Week 91: Cloud City

Star Wars reference fully intended.  It has been another cold, cloudy, rainy week here in Berlin.  It's true tropical weather.  Torrential downpours at least every other day.  It's awesome.

It has been a very interesting week here in the San Salvador East Mission.  Hard not to be when we have MultiZonas (multi-zone conferences).  More interesting when you live in the area farthest away from the conference, which starts at 9:00 AM, and you have to be there at 8:30.  Not that I'm complaining though.  MultiZonas are always worth getting up early for.  Especially this one.  Oh my goodness, President Vasquez has received some crazy awesome revelation for this mission.  It's a new way of work that he calls "The Inn."

I assume that most if not all of you readers are familiar with the Parable of the Good Samaritan.  If you would like to read it again to refresh your memory just follow the link and read verses 30-37.

Now, I don't have time to give a full explanation of what President and his assistants taught in the multizone, because that is a good hour of instruction.  But I will give a brief summary.

The parable is likened to this earth life.  We started off in Jerusalem, the Holy City (the presence of God in the premortal life).  The idea is that we can go back at some point.  However, we all get a bit lost along the way, and start heading towards Jerico (hell) because of bad decisions.  When we make a really bad decision, we get beat up by the thieves (sins) and are left half dead on the wayside (we are spiritually dead, or separated from God.  See Alma 12:16-18 for a more in-depth description).  All of the priests and levites (false teachers and prophets) in the world cannot help us.  Only the Good Samaritan (Jesus Christ) will bind up our wounds (atone for our sins) and take us to the inn (His church) where we can rest and heal before starting our journey back to Jerusalem.

Now, this is where we come in.  We, the members of the church, are the staff of the inn.  It is our job to keep everything in order for those poor, half-dead travelers that the Savior brings to our inn.  That's what we're going to teach in every ward and branch in the mission this Sunday: How to make our inn a five-star hotel.

Unfortunately, time's up for us.  I'll tell you all next week about how we're improving the inn.

Love,

Elder Colton West

El Salvador, San Salvador East Mission

A bridge in part of my area. It's really only useful when
it's raining because the street floods out something fierce.

Crazy cloudy weather

 More crazy cloudy weather. 
They kinda get stuck to the mountain for
the abrupt altitude change. 
Makes life really cool, literally!

MultiZona photos! 
Elder Perez (not an ex-comp,
but a friend from Zona Ilopango)

Elder Scheel, another buddy from Ilopango.

Elder Durbin!  We were in the same room in the CCM 

(MTC for you gringo types)

Elder Williams!  I finally have a little brother!  

He's with Elder Hood in Moncagua.

(Elder West served in Moncagua;

Elder Hood was Elder West's trainer

in his first area, Ilobasco.

Elder Aranda,
another friend of mine from Ilopango

Elder Lopez (Lopecito) from Honduras. 
Friend of  mine from Zona La Union

Elder Hood!