Biking in the city

First I have to make a confession. I wasn't a very good representative for the church this week. I have discovered that the best way around town is to ride my bike. Between 7:30 in the morning and 7:30 at night this city is gridlock. The lack of rules doesn't seem to help traffic move any faster. I would compare the traffic to New York City only with much less organization. On my bike I can dodge in and out of traffic and at busy times I am much faster than a car. On Tuesday I needed to pickup a check from the bank that is about 1.5 miles away, so I decided to ride my bike. Everything went great. I got there in just a few minutes. When I got there  I brought my bike inside and leaned it against the wall. The security guard told me to take it outside. In my very limited Spanish I told him "no"("no" in Espanol). He asked me again with a little more enthusiasm. I said "No" with a little more enthusiasm. This went back and forth several time each time our voices escalated. I was thinking, what is he going to do arrest me? It was a stand off. The workers in the bank were all just laughing. I just left the bike against the wall and went to do my business. The bike stayed where I put it. On my way out I went and apologized to the guard with a big smile. He smiled back with a thumbs up. Two things learned, I love riding my bike in the city and I need to buy a lock (which I have done).

In case you have all been wondering with all this time away from racing if Hermana Borup is loosing her competitiveness. I found out this week. We went for a ride Saturday morning and when we got there we noticed that they were getting ready for a bike ride. I noticed Hermana's pace was much faster than usual. After a lap at the increased speed she said. "I'm really tired today" I said "no you saw that there was a race and instantly your speed went up 2 miles an hour."  You can take the girl away from the competition but you can't take the competition out of the girl. 

I taught the Aaronic priesthood lesson this week.  Yes it was in Spanish (well I call it that). I asked a lot of questions that I hope didn't need a response (I understood some of the responses). I also love LDS media. Did you know they have church videos in Spanish? Also today was Fast Sunday. I made some extra effort to concentrate on understanding the testimonies. I even understood much of the ward mission leader's testimony (he's the guy I can't even understand a word of). We feel blessed when it comes to the language. It's slow but sometimes steady.

Everyday I pray for opportunities to share the gospel with others. It is always amazing to me how those opportunities come. I talked to another guard at the City Water department (This is a guard in every building). I told him I was a missionary and asked if he knew about the church. He said that he has had missionaries in his home. I asked if he has a Book of Mormon. He said he has 2. I was able to encourage him to read it and talk to the missionaries again. Out of this city of a couple of million people and about 40-50 missionaries I just "happened" to find a man that I could talk to that was meeting with them. God knows His children. He is reaching out to them, all of them. We are His tools.

Hermana Borup and I pulled it off! Yes, we got our swim in! We needed to go to the airport and pickup a missionary that came in form Peru. The plan worked flawlessly. we took our suits and got a good 30 minute swim in before we picked him up. The best part of it all was meeting this amazing missionary. He has been a member for two years. He was the only member in his family until a few months ago when he Baptized one of his sisters. He is so excited to be here and wear himself out in the service of God. He will be a great missionary. Imagine 2 years as a member and off on a mission 

This really is God's work. We see his hand in it everyday. We love being a small part of it.

Have a great week.

Your Friends,

Hermana y Elder Borup

Herman Borup is growing.

He was having a hard time keeping that wheelbarrow from swerving back and forth

We pass a few of these "bread trucks" every Sunday Morning.

Side view of the bread truck

We're not sure what was in there

Just some pigs out for a Sunday morning walk

5 Big Avocados $1.75 

And they are really tasty 

People gathered for the evening at the corner store

We found a bike race. There were some very expensive bikes.

The sister in the middle invited some of the neighborhood kids to come to Church.

2017 Dodge Charger just showed up to Church

Yes that is Santa on that roof