week 68

I don't think I told everyone about my companion Elder Ericson.  He has been great. I am glad that I have him as my companion since I am a district leader.  

week 67

Today is an all day p-day so we will probably play sports as well. I am hoping I will have time to write a ton of letters that I need to write. I sent Tacia a letter yesterday for her birthday. It might not get there until Monday the day after her birthday. 

It is crazy covering an entire stake. English work is also a little weird. But the work seems like it will be going well once I get my feet on the ground. My companion is great.

week 66

All right so much has been happening. I had so many emails to read from President Brinkerhoff, and from the mission and other things. I am finally writing my email. 

This last week was crazy. I got my new companion. I had no clue what I was doing in an area where I know nothing. The area is so large that there is no way we have enough miles just to go try and find people home. Getting sick because the last elder that was living here was sick. I did not find out until after I got sick from him. When I found that out, I disinfected everything. The next day I started to feel better. I never actually felt really sick. I was waiting for the sickness to just hit me hard one day like it usually does, but it never came I seemed to only have minor runny nose problems. I am now feeling a bit better.  Being a district leader has been crazy. I am also trying to figure out what to do when you cover 9 units. (1 branch and 8 wards) I still don't know what I am doing in the area. 

Yesterday, the Boise temple was dedicated. That was special. I never really could remember well if I had seen a temple dedication before, but as we were singing The Spirit of God at the end, the spirit filled me so much and I could remember President Hinckley waving his handkerchief. I don't really know when I saw a temple dedication before, but I could remember that as well as the spirit I felt when I was younger when they were singing that song before. That was such an amazing experience.

week 65

I am moving areas again. I am going to Blackfoot.  I will be training again. I will be white washing the area (that means the area book is your best friend, unless the last set of elders did a horrible job at the area book, then that means you start from scratch.) I will be doing bilingual work, both English and Spanish. I will be covering a Spanish branch and several English wards. I will be covering the whole stake. This is going to be very interesting. My companion will be waiting for a visa to go to Spain so I will need to start talking like I am from Spain. I am also going to be promoted to district leader.

I think the companion I am going to get is learning Spanish and I think he is American, my first non-Hispanic companion.

I learned something about perfection the other day.

People always say, "What would Jesus do?"

However I learned something that is quite odd.

The scripture that talks about the mote in thy brothers eye and the beam in thy own eye, it states that in order to clearly see what is wrong with your brothers eye you have to first pull out the beam out of your own eye. So, the beam in your own eye causes that you cannot see clearly. What you would see as perfect, once the beam is taken out of your

eye, is no longer perfect. What appears to be wrong with someone else is only wrong because you cannot see clearly. So, when people ask, "What would Jesus do?" they only see what their eye views as perfection, not what actually is perfect. 

That phrase actually does not do that much good. 

What is required is inspiration to know what you need to correct within yourself. 

The phrase "don't judge" now has a lot more meaning to me. 

This explains why so many people reasoned within themselves that Jesus Christ was of the devil. Because what they saw as perfection was far from it. Which is why it is so important to not judge and view the fruits of every action, not the action itself.

Christ did command that we must be perfect even as our Father in Heaven is perfect, but He gave us the gospel as the way to become perfect. The whole idea of the gospel is becoming better one step at a time. having faith; repenting; making, keeping, and renewing covenants and commitments; then receiving, following, and being cleansed by the spirit; and enduring to the end which basically means repeat this process. 

week 64

For Halloween we watched Kong fu panda 2, so much fun.

Then the next day we had two miracles happen. 

1st 

We found a new person I have never talked to and she is so golden. 

2nd

A person I have known for a long time, that has had a lot of anti Mormon info in his head, listened to us. We taught all of lesson 1. We answered all of his questions. He was actually amazed we were able to do that. He told us at the end of the lesson that he was surprised that we were able to explain everything using scriptures. He now has a baptismal date. Yay!

In preparation for the baptism, we spent all Friday preparing for the baptism. 

We also found another new investigator that we have not written as an investigator because he is so drunk we don't know if he is already a member or not. He said he was baptized in the name of Joseph Smith. We are not sure if that means he was part of the FLDS church or what. We are going to try to get him sober to we can teach him better.   His wife is not drunk and is actually a real investigator of ours.

week 63

We went to our investigators house. The investigator with a baptismal date. All his family are members except him. He is the stepfather. He finally decided that he wanted to be baptized. He will be baptized this Friday night at 7. It is so exciting. But anyway... We were at his house on Monday night. They feed us Pupusas. Oh they are so good. It is like different types of quesadillas but they put the stuff in the dough, then they pound it out. and then cook it. it is soooooo good. That type of food is mainly from El Salvador or from Guatemala.

The problem was that the next morning both me and the other Greengo (American) were sick. Elder Weeks was not feeling good either. He was there as well eating them.

I was sick that whole day. I did not feel to good at all. I pretty much did not eat or drink anything for 8 hours because I would throw it up. After 8 hours I started to drink some water little bits at a time. That night I ate some toast and I felt fine. The next morning I was great. However, I did have a fever that day. I would get a bad fever minutes before throwing up but then after, it felt like I just had a mild fever.

That night I was sick. I stayed with the other sick elder and my companion went out with his companion to work. Out of all the 10 people that ate pupusas only the two Greengos got sick.

The other day we were teaching this one new family. The father has heard a lot of anti Mormon stuff and he has a lot of doubts. However, he is finally motivated to listen to the message we have a little more seriously because his sons want to be baptized. The English elders already are teaching them. The father does not want his family to be split one bit so he is finally listening a little more.

  

Week 62

Toe Juice!!!!!!

The other day we ate with the person who markets the toe juice stuff. He is the owner of the business, his Father is the one that created toe Juice. He gave me some good ideas of ways to use toe juice. It was amazing.

Elder Sewelen has been sick sense the time I was with him. It has been 8 weeks or more. He ended up getting sent to Pocatello to be taken care of. The president then decided without giving him any warning that he was going to send him home to Sweden. He told him after they had already talked to missionary medical, and decided to send him home. The plane ticket was already bought. He went home on a plane on Friday. He was crying. He did not receive any notice that he was going to be sent home. He wants so badly to serve. He is going through a really rough time.  It was sort of sad. I hope he will be all right.

Week 61

 The new mission president had pretty much eliminated all the old rules. It is very simple. We simply follow the white handbook and stuff. And oh, everyone is so happy. This is the best way to do it ever. That is what everyone thinks. However, I know what is actually going to happen, just like it always does. The missionaries are doing dumb things and the rules start to come. For example, a while ago all the missionaries were instructed that they should try and use Mormon.org in their missionary work efforts. So, we were to go and look at what Mormon.org had for 1 hour every week. Some missionaries have been doing it for 2 hours or more several days a week. (some missionaries... not all) and the mission president just made a rule that we are not to do that any more. No more time on the computers except for Monday's emails. I think I might be the only one noticing that the rules are all going to be coming back.

Elder Sewelen has been even sicker. I am no longer his companion, but he is still in the area. well... sort of. He got sent to Pocatello with the mission nurse to keep an eye on him. It turns out that he does not have a parasite but it look like just a bacterial infection. They have him on the strongest anti bacterial meds ever. He is still in bad shape. His companion, Elder Weeks, is now in a threesome with us.... basically.

That is crazy how many girls are going on missions. The mission field is going to be flooded with girls. Right now I would say it is about 10% are girls in this mission. I would also say that is pretty normal for many missions. Some missions have pure guys and others have a lot more girls, but I am expecting that instead of 10% it will be more like 20 or 30 percent are girls.

Week 60

The TiWi said something new.  It used to say "speeding violation."  Now it says, "Check your speed."  It still says, "Aggressive driving"  I have never heard it say, "seat belt violation"  I guess it still says "RPM violation" if your RPM is at 6000.  But just the other day it actually said something useful. "Your battery might be low".  My battery was not low; it was just that the light was on because I had not actually started the car yet.

Elder Weeks was my trainer’s companion in Pocatello before I came in. I replaced him in Pocatello. I have always had a good relation with Elder Weeks throughout the mission. Now he is Elder Sewelen's companion and he is the district leader in my district. I am excited. He goes home this transfer.

Elder Sewelen got sick again and Elder Weeks was in the hospital with him overnight. They are finally taking the diagnostics seriously now because apparently it is not a parasite and they don't know why his body is acting up so bad.

So, the other day I finally got to eat something really disgusting. They would not tell me what it was until after I tried it. Even though I was pretty sure I knew what it was. It was a soup made from Cow stomach I actually did not have a problem eating it, but it sure did not have any flavor to it, and the texture was not that desirable. My companion from Guatemala didn't like it either.

So, you need to know. Scott D. Whiting the one that spoke in General conference came to our mission a couple weeks ago for the "mission tour." I got to shake his hand. He spoke to us. And when he did, the testimony he gave made me feel like I was listening to an apostle. He is amazing.  Also, one of the 70 spoke. I can only remember his last name. Perkins. I believe I home taught his son at BYU. His son is the one that had the 70 inch TV in his apartment.

Week 59

 Unfortunately, I don't really have much to share this week. See, what happens is that I share things that are out of the ordinary for me.  However, Miracles are now ordinary, so I forget to write about them.  The work in my area continues to get better. We are inviting more people to be baptized but we still do not have any set dates.  We are finding more people to teach, and I am so busy I can’t describe it. Sometimes having an additional hour of comp study to train is really annoying because it cuts into proselyting time.

We don't actually leave the apartment until 1 on a normal day, but only Wednesdays and Fridays are normal days. Monday is P-Day. Tuesday is District meeting, which takes an additional 2-3 hours out of our day. Thursday is weekly planning so we don't get out until 3 o’clock. Saturday we have coordination meetings. Sundays we have church. So what ends up happening is that all those days we are stuck inside until 3 or 4 o’clock. That means that on the two normal days we have to go do additional things for training new missionaries on the computer. That is one of the two free days. And the other we have to go to look at mormon.org for 30 - 60 minutes to update our profile or to look at how to use it with our investigators. So, even on those days we have free we still don't get done until like 2 or 3 o’clock.  It just takes up too much time.

This last week I had mashed potatoes made out of cauliflower. It tasted exactly like mashed potatoes... well really close. It was just a bit too liquidy.

I think that is everything I have to share to day. I love you all and hope that everything is going well.

week 58

 I have been in the area a long time now. Anytime any Hispanic knows any other Hispanic that lives in my area, I already know about them. Recently, we found two people that we did not know were Hispanic, but they both spoke English fluently as well and the English missionaries were already stopping by. It has been this way for weeks now.... well actually months. I sure hope I don't know everyone already, but I think I might have actually spoken with or know of every single Hispanic in my area, except maybe in falls brook neighborhood because that neighborhood has a lot of Hispanics. One thing I know is that if I don't know about them it is because they belong to the other Spanish elders that share that area with us.


However, that does not mean we are not having success. Since I have been senior companion, my companion and I have changed the way we do things in this area and we are having a lot more success.  Now if we find someone and they say they don't have time to talk, we try and share a scripture with them in less than 5 min. So far, every single person we have done that with is still opening the door when we stop by. Normally, they start acting like they are not home or something when we know that they are actually home. But we are able to keep our thoughts short enough that they accept us back again and again especially because they can feel the spirit with the message we bring.

week 57

 As a senior companion I often feel the burden that I need to be the one that knows what to do. My Trainee knows well that I am willing to listen to any suggestions he has. I recognize that when I got to the mission from the MTC everything I had learned I was not able to use, either because my companion was unwilling to listen or because there was no work in that area (note: my first area has still not had a baptism in over 2.5 years). So, I am very willing to listen to what my trainee has to say because by now I have forgotten everything from the MTC... well a lot from the MTC.


I find now that this new missionary is saying things word for word the way I said them with regard to my opinion about doing work. I very quickly had to get rid of the way of thinking that I need to know everything. I knew this was how it was going to be when I finally trained, so I have been preparing myself mentally for the last little while to be able to make changes in the way I do things. As of now, we have made many changes to the way the missionaries in this mission normally do things (having lessons that are an hour long) and doing things in a way that are better (sharing short messages at the door or having lessons that are much shorter) because then all these people we teach are far more likely to accept us the next time we pass by instead of acting like they are not home.

Now the work is picking back up in the area and we are able to teach. However, we are still trying to get a hold of everyone that we used to teach so they know that they don't need an hour of spare time for us. We can share things in a much shorter period of time.

Week 56

I don't think I will get nearly done with everything I have to say today. So much has happened. I am so excited to be training. Everything has been going great. This trainee is amazing. He listens but yet he speaks as well. He listens to the spirit like a pro. He is pretty much already at the point I was at when I first got Elder Calderon as a companion. Maybe that is just because he already speaks Spanish and English. He is learning English but he can speak it about as well as I spoke Spanish when I first started with Elder Calderon. He is from Guatemala City. I have been so busy as a senior companion and as a trainer, but I feel great. I only get stressed every once in a while.  He was held up in the MTC for dental work. He had to get 5 crowns. When he was in Guatemala, they told him the best dental service that he would need would be in the United States so they sent him to the MTC and started getting all his dental work done as he was learning English for 9 weeks. But they did not finish in time.

So, I was looking at the map the other day and I noticed that the Tyhee Stake in my last area, which covers all of the Fort Hall Reservation, goes very far north. I then looked and noticed that the tip of my current area and the tip of my last area are 8 miles apart.

I am not going to tell you every little story that I have had since being a trainer,

but one thing is that my companion told me that I am the first Gringo (white person/ person who is not Hispanic/ from the United States) that has ever been able to carry on complete conversations with him in Spanish. He was surprised. He thought I would not be able to speak Spanish so well.  When he first met me and heard my accent he was really excited, because he heard that I spoke Spanish as well as I did.  EVERY SINGLE MEMBER AND NON MEMBER has told me that I now speak amazing Spanish as compared to when I came to the area.

Week 55

 This whole last week we were covering both areas. However, Elder Sewelen was sick.... the whole week-long... and is still sick... a little. We went back to the doctor and they found out what the problem was, he has a parasite. He lost almost 20 pounds during that time. When he went into the doctor, they shoved a quart and a half of IV into him. He could hardly eat anything or drink anything for 3 days straight. Now they have got him on a pill so he is feeling much better. We have now been able to do work in both of our areas for the last day or two. However, pretty much nothing has happened since then. We were not able to make it to any of our appointments. In addition, for this mission we are not allowed to go on splits. So, we could not leave the sick elder behind, and I could not leave them two to go with a member to work in my area.

Week 54

On Tuesday my companion was getting ready to go home. That night we had planned to have dinner with the members we live with. Elder Calderon was going to cook some Panamanian food. So I was helping him. He was going to cook plantains. They cook them in oil a little, then they smash them down to be very flat, then they finish cooking them in oil.  Elder Calderon has done this many a time before his mission. I was working on cooking some meat outside on the grill. I was outside and he was inside and we could pretty much see each other the whole time. Anyway, he goes to start cooking the plantains. I heard something but it was not loud. I turn around and I see him holding this flaming pot of oil and he is taking it over to the sink. By the time I realize what has happened, and what my companion is going to do, it was too late. He had just thrown some water on the oil. The word going through my mind was "crap." I see this explosion of fire straight up. Now what was going through my mind was "crap, I hope elder Calderon is OK." Yes he was fine. I kept yelling "no water no water." He came outside. I realize that at this point nothing is on fire. I went carefully to see if anything was on fire. No. I opened all the windows and doors because the fire alarms were going off. I then go to inspect the kitchen.

After a little inspection, I realized that everything was cooled off, and there were only two things damaged. The floor mat by the sink and the ceiling at that spot was black. The members were going to be getting home in just a few minutes. So I call them up before and tell them what happened. Then we spent the rest of the day cleaning it all up.

My companion didn't even loose a hair off of his head or arm. He is now home safely. As for the ceiling, we contacted the office and the mission will be paying for the damage. The members were well.... they were not mad. They did not freak out. They were a little upset, but they were glad that elder Calderon was ok. Oh, but I should say the meat and the salad that we made came out great.

Now that I freaked you out, I get to tell you about what else has happened this week. I am now with Elder Sewelen from Sweden and Elder Zamora from New Mexico. Elder Sewelen got sick and we have pretty much not done a thing the last 3 days.  I think that just about ........... wait. I had more to say.  I moved in with some other members with those elders, and their place is a flipping mess. I have learned to be like mom. I can clean a million things at once, while doing everything else I am supposed to do as a missionary.

So because my trainee will not be coming from the MTC for a few weeks, I will be with these other two elders. Just a couple days ago I got my letter from the Mission President congratulating me as a trainer, and telling me what I needed to do. These letters are just automatically made by the computers. Any way the letter said I was the trainer of the two elders I am currently with. That was funny.

Week 53

I will be training. I am not being moved from the area. I will stay in the mesa branch. Normally when an elder trains he stays with his trainee for 2 transfers, which means I will be in the mesa branch for 10 months before I leave. Unfortunately, my companion is stuck in the MTC for some reason so he will not be coming until the beginning of September. Until then I will be in a 3-some with Elder Zamora and Elder Sewelen (who is from Sweden, but his mom is from Chile). They are the second set of elders in the mesa branch. We will be covering both areas until my companion gets here.  I will have to keep track of my area's numbers and the numbers of the other elders area.  I still don't know the name of my new companion. Tonight I am going to a "Train the Trainers" Meeting in Pocatello.

The sun here has been pretty yellow for weeks now because of some fires in Idaho. I don't know where. The sky has been full of smoke for weeks. I think I was told the smoke was coming from over by Boise.  When we get out to the car sometimes you can see a very small amount of ash powder on the car, but almost not noticeable.



This past week my companion and I went through the temple for the departing missionary temple trip. While I was in the celestial room I had some time to ponder and think. I had a couple questions in mind, and in one way or another, which was very subtle, I received answers to the questions I had. That was a very cool experience.

Lily's baptism went literally perfect without complications. My companion made the comment that he has never had a baptism that went so smoothly. Tons of people showed up: a huge portion from the branch, some people from other Spanish branches, some other young women that are friends of lily's, and other people. We had to use the chapel, and then move everyone into the baptismal room standing up in order to fit everyone.

Ok, I have something to say to everyone who likes to hide from people when they knock at your door. They know you are there. It is not that hard. They see your cars home. They saw people inside or something move when they were afar off. They can see the blinds wiggle if you peek out. They can hear you if you tell the kids to be quite, even if you whisper. They know that you don't want to talk to them.

Yesterday, we knocked on a less actives house and we hear the son say, "Daddy!!!!!! Its the Mormons!!!!" Then this same son comes to answer the door and says that his dad is at work. We ask him where or when he will get home and the kid knows nothing, as though a parent would not actually tell their kids when to expect them home.

Week 52

So this last Saturday there was a Hispanic conference activity for all the Hispanics for almost the entire mission. All The Branches of Hispanics were going to be there. Anyway, we were inviting all our investigators/ everyone to go. Then about 5 days before the event we find out we can’t go. They made a list of all the companionships that could go because they did not want too many elders there. ...... Well, just so you know, on Saturday every Hispanic was there.... well, every Hispanic that would be willing to talk to us because all the Hispanics that are willing to talk to us we invited to the activity. So Saturday, we had nothing to do. All of our key indicators (Member present lessons, other lessons, referrals, new investigators, less active lessons, and Potential investigators) were pretty much zeros. That was very frustrating.

Week 51

So this past week, I went on exchanges.  While we were on exchanges, the lesson was perfect. Like honestly when you have a lesson like that I would call it perfect. That was the first time in my mission that I had a lesson like that. So much happened I really don't have time to describe it all.   But this day on exchanges I noticed that I do my best to try and teach by the spirit without any memorized things.

So this last Sunday, I got to participate in the blessing of a baby. That was a cool experience.

Oooooo!

This week one of our investigator finally got permission from her mom to be baptized. Her dad was the Branch Pres until he died. But she could not be baptized because her mom, who is a member, who her dad divorced, would not allow it. She has been investigating for years. Her mom’s heart was finally softened just enough to give her written permission to be baptized. So now I am going to have my 2nd baptism, Aug 18.

Week 50

 So, just the other day, we ate dinner with this family, and their son looked really familiar. We eventually figured out that I knew him from the MTC. I guess he got sent home for health issues.

So, there was a fire around here the other day and there was a lot of smoke.... and some ashes. But all of the smoke turned the sunlight this weird yellowish color, almost like when you are using sunglasses.

I don't think I ever explained the new rules about wearing suits. Now you are supposed to simply discuss it as a companionship and decide if it is too hot to wear a suit that day.  No more stuff like general conference to general conference rules or above 90-degree rules.

I think it is good because people always call us weird/crazy for using suits when it is over 80 degrees. keep in mind that guys here in Idaho start going shirtless when it gets to 75 because they are sooo hot.

There was once a person that was giving advice to a college aged girl who was looking for a husband. He said, "do you want to know how to tell the guys that just went through the motions as a missionary from the ones that actually let the mission change who they are. Look at how they do their home teaching."  The story goes on to explain that this girl was dating this guy, and one day she was with him in his car and all of the sudden he says, "hey, look It is so and so who I home teach." He pulls over and goes over to talk to them. The girls recognized that as the guy who let the mission change who he is. There is your spiritual thought for the day.

 

Week 49

 So now in the mission it is official. The Mission President changed the rules... well sort of. He changed it to the way it was intended to be, however there is a slight problem. I think some missionaries might start doing things they should not. We are now supposed to call through our leaders anytime we have a question on rules, or the way we are supposed to do things. I actually love this because then it will optimize how many missionaries actually know things. For example, if I have a question on if we are allowed to do sports as activities to find investigators, first we call the District Leader (DL). If he does not know he calls the Zone Leaders (ZL). If the zone leaders do not know, then they call the Assistants. And the answer gets passed down the line.

Now any person calls their superior they are to check the white handbook and Preach My Gospel first, and then pray about it. This is the way all this was intended to be. However, that means that certain missionaries or leaders might start doing things they are not supposed to, which is why President Colton stopped doing it that way. He had the same idea but the missionaries could not handle having that kind of freedom.



This last week we went to go help someone move, and Ricky Whyman was there helping. I was his home teacher at BYU Campus Plaza apartments second floor. I once helped him remove a virus from his computer. Talk about a small world.

Elder Calderon's family is planning on coming to pick him up. That is what most missionaries do when their parents live near by. I have even heard parents coming all the way from the east side of the United States to pick up their missionary.

Anyway. That is all the crazy stories I have this week. Oh, and enjoy the pictures. (^_^)

Love you all,

(^_^)

Bye

Week 48

So last Saturday we ate at a Chinese restaurant. one of the fortune cookies said "If you focus too much on learning the tricks of the trade, you may never learn the trade." they then said, "does anyone understand this." I said that I did. They asked me to explain, and I told them that the reason those things sound the way they do is because it is very hard to put it into words. This morning I did. I even made a huge comparison with missionary work.

If a missionary focuses so much on being able to respond to any question, or knowing exactly how to explain something so it is impossible to understand, or just having all these different things to say that are magically able to help them, then ultimately, the missionary will forget about the whole reason he is there teaching that person: to help them be baptized and endure to the end.

So in the mission we become accustomed to coincidences. It happens all the time. In reality, what is happening is that God is placing these people right in our path. Everything seems to happen just perfect. Well, on certain days they do. Then on other days, everything just does not work, not a single person is home. But just yesterday, while we were planning, a certain person came to mind. Nothing out of the ordinary. but then I thought, "he is actually going to be home tomorrow at that time." Sure enough, when we stopped by he was home and we set up an appointment. Now this person is a less active, but the fact of the matter is that these coincidences happen almost every day. We know where to go, and what to do. Now, that does not mean we get baptisms all the time, but it does mean we are doing the Lord’s work.



On Saturday, about 3 or 4 zones helped out in doing service for a triathlon. There were around 60-70 missionaries. We had to be there at 5 so that meant we had to wake up at 3:30 to get ready and pick up other elders. It was a ton of fun. We helped set up. We helped show the runners and bikers where their route was, and then we helped clean up. While we were standing at every intersection making sure they went the right way, we were cheering them all on. My companion was leaning against the car just whistling. I was jumping up and down, screaming, whistling, and doing other things. I was practically hyperventilating myself for 3 hours straight. After all that, we were pooped. We both got less than 3 hours of sleep because we could not manage to fall asleep the night before.

So apparently, the Chinese people in Panama are about as bad as the Mexicans in Arizona. The Chinese people all cram into tight spaces to smuggle themselves into Panama.

So on Sunday, our car was perfectly clean. We went home for lunch and at the end of lunch we came out to find that a squad of birds bombed our car. There was bird poo all over it.

Week 47

 Recently we have given several blessings of health.

The first one the member could not so much as say a word. He could barely lift his arm to scratch his head. His wife was the one that asked for the blessing. 5 hours later he wanted to mow the lawn, but his wife would not let him.

The next one was that same Sister member's sister. She had fallen down the stairs and was in a lot of pain. She had gone to the hospital. 5 hours later she was feeling just fine.

The last one was a member that we ate dinner with. He did not tell us very much but that he was going to get an MRI. I gave that blessing. When I finished he told me that I did not know him at all, but yet he could feel the spirit and several things that were said gave him a lot of comfort. A few days later, after he had the MRI, and the results came back, he called us and informed us that he did NOT have cancer.

The Priesthood is real, and even though none may seem extremely miraculous, they are still miracles to me.

Guess what. I now weigh 170. I have lost an inch or more off my belly (I know that because that is how much extra space my suit has, as well as I have had to punch more holes in my belt so I can tighten it further.)



So I am going to be the one that gets to kill (be Elder Calderon’s companion when he leaves the mission) Elder Calderon. He is so trunky. EVERY morning he tells me that he had a dream  of home again. Anyway he is so trunky and he is not counting down the days. So I am doing that for him. I figured out how to easily calculate how many days any missionary has left.

I think that is everything I have today.

I love you all.

bye.

Week 46

 Just so everyone knows. Here there are a lot of illegal Hispanics. We don't ask because we don't want to, they don't want us to, and it does not matter in order for them to be baptized. But a good portion of them are illegal.

This last week I got the stomach flew of some kind. It only lasted for 24 hours. Most people barf, but I didn't. I just had an upset stomach for a day.

We now have a new president. He came in on Thursday. So far from the message he sent out, he seems really nice. I am excited.

Week 45

 First things first. I want to see more of you faces. Where are the pictures?....... (^_^) I get pictures of Sadie, but not so many of everyone else. You know a picture is worth a thousand words and I can read pictures a lot faster than I can read words. Also, I can go print a black and white copy really easy.

Secondly, I FINALLY HAD A BAPTISM. It was sort of an interesting one because it is difficult to get him to talk much. He is 55 and has tons of health problems. I will send some pictures.

Week 44

 So I just wanted to inform everyone that TiWi (our babysitter) is actually working well. It has not made a single error in quite a while.

Another thing that is exciting, I now have a Moser Pen. This is a pen that Bro. Moser hand makes for the missionaries that serve in his area. It is very popular. Normally the pens cost in materials about 10 dollars. However, he gave me a slightly defective one that he was making for a corporation. The pen he gave me cost in total for the materials about 20 dollars. However, he could easily sell it for 50 or more. I will send a picture sometime.

sorry I have a lot of photos. I will see if I can reduce the size and send them next week. I also have videos. (^_^)

Love you!!!!!!!!

Bye.

Week 43

 I was just called the "most obedient missionary in the mission" by one of the assistants.

The other day we were talking to someone who works as a probation officer, and we asked her for a referral, and she said, "well, I knew a bunch but they all got deported." Then she said, just give them a year because they will be back.

This same person also told us that she saw all 4 seasons in a single day. (literally 4 seasons.)

The only thing I have to say now is that I have been out a Year. I was really really trunky on the 8th. I am good now though.

We will be getting the new Mission President on the 27th of this month. 2 weeks away. President Brinkerhoff (former Area of the 70. He was just released this last general conference)

We hear he was really good as a stake president.

I just wanted to say that I love you all. (^_^)

Next week I need to send a picture of me smiling.

Week 42

 So the other day, we were studying and I really could not hear the TV that the members were watching. However, I heard some slight music at the beginning. The first thing that came to my mind was the movie "Stardust."

Later when I went upstairs to eat lunch. They were in fact watching Stardust. I just found that funny.

So the other day I heard a phone go off and this was the ring tone.

Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep

Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep

Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep

Scanning for Mexicans

Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep

Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep

I could not help but to laugh.

The other day I tried Dave's insanity Sauce. It once had the world record for the hottest hot sauce in the world.

I had it with some pizza, and one drop was mixed with some ranch so it was not so bad. I actually liked it a lot.

A couple days ago, we saw this young kid drunk while we were tracking. It was hysterical, but I felt bad for the kid. I did not know if his parents gave him some or if he snuck some without permission.

I think that is everything new and interesting.

I love you all. Bye.

Week 41

 Yay. 2 in 1. I am as fast as an American, and as clean as a Hispanic.

Most Hispanics may not have a lot of money, or a lot of things, but they know how keep things clean, and how to eat well.

Most Americans are very messy. I can often tell who is Hispanic or American just by what the mess looks like outside their house. However, Americans are also typically very fast paced people. I am clean, and fast. Yay.

I have known this for a while, but it finally was put into words by another elder. Forced Repentance is not repentance at all.  You would be surprised how many people don't understand this. Repentance happens from within. No matter what I do I cannot force someone to repent. I could force my companion to obey rules, but it really wont help him as a person until he obeys them from a motivation from within. However, if I allow my companion to do something wrong, then I am also responsible. So there is a balance between forcing your companion to obey rules, and helping him to be motivated to follow the rule from an inner motivation.

I got to go to the sealing of the Torrez family here in this area. It was the first sealing that I have gone to in my life.

Transfers: I am staying. My companion is staying. I guess president decided to keep us both in the area since we are having so much success.

Week 40

 Ok, I need to tell you about this game missionaries made up that is a lot of fun. We call it Gaiter Ball. It is sort of a mix between lots of sports. You have a soccer ball in the gym of the church and you set up 2 church tables on each side as a goal. It is pretty much just soccer except, you are allowed to kick the ball up to another teammate and he can catch it and then run, but he has to drop it if someone touches him. He can pass it to another player though. And yes you can have a goalie and he can pick up the ball without someone kicking it up to him.

So this last zone conference they trained missionaries on how to loss weight. The average missionary in this mission gains 40 pounds. So far I have gained 5 pounds.

They told us that the thing that is the worst to gain weight is Carbohydrates, because when it is digested it becomes sugar, and then what ever is not used at the end of the day of what you ate, is turned straight to fat.

They said that for those people that don't have a lot of exercise (like missionaries that have a car and can only exercise for 30 min every morning), only need 120 grams of carbohydrates a day, women 80 grams.

Also, apparently the best way to burn fat off is climbing stairs, because you are using direct potential energy to go up and down. That burns fat the fastest out of anything else we can do in our 30 min in the morning.

However, not everyone has stairs. Jump rope and running up hills are great alternatives. Apparently they have done this in other missions and missionaries have lost up to 90 pounds before and most can easily loose 40.

So, I am changing my diet to try and eat as little carbohydrates as possible.

Carbohydrates are pretty much, sugar, and the bottom part of the food pyramid. So, rice, beans, bread, tortillas, etc.

And since members feed us every day, and there will likely be lots of that, they encourage us to try and eat the least number of carbohydrates as possible. So eat things like salads, meet, eggs, cheese, vegetables, fruits, etc.

That is all I really have to say this time.

(^_^)

Love everyone, bye.

Week 39

 Something I noticed about being observant. My companion always sees things that I don't see, and I realized why. Whenever we are talking to people (on their door step) he is always looking around, but he hardly is ever looking at the person. What I realized is that what he is observing is at that moment. Sometimes I don't think he is really listening to the person, and is just talking (he probably is listening). When I look at the person, they are looking at the ground because they don't really care; my companion is looking in another direction; there is never any eye contact. Well. I will not say more.

So this week’s letter is not so long because I talked to you all on Sunday.

Love you all, bye.

I forgot. I learned a new word in Spanish.

O Carajo!

That is pretty much the same as saying, "Crap." However, it has something to do with ships. I believe that is the name of the person that the crew report to if something goes wrong. I do know, but in some of the Hispanic countries it could be a cuss word.

Week 38

The "If"

So when Jesus Christ was tempted by Satan. Satan said, "If thou art the son of God, then turn this stone into bread"(Paraphrased). The temptation was not to turn the stone into bread or any of the other things he tempted him to do. The temptation was the "If", the slight thought of doubt that he was the son of God.

I don't like it when missionaries use the word "if". "If you receive an answer from God, will you be baptized?" It is far better to say, "When you receive an answer from God, will you be baptized?"

Elder Penrod is leaving. There is a new car person now.

I am finally 20 years old. Wahooooooooooo!

I learned that perfume.... (In Spanish it is the same word for cologne)

attracts bugs. They always land on my companion but not on me.

Week 37

Add 9 weeks in the MTC to week 38 and I have 47 weeks in the mission field. Wow, almost 52 weeks.  This is what happens when you have a companion that is really trunky.



I have been having lots of problem because I won’t notice things that my companion does (always with all my companions). They will notice that someone across the street booked it when they saw us. They always seem to see tones of things that I don't. I realized that one reason why I am not really observant is my way of trying not to find out more information than what a person wants me to know. I have not trained myself to be an observant person because to me that is like reading someone else's mail. I don't like people doing that to me, so I don't do that to them. So as a result I have trained myself to not be very observant, even with things that are not like reading someone else's mail. I think the only time I am really really observant is when I am paranoid about something. Also, when you are observing things you are making assumptions about people. And you know what "assume" does. Makes a donkey ("ass") out of "u" and "me."

Week 36

So the other day I was getting my hair cut at a local learning school (they cut missionaries hair for free). When the girl finished my hair, she made a comment that my hair was so fun to run her fingers through it. I sort of remember Tacia saying that same thing.

So this last week has been nuts. We had to move places again. (My companion has been in 6 different areas and 7 different apartments. I have been in 2 areas and have been in 6 apartments). But it was sort of annoying because they suddenly had to try and find members for us to live with (they wanted to move the new (they opened a new area) set of English elders into our place).   We finally move in on Friday the place is nice and the members are nice. "Sigh....."  It was a long week and hardly any missionary work got done because of the move.

I am very pleased that I have been with this particular companion.

Week 35

So for a while I thought I was getting really dyslexic. Then after a while I was able to determine that it is actually my companion that is getting those things backwards.... or I actually am really really dyslexic.

So someone said the other day that they were talking to someone and that person said that the nursery was the worst calling ever. He then said, I don't know it is pretty nice. Also, if Jesus were to come to church I think the first place he would go is to the nursery.

Week 34

So this last week we helped out at an old folks home to set up Easter eggs, there were 1400 eggs. 6 elders helped hide all of them in two hallways. .... If you look at the picture you will see that it was really hard to hide them all.

So, a while ago (4-6 months) we were told not to use any slang at all. It is really hard. Now our district just says, "well, poop", but with the accent of the Canadian in our District. It is hilarious.

I was told by the stake president here, and then it was restated in general conference that

"What can I do to help, really is no help at all."  It may be good intentioned but it really does not help. It almost makes it worse because now they have another responsibility to find something for you to do for them.

Really that is the problem that we have been discussing. To be honest, I just completely forget about my wants and things, so when anyone asks "what can I do for you?" I honestly don't know.

Then again I have found myself doing the same thing at times.

PMG. "Most people will not change until invited to do so."

When it comes to the order in which you serve whom first. As a missionary it makes it quite clear: The Lord first, then the mission president and then your companion.

week 33

It is so interesting now. I have forgotten most of my physics. In fact I have forgotten a lot of things. I have just not thought about any of those things on my mission. My companion right now is great.

In answer to your question Hispanics just tend to have a problem committing to anything. There are people that are committed, but family, or work gets in the way. Keep in mind that many of the people we teach are illegal, so it is not like they can just quit their job. But we don't ask. It is not a requirement to be baptized.

So while on my mission I have always been able to calculate faster than a GPS. During the time it takes just for my companion to type in the address, which may or may not  be accurate, I would have already found the street on a map, and know the fastest, shortest way to get their, without errors.  Yup. (^_^)

That is about all I have.

week 32

So, right now here in Idaho Falls the high is over 70. I am so hot. I can't wait for General conference so I can take off my suit during the day. So when it is 70 degrees, I am really hot. I prefer 60.

So now, I snort when I laugh too hard.

So I found these highlighters that are great for marking scriptures. They are Gel Sharpy highlighters. They don't bleed through the page. It writes smoother than a crayon. The color is like a highlighter, and the texture is like a highlighter on scriptures. If you use it on normal paper the texture looks a little bit more like a crayon, but the color is still perfect.

So now we don't have any baptismal dates. Also, Being spring, we cannot find anyone home. Also, now it is spring break, which makes it worse. We are starting to run out of people to visit. We have a few good investigators, but the rest of everyone are either never home, don't keep appointments, or told us they don't ever want us to come back...... Right now we are trying to find NEW people.

I don't have much more to say this week. I am doing great. I don't know if I get to skype for Mothers day or only telephone. I will find out. I am only a month and a week away from being 20 years old. Then I will be "perfect".

Week 31

We were just commanded by the stake to drop a baptismal date because they know that the mother will never give permission. The situation is that her father was the branch president but she could not be baptized because her birth mother won’t allow it. Her birth mother is a member, but not active. She thinks they are brain washing her. Or this is just a way to get back at her ex-husband. Before I entered the area, the branch president died. Now they have another. We had set a date for her to try and improve her relationship with her mother so she would allow her to be baptized. The same day that the stake told us to drop her baptismal date, she had told us that she talked with her mother and she finally said that she would allow her to be baptized when she turns 17 (5 months). I don't know if the stake has the authority to tell us to drop her date but it does not matter now because now we have to wait 5 months.

 

My companion only has 4 months left of his mission. He is so trunky and it is starting to rub off.

That is about all I have this week. All is Well. I love you all.

Week 30

In Spanish "Gringo" or Greengo is the word that they use for anyone who is not native Spanish.

Someone that saw a whole bunch of pictures of me in my last area told me, that I looked like I played a lot of sports. Then he said, "But now that I see you in person you look like a 4.0 student."

I finished the entire missionary library: Jesus the Christ, True to the Faith, Our heritage, Our Search for Happiness.

I got flip-flops to wear in the shower (that is what they suggest for missionaries). I think those are the first pair of flip-flops I have owned.



Apparently, I can handle foods spicier than many Hispanics. We were eating with a Hispanic family for dinner. They had some salsa that they said was really really hot. Both my companion and me put it all over our food and we were fine. So Apparently, I am really legit when it comes to spicy foods. I have not eaten anything on my mission yet that was too spicy.

I miss the stars in Arizona. They are a little harder to see here because of the lights (I am in the biggest city of our mission).

Well, We actually have two people that actually want to be baptized. They told us that themselves. One can’t because of her mother. The other can, she just needs to come to church.

Week 29

TRANSFERS

Nothing is happening. Everyone in our District is staying. And I don't know anyone in our zone because none of them ever come to activities. LAME. The only change is that I am getting Elder Holman as a Zone Leader. He was my first District Leader and he is amazing. He has so much love for other missionaries.

I made a hole punch out of one of my broken pens. I used it to punch new holes in a belt that I was given by another elder (the belt was way to big.)

I figured out how to use a pass along card to deflect the flash on my camera that way it is not a direct flash.

I finally ordered and got my business cards from vistaprint.com. They are free. You only have to pay for shipping. All the missionaries in this mission have them. You just need to get permission from President to go to the website.

I am almost done with my first Journal in my mission.

I don't think I ever told you much about my current companion.

Elder Calderon is from Panama city Panama. His parents are from Chile.  He lived in West Jordan working for 2 years before his mission. He is 21 about to turn 22 on March 13. He has been hospitalized 3 times for about a month each. He has been in 2 car crashes. Almost died. He has two older sisters, one half brother. He is a lot more patient than my other companions.

Almost everything in my planner is written backwards now. It has become very easy to  write backwards. However, my next planner needs to be written forwards because my next on is the one that will be inspected by the Zone Leaders. Well they are always inspected, but only every other transfer do they get graded.

My companion is a great driver. There is only one problem with TiWi. They say it is accurate within 2 meters of your location, but it is not. If it is too accurate the government has a right to monitor it. So it has so much inaccuracy. It keeps thinking we are on the next road over. However it is very random. It does not depend on which direction we are traveling, or what time of day, or whether it is all shifted. It is just random. So it keeps giving him speeding violations when we are going 30 in a 50-mile/hour zone. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! It is just too inaccurate.

Week 28

Today I felt the blessing of not being confounded before men. We were tracting a new area and we came across this person (American) and he invited us in. We entered his house, and then he started saying something about how he felt bad for us because it was so obvious that the Book of Mormon is not true because the Book of Mormon talks about the 3 kingdoms of glory and the bible does not and it is obviously false. We let him go on for a bit and he concluded with the bible is the only book that is completely true and has never been proven wrong, and that is the most true book on earth. (I am thinking... I can find several contradictions in the bible alone, and the Book of Mormon does not have a single contradiction within itself. And I think you are getting it backwards.) I said, "Well I have not heard anyone disprove the Book of Mormon." He said, "I just did about the 3 kingdoms of glory." I said, "Actually the Book of Mormon does not talk about it. The Bible is that book that talks about the 3 kingdoms." He said in complete frustration, "No it does not." I said, "Yes it does, 1 Cor 15." I then thought. Oh no, I hope it is chapter 15 because I always get the wrong chapter. He then said to his wife, "Where's my Bible?" I then said, "Well, we don't want to waste your time. We will be leaving now." I forgot to mention that he grew up LDS.

When we left I checked what chapter it was in and sure enough it was chapter 15. Most of that conversation I spoke with power and authority. I felt the Holy Ghost in me. I spoke what felt was right; And Chapter 15 came out of my mouth before I even thought about it, and the reason it did is because at that exact moment when I was saying it, there was not a doubt in my mind that that was the right chapter.

In the spoken American Language you can speak half a sentence and people will understand because they already know the other half. You could say, "Right on the next street." or "Interesting" or a lot of other phrases in the spoken language.

In Spanish no one will understand you. You almost always have to speak in complete sentences. You cannot just say "Left." you have to say, "Turn left here."

Week 27

I just finished Jesus the Christ

I see missionaries put tabs (sticky tabs) on their scriptures so they can find things really fast, but then they have so many of them. I have seen missionaries flip through all the tabs they have looking for a scripture. That is almost as bad as not having tabs at all.

Just the other day I had the first door that was literally SLAMMED in our face. He didn't even say he was not interested. Most people would normally just say, "Not interested" and just close the door quickly. No, this door was slammed. Not a word.

The work in this area is good. We have found soooooooo many people to teach. One day we found 4 new potential investigators in 1 hour. That is a ton. There is only one problem. All the appointments that we set fall through. So we don't actually have any new investigators. Only a few.

I love you all and appreciate all the support.

Love,

Daniel Eliason

Week 26

I just met a cat that will only respond if you treat it like a dog. You need to whistle at it.

I just ate pavement today (10 Feb.). I was on exchanges and I crashed while riding a bike. Luckily, I know the correct way to fall (from BJJ). I only got a little scratch on one knee. I was going maybe 5 miles an hour.



I am not too cold, I am still only using my coat and that is it. The temperature is around 32 and this winter is actually really warm here. There is actually hardly any snow here right now. Pocatello does not have any. There is really only slush here. It is still a ton of snow for Arizona but it is all melting. There was not even an inch of snow.

I am trying to think of more entertaining ways to exercise, rather than just doing sit-ups and push ups. Those are really not effective because it is hard to push yourself when you first wake up. I had a couple of ideas the other day and I think they will be more effective.

 I now have two dates!!! The area is a little slow right now with respect to lessons and investigators. We started out with only like 5 investigators, which is odd for our area. I think it had something to do with the fact that the areas were combined before, as well as we actually share an entire stake where most of the investigators are. So there are 4 Spanish Elders for this one neighborhood where all the Hispanics live. We have been doing a lot of finding. Our numbers though are really high compared to Pocatello.

Week 25

Ok. This is cool. Dogs are attracted to the Gospel / the spirit. One thing I learned from the Dog whisperer is that dogs like it when people are in charge. They like knowing what we want them to do. They like being calm. They need to get energy out sometimes. They need exercise/ sports, but they generally like peace. I have seen several instances on my mission were dogs leave a room full of people that are playing with them to come and lay down in the room in which we are teaching. In fact, sometimes I think I have seen the dogs look at something that I could not see. They love the calm loving peaceful environment.

Week 24

I just want to let you know I am being transferred. I am going to Idaho Falls. I am going to the Mesa Spanish Branch. It has two sets of missionaries assigned to it. I actually have everything in Spanish. The members are great. It is a bit larger; there is a more concentration of Hispanics. And I don't cover such a huge area. Apparently, my area is the area with all the best stores in it.

week 23

OK. This week is insane, or should I say my companion is going insane. The other day we met someone and he told me how he trained his companions.   He wanted to give us some advice on methods of teaching and things.

Here it is:

Only speak Spanish. Trainer writes down all words during the day that his companion does not know. He then quizzes him on those words all day long. Same thing goes for teaching the lessons. Quiz your companion all day long. Have your companion start lessons all the time. ...... etc.

Week 22

I have one story:

I went on exchanges a lot these last couple of weeks, with Elder Bishop. Throughout the whole exchange he was trying to get me to let him write Tacia. It was so funny because I knew what he was doing. He knew what he was doing. He knew what I was doing. He knew that I knew what he was doing. And I knew that he knew what I was doing. At the end of the exchange, he said "OK, You win." But even that was an attempt to get me to allow him to write Tacia. It was so much fun. I was just a game all day long.  He said, "I may be decently good at manipulating but it is embarrassing to lose."

Week 21

Not much to say.

So, I can finally do the double r in Spanish correctly. Before it was more like phlegm than actual “rr”. Now I can do it correctly.

The other day my companion said, "We need to think outside of the box for this investigator." I thought, "How can I think outside the box. I can hardly think inside of it."