Well hello!
I'm writing a bit early today because DUN DUN hhaaaay cambios. So Elder Redd is leaving to the jungle in the Oriente to be a zone leader. It's a flat place so that'll be good for his jacked up hips. So that leaves me here in the Villa Flora to train some new guy who'll be coming Wednesday. But I'm not the district leader so that won't be too bad. Can't imagine taking care of a new missionary and a district at the same time. I'm just worried about how the ward will be with Elder Redd gone. They all love him and they want to call him as bishop. But my doubt is that they don't trust me as much and I worry that they'll lose the love for the missionary work with him gone. Pero no se preocupe because it's gonna be aight. I think if I just keep on working and talking with the members they'll still help us. It'll be hard with out a cell phone though. Back to the cabinas and calling cards! But we'll find out who I'm training this Wednesday, until then I have no idea what I'll do without a companion. But we go with it! It's time to rock and roll!!
Ah yeah Lent. They have a different name for it but I can't remember what it is right now. They walked around with those ash crosses on their heads. I asked a lady why she does that and she was shocked that we don't. But she didn't know why anyway. Tradition. But giving stuff away does sound way better than giving up candy for a month. Give a little bit, give a little bit of your love to me
Uuuuuuuh wind. The beast of Satan. The fart from Neptune. The cackle of the troll under the bridge to Terebithia. The chitti chitti in the bang bang. The howl from down under. I hate it and might be the reason why I won't ever want to live in the valley again. It's miserable! I'm goin to live on some island with my chicken and rice and collect sea shells to make re-creations of the art of Van Gough. Then I'll come back cryin like Hello Kitty in the pound when a tsunami hits. Hmmm, I guess everywhere has it's unique problems. Like some people's eyebrows.
Yikes Grandma! Why doesn't she just use the walker and cane? She's killing herself like that. I'll write her a letter hopefully trying to inspire her or somethin. I dunno. But good thing you guys helped her out. It's a test of our patience and love I guess. But everything will work out for our good. Just keep helping her!
Speaking of letters I hope I can start writing some. I got tons I need to write. It's madness! One I'm dying to write is to Chase. Ese loco se va a Brasil pues! Eeeeeeeejole. Bienvenidos a suramerica. But Portuguese is really similar to Spanish. President Ghent's son that served in Brazil talked to us in Portuguese and we could understand almost everything. It's about as easy to understand as the drunks talking to us. Just some zzzjjjccaaa noises that are different. But it'll be cool. Tengo hablar con ese viejo Kyle Mc tambien.
Well good luck to my cousin Kyle this week. Have fun in that MTC! Get fat while you can!
So this week. Whew. You just realize your blessings and dang life can be hard. Every person we've taught has had these problems. Last night we taught a recent convert and he felt lonely and just wanted to have fun Saturday but then some how ended up drinking with his friends. He called us at 2 in the morning feeling terrible. His wife and kids were crying and she's just fed up with it all and he was trying to make it alright.
The other lady doesn't want to leave her old alcoholic father to go live with her husband and his mother because she's scared of her mother-in-law. The others have big debts that they can't pay so they don't want to get married to get baptized. In one family the mother recently had a miscarriage and the father is blind. One member's daughter has gone missing in Guayaquil and hasn't been heard of for more than 3 weeks. The other family has a father that needs to go to surgery but they don't have the money to pay, the mother with her two daughters can't find work so will have to go a field to work for a month, leaving her daughters behind. Then don't have any food and when she came to church she passed out from this pain in her head due to malnutrition. But the family stayed for sacrament meeting.
We had the talks this Sunday. I was going to talk about how we can help less active members come back, but I just got this feeling that I should talk about our trials here in the earth. I looked out on all those people, everyone with their own story, everyone with their own problem, but all of them looking for some kind of hope. Some kind of relief. Started talking about the premortal life, why we're here, what these tough times mean, and then tried to give hope. Talked of Jesus Christ and how he understands all of our afflictions (Alma 7:11-12) but how if we put the kingdom of God first, and keep the commandments, we'll prosper in the land. Talked about the importance of hope (Ether 12:4) and how we need this faith to receive the blessings. Talked how we as a church can help each other with our troubles (Moroni 6). But I think I'm feeling the Spirit a little bit more if I just let my own insecurities go. Just do it I guess. Stop worrying about yourself and your faults and just focus on them. It's crazy.
But we're blessed. No doubt about it. But even when I get frustrated and fed up with these people, who have to just marvel at their faith. Here I am, a boy of 19 years old, from a different country, I've never starved or had to make a sacrifice for all of my family in order to follow God, and I'm here telling them to change their lives put everything in second place to God. And they begin to do it. If this was something false, or some wild belief of men, it'd be impossible. No lie can produce the faith necessary to do these things that we ask them to do. If we're just some brain washed kids doing what our parents raised us to do, why are we here praying for these people, begging with God to help them with all their problems, and sacrificing all our time in order to help them? This life is a stinkin miracle!! Ya can't help but to be a little bit awed and receive some feeling in your heart that this is the truth. Yet we sometimes let our own fears and egotistic ideas impede us from sharing this truth with others. We don't even try. It's easier to be a conformist. And what a shame. I get kinda scared to stand before God if he asks me if I've done everything I can to help others and I can't say I have. But hey, never too late to start right?
Well looks like somebody has written a little too much today! Sorry for the ranting, I just get lost when I start talking about the mission. But hey I gotta request that's kinda sad. Can you change the Guapo Sapo from facebook? One, it's bad Spanish. Two, sapo is a missionary word for a gossiper, or a person who tries to bring other people down. Big mouth! So I CAN NOT be known as that for the rest of my life. So kill it! And say goodbye to the old years I guess.
Oh and I still need the bishop's address.
Well that's all folks! Love ya all, thanks for the support, and strap on your seat belts for this week. It's gonna be a heck of a time.
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