PICTURES!

So loading these pictures took a while and I lost all time to write you guys. But I love you all very much! I am doing great here in Colombia! By the way, a lot of these pictures are from months ago... I'm so excited for conference this weekend! Make sure you all attend! Go to EVERY SESSION!!!! I DARE you....

Take care family!

Love,

Elder Bogdan

2 Nephi 9:49

Alma 36:3

Dear Family,

I can´t help but glory in the goodness of God whenever I think about how wonderful my family is. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful and loving family. The Lord has given us great unity and great love for one another. We are a living proof of the truthfulness of the gospel, of the happiness that comes when we live the principles that our Savior taught. I love you all very much!

Ok, well this week seemed really long. It was only 2 days longer, but it seemed like a lot more. Perhaps it also has to do with the fact that I haven't been getting along too well with my companion, Elder Jara, recently. We are both two very different people, and we think very different. Our basic rules of thought are even different. And it seems like almost everything he says annoys me. I know that he feels the same way too, and that it's not just me, because he bluntly told me that sometimes he hates me. And that's exactly how he said it too. Yeah, I know we have different ways of thinking, but I would never say that to him. That's just messed up. Nobody should ever say that. There is no purpose in saying it either, because it won't help the situation even a little bit. Anyway, there are just a lot of things he does (or doesn't do) that bother me. My patience is definitely being tried. I know that we have to talk things out or things won't get better. The last time we fought, we talked things out, and things definitely were better afterwards. So I'm gonna talk to him, and with a prayer in my heart and with love, I'm gonna tell him what is bothering me, so that we can fix it. I know that with these hard feelings, it's hard to feel the impressions of the Spirit. Therefore, we must correct things quickly. President Hacking tells us that the mission is a great preparation for marriage, and I know that's very true. There are a lot of things to learn about how to deal with and overcome problems. But I can't help but notice that there is a big difference in that we get to CHOOSE our spouses, and we get to know them a lot before living with them and working together in everything. On the other hand, as missionaries, we don't choose our companions. We just get suddenly put into the same house with them and we are obligated to work with them in everything. But I know that we have our specific companions for a reason, and that there is a great lesson to be learned in each companionship. The Lord assigns companions through revelation, and therefore I must trust in the Lord and comprehend that it is for His wise purposes, and that it is for the best. On the bright side, if I learn to be happy with someone that I didn't choose to live with, and with someone who is very different from me, I can definitely learn to be happy with my wife in all circumstances, in good and bad, and my marriage will be undefeatable! Well, fams, keep praying for me!

Well, good things that happened this week - our investigator Lilia Pacheco is progessing greatly! She goes to church every Sunday, she enjoys the lessons, and now we are teaching her granddaughter that lives with her - Diana. Diana is almost 18 and has a very young baby named Malena. She's not married, and the baby's father lives far away. She is also enthusiastic about the lessons and Diana and Lilia both went to a FHE that we invited them too. Diana didn't go to church this past Sunday because she was up much of the night taking care of the baby and couldn't wake up for church at 8am. But she likes to learn about the gospel and has great potential. We extended the goal of a baptismal date for them on the 15th of October. I hope all goes well! I enjoy teaching them and I know that the fulness of the everlasting gospel can bless them greatly! Our other investigators are progressing more slowly, and we are still waiting to see what happens with them. I pray for all of them often, and I invite you all to pray for the people of Bucaramanga, Colombia as well!

Love,
Elder Bogdan

Hi fams!

Dear Family,

I feel like poop today. I woke up in the middle of the night feeling like I needed to throw up, but I never did. And all day today my body has been feeling real weak and crummy. But I am feeling a little better now. Welp, I don't have much to say this week. We have transfers tomorrow, so everyone's got P-Day today. I'm not getting transferred, and neither is my companion, Elder Jara. So looks like I'm staying here in the Nuevo Sotomayor ward! I kinda wanted to leave and I kinda wanted to stay. I haven't had a single baptism since I got here, which makes me wanna leave, but at the same time it makes me wanna stay for another chance at having a baptism. We have a good number of investigators, and there is hope for a baptism, if my companion and I have faith. It's hard not having baptisms, when the people don't use their agency to improve and keep commitments with the Lord, or when they progress very slowly. Having a baptism is such a joyous occasion! That is my purpose here in Colombia: to baptize. Yes, my purpose is also to bring happiness into people's lives, and to serve them, and to invite them to come unto Christ, but all of that is achieved to the max with baptism. Baptism is necessary for eternal life, it's necessary to have an eternal family, it brings a lasting happiness, and it's the greatest service that I can provide to someone. So please pray for me family, and pray for our investigators! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!

Welp, some more good news is that I'm not gonna be the newest missionary in my apartment anymore, because a newbie is arriving wednesday! We still don't know where he's from, but I hope he's cool. It'll be fun raising a baby in the house:)

Welp, I really don't have anything else to say. I'm trying to think but my head hurts. I love all of you guys! Ciao!

Your best and only friend,

Elder Bogdan

Well familia,

This week has been a good week! Very short! The weeks are starting to fly by! It seems like P-Day always comes so quickly! And I feel like things will only start to go by faster! Or maybe it's because I'm so accustomed to my area. If President moves me to a new area, the days will start to go slow again. Speaking of which, this next Monday we have transfers! I don't know what's gonna happen! I kinda wanna stick around here. Things are starting to progress and I wanna see the fruits of my labors! Welp, our golden investigator Marlon didn't drop off the face of the Earth! We found him on the street and he told us that he's been REALLY busy with his job and that even on his days of rest he's been working. He said that he was really tired of his job, and a few days later, he ended up quitting. He told us that he wanted more time for Heavenly Father in his life, and more time to spend with his family. We visited him a bit later and we taught him the Restoration. It was an awesome lesson! He was interested in eveything we taught, especially the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. He said that he believed Jesus Christ had come to the Americas and that it was amazing what happened to Joseph Smith. Then this morning he called us and asked us to come visit him and his grandma, because he had talked to his grandma about us. She has cancer, but is very positive, and very kind and has a warm personality. She is also very humble. We taught her a bit about the priesthood being restored and we gave her a blessing of healing. It was really cool! I love them a lot.

Elizabeth and her son Diego didn't go to church this past Sunday:( and we haven't been able to visit her so far this week. We believe she didn't go because she was a little sick. She is slowly progressing. Her and her sons bring my companion and I a lot of joy. I hope that we can begin teaching her much more and that she may soon gain a testimony.

Haha, something funny happened this week! Welp, here in Bucaramanga, it's humid and I sweat a lot, and my acne has gotten amazingly ferocious. I didn't have any medicine for it, so I got some major acne on my cheek, just under my eye. So there was a big red spot just under my eye, it wasn't even funny. Gross right? Well, I was talking to one of my zone leaders, and he asked me what happened to my face under my eye. I jokingly responded, '' It was my companion'' and I laughed a bit. He obviously didn't get the joke, because two days later our bishop told us that the zone leaders had called him asking him if my companion and I had been fighting. WWWWOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWW. My zone leaders are tripping, huh? But it was pretty funny. Welp, gotta go, fams! Write me please!

I love you all like crazy!

Elder Bogdan

FAAAAAAMMMMMMMMIIIIILLLLLLLLIIIIIIIIIAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!

Yo peeps! How's it hangin?!

Welp, our investigator Nora, who I said was a little bit different, is planning to be baptized on Sept. 10th! Happy birthday Lisette! She still has much to learn, but it's the goal that we have set with her. She feels really good about the church and I have seen the changes in her life. Her problems have not just suddenly disappeared, but I can see that she is more happy now, and she is not dwelling as much on her problems. And the future is looking a little brighter. Heavenly Father is so wonderful! His capacity to love is amazing! Nora is hard to love at times, and people have treated her bad for all her life, but Heavenly Father has always loved her perfectly. He never grows impatient with her, or with any of us, for that matter. Because we are all as the dust of the earth, and we make lots of mistakes repeatedly, and Heavenly Father is very patient with us.

The Martinez family (Elizabeth- the mama, and Diego and Michael - the hijos) are going to Church more dilligently now, and the members are befriending them. They are progressing much better now, reading the scriptures and praying more, but their baptism is still scheduled for the 1st of October. We are going to talk to Elizabeth tomorrow about how she feels about her baptism and see if we can schedule it for a closer date. She still needs more commitment, and she is still not ready to commit to the Lord in the covenant of baptism, but I feel like she can be ready for her baptism much sooner. It's a great blessing, and necessary for eternal life, and there is danger in postponing it too long, I believe.

Welp, our investigator Marlon, who was the golden investigator who began to cry in our first lesson as he expressed his desires to return back to God and repent of his sins, wasn't able to go to church this past Sunday. We went to his house to pick him up and walk to church with him, but he wasn't there. We've called him several times as well and he is not answering. I hope that nothing bad happened and that he still has interest in having the lessons with us. Lots of times when people stop answering our calls and we lose contact with them, it's because someone has talked to them and said bad things about the church, things which aren't true. I hope that didn't happen with Marlon....

Well family, this past week my companion and I had a fight. We didn't get physical or anything, but we had a lot of contention in between us. Luckily, we decided to follow the Spirit in resolving the problem and we patched up everything, and now we're better friends! I like Elder Jara as a companion:) We have our differences, but we also have much in common. Welp, that's this week! Love you guys! You're all in my prayers! Do good in all things and all things will go good:)

Love,

Elder Bogdan

Ode to Copper-poo

Copper-poo! Lisette told me you had a seizure! Are you ok?? I miss you too. How're your legs doing? Still having arthritis problems? Be good for the next year and a half and I'll give you the best dog treat of your life!

Hahahahah dear family,

This week was much better! Thanks to all of those who wrote me and gave me advice. Each one of you gave me some helpful insight. I'm really so glad to be here on the mission. I am learning so much, and I love to learn and grow closer to Heavenly Father. It is a great blessing to be one of His missionaries in this time and age. It's funny, I don't think I even realize or comprehend how much I've changed for the better, how much I've grown. I still feel like the same person, but I know I'm not. If I could watch a video of my life at the start of the mission and a video of right now, 7 months later, I think the change would be great.

Welp, I'm gonna start talking to you all about my investigators now, because they are the purpose of my mission. They define my mission. The first investigators are Elizabeth Martinez and her son Diego (10 years old). We met Elizabeth in the last transfer, knocking doors. She has been slowly progressing, but she is definitely progressing. She also has a son named Michael (3 years old) and a husband who we met the first time this week. The husband was always working, and Elizabeth was hesitant to tell her husband that we were visiting because she said he's very Catholic and doesn't like to talk to people who teach from different religions. We asked her to tell him that we were visiting and to ask him if he'd have interest in listening to the message that we share for the families. She did it, and that's a good sign, because it shows that she thinks what we share is important for her family, including her husband. However, the husband said that he didn't have interest, but he said it was ok that we continue passing by to teach Elizabeth and their sons. One night he arrived at the house from work while we were there, but didn't enter in the house and left. So we had never met him or talked to him. But this past Sunday, we stopped by the house and we met him and presented ourselves! The only thing is that he was drunk and went to his room to sleep, so we didn't get to talk to him more than present ourselves. Elizabeth is very kind, and we have a good friendship with her and especially her sons. She wants her family to be closer to God, and especially worries about her sons. She feels like she raises them by herself for the most part, and I know that she wants more help from her husband, and doesn't like that he drinks. She is still having trouble going to church, but she has started reading the Book of Mormon by herself and praying. In the last visit, she told us that she has interest in learning more about the Book of Mormon. I can see that she wants to know if it is true or not, but she still has trouble with commitment. She has a baptismal date for October 1st, which is kinda far away, but it's because she is still unsure. I know that as she keeps reading the Book of Mormon and praying, she will receive her answer that it is true and will feel more willing and prepared for her baptism. We had a lesson with her in which a recent convert to the Church accompanied us. The recent convert, Hermana Posada, worked wonders! She shared her testimony of the gospel so strong, and was able to relate a lot with Elizabeth. Ever since that appointment, Elizabeth has been showing more interest and more commitment. That goes to show that the testimony of the members of the Church can make a huge difference. We as missionaries can only do so much, but members can help us in accomplishing what we can't accomplish. Many times they can relate to the investigators in ways that we as missionaries cannot. So family, help the missionaries! Help them a lot! You guys will be amazed at the seeds you can plant in the hearts of others! Travis, I hope you are going out with the missionaries! I started to go out with them when I was 14 and I still feel like I arrived to the mission clueless. It is a great experience to help others come to Christ! I was able to help the missionaries in teaching Jennifer Kott and her brother, who were later baptized, and Travis Wormington, who was also baptized. And I was very happy in doing that. I was able to make friends in the process as well, with investigators and with the missionaries.

Another investigator is Nora Chacon. She is a little different, and my companion and I have concluded that she has a little bit of mental problems, but she is so innocent, and kind, and honest. She is our most devout investigator. She has gone to Church for the past month without fail, but she will be moving to a different stake next week to live with her mom. She has had a very hard life. I believe that of all the people I have met in my entire life, she has had the hardest life of all. And so although she is a little strange, and the lessons with her are difficult and sometimes it's hard to be patient, I have to learn to love her, and I do love her at times, but I'm still working on loving her all the time. And that's what she needs more than anything: someone to love her and treat her kindly. Because for all of her life, people have treated her as worthless, including her parents. I hope that one day, she can overcome all the pains she has had with the Lord's help, and continue going to Church, where she can feel the Lord's love and be with people who will hopefully treat her kindly, because even members of the church can be cold at times. And I hope that she can progress enough to be baptized one day. That would be awesome.

Our other main investigator is Marlon Vega. He is GREAT. He loves us and we love him. He has soooooo much potential. In our first visit with him, he started to cry as he talked about the relationship he used to have with God. He used to be very close to God, and had so many blessings from the Lord. But then he distanced himself from the Lord and fell into sin, and as he told us about the hardships he has had since he fell away, the tears came flooding. He told us that he felt like we were sent to give him a second chance in life. An opportunity to fix his mistakes and receive forgiveness through repentance and baptism. We have already talked about baptism, and he has the desire to work towards being baptized. But there is a great obstacle. He is living in ''union libre'' ( I forgot how to say that in English) with the woman who is practically his wife right now. So in order to be baptized, he must get married with her. But it gets more complicated because he needs to get divorced from his ex-wife to marry his current wife. And it's even more complicated because he doesn't know where his ex-wife is. She ran away with his daughter and he hasn't seen his daughter in 3 years. In order to get divorced, he needs the signature of his ex-wife, and then he has to get married, and THEN he can get baptized. And all that also costs a lot of money.... So we are going to be praying for him very much. I you all could pray for him, as well as for all our investigators, I know the Lord will answer our prayers.

I love you family! The work is going much better now, and I am happy!

Love,

Elder Bogdan

Q'hubo familia?!

Q'hubo familia?!
Well family, this week we had a great zone conference. Like 24 missionaries from two zones gathered together and Pres. Hacking, Sis. Hacking, the assistants to the president, and a senior couple of missionaries gave wonderful talks to help us! We talked about the Christlike attributes of humility and dilligence, how to deal with stress, setting goals, and being holy men of God. I liked it a lot, and the messages were just what I needed. One thing that I liked a lot was what the senior sister told us. She said that she had been present when Pres. David O. McKay (?) set apart temple sealers. He got down on his knees and told the men that he had sealed them apart as holy men not only in the temple, but that they were to be holy men when they were shopping in the market, when they were at home, when they were traveling, etc. Or in other words, they were to be holy men for the rest of their lives in all time and in all things and in all places. She told us that we as missionaries are holy men, and that should be true in all times, all things, and all places. And that even after the mission, we are to remain holy men. We must not return to be the same person we were before the mission. Our lives should change forever, and change for the better. I liked that message a lot.

Well family, at this time, I feel the need to tell you all of my trials, the difficulties I have been having, so that you all can know how I truthfully am doing here in Colombia, and in hopes that you all can perhaps help me... I think that perhaps you all have realized that in quite some time I have not written much about my investigators, or much about the people here in Colombia who I am teaching. And I want to let you all know that the past month or so has been the hardest time of my mission so far. The past transfer, my companion was Elder Silva, from Peru. I told you all that it was hard at times to be his companion, and that I was excited to get another companion, and that with Elder Silva I felt more like the senior companion than the junior companion. Well, I got pretty discouraged last transfer. I didn't feel prepared to be a senior companion so soon. I felt at times like I was the only one teaching, like I couldn't rely on Elder Silva to help me out. I tried to rely on the Spirit, but I felt like I still wasn't a very good missionary. I still have trouble relying totally on the Spirit. I lack faith. So it seemed as if two very unexperienced missionaries were working together. We found investigators, but they wouldn't progress, and we lacked the power in our teaching to help them realize the truthfulness of the message. It's true that the investigators have their agency, and they weren't choosing to go to church or read or pray. And instead of working harder and exercising even more faith, I started to get discouraged, my faith decreased, and my work ethic decreased greatly. And I would like to apologize to Mom and Wayne and all those who are supporting me financially on the mission, because for the past month or so, I have not been working my hardest, and working as I should. I know that the Lord would not be pleased with my effort, because I know I could have done much more. We wouldn't stay in the house and do nothing, or break any major rules, but we stayed in the houses of members for much too long time, we stopped contacting as much, and we stopped working as hard as the Lord wanted. Also during that time, I started to begin to miss the USA a whole bunch. I was ''trunky'', as the missionary lingo goes. Then Elder Silva left, and my new companion, Elder Jara, from Chile, arrived. I had hope that things were gonna change. But Elder Jara arrived and got sick, and I thought he was faking it cuz he didn't have a temperature, and the next day he said he had knee problems and couldn't walk. So for 2 days we stayed inside the house doing nothing or were in the clinic, because he was sick or couldn't walk. I got more discouraged. And then I finally realized that I HAD to change things. My faith HAD to increase. My testimony HAD to be stronger. My discipline had to be greater. I HAD to make it clear to my companion, through my words and actions, that I wanted to work hard and be obedient. Then this past week I got sick for the first time, and I was in bed for one day with a fever and wanted to throw up, but I never actually did throw up. And after all those trials for a month or so, I decided this past Sunday that I was gonna change things. It was time to become the missionary that I always wanted to be, and it wasn't gonna happen without effort. And I'm happy with my companion now, because I've realized that although he is not perfect, he has the DESIRE to be a good missionary, and that is enough for me! So now we're gonna work hard. I'm gonna make sure that I don't let myself get discouraged and lazy and trunky again. And if I start to feel that way, I'm gonna tell yall about it, so that you can help me and counsel me, instead of keeping it secret. Please keep praying for me, because the change still is under way, and this change will be difficult. Please write me, and encourage me, because I'll need it.

Thanks family! I love you all so much! I have realized here on the mission how important family is for me! After God, I can truly say with 100% - no, 200%- surety that my family is the most important thing to me in existence! Imagine me hugging you all now! Take care! Be good! I won't let yall down, so don't let me down either! Keep strong in the faith!

Love,
Elder Bogdan