July 11, 2016

We had transfers last week and sadly enough I had to say goodbye to the friends and families in Negreiros. Looks like President wants to put me to work as he has assigned me to serve as Zone leader in the zone Piura Central. Piura Central is basically Presidents backdoor so I imagine we will be having a lot of meetings and making a lot of trips to the office. Needless to say I have no idea what exactly I am supposed to do now but I guess I will learn line upon line, precept upon precept.

 My new companion is a great Elder named Elder Troncos. In English his last name would translate to “tree trunks”. He is from Chile and I have known him for a really long time in the mission, I got to know him when I only had about 6 months here in Peru and he only had like 4. Looks like the Lord has finally put us together as companions.

 As always, saying goodbye to an area is never easy. We never did get around to baptizing Kiara, my companion will have to finish that one without me. We also have been working with 2 or 3 other families that showed a lot of promise, I only hope that my companion and the new guy can keep up the good work. As I departed from Negreiros the Lord once again reminded me through the friendship and love of the branch members here that my efforts have indeed made a difference. I left Negreiros with my bag full of little cards and notes that the members left me thanking me for my service. 3 months did indeed go by way too fast. As part of saying goodbye, my companion and I sang a rendition of “I Need Thee Every Hour” in sacrament meeting (or in Spanish, “Señor, te necesito”) and I guess you could say we brought the house down. I think I am gonna be a professional gospel singer when I get back haha.

 So now here I am in Piura Central. The back pain is gone and has been replaced by a runny nose, headaches, and the loss of my voice. I am only using hand signals and whistling to communicate my thoughts. More than anything I am excited to be taking on a newer and bigger responsibility as zone leader but in truth I do fear that I wont be up for it. Nonetheless, there is a good saying in the church that says “He whom the Lord calls, he trains”. I am putting my faith on the truthfulness of that statement.

 

Elder Cruz