January 13, 2014

Hi Mom
This week was a good one!  On Tuesday we had to go to the emergency room.......Don't worry....not for anything life endangering. For the last long time my companion has had an ingrown toenail. So on Tuesday we went to the emergency room so that the doctor could take it out. It is kind of funny because he can't wear shoes for a while. A lot of people have asked him why he always wears sandals. For a day and a half we couldn't work because he was told that he could only walk around in the house.

So in my house there are four missionaries: my companion, me, and two others. The other two Elders are really cool. One is Elder Coc, he is the Elder Mitchell knows from Guatemala. And the other Elder is Elder Nobre, he is from Brazil. Anyway, the other day Elder Nobre made really good chocolate fudge stuff. He put sweetened condensed milk in a pot and heated it up and then added powdered chocolate. He then stirred it for a good while until it started to get hard to turn, then he put a little butter in it and then it was done. It was really good.


This Saturday we had a baptism. Her name is Janeth. Her baptism was a really neat experience. Ever since the day that we set the date for her baptism she has been really scared. She doesn't like to put her head under the water because she has a fear of having water cover her hair. So when we entered the baptismal font she was really nervous. I gave her a couple of words of encouragement and then I baptized her. when she came out of the water the first thing she said was, "When are you going to put me under the water?" I said,"Yeah, it's all done." She did not even notice that she had been under the water. Then she said, "Well that was not so bad." It was a really neat experience.

That is all for this week.
Love Elder Rucker

p.s. This is a video that we watched during the Christmas conference. It talks a lot about missionary work, but think about how it applies to you in your own life and in your callings. I really like this video and hope that you like it too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wo0mOZ4S7GE

January 6, 2014

Hey Mom,

This past week was pretty good. We had a zone activity to celebrate the New Year. New Year’s in Colombia is pretty cool. They make dolls to burn at midnight.  I thought cool—they burn something to signify the end of the old and the beginning of the new. But what none of the missionaries knew was that these dolls are filled with gun powder. So at 12 o'clock everyone started burning the dolls. There were so many explosions that it was impossible to sleep so we just watched and listened from our house. All-in-all it was a good New Years. Let’s start off strong Family.

 

This week was also transfers and Elder Azañon was sent to a city to the north that is called Pereira. My new companion is North American. He is from Oklahoma. He is 20 years old. His name is Elder Johnson. He has been in the mission for a little bit less that I have. I started in March and he started in April. Of the four companions I have had so far, he is my third North American companion.

This Sunday was fast and testimony meeting. The spirit was really strong. Most of the time in fast and testimony meeting the people share their testimonies about one of many topics of the Gospel. But this Sunday everyone  shared their testimonies about the Savior. 

I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. I know that his example for us is the only way to return to live with our Heavenly Father.

2 Nephi 22   

 1 And in that day thou shalt say: O Lord, I will praise thee; though thou wast angry with me thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me.
 2 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid; for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also has become my salvation.
 3 Therefore, with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.
 4 And in that day shall ye say: Praise the Lord, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted.
 5 Sing unto the Lord; for he hath done excellent things; this is known in all the earth.
 6 Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion; for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.

I love you all want the best for you. Let’s take more time this year to think about our Savior, not just holidays and Sundays, but every day!

With lots and lots of love,

Elder Rucker

http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2009/04/none-were-with-him?lang=eng



I like to play with the magnifying glass some times when I take pictures.



December 30, 2013

Well this week was an adventure, not really but it was a good week. 

Last Monday I took my companion out for pizza for Christmas. We ate at a place called Jenos. It was pretty good but nothing like American pizza.


Tuesday was the highlight of the week because I called my family. =) I was so excited to talk to you guys. I was so happy to see each and every one of you. Now it is only a little while more before we will be able to talk again. 

On Christmas day we had a zone activity. All the missionaries in Armenia got together to play soccer, have a BBQ, and to do a gift exchange.  It was super fun and the food was good. For the gift exchange I gave a really cool wallet and a cheapo hat. I guess it was what you could call a gag gift and the wallet was the actual gift. I got a pencil holder that has Colombian style. At first I thought it was stupid. But once I got home and put my colored pencils in it I could not stop staring at it. It has real coffee beans on it.  Unfortunately the zone activity was outside and I was wearing shorts. It was the first time in nine months that my legs had seen real sun, so they got burned. My face also got a little burned but not too bad.


Then after the 25th it was back to work as normal. Working hard and helping the people of Armenia.

Today we have transfers, so next week I will let you know what happens.

Love, Elder Rucker 




Authentic Guatemalan tie from Elder Azañon's family.

Silly Jade!

We are making Natilla for a branch activity. It is kind of like pudding but denser. We made it at a member’s house. At first it is easy to stir then it hits a point and becomes really hard to stir.



December 25, 2013

Feliz Navidad

December 16, 2013

This past week was really good.

First, last p-day we found a really good BBQ place. It cost 6000 pesos for soup, salad, steak, rice, spaghetti and a drink. So…basically 3 dollars for all of that, what a deal!

Second, this week was our Christmas dinner with President Pitarch. All the missionaries in the eje Caftero traveled to Pereira for the dinner. There were about 80 missionaries. We had a talent show and a conference to start us off. Then to finish off the night we went to a place called Leñon and Parrilla. It is an Argentine steak house. I got the Churrasco. It is basically just a big chunk of meat. They also gave us some really good mango juice. During the dinner we did a gift exchange. I gave an artisan bag and a bracelet with the letters MCM (Mission Colombia Medellin). And in return I got a vacuum Flask. I consider that a good exchange. I felt bad for some of the other missionaries that gave good gifts but received crappy ones. While we were in Pereira we stayed in a hotel and it was pretty cool. The president’s gift was a scripture case for my Preach my Gospel.

Lastly, this past week I completed 9 months in the mission. Isn't that crazy?

That is basically all for me.

I love you so much mom.
Love,

Elder Rucker

 

December 9, 2013

Hey Mom, 

This week was quite a week--a lot happened. 

Every year on the 7th and 8th of December they have what is called "Noche de Velas" (Night of the candles) and it is really pretty. Everyone makes colorful decorations, puts them in the street and then puts candles inside of the decorations. All the streets are lit up and it is really cool.

We worked with our Branch President one day and he showed us a couple of short cuts through the forest that will help us save a bunch of time. I felt so cool trekking through the Forest.

We had a baptism this week. We have been working with this sister for quite awhile. Elder Azañon had been teaching this investigator even before I got here. But now she will be a strong member.

Yesterday was the world-wide church Christmas devotional. We went and it was really cool. One of the speakers used a story of a family from Spanish Fork. I nearly jumped out of my seat when he said the words "Spanish Fork, Utah". 

Lastly, I gave a talk in Sacrament meeting on Sunday. They told me one hour before the meeting that I was going to speak. So I quickly thought of some things to say and it turned out pretty good.

Love Elder Rucker

December 2, 2013

Well Mom this week was an Adventure.

First off, when it rains here in Armenia—it pours, pours buckets of water. My area is on a gradual hill. The hill is not too steep. It is just steep enough to let the water go down. And when it rains here the water goes down in a river of about 6 inches. The whole week has been this way. In the morning it is cold and then in the afternoon it is hot and sunny. Then at about 4 or 5 pm it just starts raining again. This is basically my life when it starts to rain http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3eLJdb2ZN4.

Since this week was Thanksgiving I did a little celebration with some street KFC. It is like street tacos but street KFC. It was actually really good. However, I told my companion that if I get sick the next day we will know that it was because of the chicken. 

That was about all for this week

Love Elder Rucker