Move to Leon

We received a short email from Sam today.  He has been relocated from Puerto Cabezas to Leon - across the country. 

Wedding Crashers

Feliz Semana Santa! Here they celebrate the Holy week, (Semana Santa) Instead of Easter. This includes lots of partying on the beach, and lots of drinking Joyita! So far there has not been any incidents that I have heard of, just a guy who was really drunk in the street. We were walking home after church last night, and the dude fell down in the gutter on the side of the road. We did not know what we could have done for him, so we helped him hobble to the sidewalk and he stumbled down the street.

         This week we did have a few miracles pass. We have had a hard time baptizing over the last few weeks, but miraculously we married and baptized two families this week! And both of them lived right next to the beach. One of the families was being taught by Elder Monson and his old comp before I got to Puerto. And over the 10 months that I have been here they slowly progressed to be baptized this week! We told them the day earlier that we would call the lawyer at 5 the next day. When we called the couple the next day, they said that they wont have time until 7. So we called they lawyer to come to the church, and went to pick up the couple. The culture here is really relaxed, so when we got to the house to pick them up, they got ready in about 5 minutes and we headed to the church. It was a great wedding and baptism. The president came with his wife to be witnesses for the wedding. 

Nothing else new has happened. Today we played capture the flag at the church, and then later we went to eat hot wings at a place here. Its gotten really hot lately. March and April are always the hottest months here. The dust covers all the trees near the roads. 

Thanks for all the messages. Its so great to see your faces. Love you guys!

 

Mis Homies!

Naksa pamili! 

   Thanks for all your great emails and photos! There is a word in the mission called trunky, which means homesick, and these photos sure make me feel trunky, but in a good way. Its funny how things change. Of course I always miss you guys, but the homesick is always the worst at the beginning of the mission. Its not that I miss you guys any less now, its just that I know I don't have as long to wait till I come home. Today I complete 75 Percent done!

This week was great. We had a great investigator that was all ready for baptism, reading the book of Mormon, going to church, and in the last day.... She talked with her family and they convinced her not to get baptized, because she already has her religion. That's the biggest challenge we have here as missionaries. Everyone professes to have their own religion here, but no one really keeps the commandments. 

We did find a really great family though. They went to church on Sunday with us, and now the father is going to the sea for ten days. They are planning on getting married and baptized when the comes back. He wanted to get baptized last week, but he had to go to church first. We have been fighting to baptize these past weeks, but have not had any success. I believe this week for sure we will have one.

This is a photo of some of my favorite peeps in Nicaragua. There is the District President in the suit, The big guy is the branch President. The dude with white hair is my convert Francisco. He is super cool! Everyone except the district president and one other are recent converts. The work is sure accelerating here in Puerto. 

Today we watched a show called Freetown. Its a story about missionaries in Africa. It was great. What's crazy is my friend Warner Ashby just went through there on his mission last week. Cool stuff.

Thanks for everything family! Love you guys so much, stay strong in keeping the commandments, they will bless your life. Love you all!

Radio Miskut

Well, as you can see from the heading, we have started up the radio once again. We took one of our investigators named Elvis to talk in Meskito as well. He said he liked it a lot, he's a pretty cool guy. This week we talked about prayer and the importance of praying everyday and with sincerity. We each had the opportunity to speak for about 15 minutes. It was really fun. 

We have had a really hard time baptizing over the last few weeks. This week we were going to have some baptisms, but some of our investigators left to the sea, and others have some difficulties before they will be ready. I feel a little stressed out for that, but we have an investigator this week who is super positive, and one of the few that actually read what we leave them! 

This week was District conference, so we went to the bigger church out by the Nicaragua military base. The bus broke down, so we got to the church at about 10 o'clock, and the district meeting started at 9 haha. Then the volume didn't work so we sat around for thirty minutes while they repaired it. Things definitely don't go as smooth as back in Utah, but it was a blast. Everyone got home safely, even though the buses were packed like sardines! 

We also had a meeting with President Collado this week and we talked about current issues and how we can be better missionaries. I really look up to Collado and his wife, they are such great examples to the mission and really help us to be the best missionaries that we can. Then they invited the zone to lunch. We all ate chicken burgers from membreños. 

Today we went to a place called Caminante to look for ties. I bought a sweet one for only ten cords. That's less than fifty cents. I love how everything is so cheap here. We also got our haircuts for forty cords, which is like a dollar fifty. What a steal! 

It got me thinking about how blessed we are from home. The guy who cut my hair makes about 15 dollars a day for working 11 hours. We are so blessed to have what we have. Anytime you think your life is hard, you just need to look at the lives of these people, who have almost nothing. 

Thanks for all that you have done for me. I love all of your letters and the photos! Cant wait to see you guys in a few more months. Love you!