Terron Colorado

Hey everybody.

How's everything going? I'm doing great. My toe has healed up pretty good and I'm back in business. Haha. So this week I got all my zone shipped off for transfers, and then I hopped on a bus with all my bags real early Wednesday morning and got in to Cali at about 8 am. Got together with Elder Walker, my new companion, and we helped with the transfers for a little bit in the bus station in Cali. We got to the house about 10 am, and I left my bags in the house and straight away we went to the area. The area is called Terron Colorado, and it's like San Francisco on steroids. haha. It's straight up hill side, and iI have no idea how they built all the houses, but they did it. It's fairly poor, and we honestly won't be here in the area much, but from Wednesday until yesterday Elder Walker and I were able to teach like 20 lessons, and we had a few people in church yesterday. Elder Walker is awesome. He played basketball at Cottonwood High. We get along really well. We also share the area with President's secretary and the finance secretary (Elder Rebolledo and Elder Mejia) and Elder Lyle and Elder Gomez, Presidents Assistants. We all live together in the same house, right around the block from the mission office. It's a nice house. It's old, but it's a really pretty old house. Kinda classy. This week with the new missionaries that came in, I found out that I have a "great-grandson." I trained Elder Silverio, he trained Elder Bernales, and now Elder Bernales is training a new missionary. Gettin' old here haha.  Today for p-day we've just been running errands, getting ready for tomorrow, because starting tomorrow we will travel pretty much 4 weeks straight. We'll only be here in the house Sundays and Mondays. Divisions everyday with a different companionship, and we'll sleep on the floor! It's gonna be quite the adventure. Anyway, I'd better get going. Still gotta get some things set up. We'll be in Cali this week, and also Buena Ventura. It's coast, and it's super hot and muggy- right next to the ocean. Anyway, love you all. Thanks for your prayers and thoughts. I hope you have a good week. Hope Valentines day was good. I didn't even remember it was Valentines day until just now! Haha! Talk more next week.

Elder Dean

Elder Walker and Me

One Shoe and a Flip Flop: Extended to June.

Hey all.

How's everybody doing. Hope you all had a good week. This week was a little slow. This week I had to go to Cali and the toe doctor cut my nail off a bit. It was infected as well, so I've had to proselyte in one shoe and a flip flop haha. My companion has also been a little delicate with a wisdom tooth they took out a few weeks ago. We did what we could though. Anyway, so Wednesday morning I'm headed back to Cali. I've been called as a traveler. My new companion is Elder Walker from Utah. He has been an assistant for 7 months. We will be companions, and we will travel the mission doing divisions with missionaries, training them, and reporting to President. I actually had an interview with President, and have known for about 3 weeks now, but just kept in on the down low. My time here in Palmira wasn't too long, but I met amazing people here, and I hopefully have learned. They as well offered me to go home in June, so I will be going home in June. A little extra, but not too much, so we'll see you all then. This will be a new experience for me, and very different, but it will be awesome ending my mission by traveling the mission and getting to know so many elders, areas, and people. Anyway, I hope you all have a good week. I love you all. Hope you all feel the happiness that comes from this gospel. It's marvelous to know our purpose here, and know how to achieve real happiness. Until next week.

Elder Dean

No Bake Cookies and Square Dancing: The Heart of American Culture

Hey all.

How's everybody doing? So this week a few interesting things happened... This Friday we had a international foods night. The sister missionaries from Venezuela and El Salvador, and Elder Campos from Peru, all did a little dish from their countries, and I did chocolate no bake cookies. They didn't turn out as good as Dad's, but everybody loved them, and I definitely won best food haha! They didn't show up with the projector and some other stuff, so I just stood up with the microphone and talked about the states and even taught a little square dance haha. Saturday was crazy. We went to go fill up the baptismal font Saturday afternoon for Daniel's baptism. First, Daniel is an investigator that we've been teaching for about 4 weeks now. He is friend of Miguel Beltran, a young man in the branch. We went to go fill up the font, and the water pump was broken. With only a few hours before the service we started filling up buckets of water, trying to fill up the font, but it just wasn't working. So we sent two other elders from another chapel here in the zone to go fill up the baptismal font at another chapel, and when everybody showed up we had to send everybody over to the other chapel. Finally we made it over there, but we forgot the baptismal clothing, so I grabbed Elder Nilson, another elder here in the zone, and we took a taxi super fast to go get baptismal clothing. We got back to the chapel at 8:45 and the assistants called me to tell me that Elder Campos replacement was at the bus station in Palmira. I left the baptismal service to go pick him up, and left Elder Campos there to baptize Daniel. I missed the service, buts it's all good. He got confirmed yesterday in another branch because he doesn't live in my area, but we taught him in his friends house because he couldn't receive us in his house. The important thing is that he got baptized and his progress in the gospel. Yesterday afternoon Elder Campos headed out. I'm now here with my companion, Elder Azabache, also from Peru. I miss Elder Campos. It's interesting that sometimes the little things your companion does sometimes you get bugged with him, but when he leaves, you realize that he was a really good companion. Anyway, he's headed back to Peru. Anyway, I better get going. Gotta get the week started here. Thanks for all your prayers and thoughts. I hope you all have a good week.

Love, 

Elder Dean

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.