Episode 4: Bartering for Ties (en Espanol)

Hey Dad, thanks for the email. that's awesome about the beavs, they better beat wsu or that would be pathetic, and it really sounds like the civil war will be an epic duel this year.

Today we get to go see Elder Bednar, we are all riding buses down, and we get to watch him with like 600 other missionaries, its going to be awesome. President was at a conference with Elder Bednar for the past few days and he makes it sound like there is really going to be some spiritual stuff going down.

Elder Bednar said he will have something for every single missionary, directly to that person to help them and change their life.

yeah giving a blessing was quite the experience, i gave another one to my companion elder t. this week, and a few hours later he was like, man elder, you´re like 2 for 2 with blessings. its hard to know what to say, and I'm really not that good of a speaker, i can't make it sound good and poetic, but i think i get the job done, and some stuff i say i hadn't thought of before i had started the prayer, i feel conceded to think that that is the spirit speaking through me, because i didn't come up with some of those words.

contacting people on the street is such a wild experience, we still don't understand everything, but we can usually get the jist, and then if not we just go right on teaching them everything we do know. this week we went out for seven hours in a new area, but we get to keep this area for three weeks. this made it possible for us to set citas, or appointments, with people, we set four or five at a specific time and then four more with no time, but like an address for where to find them. one crazy thing they have here is called siesta, its from like 1-4 pm where everyone just goes inside for a couple hours and chills, the streets are just empty as can be. we set up citas during that time though, so life should be less depressing this time around...

serving a mission is hard work. even in the mtc it is really tough. the schedule sucks, we are always behind on sleep, and we work constantly. good thing we still have 23 months left eh?

my Spanish is moving along alright, I'm getting comfortable talking with Latinos, i even traded ties with a couple of them. good deal. I'm excited to see home in 23 months, sounds like it will be a lot different.

thank you for being who you are and such a good dad to me for 19 years. i love you, talk to you in a week.

Hey Mom, I just got your pictures like two seconds ago. thank you!

I really miss you guys, but home seems like a far off distant world now.
that is a really good idea to link memories to objects, i think I'll do it. that way i can be the crazy object memory guy who has a weird scripture bag and pillow case. dang, I'm racking up the nicknames!

ahh! three minutes left! It should be really great to go see Elder Bednar today. President is having us all prepare spiritually for it, because he says there will be something life changingly spiritual in it for each missionary. it should be good, but we have to write our letters on the bus on the way there and the way back.

i love you a lot. bye