June 23, 2014

Hello Mom,

This was a sad week. It was time for transfers and I got moved. I was only in Villa Hermosa for two transfers but was hoping I would to there for four. It was a great area and the members were awesome. My new area is Buenos Aires. It is in another part of Medellin. The cool thing is that it is right next to my old area. And there is a  neighborhood called… Pablo Escobar. Cool right?  In the transfers, I was called as a Zone Leader. My new companion is a Peruvian. His name is Elder Ramos.  

My last day in my old area Elder Roa and I hiked up to one of the high points of our area, which means the TOP of the mountain. So while we were there, we preached to the people of Medellin. We were really high up.

On Sunday I got to know the new ward. It is really cool. I am going to like it here. During sacrament meeting the first two talks did not last very long. So when we started to sing the intermediate hymn the secretary of the ward came and asked me to speak. I have had to prepare a talk in 20 minutes in the past, but never have I had to prepare a talk in 2 minutes! So I am think that by the end of my mission when I get called to speak I will get seconds to prepare. I will tell you though, that I like speak with less time to prepare. Why??? Because you have no time to talk yourself down or doubt yourself. You only have time to gather a few words then rely entirely on the Spirit. I like it better.

Well, this week was an adventure. 

Love you,  Elder Rucker
FYI Greg finishes his mission this week.

June 16, 2014

Querida Madre,

This week was pretty good. One day our lunch appointment canceled, so we had no lunch. The same thing happened with the other missionaries who live in our house. So Elder Meyers and I cooked breakfast. We made waffles, eggs and bacon. It was really good. The bacon was amazing. We coated it in brown sugar then fried it. I would have never thought to do it that way, but Elder Meyers showed me and it turned out really good. 

I finally remembered to take a picture of myself in my USA uniform. Don’t I look like Waldo?

There is a member who has a dog and it had puppies. They are really cute. But the weird thing is that they don't look like brothers. Every time we pass by the member’s house we have to, well…. I have to play with the puppies for five minutes.

OUCH!

 

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints is God’s Kingdom here on Earth. I have no doubt about that. Every day He confirms my testimony. The Book of Mormon is as it says on the cover "Another testament of Jesus Christ". The Book of Mormon Changes lives, I have seen it. Think of Mister Sir "You take a bad boy, make him dig holes all day in the hot sun, it turns him into a good boy." Now apply that to the Book or Mormon. You take a bad person, invite them to read the Book of Mormon, if they do, it turns him/her into a good person. I love His work and I am honored to labor in His vineyard.

I love you,

Love Elder Rucker

We also had a Family Home Evening this week that went really well. We watched this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdCPMwhvJ88&list=PL4E784EC0770935C0&index=14

June 9, 2014

Mom,
This week was really good. Last P-day we went to Parque Explora (Explorer Park). It is a park of science. There were a lot of  cool things inside and experiments. For example, I drove around in the human brain, put my body in one of the hand wire things, yeah cool things like that. You will see in the pictures.



In our area there is a big water tank and at night there are really cool lights on it that change colors. When I took the photo it was red, but it also can be green, blue, etc.

The Zone had a birthday party for all the people who had a birthday in April, May and June. So it was really cool.

This week it rained a lot. I know in the picture it does not look like a lot of water, but know that that hill is very steep and there is about 1 inch of water covering the whole street. There was so much water and the hill so steep that taxis could not go up the hill.

In past letters you asked about drug deals. Well, to see a drug deal here is pretty common, but this week something out of the ordinary happened. My companion and I were walking and saw two guys in the street. They were standing right in the middle of the walkway so we had to pass in the middle of the two. Turns out that we walked right through the drug deal. Pretty cool right???

The next story is pretty funny but kind of gross. One of our investigators has a bunny and it acts like a dog. It has to check up on us every little while to make sure we are still where we have to be. Well, during the lesson this week I had to take a call so I got up and walked to the edge of the garden. So naturally the bunny came over to see what I was doing. Then for some reason he went all crazy and started running all around my feet. Then when I looked down I realized.....he had peed all over my shoes. Good thing they are waterproof.  Am I right?

Well, that's my week, enjoy!
Love you, Elder Rucker

June 2, 2014

Hello Mother Dear,

On Tuesday I went to a conference for all the Zone and District Leaders with President Pitarch. He had never done a conference like that but he wanted to do something different for a change.

Every week there is a ward sport night. Members, investigators and missionaries get together to play sports…soccer. When I play, I can't just go and play like a regular person, I have to go all out! Going all out includes the uniform. I bought a Colombian uniform and the uniform for the US team. I don't have a photo of me in the US uniform but it is cool. I look like Waldo from "Where's Waldo".  

So, the World Cup of Soccer is approaching and President Pitarch is really excited. He has invented a World Cup for the mission. We really don't  know what it will include—but it will be good!

There is a cool family in the ward and on Sunday they invited us to eat lasagna with them. It was the fourth time I’ve eaten lasagna on my mission. It was good, but not quite like Mom’s home cooking.

That’s all for this week. 

Love You All, Elder Rucker

May 26, 2014

Hey Mom,

Sorry again about the letter from last week, not a lot happened. Don't be worried everything is all right with me, in fact the things here are amazing. I feel right at home every Sunday, in the ward I am serving in right now, there are even little kids that cry and run everywhere.

This week a lot of good things happened. 

Everyone knows that Elders are good for a lot of things. One of those things is helping people move. In the United States people take the stuff out of the house load it on a truck then drive to the new house and then unload everything. Here in Medellin, in some areas a truck is not an option. The only option is to carry your things from your old house to your new house. That is what we did this week, we helped a family move their things. But the cool part is that their old house was up in the mountain, and their new house was even farther up in the mountain. So, yeah we had to carry all the things up the side of the mountain.

Here in Colombia, I have noticed that the missionaries are involved in everything. This week we had a very special night for all the couples in the ward. We planned a really cool activity. A lot of couples came and had a great time. I don't know if I have told you, but my companion is about to finish his mission. So I like to joke with him. Whenever we see a couple kissing or managing their 3 kids I always like to tell him, "Look companion, your life in 3 years, kissing and crying kids!" We always get a good laugh out of that one. So now that I am thinking about it, I could say that to Mitchell and to Greg. HAHAHAHAHAHAH. It’s a funny joke, right?

And to top the week: we had a baptism! After 8 years of investigating the Church and working hard to gather what was necessary for her marriage, Sister Virgelina finally got baptized. Ever since I got here, I have seen her at every baptism with a sad face because she was not yet baptized. But on Saturday her smile could not have been any bigger. I am very thankful that I could be here in this ward to share in this experience.

Last short story, I should get my package this week. Don't miss next week’s episode for the details.

I love you Mom and all other readers,

Love Elder Rucker

 

May 13, 2014

Jason, Tori and I got to Skype with Jayden for exactly 60 minutes on Mother's Day.  It was great talking to him and kind of "seeing" him.  (The quality of the picture wasn't fabulous.  He looked like a Picasso painting.)  Right now he is serving in the hills of Medellin. He is a District Leader and staying very busy!  We LOVE you Elder J. Rucker

Jayden didn't send a letter this week but he did send a few pictures. (of course, there would be one of a dog!)

May 5, 2014

Hi Mom,

Sorry I didn't take any pictures of what I looked like after the fall. And sadly there are no pictures for this week either. Also another sad story—I think my birthday package is lost forever. 

First off, I want to tell you about an investigator we are teaching right now. His name is Alfonso. We found him one day as he was walking from the store to his house. When he saw us, he stopped in the middle of the street to stare at us, so we decided to talk with him. He invited use to visit with him in his home. As we talked, we came to know that he is 97 years old. But he acts and talks like someone who is in their 70s or 80s. Then we met his wife, Maria. She is 85. They are a really neat couple. They have been married for 65 years. Every time we pass by their house to teach there are always more family members and neighbors to teach. They are really Catholic but we are going to keep teaching them and see how it goes.

These past couple days I have been a little sick. But don't worry it’s just the croup. 

In my Zone there are four North Americans. The past couple weeks one of them has been trying to make mashed potatoes. And for the past couple weeks, he has arrived at our weekly district meetings without accomplishing his goal of making mashed potatoes.  I gave him a couple of pointers and he still couldn't do it. So one day he called me up on the phone and I walked him step by step through the process. Long story short—he now knows how to make mashed potatoes!     

I can’t wait to talk with you guys on Mother’s Day.

Love, Elder Rucker