Hey family,
Well what’s up? First off yes I’m ok and I’m doing well. I sent you a quick e-mail after the earth quake did you not get it? Me and some other elders in my district were in Bodega buying food when all of the sudden everything started moving ha-ha. It gave everything a pretty good shake and was defiantly a first. I have felt some little ones here but nothing like this one so it was interesting. But I’m doing good and getting used to my area. Etla 2 is a pretty big area, were always taking taxis to get to one side to the other but its all good. Etla 1 has bikes and I’m pretty jealous because I wished we had some also! But it’s all good. The ward here is the biggest I have been in so far with about 300 members so it’s pretty big and a lot different than the little house of prayer in Xadani which I think I’ll miss a lot.
I’m still getting to know the area and my comp like I said. To be honest we don’t have anything in common other than both our name tags say "Elder" so it could be an interesting change. He actually has more time in the mission than I thought and is only one change behind me so that helps because he knows what to do.. Well kind of... He told me that he is a "dead elder" which means him and his comp sat at home most of the time and did nothing. He has been her in the area for 3 weeks and doesn’t know it all too well so it’s been interesting... there is a lot of work here to do so that’s good. The first part of the week went by slow and we really didn’t have anyone to teach, but the lord is answering our prayers and we have found a couple people that are interested so that’s good.
I love the weather here in the city, its perfect! The one thing I won’t miss about Xadani is the heat. Also we have hot water here so I can take hot showers again!
It sounds like a lot of things are changing around the house, you’ll have to show me a pic when all is said and done. Does Jc go riding every week now or what? It sounds like she’s having fun just be safe. Dad that’s sweet that you will get to be with Elder Ballard, you’ll have to tell me how that goes. I listened to him in the mtc and he gave a very good talk. I hope when I get home will be able to "help" you watch over them. I know I’m forgetting a bunch of stuff but I need to send pics so I better go. I’ll be looking for the journal and all that. If you need anything let me know. Take care and be safe, I love you all and your all in my prayers! Until next week, love E. Hope
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Making Memories
Hey!
I’m sure you’re wondering why I’m writing so early but as you know today we have changes and I’m leaving Xadani.... it’s pretty bitter sweet and I don’t really want to leave this place. The members here are wonderful and always willing to help, I was also starting to pick up a lot of zapateco and by the time I come home I should have a short memorized testimony in zapeteco! I am glad that this time I was able to go around saying bye to a couple people that I have become pretty good friends with. I stopped by Ofelia and said bye to her which actually went pretty well until she about started to cry... One member also told me and my comp that he should go not me ha-ha I thought it was pretty funny but E. Orth didn’t.
E. Orth turned out to be a really sweet elder and we got a long really well. We were having a really good time sharing the the gospel and making memoires. The other day we went to this investigators house and her grandpa was there who is pretty old. We found out later that he told her granddaughter that if we went back he would throw rocks at us because we’re 2 white boys and we just want to "steal his granddaughter".
I guess I better tell you where I’m going before I forget. I’m heading back to the city of Oaxaca to a place called Etla. I’m pretty nervous because this will also be my first change as senior comp to an Elder with 3 months in the mission (Elder Bird). But I also know that the lord will be there to help me in times of need and that as long as I am obedient all will be well. The scripture found in Ether 12:27 has brought on a new meaning as he can make "weak things become strong unto them". I know as long as I have faith all will be well. I also know that there is someone there that needs my help in Etla and I hope and pray I will find whoever it is. I also know that this change I will grow a lot and that and I am excited for that.
The other day E Orth and I walked into our house and found a pretty nice surprise.... We opened the gate that leads to our little yard and found an old lady standing with a box of wood and a knife in her hands. We were both pretty surprised and speechless and before we could say anything she said she was the aunt of the land owner. It didn’t really make me feel any better because we leave the doors wide opening to the back of the house to try to keep it a little cooler. She didn’t take anything other than the branches that were on the grounds so that’s good. To this day were not sure how she got into the yard, my guess is she used the big kitchen knife to pop it open. (I know that doesn’t make sense but if you saw the doors here it would).
It sounds like everyone is doing well and that’s cool that Jeff and Becky come down to visit . I enjoyed the pics so keep sending them. Sound’s like Jc is always going four wheeling! ha-ha I’m pretty jealous but just be safe ight. Thanks dad for telling her I get a bike first ha-ha. Hey quick question did you guys ever send me a package with the new journal in it? If you haven’t sent it yet throw in some keep cool looking ties because I come to find out that I don’t have very many..... just saying. Today is kind of crazy but I’ll try to send pics if I can use my comps camera cable (mines buried in my bags) I just found out that I won’t leave to the city until 4:15 so I’ll get there somewhere around 10-11 at night. I better go but I just want to let you all know I love you and am thankful for all you do.
I was reading about charity this morning and ran across this. “Perhaps the greatest charity comes when we are kind to each other, when we don’t judge or categorize someone else, when we simply give each other the benefit of the doubt or remain quite” Elder Marvin J. Ashton. Be kind to others; serve them when you see the opportunity, help those who are having a hard time. I promise that you will feel the savories love as you do so and that he will poor blessings upon us.
I love you all so very much and I know this is the lord’s work. Be safe and always remember your prayers. Until next week and with love,
Elder Hope
I’m sure you’re wondering why I’m writing so early but as you know today we have changes and I’m leaving Xadani.... it’s pretty bitter sweet and I don’t really want to leave this place. The members here are wonderful and always willing to help, I was also starting to pick up a lot of zapateco and by the time I come home I should have a short memorized testimony in zapeteco! I am glad that this time I was able to go around saying bye to a couple people that I have become pretty good friends with. I stopped by Ofelia and said bye to her which actually went pretty well until she about started to cry... One member also told me and my comp that he should go not me ha-ha I thought it was pretty funny but E. Orth didn’t.
E. Orth turned out to be a really sweet elder and we got a long really well. We were having a really good time sharing the the gospel and making memoires. The other day we went to this investigators house and her grandpa was there who is pretty old. We found out later that he told her granddaughter that if we went back he would throw rocks at us because we’re 2 white boys and we just want to "steal his granddaughter".
I guess I better tell you where I’m going before I forget. I’m heading back to the city of Oaxaca to a place called Etla. I’m pretty nervous because this will also be my first change as senior comp to an Elder with 3 months in the mission (Elder Bird). But I also know that the lord will be there to help me in times of need and that as long as I am obedient all will be well. The scripture found in Ether 12:27 has brought on a new meaning as he can make "weak things become strong unto them". I know as long as I have faith all will be well. I also know that there is someone there that needs my help in Etla and I hope and pray I will find whoever it is. I also know that this change I will grow a lot and that and I am excited for that.
The other day E Orth and I walked into our house and found a pretty nice surprise.... We opened the gate that leads to our little yard and found an old lady standing with a box of wood and a knife in her hands. We were both pretty surprised and speechless and before we could say anything she said she was the aunt of the land owner. It didn’t really make me feel any better because we leave the doors wide opening to the back of the house to try to keep it a little cooler. She didn’t take anything other than the branches that were on the grounds so that’s good. To this day were not sure how she got into the yard, my guess is she used the big kitchen knife to pop it open. (I know that doesn’t make sense but if you saw the doors here it would).
It sounds like everyone is doing well and that’s cool that Jeff and Becky come down to visit . I enjoyed the pics so keep sending them. Sound’s like Jc is always going four wheeling! ha-ha I’m pretty jealous but just be safe ight. Thanks dad for telling her I get a bike first ha-ha. Hey quick question did you guys ever send me a package with the new journal in it? If you haven’t sent it yet throw in some keep cool looking ties because I come to find out that I don’t have very many..... just saying. Today is kind of crazy but I’ll try to send pics if I can use my comps camera cable (mines buried in my bags) I just found out that I won’t leave to the city until 4:15 so I’ll get there somewhere around 10-11 at night. I better go but I just want to let you all know I love you and am thankful for all you do.
I was reading about charity this morning and ran across this. “Perhaps the greatest charity comes when we are kind to each other, when we don’t judge or categorize someone else, when we simply give each other the benefit of the doubt or remain quite” Elder Marvin J. Ashton. Be kind to others; serve them when you see the opportunity, help those who are having a hard time. I promise that you will feel the savories love as you do so and that he will poor blessings upon us.
I love you all so very much and I know this is the lord’s work. Be safe and always remember your prayers. Until next week and with love,
Elder Hope
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Wow, this has been a really good week but first thanks everyone for the birthday wishes you’re all awesome!
So fun fact of the day here in Xadani people get married here when they are 12-16 years old and usually the groom has to pay the bride’s mother money and give them fruit, a dead chicken, a live chicken and a bunch of other stuff (the other day a guy bought a girl for 35000 pesos which is quite a bit of money for the people here in Xadani). So now you know.
Like I said this week has been awesome, yesterday we had a baptism, Florentino and Tirse (the couple Elder Juarez and I helped get married). It was really cool and the ward decided to come this time. We don’t have a baptism font here so we rented a truck and all jumped into the back and drove to Juchitan about 15 mins away. It was pretty crowed but it was really cool to see the members there to welcome them in the church afterwards. The baptism once again was in Zapateco which is sweet because I’m learning a new language. Tobi chupa chona tapa gaayu shopa gaxde shono gaa chi. Ya I just counted to ten in Zapateco, what up now ha-ha. I really like it here in Xadani but we have changes this Sunday and I might leave... At least I hope not but who knows.
Florentino and Tirsa have met with missionaries for over 2 years now, a pretty long time. The first missionaries to teach them taught and baptized three of their kids but they couldn’t get baptized until they were married. Tirsa really wanted to get baptized so that’s why we helped them get married and all that. Florentino was pretty nervous but afterward she said he felt good and I could tell he was happy.
Today for my B-day we played some basketball which was awesome because I haven’t played for about 5 months now. It was pretty bad at first but it came back after awhile and was really fun. Afterwards our district went to B.K. and my comp bought me a Jr whopper (it tasted awesome) so that was really nice of him. To be honest I don’t feel 20, but it sure does sound old ha-ha.
Thanks for the B-day card and the memory cards for my camera, and everything else. You guys are awesome. I better go but I just wanted to let you know that I love you all! Take care and ill write next week.
Con Amor, E HOPE
So fun fact of the day here in Xadani people get married here when they are 12-16 years old and usually the groom has to pay the bride’s mother money and give them fruit, a dead chicken, a live chicken and a bunch of other stuff (the other day a guy bought a girl for 35000 pesos which is quite a bit of money for the people here in Xadani). So now you know.
Like I said this week has been awesome, yesterday we had a baptism, Florentino and Tirse (the couple Elder Juarez and I helped get married). It was really cool and the ward decided to come this time. We don’t have a baptism font here so we rented a truck and all jumped into the back and drove to Juchitan about 15 mins away. It was pretty crowed but it was really cool to see the members there to welcome them in the church afterwards. The baptism once again was in Zapateco which is sweet because I’m learning a new language. Tobi chupa chona tapa gaayu shopa gaxde shono gaa chi. Ya I just counted to ten in Zapateco, what up now ha-ha. I really like it here in Xadani but we have changes this Sunday and I might leave... At least I hope not but who knows.
Florentino and Tirsa have met with missionaries for over 2 years now, a pretty long time. The first missionaries to teach them taught and baptized three of their kids but they couldn’t get baptized until they were married. Tirsa really wanted to get baptized so that’s why we helped them get married and all that. Florentino was pretty nervous but afterward she said he felt good and I could tell he was happy.
Today for my B-day we played some basketball which was awesome because I haven’t played for about 5 months now. It was pretty bad at first but it came back after awhile and was really fun. Afterwards our district went to B.K. and my comp bought me a Jr whopper (it tasted awesome) so that was really nice of him. To be honest I don’t feel 20, but it sure does sound old ha-ha.
Thanks for the B-day card and the memory cards for my camera, and everything else. You guys are awesome. I better go but I just wanted to let you know that I love you all! Take care and ill write next week.
Con Amor, E HOPE
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Family,
Hey everyone, sounds like you all had a pretty good time at state... too bad it ended the way it did though ha-ha what can you do. Before I forget I got one of the packages you sent with the candy and the new memory cards so that was awesome! The calendar of Jeff, Becky and the kids was awesome! Tell them thanks for that. I got a pretty good laugh when I saw mom playing cards with all the money, I also got the other pics and that was good to see so thanks for those.
This week has been pretty busy so I’ll just give a little rundown of what all went down. This week we spent a lot of time going around introducing my new comp to the members and our invest. We were also able to place three baptism dates so were praying for them a lot. Friday night we headed to a stake center in Juchitan to meet up with all the other elders of Juchitan. At about 10 pm we left for the city about 6:00, it’s 6 and a half hours away. Once again I didn’t get any sleep because the whole trip is through mountains and needless to say it’s a SUPER SUPER wind road. So it was a long night. When we got there I was able to get a little bit of sleep in the parking lot of the temple. At 6:30 we all got off the bus and freshened up a little, I was able to find all my homies from the district in the MTC and we got to hangout and talk until 8:30. At nine Elder Scott showed up with Elder Clayton. We all got the opportunity to shake their hands and tell them our names and where were from. Not going to lie I took my time shaking Elder Scotts hand ha-ha why not right? There are 7 billion people in the world and only 12 Apostles so I had to soak it up. They both gave really good talks and I wish I could share it with you all. They focused on the Book of Mormon and important it is, at the end Elder Scott answered whatever questions we had (Elder Scott speaks pretty good Spanish). He was really cool; the first thing he did was stood up and told some jokes before we even started and then some during.
After it was all over we had a little lunch and at about 3 headed back to Juchitan. Again it was a long ride with no rest and we got back about 8:30 9ish. It was too late to go to our area so we spent the night at an elder’s house and in the morning (Sunday) headed to Xadani. Church was pretty cool, Ofelia one of my converts got up and bore her testimony for the first time which was pretty sweet to hear. I could tell she was nervous but I was super happy because she did it all other own.
My comp Elder Orth is pretty cool. Turns out he likes dirt bikes, cars, basketball, and football so were getting along pretty well. He’s from Provo Utah and likes BYU... go figure but that’s alright. He’s the youngest of his family. To be honest I don’t know what else to tell you about him.
Oh I also got the package fro Autsins mom so tell her thanks for me that was really nice of her. I better get going I hope all of you are doing well. Have a good week and be safe!
Con Amor, Elder Hope
Hey everyone, sounds like you all had a pretty good time at state... too bad it ended the way it did though ha-ha what can you do. Before I forget I got one of the packages you sent with the candy and the new memory cards so that was awesome! The calendar of Jeff, Becky and the kids was awesome! Tell them thanks for that. I got a pretty good laugh when I saw mom playing cards with all the money, I also got the other pics and that was good to see so thanks for those.
This week has been pretty busy so I’ll just give a little rundown of what all went down. This week we spent a lot of time going around introducing my new comp to the members and our invest. We were also able to place three baptism dates so were praying for them a lot. Friday night we headed to a stake center in Juchitan to meet up with all the other elders of Juchitan. At about 10 pm we left for the city about 6:00, it’s 6 and a half hours away. Once again I didn’t get any sleep because the whole trip is through mountains and needless to say it’s a SUPER SUPER wind road. So it was a long night. When we got there I was able to get a little bit of sleep in the parking lot of the temple. At 6:30 we all got off the bus and freshened up a little, I was able to find all my homies from the district in the MTC and we got to hangout and talk until 8:30. At nine Elder Scott showed up with Elder Clayton. We all got the opportunity to shake their hands and tell them our names and where were from. Not going to lie I took my time shaking Elder Scotts hand ha-ha why not right? There are 7 billion people in the world and only 12 Apostles so I had to soak it up. They both gave really good talks and I wish I could share it with you all. They focused on the Book of Mormon and important it is, at the end Elder Scott answered whatever questions we had (Elder Scott speaks pretty good Spanish). He was really cool; the first thing he did was stood up and told some jokes before we even started and then some during.
After it was all over we had a little lunch and at about 3 headed back to Juchitan. Again it was a long ride with no rest and we got back about 8:30 9ish. It was too late to go to our area so we spent the night at an elder’s house and in the morning (Sunday) headed to Xadani. Church was pretty cool, Ofelia one of my converts got up and bore her testimony for the first time which was pretty sweet to hear. I could tell she was nervous but I was super happy because she did it all other own.
My comp Elder Orth is pretty cool. Turns out he likes dirt bikes, cars, basketball, and football so were getting along pretty well. He’s from Provo Utah and likes BYU... go figure but that’s alright. He’s the youngest of his family. To be honest I don’t know what else to tell you about him.
Oh I also got the package fro Autsins mom so tell her thanks for me that was really nice of her. I better get going I hope all of you are doing well. Have a good week and be safe!
Con Amor, Elder Hope
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