Monday, June 28, 2010 12:04 PM
Hello family,
Life is good for the most part except that I think I have the flu...or something like that. I had a huge fever last night and now I`m. :( just achy and stuff all over but it seems to be getting better. Thankfully today is pday. We had to come back to the house early yesterday unfortunately.
The work continues to go. Unfortunately it rained again for like the 3rd weekend out of the last 4 and consequently we had only one "investigator" in church and one recent convert. The investigator who came isn`t even really an investigator. He pretty much has no intention of getting baptized because he thinks he`s perfect. Seriously. he just likes to come to church every once in a while. As a result, we no longer have a baptism planned for the tenth...it`ll be later.
Right now we`re in the process of fixing the membership database for the Branch. There are over 400 members with weekly attendance of about 100. So we`re finding people that nobody even knows…the people that have moved will be taken out of the Branch list too.
In other news, do you guys think you could send some socks down. These socks I have are awesome but unfortunately the mission is really hard on them. Oh and good news on my shoes! They`ve been sewed so I shouldn`t have any more issues with them for a while. Yeah so with the socks...I think any kind will be fine unless they are bad for walking long distances.
Yes I did get Dad`s package, in addition to a postcard, a letter from Grandma, 23 and 24 and a letter from Aunt Margaret. I`m trying to upload photos now as we speak.
So anyways, we`re continuing to find and teach people...we have this one investigator, she was really apprehensive because she had previously joined several churches and she didn`t want to join the wrong church again. We had been teaching her for about a month and a half or two and this past week we had a visit with her. We had planned to teach baptism and confirmation and see what her desires were for baptism and whatnot. Before we started the lesson, she told us that she had something to tell us. The week before during the sacrament, she told us that she had received more of a definite answer and she needs to be baptized. We were a bit surprised, I`m not going to lie, but now everything is going great. She`ll probably get baptized on the 24th provided that she keeps all of her commitments and comes to church. We`ll see. :)
Thanks for all your support. Good stuff it is. I really appreciate it. Have a great week.
Love always,
DJ
DJ with his new washer
Piedra Alta, Uruguay
Ramon's Baptism
DJ and new Companion Elder Craynor
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Week 24
Hey all,
Ugh this keyboard is goofy so forgive me for random weird spacing and things. Another week gone by. The shirts are awesome. I love em a lot and the rest of the stuff too obviously. It’s pretty cold here nowadays. brrrrr.
Life is good here. We had 5 investigators in church yesterday. one is planning on getting baptized the tenth. she`s awesome. she´s already pulled out her tithing to pay. :)
Thanks for the addresses though. Ben enters the MTC on Wednesday so hopefully you can get the address before he leaves.
That`s cool about Grandpa. Hope he enjoys it there. Hard to believe that the change is halfway over. No I haven`t receieved the package yet.
We had zone conference last week. That was nice. It definitely cuts us shorts on work time though.
The big thing here right now is the world cup. It’s freaking huge. Last week when Uruguay was playing South Africa, we were just walking down the street when all of a sudden the whole entire neighborhood exploded, Uruguay had scored a goal and people were screaming and firing off fireworks. Crazy. They ended up winning 3-0 and when the game finished everybody ran out of their houses screaming and dancing. :)
There`s not much else to report. Life is good. I`m enjoying it and trying to learn all I can. Say hi to all for me. Enjoy your week.
Love always,
DJ
Ugh this keyboard is goofy so forgive me for random weird spacing and things. Another week gone by. The shirts are awesome. I love em a lot and the rest of the stuff too obviously. It’s pretty cold here nowadays. brrrrr.
Life is good here. We had 5 investigators in church yesterday. one is planning on getting baptized the tenth. she`s awesome. she´s already pulled out her tithing to pay. :)
Thanks for the addresses though. Ben enters the MTC on Wednesday so hopefully you can get the address before he leaves.
That`s cool about Grandpa. Hope he enjoys it there. Hard to believe that the change is halfway over. No I haven`t receieved the package yet.
We had zone conference last week. That was nice. It definitely cuts us shorts on work time though.
The big thing here right now is the world cup. It’s freaking huge. Last week when Uruguay was playing South Africa, we were just walking down the street when all of a sudden the whole entire neighborhood exploded, Uruguay had scored a goal and people were screaming and firing off fireworks. Crazy. They ended up winning 3-0 and when the game finished everybody ran out of their houses screaming and dancing. :)
There`s not much else to report. Life is good. I`m enjoying it and trying to learn all I can. Say hi to all for me. Enjoy your week.
Love always,
DJ
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Week 23
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
Monday, June 14, 2010 1:09 PM
Family of mine!
As you may gather from the subject line, I received packages. Woot! I got the box with the coat and stuff as well as the two envelope things with the shirts. I am so excited. Woo!!! Thank you so much. I can`t wait. It rained all day again Saturday so predictably I am very anxious for more warm clothes. It`s not too bad until the wind starts blowing and then...well you know how humid wind is. I also got letters 20, 21, and 22. Evidently pouch and regular mail are the same. Also, I got two letters from Grandma.
Also, I`ve been wondering where you talked to Kyle`s mom?? But thanks again for the address. I`m debating between writing him or waiting for his letter. I did end up writing to Holly and just sending it to her home and figuring that at least her parents could send it on.
Hey good news, I took my shoe to a shoe fixer dude and he`s gluing it and sewing it for 60 pesos (about 3.50). Also, when I was in Montevideo last week, we went shopping and I discovered that in a pinch, I could purchase a pair of shoes here (yes they fit). So in the event of an emergency, I could request permission and there are shoes (not a lot), but they exist to purchase in my size. Good news there too. Every day I learn a little bit more about life here and consequently feel more relaxed about things here.
So my roommate Ben goes into the MTC in a week and a half. Also Jeff Rodeback is on a mission in Alaska right now. :)
Just out of curiosity, who are Bishop Rock`s two counselors?
So life here in the mission is good. This past week was kind of fail...just kind of. we didn`t have as many lessons and I just felt like our productivity had gone down. So we talked about different techniques and tactics today in our planning session, so now we should have a better week. I`m excited. Also it didn`t help with the weather this weekend. It didn`t rain Sunday, but the rain on Saturday shut the country down, unfortunately. That happens a lot here. If it rains, the country shuts down.
Hard to believe that we are starting week 3 of this change/June is half over tomorrow. It occurred to me today that Patrick will be graduating in less than a year. Hmmm. There have been some roadblocks in the whole baptisms things and due to marriages and whatnot, we won`t have as many baptisms as we were hoping for this change. Hopefully we can have at least one though...
Wow, my wrist really hurts from typing. That`s what happens when it gets out of shape. rawr.
Oh look it`s raining again...that`ll help my clothes dry. Fail.
Our area is large but there are buses that run along the routes. We take them occasionally but most of the time we just walk.
Hey when are you guys planning on going to New York. Just curious. More than likely it`ll come and go before I know what happened. I can`t honestly explain the bizarreness of time out in the mission field. Dad might have an idea, I don’t know, but it`s weird.
Welp, there ain`t much more to report from this hemisphere. Thanks so much again for the packages. I`m stoked. !!!
Oh, the world cup is going on right now. You probably have no idea, but here it`s HUGE. I got to watch the first goal actually. Some South African dude scored the first goal of the 2010 world cup. Uruguay is playing, obviously, and it`s absolutely ridiculous. I thought rain shut the country down...that ain`t nothing compared to a world cup game with Uruguay playing. Wow. President told us to have lessons planned or be in the house doing weekly planning. Because seriously it dies and nobody will come out of their houses at all. That`s all I got for now.
Take care of yourselves :) Peace to all.
Love always,
DJ
Monday, June 14, 2010 1:09 PM
Family of mine!
As you may gather from the subject line, I received packages. Woot! I got the box with the coat and stuff as well as the two envelope things with the shirts. I am so excited. Woo!!! Thank you so much. I can`t wait. It rained all day again Saturday so predictably I am very anxious for more warm clothes. It`s not too bad until the wind starts blowing and then...well you know how humid wind is. I also got letters 20, 21, and 22. Evidently pouch and regular mail are the same. Also, I got two letters from Grandma.
Also, I`ve been wondering where you talked to Kyle`s mom?? But thanks again for the address. I`m debating between writing him or waiting for his letter. I did end up writing to Holly and just sending it to her home and figuring that at least her parents could send it on.
Hey good news, I took my shoe to a shoe fixer dude and he`s gluing it and sewing it for 60 pesos (about 3.50). Also, when I was in Montevideo last week, we went shopping and I discovered that in a pinch, I could purchase a pair of shoes here (yes they fit). So in the event of an emergency, I could request permission and there are shoes (not a lot), but they exist to purchase in my size. Good news there too. Every day I learn a little bit more about life here and consequently feel more relaxed about things here.
So my roommate Ben goes into the MTC in a week and a half. Also Jeff Rodeback is on a mission in Alaska right now. :)
Just out of curiosity, who are Bishop Rock`s two counselors?
So life here in the mission is good. This past week was kind of fail...just kind of. we didn`t have as many lessons and I just felt like our productivity had gone down. So we talked about different techniques and tactics today in our planning session, so now we should have a better week. I`m excited. Also it didn`t help with the weather this weekend. It didn`t rain Sunday, but the rain on Saturday shut the country down, unfortunately. That happens a lot here. If it rains, the country shuts down.
Hard to believe that we are starting week 3 of this change/June is half over tomorrow. It occurred to me today that Patrick will be graduating in less than a year. Hmmm. There have been some roadblocks in the whole baptisms things and due to marriages and whatnot, we won`t have as many baptisms as we were hoping for this change. Hopefully we can have at least one though...
Wow, my wrist really hurts from typing. That`s what happens when it gets out of shape. rawr.
Oh look it`s raining again...that`ll help my clothes dry. Fail.
Our area is large but there are buses that run along the routes. We take them occasionally but most of the time we just walk.
Hey when are you guys planning on going to New York. Just curious. More than likely it`ll come and go before I know what happened. I can`t honestly explain the bizarreness of time out in the mission field. Dad might have an idea, I don’t know, but it`s weird.
Welp, there ain`t much more to report from this hemisphere. Thanks so much again for the packages. I`m stoked. !!!
Oh, the world cup is going on right now. You probably have no idea, but here it`s HUGE. I got to watch the first goal actually. Some South African dude scored the first goal of the 2010 world cup. Uruguay is playing, obviously, and it`s absolutely ridiculous. I thought rain shut the country down...that ain`t nothing compared to a world cup game with Uruguay playing. Wow. President told us to have lessons planned or be in the house doing weekly planning. Because seriously it dies and nobody will come out of their houses at all. That`s all I got for now.
Take care of yourselves :) Peace to all.
Love always,
DJ
Monday, June 7, 2010
Week 22
Holy Cow
Monday, June 7, 2010 8:41 AM
Wow,
Life has been pretty good. The work is progressing nicely. We have pdays on Monday, district meetings Tuesday morning, and then we just do the work. We have lots of success.
I got letters 18 and 19 and a letter from Grandma. I also got back my letter I had sent to Holly. I had sent one about 3 weeks out into the field and just now got it back because of who knows why. Yeah, don`t ask questions. That probably explains why she didn`t write sooner.
Anyways, we had 5 investigators in church yesterday but the best part was that we reactivated 4 people. One family and then another lady. Reactivations are just as good as baptisms. To be reactivated, you must attend church 3 consecutive weeks. So yeah, that`s pretty sweet.
I am a bit sick again. Just a cold. But my head is all stuffed up and it`s not too fun. Hopefully it`ll go away soon.
Next week, Elder Nomani and I are trying to go to the distribution center so we might have our pday changed to Tuesday. Just fyi.
Thanks for Kyle`s address. Does he know about my new address? I have yet to receive a letter from him.
I don`t know when we go to the temple, if ever. I think people may go very rarely (I`ve heard of President taking people for zone conference), but it`s rare.
Anyways, we`re trying to help even more people this week stop smoking. That, too, is a huge issue here. I`m really hoping that we can have some good quality baptisms this change. We have investigators. It`s mostly just the marriage thing.
Have fun at girls camp this week. That should be a good time like always. It`s kind of hard to believe that we are in June already. Weird stuff. My sense of time and life is so drastically screwed up here in the mission. It`s bizarre to the extreme. We had a thing today where we had to sign papers for immigration so I got to see my MTC district again. That was pretty awesome. They`re a blast to be around.
Anyways, I don`t know what else to write about. Thanks for your prayers and whatnot. I`ve been surviving so far with the cold. Hopefully I`ll get the package within the next two weeks (probably at zone conference, I guess). Love all of you guys. Oh, I would like to have Holly`s address too, since I don`t know where she is this summer. :)
Thanks for everything. Take care.
Love Always,
DJ
Monday, June 7, 2010 8:41 AM
Wow,
Life has been pretty good. The work is progressing nicely. We have pdays on Monday, district meetings Tuesday morning, and then we just do the work. We have lots of success.
I got letters 18 and 19 and a letter from Grandma. I also got back my letter I had sent to Holly. I had sent one about 3 weeks out into the field and just now got it back because of who knows why. Yeah, don`t ask questions. That probably explains why she didn`t write sooner.
Anyways, we had 5 investigators in church yesterday but the best part was that we reactivated 4 people. One family and then another lady. Reactivations are just as good as baptisms. To be reactivated, you must attend church 3 consecutive weeks. So yeah, that`s pretty sweet.
I am a bit sick again. Just a cold. But my head is all stuffed up and it`s not too fun. Hopefully it`ll go away soon.
Next week, Elder Nomani and I are trying to go to the distribution center so we might have our pday changed to Tuesday. Just fyi.
Thanks for Kyle`s address. Does he know about my new address? I have yet to receive a letter from him.
I don`t know when we go to the temple, if ever. I think people may go very rarely (I`ve heard of President taking people for zone conference), but it`s rare.
Anyways, we`re trying to help even more people this week stop smoking. That, too, is a huge issue here. I`m really hoping that we can have some good quality baptisms this change. We have investigators. It`s mostly just the marriage thing.
Have fun at girls camp this week. That should be a good time like always. It`s kind of hard to believe that we are in June already. Weird stuff. My sense of time and life is so drastically screwed up here in the mission. It`s bizarre to the extreme. We had a thing today where we had to sign papers for immigration so I got to see my MTC district again. That was pretty awesome. They`re a blast to be around.
Anyways, I don`t know what else to write about. Thanks for your prayers and whatnot. I`ve been surviving so far with the cold. Hopefully I`ll get the package within the next two weeks (probably at zone conference, I guess). Love all of you guys. Oh, I would like to have Holly`s address too, since I don`t know where she is this summer. :)
Thanks for everything. Take care.
Love Always,
DJ
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Week 21
MONKEY MONKEY MONKEY
Tuesday, June 1, 2010 9:36 AM
Hello all family and friends of mine,
I am not moving anywhere for at least another six weeks. I`m staying here in Toledo with Elder Nomani. :) I`m pretty stoked. We should have some pretty awesome baptisms this change...fingers crossed. Life has been pretty good...this past week was good but not as good as the last. Unfortunately the entire country of Uruguay is controlled by the weather. Thus, when it rained all day Saturday and a little bit of Sunday, nobody came to church...I don`t think we broke 50 people in church. so yeah. we had only one investigator (which is still success within itself).
Um, well, I got 3 letters at district meeting last week. I got #17, a letter from Grams, and a postcard from Dad. No mail this week because of changes. I`m expecting stuff to come because I know you guys send it, but I`m afraid that this address change screwed some things up bad. I haven`t yet received Kyle`s letter and he sent it like mid April or something. Don`t be surprised if you receive some things back, I`m afraid.
Ok, so Mom, I gave your email to one of the ladies here. She won`t spam you, I promise. She took a couple pictures of us with her family and she might be sending them to you via email. That`s why I gave her that email. I knew you`d appreciate it, if they arrive.
Also, if Patrick can get on facebook when he gets back and post a short thing on Cy`s wall wishing him a late happy birthday. I sent out a letter a couple weeks back so it should get there in August sometime...
Also, I don`t know what happened to Holly. I sent her a letter, must have been 2 months ago, and I don`t know if she got it before she left her school apartment. Maybe Patrick can figure that out too, via facebook, or you can call her mom or something. idk.
Oh, so my clothes are holding up pretty well, it`s just that the mission destroys things over time. No worries there. And some things I can buy here, but really low quality (for the most part) so that`s why it`s sometimes easier for you guys to send stuff.
Hey do you know of anyway to combat mold other than bleach? Our house has about 752.6% humidity and spawns mold faster than bunnies. So yeah, my pillow was attacked by a little bit of mold and if I don`t have any other ideas, I`ll just bleach the dude. That`s my question for that.
Also, I do really appreciate the mail even though it`s late. It`s nice to have mail and more detail too. Thanks for the reminder about Pres. Summers...hard to believe it`s already June, huh?
The cold is beginning to hit, but I`m surviving for now. It`s not too bad. The wind makes it pretty cold, but thankfully, I`ve never been one to get cold really easily. I eagerly anticipate your loving packages. Woo!
As far as transfers go, I`m stoked that I`m staying another change with Elder Nomani here. It`s awesome stuff. Elder Wally is the only one of us 4 leaving and he`s being replaced with a pretty awesome missionary from what I can tell. This elder has been in the offices for the past 5 changes...wow. anyways, yeah. good stuff.
So I mentioned earlier that it rained all day Saturday... but I wore my bootie things and my shoes stayed dry. Only the top part of the shoe near the opening got wet but that isn`t as thick and dried pretty quickly. They are awesome. POE TAYE TOE!
I`m going to wrap up here. Thanks for the emails and love. I appreciate you guys. Take care and enjoy your incredibly quick summer that just started.
Love always,
DJ
Tuesday, June 1, 2010 9:36 AM
Hello all family and friends of mine,
I am not moving anywhere for at least another six weeks. I`m staying here in Toledo with Elder Nomani. :) I`m pretty stoked. We should have some pretty awesome baptisms this change...fingers crossed. Life has been pretty good...this past week was good but not as good as the last. Unfortunately the entire country of Uruguay is controlled by the weather. Thus, when it rained all day Saturday and a little bit of Sunday, nobody came to church...I don`t think we broke 50 people in church. so yeah. we had only one investigator (which is still success within itself).
Um, well, I got 3 letters at district meeting last week. I got #17, a letter from Grams, and a postcard from Dad. No mail this week because of changes. I`m expecting stuff to come because I know you guys send it, but I`m afraid that this address change screwed some things up bad. I haven`t yet received Kyle`s letter and he sent it like mid April or something. Don`t be surprised if you receive some things back, I`m afraid.
Ok, so Mom, I gave your email to one of the ladies here. She won`t spam you, I promise. She took a couple pictures of us with her family and she might be sending them to you via email. That`s why I gave her that email. I knew you`d appreciate it, if they arrive.
Also, if Patrick can get on facebook when he gets back and post a short thing on Cy`s wall wishing him a late happy birthday. I sent out a letter a couple weeks back so it should get there in August sometime...
Also, I don`t know what happened to Holly. I sent her a letter, must have been 2 months ago, and I don`t know if she got it before she left her school apartment. Maybe Patrick can figure that out too, via facebook, or you can call her mom or something. idk.
Oh, so my clothes are holding up pretty well, it`s just that the mission destroys things over time. No worries there. And some things I can buy here, but really low quality (for the most part) so that`s why it`s sometimes easier for you guys to send stuff.
Hey do you know of anyway to combat mold other than bleach? Our house has about 752.6% humidity and spawns mold faster than bunnies. So yeah, my pillow was attacked by a little bit of mold and if I don`t have any other ideas, I`ll just bleach the dude. That`s my question for that.
Also, I do really appreciate the mail even though it`s late. It`s nice to have mail and more detail too. Thanks for the reminder about Pres. Summers...hard to believe it`s already June, huh?
The cold is beginning to hit, but I`m surviving for now. It`s not too bad. The wind makes it pretty cold, but thankfully, I`ve never been one to get cold really easily. I eagerly anticipate your loving packages. Woo!
As far as transfers go, I`m stoked that I`m staying another change with Elder Nomani here. It`s awesome stuff. Elder Wally is the only one of us 4 leaving and he`s being replaced with a pretty awesome missionary from what I can tell. This elder has been in the offices for the past 5 changes...wow. anyways, yeah. good stuff.
So I mentioned earlier that it rained all day Saturday... but I wore my bootie things and my shoes stayed dry. Only the top part of the shoe near the opening got wet but that isn`t as thick and dried pretty quickly. They are awesome. POE TAYE TOE!
I`m going to wrap up here. Thanks for the emails and love. I appreciate you guys. Take care and enjoy your incredibly quick summer that just started.
Love always,
DJ
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