alongside the road), and the bus pulled off the road to the right where it was dirt that wasnt level, so the bus is leaning at a good 30 degree angle (maybe a bit of an exageration but hey) to the side and still cruising kicking up tons of dirt as it flies down the side of teh road!!! If you looked out the windows on the right, all you saw was ground, and if you looked out to the left, all you saw was blue sky, like an airplane making a sharp turn... I quickly counted the number of overweight people on each side of teh bus to try and capture an idea of how safe we were...
So then, after crusiing at this crazy angle for a while, passing most of the traffic, we come to the fire itself, and the bus winds around a few cop cars (ya the cops dont even look twice at this crazy bus braking who knows how many traffic laws, nor are the cops actually doing anything about the fire, just standing there staring at it, the cops in this country could compile another book haha ive seen some funny stuff from them too that i will perhaps share later) and stops for a sec, stuck behind a bunch of other cars that did the same thing and tried to pass up on the right, and a whole bunch of smoke starts coming into the bus from the fire thats right by our side, flames maybe 20 or 30 yard away!!! So ya i start breathing into my tie before finally the cars infront of us move out and we pull back onto the road ahead of all the traffic and continue our journey...
K perhaps the best part too of all this is that as im sitting here in aww, pretty scared but also super entertained and almost unable to believe that this is all happening hahaha, i look over at my comp every once in a while, and ya hes passed out asleep every time!!! Hahahaha no idea how this guy can sleep through all this, but ya it always gives me an additional good laugh to see him just sleeping through all this... I love riding the buses cuz its always a crazy energetic experience and he loves riding them cuz he gets some time to nap haha!!!!
Alright so ya there you have it, the buses in Colombia... other than that everythings just the typical good old missionary work!!! There really are so many poeple here who want to hear our message and are really receptive, its an awesome place to work!! But the hard part is always just getting the people to come to church with us... Every week we find some new people who are super receptive and take the lessons well,until sunday comes around, and we pass by their house in the morning to take them to church with us and theyve got some excuse and say they cant go... But we are working on it!! Its a bit hard that the chapel is so far, for a lot of people the problem is that they cant pay the bus ride to the chapel and back, it only costs 2 mil pesos both ways, which isnt even quite a dollar, but they dont even have that, they are taht poor... We are allowed to pay the first time they come but after that the bishop and our mission president have strictly forbade us to help them pay to come to church, but interestingly enough, the people who are the poorest are usually the ones who are so moved by our message and who do find ways to make it, and its so neat to see!!! Im so lucky to be apart of the missionary work here!!! The church is so young but strong here, and growing fast, and its incredible to see!!! The Lord really is hastening His work, and i want nothing more and delight so much in being apart of it!!! Thanks again, as always, for everything youve taught me my whole
life!!! I couldnt be more greatful for how you guys have always prepared me for this, and I told my mission president the other day in my interview that it is soooo cool and neat for me to see myself sharing everything that ive been taught to the people here, everything ive ever learned had lots of purpose before, but has sooo much more know that im sharing it too!!!
El caso de que la iglesia puede cambiar vidas en las maneras a las que he visto aqui es un gran parte que se ha dado a mi testimonio!!! Mi companero y yo nos animos muchisimo cada dia a fortalecer la obra aqui! Es posible, hemos escuchado, que podemos construir una capilla aqui en villa gorgona, solamente estamos esperando los numeros requeridos segun las reglas de la iglesia para construir una capilla. Desafortunadamente (ive been practicing pronouncing that word a lot lately haha) probablamente no podemos lograr tantos miembros aqui en villa gorgona para construir una capilla durante de mi tiempo aqui, pero yo se que muy cerca en el futuro se habra construido, porque esta iglesia, la unica iglesia verdadera, esta creciendo muy rapido aqui!!! El Senor, nuestro salvador y redentor, Jesucritso, regresará, y sigan tratando conmigo a preparar la tierra para esta segunda venida!!!
Les amo
Nos vemos
Elder Tenney
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