Sept. 2nd, 2019 Letter #95

There has been a bit of progress this week. We had a baptism and we should have another one or two soon. There's one guy that wants to get baptized, but he's going to have an eye surgery soon and wants to wait until after the surgery. So we'll hope that everything goes well and that he can recover quickly.

This zone conference was huge with 4 zones that were included. There are a lot of new faces, but I saw plenty of recognizable ones as well. The conference was held here. 

I don't remember what I said last week about ice cream, but what I can say is that the ice cream is typically better in the US, but typically more appreciated here thanks to the heat. 

I expect to finish here in Poza Rica, but nothing is guaranteed. I feel like time is moving pretty quickly right now. I think that's a good sign because "time flies when you're having fun." 

My favorite part of the week was the baptism of Ivan, but I also really enjoyed splits with Elder Huxford's companion Elder Macedo. He's from Brazil and is super funny. 

One challenge right now is taking care of my feet. My toes get roughed up a little when I wear my boots, but when I wear my nicer shoes I'm always afraid of the possibility of rain, because the rainy season is coming. I have some thicker socks, but it's a trade off because it increases the heat. So I just switch to my shoes every once in a while.

Something funny was that I was walking with a couple of missionaries today and one of them was distracted as he talked so he had an unfortunate encounter. You know those steel cables that are attached to big telephone poles and come down at an angle toward the ground? He was walking and that steel cable found its way between his legs haha. 

One hymn that I like in Spanish is one that doesn't exist in English. It's called, "Placentero nos es trabajar," which is basically like "working is pleasant to us."

One thing that I studied this week was the chapter in "Jesus the Christ" about the trials held before the crucifixion of Christ. Taking a closer look at that process was eye-opening. I knew that the trial wasn't just, but I didn't realize just how incredibly illegal the whole thing was. But Jesus didn't complain, didn't exercise his power to escape, and didn't lose his cool at any point. I found it very impressive.

Love you,

Elder Finlinson

 Ivan's baptism