Happy Holloweenie

Mom's weekly inquiry:

I keep meaning to ask you about playing the piano. Do you get to play the piano much for ward things?
If yes, do you wish you would have practiced the hymns more?
Are there any members that play the piano?
Have you been asked to speak on Sunday yet?
If yes, what did you speak about?
How about singing, do you sing much, have any of your companions and you done any musical numbers?
Have you had any more incidents with getting robbed or stuff taken from you guys?
How are you doing with training?
How are you and your companion getting along?
How are your investigators doing? Any new Baptisms?
Tell me about your week? anything interesting happen?

That is awesome I think this is my favorite time of the year the start of the holiday season The hymns and christams music are already starting to creap in my head and i sing them out loud that is one thing Both my comps have not been much for singing they like it but that is not what i meant haha. We did sing a musical number as a zone in zone conference it was the one (where can I turn for peace). With piano I play everyonce in a while but not consecutivly . YES i do wish i practiced hymns more but i seems that i learn them much faster than at home. There is this one guy in our ward and he is fantastic at piano wow it is sweet to watch him play. I have yet to talk in church and i dont think i will I would love to but the bishop is pretty good about having talk assignments always. Training is great i love the experience of having his excitmentfor the work. I dont know how much you have heard about Costa Rica but lets just say we come from different countries and I have had to change alot. Right now everything is great. This week was great we celebrated my 6 month mark and just had some good lessons with investigators one thing i have found that helps is working with members and one thing that really surprises me and gets me excited is when members bring us references of there friends Maybe you guys can try to help the missionaries with a little more than food that would be awesome. Lone you mom And all that you do for me. I will talk to you next week

Pop's xtra:
Well That is an awesome update about the family Wow i am actually excited to see ammie all skiny that would be awesome i dont think i have mentioned much about this but i have lost 30 40 pounds. My pants fall are all baggy and i am almost too skinny for one of the belts i brought. No i am not skinny but in comparison its alot better. this week was great had investigators in church and found and taught alot of people during our studies this morning it really hit me how powerfull the book of mormon is and what it really means to have in our lives. Well not much this week we just keep working over here and it seems that you are keeping busy over there. I love you Dad and tell the family hi. Josh wrote me last week and I wrote him back he didnt respond but if that means he is busy on dates that is fine by me . Alright thankyou dad for really ... eveything that you do you are a great father and example. Talk to you next week and dont say too much about pumkin role

The package is secure

6 questions on the maternal side:

Tell us about your investigators? Any baptisms this week?
Anything funny happen this week?
Tell us about your apartment? how big is it? Any bug problems?
What has become your favorite thing to do there?
Share with us something we would not expect to hear this week?

Thanks mom fro the update and everythting i got the package from the primary
this week that was awesome and a boost I am soooooo sorry bur we are about
to run tou of time I love you and i think our cocinera would love jewlery
could you make one for the bishops wife too. Well i love you mom a ton and i
promise i will wite more next week.

Dad nugget:
Soo does that mean my cousin is getting married? Woah that is wierd to think about. wow our stake is going nuts out there it sounds like i dont doubt it when pres Lawes said what our percentage of members was (66%) i knew they were going to resize. No matter we got some great families non the less. We got to hear from elder Martino this last week and that was sweeyt I got alot out of it. With ammie the samre thing happened with me just tell him not to change he has got the same persom¡nality as me. He will get his time. Wow I cant believe the time yes i will give a rpert of this thursday. This week was great we found and taught a ton of people. I really can see how easy it is to love tese people when you are always serving them oh and white people are starting to look wierd to me when i see them haha. Well Dad thanks for the updates great to hear about the family. You guys can pray about one family family Ramires They have trouble with papers and work and really want to be baptized. Love you Dad and you support and help here Talk to you next week.

Rise of the Cheesecake King

Questions from roving reporter, Mom:

Don't forget to answer the rain one above...
What do you do on rainy days when you can't go tracting?
Do you do anything to celebrate your upcoming 6 month period on your mission?
Do they have a Halloween holiday or Dia de los muertos like in Mexico there in Guatemala?
What are some other holidays that they celebrate?
How about sports? it's football season over here how about there do they follow sports of any kind?

Well it has rained alot but it drains pretty good in the part of the city we are in it doesnt really flood because they got a good drainage system. I hear in the coast it gets up to your waist, that would be fun to see. There hasnt been a day where we couldnt leave the house what ihear is if it floods just go for it. Well for the 6 month i will probably just make a cheese cake and burn a tie. Its a thursday i just looked so it will be me and my comp. There is next to nothiung to do with halloween here i already asked so the free candy isnt going to happen. Well they have the day of the kid here the 15 of septembere is their independence day everything else is almost the same. Well sports......... futbol we hae some guys that give up alcohol easier than soccer. But who am i to judge i am not that bad. This week was great i remember we challenged a few families to baptism and the following days you can see the difference already starting to take place in their lives. It is such a great experience to be here and i am not going to lie i get scared sometimes about hinking about the end of the mission here. Well more reason aprovecharlo. Well thankyou mom for everything love you and talk to you next week.

Dad's bonus sentence:

Yea with prayer and humility every thing is possible soory dad but it is out of time we are doing awesome right now just working klike crazy love you guys a ton and write to you next week.

Good "ridons"

So here are your questions for this week:

So what is the weather like there right now? I hear when it rains it's crazy.
What shoes do you like to use the best, the boots or the shoes, and how are they holding up?
What is a Sunday usually like for you there? How about fast Sunday?
Tell us what your new companion is like now that you have gotten to know him?
Do you get to see any of the original elders you came with? Hopkins, Moon, etc.
What do you like to do for Pday now a days?
How are you holding up? Have you gotten sick or any accidents?
What was this weeks highlight?
How are your investigators? You had baptisms this week, right? If yes, tell us about it.

Yea the rain gets crazy sometimes it should be ending right now and good ridons i am sick of rain. The boots are pretty awesome the way it is looking out is my proselyting shoes should last till april may some time. My dress shoes and boots probably the whole two years. I was wonderind if you sent the package yet because one thing i cant find here is insoul orthodics. Yea i has to figure that out in spanish. Sundays in this area are that we wake up get ready study for an hour go to a coordidacion meeting. then at 9 church we bring people like half an hour before. After that we eat at the bishops house then after that is a regular day. Fast sundays are diferent only in the sense that we are fasting. Elder Vallejos from Costa Rica. He is great has a lot of energy and really does love the people. LOVES to talk especially in lessions which is nice but some times we get off track. YEa every so often i see the other Elders in my group i actuall will see elder Moon for sure on wednesday. Pday are usuall with the district or zone but some we get to ourselfs but those are mostly buying grocieries and stuff we need to get done like clean pay bills. Everything is all good food is great stomache is holding up. Well i got to go love you mom and everything you do. Talk to you next week.

Bonus to Dad:

I remember that talk it was awesome i am kind of drooling for the liahona to caome out here but the ione we have right now is stinking sweet it is completly dedicated to the book of mormon. I love it and am going to study it front to cover this week. Thats funny to remember how the wards work up there. here everyone and their dog works.... well actually not the dogs tey just sit around and wait for us to bark at. But seriously comparing the two the wards, the one we have we have is soo pilas (sorry cant help it). I am sooo pumped for brandons call i have been meaning to wite him but we just dont have time sometimes. Well if you see him soon ask him if he has seen my wallet. This week was awesome we baptised an hermana whos husband has been a member for a while but inactive. Her married her in this last month and they both wanted a change in thier lives when they found us. Its such a great experience. Thanks dad for the support here. This week I learned how to have alot of humility it is a problem i didnt even know i had everthing is all good now and we are here working but i still remember your saying it talkes two to tango. That has helped alot. Well love you dad and i hope you have a fruitfull week aswell And some nieghbors of one of our members the dad died in some sort of accident they werent investigators but we do know the family. You could prayer for them. Thankyou for you example and guidance, Alright i will talk to you in a week.

What's my Fave?

Mom's weekly probe into the life of an Elder:

How did you like conference?
What was your favorite talk?
Where did you go to see conference?
What did you eat? Did the mission do anything special?
How did you do trainning your first companion? Is he a greeny?
What was the hardest part about being a trainer?
What was the easiest or funnest part about training?

Well conference was great it was completly different here in the misson. I had my journal and everyhting and when you thought there was just two talks that sessio was over My favorite talk was probably Pres Eyrings But they wre all soo good. We went to the stake center to watch conference on saturday it was basically the missionaries there all day. We did get to watch it in english All sesions were like that except Sunday morning everyone came and they ran out of room after an houd soo they switched our english to spanish I still understood but it wasnt the same. On saturday between sessions we went to mcdonalds as a zone then before priesthood session we just chilled there wasnt enough timt to do anything. On suday our bishop and his wife feed us they love us. Monday through friday we worked as normal. Welll it is awesome Training the thing is with training is that it lasts two changes 12 weeks and yep he is straight out of the CCM. No one says greenie here i dont think there is a nick name here for new missionaries. The first week was pretty hard but one thing i have learned is to let go of all your pride and after that it was and is extremly easy and fun. The easiest is the teaching he loves to talk and teach and is ready to work. My spanish isnt perfect but its enough to get by. One thing is when the 12 week program is done i will have 6 months in my area and that almost definately means i will leave i dont think it will be too hard to leave ingeneral it is that i will leave right before chrismas 14 of december to be in a new area. well it is whatever the lord want because that is the best for me. Alright Mom i love you and talk to you next week.

stuff to Dad:

Thanks pops For the update on everthing That stinks that you couldnt go to priesthood session it was really good Elder Holland gave a pretty heavy talk to basically all the priesthood especially enphasizing senor misionaries. It was soo much more spiritually uplifting. One of my favorites was of Pres. Eyring well all of then were great we did get to watch in english. We finally have a fecha again for a baptize we are pumped my comp is so direct with all that stuff we can baptize two families this month maybe three. It was pretty hard at first going from being trained to to training but alot of prayers did help and are going to. I have been reading a talk by elder McCallister about being consecrated missionaries it talks about all the things thatmake a great missionary one completly devoted to the lord. Thanks dad for eveything love you and talk to you next week.