Cucuta Week 32 January 12

Ok so I said last week that I would update on the ant wars. They have adapted their warfare tactics. I could take them all out at once when they attacked in swarms, and cut off their point of entry. But now they've spread out. I don't know where they come from and it's hard to spot them out. They sneak into my clothes in my closet even though I've put poison to block them out. All I'm going to say is that ants in my pants is a real thing. And ant bites in my pants.

This week was super cool though. On tuesday we went to a place called pamplona. It's over two hours away up in the mountains (which means it's cold!!) and we worked with some ward leaders to visit a few investigators and less active members. It's a super small town so it was sweet. During a lesson, there were tons of sheep bahing outside for like 20 min then this little lamb charges into the house and we had to stop to kick it out. Colombian lambs are just so silly. It was nice to be in the cold though. I have 7 months of heat and 1 day of cold now.

So we have been doing a lot of service for people. We painted the house of one family who aren't members except for one son. We went over 3 different mornings. And now the brother is listening to us and has a lot of potential. He's super religious and awesome and so we're just waiting for him to read the book of mormon so he'll want to be baptized.

In other news, James (a Colombian) won one of the two golden balls, so people here are pretty happy. Yes, It sounds really strange, it sounds better in spanish (balón de oro) and yes there are only two. He won best goal of the year. so pretty cool.Speaking of soccer, We have been playing here on pdays and it's super fun. I'm terrible because I wasn't raised in latin culture but I'm getting there.

Ok so to close out, fasting works!! My testimony on fasting has grown so much this week. We fasted for a few things on sunday but especially two investigators and their families, Viviana and Leidy. They were our most promising investigators, but we hadn't talked to them in about two weeks. We were calling and stopping by, but nothing. On monday we went out to work at 6 and before we made it a block, Leidy called us and said she wanted us to stop by, and everything was great! And then, seconds later, Viviana pulls up next to us on her motorcycle and tells us how she had just gotten back in town, and that everything in her life was working it's way out so that she can get baptized!! We were, and are still, so stoked! I felt the spirit so strong during our fast, and I can't deny that fasting is real and that God here's and answers our prayers. Fasting was such a great experience, I don't know if I'm ever going to eat or drink again!

Love Elder Downing (Elderek)