Only Missionaries Call the Week They Eat Pigs Head Their Best Week Ever...

(This is the only pig head Bryce's Dad is willing to eat)

Best week of my mission ever. Hands down the best week of my mission ever. Like for real.

Just to get this out of the way on Saturday night I finally ate something crazy. Pig Head. So we were visiting a family and they invited us to dinner. As we were eating the father commented that God really does do miracles. He said "Who would have thought that while I was working today a man selling a pig head would pass by and I would have exactly the right amount of money to buy it." When he said it we realized we were eating a pig head. My companion asked if he was eating the ear and they said yes. I was eating the other ear when I found out. I think I ate part of the nose as well. Oh my gosh when they told us my body freaked out and I immediately had bicycle. Bicycle means diarrhea but it is so common that in our mission we call is bicycle. It was a classic mission moment.

Another classic mission moment. So we are walking and these 3 little boys walk by us and one of them says to me "you are gringo." I immediately responded "you are gringo." We each walked by and bursted out laughing at what happened.

So this week was literally the greatest ever. Elder Alanoca and I have the perfect companionship and we both agree this was our best week ever. I am learning so much from him. He has 20 months in the mission and he is teaching me all of the secrets to the mission. His ability to gain the trust of anybody and his ability to get into every house we knock is amazing. I have never had a week of so much personal progress and so much fun. I hate sleeping now because I just want to wake up the next day and start working. And I think he is learning some things from me as well. The spirit has just been so strong as well this week and I feel that God doubled everything we did this week. 

Numbers do not mean much but this week Elder Alanoca and I found 24 news. That was more in one week than I found in my first 3 months of the mission. Literally half of the doors we knocked let us in and teach them. I have never had a more productive or miracle filled week than this week. Also we have so much respect for each other. 

So I have been praying and seeking for the last couple of months for a greater understanding of the atonement. Saturday we were visiting a family that has been going through trials. They have a little 11 year old girl who is preparing for baptism. Her mom was recently thrown in jail and is awaiting trial. With her mom gone the family has no source of income and the little girl has been having to sell oranges at soccer games to have food when she goes to school. To end the lesson on Saturday she offered the most powerful prayer I have ever heard. She pleaded with Heavenly Father in her prayer, begging him that her mom would be found not guilty and come home. She sobbed in her prayer. Hearing a 11 year old girl crying over a trial that was not her fault took me to Gethsemane. I felt for a moment how much pain Christ felt when he atoned for our sins. To hear someone so pure aching for someone else helped me understand how it felt for Christ to suffer for my sins.

Being District Leader is stressful and I was so nervous our first district meeting. But it is so an amazing opportunity to grow personally and help others. I have a great district.

I think God accidentally doubled the spirit he usually gives last week because it was so amazing. I learned so much and we are working so well. 

So life is amazing. So amazing.

Elder Tucker