Mountains, What a View!

Memorial Day Weekend - May 26, 2012

That sounds like a lot of fun going to see the air show. How nice that you got VIP passes and were there without lots of people and that the weather was so nice. Those planes do some crazy stuff. That is cool that one is a female pilot. I love David. That is so nice that he calls you and sees how you’re doing. He is the best brother. That is so kind of them to make a package for me. I can’t wait to hear from them. Wow the back of the house is gone. That is crazy. Really good though that it is now in the spring and not during winter. You both have had some interesting adventures with the house lately. Wires getting cut shutting off the power to parts of the house and bath tubs that will not shut off. Sounds like lots of excitement. You have so much pool work going on right now. That is a bummer that you still have so many problems with the cement. Hearing your story about how the new cement all turned orange would have been surprising to see. I can’t believe how many flowers you both planted. 384 is so much. I bet the yard looks so beautiful with all those flowers. You're going to get lots of comments this year again. This week I went on a lot of divisions to Coatepeque, my old zone. It was pretty good to go teach people there. They have lots of awesome investigators that I think can get baptized very soon. They only need some more lessons and church attendance. I challenged some people to baptism and they said yes. The missionaries just have to teach some more and they can put a date for the baptism. I liked teaching. I thought about some things during the lessons that I think all missionaries here need to do more. We can teach every lesson to people focusing on their needs, but the amazing thing about preach my gospel is that every principle from every lesson can be linked to baptism. As you relate all the topics to baptism and the blessings we receive it is easier to challenge them to baptism. Missionaries need to make it clear from the beginning why we are there. We are there to bring them the truth of the gospel and prepare them for baptism. With that it is easier to invite others to be baptized in the first lesson and they know why we are doing it. I learned several things that I will apply more to my teachings and how I invite others to the gospel. On Thursday the entire office was all back here to go to a special dinner at President's house. I met their other son that is a return missionary living back in Nicaragua and Hermana Maravilla's mom. The special dinner was to celebrate the birthday of Hermana Maravilla. We brought her some beautiful arrangement of roses and flowers with a giant cookies n cream chocolate bar. She loved it. Then we all sang happy birthday in English and sang Santos Venid (Come come ye saints). It is one of her favorite hymns. It was so powerful that she cried. I was very happy that she really enjoyed our singing and we all wrote in a card. It was special for me to celebrate her birthday with them. I don’t know it I told you but there are churches here that don’t have a baptismal font. The church has bought some portable fonts to take and this weekend the first baptism in one of these fonts took place. I will have to get some pics and send them. I enjoyed what JJ wrote about his baptism with the tarp and duct tape and glue. What an adventure. Sounds like they could use these portable fonts that we have. This week I saw an article talking about fruits and health benefits. I thought about you. I know it is really hard to lose the ability to have snack foods, trust me because I seem to be snacking all the time here in the office. I’m surprised I’m not 185 pds like I thought. But you can snack on lots of fruits and nuts right? That would actually be really nice. In the article it talked about Pterostilbene. You pronounce it Tero-still-bean. It is a super healthy antioxidant found in red grapes and even more in blueberries. It has many helpful effects such as helping to prevent cancer, cholesterol management, and reversing age-related cognitive decline. The other benefit that struck me most right now because of recent events is that pterostilbene can also help in control of blood sugar. It has benefits of lowering blood sugar levels. Kinda crazy. In the health article it also talked about how wonderful dark chocolate is for us. So I’m going to eat more red grapes, blueberries, and dark chocolate. I just wanted to share that with you cause I thought the blueberry pterostilbene effect of controlling blood sugar was cool. Oh one other thing. I bought a new suit. I picked the colors and got it all measured to fit me. I will have it on the 5th of June. I’m really excited about it. It will have two pairs of pants. I will have to write more about it later and send pics when I get it. I think it was a very good deal. I’m really really excited for a suit that actually fits me nicely. I found a website for a company in Orem that makes custom suits and they send stylists to you to take measurements and help design you dream suit. It is not that much either. I might have to take advantage of that when I get home. This week will be a good one and I think we have lots to do again. I love you and love reading your letters. You are the best mom and I really want to make you proud. I love you so much and can’t wait to hear from you again. Be safe and be happy. All my love, J

I Went to the Mountains - May 20, 2012

Hola Mom! I really really loved talking to you. I can’t believe how much time flew by. I like talking with you and felt like I was just about right there sitting in the living room. This week we had a couple training meetings for the District and Zone leaders. I had to talk on both days about changes with finances. It was kinda hard cause I got a sore throat this week and my voice was gone. After the conferences we went on divisions. I went to Mazate and the people we went to interview were asleep and the woman was not home. So we went to visit someone else. It was not very productive of a night. The road to get there is a little rock road. It was raining really hard and driving on the road in the pickup was crazy. The road was so uneven with big dips and hills. On the way back I was having fun on that road. My comp was talking on the phone and I was driving over this terrible road kinda fast. We were all bouncing everywhere; he was struggling talking on the phone. I just kept laughing. I really loved driving on this road. You know how I love driving trucks and cars off-road. The next day we went back to Mazate for divisions, but before we left we had to do some errands here in Reu. When we got there for an interview the zone leaders said they had gone to do it. So we didn't really need to be there. We went to get a reference from a member. We parked our truck in a field by this house and asked them if it was ok. We contacted the house and found out that one of the women there was an inactive member. We set up an appointment with them. We went to the member that had the reference for us. You'll never imagine where she took us, back to the house we contacted. We talked with another woman that was an inactive member and her husband. They are a great family. The husband really understood what we were teaching him. It was kinda late when we started talking to them outside their house. We spent about 45 mins talking to them standing in front of their house. They don’t have power so we were reading from the scriptures and teaching using a flashlight. So we set up an appointment to come back when it was day and we could all see better. Saturday in the morning 4 of us from the office and President’s son played basketball against a Guatemalan team. It was a really good game but really hot. We never really practice and don’t normally play together as a team. It took some time to really get our strategy worked out. The other difficult thing was there were only 5 of us and about 12 of them. We played for about an hour. I and everyone else were so tired from playing the entire time. They got to switch out players so they had a bit of an upper hand. I think we are going to play against them next Saturday. That should be fun. After the game Elder Evans and I went to San Pedro in the mountains for the stake conference. It was raining all day. At the Saturday adult session only about 8 people were there. For the priesthood session only 9 or 10 showed up. It was very different for me being at a stake conference where you could count the number of people on two hands. We stayed at the zone leader’s house. It was a bit chilly but I really liked it. I wore a long sleeve shirt and did not sweat at all. That was so nice. I really love the weather in the mountains. It is like early fall in Utah. Today the conference was a lot better. There were about 578 people. President of course gave wonderful talks about baptism and the importance of member missionary work. The other really good talk was Pres Perez from the Xela temple. His talks about missionary work and the temple were amazing. I learned a lot. He said there is a lot of doctrine he wants to share but it is things only for the temple. I would love to spend an hour in the temple talking with him and learning so much. I want to talk with the temple president when I get home and learn even more doctrine and things from him there. He shared some great scriptures about temples and the blessings of ordinance work. I thought of you during his talk. I really want you to get a current temple recommend. How is your progress with that? So I really liked the mountains. The weather was great and there are some great members there. I think I am going to San Pedro and San Marcos in a couple weeks when President does interviews. I will be doing inventories of the houses and getting them the things that they need. I’m excited to go back. I might want to talk with President about the possibility of going there at some point when I leave the office, have an area there. I do have to admit though that I dozed off for part of the conference. I was just really tired. I slept for a long time in the car on the way back. The car rides still put me out every time. Well it sounded like you and Jess are doing very well. I felt bad though after our Skype. I didn't even say hi to Scott. I saw him once in the background but I didn’t say anything. Tell him sorry and that I say hello. I hope he is doing well. I have some more pics I will be sending to you soon. I hope you have a wonderful week. Tell the family I love them all. I pray that you are safe and healthy. Have a wonderful week filled with happiness and love. I can’t wait to read your letters and talk to you again this next week. I love you so much and words during Skype and now cannot express how thankful I am to be your son and have you in my life. I can’t explain how much I love you. So know that if I was there I would give you a big J hug. Love you so much, Elder J

Happy Mother's Day - May 12, 2012

Mi amorosa Madre! Yay you got your card. I was hoping that got there in time. Wow it got there a couple days earlier. That is silly that you were going to wait to open it but then could not. I’m glad you liked the card. I really enjoyed making it. I thought I was pretty smart with the words I wrote inside and the pic I made on the back. The front was the only thing I found and didn’t make. I really have not sent you hand written letters since I’ve been in Guatemala? Wow, I need to send a couple special ones then. Your trip with sis sounded really fun. Crazy how many scents they can make. Sis' smell is funny, "kiss my naked butt" and yours sound really nice. Who would want the dirty diaper smell? Yuk! That was very thoughtful of Lois to send a card. She is really good about things like that. So thoughtful. So for Skype I can do it anytime from 5-9. There are two computers we can use and there are 5 of us to use Skype. I will talk with them more tonight and tomorrow and send you an email tomorrow with the time of when would be best. This week was change meeting. Lots of work. Monday was pretty neat though. We did an office comp study with President Maravilla. We studied about the preexistence and light of truth. It was really good. We talked about how darkness or cold do not exist. They are just the absence of light and heat. Light is in everything. Light is glory of God, power of God. Light is knowledge. It was interesting reading the scriptures and noticing how much they really talk about light. How you can change the word light for knowledge. All things contain light. Using the scriptures we studied how with knowledge we can become Gods. So one thing that was really cool is we know the scriptures contain the truth. Truth is Light, Light is Knowledge, with Knowledge we can become Gods. So why is it important to study the scriptures? Because the scriptures contain the truth, light, and knowledge and will help us to become like Gods one day. That was incredible to think about. Brought a new perspective on why it is important to study the scriptures. We can’t forget about them. I realized I need to be better and not just reading through and studying the scriptures but really taking the time to meditate on them. It is those times of pondering and meditation that are going to bring me the most revelation. I really enjoyed studying with President and the office together. I hope that he will do more of that each week. Tuesday was when the new people came. There were only 7 Latinos that came. I think they will be a really good group. It was lots of work getting things ready for them and for the changes. We were working on the change meeting and did not leave the office until 1:30 in the morning. I was so tired. Wednesday was of course a super busy day with changes. Only five missionaries were finishing their mission but the mission had lots of changes. Another person from the office left and we got a new elder here and I think we will get along with him wonderfully. I feel that no matter how well I prepare for changes they always have many things that catch me off guard and cause a bit of a run around. However, I survived changes again so I’m happy. The time is really flying by. I only have 7 changes left. That is nothing, especially when I finally leave the office. We are back to six people in the office which is pretty nice. Looks like the next couple weeks are going to be busy with training meetings and stake conferences throughout the mission. I never knew so much goes into a mission. We have been working on an inventory of what the houses need and that has been so much work. When I get supplies it seems like 8 other people tell me they need things that I did not know about before. Then I have to order them and some things take forever to arrive. So I have to keep telling people they are coming and we are trying. That is hard but we are improving and I’m working with President on making a better method of the inventory and how we distribute things for the missionaries. Your class is long but I bet it is good though to learn all that helpful stuff and get some answers to questions. That name sounds familiar, not sure if I have met that nurse. She sounds wonderful though and I think those books could be really good. That is so wonderful that Scott can help you and support you. He is a great guy. I like the people at the hospital. I got a card today from everyone at work. They all wrote how they are happy of what I’m doing and miss me and love me. I am so touched and grateful that they love me so much and think about me. I have been to Zupas. I love their mushroom soup. I miss lots of food from there, both restaurants and good delicious home cookin and Grandpa’s garden. That sounds crazy your ups and downs of tests. Do you know how long it will be for your body to finally get stable? I imagine that you have had it for some time so it will take time to get normal. I hate headaches especially killer ones. Hope you feel better. So things I would tell the missionaries that are coming here... I wish my big raincoat was one I could roll up into a small bag. The big coat is nice when it is raining but otherwise when it is not it takes up lots of space in my bag. It was not waterproof either. I still got wet. Bring some zip lock bags to put your books or other things in so they don’t get wet when it rains. I did not need any of the medicine I brought. Just vitamins. My shirts are holding up really well it was good that we got so many too. My shoes you sent me have been absolutely wonderful. I love them and they are still in great shape. Granted I’m in the office and don’t get as much wear n tear but still amazing. I can’t really think of much else to say right now. Speak lots of Spanish all the time. I’m super excited that we get to Skype again. That is such a blessing. I can’t wait to see ya and talk with you face to face. I would ask you how goes things but I can ask you that in a couple days. I’m doing good. We have made a new rule to leave the office at nights before 11. And go to the gym at least 4 times a week. I think these things will help me not feel so tired. I think the going to bed late is really taking it out of me. I also got a great letter from Aunt Corinne. Her kids are so adorable and wonderful. I loved hearing about their fav Book of Mormon story. I am going to write them another letter soon too. Wow, it appears that every time I write you my emails are really long and like a novel also. Well Mama I love you. I’m super happy to talk to you. I will write tomorrow to tell you what time is best. Do you know if sis will be there? Love you tons! Love, me, your boy!

Cinco de Mayo - May 5, 2012

Cinco de Mayo, ay ay ayyyy! That's supposed to be a Latino yell that you hear in places like Mexico. I did not know that it is mainly celebrated in the US. The week didn't really slow down. We had 3 days of training and meetings for the mission. Meetings with the zone leaders and other meetings with the missionaries that only have a couple changes in the mission. So lots of things for me to do for these meetings. Next week is change meeting so it will be a little crazy again until Thursday. But that's what I do. You had a long class last week. Wow, the only one on insulin, that's interesting. I’m so proud of you for testing yourself and what you eat. Way to go Mom! So do you know why you had crazy numbers those two days? Would they be able to explain it next time you go to class? That's crazy how low you were after eating. That's a bummer for the guy that the cement cracked and the whole thing is thrown out. Wow, an entire dump truck full. You went from pics of the yard torn up at the start to close to finish back to torn up at the start. Sounds like the pool has been a major adventure. I never would have imagined this much work. Nathan broke his arm? How did he do it? Poor little guy. What a stinker for not wanting to wear the sling and then jumping on the neighbors tramp. When do Connie and Mike find out about the girls? That would be so amazing twin baby girls. I think Nathan would be excited too. I pray for them, what a blessing that would be. Goodness that sounds like a lot of commotion and chaos in your office. Lots of work just moving things and getting things in order. I imagine your office will be really really nice afterwards though. That is funny that someone followed you saving junk and I think I would also get a bit frustrated with that. Really when are they going to use a typewriter? I agree a lot about finding a way to get along with everyone, that is very important in any situation. Your pants getting all dusty sound like when I would wear my black pants in Tiquisate. There was so much dust there, it was a major challenge to keep the house clean. One really cool thing this week was that I finished reading the Book of Mormon again. This time was a little different. I read it from start to finish in 28 hours 30 mins. Not too bad! It was awesome to read it again. Remember things that I love and did not remember really well. Find and learn new amazing things. Strengthen my testimony of the Savior. This book really does testify of Christ and how we can have better lives and do the things necessary to return to our Heavenly Father. I love the Book of Mormon. I know it has answers for our lives and helps us to feel more peace and love in a more troubling world. I challenge everyone to read the Book of Mormon. It will make you feel closer to the Lord. I’m so happy you are reading the Book of Mormon Mom. I understand it is going a little more slowly now with all this new craziness in your life but don’t forget to read a little everyday. I know you can finish in 3 months. I hope things are going well with your progress on getting a temple recommend. How is sister? How goes the school quest? I need to write her another letter. Please tell Nana and Grandpa a very loving Happy Birthday from me. Guess what we just got today for the mission office? A ping pong table! What! Yeah something to take a little break and have a little more fun on pday. The office is pretty excited. This next week with the change meeting I will have 10 changes in the mission and only 7 left. That is so little and will go very fast. I still have a lot to do and learn, lots of growth still to do. Sometimes it feels a little difficult but I just have to keep trying and remember what/who I want to be and why I’m doing it. I look forward to the more things I can learn. Oh, I talked with President and he is not sure how to get a copy of my acceptance letter. So I have a favor to ask of you. Could you talk with the Bishop or Stake President about if there is any way they could request a copy of my mission acceptance letter? I don’t know why I didn't copy it. I think I was just really excited to send it. But I would really like a copy and remember the things I said. If I could do that, that would be so amazing to get a copy. See what you can do please. I have not heard anything about Mother’s Day yet. I imagine this week we will get the plans and I can tell you this weekend if we can Skype again or not. I really hope we can, that was wonderful. Mom I love you! I love your letters and all you do for me. Your dearelders and emails are a major highlight for me and I look forward to them so much. They make me happier and make me feel your love closer here. Thank you for everything. Can’t wait to talk to you next week, both letter and PHONE CALL! YAY! I hope you are happy and healthy. I send all my love and prayers. Love, your son, Elder J