April 28, 2014

Hello Mom,
This week was really good. 

I think I will start out with the funny story of the week. As I may have told you one or two times, my area is built on the side of the mountain. The higher up I get, the steeper the hills. It goes from streets, then to stairs, then to rocks. Well, wouldn't you know that we have a family of recent converts who live where the stairs stop and the rocks begin. So yesterday we got finished teaching them and we started to come down the side of the mountain. My companion was using the rocks to go down and I was too. But you know what happens when you don't pay attention??? Let’s just say I now know what it is like to trail blaze the face of a mountain!!! No worries, the ground was really soft. All-in-all I came out with just a scratch on my elbow.

Saturday was a really good day. In the morning we participated in the weddings of three families of investigators. Then in the evening we participated in their baptisms.  We had what is call a "white night". A  night when lots of people get baptized.  There were a total of 7 baptisms. Lots of missionaries in the past have worked hard for this night.  Everyone is a part of helping these investigators get to this point. I was privileged to be here for their baptisms. 

A great week, Best Week Yet!!!

Love, Elder Rucker

April 21, 2014

Hi Mom,
This week a lot of things have happened. First, as you well know, it was my birthday. Thank you for the birthday wishes and I did get the video. Thank you so much. I loved it. For my birthday, a sister threw a big party. When I first got here, she asked me when my birthday was. When she found out she said two of her kids had birthdays in April and some of the friends of her kids. So we planned a multi-birthday party. We were in charge of the cake and she was over the food. We had a great time.

Second, on Saturday we finally made it to the very tippy top of our area. It is really high up. Good thing that there is a bus that takes us up and down or we would be dead.

Also on Saturday we had a baptism. Her name is Yolanda. Some of her family got baptized a little while ago and on Saturday it was her turn. It was a once in a life time experience...... Do you want to know why?...........Alright I will tell you. When my companion and I went to fill up the baptismal font, everything was going well—for about 10 minutes.  Then all the water in the church shut off. Long story short, after much effort to find water we were able to fill up the font with about a foot of water. It was just enough for the baptism. Remember, it is not the water or the place of the baptism that is important, but the ordnance.

Oh, I almost forgot, President Uceda of the Quorum of the Seventy came to Medellin. We had a really great conference with him and I learned a lot. The way he speaks in a mission setting is a lot different than the way that he speaks in a General Conference setting.

Well, there are the highlights of the week for me.

Love you,  Elder Rucker

 

April 14, 2014

Hey Mom-

Greg will be getting home on the 27 or 28 of June. Danny, David’s little brother, just got his mission call. He will be going to the Peru Lima South mission. He will go the Mexico MTC. He enters the 16 of July.

 

Yeah… my hair has gotten really long. I will cut it today.

This week we had transfers. My new companion is Elder Roa. He is from Paraguay. He has been in the mission for 20 months now. It is most likely but not a guarantee that I will be his last companion.

Today we used a little bit of our preparation day to help three families start the process of getting married. So next week they will get married and.....Baptized. The three families are really cool and can hardly wait for next week.

This week Elder Uceda will be coming to visit the mission. He is the President of this area. We will see how it goes and next week I will write all about it.

That is all for this week. 

Best week yet.

Elder Rucker

April 7, 2014

Hello Mom
This week was really good. General Conference was amazing and I learned a lot. We watched in English with the Elders who speak English, we also watched it with a couple who is here from the USA. They are an older couple and for some reason are looking for a place to live.  They are thinking about Medellin.

This week, for the first time in my life, I ate a fish (EVERYTHING but the bones) . I had eaten fish before, but never a WHOLE fish. It was really good. It was a little annoying to pick out all the bones but it was still good. 

This morning we played soccer. Last night when the zone leaders told us about the soccer activity my companion got so excited he put on his cleats and went to bed. A little while later he took them off, but it was still funny that he put them on in the first place!

I have been blessed with a couple of companions who like to cook and I am learning from them. This week I learned how to make cheapo homemade scones. They were good, but they were cheapo and nothing like the scones that we eat. 

This week we had a Family Home Evening. It was one of my favorite Family Home Evenings in the mission. The majority of the people who showed up were from the Relief Society. So we talked about the importance of Mothers. We shared the scripture Alma 56:47-48. 

      47 Now they never had fought, yet they did not fear death; and they did think more upon the liberty of their fathers than they did upon their lives; yea, they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them.

     48 And they rehearsed unto me the words of their mothers, saying: We do not doubt our mothers knew it. 

The Spirit was really strong during the lesson. I love you Mom. And I can’t thank you enough for all the things that you have taught me.

Best Week Yet!

Love, Elder Rucker

March 31, 2014

Hi Mom,
Well…this week we had transfers. I am no longer in Armenia. I am now in Medellín. My new area is named Villa Hermosa. It is the second steepest area in the whole mission. Remember when I was in Manizales and I sent a few photos of the hills? Well, the hills in my area are a lot worse here.  My new companion is named Elder Altamirano. He is from Ecuador. He has been serving just a little bit longer than me. For the first time in my mission I am in a ward opposed to a branch. And also for the first time in my mission, I started sacrament meeting at the beginning of the block.

There is a member in the ward who will be traveling to Salt Lake for the General Conference. I am going to try to send something with him, but he leaves on Wednesday. I will see what I can do. 

We had a BBQ at an investigator’s house. It was really good. We were going to eat chicken feet but we did not have enough time to cook them.  Bummer, right??? 

 

 

Well there are the highlights of the week. 

Have a great week and enjoy General Conference. If you have any questions now is the time to be thinking of them. Have them in your mind and I promise if you listen attentively to the speakers, your questions will be answered.

Best Week Yet!

Love, Elder Rucker