Elder Preston Vance: Week #36 ~A Transfer, A Lesson & A Bat Bat.

Hola Familia!

I have received my first transfer call! Yeah!

I am to report to Bahia Blanca tonight leaving on the midnight bus… but that’s all I know. I don’t know my new comps name or the new area; rather I am to go forward in faith, buy a ticket and board the bus. But that’s ok, my mission is a grand adventure. I never know what or who Father will bring in to my life. I just know I am ready for the challenge. My Spanish has improved a lot thanks to Elder Benitez. He has taught me a so very much of Spanish and local traditions. In turn, I have taught him a lot of English and American traditions. We have helped each other progress so very much.

Monday

We had a p-day as normal. It was super rainy all day, in fact it rained all week. So, it was kind of hard to do much, but we played basketball with one of our investigators which was fun. He is super terrible at basketball, even worse than me, but it was fun to be doing something different than just sitting at home talking with him.

Tuesday

We visited a lot referrals. The ward has started to crank out the references and it makes our life’s so much easier and happier! It’s a like a great contact and they already have a friend in the church it’s kind of like a jump-started contact. It’s what we live for out here. It was super-hot this day and the humidity was insane. It was like walking through a cloud and was about 100 degrees and 90% humidity.

Wednesday

We passed for the menos activos and our recent convert on this day. It was super great to see them progressing spiritually and witness their testimonies grow! It was truly amazing because I remember every time after a lesson I think to myself, we will never see them again, let alone invite them to be baptized. Yet I stand all amazed to participate in and witness how the Spirit can change people so quickly like they did! I witnessed a complete turnaround in both of them; and it was truly an incredible experience for me!

Thursday

We had lunch and meet with one of our investigators; it was so much fun. We also did service for them in the morning. The investigator gave us pickaxes and asked us to break up the cement pad in his back yard. Their plan was to replace the concrete with something else. It was a very hot day and I was happy to do some real manual labor. When we finished, I was soaking wet from sweat because it was insanely hot. When I went, and told him we were done he didn’t believe we could destroy the cement that fast. So, he came and looked and he said he didn’t know that a Yankee could work so hard. Ha! I love hard work!

Friday

We had our zone meeting in the large half of the morning. It was a great meeting; I taught a lesson on obedience illustrating with the stripling warriors and how they were saved because of their obedience and the hand of God. It was great, I talked about how the fathers and the other men with war experience and training had difficult times and casualties. Yet, the youth who were 100 percent obedient were blessed so much more. Even in war and fighting times, they were fine. I compared it to current times… we are in the same war with the greatest adversary of all time trying to free our brothers and sisters, who don’t even know are incarcerated. The talk went well and I think I got my meaning across. After that we had divisions with the elders of Bolivar and my MTC companion Elder Goodrich! yeah!

Saturday

We had divisions with the zone leaders and I worked in another area. It was a fun adventure to have a new comp for a day! We taught a few lessons to some contacts and it was a great opportunity to learn from more experienced elders!

Sunday

Wow, we had a great Sunday. It was super sad cause even though at this point I didn’t know if I was going to be transferred for sure, I knew I was leaving. So I took pics with all my friends and people I worked with a lot. Then a family gave us millanessa sandwiches; which we were very happy to eat. After Sunday school, it started to rain hard, and the storm brought a huge cold wind to our area. So, we had “air conditioning” and sandwiches! Yeah! While we ate, we put on a general conference session and ate on our balcony; it felt like a little vacation. haha, it was super great!

Sunday night we had an unexpected visitor if the form of a friendly little bat that flew in though our “air conditioning” open window! I learned of our new visitor while asleep in bed when it brushed my hair and landed on my bed. I didn’t know what it was. I thought it was my comp throwing something at me to tell me it was raining too hard and to close the window. But, to my surprise when I looked up there it was, a bat, in other words a flying rodent! I flew out of bed and hit the lights while saying “Benitez venga!!!” Translation, “Come here now!!!” haha By now the bat was flying around our room. Ahhhhh I screamed like a little school girl; which wasn’t my proudest moment as a missionary in Ovavarria.

Then after a hour of frenzied searching for the bat because it continued to fly from room to room, we lost sight of it. We thought, maybe it left so we gave up and returned to our room and went to sleep. Yet we secured the premesis by tying the door and windows closed.

When we woke in the morning I began packing and my comp was making his bed. As he pulled the covers up, the bat was sleeping in his blanket!!! Aaaahhhhhh!!!!! (again). Then it decided to land on my back AHHHH (school girl scream for a third time). It was terrible with a capital T! Then it flew around our kitchen until I decided I was done being tormented and frightened by this darn bat. So I picked up the closest weapon to me, my shoe horn which is on an elongated stick. I swung and it was a hit! I batted it and sent it sailing into the wall and it died. Ha-ha, super crazy and super not fun. I don’t advise bats for pets, they are scary!