Dear
Family and Friends!
This week has been pretty good! By far the funnest one of my entire mission! On Monday last week we did a 50 mile bike ride on top of a 6 mile hike! We biked up to the base of the mountain and then hiked flat iron, which is one of the most intense hikes I have ever done. You probably increase your elevation by 1500 feet or so in the course of 3 miles, and most of that is in the last 1.5 miles, so it's pretty dang steep! It was miserable while we were doing it, but looking back, it was one of the greatest things I've done on my mission so far. I don't know that I've ever before been this healthy in my entire life! It feels great!
I don't remember much of what happened Tuesday, but on Wednesday we had a party! It was Christmas Eve. My companion and I were in charge of setting up for the zone Christmas party that was going to be happening the next morning along with two other Elders that live just down the street from us. We went to the Stake Center at about 8:00 and started to set everything up. We moved all of the couches and big chairs from the foyers into the relief society room, set up the television to watch a couple of movies we got approved for the party, got a few tables in there, set up a Christmas tree, etc. Instead of going back to the apartment to sleep though we slept in the relief society room! It was a party!
Thursday
morning we were awakened by Sisters that came to the church at 6 am. They thought
we had just gotten there and were taking naps, but nope! Haha! We played some
basketball in the morning while we waited for everyone to get to the church
building. Around 7:00 we started to cook breakfast for the zone. We had our
famous tortomelets, which are omelets that are have a tortilla cooked with them
so it's all held together. They were delicious! Around 8:00, Santa Clause came
to visit! We have a 300 pound Samoan missionary, straight from American Samoa
who dressed up as Santa! A member let us borrow his Santa suit, so it worked
out perfectly! Elder Tui loved dressing up as Santa. He did a great job too.
I'll attach the video I took with this email so you all can see how great he
was for the job! He handed all of us our stockings.
Friday
I was sick, so I stayed in until around dinner time when I went on an exchange
with Elder Owens who is one of the missionaries that camped out at the Stake
Center with us. We were in my and Elder Parkers area, so I took the lead. We
went over to Francine's apartment to talk to her and her brothers. Francine is
11 and turns twelve on the 1st of January! She's super excited for young
women's! Normally when we go over Francine comes out with Cedrick and Jonathan
who are 7 and 5. We visit and keep in contact
with them since they already are basically active members, they just aren't
baptized and their parents won't let them be baptized, so that's lame. Anyway, we went over to their home and knocked
on the door. Their mom, who never has been mean to us, but also hasn't always
been nice to us answered the door. She has never spoken to us before, she
usually just closes the door and then waits for Francine or one of the boys to
come to the door, but this time she told us to come in. We walked through the
door and they turned off the TV and told us to take a seat. We sat down and the
parents went and got all of the kids to come to the front room and listen to
us. The parents, as usual, went to the back room and didn't want to talk with
us, but all 5 of their kids were there waiting to hear a message from us. Elder
Owens had all of them pull out their copies of the Book of Mormon. Cedrick
brought me his dad’s which is in French and told me to read it, but since I
don't know French, it didn't work so well... haha! I did notice though that
there was a book mark in there at 3 Nephi. Their dad is reading the Book of
Mormon! We all took turns reading verses out of 1 Nephi Chapter 3 just going in
a circle. When we got to David, the oldest who is 23, we found out that he
can't read English since he was born and raised in the Congo until he was 16
and never learned to read English, although he can speak it. His Book of Mormon
was in Swahili, which was really cool to listen to him read! He read verse 7
and it hit him like a train. He looked up completely in awe at what it said.
This is the verse where Nephi tells his father Lehi, "I will go and do the
things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no
commandment unto the children of men save he should prepare a way for them that
they might accomplish the thing which he commandeth them." It was a great
lesson and the first one we had ever taught to them! They've already heard all
of the discussions a couple of times, so now it's just a matter of getting them
comfortable with the scriptures and doctrines.
Saturday
and Sunday and even today I've been super, super sick. I didn't even go out on
Saturday and I didn't go to church Sunday. Elder Foulger and I have been sick
buddies recently, so that's been a party. We literally have been doing nothing
but napping, watching BYU church films like Johnny Lingo, watching Bible
videos, watching Mormon Messages, reading the New Testament and Book of Mormon,
and drinking tea and eating soup. It's been pretty great... not... But oh well!
I'll get over it!
I'm
having a great time out here! Things in my area are really starting to pick up!
Thank you for all the Christmas cards and the letters you have sent me. I've
loved reading and looking at all of them. They're all hanging over my desk. I
love all of you! Keep being amazing!
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