Week 82

Safe and Alive
Monday, August 8, 2011 10:20 AM

Dear family,

This last week I did not have a close call with a large bear running rampant through the streets of Durazno, and so consequently I am still safe and alive. :)

Life is going pretty well. We just got done playing 2 hours of soccer and I`m tired, but it was enjoyable. My comp plays pretty well and he likes it a lot. This last week was pretty solid. We were going to have 2 baptisms this Saturday, but one of them got pushed back a little bit at the request of the parents (it`s a long story, let`s not go into it), so we will have one baptism this Saturday. The cool part is that we will be having a huge 4 ward baptism with each ward having a baptism. Should be a really nice experience. With regards to the other guy who showed up at church, we went Tuesday and he totally accepted the Book of Mormon saying he`ll read it. He said he needs his time to learn. That`s the goal ;) He didn`t manage to go to church yesterday because he had a family member die at 2:00 in the afternoon (and we start at 2:30). We`ll be seeing him more obviously.

Elder Wilkey is doing really well. I don`t know if I mentioned that he is a bit hard on himself sometimes, so I`m mentioning it again. The reality, though, is that he is improving very well. We`re trying to keep him involved in the lessons and whatnot and we`ve been implementing new ideas to help him progress even faster. We`re having a good time together. The time for me more or less is just disappearing. Weeks just pretty much fly by. I`ve decided that I`m so involved in this lifestyle right now that it`s not really a burden anymore (getting up early, studying a ton, etc.) I`ve also noticed that more or less my testimony has gone from mere belief to sure conviction. It`s just such an integral part of who I am now. The trial will be continuing with that after the mission, when I`m no longer in this atmosphere. That`s cool that Calvin did a missionary lesson with the ward youth. If they asked me I would refuse....or ask for a translator. I cannot by any stretch of the imagination talk about the gospel coherently in English. So yeah, the homecoming talk should be quite strange.

Anyways, as the months pass, I continue working hard. I think my focus has changed a lot recently. Before I did missionary work gladly and happily because it was what was expected of me. Now I think I do missionary work more because I know that it is the best way to help anybody in this world with any problem. The trick is getting them to understand that. The problem is that the church isn`t even 200 years old and Satan`s been working since who knows when. There is a saying in Spanish that roughly says, the devil knows more for being around forever than he does for actually being the devil. The best part however is that we win because we have God and the Spirit. So take that Satan. Yep.

I got letter 79 and 80 today. And I believe I typed wrong 2 weeks ago. I got 77 two weeks ago. I don`t think I have 78 yet. I`ll confirm next week. I also got various letters from Grandma. She`s a studess. :D Thanks for your emails and support. I`m feeling pretty good about everything....at least I`ve got nothing to complain about (and even if I did, I wouldn`t). Thankfully, the weather is milding up a little bit. I always figured Calvin would be AP. That kid`s a stud.

I`ll send pics next week of the baptism, unless I am a noob. We`ll hope not. Love you all a ton. Nobody die...I`ve only got four and a half months left (ish). Tell Nana too. :P

Love always,

DJ