Patient in my Suffering

Week 27 Valencia

We loved the suit. Tell us more about it please. Is it a one of a kind original or has the member who made it created similar suits for other missionaries or buyers in the past?

My suit is a one of a kind because it is so large but he made one of the same fabric and with the same bells and whistles for Elder Jimenes now. I guess Elder Jimenes liked my suit. He usually uses the same type of style, but adds and subtracts what the buyer wants.

What is the name of the member who made it for you?

We call him the Bishop Cevallos (se vay os). He was the bishop in Buena Fe a while back.

What is the name of his business?

I don´t remember. He just has his shop set up that says that he is a tailor.

I put a photo of you in the suit up on your blog and also on my Smug Mug Site. Then I wrote to the missionary mom group. I got lots of fun replies back. I also put it on my Facebook Page and got fun replies back there as well. Everyone loves the suit. I can’t wait to see it in real life. Is the shirt new as well as the suit?

No, the shirt isn´t new. It is one that I brought with me.

It looks too shiny to be one of your mission shirts. Did he make the tie or did you buy the tie?

He made the tie and I bought it from him a while back.

What have the other missionaries said about the suit? I bet they all love it?

The majority of the members and the missionaries that have seen my suit really love it. They say that now I have a really great souvenir to take back home with me.
What is the full name of your new companion?

(No answer.)

Tell us about his family and about what he likes to do.

He is the youngest of five. He has two sisters and two brothers. The brothers both served missions, one in Peru and the other in Bolivia. All of his brothers and sisters are married now.

Has he been a member all of his life or is he a convert?

He has been a member all of his life.

How are you getting along?

We are getting along fine, but it is hard! He doesn´t have the maturity level that I am used to in a missionary companion, so it is hard! But I have seen that it usually takes a few changes to develop it, so I am trying to do my best to be patient in my suffering.

Are you enjoying being a trainer?

It is a lot harder than I thought. I have to tell him what to do most of the time. It is hard. My other companions all knew what they needed to do, so it is just getting used to it that is all.

We got a laugh out of your last letter because patience has never been one of your best attributes. I know you will do well as you teach him and you will not get upset because you are on the Lord’s errand now. Just remember to ask yourself, “What would Jesus do?” He is not your younger brother, so don’t lose your temper with him like you would with them. I am sure it is difficult as you are such a quick learner, but remember back to when Elder Bejar trained you. He not only had to teach you how to do things, he also had the language problem to work with as well. He had to teach a gringo who didn’t understand half of what was being said. Ha! Ha! I know you will do well!

How have your first two District Meetings gone?

My first district meeting I was in Duran with Elder Williams, so I didn´t have to teach and the second one went well.

Have your lessons been well received?

They have been received well. We learned a lot together.

What concepts have you taught?

Last week, I taught about inviting our investigators to the General Conference and how important it is that they come and hear the prophet’s voice. I taught them an activity that they needed to do with their investigators. Talk with them about their problems and concerns and then write a question that they had and take it with them to the conference to receive an answer.

Have you done any baptismal interviews yet?

Yep, my first week, I did one for Elder Frye. It was pretty cool.

Who does your baptism interviews when you have someone ready for baptism?

If I have a baptism interview the zone leader or the other district leader does the interview.

Have you done any interchanges yet?

No, I don´t feel like my companion is ready yet to be on his own here in the sector without a guide, so we are working on it right now so that later in the change he will be ready for that responsibility.

How have the meetings with your Zone Leaders gone?

We didn´t have it last week. I don´t know why, but we didn´t have it.

I bet you are doing great as a District Leader. I am sure the missionaries can look up to you for your fine example and hard working attitude. Plus your gorgeous smile and just because you are so amazingly tall and handsome in your new suit! Has your Mission President seen your suit yet? I am interested to know what he and Hermana Gamboa think of it.

(No answer.)

Tell us about the people you are teaching now. You had a bunch of people attend church for a couple of weeks in a row. Are those people progressing?

We have a bunch of people that we are teaching right now and we are hoping that they will progress for baptism. We are teaching a few families, the San Martin family. There is the mom and there are five girls. The mom’s name is Rosa and then there is Valeria (17) another one that we just met. She has a weird name that I can´t remember, but she is 14. Then there is Genesis (13), Leidy (she turned 12 yesterday) and Diana (10) then there is a pair of boys. Anthony, he is 6 and Jorge, he is 2. The five girls went with us yesterday to the conference, so that was really cool! The thing is, they are going to Catholicism. It is where they learn about the gospel and prepare for the sacraments or something like that. I don´t understand it all, but ya. So we have to teach them that the Catholic Church isn´t the correct church and that they need to quit going to Catholicism. Then there is the Tower family or in Spanish the familia Torres. They are a couple that we are trying to help, but the problem that they are having is that the husband drinks, not every day, but once in a while and she doesn´t like it. So we gotta teach them and help them change so that is what we are going to be trying to do this week, teach them the Word of Wisdom and help them to overcome this problem.

Are you planning any baptisms for this week or the next few weeks?

This next week no, but we are planning for a few this month, so don´t worry.

Fast Sunday will be next week. Are there any investigators we can pray for?

The San Martin family and the Tower family.

Are you happy and healthy?

Yep

Hi Curtis,

Thanks for the answers to my questions. It sounds like you are still working hard and doing your best. We will pray for your families.

Have you been able to teach any of Dexy's family? Are you still teaching her two friends?

Yes, we are still teaching her friends.

What has happened with Isabella's daughters and the daughter's boyfriend? Are you still teaching them?

We are trying, but they really don´t want to listen to us, but we are trying.

You will have a big influence on how your companion does for the rest of his mission. Help him learn what is expected of him. Remember back when you were young. You were always so much more mature than the other boys your age. Some kids just mature a lot slower. Clain has been one to mature more slowly, but I am really amazed at how much he has changed and grown up since you left. He will be ready to go and serve when it is his time, but many kids are not really ready. They go because they feel it is expected of them, but they have to become truly converted before they really get into the mission. Help him get the routines down and then work on his testimony. Pray for him daily that he will have the desire to serve and to testify of Christ. Hopefully you will see some success soon in this change and that will motivate him to want to work hard and be committed. So much will depend on you. Pray each day to love him as your son and work hard each day at serving him. Help him with the little things and always treat him with kindness like you would a young child. He will come along and before long he will be mature and ready to make a real difference in people's lives. Above all, be the very best example you can be, because he will want to be just like you, his dad.

I love you so much and I am so happy that you are having this great growth opportunity in your life.

Love,
Mom

Elder Machuca and the Amazing Technicolor Suit!

Week 26 Valencia

Hey! How is it going? Sorry I don´t have much time to write today because I was showing my companion everything that he has to do on the computer so I only have a couple minutes to write you. My new companion is from Lima, Peru. His name is Elder Machuca (it is said mu-chew-ka). He is really doing good. He is learning fast. I am trying to have a lot of patience so that I don´t get upset. It sure is frustrating sometimes to explain the simple things that we do every day three times, but he is getting the hang of things.

We don´t have any baptisms planned for the next week, but let’s see what happens. I am excited for the General Conference that is coming. Well, I gotta go. Sorry that my letter is so short.

Bye,
Elder Goode

Here is a picture of me in my new suit. I hope you like it.

Wow! Curtis. That is an amazing suit. I wondered what you meant by all the bells and whistles in your earlier letter. Now I know. It is totally cool!!! The other missionaries will be so jealous. :)

I am glad things are going great with Elder Machuca. I wonder if there is some message in this for you about Lima, Peru. Maybe you are meant to visit that place at some later time in your life. You will most certainly have a bunch of good friends there to visit. Maybe someday you will serve as a Mission President there. Wow!!! Four companions from Lima, Peru.

I understand about the short letter. Just make sure you write a longer one next week and give us all the juicy details. We love you and can't wait to hear more about your wonderful experiences.

I love you, son!!!
Love, always and forever,
Mom

"I am in the Clouds!"

Week 25 Valencia

Hey how are things going? Guess where I am right now! I am in Duran with Elder Williams from the MTC. We are here in his sector because we have to wait until Wednesday so that we can pick up our new companions and take them to our sectors. I am training in Valencia. I stayed another change and Elder Hernandez is now in the office. He is in charge of all of the money now. I am so excited. I also am District Leader now! Elder Bartolomei went to Babahoyo and now is companion to Elder Arillano, the Zone Leader. Elder Verastagui went home today. He had to go one change early so that he could get back in time to study. Our new Zone Leader is going to be, you guessed it, Elder Bejar!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am so excited to see him. I will stay here in the sector with Elder Williams today and tomorrow and then Wednesday we go to the office to pick up our kids. Things are going really good. I am in the clouds! I hope you get this fast, so that you can write me back.

That is AWESOME NEWS!!!!!!! I am so happy for you. I was hoping so much you would get to be a trainer this time and that is a big bonus to be a District Leader, too and to have Elder Bejar as your Zone Leader. Plus you get to stay in Valencia and baptize the rest of the investigators you have been preparing. WOW!!! How lucky are you!!! I guess the Lord is really blessing you. He knows you and He loves you and is aware of your needs and desires. Make sure you offer a prayer or two of gratitude for these special opportunities.

WOW!!! I bet Elder Bejar is excited to be a grandpa now. Maybe he already is with the other elders he has trained, but there is no better thing than being a grand-parent. It is an awesome experience. I will forward your letter to dad. He will be so proud of you also. Wow!!! My heart is pounding in my chest. I am so excited for you. Congratulations son. You are so awesome!!!

Tell us about Elder Williams. What has he been up to? I haven't heard much about him since you got to Ecuador. Is your new son a gringo? I heard they were getting a big group of gringos this week. Is that true? Please take awesome photos when you get to Guayaquil to pick him up. I can't wait till next week to hear all about it.

Did you have any baptisms this week?

We didn´t have any baptisms this week, but I don´t know if I am going to be training a gringo or not, but I do know that there are going to be four gringos coming this change, so there is a chance that I could have my first gringo companion. Things with Elder Williams are going good. He was in his first sector in Quevedo South for five changes and then he came here to Duran North and he killed his first companion here and then he trained an elder from Peru and now he is training again. So for him things are going good this change. He also became District Leader, so we have to prepare the class that we are going to teach Thursday together so that we will be ready when it comes time to teach because I will get to Valencia Wednesday night and then Thursday we have to go to Quevedo for the district meeting. Elder Williams is doing good. He is living in the same house as Elder Ogden. I am sure you have heard about him. So today I get to hang out with Elder williams and Elder Ogden and his companion. Things are great here. I love you lots and hope that all is going well!

It sounds like you will have a great week then. Elder Ogden seems like a fun elder from his letters. He takes funny photos all the time. Take a few while you are there this week.

Are there other changes in your district? Which elders are you going to be over? Who is the other district leader in Quevedo North? Is Elder Bartolomei still a district leader this change? Who is Elder Bejar's companion?

Elder Bartolomei is still District Leader. It is just that now he is companion to a Zone Leader. I don´t know who will be the other District Leader in my zone and I don´t know who will be in my district yet. Elder Vargas left, so there will be a new elder that is District Leader in Buena Fe, so I don´t know what will happen. It could be that I am going to have the Republic (where Elder Bartolomei was) and the Zone Leader in my district. I think that is the most likely, but we will have to see what happens. I am excited to see.

That will be cool. So you will do training each week at the District meeting on Wednesday. What other responsibilities does a District Leader have?

Elder Bejar is going to be companion to Elder Cacuanga. He is from Otavalo. He has like four changes in the mission.

Cool. Send photos of your district and zone as soon as you can. Have you sent my photo DVD yet? Please send it soon. I miss seeing your wonderful face!

I haven´t had time to send it, but I will try and get it sent ok. I will try really hard to remember that I have to send it. I made two disks that I am going to send to you.

Awesome. I can't wait. Did you get any of our postcards in the pony? You haven't mentioned them.

I have to help my district. If there are problems, I have to help them find solutions. I have to do the baptism interviews. I have to teach and help the elders in my district and I have to do interchanges to see how the elders are doing, how they are progressing. I am now a little bit like the eyes of President Gamboa here in the field. I have to let him know what is going on and how the elders are doing. If someone is a little bit down or not excited, I have to let president know and I have to try to help them get excited about the work. It will be cool. That is for sure.

Awesome. Do you communicate the problems to President Gamboa by phone or email or to the Zone Leader first? Do you have meetings in Quevedo to attend?

I hope you don't have anything big to deal with. One of the elders in the Quevedo South mission ran away a couple of weeks back. I think they are still looking for him. Rumor is that he ran off with one of his female investigators or converts. He locked his companion in their apartment and took off one morning while his companion was in the shower.

I know you will do a great job at being a district leader. You have awesome leadership abilities. This will be a wonderful challenge for you and it will get you even more excited about the missionary work. I can't wait to hear how it goes. I am so very proud of you. I love you so very much!!!

What happens is that after District Meeting, we have a meeting, the Zone Leader with the District Leaders and they talk about what is going on, I assume. I have never been in one. And when we have an interchange, we have to report to President Gamboa in our letters each week that we send.

That will be cool. Make sure you write really great letters to the Mission President from now on. Make it a point to not just tell him about the problems. Tell him something really great about your district in each letter and give compliments to the missionaries in your district often. That will help him to know that you really do care about each and every one of the elders in your charge.

Be a really great example to each of the missionaries. Make sure you are following all of the rules and being the very best example you can be. You aren't carrying that pocket knife hanging out of your pocket every day are you? I don't think that is a great idea. Tuck it down inside the pocket if you have to carry it or put it in your bag. Please don't let it hang out there to attract attention from other elders or from criminals who would beat you up.

Tell us about the burn on your finger, please.

Oh, ya, my finger. I was in the house of a member and the husband was the only one there and he was going to cook our lunch, but he asked us to help. So I was helping him cook. I was frying the ripe platano in oil to eat and the hot oil spit really badly while I was putting the platano in the pan and it burnt my ring finger of my left hand from the knuckle above the nail to the knuckle above that knuckle. It has healed up really pretty good. Right now, it is just a different color of red than the rest of me, but I think with time it will go away.

Okay. I thought it must be not too bad because you hadn't mentioned it to us, only to President Gamboa. We could see the bandages in some of the photos, but it looked like you were having a great time painting and not in too much pain, so we haven't worried about it too much, although that is my job, to worry, isn't it?

How is your new suit? Have you had a chance to wear it anywhere yet? Does it fit good? Please take a photo and post to the email as soon as you can. I am dying to see you in it.

Are Elder Frye and Elder Shain Smith still in Quevedo North?

I will see what I can do to take a picture of me in my suit, but right now I am three hours from my house and my suit. Elder Fry is still in Buena Fe and Elder Smith hasn´t been in Quevedo North. I think you must be confusing him with someone else.

Yeah! I figured you didn't have all your stuff with you, just a few things. Take one when you can. Do you like the suit? Does it fit good? Why aren't you wearing one of your other good pair of shoes? Don't let your feet hurt in a worn out pair. Pull out a good pair and be comfortable!!! It is not like you. The poverty down there must be making you a bit more aware of just how blessed you are. Normally when something breaks or wears out, you just get a new one. You don't worry about getting it fixed to make it last longer. I guess that is a good thing. Dad and I have talked about this a couple of times since your last letter. I guess a mission does all kinds of good for young men.

You are right. I guess Elder Smith was in the Quevedo South Zone with you, not the Quevedo North. I have just been wondering about him. His parents aren't posting his emails for some reason. I have been wondering what is up with him.

Have you ever heard what happened with Elder Fewkes? Is he still serving a mission in Idaho?

Hey, I took these pictures right now with a web cam that was here with the computer. They aren´t great, but it is better than nothing.

Well I gotta go. My time is up. I will definitely tell you about this week that is going to be way awesome next week. I love you all! Bye.

I love you son. We are so very proud of you! We will pray for your success as always. Congratulations and have a marvelous week!!! Love, Mom

Baptisms, Birthdays and Life Skills

Week 23 Valencia

Hey, here is the photo of Dexy’s baptism. I´ll send more in a minute and I will send a report of what I have done these past two weeks.

Hi, Curtis. Neat photo! Have you grown taller? She is really cute. She looks nice. Can't wait to hear more from you.

Here is a picture of Shirley.

Shirley is very pretty, but not very tall. She looks like she is a sweet girl.

Here is a photo of the baptism of Isabel she is in the white and the other two are her daughters and her grandson.

Awesome!!! Congratulations!!! How are her two daughters coming as far as baptism? Who is the other lady in the photo?

Here is a picture of my birthday this is what we ate for lunch we had lazania with a salad of broccoli and corn and rice (It isn´t food here in Ecuador if there isn´t rice.) And we had the cakes, too. If you look good, the candles are in the cake, too. The cake was really good. It is a three milk cake with peaches on top. It was delicious.

It looks very festive with all of the bright colors. You and rice are going to be lifelong friends!!! There are seven plates. Who attended the party?

OK, to answer your questions. In the photo of the baptism of Isabel, the other lady is the sister Paula Pinarera. She is the one that lives in front of Isabel and loves to cook for us. I think because of her I have stopped losing weight. In my party, there was me, of course, my companion, the mamita, her husband, and their two kids, Cesar and Aura and a friend of Cesar and Hector Ramirez. He is a friend of Cesar. He is my convert, if you don't remember. There are only seven plates, because Elder Castaneda wasn't feeling very good that day, so he didn't eat, but the mamita gave us two plates more and we put them in the fridge to eat later, so it was really cool.

Thanks for the pictures. It is awesome to see you looking all happy and well and great to hear from you. I do not like it when you miss a week, so don't do it again, please!

This picture is for Braxton. I heard that you recently earned your painting merit badge. Congratulations and congratulations on earning your Eagle, too. But you know what Braxton, you never know when the things that you are learning right now are going to come in handy. Look at the picture. I too, earned my painting merit badge with dad. We painted a lot of things in a lot of different ways and look, I got to use what I had learned to help a friend here in Ecuador. Really you never know when you are going to be able to use the things that you have learned to help others, so keep on learning and keep your chin up. Ya, I love you Buddy and I am looking forward to next year when we can go hunting together just the two of us, ok? I love you lots! Bye, Buddy.

Hey! It is Braxton. Thanks for the picture. It was very cool to get something from you and I really enjoy getting things from you.

Hey, Braxton! What is up with that? I sent you a whole paragraph and you sent me one line. I went to all of the effort to write and send you a cool picture and I get a line....................................................................... Now, I know how you feel! I will definitely have to try harder, Buddy. I´m sorry that I haven´t been writing very much. I will try harder, ok? I love you, Buddy!

This picture is for Clain. Clain here I am using my machete in one of the ways they use it here in Ecuador. When they say that they are exorting someone to do something they say that they are macheteing. It is one of many uses. In this photo, we were having a little bit of fun in the house, but I have learned many things about machetes here in Ecuador. I learned that all that you need to build a house here in Ecuador is a machete, a hammer and nails and you can build a house of wood and cane. I am pretty sure that you are going to learn how to build a house using many different tools and different techniques. Learn them well, because they will serve in the future a lot. You have always liked to work with tools and with materials, so I know that you will do great in your Construction class. Keep working hard Buddy and tell everyone Hi for me, ok? Thanks, Buddy. I love you lots! Elder Goode

What scripture are you reading? What are you exorting him to do?

Hi Curtis
How are you doing? I am doing good? Thanks for the email. I love you. Clain

Curtis,
Hi! How are you doing? We just got done putting a loft in a shed for Shara and Rob. The guys at work all say Hi. We have been back to school for a couple of weeks. What are you doing in the picture of you with the machete? I love the classes I have this year.
Love, Clain

Hey! Sorry that I didn´t write last week. The internet was down in all of Valencia, so we couldn´t write at all, but today there is internet, so here I am writing you. So, since I last wrote you we baptised Isabel and now we are working on preparing about six people for the next week. We have a family of four women that we are preparing and we have two friends of Dexy that we are teaching that want to get baptized, too. And we have a family that investigated the Iglesia about two years ago and then moved to Quito, so they didn´t get baptized. Now they are back here in Valencia and they want to get baptized, so we just have to see who will be ready for next week and baptise them. That is all. I hope that we can baptise them before changes, so let’s see what happens. If not, I will leave more for the next missionary to reap when he gets here. But let’s see what happens. We are working hard and having lots of success now. I don´t know what changed when Elder Castañeda left and Elder Hernandez came, but now we are having lots of success.

I bought my new suit. I had to go to Buena Fe today to try it on, so he could see how it fit and he is going to finish it and Elder Frye will bring it to Quevedo on Wednesday. My suit ended up costing a little more than I thought it would. It cost 160 dollars, but I had him make me a vest, too and put on all of the bells and whistles, too. But for the suit and the vest it took five and a half yards of material to make. He said that usually it only takes three. So this is the biggest suit that he has ever made. I will try to be better about my spending and let’s see what happens. Well, I love you lots and I hope everything is going good.

Love,

Elder Goode

Hey, do you remember the Elder Feldman that sent you a letter for the family that he wanted me to look up? I found them and gave them his email address and they said that they have written him, but he hasn´t written back. Can you send him an email and see what is up? The thing that is kinda cool is that I found them without really trying. There is a member of my ward that is engaged to the daughter of Julia Romero, so I found them by chance. If you could write, I would really appreciate it. Thank you.

Bye,

Elder Goode

Okay. I will try to contact him again.

2009_07_13 Week 15 Valencia Mom

Hey! How is it going? Hey, it sounds like you had a lot of fun on the trip. You know the Mesa Falls that you went to and the Warm River? When I went with Skyler and his family, we went past Mesa Falls and we stopped at Warm River and fished. I didn´t catch anything, but Skyler did, but he said that there was hardly no fish there when we were there. Do you know why the fish liked the dog food best? They are planter fish and the planter fish when they are in the fish hatchery eat a special fish food that looks a lot like dog food, so they are used to eating big brown balls of food, so dog food would be one of their favorites to eat.

Well things are going good here. We didn´t have our baptism because Isabel didn´t want to have her interview, so we will have to wait for another day to baptise her in I think two weeks. We had an interchange to do the interview, so I went to Buena Fe with a new elder that had two weeks here in Ecuador. He is from Argentina. His name is Elder Jimines and his companion Elder Vargas was here in Valencia with Elder Castañeda to do the interview. It was cool. I got to spend the night in Buena Fe with Elder Lopez from Peru and Elder Frye from California. I also bought a tie while I was there. It is a tie of Ecuador. It has the colors of the flag and the symbol. It is really cool. I was thinking there is a member in Buena Fe that is a taylor and I can have him make me a custom suit for 90 dollars, but what do you think?? Everything is going good here. I love you all lots. I hope I hear from you soon.

Hi Curtis,

It is good to hear from you. I am sorry about your baptism. I hope it will go through next time. What seemed to be the problem with having the interview?

Some of the fish in Warm River were really big. It looked like they had been there a long time. There was a guy fishing up higher on the river, but the place we stopped to look at the fish was posted, "No Fishing." The guy would throw a handful of dog food in and the fish would jump all over the place to get it. The bread they sort of sucked under, so you didn't get to see the fish as much. We didn't go to Big Springs. Grandpa Parkinson says there are not too many big fish left up there.

Did you stop to see the falls at Upper Mesa Falls? I thought it was a very beautiful place.

That is cool that you got to go on an interchange and work with a brand new greenie. I have seen photos of Elder Frye. He was in Babahoyo when a bunch of the Elders were there together. Elder Vargas has been out a while. He trained Elder Fuentamavida and an Elder Martinez. He is Elder Tyler Walke's Grandfather. But that seems kind of strange because I believe Elder Fuentamavida has gone home now, so I would have thought that Elder Vargas would have gone home before him. Maybe there were two of them and I have gotten things mixed up. Oh well.

I guess it would be okay for you to have a suit made for you by the member who is a taylor. I think several of the missionaries have done that while they have been there. I know Elder Ogden talked about his suit in some of his letters. The tie sounds really neat. I saw a photo of another elder somewhere who was wearing one like that. I was hoping you would find one along the way somewhere.

Love Always,
Mom

Hey! How are things going? I´ll see what I can do about getting a suit made. I´ll probably have to go next Monday if I want to get one made. This week, we are going to have interviews and Zone Conference. Do you have questions today for me?

I haven't written any up yet. Just tell us what you have been doing and how things are going. What is happening with each of those investigators you talked about last week?

We have been pretty busy here. I am teaching a Jew. He is from Jerusalem living here in Ecuador. He wants to get baptised. The thing that is really cool is I am teaching him in English. His name is Moshe. (That means Moses in Hebrew.) He says that he has been praying like we do to God in the name of Jesus Christ, but the problem that he is having is that his family says that if he joins the church he will be dead to them. But the real problem is that he has a daughter that is one year old. He isn´t married and he hasn´t lived with the mom, but she isn´t a Jew. But she lives the Law of Moses and she says that if he joins our church that he can´t visit his daughter and that is what is the hardest for him. The mom says that it could be dangerous for the daughter if he visits her and teaches her about Jesus Christ. Yeah, it is really hard, but he wants to progress. He wants to learn and that is what is really cool. Shirley still doesn´t have a baptism date and we still don´t have permission. Esther still isn´t baptized. We are having some problems with the Bishop there. He doesn´t want us to baptise her because of the problems that she is passing through. The Cuello family is still progressing and doing well. We are hoping for two weeks from now. Isabel didn´t want to do the interview, so they didn´t do it. That is who we have been visiting the most and helping them to be baptized.

It sounds like you are working hard. It would be a really hard thing to make a choice between the church and your family. In the end, though, you can't have your family in the next life if you don't choose the church first in this life. Is there any chance that Moshe can reconcile things with the mother of his daughter and get married? They they could all join the church and become an eternal family. It is neat that you get to teach him in English. Do you remember how to speak it anymore?

Shirley is a tough one. I hope you read the letter from Alma Clark and the "Lock Your Heart" Talk by President Spencer W. Kimball. He was a wonderful prophet. He was the prophet when I first gained my testimony. I remember him as being such a loving man. Do you think Shirley has a testimony of the church or just a love for you?

Esther will struggle for a long time with young children and no husband. It seems odd that the bishop would not want her to become part of the ward where she can get some help and assistance. Maybe their resources are already tight with the economy being like it is. Maybe he knows more of her background than what you have told me, so there may be other things that are influencing his decision. I guess we should always trust our leaders to know best and hope that they are living in a way to be inspired by the Lord to do what is best for each person.

I am glad your Cuello Family are progressing. I hope that all will work out for you in two weeks. Do you know why Isabel did not want to do the interview? Was she just scared? It might be easier for her if her daughters join at the same time as she does. How is the marriage coming along?

I know it must be frustrating to think you are going to have a baptism and then have it not work out. That has happened to you quite a few times now. Hang in there and keep trying. It will work out eventually.

Are you healthy and happy?

Why did the Zambrano family want to stop listening to your message?

Did Esther's boyfriend leave her because she started listening to the missionaries or did something else happen to drive him away?

Did you get the contact solution? How much? How much did it cost you?

I got a little. It cost a dollar and a half, but it is like 60 ml so it won´t last long, but I´ll keep looking. But if you want to send me a bottle of Aquify that would be fine. Esthers boyfriend is a member of the church. He was baptised when he was nine or ten and then became inactive. He is now 25 or 26. He left because he got another girl pregnant, so he went to live with her. And the Zambrano family stopped listening because the dad said that he was a member of another church and that he couldn´t listen to us anymore, so ya.

I will get some shipped off to you. I might send you several bottles. I will just have to see how it fits in the packages. If I have to use a box rather than the envelopes, I might as well send 4 pounds worth since it will cost the same no matter what the weight. If it will fit in an envelope I will just send one or two for now.

They used to make pills that you could dissolve in purified water that would clean the contacts. I wonder if they still make them. They would be easier to send. I will check.

That is too bad about Esther's boyfriend. It is sad that Satan gets hold of good people and makes them do stupid things. It sounds like one of the local preachers got hold of the father in the Zambrano family and fed him some anti-Mormon information.

I will keep praying for you to be successful. Keep working hard and being obedient so the Lord can inspire you and work through you. I love you so much and I am so very proud of you.

While saving your emails I noticed that your letter to President Gamboa was sent from you to you instead of to him. You might want to resend that letter again.

Ya, I knew that it was sent to me. I forgot my planner so I didn´t have our numbers for the week so I sent the email to me and we went and ate lunch and then came back and I brought my planner so that I could finish the email and send it to president. So I just sent it again.

Okay. That makes lots of sense. What else do you do on your P-days?

We usually go shopping but that is pretty easy when there is a market that sets up every Monday in front of our house, so we buy what we need in the market and then we do internet and we sleep and clean the house and that is about it.

Okay. How much extra sleep do you get on Pdays?

How are you coming on your Maestro? Have you gotten it passed off yet?

You mentioned that you have a Zone Conference. Is that this week? Where?

It depends on the week I usually get an hour extra of sleep. The Maestro is coming along and Zone Conference and interviews are this week. Thursday is interviews and Friday is Zone Conference.

Try to get a good photo of your Zone this time and send it to us. It is always nice to know what missionaries you are working with. Tell the APs to send the photo by email this time. LOL.

Maybe your Mission President can do something to help you with your Bishop to get these investigators baptized. Talk to him about that in your interview if it is appropriate.

Have a really great week and work extra hard to make up the time you will be missing for the Zone Conference. Take photos if you can at the Zone Conference. When are you going to send me some more photos? I want to see your happy, smiling face. Please?