¡Pura Vida!: Sabado Blanco

Today is March 17th, I reported to the MTC on December 17th. I have officially been on the mission now for 3 months. Crazy to think that I am 1/8 of the way done with my 2 years. It's not that big of a chunk, but it's still a chunk.

So Elder Vellver and I have been having so much success lately. Almost all of our investigators are progressing and we are meeting new people to teach every day. This last Saturday we had a really special event that we called Sabado Blanco (White Saturday). It's a day that our whole zone has been planning for a few weeks now. We all wanted to have as many baptisms on this one day as possible and we were gonna have a huge special service for them all. Sadly, all of the other Elders in our District had their baptisms fall through, so only Elder Vellver and I had baptisms. We baptized three girls, Kerlin, Sofia, and Shantany. Clearly, the service wasn't as big as we were hoping, but it was just as special. We have been so blessed in our area, I've only been out a little over a month and I've already had 4 baptisms. The field truly is white and ready to harvest out here in Limon.

This past week Elder Vellver and I traveled to San Jose to have my "1 Month Check Up" with the President. All of the missionaries that came with me from the MTC were at this meeting with their trainers. It was so good to see all the Elders from my MTC district. We're all puttin on some pounds so we made a lot of fun at each other. At President Wilkinson's house, we had a huge barbeque. Yes, a BBQ, dang I love America. I miss burgers and hot dogs, and ribs, and steaks, but I definitely got my fill at this 1 Month Check.

So Limon has a lot of black people, most of them are from Jamaica. They have their own culture and it's really cool. Lots of reggae music every day. I guess I didn't really have to give up my Bob Marley jams for 2 years after all. Oh man they make this dish called "Rice And Beans", yes it's in English and it's waaay different than just regular arroz y frijoles. It's a mixture of rice, beans, coconut, chile, and lots of other stuff... so friggin' delicious.

Every week in the mission gets easier and easier, and much more special. I love this country and this culture so much. But I love this work even more. I love being able to bring these people this message and bring happiness into their lives. God is everything and everywhere. Jesus Christ is our brother and Savior. This church is true.

Keep On Keepin' On...

- Elder Willis