Elder Zach Hilton June 18 2019-2021: Week 10: one month in Costa Rica!

It has been one month in the field already! As usual, more than humanly possible to write down has happened this week, so ill write a few of the out-of-the-ordinary things and spiritual things that happened each day. I BAPTIZED SOMEBODY!!!! Sorry i couldn't hold it in
Monday
After pday on monday we were super hungry and far from our house so we ate out at a cheap pizza place (the first time I have eaten out this far) and that was interesting because the pizza place was a little place inset from the street and wide open - like it didnt have doors. So as we were eating tons of people that were walking past asked for our food and for money and it was really hard to say no. I ended up giving away a total of 600 colones (dont worry thats only a little more than a dollar)
Tuesday
We went to Tobosi for a lesson that went very well and as we started heading back I realized I didn't bring money for a bus ticket back and so after thinking of all the possible things we could do, we started walking the suuuper long walk home, accepting the fact that we would miss our dinner appointment and get home really late. But after only 1 mile or so we walked past a little store that had about 50 people excessive-dancing to really loud fast music following their dance leader dude, and right behind all of them we saw a little atm!!! So we went over there took a deep breath and walked through all of them to get to the atm in order to get money to pay for the bus ride home. we got lots of funny looks and honestly I was tempted to jump in and start dancing, hahaha!
Wednesday

Thursday
Today was my first zone conference! It lasted all day and lots of things happened, but my favorite part was when after their lesson on teaching with the spirit and the power of prayer, the zone leaders took out a box full of Book of Mormons and told us that each companionship had 15 minutes to pray to know who to give a book of Mormon to and to go out and place it and set up an appointment and return to the church. So Elder B and I found a room and I said a prayer to know who to give it to and that they will accept our invitations. We then walked into the streets taking random turns for about 6 minutes and we encountered a young mom with her arms full of groceries and earbuds in her ears - not the ideal person to stop and talk to - but we smiled and said buenas and she smiled, took out her earbuds and asked how we were doing. It couldn't have been more perfect! We explained who we were and introduced the Book of Mormon and she gladly accepted it despite her already full arms! We set up a time to teach her more, but unfortunately the Hermanas will teach her because she lives in their area. But anyways, that was such a cool experience!
After the conference we traveled 2 hours to Los Santos to do a baptismal interview and as we were making dinner the power went out and it was super dark and really fun. We got creative and made oil lamps from pan lids and paper towels and vegetable oil and told stories while eating our half-cooked pupusas 😆

Friday
The power came on AFTER my shower 😤 and after the interview we took a bus back home and we were stuck behind a slow truck the whole time so we missed our lunch appointment... Then Elder B had to do another interview in another place 40 minutes away and it went longer then expected and we missed our dinner appointment... Thanks for those protein bars mom!
Saturday
Today I woke up super excited because there was a baptism happening today! We had to be there at 9 so we left at 830 but someone called us and said I had to bring Baptism clothes as a backup so we turned around and got them. But now we were late and so Elder B called an Uber (not sure if we're supposed to do that, but hey it was an emergency) and we taught him the basics of the restoration on the drive to the church. It was really cool, he was really interested that there is a prophet today. At the church, Elder Lopez told me that I was going to do the baptism because his clothes hadn't arrived yet. I was like waitwaitwaitwaitwait! and gave him my planner to write down what i was supposed to say because I don't have it memorized in Spanish. Fortunately I was able to memorize it quickly in the few minutes we had and the hardest part was her name: Britany Loany Berroteran Mata. She was a happy little 10 year old. Anyways it was definitely the coolest experience of my mission, a little nerve wracking but incredibly spiritual nonetheless. Its been a long time since I have been to a live baptism and it was really neat to be reminded of how important and special baptism is. (We took a picture but its not with me)
Sunday
At sacrament meeting Britany was confirmed! Also, they needed an extra speaker so they asked who of us missionaries wanted to give a talk. Elder Lopez volunteered and gave an incredible talk with no preparation! It was really inspiring. He talked about the importance of the sacrament.
He talked about how healing is what Christ is offering to each of us every week as we receive the sacrament and how we have to want it and yearn for it. Brent Coxton said this: "We have to reach from deep down inside of us and bring forth our brokenness, believing that He will receive our broken selves and heal us. This requires faith. It requires focus, Our brains get distracted and wander so easily and worldly things seep in so effortlessly. Our shame and guilt beg to stay hidden even from ourselves" - I know that I have struggled staying focused on the true purpose of the sacrament many times and that sometimes its hard to believe that Christ can really take away our guilt when we have repented, but I know he can if we take the sacrament with full purpose of heart. So next time you take the sacrament ponder the words of the prayer and remember how you feel, and how you are changed when you take it with a humble, focused mind.

Love you guys!
-Elder Hilton