Que es eso, Pienso que es un BAPTISMO!!!

Yes you are reading a little bit of Spanish for the Subject!! This week I will be baptizing YOLANDA MARTIN!!! I am super stoked!! Saturday at 6 she will be baptized!! She is the funniest person in the world. She’s a 67 year old stalwart lady that we have been teaching ever since I got here! She’s great! When we asked who she would like to baptize her she actually picked me. I told I was honored but we would actually like a member to baptize her but she refused, so I have to honor of baptizing her! I am super excited! I love it when people accept the gospel!!

This week also my companion had District Leader training for a day, so I had Elder Medinia, who is another Elder in my our Zone come to my place and worked together for the day!! He is a new missionary also!!! We came in on the same day! Anyways I had to plan the whole day and for both us and I was the Senor Companion for the Day! I loved it!! With in 4 hours we had 3 lesson 11 contacts and we even ate some lunch!! I don’t know why but this is what we usually do in a whole day with Elder Valdivia and I!! Elder Medinia and I just worked I tails off. I like it that way!! It was fun because I chose the lessons and topics and the appointments and lead the discussion! I can talk a lot better when I know what are the points we are going to hit in the lesson and I actually know the scriptures we are sharing. It was a good day!

I was very pleased to receive the package this week!! My companion loves packages, he ate all of his stuff with in 10 min. Thank you very much for the exercise stuff, I was getting creative with my work outs before by lifting our chairs, now I got a stretchy band so I'm good to go! I must say that my favorite part though is the Justin Beiber trading cards!! What a blessing to have those cards now in my life!! haha!! I’m actually giving the cards to this girl in my ward is obsessed with Disney Channel!

Thank you very much to my friends this week too, I received some lovely hand written letters!!! Hurrah for good friends!! Sarah Barlocker, I need you Email address dear friend!! If you write an Email to my Dad then I can email you! Its nearly impossible for my to send mail from here, about every 3 months or so I can send a handwritten letter! But I love receiving hand written letters! I am stoked to hear the Meghan is going to Ecuador, and Jenneka F. is going to Arizona!! This is going to be great!! Kara, Meghan, and Jenneka and I will be returning home at about the same time!! We can be friends when we return home and speak in our beloved Spanish languages!!! hurray!!

For my friends going to speak Spanish here are some little tips, for Spanish! Its stinkin hard, but super cool to have a conversation with someone! Watch the news, read the Book Of Mormon, watch the Wiggles all in Spanish!! The more you hear it, talk it, and read it the better! The first 2-3 weeks in the field are very difficult to know what’s going on. but now, with the help of the Lord I’m working miracles. I can understand most of everything that’s going on, talking is still a bit of a struggle, but I can talk to someone face to face but in a group of people and cant say a word! Rely on the Lord, know your inadequacies and trust in the Lord always!! ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS! When you don’t have the spirit you cant talk. At times my mind will wander and if I'm not thinking missionary work, then I cant speak. The Lord demands all of you in the mission field! Siempre think missionary!

I got these legit scripture covers for my scriptures, sorry I forgot my camera today but will email pics next week! P.S to friends, you may email pics too! I didn’t bring pics of anyone and I’m forgetting your faces! hook me up with what your doing an life and all! And who is getting married, Someone has got to be getting married soon, its almost that time of year! Who will be the first of my crew to get married.

SO ya this was my week. All is well in Colombia! We have alot of rain, always! It seems like everyday when we are contacting to rains! up North its flooded and we have alot of people from the North down here now looking for homes and all cuz theirs are all under water!!

Hen, like 2 weeks or so until the BABY!! I’m stoked I tell everyone about you and all!! hurray that I will be a TIO!! Jay I get you emails have no fear! Seems like you are super swamped with you calling and all but seems like your doing an excellent job with it! sounds like a fun outing to the temple the other day! Hen and Jay if you could hook me up with Luke and Jerry’s email I can email them too!

Love ya all and miss ya all too!

Love Elder Hammer

OH MI BONDAD!!

This week was the most spectacular week in the world! I am really starting to feel like a missionary! Even though I can’t completely talk to the people fluently I can communicate decently with the people, they understand what I’m saying most of the time.

This week I taught Gospel Principles class! HAHA! It was fabulous!! I loved it! Obviously the lesson was a bit choppy with my limited vocabulary but the class participated and we had a lovely time! I loved it, the lesson was on agency, and it was so much fun. Elder Valvidivia didn’t have to jump in and teach in the lesson, but the spirit was my guide and I just talked, it was so great. Every time I open my mouth, I need the spirit to be me my guide because it is impossible for me to say anything on my own. It was so much fun, I love it when people can understand what I say and the get the message I’m trying to share, it’s superb!

Yesterday was the best day of the mission by far!! This week has been a very difficult week because of the holidays and all it’s very difficult to get appointments and all, but we were working it. Yesterday the Lord blessed us tremendously! The stakes here have an event every month where the missionaries and the members go out and contact together!! It’s called the Golden Package! What it is, is a Liahona magazine, a pass along card and a Proclamation to the family folletto wrapped up in a gold package. On New years Hermano Home came to our house and we made these packages for 2 hours or so. We weren’t allowed to leave the house until 2 on new years so we were using our time wisely. Anyways, on Sunday we had about 30 members and our whole zone of missionaries meet at the chapel and we went contacting with the members, one missionary for 2 members, it was the best, I went with Hermano Home and his son Felipe. At first there was nobody home, and we were having a difficult time trying to give these packages to people. Then these 2 senoras walked by us so we contacted them, we testified about the family to these senoras. In the contact the lady cried, she was soaking up everything we said, it was perfect!! Then we even set up an appointment with her for that night!!

Last night we had 2 appointments at the same time so Elder Validivia went with Hermano Rico to one appointment and Hermano Home and I went the visit Alejanda, the lady we contacted in the street. We went to her house and we talked about the family and that we are all children of God, Every time we said the word family she would cry, at the end of the lesson we asked her how she feels about this message and al and she said that she feels Gods love and that the things we said were true and her and her family of 4 kids are now going to take the discussions and all!! It was magnificent! During this time Elder Valdivia was at the other appointment who is a reference from a member and this is a new investigator too, one of our old investigators showed up at the lesson and she wants to take the discussions at again!!! Oh my gosh it was wonderful!! These are the days that missionaries live for!! This is why I’m here!! It was a perfect day of missionary work! The Lord really showed his hands yesterday!! The Lord really has blessed my so much here! I’m starting to get a bit more comfortable here which is good. The key to missionary work is to never have your mouth closed, you are always talking or smiling, your mouth is never closed, only when you’re eating! I live on Faith everyday here, Every time I open my mouth and have to have confidence in my savior that I’m speaking Spanish and that the words will come to me and I just talk with a smile.

This week for new years we went to the Family Lopez house. It was a alot of fun! Thank you parents for the package! It was spectacular!! I was nervous at first because you said that you sent 2 packages but only one arrived, I got a notice today though that the other one has arrived!! And the Vanwags hooked me up too!! That was super cool. Thank you very much Vanwags and Family! I was very cool to get packages! I’ve been missing some good American food, they have stuff that is similar but it’s still way different than the stuff back home, even the Oreos and Doritos are different, so it was good to get some good Macadamions and MMs. The van wags hooked me up with so good American food and a lovely letter and Holiday card! Hurray for friends and Family. I really do appreciate it! I think that my companion though was more excited though. I didn’t even finish opening my box and Elder V was already digging around in the box talking stuff out and eating my food and all. At first I was kind of mad, like Elder, this is my package what’s up, I was going to share with him but he just went for it, its all good though, all of this stuff is new to him so I’m cool with it. He loved the Nerf gun though. Oh my gosh and don’t know how many times he’s shot me with that thing, We decided to give the toys to some of the kids in the ward, we gave one to Felipe and Michael, Michael is and investigator and Felipe is his cousin that’s a member, that loved the guns, they brought them to Church yesterday, so I told them that they needed to put the guns away then after church they could shoot me. So they did! Thank you for the packages for new years, I gave all the pop its and all that stuff to members on New Years Eve. They loved them they were so surprised with the confetti popper things they loved them. Anything American people love here. I am glad that I gave away the horn thing. Elder V loves sounds. He was blowing that thing in my ear all night, so that’s why I had to give them away. Anything that makes noise I can't give to him. He found a squeaky toy in the street the other day that was torn, he brought it home and repaired it and now everyday he squeaks the thing. He loves sounds that are very interesting and every now and then he just squeaks the thing. I said he can squeak it as long as its not during study time. I'm glad that he respects that rule haha! Thank you very much for the Harmonica. I really wanted that, I love it I’m trying to learn to play hymns with it! Hopefully soon I can. But I have to hide the harmonica under my bed so Elder V wont play it all day. Haha.

The New years traditions are different here. They pass around a bunch of grapes and you have to hold them above your head and dance and all, and then eat them it symbolizes a year of prosper, then at 12 the people get there suitcases and run around the block rolling the suitcases symbolizing the new years is leaving, and they do have the scarecrow man thing that they burn. Its illegal, but the people do it anyways haha. And they have like little bottle rockets that they launch off. It wasn’t that bad. I hear that Calli has it worst. Calli is more of the party town, here is a but more tranquilo. e Piraquiv family tried to call dad on New Years they wanted to talk to him because William was in town for New years but they said they will try to call back later! They are a great family.

Hen you’ve got like 3 weeks until baby time!! I’m stoked! Oh and Happy anniversary, sorry it’s like 2 weeks late but better late then never! I really need to see pics!! Every time I look at Alejandra, she’s a girl in my ward that’s like 2, I think, oh my gosh she’s so big, that as how big Evy will be when I get home!! ahh!! and Jerry thank you very much for your letter! I feel the same way!! you get discouraged with Spanish yet again you don’t because you know the lord is there. HAHA! Thank you very much for your email! I’m stoked for you to be a dad! Haha. frank I need pics of your powder puff and all. I’m stoked to see it and I need pics of the new car!!! I want to see what the fam is cruzing these days! So ya life is good, It’s a different life here but I love being a missionary!

Love Elder Hammer 

Merry Christmas from Colombia!

Well this week was definitely a different week then the other weeks, since its Christmas and all. I am really not understanding the cultural very well. Basically the people do what they want to do and that’s the culture I think. If you think of something different, it happens in Colombia! Its pretty funny and keeps the days interesting as you don’t know what’s going to happen. You see people going to the bathroom in the streets, a man in a horse and buggy in the middle of the street feeding his horse, people climbing in and out of there windows. It’s very fun! This week for Christmas the actually celebrate it on the 24th. So that was a bit different. Our day went as usual though, but it was just very difficult to have appointments that day but we had dinner with the Lopez family. Hermano Lopez is a beast!! He was in the military for 8 years and fought against the guerillas in the jungle here! He had some crazy stories! The then he brought out his pictures and all from the military. He did some crazy stuff! He actually was called to be Bishop yesterday! He's going to be excellent! They gave us the best Christmas present ever!! No lies, I like almost cried when I opened the package and there was a pair of socks!!! IT was the coolest thing ever!! Then he came over and was like look, the socks stretch!!!  I was so excited!! When he saw how excited I was he got even more excited and then he brought out this beautiful tie!!! It was the sweetest present ever! This family that lives in a 1 bed 1 bath apartment in very humble circumstances and gave us both socks and a tie!! It was so cool and we were all so excited!!

For the 25 we had a zone meeting and Lunch! The lunch was perfect, one of the ladies in our Zone likes to cook American food and made Chicken Cordon Blue! It was fabulous!!! I loved it! It was very difficult to get appoints this day too but we spent the evening with the Familia Piraquivia family! Haha! They are all so sweet!  We just talked and shared a message with them! They are great people!! Thank you Ken for the CDs. They are perfect; I am putting them on my MP3 right now! I can’t wait to listen to them!! I have the packages in the office, they called me and said that I could pick them up at the office today or they can give them to me on the 6th at Zone meeting! If we have time today we are going to go pick them up! But we have to get back to work at 2 so its difficult!

Yesterday we had 4 investigators at Church! It was spectacular! 2 of them have a baptismal date and the other 2 we only met with them once and they came!! I was so excited! It has been different working with a Latino companion. For the most part we don’t have a language barrier. I can understand lots of stuff obviously not everything but I usually can get a jist of the sentences and respond decently, but it’s just a clash of cultures. Latinos are very blunt and straightforward. Like they hardly say Please or thank you and if they want something they just ask for it. I don’t get offended or anything its just how it is and its different. I try to talk in the conditional for, which is more polite and all and he are like why do you like to talk in the conditional form, if you want something just say it. It’s different. The other day I was kind of taken back that he wasn’t eating his food at lunch, and then he told the sister that he wasn’t in the mood for eating right now so he didn’t eat it. I was like oh no homeboy, we are going to eat or food, I am eating stuff that I don’t even know what it is then you can eat a soup and some beans rice and this meat. I eat slow but I eat everything single piece of rice on my plate, so when the sister went into the kitchen I had to eat his plate too. Its just the mannerisms of us are very different. I was so stoked that for Christmas his Christmas present to me was that he made his bed!! Haha!!

I’ve been adding a lot of suggestions into how we can contact lately and get our teaching pool bigger. The 1st week was very difficult because we only had 1 investigator. That is rough coming to a new area with one investigator. I started inviting people to come to Church with us in Sundays, I don’t know why we weren’t doping that before, then we actually scheduled appointments with the people, before everything was just a passing by visit, but I asked why don’t we actually schedule a time with the people and then the will be a home so we can visit more people and now we call the people before we visit to confirm the appointment, and we also call the investigators the day before and of Church to make sure they can come and we have a member bring them to church! This week we had 4 out of 6 investigators come to church that promised they could come!! He was like, how did you come up with these ideas; I was like we learned this stuff in the MTC. I thought it was weird that all this stuff was new to him. The Lord has really blessed us with us working more diligently. We now had 8 progressing Investigators! And we have the month’s record of 26 lessons taught in one week! So the Lord is really blessing us when we really just go for it! It’s been a great week! I was very grateful!

I’ve figured out that I am like mom and like the house very clean! I clean alot. The house was grouty when I 1st got here I mean there was fungus in the tile, stains on the wall, plates of food under the bed, the works. Today we finished doing a good heavy cleaning this morning! He mopped and I scrubbed the house and now it looks legit! Oh ya for Christmas we got new tables and furniture!! It is alot better! Now we have actual desks instead of little tables and a dinner table and Elder Valdivia has a Closet Armoire thingy!! I think since we have like legit stuff now, Elder Valdivia doesn’t mind cleaning as much.

I was very happy to see the pictures! Thank you very much! Hen, you sure are pregnant!! Yesterday when we went to a house there was a little girl that was about 18 months and I was like oh my, that’s gonna be the Size of Evy when I get home, but Evy wont be a little Colombian Girl!! I am stoked; I tell everyone that my sister is pregnant!

Even though I am super far away from home and everything is new and out of place for me, I feel really close to Dad right now! I feel like I know Dad the best I’ve ever know him in my life. Being here with these people and experiencing these things in the same country as POP I can really see why Dad is the way he is! I can really tell that Dad was a superb missionary. Just talking with e Familia Piriaquivia and seeing the lives of these people and experiencing this culture, I can see how this has affected Dad in his Life to be the person he is. I’ve always known dad was The Man! But it is so much more evident here. I mean, I know why dad eats all the meat of his chicken and why he is so ready to serve and has such a big heart! Even though we are not as close in distance but I fell like I understand Dad a whole lot better being here!

Most of the members here that have served missions serve in Calli. The Stake mission leader went to Calli and we went out with him yesterday to visit menos Activo miembros. He is so cool. The way he talks and describes things is awesome. Every thing is Super, Buenisiimo, Fabulouso, Bulleza, Spectacular!! He has such a happy mood, I like going teaching with him he is great!

So ya everything is going good right now! I can understand most things in Spanish, I get topics and the direction of a conversation, the most difficult thing now is the cultural and how things are done.

It was great talking to the Family, I wish I could have talked with J and Hen more, I really miss the Family but all is well.

Love ya all,

Love Elder Hammer

Updated Address Info

Please send letters to:

Elder Emerson Hammer

Colombia Bogota South Mission

POB 30150

Salt Lake City, UT 84130-0150

This only costs 1 stamp.  It has to be one page, folded in 3rds, with a stamp.  Do not put in an envelope.  It can be a postcard too.  Packages cannot be sent through the pouch.  Packages can be sent to:

Elder Emerson Hammer

Colombia Bogota South Mission

Apartado Aereo 77604

Santa Fe de Bogota Distrito Capital

Colombia

Thank you everyone for your letters! They were very uplifting I appreciate receiving mail! It is very nice to get! We only get emails now, sorry but Dear Elder is only for the MTC. And I believe you just send the mail to the mission office, sorry I should have told you sooner but I didn’t expect packages so soon. A little hint I got from the Elders here is that when you send a package tape a picture of Christ and a picture of Mary on the package and label it religioso materia. This keeps thieves out of the packages, but I'm sure these packages will be just fine! I’m excited to get them!

The life of a missionary in Colombia is seriously like a roller coaster. Bigger and more windy and floppy then Goliath roller coaster at 6 flags! I have my ups and I sure have my downs! I feel prepared with my testimony and right now everything that I do I live off of faith and a testimony of my Savior Jesus Christ! There have been many deep heart felt and tear filled cries to my Savior this week. I feel like I was prepared as much as could be for this mission but there is always a curve ball! I am doing a whole lot better with my Spanish, I am growing tremendously! For the most part I can get the topic of a conversation and every now and then add a word or two into the conversation! But at other times I am so lost! I don’t know what is going on and I can tell like it’s a critical part in a conversation or contact and I can’t jump in and I want but I can’t! At other times I won’t know what is going on in a conversation but I get a prompting to say something. At times I say what’s in my mind and it seems like I actually contributed. But twice this week I hade two impression to say something to these people on the street but for some reason I didn’t open my mouth during the contact! I hate it when I don’t talk to people!!!! It’s very difficult to not get frustrated or mad at yourself. Those feelings drive the spirit away and without the spirit I am doomed!! When ever I open my mouth the spirit has to be there to direct me on what to say and with the person I’m talking to for them to understand. I see the spirit working a whole lot different in me now then in previous times!

I get enough sleep every night. The Lord is blessing me with a wonderful 8 hours of sleep every night and it’s the best sleep I’ve had in my life!! And yes the picture of the bed that is made is mine! I am actually pretty organized I found out! I always do the dishes, make my bed, keep my desk clean and all. Anyways I sleep well, but I am consistently tired by 2 in the afternoon. After lunch I’m done! The food here is always some type of rice, maybe some beans, always platanoes, fried or sliced, sometimes like two leafs of lettuce they call salad Haha! and some fruit drink. The drinks are very strong at times and they have all these cool names like tçia and stuff. or the drinks are like freaking hot milk, I don’t know why but they just put milk on the stove and drink it! it’s alright. But after I eat I’m full for like ten minutes! and it’s like impossible to finish the food it’s just so huge but it’s just satisfies you for a few minutes and the rice makes me tired. Since I’m tired the rest of the day I really rely on the Lord to carry me through the day! Right now I really have to fight off the natural man! Everything is different. Nothing is the same!

I have a good companion! Elder Valdivia is from Argentina. He has been out for 9 months now! I think that he is more American than I am! He can speak good English! He says that he didn’t have many friends so he watched a lot of TV! He can quote any American hip hop song, TV Show Movie! Anything media from America he knows it! It’s hilarious at times but when ever I say something he can sing a song about it and he sings the entire song, not just the line, so when ever I say a sentence it takes like 10 minutes before I can finish! We speak Spanish in the Street and English in the Apartment! He has been a good help for me! this week I went on my first intercambio! I changed with the zone leaders I went to Ciudad Jardin! Ciudad Jardin is like in centro Bogota with a lot of buildings and things and very city like! It was fun I was with Elder Cruz for a day and I learned a whole bunch from that intercambio! Elder Cruz is from Peru and speaks no English so I felt good that he understood what I was saying and there wasn’t really a big language barrier!! The new had a Zone meeting on Saturday! Elder Neville is the other Zone leader and after the meeting he came and talked to me and he is just the best Zone Leader Ever!! He just bore his testimony to me and really helped me out a bunch. He’s a gringo too! So he just told me about how the transition is going and told me about how it was hard for him and all! But he helped me a lot!!!

Yesterday the Lord answered my prayers! For the past 2 weeks we’ve only had one investigator named Yolanda. The rest of the people we’ve been teaching have been recent converts! It’s been very difficult because we haven’t been able to teach things that I learned in the MTC. We were sharing scriptures and stuff not the lesson, which is fine but I just didn’t know the vocab for the Sower Parabol. And its frustrating coming to a new area with only one investigator! But This whole week during my prayers I was praying for people to teach and help us find ways to teach people! Sunday the Bishop came up to us and gave us a ward list! Which is a huge thing! People here don’t have ward lists! so it was like a Christmas present for us! And it had all the names of the part member families active and not active people and everything! Score!! Then 2 of the people that we were trying to contact the past two weeks contacted us! One of the came to church and the other one finally returned our Call!! So now we have 2 progressing investigators!1 Hurray!! And then a Member gave us 2 referrals that we are going to visit today! I am stoked!!

I really don’t have any fears here! The Lord really blesses his Missionaries! Sure it has been a difficult transition but it makes me rely on the Lord a whole lot more! The Lord is my best friend! He is the only constant in my life! I am doing a whole lot better now, I’m learning, I’m transitioning, all is going better!

Here are some more pictures I’ll try to keep sending the pics each week! I’ve been getting a lot of headaches lately because I don’t fit into any of the doors hardly most of the doors are like 5 10 or 6 foot! There’s really no consistency to the way the build things the just slap it together! Our house is very cold! It’s a cement apartment and we have tin roof! 

This week the Elders had a Missionary choir performance for Christmas Monday through Thursday we were at the Stake center for about 5 hours everyday! The new missionaries were allowed to be in the choir because we missed the practices! So Elder Fuqua and I and 4 other new missionaries and 2 Latinos went and contacted on the streets and invited people to the program! It was so fun! there were 7 of us on 3 street corners! Elder Fuqua and I were companions once again! Yes! I really miss him! He’s a great kid! We got along fine in the MTC but now he is like my best friend! I missed him a lot so it was good to hangout with him this week! We had fun talking to people in our broken Spanish! I don’t think I could ever be married! I just don’t live well with other people! I don’t know why! Like Elder Valdivia is cool and all, but I just don’t like living with someone! Elder Fuqua was ok to be with in the MTC but now I’m like dude you’re the coolest man ever! Some how he got hooked up with some peanut butter from a member! and he was kind enough to bring me a sandwich one day at practice!! It’s impossible to find peanut butter! That’s I what’ve been craving! peanut butter and Cream of wheat actually!! next package please hook me up! I don’t fit in the shower too! Showers are miserable you never know if it’s going to be freezing or bearable and is just free falling water, no water pressure! This really makes me miss America! So these are the Pictures of the week! This is where I live. There's a pic of Elder V. in the kitchen and you got the other ones! I Love ya all and miss ya! Oh ya! for my friends! I don’t really have a mailman in Villa Sonia everything goes through the Mission office and it takes almost a month for me to get it! The Zone leaders drop stuff off the 2nd week of the month so I can Email people through my parents! So they have to be the middle man! So I send mail to Dad! dad sends to friends and then friends respond to dad and dad sends to me!

I GET TO SKYPE HOME!!! THIS WEEK!! December 23 at 4 Colombian time! We are on Central time I believe!! So be by the Computer!! I get like 45 minutes!! so please be there cuz I want to see ya'll. Hopefully hen is in town then or hen and Jay can hook onto Skype too! Love Ya all! Ill try to call home before I Skype to tell you to get on, but its very difficult find a phone for international calls here!! Love ya all and talk to you the 23!!

Love you All

Elder Hammer

 

First Letter from Colombia!

Well, I’m a Colombian boy now. It sure is different here. Sorry I don’t know how to work this new keyboard and can’t find out how to punctuate and stuff. The keyboards are even different in Colombia. Just know that I’m excited and I want to put exclamation marks on all these sentences. Well this has definitely been the hardest week of my life. Everything here is different. I'm definitely not in America at all. But it’s all good. The culture is way different than I expected. It's not Mexican culture at all. I don’t really know how to explain it, but its just a really carefree whatever lifestyle I think kind of describes it. The people love to party. I got my new companion on Tuesday and that night in our apartment the music wouldn’t stop playing till like 2 in the morning but its all good, I slept so hard. I was beat so it didn’t bother me too much.

The drivers here are way different. I’m not sure if there are any traffic laws. You’ll see big buses just squeezing by cars swerving in lanes. It’s almost hilarious to watch. When we first landed Monday night we got into a taxi and off we went. It felt like I was at 6 flags and we were just zooming around everything. I think that everyone thinks that they have the right of away. There are people in the street walking dodging cars, cars dodging the people. It’s seriously like a life size game of Frogger. No lies. So it’s always fun to get into a taxi or bus. I’m in a place called Villa Sonia right now. It’s in Bogota. Bogota is like LA in a sense; it’s made up of a lot of other cities. Bogotá has about 12 million people in it so its big city! And I’m a couple of miles from the mountain and on a clear day I can see them but usually there are buildings in my view. It’s a very crammed city. There are no yards just buildings. Every apartment in about 3-4 stories high and every floor is someone’s house. I’m on the 3rd floor of a building living. It’s seriously so crammed!

The people here are awesome! I’ve got no clue what there saying half the time but its all good. It is very stressful. This truly has been a hard adjustment but I'm doing better. At church yesterday I could understand what was going on and stuff and understood the topics, but if someone wants to talk about something besides religion I’m lost quick. The members are great though and like my English accent and they’re good at speaking slow enough so I can get a jist of what there saying. But all is well. The food is definitely hard to get used to. They feed me so much of stuff I don’t really know what it is. Elder Bundy, he’s the P.A. told me don’t ask just eat. So I do. Its usually a form of rice, meat, a pastry, and sometimes a soup. Remember how I’m a picky eater, well not anymore, you put it in front of me I say a prayer and go for it. The Lord has blessed me with eating and with Spanish a lot! It’s definitely is an adjustment though. Even though I’m in a completely new environment and doing things I’m not used to or anything, this whole time I've not really had any fears of anything. The thought of fear is replaced with faith. I just go and do and do my best and I know that the lord is on my side so all is well.

I contact and try to communicate and Elder Valdivia is good at helping me when needed but lets me talk and teach too. The people are very nice; no body’s really mean here. I thought that they wouldn’t like a gringo in their country but it’s just the opposite. We get like a contact every now and then cuz someone wants to come and talk to a gringo and all. It’s pretty funny. I listen but I cant really respond back to them yet. I usually just smile, nod my head and say bueno or si and let them keep talking. It works about 75 percent of the time. I didn’t meet the Cano familia though, Dad. They must have called the North President cuz my president had no idea what I was talking about. But I did meet the Paranquiva familia. I probably didn’t spell that right but they came and visited you after your mission! They brought out picture book and everything of there trip to America! It was fun to look at and talk to someone that knew a little about my family! So it was a fun reunion with them.

The main meal of the day is Lunch, so everyday we have lunch with members, and we hardly eat otherwise. So today I’m going shopping and buying me some goods. My favorite food here is actually these dried bananas. They’re pretty good. I eat them alot. So that’s what I’m up to. We don’t have a pday in this mission field. We get like a half day pday and have to be back to work at 2 . So it gives us just enough time to do our laundry write and shop. But all is good. I’m truly in the Lord’s hands now. I’ve got no idea what’s going on really so I have to trust the Lord in everything I’m doing! Love ya all and miss ya, my address is now

Elder Emerson Kent hammer

Mision Colombia Bogota Sur

Calle72# 10-07

Edificio Liberty Seguros

oficina 303

Sante Fe de Bogota District Colombia, Colombia.

Love ya all,

Elder Hammer

 

Address

Hi All,

Emerson departed for Colombia yesterday and today is his first day out in the field! As he would say, Hurrah for Israel! [I don't know where he gets that!] If you ever feel so inclined to write him, here is his address. All packages will be mailed to the Mission Home. If a private courier is being used, the telephone number below may be required:

Elder Emerson Kent Hammer
Columbia Bogota South Mission
Apartado Aereo 77604
Santa Fe de Bogota Districto Capital
Columbia

Phone: 571-347-1679

You can still write him via dearelder. In the future if you would like to access his address quickly and would like to avoid scrolling through posts to find it, the easiest way will be to click on the label "Address" on the right hand bar. That will link you directly to this post.Thanks!