New Companion

Hey Dad!

I hope Mom doesn't get mad, but I decided to send my email to you this week instead of her since she's off pachangiando (partying) back east, so hopefully this makes your day at least a little more bright!

So you miss me Dad? I'm not gonna lie, I miss you too! Gosh it seems like forever since I've seen you, I mean, I can remember distinctly what you looked like when I went into the MTC for the first day, but yeah at the same time it's tough... I know you got on me about a lot of crap before the mission, but being out here now, I know exactly why. It was such a good thing for me to have you there guiding me and keeping me from being a total idiot sometimes. I mean, you still let me make mistakes, but they were ones I could learn from... not ones that were going to totally destroy my life. I really do miss you though Dad. I miss being able to talk to you on a daily basis. I really look forward to when we can serve for that week at the end of my mission. I hope you're hitting Spanish hard as well as preach my gospel chapter 3 with the family... that way you can kick trash when you come out here, and so I can introduce you to my converts and the branch members here.

I've really developed a love for the people here. Don't get me wrong, you still have your (names inserted here that you know who I'm talking about)-type members that love to spread rumors and sometimes you just want to choke, but the majority of them are absolutely amazing. Gosh I love the people here in this branch! I really feel like they'd give you the shirt off their back if you needed it. They're so kind and thoughtful and really just all around good people. Even the investigators that we come in contact with are like that!

Shifting gears a little bit here, I went on my first greenie exchange. That's where two greenies spend a day together instead of a greenie with someone experienced i.e. my trainer.... needless to say it was interesting haha. I was up in Woodburn with an elder McBride for the day, and it actually didn't go too badly! We taught three lessons that day, knocked quite a bit, and yeah it went surprisingly well.... being a couple of greenies, we had to be super humble because neither of us are totally fluent in Spanish. Because of that, we ended up basically praying our guts out that we could have the spirit with us and be able to understand what people are saying... that and be able to speak back which is the harder part haha. The whole time though, he spoke probably ten words as we knocked and maybe five while we taught, so I felt like I had to step it up a little bit from what I would normally do with Smithee, and it went well. We taught a first lesson to a guy they had contacted a few days earlier, and it went really well. When we got to the first vision, he really got watery-eyed, and we committed him to go to church as well as read the book of Mormon and pray about it. KA-CHING!

Aside from that sweet exchange, we had transfers today.... I'm now sitting here writing my emails with my new companion: Elder Garcia! He's from Peru, but like Smithee, he moved to Utah when he was like five or something, so he's fluent like Smithee, but speaks perfect english like him too. Pretty freakin' sweet! I'm way excited that he's my companion, we should work great together out here. One interesting thing is that he was actually Smithee's companion in the MTC.

Okay I'm going on and on and on I'm afraid you're getting bored, sorry about all of this! I already asked you if you've been studying Studying, and I bet you have. How has it been going? Do you take that software with you on your trips? You've gotta study a lot so we can say funny stuff to eachother in Spanish!

That's sad what happened to sister Mitton... holy cow man... I'm praying for them for sure, as well as the Norris' and Jeff and his wife. Gosh what a mess! That's why staying close to the Lord is so important in our lives seriously.

I think it's summer here now, man, everything is in bloom and we've had FIVE sunny days in a row!!!!!! I'm a little worried though... it makes for a really hot summer.... guess we'll see what happens right?

Anyways, I've gotta get going Dad, but I love you so much and I pray for you every night. Keep working hard cause you know I will!

Love,

Elder Kurt Mooney