Elder Austin Ferrin's Costa Rica Adventures: Week # 7 Welcome to Costa Rica.........

Alright so getting to Costa Rica was a long long day but after the last week I am absolutely in love with the country!!!!!!!!!! The area I am in is called Guanacaste and my city is Liberia and some out lying little communities. The poverty is very humbling and it is amazing to see the conditions that people live in. Most of my investigators are living in one room houses with one or two walls of cement dirt floors and tin roofs and sides. Most people cook over a fire and don't have much besides each other, but the people here are so nice and loving when we show up and these people are so willing to hear the gospel. My companion and I are opening up a brand new area where the missionaries have not been before and if we can get 8 Melchizedek priesthood holders in the branch by December we will be the 3rd stake in Costa Rica ever!!!! So far we have 9 baptism dates set for the 20 of September and 7 of those are very solid and prepared brothers and sisters. We fasted the first day so we could try and get some investigators and meet some people and the lord has blessed us more than I have ever seen. I can and do carry a conversation with people every day and between me and my companion we get about 35 contacts every day and he makes me do at least 20 of them on my own. My companions name is Elder Soza and he is from Chihuahua Mexico and he is probably the greatest missionary on the planet. He speaks English but not to me normally. :) I love the work and the people here so much and I see the lords hand in my work every day all day. My companion is like the Mexico version of me and actually did a little fish farming before his mission too!! He had horses and cows and loves to hunt and fish & worked on farms and is literally just like me :) I love him so much!! The area we are in is the "cowboy" area of Costa Rica. We see cows and horses in the street and the people here mostly work on farms. I have contacted five buses in the last week. (that means i got up in front of the whole bus and talked and bore my testimony to the bus.) My companion is constantly pushing me to do better and I love him for it because I can tell that I am improving on my Spanish everyday. I know it sounds crazy but we really have got 9 people committed to a baptism in just the last week and its not because of me or my companion. The spirit is with us every second of every day. I feel it and I love it so much. I feel all your prayers and love each day and I appreciate all the support. I cant believe its been a week already. Things in Costa Rica are definitely not the same as in the states. People don't care if they hit you with a car I have found out. :) Every day you better be watching where your walking or you are in trouble :) Trees grow in the middle of the road and the money looks like monopoly money! but like I said I am loving it. !!!!!! I cant think of a better place to spend my mission. For all of you I will be in San Jose at the mission office tomorrow and if you send a dear elder to the office today I will get it when I'm in there. I hope to hear from you all and I hope you know I love you all so so so much. The people of Costa Rica are prepared by the lord and I know it with all my heart. I am so glad that I was blessed to be called here and especially to serve in Guanacaste because this is a small town community that I am serving in and it almost reminds me of home with all the cattle and stuff. Anyways I have to go and I hope you all are doing good and you know I love you.

PS if anyone sends a letter or package don't send it through DHL or FedEx send it like normal and it takes about 10 days for a letter or package to get here is all.

Love

Elder Ferrin