Travels to Jinotepe

P-Day activity today....

Well, this week was an exhausting one. We had to make three trips to Jinotepe, the main area of the Zone, which is about 80 minutes each way. Our first trip was last Monday for the district leaders to meet with the Zone Leaders and discuss things we're doing to meet our baptism goal as a zone. Then we went again on Tuesday for our interviews with President Russell. Then we travelled there a third time on Friday for Zone Conference with the whole Zone. The topic of our conference centered on doing all we can to reach our baptism goal as a zone. Of course, for my whole mission, most of the zone conferences have focused on finding and baptizing more, but this zone, Zona Jinotepe, never has had a lot of success like in my other areas.

Me and Elder Cuyan

My interview with President Russell actually went really well. I was pretty nervous going in, but he didn't talk to me about baptisms. He talked to me about developing more leadership skills and helping the Hermanas in my district more, and at the end he talked to me a little bit about school in the Fall. But it was a little bit sad knowing it was my last interview I will have with him. When I have my very last interview of my mission, it will be with a new mission president that doesn't know me at all, so it turned out to be a nice interview and a little bit sad. I will miss President and Hermana Russell.

So during this past week I worked a lot with the Hermanas because they have quite a few possible baptisms for next Saturday, so I was going and helping them work with their investigators to keep their commitments. As May comes to a close this week, we have a few positive investigators we have been bringing to church, but we haven't really found anyone new to teach this week. We are also planning to have a baptism of our own this Saturday of a 10-year-old girl who's mother is a member, but she hadn't come to church since she was baptized about 17 years ago. We are also teaching the mother's future husband, but he has a lot of issues to work on before they can get married and eventually baptized as well. However, their daughter is still planning to be baptized this next week, so prayers would be appreciated that everything works out for her.

So my eyes are doing better. I have been taking all of the drops, so the redness and itchiness has gone away. Honestly I think when I get transferred from Rivas, my eyes won't be bothering me as much anymore. This last week it hasn't rained a drop here and it has been blazing hot and sunny and miserable to be outside. It is also pretty miserable inside as well even with a fan. In fact, all of our investigators and contacts turn their fans on us when we enter in their homes. Still, pretty hot and miserable.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention, this past week we watched some of the members shoot a pigeon with a slingshot and then they immediately cooked it and gave some to us. So I also tried some pigeon for the first time in my life. Seriously, though, it tasted just like chicken.