Baleadas and the Book of Mormon: Week 30 - The Blessings of a Cloudy Sky

Wow, it has been a crazy week here in Zamorano but a great week at the same time. The 31st came and went by so fast!!!! hahah Hermana Osorio and I were sure to celebrate by buying a few harmless fireworks. We didn’t want to miss out on the fireworks! hahaha So we lit a few off in our apartment! It was great! So that was our little 31st celebration but at 12 o’clock in the morning we were woken up by fireworks and opened our door to see tons and tons of fireworks. It was crazy. We literally couldn’t sleep due to the loud booms and bangs. But one tradition that Hermana Osorio has is that she always prays at 12 in the morning to thank Heavenly Father for everything that happened in the old year and to give thanks for the New Year. She is such a great example to me and I love learning things from her.

Then, the nest morning, we left to work in the morning around 11 after our studies and there was absolutely no one in the street. Everyone was asleep. We tried to visit people and no one would answer their doors because they were all asleep. Around 3 in the afternoon is when the people started to wake up. It was so funny. We would say *Buenas Tardes* and everyone replied *Buenos Dias* but it was 3 or 4 in the afternoon. So the work was a little hard this day.

This week, we had the chance to work a lot with less active members. On Friday, we went to visit one family who lives really far away but the plus was that they were going to teach us how to milk cows. So we learned how to milk cows and it is way harder than I thought. We wanted to help them but I think it would have been faster if the family had just milked the cows themselves. Oh well. But it was fun to learn and then share a little message with them.

But the real test of the week came on Saturday. We had walked so much on Friday and were way tired but there is always work to be done. So we left and took a bus to a different part of our area to visit a new family that was a reference. On a bus, it takes about 10 or 15 minutes to get there which is no big deal. But after we visited the family and walked 30 minutes to the highway from the house, we decided to wait some time for the bus to pass by. We waited in the hot, hot sun for 30 minutes and finally a bus passed by and I was flagging it down but it didn’t stop. So we decided that we were going to walk. As we started, I was thinking to myself, man why can’t Heavenly Father send us a bus, but then I remembered that while we were waiting for the bus, the sun was beating down on us but as we were walking, there were only clouds. The blessing of clouds. We were able to walk what would have taken 2 hours in an hour and make it to our investigators’ house for our appointment. Even though it seems simple, the clouds made all the difference, and my companion and I thanked our Heavenly Father for the clouds.

I have a testimony that it is by the small and simple things that great things come to pass. I love this gospel. I love this work. I am so grateful for the people here in Zamorano. I love them so much!!!!

Thank you for all the love and support! Keep on smiling!!!!

All my love, Hermana Bodine

We learned how to milk cows with some menos activos!!!