Dear Mom,
Wow, It sounds like you have all had a super crazy week back home, I am glad to hear that you have each been able to make it through what has happened and keep pushing on. I am really glad that Brayden was able to find his spikes though, that was so lucky, it truly is a blessing. And also that the Sea doo or car didnt get stuck in the lake haha, that would have been a really big problem..
The talk James gave sounds like it must have been really great, The atonement is a subject extremely extensive and so amazing. Its something so essencial for everyone of us, and yet we cant really ever truly comprehend it completely in this life. I have thought about when I come back home too now and the wards are all split up, its going to be strange, haha, But thats still a good ways a way.
As far as changes I still dont know who my new companion is, I will tomorrow though, I am kind of excited and kind of nervous at the same time, recieving a new companion is kind of just one of those things, you never know, Hopefully it will be someone I get along with like all of the others, it definitly makes the time go by better. Its actually kind of funny because everyone in our zone has changes so everyone will be going, there will be alot of new people here.
As far as things here, they have been going pretty well, I went on divisions again this week with another elder named Elder S, hes from El Salvador, good guy, hes leaving with my companion, while we were out working it started to rain, the rainy season is really starting to pick up now, and we got in a house right as it started, But we couldnt really talk with the people because the house was made of aluminum so all the rain falling made a ton of noise and you could hardly hear anything else haha, that was pretty funny, but it was kind of strange too because as it was raining it started Hailing too! I dont really know where it came from, but the good thing about the rain is that when its raining, its kind of cool here, and not nearly as hot, so at least I am not sweating all the time. The bad thing is that you go out and work in it so you get drenched, but thats actually kind of fun too so no worries.
We also had a baptism this past sunday which was great, Its kind of a strange story because we were going to get her married so she could be baptized, but what actually ended up happening was that she and her boyfriend Broke up completely, that was a surprise because we had gone and gotten all the papers for the marriage and what not, but there wasnt one. Its sad that it happened, but its probably for the better, because apparently they had been fighting for a while now, but she still wanted to go forward and be baptized, so she was. It was really great because she is one of the investigators that is truly converted, they do everything well, they keep their commitments, pray, and truly know that it is true.
Yesterday we had P day as a district and we went to A chapel in a different companionships area, to play soccer and stuff, but the building there has Mango trees outside and so we got there and there were Mangos Everywhere, I ate way too many, but there were literally a billion or so.
Another thing I have been trying to work on here now especially is studying more effectively spanish, its another thing that President talked to us about, and he really wants us to be able to continue bettering our ability to communicate, I agree with him that its definitly something we should do, I am trying to divide my study up into different time periods of different activities, so I dont get bored with just studying the same thing over and over again, its definitly helping though.
Other than that though, the week has been pretty normal, we have worked super hard, and are super tired, but always ready to keep on working, I love you all and hope everything is going well back there in Alabama, Tell everyone I love them and miss them!
Love,
Christopher
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
4-10-12
Dear Mom,
It sounds like you all have had a pretty full week back home, its pretty much been the same here, time is flying by, its kind of weird but my companion is finishing his mission next week and I will be recieving a new companion, who knows who it will be.
So brayden still hasnt finished his eagle project... The idea for the Cemetary thing actually sounds like it would be pretty easy, who mentioned it to him? I would go for it, but the only thing is that he would need alot of computer time, but as far as the technicalities of it all I am sure that dad would be able to help him. I am sorry that you have to have someone driving you around everywhere and stuff, I know what that feels like haha, I remember right after I had my wisdom teeth out I couldnt drive because of the medicine, and the same with my implant, that was really annoying, you dont really realize how much a small inability can effect the normal course of your life until it actually happens. But its great that you have people there who are willing to help you out and get around it.
I did get the package from Grandma Linda as well actually, be sure to tell her I said thank you so much, it really meant alot.
As far as friends with addresses, well, Just the people who wrote on the Cards that you put in there, I cant remember them all because there were alot, but there was L.B., E.P., I think those are the only ones I dont have, because I have the Stanleys, and I have Ashley and Katherine and Betsy.
I have gotten along with my companions pretty well in general actually, I havent really had problems with one yet, so I have been lucky in that aspect.
Those talks from Sunday sound amazing, I wish I could have been able to hear them, I am sure I would have learned alot from them as well.
Here on saturday the Guatemalans do something like what they do in brazil I guess, They make a Judas doll and then burn him though, they dont actually hang him. But they do have a whole procession with someone who is supposedly Jesus, where basically they play out the whole last week of his life, They have him taken and tried, and then they put him on a cross (with ropes not nails) for about 30 minutes, then the Sunday morning they have the resurrection for him. Kind of interesting, I didnt know that any of this happened until my companion started explaining the celebration of this week to me.
As far as things going on in the mission, this last thursday we had a baptism with G., that was great, he was so happy and this past Fast Sunday when he was confirmed he got up and gave his testimony, he was really nervous, but he felt like he had to do it so he did, awesome experience.
Actually something really cool happened this past week, at least cool to me, so My companion and I were trying to get lessons in on Saturday, but all of our appointments were falling through and nobody was letting us in, we really were having a hard time, and we werent sure what to do, so I was looking in My agenda for an idea and I came across the Address of a contact I had made my first day here, and the Man had said we could pass by at the time of the day which we were in so I thought we should go there, haha, I then jokingly said that maybe I had contacted the guy my first day Specifically so that in this moment when everything had fallen through we would have somewhere to go. The surprising thing was that the man was there and he was so excited to let us come in haha, it turns out that about two years ago he had talked to missionaries before but for one reason or another they had stopped visiting him, but we talked to him and he wants to come to church and everything and get baptized too. It was so cool, I was completely joking when I said what I said, but maybe I really did talk to the man just so that in that day in the future we would know where to go. Maybe its a long shot, but to me it just seems like it was supposed to happen. Think what you will
Other than that, yesterday for P day we went hiking up a mountain, that was pretty cool, we saw some really cool views, and we had a great time, I was talking with one of our Zone leaders, Elder L., and he gave me some ideas for things to do maybe as a career, he was telling me about how you can go to college to become a Chemical Engineer, and get a job with that degree, and then also go to study for your MBA and start a business up with that, its a little more complicated than that, but it interested me, I will have to look into it. But Anyways, not too much else has happened, I think I got all your questions, I hope you and dad and the rest of the Family are doing well, Tell Dad I said happy late Birthday, Love you all!
Love,
Christopher Pierce
It sounds like you all have had a pretty full week back home, its pretty much been the same here, time is flying by, its kind of weird but my companion is finishing his mission next week and I will be recieving a new companion, who knows who it will be.
So brayden still hasnt finished his eagle project... The idea for the Cemetary thing actually sounds like it would be pretty easy, who mentioned it to him? I would go for it, but the only thing is that he would need alot of computer time, but as far as the technicalities of it all I am sure that dad would be able to help him. I am sorry that you have to have someone driving you around everywhere and stuff, I know what that feels like haha, I remember right after I had my wisdom teeth out I couldnt drive because of the medicine, and the same with my implant, that was really annoying, you dont really realize how much a small inability can effect the normal course of your life until it actually happens. But its great that you have people there who are willing to help you out and get around it.
I did get the package from Grandma Linda as well actually, be sure to tell her I said thank you so much, it really meant alot.
As far as friends with addresses, well, Just the people who wrote on the Cards that you put in there, I cant remember them all because there were alot, but there was L.B., E.P., I think those are the only ones I dont have, because I have the Stanleys, and I have Ashley and Katherine and Betsy.
I have gotten along with my companions pretty well in general actually, I havent really had problems with one yet, so I have been lucky in that aspect.
Those talks from Sunday sound amazing, I wish I could have been able to hear them, I am sure I would have learned alot from them as well.
Here on saturday the Guatemalans do something like what they do in brazil I guess, They make a Judas doll and then burn him though, they dont actually hang him. But they do have a whole procession with someone who is supposedly Jesus, where basically they play out the whole last week of his life, They have him taken and tried, and then they put him on a cross (with ropes not nails) for about 30 minutes, then the Sunday morning they have the resurrection for him. Kind of interesting, I didnt know that any of this happened until my companion started explaining the celebration of this week to me.
As far as things going on in the mission, this last thursday we had a baptism with G., that was great, he was so happy and this past Fast Sunday when he was confirmed he got up and gave his testimony, he was really nervous, but he felt like he had to do it so he did, awesome experience.
Actually something really cool happened this past week, at least cool to me, so My companion and I were trying to get lessons in on Saturday, but all of our appointments were falling through and nobody was letting us in, we really were having a hard time, and we werent sure what to do, so I was looking in My agenda for an idea and I came across the Address of a contact I had made my first day here, and the Man had said we could pass by at the time of the day which we were in so I thought we should go there, haha, I then jokingly said that maybe I had contacted the guy my first day Specifically so that in this moment when everything had fallen through we would have somewhere to go. The surprising thing was that the man was there and he was so excited to let us come in haha, it turns out that about two years ago he had talked to missionaries before but for one reason or another they had stopped visiting him, but we talked to him and he wants to come to church and everything and get baptized too. It was so cool, I was completely joking when I said what I said, but maybe I really did talk to the man just so that in that day in the future we would know where to go. Maybe its a long shot, but to me it just seems like it was supposed to happen. Think what you will
Other than that, yesterday for P day we went hiking up a mountain, that was pretty cool, we saw some really cool views, and we had a great time, I was talking with one of our Zone leaders, Elder L., and he gave me some ideas for things to do maybe as a career, he was telling me about how you can go to college to become a Chemical Engineer, and get a job with that degree, and then also go to study for your MBA and start a business up with that, its a little more complicated than that, but it interested me, I will have to look into it. But Anyways, not too much else has happened, I think I got all your questions, I hope you and dad and the rest of the Family are doing well, Tell Dad I said happy late Birthday, Love you all!
Love,
Christopher Pierce
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
4-4-12
Dear Mom,
Conference was Amazing this past week, I watched it in English luckily, its so much better that way because you can actually hear the people that are talking, you kind of get used to the voice of the prophet or apostles. All of the Talks were really awesome to be honest, but Some of my favorites were Definitly Uchdtorfs Sunday morning talk about Stop It. David A. Bednars in The priesthood session, and Jeffrey R. Hollands on Saturday I believe. It was a Great conference overall, Although I feel that it was heavily focused on Parents and Raising Kids.
Zone Conference Was also really cool, We pretty much spent the whole time talking about the Book of Mormon, That was great, we talked about how to use it with answering questions of the soul, and applying it to the lives of people. That The Book of Mormon is Central in the conversion process and that we have to make sure our investigators understand that. And that all too often as missionaries we have a tendency to use the Bible, because it has a tendency to convince if we know the scriptures well, which is the opposite of what we want as we want our converts to Be converted, not convinced.
Brayden Still hasnt done his Eagle Project? He has to get on the ball or he wont be able to drive pretty soon, thats gonna be tough. I cant believe that Molly is almost 12 now, that is so crazy, she is growing old so fast. I bet she is super excited for those trips though, knowing her.
I am sorry that you Broke your toe, I know how that feels, I remember when I broke my foot and you two didnt believe me, haha, maybe its karma. But I Hope that you can recover and get back to normal shape, just be more careful. Its true that our bodies are a miracle, Russel M. Nelson was talking about that in his talk in Conference, that was also a super good talk, if you didnt get to hear it you should find it.
I also have a piece of Good news, I did get my Birthday Package, Thank you so much! I am glad that you sent me a journal because I am actually about to run out of space in the one I have so I will need more space soon. Also thank you for all of the notes from my Friends, I wish I had addresses so that I could reply and say thank you to all of them, Be sure to tell them I said Thank you when you can.
As far as the Mission, Its going by pretty much the same, haha, I dont really know how to describe it, we went to a museum this last P day, that had a ton of rocks and stuff with carvings, and also their were some really old trains and machinery that the people used here, kind of an odd combination but I enjoyed it. We also finally got to talk to the husband (not married yet) of an investigator, and talked about getting them married because she really wants to be baptized and cant because they arent married, He agreed to marrying and so we will be having the marriage this saturday, and baptizing her probably the other week, so I am really happy about that. But other than that not too much... we have been so busy these past few days with General Conference, than P day, than Zone conference, then District meeting today, and tomorrow we are having the Baptism for German, Than Saturday is the wedding, We havent really had too much time for finding new people and teaching, its super strange because we get so tired from all this stuff we are trying to keep up with.
Anyways, I think I answered all your questions, I hope so at least, Know that I love and miss you all and Hope to hear from you soon, Tell everyone I said hi!!
Love,
Christopher
I did find a Backpack actually haha, its kind of funny because its a backpack that another elder used, Its actually the old backpack of the Trainer who trained my Trainer. I thought that was kind of funny, anyways its not amazing but it works well so I should be good for a while.
I am still trying to figure out how to send photos, I will get back on that, sorry its taking so long.
Conference was Amazing this past week, I watched it in English luckily, its so much better that way because you can actually hear the people that are talking, you kind of get used to the voice of the prophet or apostles. All of the Talks were really awesome to be honest, but Some of my favorites were Definitly Uchdtorfs Sunday morning talk about Stop It. David A. Bednars in The priesthood session, and Jeffrey R. Hollands on Saturday I believe. It was a Great conference overall, Although I feel that it was heavily focused on Parents and Raising Kids.
Zone Conference Was also really cool, We pretty much spent the whole time talking about the Book of Mormon, That was great, we talked about how to use it with answering questions of the soul, and applying it to the lives of people. That The Book of Mormon is Central in the conversion process and that we have to make sure our investigators understand that. And that all too often as missionaries we have a tendency to use the Bible, because it has a tendency to convince if we know the scriptures well, which is the opposite of what we want as we want our converts to Be converted, not convinced.
Brayden Still hasnt done his Eagle Project? He has to get on the ball or he wont be able to drive pretty soon, thats gonna be tough. I cant believe that Molly is almost 12 now, that is so crazy, she is growing old so fast. I bet she is super excited for those trips though, knowing her.
I am sorry that you Broke your toe, I know how that feels, I remember when I broke my foot and you two didnt believe me, haha, maybe its karma. But I Hope that you can recover and get back to normal shape, just be more careful. Its true that our bodies are a miracle, Russel M. Nelson was talking about that in his talk in Conference, that was also a super good talk, if you didnt get to hear it you should find it.
I also have a piece of Good news, I did get my Birthday Package, Thank you so much! I am glad that you sent me a journal because I am actually about to run out of space in the one I have so I will need more space soon. Also thank you for all of the notes from my Friends, I wish I had addresses so that I could reply and say thank you to all of them, Be sure to tell them I said Thank you when you can.
As far as the Mission, Its going by pretty much the same, haha, I dont really know how to describe it, we went to a museum this last P day, that had a ton of rocks and stuff with carvings, and also their were some really old trains and machinery that the people used here, kind of an odd combination but I enjoyed it. We also finally got to talk to the husband (not married yet) of an investigator, and talked about getting them married because she really wants to be baptized and cant because they arent married, He agreed to marrying and so we will be having the marriage this saturday, and baptizing her probably the other week, so I am really happy about that. But other than that not too much... we have been so busy these past few days with General Conference, than P day, than Zone conference, then District meeting today, and tomorrow we are having the Baptism for German, Than Saturday is the wedding, We havent really had too much time for finding new people and teaching, its super strange because we get so tired from all this stuff we are trying to keep up with.
Anyways, I think I answered all your questions, I hope so at least, Know that I love and miss you all and Hope to hear from you soon, Tell everyone I said hi!!
Love,
Christopher
I did find a Backpack actually haha, its kind of funny because its a backpack that another elder used, Its actually the old backpack of the Trainer who trained my Trainer. I thought that was kind of funny, anyways its not amazing but it works well so I should be good for a while.
I am still trying to figure out how to send photos, I will get back on that, sorry its taking so long.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Happy Birthday #20 to Elder Pierce! 3-27-12
Dear Mom,
I cant really get my head around the fact that I am 20 now, Its just one of those things where you never felt like the day would actually come, I cant believe I am not a teenager anymore. As far as plans for the day, welllllllll, we are just going to work like normal haha, no breaks in the mission unfortunately, but its alright, I am not worried about it.
Thats great that you bore your testimony, sometimes its wierd when we feel like we dont want to talk, but the spirit is telling us that we need to, alot of times we find ourselves casting doubt upon the fact that its something we should do, It happens to me all the time in lessons, I will have something I feel like I should say and most of the time immediately for some strange reason my first reaction is to not say it, but I am trying to get over it and learn to recognize that it is the spirit trying to guide me. It will be my second conference here, I am pretty excited for it, It probably does have alot to do with studying the scriptures and living in this manner, I dont know, I feel like its more that through the studying that we do, we comprehend so much better the amazing fact that it is that we have the oppurtunity to listen to a living prophet, Its a great experience. And also you can recieve so much revelation for your investigators, and they themselves can as well if they are their listening, It means so much more when they can actually see this prophet that we have been talking about, and actually hear him speak.
My package hasnt gotten to me specifically yet, it doesnt mean it isnt here, its just we only get mail when we have Zone conference, Interviews, or change meetings, and all of those are usually about 4 or 5 weeks apart, so we dont get mail alot. But we have Zone conference next week on tuesday, so I should get it then, I am also not sure, but I think we wont be emailing until wednesday next week, they havent said anything, but if we are going to be in a zone conference all day I imagine we wont have time.
Wow, I cant believe that Spring Break already passed by, that is so crazy, I had actually forgotten that there was even a vacation of spring break... I have been out of school for a long time now. thats great that you all had the chance to spend some time together though, its important to do, it helps bond. It sounds like the Lake property is coming along super well now, thats so awesome, I wish I could be there to help with building and all that stuff, but I am sure there will be something to do when I get back home to, so I guess I will just make up for all the lost time at that point.
What Kind of Job is Johnny looking for?
Thats cool that my cousins are planning on heading to BYU, I knew Brittani had the plan in her head, she said so in a letter but I didnt know that she had gotten accepted, thats great, I am sure she will have a great time adjusting to college lifestyle and the differences it has.
I am also really glad that my ID should be coming in a while, I feel so weird pulling out the copy of my Passport all the time when I have to use it. (I was able to renew his driver's license. It had expired and the one he had was stolen anyway.)
I had to pull some money off yesterday, I am not sure why, but they still havent reimbursed us for our elecricity and such this month, so I was short a little bit of money, As far as the Backpack, I dont know, I need to spend some time looking, its not so much the cost here that is a problem, it is more that they dont really have any backpacks that actually have good quality as far as I have been able to see, so It would be a waste of money to spend money on a terrible backpack. I am looking though, hopefully I will be able to find something useful.
This past week has been really great, we had a baptism on Saturday, it was a 13 year old girl, Her mom wants to be baptized as well but cant for a few complications, more than anything, the father in the family left a few years ago and so the mom has two jobs trying to make ends meet, and cant attend on sundays, which is a shame. But we are working on doing all we can, and hopefully she will be able to be baptized as well. she has an older sister as well who really wants to be baptized as well, but she cant because she has a husband but they arent married legally, they had their marriage ceremony a few years ago and paid the person to do it, but he never actually legalized the marriage, and so it shows up that they arent married, and now the husband doesnt want to redo the marriage thing, so she cant get married and cant get baptized. That was really sad because she started crying when we told her we couldnt baptize her unless they were married, its so sad when someone wants to follow Christ but cant.
We also have another person named G. that wants to be baptized, and has had several dates, its just something always seems to happen, he was going to be baptized the 15th but he drank beer and couldnt, so we moved the date forward again, and this time he was almost good, but he drank..., soooo we had to move it again.... I know it sounds like maybe he doesnt truly want to be baptized but he does, its just he is coming off of changing his whole life, addictions are hard to leave behind, he has a testimony though, when He drank and couldnt get baptized he asked to meet us at the church at 5 every morning so that he could go into the Baptismal font and pray for strength to resist the temptation. That was his idea. He is a good guy, he also has two children that we are going to teach and baptize, he doesnt have a wife though.
Other than that, the week has been pretty normal, we have been working like crazy trying to find more people to teach and baptize, that will remain converted after their baptism, in order to keep up with the Goals that President has placed for the Mission.
There was a talk I read in a conference review of November 2009, I cant remember the name of who it was, but it was a seventy, he was talking about how when Someone recieves a heart transplant, The body begins to attack the new heart because it is a foreign object really, not belonging to the owner beforehand. And that in order to keep in check the attacks and prevent the patient from dying, he has to take medication, and go to the doctor often to have a check up and see what is happening, but that amazingly, many patients with transplants will forgo taking the medication, or miss appointments, because they feel fine. He then related it to how when a person has a conversion, they recieve a new spiritual heart, and the natural man immediately begins to attack it as well, and try to kill it, and that without constant nourishment, and help from the church, it will fail. I really enjoyed it, I thought it was a great analogy. (It sounds like Elder Russell M. Nelson?)
I hope everything is going well with you and the family, tell them all I love them, And dont feel bad that I dont have the package yet, its alright, I should have it next week and its really not too much time to wait, I love you!
Love,
Christopher
I cant really get my head around the fact that I am 20 now, Its just one of those things where you never felt like the day would actually come, I cant believe I am not a teenager anymore. As far as plans for the day, welllllllll, we are just going to work like normal haha, no breaks in the mission unfortunately, but its alright, I am not worried about it.
Thats great that you bore your testimony, sometimes its wierd when we feel like we dont want to talk, but the spirit is telling us that we need to, alot of times we find ourselves casting doubt upon the fact that its something we should do, It happens to me all the time in lessons, I will have something I feel like I should say and most of the time immediately for some strange reason my first reaction is to not say it, but I am trying to get over it and learn to recognize that it is the spirit trying to guide me. It will be my second conference here, I am pretty excited for it, It probably does have alot to do with studying the scriptures and living in this manner, I dont know, I feel like its more that through the studying that we do, we comprehend so much better the amazing fact that it is that we have the oppurtunity to listen to a living prophet, Its a great experience. And also you can recieve so much revelation for your investigators, and they themselves can as well if they are their listening, It means so much more when they can actually see this prophet that we have been talking about, and actually hear him speak.
My package hasnt gotten to me specifically yet, it doesnt mean it isnt here, its just we only get mail when we have Zone conference, Interviews, or change meetings, and all of those are usually about 4 or 5 weeks apart, so we dont get mail alot. But we have Zone conference next week on tuesday, so I should get it then, I am also not sure, but I think we wont be emailing until wednesday next week, they havent said anything, but if we are going to be in a zone conference all day I imagine we wont have time.
Wow, I cant believe that Spring Break already passed by, that is so crazy, I had actually forgotten that there was even a vacation of spring break... I have been out of school for a long time now. thats great that you all had the chance to spend some time together though, its important to do, it helps bond. It sounds like the Lake property is coming along super well now, thats so awesome, I wish I could be there to help with building and all that stuff, but I am sure there will be something to do when I get back home to, so I guess I will just make up for all the lost time at that point.
What Kind of Job is Johnny looking for?
Thats cool that my cousins are planning on heading to BYU, I knew Brittani had the plan in her head, she said so in a letter but I didnt know that she had gotten accepted, thats great, I am sure she will have a great time adjusting to college lifestyle and the differences it has.
I am also really glad that my ID should be coming in a while, I feel so weird pulling out the copy of my Passport all the time when I have to use it. (I was able to renew his driver's license. It had expired and the one he had was stolen anyway.)
I had to pull some money off yesterday, I am not sure why, but they still havent reimbursed us for our elecricity and such this month, so I was short a little bit of money, As far as the Backpack, I dont know, I need to spend some time looking, its not so much the cost here that is a problem, it is more that they dont really have any backpacks that actually have good quality as far as I have been able to see, so It would be a waste of money to spend money on a terrible backpack. I am looking though, hopefully I will be able to find something useful.
This past week has been really great, we had a baptism on Saturday, it was a 13 year old girl, Her mom wants to be baptized as well but cant for a few complications, more than anything, the father in the family left a few years ago and so the mom has two jobs trying to make ends meet, and cant attend on sundays, which is a shame. But we are working on doing all we can, and hopefully she will be able to be baptized as well. she has an older sister as well who really wants to be baptized as well, but she cant because she has a husband but they arent married legally, they had their marriage ceremony a few years ago and paid the person to do it, but he never actually legalized the marriage, and so it shows up that they arent married, and now the husband doesnt want to redo the marriage thing, so she cant get married and cant get baptized. That was really sad because she started crying when we told her we couldnt baptize her unless they were married, its so sad when someone wants to follow Christ but cant.
We also have another person named G. that wants to be baptized, and has had several dates, its just something always seems to happen, he was going to be baptized the 15th but he drank beer and couldnt, so we moved the date forward again, and this time he was almost good, but he drank..., soooo we had to move it again.... I know it sounds like maybe he doesnt truly want to be baptized but he does, its just he is coming off of changing his whole life, addictions are hard to leave behind, he has a testimony though, when He drank and couldnt get baptized he asked to meet us at the church at 5 every morning so that he could go into the Baptismal font and pray for strength to resist the temptation. That was his idea. He is a good guy, he also has two children that we are going to teach and baptize, he doesnt have a wife though.
Other than that, the week has been pretty normal, we have been working like crazy trying to find more people to teach and baptize, that will remain converted after their baptism, in order to keep up with the Goals that President has placed for the Mission.
There was a talk I read in a conference review of November 2009, I cant remember the name of who it was, but it was a seventy, he was talking about how when Someone recieves a heart transplant, The body begins to attack the new heart because it is a foreign object really, not belonging to the owner beforehand. And that in order to keep in check the attacks and prevent the patient from dying, he has to take medication, and go to the doctor often to have a check up and see what is happening, but that amazingly, many patients with transplants will forgo taking the medication, or miss appointments, because they feel fine. He then related it to how when a person has a conversion, they recieve a new spiritual heart, and the natural man immediately begins to attack it as well, and try to kill it, and that without constant nourishment, and help from the church, it will fail. I really enjoyed it, I thought it was a great analogy. (It sounds like Elder Russell M. Nelson?)
I hope everything is going well with you and the family, tell them all I love them, And dont feel bad that I dont have the package yet, its alright, I should have it next week and its really not too much time to wait, I love you!
Love,
Christopher
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
3-20-12
Dear Mom,
Well, I am not actually ON the coast here in Santa lucia, what is considered as the coast here is anything that is down from the mountains, because once you get down it starts getting ALOT hotter, So I am more inland now, But I am still pretty far from the Capital, Basically all that changed was that I swapped sides of the mountains, I am still pretty close to my old area. I am trying to work on sending photos, but its a little different here, we always go to internet cafes to do emails, and not all of them are as well equipped as others, it depends from place to place. But I am trying to figure out how to send them here, as I said, its always a little different, and I have to navigate the computer in Spanish so I spend a good amount of time doing it.
We went to the Capital and were able to pass by a GNC where we ate before coming back to our area, I just got some protein, I should be set for a pretty good while, around 50 days or so, I vary how much I take depending on how much exercise I am able to do in a day.
My feet are doing pretty well, and my shoes too, so nothing too bad there, but my backpack did break so I am having to use a smaller pouch bag, I dont really enjoy it as much, I want to get a new backpack, but havent been able to lately, all the people want alot of money for a backpack that isnt all that great. I have been putting my books and such in bags to keep them safe from the rain, The season is supposed to be starting up again, so I am sure I will be enjoying that, its been raining the past three days here straight now, which is nice cause it lowers the temperature, but it isnt so fun to be getting wet all the time.
Our area is actually super small, we are super close to other missionaries, I can get to their house in about 5 minutes of walking, this whole city is split into four different branches, so the areas are small, El Tejar was my biggest area, we covered alot of ground, Panajachel and this area are alot smaller. There are 16 other missionaries in the zone and 2 sisters, As far as contact with President Brough, we have a meeting every month, so once a month.
As far as the heat, Ive been getting accustomed to it, its not so bad anymore, everyone says that with time you just start forgetting it, when we went to the Capital this past week I felt super cold there.
I am actually kind of in the same boat as Kit, I am using the holes further down on my belt loop now, its really weird, I feel like I am losing too much weight but I am alright so dont worry, as long as I keep taking the Protein nothing should happen.
...Religion is alot more popular than soccer though, even though most of the people dont really know any doctrine or anything, they just enjoy going.
so this past week has been pretty nice, we have set a baptism for this week on the 24th I think, whatever day is saturday, and then we have a baptism the next week on the 29th. We have taught so many more lessons than I am used to, here we average around 35 lessons a week, where I was we were getting around 20 a week, the time goes by super fast when you are just teaching. This last sunday I had to teach the lesson in Priesthood, that was something I was really scared for because I usually have trouble getting off a 15 minute talk, so speaking for an hour I was really worried about. But somehow I filled all the time and what was weird was that I found I didnt have time to go over everything like I thought I would be able to, I had to cut things out, it was another cool experience. It was the lesson from the Teachings of George Albert Smith on Sustaining the leaders that the Lord Sustains.
But really there isnt too much new happening here still. We are doing divisions today, I am staying in the area with an elder, my companion is going to the other area, I think I answered all the questions you had, if I didnt please tell me. I am super excited for General conference, I hope everything is going well with you and the Family, Love you!!
Love,
Christopher
Well, I am not actually ON the coast here in Santa lucia, what is considered as the coast here is anything that is down from the mountains, because once you get down it starts getting ALOT hotter, So I am more inland now, But I am still pretty far from the Capital, Basically all that changed was that I swapped sides of the mountains, I am still pretty close to my old area. I am trying to work on sending photos, but its a little different here, we always go to internet cafes to do emails, and not all of them are as well equipped as others, it depends from place to place. But I am trying to figure out how to send them here, as I said, its always a little different, and I have to navigate the computer in Spanish so I spend a good amount of time doing it.
We went to the Capital and were able to pass by a GNC where we ate before coming back to our area, I just got some protein, I should be set for a pretty good while, around 50 days or so, I vary how much I take depending on how much exercise I am able to do in a day.
My feet are doing pretty well, and my shoes too, so nothing too bad there, but my backpack did break so I am having to use a smaller pouch bag, I dont really enjoy it as much, I want to get a new backpack, but havent been able to lately, all the people want alot of money for a backpack that isnt all that great. I have been putting my books and such in bags to keep them safe from the rain, The season is supposed to be starting up again, so I am sure I will be enjoying that, its been raining the past three days here straight now, which is nice cause it lowers the temperature, but it isnt so fun to be getting wet all the time.
Our area is actually super small, we are super close to other missionaries, I can get to their house in about 5 minutes of walking, this whole city is split into four different branches, so the areas are small, El Tejar was my biggest area, we covered alot of ground, Panajachel and this area are alot smaller. There are 16 other missionaries in the zone and 2 sisters, As far as contact with President Brough, we have a meeting every month, so once a month.
As far as the heat, Ive been getting accustomed to it, its not so bad anymore, everyone says that with time you just start forgetting it, when we went to the Capital this past week I felt super cold there.
I am actually kind of in the same boat as Kit, I am using the holes further down on my belt loop now, its really weird, I feel like I am losing too much weight but I am alright so dont worry, as long as I keep taking the Protein nothing should happen.
...Religion is alot more popular than soccer though, even though most of the people dont really know any doctrine or anything, they just enjoy going.
so this past week has been pretty nice, we have set a baptism for this week on the 24th I think, whatever day is saturday, and then we have a baptism the next week on the 29th. We have taught so many more lessons than I am used to, here we average around 35 lessons a week, where I was we were getting around 20 a week, the time goes by super fast when you are just teaching. This last sunday I had to teach the lesson in Priesthood, that was something I was really scared for because I usually have trouble getting off a 15 minute talk, so speaking for an hour I was really worried about. But somehow I filled all the time and what was weird was that I found I didnt have time to go over everything like I thought I would be able to, I had to cut things out, it was another cool experience. It was the lesson from the Teachings of George Albert Smith on Sustaining the leaders that the Lord Sustains.
But really there isnt too much new happening here still. We are doing divisions today, I am staying in the area with an elder, my companion is going to the other area, I think I answered all the questions you had, if I didnt please tell me. I am super excited for General conference, I hope everything is going well with you and the Family, Love you!!
Love,
Christopher
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
3-13-12
Dear Mom,
So I am sure you are dying to know where my new area is and all of that info, so I will go ahead and start off with that. My new area is called El Palmar in the Zone Santa Lucia, and it is in the coast so it is EXTREMELY hot. I have already lost about 5 pounds, I weigh 140 pounds again. The temperature on average is 40 degrees celsius, I dont have a way to convert it so Im not sure how hot it is in Fahrenheit, but I know that it is alot hotter than I like haha. My new companion is named Elder T, he is actually from Guatemala, a place called huehuetenango, its in a different mission here, but its kind of interesting that he is serving here in his own country. He is actually on his last change right now, so I am going to be his last companion before he goes home, hes got 5 weeks left now, but you wouldnt know it by the way he works, hes great, we work hard and we have several baptisms coming up already. Also, I was interviewed by President Brough, that was pretty cool haha, I am the new Retention Secretary for the Zone, basically its my job to annoy the other missionaries and make sure they are helping the converts to continue progressing and actually coming to church. I am really glad that the President trusts me enough to let me do it, it truly meant alot. And its helped me to think about the mission in A different way which is pretty cool, gives me new ideas for study and whatnot.
Our house is actually pretty nice, kind of strange though, its not exactly completely closed off, in the fact that because its so hot here they leave little holes and stuff through walls so that it doesnt get way too hot in the house, going to sleep is so strange, I sweat so much, which is weird for me because I usually dont sweat, but Im just trying to take the good perspective and look forward to knocking off all of my extra fat that I picked up after leaving wrestling. Another thing, I take cold showers here, it is way too hot to take a warm Shower, I would die, the cold water feels so much better.
Does President Brough have a theme... definitly, its baptisms. we had a goal of baptizing 204 people in the month of January, which we did, then this month we have a goal of 125, and then in April and May it is a goal of 204 baptisms both months back to back. It kind of seems crazy in the beginning, but its actually working, its really cool, we are accomplishing it. Another theme is probably opening our mouths, we are supposed to talk to at least 25 new people every day, like contact them, that actually helps a ton too. I dont know, he seems to be really well balanced in all of his plans for the mission, hes definitly changing it.
I dont always print out the emails that you send, but it might be kind of nice if you sent them on Dear Elder as well, so that I would get them later, sometimes I enjoy reading over letters at night before I go to bed.
I am glad to hear that molly was able to make use of my magic kit, haha, thats great that she is working on all that stuff. She is probably alot better at tricks than I am, I enjoyed it, but I was never devoted to it, I just like picking up alot of small hobbies and never seem to really finish.
As far as this past week, well, not too much to say, I had to give a talk on sunday though, haha, talk about welcome to the Branch. It was actually kind of interesting, because I had written a talk to give, but when I got up to speak I just kind of felt like I shouldnt read off of it, and I just spoke, still on the same subject, Testimonies, but I changed alot of what I had planned up there. I had never actually done that before and It was really cool to have the words coming into my mouth, It wasnt a perfect talk, but I definitly felt the blessing of opening your mouth and then having it filled. Cool way to gain a testimony of that principle.
But in other news, not too much has happened, we have just been busy working hard in the heat, at night its a little better because the suns down, but the heat is still there, I dont really understand how a place can be so hot. Its ridiculous. I miss the mountains haha.
Anyways, I think I got all your questions answered, if not please let me know, I hope you all know that I love and miss you a ton, keep reading the scriptures and praying as a family, do everything to have the spirit with you and everything will turn out all right, I love you!
Love,
Christopher
So I am sure you are dying to know where my new area is and all of that info, so I will go ahead and start off with that. My new area is called El Palmar in the Zone Santa Lucia, and it is in the coast so it is EXTREMELY hot. I have already lost about 5 pounds, I weigh 140 pounds again. The temperature on average is 40 degrees celsius, I dont have a way to convert it so Im not sure how hot it is in Fahrenheit, but I know that it is alot hotter than I like haha. My new companion is named Elder T, he is actually from Guatemala, a place called huehuetenango, its in a different mission here, but its kind of interesting that he is serving here in his own country. He is actually on his last change right now, so I am going to be his last companion before he goes home, hes got 5 weeks left now, but you wouldnt know it by the way he works, hes great, we work hard and we have several baptisms coming up already. Also, I was interviewed by President Brough, that was pretty cool haha, I am the new Retention Secretary for the Zone, basically its my job to annoy the other missionaries and make sure they are helping the converts to continue progressing and actually coming to church. I am really glad that the President trusts me enough to let me do it, it truly meant alot. And its helped me to think about the mission in A different way which is pretty cool, gives me new ideas for study and whatnot.
Our house is actually pretty nice, kind of strange though, its not exactly completely closed off, in the fact that because its so hot here they leave little holes and stuff through walls so that it doesnt get way too hot in the house, going to sleep is so strange, I sweat so much, which is weird for me because I usually dont sweat, but Im just trying to take the good perspective and look forward to knocking off all of my extra fat that I picked up after leaving wrestling. Another thing, I take cold showers here, it is way too hot to take a warm Shower, I would die, the cold water feels so much better.
Does President Brough have a theme... definitly, its baptisms. we had a goal of baptizing 204 people in the month of January, which we did, then this month we have a goal of 125, and then in April and May it is a goal of 204 baptisms both months back to back. It kind of seems crazy in the beginning, but its actually working, its really cool, we are accomplishing it. Another theme is probably opening our mouths, we are supposed to talk to at least 25 new people every day, like contact them, that actually helps a ton too. I dont know, he seems to be really well balanced in all of his plans for the mission, hes definitly changing it.
I dont always print out the emails that you send, but it might be kind of nice if you sent them on Dear Elder as well, so that I would get them later, sometimes I enjoy reading over letters at night before I go to bed.
I am glad to hear that molly was able to make use of my magic kit, haha, thats great that she is working on all that stuff. She is probably alot better at tricks than I am, I enjoyed it, but I was never devoted to it, I just like picking up alot of small hobbies and never seem to really finish.
As far as this past week, well, not too much to say, I had to give a talk on sunday though, haha, talk about welcome to the Branch. It was actually kind of interesting, because I had written a talk to give, but when I got up to speak I just kind of felt like I shouldnt read off of it, and I just spoke, still on the same subject, Testimonies, but I changed alot of what I had planned up there. I had never actually done that before and It was really cool to have the words coming into my mouth, It wasnt a perfect talk, but I definitly felt the blessing of opening your mouth and then having it filled. Cool way to gain a testimony of that principle.
But in other news, not too much has happened, we have just been busy working hard in the heat, at night its a little better because the suns down, but the heat is still there, I dont really understand how a place can be so hot. Its ridiculous. I miss the mountains haha.
Anyways, I think I got all your questions answered, if not please let me know, I hope you all know that I love and miss you a ton, keep reading the scriptures and praying as a family, do everything to have the spirit with you and everything will turn out all right, I love you!
Love,
Christopher
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
3-6-12
Dear Mom,
My last week has been pretty good, I still havent actually gone to change meeting yet though, we have them on wednesdays, so tomorrow we will be heading off there. So it is for certain that I am leaving Panajachel, and I will be going to a new area, I dont know where yet, but I am pretty sure that it will probably be in the capital, as I have spent all of my time in the mission out in the mountains up to now. But yes, Email will still be tuesday, so thats that. I wont know until tomorrow where I will be so I cant tell you until next week. sorry.
I am glad to hear that brayden is better now and going to be able to participate in all those activities at the meet. thats a ton, he will probably be really tired afterwards. And I am glad that He finished the merit badge. I dont think I actually ever earned that one.
Thank you for getting the deposit on my card, Tomorow we are probably going to be stopping by a GNC and so I should be able to get some more protein. Hopefully we will have time, we will have to see, we are going to get up at 4 again because there is a bus that goes to the capital directly but it leaves at 5 and there is only one, so its alot easier than having to worry about changing buses all the time and worrying about losing a suitcase or something.
So this past week has been kind of weird, I feel like the change comes at a bad time because my companion and I have really started to work together well and we have found some really interesting people to teach, that I am probably never going to see again now, kind of sad. I have never actually left an area in the conventional way so I feel kind of weird, I am terrible at saying goodbye so I am having a hard time doing that. It feels weird knowing that I am leaving this part of my mission behind me. The good part is that its really the only way to keep on going in my mission, the change brings progression and the feeling that you have actually gone somewhere, its just sad that it has to be so bittersweet.
I dont think I have any stories in particular this week, sorry, its been kind of regular. I did go and do divisions with Elder O. again in Patzicia on friday, that was alot of fun, I think I already told you that I entered with him, and so we had a good time talking about stuff that happened in the beginning and catching up. Great Elder.
Thats awesome that Jacob is opening an area with his trainer! I did the same thing, Elder T. and I were both opening El Tejar when we went in, it was a great experience, hard in a lot of ways because you feel like there is little support in the beginning and you have to work everything out, but it helps you learn alot faster how to work. It will be good for him.
The haircuts here are a little cheaper than for Kit in Brazil, they cost about a dollar fifty or 2 dollars here, its pretty surprising how cheap it is, but its a popular profession here as well.
Anyways, thats all I have right now that I can think of, As soon as I know what my area and who my new companion will be is, I will tell you, I love you all and miss you, if you have a question please ask me, I hope I got everything.
Love,
Christopher
My last week has been pretty good, I still havent actually gone to change meeting yet though, we have them on wednesdays, so tomorrow we will be heading off there. So it is for certain that I am leaving Panajachel, and I will be going to a new area, I dont know where yet, but I am pretty sure that it will probably be in the capital, as I have spent all of my time in the mission out in the mountains up to now. But yes, Email will still be tuesday, so thats that. I wont know until tomorrow where I will be so I cant tell you until next week. sorry.
I am glad to hear that brayden is better now and going to be able to participate in all those activities at the meet. thats a ton, he will probably be really tired afterwards. And I am glad that He finished the merit badge. I dont think I actually ever earned that one.
Thank you for getting the deposit on my card, Tomorow we are probably going to be stopping by a GNC and so I should be able to get some more protein. Hopefully we will have time, we will have to see, we are going to get up at 4 again because there is a bus that goes to the capital directly but it leaves at 5 and there is only one, so its alot easier than having to worry about changing buses all the time and worrying about losing a suitcase or something.
So this past week has been kind of weird, I feel like the change comes at a bad time because my companion and I have really started to work together well and we have found some really interesting people to teach, that I am probably never going to see again now, kind of sad. I have never actually left an area in the conventional way so I feel kind of weird, I am terrible at saying goodbye so I am having a hard time doing that. It feels weird knowing that I am leaving this part of my mission behind me. The good part is that its really the only way to keep on going in my mission, the change brings progression and the feeling that you have actually gone somewhere, its just sad that it has to be so bittersweet.
I dont think I have any stories in particular this week, sorry, its been kind of regular. I did go and do divisions with Elder O. again in Patzicia on friday, that was alot of fun, I think I already told you that I entered with him, and so we had a good time talking about stuff that happened in the beginning and catching up. Great Elder.
Thats awesome that Jacob is opening an area with his trainer! I did the same thing, Elder T. and I were both opening El Tejar when we went in, it was a great experience, hard in a lot of ways because you feel like there is little support in the beginning and you have to work everything out, but it helps you learn alot faster how to work. It will be good for him.
The haircuts here are a little cheaper than for Kit in Brazil, they cost about a dollar fifty or 2 dollars here, its pretty surprising how cheap it is, but its a popular profession here as well.
Anyways, thats all I have right now that I can think of, As soon as I know what my area and who my new companion will be is, I will tell you, I love you all and miss you, if you have a question please ask me, I hope I got everything.
Love,
Christopher
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