Jan. 21 2014
Dear Family,
No there wasn't a cardigan in the Christmas package (um….a little weird. We put TWO cardigans in his package.). Also, could you send my soccer shoes too? You can just throw it in with the cardigan. Thank you!
This week was challenging for me, adjusting to a new companion. E Diaz is so much different than E Jellen. So much different. The natives of spanish countries are so much different, just in pretty much everything they do. E Diaz is totally cool with just walking around the apartment naked, pooping with the door open, being wild and free, and he makes alot of crude jokes. And he was a bad kid before his mission, he tells me some of the stories, and it's really bad!! I believe he's truly repented, but he still talks about some of the stuff he did and he makes jokes about it and laughs about it, and it's really bad stuff! Just as a hispanic, he's really open, and not that being open is bad, but he's too open. He's suggested we shower together on several occasions, just like he's done with past companions/roommates. The hispanic culture is very very very different than the american one. (um….not even sure what to put here?…..wasn't even sure I should include that…….but, so as to keep all his letters complete, there it stays).
Don't get me wrong, I still like him!! I'm just having a hard time learning how to live with him. Another thing with him, he's really big on getting the best numbers. Which isn't bad, it's really important to get good numbers!! but I feel like he almost disregards the spirit to get the biggest numbers. Last week was a really successful week, we had some of the best numbers I've ever had! But I feel like the spirit was missing from alot of those lessons and everything we did. So I'm trying to figure out how to bring the spirit more strongly into our companionship and still get those huge numbers that he wants.
Anyways, let me tell you about my week! Last sunday, we were talking with Laura, and she said that Obdeli, her friend, the Eq's son, and a former of E jellen's and I, wanted the lessons again. So we called him up, and set up an appointment for last tuesday. That lesson went really well, and then we taught him again on last friday and committed him to a baptismal date of Feb 2. E Diaz thought that lesson went really well, but he pretty much just lectured Obdeli about the Restoration haha...they give us these pamphlets to use, and we talked about their importance in zone conference, but I feel like we just read it, and it wasn't a very spiritual lesson at all. Nevertheless, God, in his infinite mercy, has prepared Obdeli, and so Obdeli is letting us come back today! He's told us several times that he is doing this for him, nobody else is pressuring him into this, so we are working as hard as we can with him! He's our most promising prospect right now, and I feel really good about him!! Hopefully we'll get him dunked this transfer ;)
We've started playing soccer again on tuesdays, so we brought a sign up sheet so we could somehow "trick" people into meeting with us ;) (Maybe I should try to 'trick' my kids that doing chores really is fun?) out of the 10 ish potentials there, we got two names and phone numbers....both of whom I don't think are interested at all. But we start each week with a spiritual thought and a prayer, and tonight we're going to ask them to sign up if they would like to hear a message about Jesus Christ. We are also going to try to focus our spiritual thoughts out of the B.O.M. so that they can see its a good book haha!
We had to go to the hospital twice this week to give blessings, one of which to a potential named Nestor. Also a former of mine. He asked us for a "prayer or something" so we gave him a blessing! He was released from the hospital like two minutes before we gave him the blessing, so we're not sure exaclty what was wrong haha! But we were able to get a lesson with him last week, and we're going back to teach him again tomorrow! He wasn't very steady when E Jellen and I taught him, so I have my doubts, but who knows, maybe he will be there! E Diaz has high hopes for that, and so maybe I just need some more faith haha!
We had zone conference on thursday, which is crazy because I feel like we just barely had the last one!!! It was really really good!! I love listening to Pres Jeppson speak! This month's monthly focus is repentance, so we talked alot about the role repentance plays in our lives as missionaries and how we need to share that with our investigators and help them understand it. With that, our zone goal has been focused on repentance as well. We have something to study everyday on repentance to help us learn and apply it. We also make sure to include daily repentance and accountability in our prayers. It's been really interesting to see how big of a role repentance really does play in our lives! Repentance is the process that we repair our relationship with God, and it is how we become more like Him. Repentance is a change, but just repentance with real intent is not enough. We need to repent for what we've done, and then TAKE ACTION for how to correct it. I am realizing more and more what I need to work on and trying to take those actions that I need to to become better!!
One issue that I really need to work on is pride. I have a lot of pride haha! Especially with learning to deal with a new companion. He is used to a very different style of missionary work than I am, and so its frustrating to me sometimes when he tries to have us do something out of the ordinary for me. It got so bad one night haha, I kinda laid down the law, and it was about something really dumb!! It had been a rough day, still adjusting to E Diaz, and so in nightly planning I had enough haha! He wanted to start assigning investigators B.O.M. chapters to read, and I pretty much told him we weren't going to do that, I made up a pretty lame argument, but I held to it, my pride and stubbornness would win!! He was still adamant that that's the way we should do it, and so in my frustration and pride, I just gave up, told him to do it his way then. We ended with a prayer, and I went to get ready for bed, my ego still shot. After about 5-10 minutes, E Diaz came up and apologized, and I apologized too. I was in the wrong, I apologized for my pride, and he forgave me. That's one thing I really appreciate about E Diaz, he is very forgiving, becuase he has to deal with all of my imperfections! We worked it out, and I knew that I had just been prideful, and then we were good!! We assign our investigators to read chapters out of the B.O.M now, and I think that by giving an investigator an inspired chapter for them to read can really help in the conversion process! Still workin on my pride, patience, and humility though ;)
We've started helping the Maughans, our senior couple, teach an english class on fridays and saturdays. last week was the first lesson, and we were expecting a lot of potentials to show up because we had advertized it all around town and gotten several calls asking about it. On friday, just a few branch members showed up, and on saturday, only one person showed up haha! Sis Maughan is the main teacher, but I think she's going to have me take a bigger role in helping teach, which is weird, I've never taught english before ;) we'll continue to do that for a little while, and see how it goes!!
The Acunas came back from vacation!!!!!!!!!!! We went by to see them and share a message with them on saturday, and it was really good to see them!! It really helped me to see that the branch members didn't just love E Jellen, but they actually cared a little bit about me too!! They still call me el guapo ;) and we had a good time talking! Hna Acuna lost her copy of the bible, so I gave her the free copy that I carried around, and she had me write a note and sign my name in it haha!! I love the Acunas!!
Meeting with the Acunas also provided for a nice opportunity that E Diaz prayed he would never get on his mission. Hna Acuna fed us something, something that I've only heard myths about. It's called "Mundungo". Any guesses on what it is? Yep, that's right, cow intestines.(blech.) I ate cow intestines. I guess normally it's in like a soup dish, but she mixed it with this chicken, so I thought it tasted fine, it was just weird knowing what it was haha! But E Diaz suffered that day haha! It trashed his stomach haha!! But theres my big adventure for the week!!
Glad to hear all is well at home!! YOu are all in my prayers!! Love you, have a great week!! :)
Love,
Elder Tanner Nelson :)
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