Last Week in Palmira.

Hey all.

How's everybody doing? Hope you all had a good week. Here- we are good. We had a pretty good week. This week we had interviews with president, and we walked A LOT. Haha. This week we walked to a little town about an hour walking distance outside of Palmira. We walked and walked and walked and got to the little town (one street, all dirt, about 50 houses) and we realized it was the wrong little town. Bummer. We walked another hour in the other direction and finally got to the little place we were looking for. I felt like a pioneer. Haha But, it was weird walking for miles with nothing but sugar cane and the sun blazing above. This week we had interviews with president, and he informed me that I will not be finishing up my mission here in Palmira. Elder Campos ends his mission this Sunday, and I will take him to Cali, and then pick up my new companion and show him the area the last week of the transfer, and then I'm out. I'll let everybody know in these next few week where I will be going. Anyway, other than that, I hope you all have a good week, and thanks for your prayers and thoughts. I'll try to keep Elder Campos off the trunky train this week ;) I've now sent home 3 missionaries and I'm not done yet! Love you all. Have a good week.

Elder Dean.

Banana Picking

Hey all.

How's everybody doing? Hope you all had a good week. This week was pretty fast... We had zone leader council Thursday all day and then Friday and Saturday I was in Pradera (a little town here in my zone). The church is fairly new there. There are about 30 people who attend the branch in a little house they've converted into a chapel. The elders are gaining some momentum down there. It was good to work with them for a day. I'll send a pic of the little house chapel. Anyway, this Sunday morning, Lucero got baptized. It was a small little baptism service because almost all the members were in Bogota at the temple. It turned out good though. She is an awesome lady with a lot of faith, even though her husband doesn't support her at all, and there are quite a few difficulties. But my companion baptized her, and I had the opportunity to confirm her a member of the church. Awesome. Anyway, today for pday, a member invited us to a cabin up in the mountains outside of Palmira. We had a fun time, and unfortunately we got back pretty late, so I'm rushed for time. I gotta leave it there for this week. Gotta get the week started, but I hope you all have a good week. Keep up the efforts to live the gospel all, and we'll talk more next week.

Elder Dean

Baptismal Service for Lucero

Today for pday- helping lower bananas.

 They weigh like 70 pounds every bushel.

House chapel in Pradera

La Hacienda Del Paraiso Valle Del Cauca Colombia

Hey everybody!

What's happening? Hope you all had a good week with that January rain back in Utah. haha! I'm doing pretty good here. This past week was pretty normal. We are working away. My companion just received his travel info back to Peru in the computer next to me. He's going home in 2 weeks... Yikes. Today is Tuesday. They changed my pday for today because yesterday there was a mini MTC for all the youth here in Palmira. There were about 15 boys and about 20 something girls, and we helped out all day with that yesterday. It was cool. Today for pday we went to a really old ranch about 30 min outside of Palmira. It's super famous, and it's a really pretty old house that's about 200 years old now. They've now turned it into a museum, and on the 50 mil Colombian peso bill, the guys face is on the front and the house is on the back. It was really cool and had some really interesting history. It was ok to do something a little different for pday. Anyway, other than that, things are trucking along. We're working hard to have a baptismal service this weekend. I love you all, and hope you have a great week. I'm reading the Book of Mormon like I always do everyday, as well as reading the New Testament. Scripture of the week: Ephesians 4:32. Love you all. Hope you have a great week.

Elder Dean. 

La Hacienda Del Paraiso

Valle Del Cauca Colombia

Happy New Year

Hey all.

How's it going? Hope you all had a happy new years. My new years was pretty chill... A sister in the branch invited us to eat dinner. We didn't have tons to do, so we sang some last few Christmas hymns to a few people and tried our best. Even though it was New Years this week, we still had a pretty good week when it comes to proselyting. New Years Eve, I stayed up until like 11 listening to fire works, and booze drinking, and loud music, and then fell asleep. Haha. HAPPY NEW YEARS. Anyway, thinking about this new year, 2015 will be a year of many changes. I have a few goals about how I want to end my mission, and just a few goals about when I am home (let's stay focused here ha). Anyway, all in all we're going good. This past week I haven't seen a single cloud in the sky almost. The sun has been so strong. I'm like the snow man. "In the sun he melted, melted, melted." I love you all, and I hope you are happy. Thanks for your prayers and thoughts. Until next week.

 Elder Dean

Say hi to Rooney. The dog that probably outweighs me.