Hello family and friends! It´s absolutely crazy how fast time flies here. Two weeks have passed since we arrived, and while the workload makes it feel like it has been a month and a half, it still feels a bit that we arrived only a few days ago.
First of all, I am incredibly grateful for the letters, mail, and packages sent to me. Thank you all so much for your love and support! I smile just at the thought of the words you´ve sent, and they certainly help keep my spirit soaring when times are a bit tougher.
President and Sister Richter, thank you so much for the wonderful little package. The peanut related foods were a fantastic addition to the food here. We had some leftover bread spread out between the Elders in our District after Sunday, and we feasted on Peanut Butter and Peanut Butter Sandwiches. They were deliciously peanut buttery. Also, the humor of the great many packing peanuts was not lost on us, and we laughed and ate peanuts late into the night, but not after the required sleeping time. Thank you again for the food and the words of kindness.
Elder Babbitt, I´ll express my gratitude more fully to you in a seperate letter, but it was a joy to receive your gifts. I really had not expected the bounty of prizes you sent, and rest assured that I will make the most out of them! The German soccer shirt and four ties especially. The books I will certainly pore over in my free time! Also, expect some Chilean candy in return for your awesome Costco-purchased candy treasures! Thank you so much, bro. You're the best!
Dad, I still occasionally take a peek at the letter you sent. The quotes inside of it are fantastic, and I love the overall message. I'm certainly trying my hardest to make this more of an adventure, and less of a two year prison sentence like some of the Elders here believe. You're words really help me to stay positive, and I am incredibly grateful for your early sent off letter. I love you Dad!
Sam, it was wonderful to get that email from you! I certainly hope to hear all kinds of fun stories of Ohio and all of your many adventures. I too miss our texts, but am grateful for your support and kindness and look forward to the day we can text once more!
Steven, your letter was great, buddy! The warning about the different keyboards south of the border was well timed. It took me a short while, but I figured out the different punctuation locations and the ability to put accents on pretty quickly. I hope you enjoy these letters, and laugh at my inexperience with the Spanish language. My companion had it worse then I originally. He went around for the first few days explaining to people that he was embarrassed because he didn't know the language too well. Except he didn't use the correct word for embarrassed, but 'Embarasado.' Everyone had a good laugh when a Maestro pulled him aside to explain what he was really saying.
Augh! My finger accidentally hit the tab key, which sent off the letter before I knew what had happened.
Kendra! You're letter was fantastic! Tell the kids I love them and miss them, but I look forward to telling them all kinds of cool stories and playing Rock Band 4 or Guitar Hero 7 or Accordian Hero or whatever is the game at the time with them in a little less then two years. Congratulations on the kids all getting full days of school! You're finally going to get time to relax and watch soap operas and catch up on all the things you put aside for that silly thing called a family, right? Haha, I crack myself up just thinking about it.
You mentioned a special FHE that you had. That is excellent! There is an incredible difference between just hanging out with others and inviting the Spirit to enlighten everyone. It is certainly something I've seen here at the CCM, when talking and sicussing with other Elders. Often times, it is very easy to slip into English and talk about some fun thing we shared interest in before, or dreams we have for after, but nothing gets done! Many of the Elders in my week are actually using less Spanish then in the first few days. But when the Spirit is invited, and the Elders and Hermañas are working together to accomplish and learn and grow in the Gospel, wonderful things can happen. The language is learned by leaps and bounds. Normal lessons transcend from early morning Seminary (With just as many people asleep haha) to visiting General Authority levels of attention and edification. It is a wonderful experience to be a part of, and the Spirit is making its blessings pretty clear to witness. Thank you for all that you do and the wonderful inspiration you and your family are to me. Keep being so cool!
Hey Mom! I just got your letter! Thanks for all the information! To answer your question, no, we will not be going to the temple every week. It´s supposed to be every other week, and sadly, our last visit is timed when the Temple will be renovating and unavailable. I still look forward with bated breath to the next visit a week from today. It will be great!
Miguel Ruiz is a teacher playing an investigator he taught on his mission. We finished up with him earlier this week, and are now starting with two new investigators, both teachers, this week. The lessons are fun, if a little challenging to prepare and give, but I´ll get more into that later.
I see Hermaño Ramsey every once in a while! I enjoy discussing things with him or talking with the other teachers who think he is a really cool guy. Also, he might not know this, but I heard a pretty great story about him. Some of our roommates (By the way, we got our final pair, bringing us to a full six. They are Latino Elders from Mexico, and their names are Elder Yerena and Elder Gamboa. They are always delightful to talk about and keep asking us if we have questions they can answer about Spanish. We have been having an incredible amount of fireworks late at night and early in the morning for over a week now, and when we asked about it, Elder Yerena simply said ´´party.´´ Such a well spring of information!) have Wil as a teacher, and over heard one of the Hermañas in their district talking about how cute the instructors were. Apparantly, for one of the Sister Missionaries, the teachers were the first real challenge of her mission. She wrote it down in her notebook, and now has to frantically change pages when the teachers are nearby. I was told this story and couldn´t help but crack up laughing. I fully expect David to tell Wil to stop robbing the cradle of the Sister Missionaries.
The language learning is still going well! It´s really slowed down a bit as the Missionaries have become more comfortable with each other and started speaking more in English. The teachers are very busy with waves of new arrivals coming in every week, (We expect another group of Gringo and Latino elders tonight and tomorrow.) and so they don´t have the chance to crack down haha. We´re still trying though! Elders are constantly reminding each other to speak in Spanish, and my companion and I still do vocabulary each day to try and improve. There is no replacing solid speaking though, which invites the Gift of Tongues and brings in the Spirit´s aid.
I had a wonderful food experience on Sunday, and I have to tell you about it. The meals have taken a strange turn lately, a bizarre mix of American and Mexican food that doesn´t appeal totally to either culture, leaving many missionaries quietly unsatisfied. But Sunday, the awesome chefs went full out with this cordon bleu masterpiece, and I went back for thirds. This wonderful raspberry drink went with it, and people were once again crying over the deliciousness. It was amazing. The food has since returned to its normal state, but we aren´t gatting sick and still enjoy a great deal of the meals here. I´ve gained a whole new appreciatioin for Zucaritas, or Frosted Flakes in America.
Thanks for the shirt folding instructions! I discovered that the store has recently stocked hangars, so my adventures in folding are put to a brief standstill. The instructions will certainly come in handy in a few weeks though!
Tell Grandpa and Grandma that I love them! I hope they are still doing well. Your comments about the cats made me laugh out loud here in the computer lab, drawing a few strange stares. I miss the little fur balls, but I´m glad that they´re in good hands. Its good to hear that the family is busy! I love to hear the positive stories, and hope everything works out in the negative ones. Tell David that since we play this indoor soccer game, the goal is much smaller. Though I haven´t been kneed in the head, I have certainly smacked my dome on the low bar a few times while going after the ball. I´ve gotten this strange reputation as the best Gringo goalie, and the players who have played before don´t hold back anymore when going against me. I might need to invest in a pair of goalie gloves! We also have started playing Volleyball now, and we all have a great time doing that. Its so much fun to play with a bunch of people who aren´t too good and don´t take it seriously at all. Jokes are flying more than the ball itself, and everyone looks forward to gym as much as anything else.
Tell Kyla (And everyone else, really) that they are in my prayers. I love and miss you all a lot, but I´m trying to focus on the work. It turns out that homesickness and withdrawels from all of my favorite things can´t find a place if I´m being worked to the bone out here! The Spirit is strong here, especially during the devotionals and the many classes. We´ve gotten to hear several General Authority messages over video, and each one is powerful and a great boon to us all. I´m grateful for the habit I posess of writing notes. These talks are not things one would want to miss out on.
Things really are going great out here! I´ve only had a few problems with anything, mostly involving my companion and issues focusing, but they have been really humbling experiences for me. Intense prayer and earnest effort bring about incredible results, and the changes are exquisite. I do hope that things improve with my relationship with Elder jensen, but we´ll see what the Lord has in mind!
Speaking of whom, he´s pacing behind me, ready to leave. I love you all, and pray for you! I look forward to writing you next week. Any questions you have, I would be happy to answer. Has Kendra told you how to post these on Facebook yet, Mom? I would love to hear how people are liking this little letters haha. Thank you all so much for everything that you do, especially your prayers. Every little one helps!
With love,
Elder Richardson
No comments:
Post a Comment