The Final Countdown

So funny story.  As we were in the taxi coming up to my new area here in Bellavista, the song "The Final Countdown" by Europe came on the radio.  I just found it ironic cuz going into my final area, it really is the final countdown in the mission haha.

Anyway, man was it a pain to get here to Cocha.  So of course there were blockades getting to Sucre, which put us a little behind.  I was supposed to leave Tupiza Monday night, and catch my flight Tuesday morning.  So I called the Secretary of the mission in charge of booking the flights, and told him about the blockades, and pitched my plan.  I just told him we should roll the dice and wait for one more day, to see if the blockades clear up to make it easier and cheaper for all of us.  We woke up Tuesday, and surprise, blockades are all cleared up!  It was so awesome!  Unfortunately, the Secretary ended up NOT changing our flight plans.  You know what that means?  We went to Cocha in a bus!

So we left Tuesday at 9 pm, and got into Sucre at about 5 am.  We spent all day in Sucre, and I just hung out with the zone leaders all day there.  Then at 7 pm we had to get on another bus to go to Cocha.  The best part was that the road from Sucre to Cocha was mostly a dirt road, so I thought the wheels were gonna come off the bus the whole night.  Great time.  We got into Cocha at about 5 am as well.  So in total it was like a 18 or 19 hour trip in bus.  So not fun haha.  But then I got picked up by my comp, and they brought me out to my area!

Now all the details.  My comp is Elder Diazgranados, from Colombia, who has 15 months in the mission.  So together combined we have almost 3 years in the mish haha.  He is a super cool guy, and we get along well.  He could be my last comp, but we'll have to wait and see!  Bellavista is way outside Cocha, about an hour away from the center, so we aren't very close at all.  And its a ton of fields.  Lots of fields.  Its pretty, but our area is HUGE, so we walk a ton.  And there are a ton of people who speak Quechua, which I don't stand a word of, my comp either haha.  Here we are also just a branch, not a ward.  We have about 50 or so who come to church.  But about half the church service is also in Quechua, so that is really bizarre.  We just sit there and don't understand anything haha.  We live in a nice place, its like a third floor terrace, so we have a nice view with a room and a kitchen, and a big outside terrace/patio deal, its cool.  We live with two other missionaries as well, Elders Davis (from Orem) and Cobarruvias (from Santa Cruz).  We share the branch with them as well, so we are together a lot.  Its more fun living with four too, more joke haha.

Well I think I covered just about all the details everyone asks, so there you have it!  Things are good!  Miss you guys, hope all is well. Only three more months!  Talk to you guys next week!

Love,
Elder Sehestedt