Hey family!
Sorry it's late again, which means I have to go fast to get this done and be home in time. Lame. But, anyway today was Prep day, and we spent a good five hours of it in the mission office because we have carpeta reviews and interviews with the president. Not gonna lie, not my favorite way to spend a P day, but it was cool to hang out with the white dudes in the office all day, seeing as of the 12 guys in my zone, only 2 of us are Norte Americanos. The English is nice sometimes. Actually it is always nice to get a little break. I'm still not very good at jokes or anything in Spanish.
Anyway, catacaos! Things are going good here. Elder Rios and I are working hard. We didn't have any baptisms this past week, but this week we have four baptisms, and two possibilities. So, it could turn out to be a pretty good week! Oh, I forgot to tell you last week, but a I bought a guitar, cute little thing, $50, but it gets the job done. I'm hoping to use it for special musical numbers and stuff to make baptisms a bit more interesting...to be honest the number of people in baptismal services are usually pretty small, and services are kind of dull. So I think that might help a little.
So this week we have Yuliana, Fredi, Antonio, and Merli - all teenagers. But all are really good kids. Fredi is 18 and will be a great missionary. I can see it. When he was at church on Sunday, a member of the bishopric went to meet him and asked: "so when are you getting baptized?" Fredi's response (translated, of course): "Me and my brother (Antonio) are getting baptized next Sunday!" Really awesome kid, and Antonio is just as good. Yuliana is in a part member family, and already we see big changes in her, how she dresses, and took out the other 17 pairs of earrings she had dangling from her ears. Merli is a 14 year old with a huge family of brothers, aunts, uncles, all that good stuff - and we are slowly connecting with all of them. So things are going well out here - we teach a lot, have a lot of good lessons. And then of course on the less good side we have some challenges, such as Irina's sister-in-law, Nancy, interfering with her baptism to the point that it could not go forward this past week. That happens sometimes, family members of other faiths go nuts when they learn someone has committed to baptism and do things to prevent it. And this is not limited to children/teenagers committing to baptism, but to those much older. For example, we were teaching a 30 year old woman with three children recently and invited her to be baptized. Her response: "Um, I need to ask my mom first." Some people here simply refuse to think and act for themselves, but place their destiny in the hands of others. It is a cultural thing that we just have to deal with. But, that is not true for all those we teach.
Oh yeah, I totally forgot about this story. It's a classic. We were teaching the father of a part member family (the wife and daughter are members, menos activos, but members - the father is not). We invited him to church and out of nowhere he told us that he had another wife and family, stating: "Well, I can't just leave my other family. They need me there, too." So far as I can tell, that's not a cultural thing - it's a really weird thing. Anyway, not sure what is going to happen there.
My pensionsitta here is cool - nice little old woman, who has been active in the Church since her baptism of 20 years ago. She presently has a son on a mission. Unfortunately, her sister has cancer, and I think my pensionistta may be on the verge of a mental breakdown because, frankly, her sister could die pretty soon. She is having some spiritual issues, but doesn't like to talk much about it. Part of the problem (to me) is that she isn't reading/praying, which makes her spiritually weak and less able to handle life's burdens. The other night, when we were eating, she turned on the TV to what I thought at first was a stand up comic, but was some kinda religious dude shouting at the screen. He calls himself, Apostle Rony Chavez. How he got the title apostle is beyond me. At first, the three of us laughed at it together, because it was seriously that ridiculous. But, last night we noticed that she has been taken all these notes, written down scriptures, and websites of stuff from this guy's sermons. So we did what any good missionaries would do - made her notes and such illegible and tried to block the channel. (haha, jk). At any rate, she is struggling, and I ask that you please keep her in your prayers. She is a really nice, funny little lady, but adversity is leading her to look for comfort elsewhere, which gives me concern.
Oh Dad, if you plan on doing some landscaping, I think you should have a little porch out front where that overhang is to the left. (haha.) Just a thought. Other thought, ya know those little camera wrist chords, so the camera doesn't fall? I have looked around a lot for those, but can't find one. If you guys have one you could send, that would be way cool. If not, don't worry.
Well, rest assured that I couldn't be happier with how things are going. Spanish is coming along well. The work is great. I love being a missionary and wearing the name tag, being on the Lord's errand, all the respect and love we are given, which, I don't feel I have earned, but nonetheless, it is given, because we are missionaries. I love helping people, members and non members alike, and seeing lives change. Also everyone thinks I'm really smart (ha). All my life I've wanted people to think I'm smart - tried everything, including wearing glasses (which, by the way, didn't work) (haha). But, really this work is truly amazing - to do what the Savior would be doing in bringing His gospel into the lives of others, spreading the light of Christ. I know this is where the Lord needs me to be, and I strive to be diligent in serving Him daily. The Church is true. Don't forget it.
Les amo a todos ustedes, tu hijo,
Elder Royal
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