Semana Loca

Hola mi familia amada! que tal?
wow I`ve got some weird stuff to tell you this week.
first of all we have finally started getting some people to teach this
week!!! I did divisions with the ZLs and while doing so we found two
families to teach!!! haha. the ONLY day i haven`t been with my comp is
the day we find people to teach... that's just another testimony of how
attitude is everything. positivity attracts success!
well something pretty sad and shocking happened this week.
Friday night as my actual companion and I were returning in a taxi from
teaching one of the families I found with the ZL we came up to a bit
of a scene along the highway. when some of the gocker`s block cleared
out I saw a blue scooter laying there scratched up in the middle of
the lane but the rider was nowhere to be found. well, as we kept
moving forward about 30 yards ahead i`d say, there was a body of what
looked to be a young man about high school age that was lying face
down in a pool of blood. no helmet. This was the first time i`d ever
seen a dead person like that and it kind of disturbed me. when i saw it
it was like reality swooped down and slapped me in the face reminding
me of how short this life is and how real the gospel is. I said a
quick prayer for the boy`s family but thought that that would be the
end of it. I thought about how a couple of weeks earlier I had met a
youth from our ward who rode a moped just like that one but thought
"naw, it couldn`t be him..." I couldn`t even remember his name.
that night we received a text message from one of our friends in the
ward saying that a youth from our ward had died but didn`t say how or
anything.
as soon as i read that message the scene of the accident we passed
just a few hours earlier flashed through my head like a nightmare and
I instantly connected the story. His name is Jorge. He was 16 years
old and a recent convert of about a year in our ward. He recently went
to EFY and was helping to reactivate his family and be a good example.
People say that ever since EFY he had been talking about how he really
wanted to go on a mission.
The next day we got permission to go to the funeral. That was a
surreal experience as well. in total about 700 - 1,000 people came i
think. The whole stake center was absolutely packed with standing room
only and a crowd outside as well. The bishop taught the plan of
salvation in his eulogy which was a mega booyah missionary experience
while all those people were a little more receptive to the spirit.
The way people do funerals here is very different but it was pretty
cool to be able to participate in it. It was also pretty cool to be
respected as a true minister of religion by so many people too as we
were not just participating, but administrating.
the main differences are that the funeral procession is not in cars.
the people march behind the hurs for miles if necessary all the way to
the cemetery following a marching band. they don`t bury the body with
dirt either. they dig a 4 - 5 foot deep hole and build four walls
inside up to the surface of the ground and it has a concrete floor.
then they put the coffin inside, cover the top with wood and wire and
right there mix up cement and put it on top. so essentially its a
concrete box.
so ya, quite the experience.
Things are still going rough with my companion. I feel like I`m
babysitting 24 7 while trying to somehow have some success in the
work. The stress has been damaging my health a little bit but thanks
to the vitamins and awesome stuff Dad sent me I`m keeping healthy
enough to continue on :)
Thank you for all your love and support! As always it is very
appreciated. I love you all!!!

love,

Elder Spencer Henze