I just wanted to share the quick miracle that happened. Last night, we had 3 baptisms =) yep, I was able to have the baptisms before going home!!! It was one of the most spiritual baptisms I've seen, it was awesome =) I'll give you more details on Thursday, make sure the car is warm =) See you later (and take food to the airport, I'm going to be hungry =)

-- Elder Black

    Elder Hunter Black    

  Costa Rica San José    

            

          2013-2014             

Last Email?

Well, I don't know if this is going to be my last email or not, so I think I'm going to copy Skylar and do the same list that he did.

This last week went alright, everybody is all like, "almost elder, you're almost home, just one week left" Yeah, so it's kinda weird. But overall things are going good. We found a new family of 6 to teach, they're cool, very receptive. Hopefully we can have some good progress with them. We are really trying to have 3 baptisms on Sunday... we'll see if it happens, I sure hope so.

Anyways, I just wanted to write the list of my comps, areas, etc.

Companions:11 (and one repeated)

1. Elder Ramirez (San Pedro Sula, Honduras) Trainer

2. Elder Garrett (Oklahoma) 1/2 Trainer

3. Elder Brindis (Chiapas, Mexico) Potty Trainer

4. Elder Elvira (Guatemala, Guatemala)

5. Elder De Leon (Guatemala, Guatemala) My son for 1 week

6. Elder Garrett (Again)

7. Elder Zelaya (Tegucigalpa, Honduras)

8. Elder Alvarez (D.F., Mexico)

9. Elder Ortega (San Pedro Sula, Honduras)

10. Elder Roldan (Guatemala, Guatemala)

11. Elder Rodriguez (San Salvador, El Salvador)

12. Elder Mejia (Guatemala, Guatemala)

Areas: 8

1. Naranjo, 6 months: Hot, purely hills, almost nothing flat there. A little bit in the campo, it's just a branch of about 60, but the members are really cool. Very catholic and evangelic. But the people are very humble. Famous for coffee, there are lots of coffee fields there. The area goes clear up to Zarcero which is famous for the garden sculptures in the park. And Zarcero is pretty cold.

2. Barva de Heredia, 3 Weeks jaja: It's cool, also has lots of mountains. Famous for the masks that they make and in August (while I was there) they have a huge festival and people put those masks on and go around smacking people with pig bladders full of urine... It's a ward.

3. Guarari de Heredia, 1 week=): Famous for being dangerous, drugs, etc. Lots of Nicaraguans. It's really chill, the people are humble. It's a ward.

4. San Rafael... de Heredia, 2 months: Cold, it's up in the mountains, has a lot of nature, it's very pretty there. Famous for the cook, it was a buffet everyday and she made good food =) A small branch of 80 members.

5. Alajuelita, 3 months: Very famous for being very dangerous, lots of shootings, drugs, poor people, dirty. But it's cool =) The members are awesome, it's a ward of 120. A lot of Nicaraguans live there and were fairly receptive to our message.

6.Vizcaya, 4.5 months: Right next to Alajuelita, also "dangerous" Part of the area is in the mountain clear in the middle of nowhere. It's an awesome ward of 130 members that are ready to work =)

7. Escazú, 1.5 months: Famous because of the gringos!!! And witches!!! Half of the ward are gringos. The bishop is gringo too. So everyone thinks that the area is loaded with money, but pretty much everywhere is poor. The members are pretty cool and almost everyone speaks a bit of english, so it was nice to practice =)

8. Tibás, 6 months: Famous for the Saprissa, the soccer team here (I'm not Saprisista, I'm Ligista, the enemy of Saprissa) The people here are also fairly catholic. The nice thing is the area is very flat. It's a small ward of about 85 people... so it's almost a branch... but we just got a new bishop and the members are getting excited to work. The members are very nice and give us lots of food. This area is pretty great.

So everything is the mission has been great, I've learned alot, I don't feel like I've changed... but I guess you guys will have to tell me. The people here in Costa Rica are awesome, the Ticos and the Nicas, I love them both. I'm glad to have been able to be here a little while and hope that when I get back I can make you all proud. I'm excited to see you all again, but I'm sad to leave here. See you all soon.

¡¡¡PURA VIDA!!!

-- Elder Black

    Elder Hunter Black    

  Costa Rica San José    

            

          2013-2014