Just say NO!

August 2, 2010
Dearest Fandamily,
Okay, so I've gotta clue you in on the exciting week we've had here in Woodburn. I already told you about the fun P-day we had last week with the soccer game and all for zone activity, so I'll leave that out of this email. What else happened this week though... Oh!
So this week we've been working hard with all the people we're teaching and to make a long story short, we now have three baptismal dates. One Juan Velasquez for the 19th of September, one Felipe Vazquez for the 22nd of August, and one Iyali Cruz for the 15th of August! Ah I'm so super stoked for them!!!! Especially because they all have members of their families that are already members. Juan's wife is a member, Felipe's wife is a member, and Iyali's parents are both members. I came to the realization out here that it's not about just trying to baptize the crap out of every person we see here, but the ultimate goal is to bring the family together so that they can be together forever... gosh I love this church.
OH! So i totally committed a transgression this week it was hilarious although I feel a little bit bad haha. I say transgression because I had no idea that I was sinning... you'll see what I mean I'll explain haha. So tuesday we had dinner with the Pacheco family, and so that you know, the hermana is just learning how to read... yeah it's a little different working with hispanic people. Anyways, she gave us this freaking tasty peach drink, and I basically ended up drinking the entire pitcher! After we finished, I asked her where she had got it from so that I could go buy some. Then she whipped out the canister and showed me it was from Walmart, which is good because it's cheap, but bad in that it was freaking iced tea! Dangit! haha oh well right? Anyways, I thought it was pretty funny.
The other exciting thing that happened on Tuesday morning was the fact that Jorge headed off for the MTC. Well... actually he headed off to our house first, and then over to the MTC. So you said he was a little overwhelmed? Good haha it'll help him grow up faster! He's a super sweet kid, and it'll be a good thing for him to be away from his mommy for a while... man you're right though mom... it's gonna be hard for him. One question... did he sleep in my room or the guest bedroom? Just curious haha.
That's funny he brought up the car and the phone. Yeah we're super spoiled in this mission and drive a 2009 Corrola and have a phone with a qwerty keyboard... it's the most idiotic thing ever that we have that phone... we can't text on it, and the number pad is dinky so you can barely push the right numbers... let alone with my fat fingers! Ah well we use what they give us haha. Oh! Speaking of fat, I'm losing weight! All this running is paying off! Today I got on the scale and I'm down below the 210 mark... booyeah! one more month and I'll drop below 200... I'm excited :-) I've learned the magic word when we're eating with members: no. I use it all the time now it's fabulous! "elder, quieres mas?" "nnnno." "Elder, mas tortillas?" "nnnno." "Quieres postre?" "NO!" Okay, I don't ever yell it, but since I took the advice of one of our zone leaders of two tortillas and one plate (along with exercise), I'm getting less fat haha woohoo!
One day where we epic failed with the eating thing was Thursday. We went to get Rivera's crown put in, and this dentist is sweet! After fixing his tooth for free, she came out and said here's $30 bucks, go have some fun there's a sweet chinese place just a block away, so go enjoy yourselves! I was flabbergasted! I don't think I've ever used that word before, but it describes exactly how I felt! What a sweet lady right!?
Okay aside from that, we also had a really cool lesson this week that kind of blew me away spiritually this week. We've started teaching a lady named Laticia and her sister Veronica. So we had a lesson with her on Wednesday with them, and it went really well, although she's going through a really rough time right now. Her son Christian (It makes me giggle because she's a JW) went into liver failure of an unknown cause about three months ago, so he had a liver transplant. He's only a year old. Not only that, but as they thought he was doing better, his body suddenly started rejecting the new liver, so the doctors weren't sure what they were going to do to keep him alive. Laticia was completely distraught when we came over, so we ended up teaching her about the importance of faith, why God allows bad things to happen, how to overcome it, etc. Ultimately we ended up talking to her about blessing of the sick, and we gave a blessing to her son. During the blessing I felt impressed to say that he would be healed according to the faith that her mother has. After giving that blessing, I begged and pleaded with her that she would pray. She said she didn't feel worthy to, so we taught her about prayer and how vital it is in not only creating a better relationship with the Lord, but also putting her faith in action. Long story short, her son is now on the mend and the doctors can't explain it.... I love this church!
The last thing I'm gonna tack on this email is the story of what happened on Friday... we had a WEDDING! Woohoo Felipe Vazquez is now legally and lawfully married to Maria his member wife! WOOT WOOT!! We're now going to keep teaching him and get him ready to be baptized. At the wedding, we passed by their table, and he said, so now when can I get baptized? We told him the 22nd of August, and he accepted it! He's the man! He's super stoked about it which is the best part.
Ok crap I forgot one more thing that happened that was sweet. Sunday, Hno. Perez and his son Ivan blessed the sacrament for the first time... both in white shirts and ties! AWESOME!!!! I really hope that Pres. Dyches just loses my picture on the transfer board and I can just stay in Woodburn for the rest of my mission haha.

I love you all and I hope you guys are having a blast in Maryland without me! Take lots of pictures!

Love,

Elder Kurt Mooney