Learn Spanish through music

February 8, 2010

Hey mom and Dad!

This has been a stressful week, but it's still been good here in Salem. We have 15 progressing investigators, which is sweet! There's Silvia who is going to get baptized this saturday (the 13th) at 4:00, Guadalupe her daughter wants a little more time, so she's going to get baptized in March sometime. Salvador the husband of Silvia is doing well and understands a TON of what we're teaching him... he just needs to come to church so that he can get baptized. There's a guy named Albaro whom I already talked about, and we have an appointment with him tonight to teach the plan of salvation. Also the family of three that Smithee taught when he was here as a greenie over a year ago whom are super awesome people and will probably get baptized in march if all goes well. Then we have Jesus and Yara, a couple that we've been teaching since we picked them up from the previous elders... they're an awesome couple, and are just waiting on papers so that they can get married so they can get baptized. We're still working with Dana and her grandma... I still wanna kick her butt haha. Then we have Pedro Vazquez... The husband of one of the members who is a super sweet guy, just needs to, well, for lack of better terms, sack up and get baptized. he already comes to church every sunday as well as the activities... i'm not sure what it's gonna take for him to do it, but it'll be sweet if he finally does.

So groundhog day was good for you guys? I was kinda sad, we didn't celebrate it at all and it just blew by as another day in the mission field! Well, I actually think that's how it is for almost all holidays maybe minus thanksgiving where they feed you so much food you want to cry haha. I can't complain though... Oh an interesting fun fact for the day speaking of eating WAY too much, This week we had so many appointments that we didn't have time for dinners, so I got to weigh myslef today... and i'm 12 pounds lighter!!! I weigh 201.0 which is two pounds lighter than when I started my mission haha! I'm sure that's mainly thanks to losing any and all muscle mass I once had, but I'm actually not getting very fat either. One of our members had an electronic ab thing that cost him like 300 bones, and he's been letting us use it, so I've almost got my 6-pack back... booyeahk'shaa. haha.

One other thing I did this week, and I hope you guys don't freak out when you hear this, I bought some CD's... haha not bad ones I promise you, but spanish CD's. Smithee has been helping me a lot with spanish, and there are a couple elders that are learning spanish faster than others, and I was curious what their strategy was. Turns out all of them study spanish music. Not that crappy rancho garbage that all the mexicans listen to with the trumpets and accordians, but real, good music. They listen to the songs, have the lyrics in front of them in spanish, and they translate them into english. The combination of listening, reading, and translating into english makes your brain work a lot harder and a lot faster it's sweet! I've been doing it for a couple weeks with Smithee's music, and i decided to get a little more so that i could keep absorbing information... you guys are gonna give me so much crap, but I LOVE Spanish music! Dad, you should look up an artist named Juanes, you would love him. It's a lot like classic rock, but spanish... just trust me... haha. I did buy them on the debit card though, and it was like $20 just so you know.

The only other exciting thing I can think that happened this week was the fact that we had zone conference... woohoo? It's not too bad, it just lasts for a long time. We start at about 9:00 in the morning and finish up around 5 in the evening... it's like a full work day I guess, but we just hear talks, do trainings, and eat a massive lunch which is sweet. We had it in Tualatin, and I never realized how nice of an area that is... holy crap maybe it's because I'm living in the ghetto of Salem, but the houses were saweet! haha. One other funny thing is that the Tualatin stake center is right next to a HUGE 7th day adventist church... I wonder if they like launch water balloons at each other on occasion haha. The LDS members could come on saturday and shoot waterballons at them, and the 7th day'ers could come shoot them at the LDS members on sundays haha.

Goodness what else what else... I'm about fresh out of what else happened out here this week aside from being a stressball for a bit of it, but it's all good. Gosh sorry if this email sounds a little giddy mom and dad, I just feel... AH I feel so good!! So liberated! Thank you both so much for all the words of encouragement this week and everything you guys do for me. I really am so grateful for having such amazing parents like you guys... I would never wish to have been raised by a different mom or dad. I love you guys so much! thank you thank you thank you thank you for being so amazing!!

Con carino y amor para mis padres y los demas,

-Elder Kurt Kay Mooney