Turín Turán

It’s transfer week this week and well, crazy because I am… 

OUT OF HERE.

It seems crazy because I was only here for a month and a half.

I am on my way to LA COSTA, ya’ll I’m on my way to BUENAVENTURA. 

There is a famous song that talks about Buenaventura; it’s called Turín Turán. 

Buenaventura is the largest Pacific port in Colombia:

It’s massive, 

It’s hot, 

It smells like fishes all day and I am… 

SO FLIPPIN’ PUMPED! 

I’ve been waiting to go to Buenaventura since I got here.

My new companion is Elder Campos from Peru. 

I’m being transferred there this Wednesday as a zone leader. I will have 8 elders in my zone and one is... Elder Donoso from Jamundi, I’m super excited. This is going to be super awesome.

Buenaventura is known because it is all black people and the black people in Colombia are awesome.

El Puerto as it’s called here is one of the happiest cities in Colombia, which is known as the happiest country in the world, crazy huh? 

SO LOTS of happiness is coming my way ha-ha-ha.

This past week was awesome. 

I had my first leadership council with President Prícoli. Wow, this mission is going to change a TON. He and President Prince are two very different people. With President Prince we became a baptizing machine as a mission, we were the number 4 baptizing mission in the world. 

The thing is, is that we baptized and we baptized a lot of people but practically none of them go to the temple. So that is President Prícoli’s goal. That we teach the people so that they are able to go to the temple. We had an incredible leadership council with President Pricoli, he is SUPER spiritual. President Prince was a spiritual dude; it just wasn’t quite the same. President Prince wanted us to teach in an interactive way that helped the people to follow the lessons and President Pricoli wants us to teach the gospel so that those that we teach feel the spirit when we teach. It’s a very different way to teach, however it's super cool.

I love the mission... if you couldn’t tell. 

This week basically all we did was put into place the things that President Pricoli taught us. We went to Cali for the council and then tried to get people to come to church and tell everyone about our transfers.

I’ll talk to you guys next week about how my first week in BUENAVENTURA is.

Now let me take the time to talk about something very important. 

Here in Colombia they are known as the happiest country in the world, and also one of the most religious countries as well. There are so many churches it makes the religious boom in the United States in the 1800s look small. There are churches on every single block and the blocks here are small. Everyone has their own way of interpreting the Bible and Christ’s doctrine. It's nuts! The most famous churches here are where they play music. People in Colombia LOVE music. Especially if it shakes your windows, so naturally the people have put the same kind of music in their churches. They love to clap and scream and sing at the top of their lungs as they sing about Jesus Christ as if they were from ACDC. It’s cool and all, however, that’s not what God wants. 

God wants Reverence. 

What is reverence?

Merriam Webster says:

Honor or respect that is felt for or shown to (someone or something)

When we go to church we are asked to show respect for our Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ. When we go to church we partake of the sacrament, which represents the body and blood and ultimate sacrifice that our Savior made for us. 

His sacrifice was so great that when he went to Gethsemane to pray Luke relates exactly how this sacrifice was made:

Luke 22:41-44

41. And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed,

42. Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.

43. And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.

44. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

Our Savior suffered greatly, so greatly that an angel came down from heaven to comfort him, so great that he sweated blood from every pour. He paid for the price of every single one of your sins. If you could stand to watch the Son of God suffer like that while clapping your hands and screaming hallelujah, go ahead. 

However, I will continue to honor my Savior and His house with the reverence that was mentioned to Moses at the burning bush. 

The Lord said to Moses

 Exodus 3:5

5. And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.

Do you think that in that moment, most sacred, Moses started to clap his hands and scream and shout and shake on the ground or listen to ACDC Jesus. No, it was a moment in which the reverence was upheld like none other. 

When we are in His church, we are in His house, and we must respect him as he expects us to. We show our love for him not through incredible songs and screams and shouts, but with a bowed head humbly partaking of his body and blood.

This is the church of Jesus Christ in these latter days. 

My Challenge to you all this week is:

To read one talk from the authorities of the Church from past General Conferences on the Atonement. 

I love you all 

Tell me about it 

Elder Lyle