We've met quite of few less active members trying to get them active again and every single one of them started out with not going to church. Do you remember that scriptue "Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise." Alma 37:6. You can easily turn that around and say 'by small and simple things, are terrible things brought to pass.'

It's good to hear that Kelsie's working so hard in school. I love to hear that Kyle's turning around. I did get that old letter today and I remember what Miss Ugaki said. That's definately dumb. I would talk to the school pretty soon. But I'm glad Kyle's doing so well. Everything else sounds pretty fun and normal. That's great!

 

Something cool. Grandma told me that Josh is going to speak in Sacrament on the 15th, or this Sunday I guess. I will also be speaking in Sacrament! The Spanish wards really depend on the missionaries alot. Sometimes it's fun, and sometimes I really wish they could function on their own. We have had a missionary speak almost every week
so far. I'm this week and my topic is on temples and covenants. And yes, it's in Spanish. I'm a little worried, haha.

 

By the way, you could probably share this scripture whenever the little girls are fighting: "For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another." 3 Nephi 11:29. Then explain it a little, and see how they handle that. See if it scares them, haha.

 

So here's a little about my schedule. We get up at 6:30 am every morning. We will either run or go play some basketball down the street and around the corner; depends on our mood. We will make this decision in the morning with the other Elders in our apartment. We have an hour to get ready and I just have cereal in the morning. Personal study starts at 8:00 am, and we study for an hour. Then companionship study starts at 9:00 am. We usually just talk about what we learned, read out of Preach My Gospel, or practice teaching. Language Study starts at 10:00 am. Sometimes I'll read aloud from the Book of Mormon in Spanish or study some grammar. Since I'm in training, we have an additional hour of companionship study. Four hours of study does get a little long and repetitive. I'm looking forward to when I'm done training and we can get out sooner. After that, we'll have lunch for an hour. Our first appointment is usually 1:30 or 2:00 pm. Every appointment is different. Sometimes it's an investigator, less active member. It really depends on what we teach. It varies with every person. Sometimes we'll tract (or go door to door). Sometimes someone will feed us. Sometimes we'll bring something to snack on. A lot of the time, I don't get hungry until about 8:00 pm. We like to get back to the apartment at 9:00 pm. We'll plan who we will see the next day and then we have like an hour before lights out at 10:30 pm. That's a typical day. Sunday's are a little different since church starts at 10:00 am. On Sunday's we won't get out to proselyting until 4:00 or 5:00 pm because we still have to get in that studying. On Monday's, we only do personal and companionship study, then language study for 30 minutes. So we're out by 10:30 am washing our clothes and grocery shopping.

 

1. So we get $141 a month to spend on groceries and other supplies and stuff. I can't really buy personal stuff with that money like a new tie or something. And this kind of goes into number 2, but we use it to go out to eat as well. I've been out to eat a few times. Maybe once a week. We tried this awesome bagel place the other day. They make a bagel sandwich that was really good.

 

2. We don't eat at other people's houses very often. I would say maybe twice a week. It's fine though, I don't really trust other people's kitchens that much. People here just don't really take care of their houses very well. At least the Hispanic's don't. I haven't been to too many American houses.

 

3. I guess I already answered this one.

 

Side note, I can't see the NYC skyline. I've heard the only time you can is when you serve in north-east New Jersey. There's a lot of hills here, and trees, and houses, and people.

 

I got the package, so you can activate that card. Maybe for the next package you send me, include some pictures of the family and the mountains. When it comes to scenary and that sort of thing, I miss the mountains the most. So does everyone else who is from Utah. Oh and the two Elders we're rooming with, are the zone leaders, and one of them is from Pleasant Grove! He graduated a year before me, and I sort of know him, but not really. Cool though. One thing I really like about all the missionaries here, is how obedient they are. Everyone is always exactly obedient. It's great! Love you mom! I hope I wrote enough!

 

-Justin