Graffiti

The first one made me laugh it is of people smelling a food called sancocho and floating to it

08/11/2014

The last week went by reall fast! we haven't been able to teach very many lessons because of all of thethings we have going on with transfers, but we did have a little miracle last week. we were fasting and walking home on Sunday night and we had had some good visits, however we hadn't found anyone new to teach. which has been a problem for us lately for the last three weeks we haven't found anyone new to help. At nine a clock last sunday night our stake President saw us walking home and stopped and started to talk to us. He then remembered a friend of a family in the ward that he was being taught a couple of years ago he had seen her earlier that week and she was very excited to tell him about what she had been reading in the gospel Principles book she had been reading about tithing and fast offerings. we went directly to her house with him and began to get to know her and she was very interested and shared with us her testimony about how she wants to pay tithing. Well we put an appointment to go back and visit her. which had to be cancelled because she went to the hospital with a niece of hers that day and was with her all week. We still kept in contact with her and she said it would be hard to go to church this week, but that she would try. She went yesterday and It was amazing because the Ward welcomed her so well many of the members were already her friends and she went to and enjoyed all of the classes.  It was a blessing when we went and taught her that she had been studying about fasting which I believe is the very thing that blessed us and the stake president to find ourselves together and he was reminded by the Holy Ghost the we needed to visit her. Besides that We went to a family that was referred to us by the bishop and they have gone to church once in the four weeks we have been visiting them. the mother tells us that she doesn't have alot of interest and she is honestly very nice to us, but doesn't sincerely pay attention to what we are saying. However, her children do and are progressing.  In our last visit with them we had an impression to share in 2 Nephi 31 about the doctrine of Christ and we did, but they believe in orginal sin and that if we are not baptized even as babies that we are condemned for the transgression of Adam and Eve.  We read in that lesson with them the entire chaper of Moroni chapter eight and the mother and daughter began to pay alot of attention and as we finished began to weep. we did not know this, but the mother whose name is Mellisa. Gave birth to a third child who had died three days after being born.  It was a very intense moment because she expressed alot  anger and bitterness she had  kept in her heart for all of the years and repented and explained that she had cursed God and decided he didn't exist  and know she just wants to be forgiven. I hope that  they can receive more comfort as they think and pray about. It . It must be hard to go through trials like that and I know that jesus Christ can help them. I believe that God is just and merciful and all things that are pure and clean will go into his kingdom in his own proper timing.  

Thank you for your messages and support I love you all a bunch. when I  have the pictures with me from Saturday I will send more.

Love, Elder Bell

21st Birthday

Today the Senior couple here took us to a really cool Dominican restaurant for my Birthday. Lots of fun!We even saw a traditional dance. They could dance so well and she spun around hundreds of times on that bottle they do all sorts of things in the dance with it! I may not get to write a whole lot today because we have to deliver some stuff and take a few missionaries to take some tests at the hospital. Love you!

New pictures!

08/03/2014

First off, I love you all a ton. I am sorry I haven't written a whole lot lately, I should take more time out to do that. I am having lots of mixed emotions about when I go home. Clearly that is still a ways off, but I still get nervous about it. Nothing has been a bigger blessing for me than the periods of time that I have been able to forget myself and my worries and what I want and just work and learn. Just thinking about how that will change when this is over gives me a headache. When we think about ourselves tooo much we worry about the future. If I would just live and try my best without thinking too much about what I want I would be much happier. I know now for sure that I am going to be finishing as a secretary. Which is not to easy for me to hear. I feel very tired and sometimes I have difficulties because I want to preach and then when I get the chance for an hour I feel like I don't know exactly what to do with that one precious hour. I am larning so much, but the end of my mission has been much different from what I thought that it would be like. It has been more of what I needed than what I thought and has tested me  and pushed me very much to be bettter. Not just with spiritual things, but also with goals and learning and using my time right. Patience is important. When we aren't being patient we often tend to treat other people differently than how we normally would want to treat them. Whoever has true patience they will be happy because they have hope in the Plan which God has prepared for us. If we find ourselves unhappy or overly worried I would say that it is probably because we are questioning too much if everything that happens to us, that really is out of our own control, is part of what we need to become and that god allows it to happen not to make us suffer, but to help us open our eyes and understanding so that they are more than what they were before.

I love fast Sundays. and this was the second to last that I will have to be here and testify as a full time missionary. I Just want to let you all know that I believe that Jesus Christ created the earth and that he can control all things except for us because Heavenly Father will never take away the agancy that we have always had. Hopefully we use it well because if we don't we will probably wish we could do this whole life over again. However, if our decisions were well made for the most part, for they shall never be perfect, then we will look back on this time of probation and be grateful for everything, every second that we have been allowed breath will be a moment for which we shall be very grateful. I feel comforted knowing that I have you as my family and that I was born into this family for a reason. I feel that each one of you has been an example for me of some Christlike attribute. You are all amazing I know that you are special and being part of our family makes me feel very blessed.

7/30/2014

Well that whole internet thing was a mess and now we are really behind with some payments and things like that, but at least we have it now. Last week wasn't any different than the other ones besides the trip we got to take to El Seibo  to bring a companionship here to the capital. It was a very cool area to drive through I just wish it could have been day time to actually see everything. I had a really cool interview with my mission president. I enjoyed it alot. I am pretty sure that I will be finishing here in Gazcue helping with finances and helping prepare for the 28 missionaries that come in the day that I leave. I am wondering when school starts for me when I get back and when I can start to work. I don't think about that much, but it just came to mind. Transfers are the twelfth of August which I think is going to be absolutely insane because even without having an actual transfer almost more missionaries have been moved in the past few weeks than I have seen get moved in most of the transfers of my entire time serving here. I play soccer every once and a while, but I wouldn't say that I am very good at it.  I mostly just defend well and if anyone uses body to fight it out for the ball I do that alright ha ha some of the Elders get pretty fired up. Especially the ones from Mexico and Argentina. Then a few Columbians and a Panamanian that just play so agressively. So Anthony is almost home.... wow.. and Stihl is long long gone haha Riggs has  eight months or so left Cole is going to have a child Josh has around ten months left I think and Justin might get married ( or he could decide to serve a mission)  I mean he is pretty young I know missionaries that are 28 years old in my mission.more that a few of them are that old. I don't know what to think about Baylin going into college before I go...... weird. that is really cool about Sierra. Wish I could go to the Luau good food will be there. I know it. right now we have afamily and two individuals that are investigating  the gospel and progressing. Everyone here works alot so it is hard to meet with them very often. But when they are alone they at least take time to read and ponder a little bit. The thing is that they seem to be afraid or too doubtful to pray about it directly. Which is hearkening unto the evil spirit it and just reminds me of second Nephi chapter 32 verses 8 and 9. If we don't pray we really just value our own opinions more than God's truths.Love ou! Have a great night. Eat well enjoy your warm showers in the morning ;) haha