I Still Believe in Summer Days

I wanted to share some notes from this past week and the weekend in Alerce. I will try to be tactful by sharing the funny things first and the thoughtful things last.

1) My current bishop in Temuco came up to me while I was playing the piano in the chapel. The following is the conversation (things surrounded by * marks are my thoughts):
Bishop: What are your talents Louis?
Louis: I play the piano...I sing...
Bishop: We could do a practical mutual one night for the youth.
Louis: Yeah! *singing and playing the piano are not the most practical skills*
Bishop: What is your major again?
Louis: Microbiology.
Bishop: So, you could teach about the law of chastity!
Louis: ... *...*
Bishop: Yeah, you could talk about it from the science perspective!
Louis: *birds, bees, ...and bacteria?*
Bishop: ...and we could invite the parents.
Louis: yup, we sure could. *Is this what skydiving feels like?*
Bishop: How about the 19th?
Louis: Sounds great. *This sounds crazy*
NOTE - microbiology is the study of microscopic organisms. It is not the study of chastity.

2) I was riding home in the bus and I went to the tiny bathroom in the back to change out of my church clothes so I could sleep. I entered the already shady bathroom (well after dark) only to realize that the lights were burned out. Determined, I began changing in the pitch-dark bathroom anyway. I learned that I would probably be good at being blind. Also, the bathroom smelled like the black death, so I am glad that I couldn't see the thing that was causing the tragic smell. I did manage to change despite the bumps, the dark, and the smell.

3) I arrived in my first area of the mission and I wanted to calmly walk from house to house to soak it all in, but I couldn't stop myself from running. All day long I ran from place to place. It was a pretty amazing feeling.

4) All my converts in that area are still active and thriving. One of them is the first counselor in the elder's quorum and is getting sealed next month. Another one is the teacher for the principles of the gospel class. She is a single mother and her son just turned 8 and wants me to baptize him. That was a really cool moment for me. I will be going back in august to baptize Luis.

5) There is a family that has a highly disabled son that I became really good friends with. He has a severe case of epilepsy that has taken away a lot of his mental capacity including the ability to walk. He would always get really happy and smile really big whenever I came over. I haven't been in that house in 3-1/2 years but the moment I walked in that house he got so excited and gave me the biggest smile I have ever seen. Of all the people in Alerce he recognized me the fastest. I cannot wait to meet my friend again when he no longer has those physical limitations.

This trip to Alerce was really meaningful for me for a lot more reasons than the ones that I mentioned. It is really good to remember; going to Alerce was about remembering.