Hey Family!

Hola Familia! Sorry I could not send you a very long email last week, the internet went out in all of Puerto last week and we could not email very long when it came back on. 

 This week was really good. My new companion is from Saint George Utah named Elder Accordino. He is a total country boy and loves anything that has to do with trucks, planes, engines and all that kind of stuff. We did not baptize this week, which was a little disappointing, but we have one set for next week! A boy named Junior whos parents are menos activo wants to be baptized! Also good news is that Puerto Might break the record for the zone with the most baptisms this month! The old record was set last year at 52 baptisms for one zone, but this month Puerto might get 60! Que alegre!

I miss you all so much. It has felt like forever since I have seen you all. There are so many things I miss back home, but I can’t complain, Puerto really is the best. Here on the mission there are sure a lot of ups and downs. Especially when you are not having a lot of success in your area, but everyone else is. That is really hard. 

We are teaching a family that lives right by our house with the man named Kiko. He is a very nice guy who is looking to change is his around. He even went to church this week which was awesome! 

It’s still in the rainy season here, so rain showers pass be quite frequently. The mosquitos are getting really bad, but luckily we have mosquito nets, so I don’t have to worry about getting Chikanguya or Malaria quite as much. Malaria is starting to break out here I have heard, but the mosquitos really only get you in the night if you don’t have a mosquito net.

Today we played frisbee as a zone which was cool. A sister had her birthday today so some other missionaries threw eggs at her which is Central America tradition. I get burned so fast here, because the sun is so powerful here that after one hour I was turning a little pink. Afterward we went and ate some pizza at a small local joint named Pizza Johns. 

Elder Nelson is coming this week! All of Nicaragua except for Puerto gets to go see him! But that’s ok, I would really totally be here in Puerto than be in any other zone! This week we had a bonfire to welcome the three news that came into the zone, which is always good. My friend Elder Pilling from New Zealand was transferred out so that was a bummer. Due to its length from the other side of Nicaragua, only a few people are changed each six weeks, so we are all really good friends here in Puerto. It is a lot different than any other zone.

Well, that’s all i can think to say, I love you all so much and hope that you guys are good. Love you!

Puerto Loco Perros y monos

Well, this week was a really good one. Some really crazy stuff happened though. On Thursday, we visited some investigators that were supposed to be baptized this week.  Someone was sleeping in the hammock out front, so we went around back to ask if anyone was there.  Out back there was a group of puppies that were sleeping.  As we asked to see if the people we were looking for were home, the mother ran out from underneath and bit my comp Elder Monson. Monson tried to shake it off, but it held on.

 
Then after a heavy kick to the side, it released and ran away. It put a couple of holes in his pants, but he was only bleeding a tiny bit. What luck. Then later that day walking to another investigators house we were ambushed again by two dogs! They came near us trying to bite, and after we swung to kick them without getting too close, they ran off.  I was super startled. Last night again we were being chased by our recent converts dogs that we visit every day! They all hate us here! JK
We have an investigator who we found this week named Francisco! He even when to church and wants to be baptized! Anyway, he has a pet monkey underneath his house(Which are on stilts like all
houses, which is super friendly.  It would climb all over you, and nibble your arm a little bit. Such a sweet little thing. I have a photo I will send. His name is Sacramento!
Well looks like the bus might be going away, going to miss riding on top each week. Nothing else really happened. We should be baptizing a couple next week. We’ll see how that goes! 
Love you guys, thanks for all that you do and for your emails!

Awsome P Day!

Today we had P day and watched some really goofy LDS shows in the chapel. I am not kidding when I say that the Church of Jesus Christ in Puerto has to be the nicest facility in town. It is one of the few that have running water, AC, even has Wifi! 

I can’t believe how fast the church is growing here. About a tenth of all the people that come to church here every week are investigators! How nuts! 

This week we found a group of eight kids that liked to talk with missionaries, so we talked and invited them all to church. I could not believe it when they all came! They were really hard to control though, a bunch of antsy little kids to take of during sacrament was not easy. 

Nothing out of the norm here; we had quite a rainy day that took out the power again in the night. Hate when that happens. 

President is supposed to be coming this week, which will be great. President Collado is from Costa Rica, and has 3 kids. He is great!

Turtle season is raging! We eat some big old turtles every week! I got some turtle jewelry, but have no idea how to send it home, guess I will keep it until I come home.

Monson is going to complete a year this week! We have saved our trash for the last month, so we are going to make quite a bonfire to celebrate! It’s a tradition to burn a tie at six months, a shirt at a year and pants at 18 months, so that will be interesting. 

 Well, I have absolutely nothing else to talk about, hope you Evans’ are having a good time in St. Martin; maybe I can see you across the water...... Love you guys! Have a good time!

Milagro en Puerto!

       This week was awesome! We had a miracle this week. One of our investigators was supposed to be confirmed this week, but he showed up really late.... But miracle! The bus broke down so everyone had to go in Taxis, since they were preparing to send the bus late to get everyone to the sacrament, we did the classes before the sacrament. Then at the last moment when sacrament started, he showed up. He told us that he knew he was going to be very late, but his girlfriend who was baptized one week ago told him that he should go anyway! It was awesome!

       Today we had a beach day as a district, played some soccer and frisbee. Yes, my feet may have touched the water, oops, it is so warm here i want to swim really bad. Nothing else has changed, just another week. Thanks for all you do, have a great week! Love you!

Cambios Por Puerto!

 Hey familia! It sounds like you have all been doing really well this week. As always thanks a ton for all the awesome letters that you all have sent me. This week was the last week of the changes......   Luckily! I am not going anywhere anytime soon! I am almost our whole zone, including Monson and I, are staying in our same areas! I am so grateful, because Monson is definitely one of my most favorite companions in the mission.

             The rain is sure crazy here. You will all of a sudden hear a wind like sound, which is the sound of rain poring off nearby roofs. After that, you have about ten seconds to get under the nearest house or you will get soaked! The rain is so heavy here, after a minute you will be drenched to the bone. The power here is also very unpredictable. A few nights ago, we had divisions with the zone leaders. The power was out for most of the night, so i was roasting without my fan! Even the the rain cools things off for a few minutes, once it leaves the heat comes right back in. It has been more stable though for the rest of the week.

           Funny story this week about the drunks here: The other day we went to bring one of our investigators to go the church. As we waited for her to return to the house after running an errand, we were talking with a total drunk. He told us in the little English he knew that he loves us, we said thanks, and he said anytime! Afterward my comp Monson asked for the mans Guaro (Alcohol) and the bolo (drunk) gave it to him. He started to pour the drink on the ground, and the drunk was startled! As the last of the alcohol was falling, the guy reached out and unsuccessfully tried to catch it in his fingers. He then curled up in a ball on the ground and began to sob just like a four year old! It was so funny and sad at the same time. With tears in his eyes he asked us why we ruined his drink. People are too hammered here with alcohol.

        I hope you enjoy the photos I am sending; one is of an ugly demon looking frog that I found where we eat lunch, and also a night photo of ships and the ocean. Another is a photo of a bonfire we made for the fourth of July! It consisted of a month and a half worth of trash we gathered since I started here in Puerto! Thanks for everything have another great week! Love you guys!