Monday, December 21, 2009
From Braedon
hello everyone,life on the mission continues to be amazing. dont get me wrong, i still miss home and such, but missions just rock. the ward and work are doing so well right now. yesterday we confirmed socorro and her three daughters alexis, naomi, and andrea. the son in that family, christian, is getting baptized this coming sunday. hes been coming to church for 3 weeks now and fits in perfectly, hes a rad guy. plus, he digs classic rock like led zeppelin and such...its a huge relief walking up to a house that isnt bumping rap or mexican tunes. also going on this week is natty's wedding and baptism! were filling out the papers with her today and the actual marriage is going on thursday. then she gets baptized sunday. and shes also asked us to come over to teach her husband (to-be) this saturday. he hasnt been super receptive so far, but she really wants us to try. its been so much stress trying to figure out her situation. on saturday we went to the temple with her and valeria (our recent convert from a few weeks ago). they loved it. but afterwords she was telling us about how she wasnt sure that she should get married because she was thinking of leaving him and going to mexico because she only got to see him one time a week on saturday mornings, and that he would usually go exercise or work anyways. so she didnt want to seperate because she wants it to work out with him, but didnt want to get married if she was just going to leave him in a month or so. that makes sense but at the same time it was ridiculous because she received a very strong answer that she needs to be baptized, and she couldnt do that if she didnt marry or separate. so, we finally got them to sit down together and lay things down hard. natty said what she wanted (baptism, marriage with him and more time with him, kids) and told him that if he couldnt help her with that then she was gone. well he promised to drop hours once the car payments were done (in february). so, we finally got all the madness figured out. married thursday and baptized sunday. woot. im stoked for her, she rocks. earlier this week we went to the temple too with two recent convert families (gaitans and castros). it was a blast and they loved it. on the fifth theyll be a ward temple trip to do baptisms, and we should have 7 of our recent converts going. woot! awesome stuff. then wednesday night and thursday night we practiced for the ward christmas party play. that happened friday and was a hit. we had a bunch of investigators come and they loved it. good food, music, dancing, and the christmas story in a play (i got to be one of king herod's priests...it was fun and everyone loved seeing the missionaries dressed up weird). plus, one of our members brought a non-member family to it! the family is so solid. weve stopped by a couple times already and they came to church yesterday. the mom already received an answer that this is the church she should be going to, and all of her kids love it. she just moved into her apartment in our area and she was telling us about how she didnt buy a phone for it on purpose because she doesnt want to get called into work on sundays because she wants to come to church hahah. rad. theyre super ready and they members are already helping us out with them big time. they got presents for the kids for xmas and were showing them to classes and all. bonita 3rd is definitely the best ward in the mission. what else...mission christmas party is this wednesday. members are having us over all week long for christmas dinners(tamales) /family nights. tonight were going to the temple again with a less active family. lifes just good. i played some football this morning and that was a blast. things are just going really well. now, christmas with you guys....i get the family present on tuesday, so im thinking im going to priority ship it so you should get it wednesday or thursday. ill probably have to use my credit card to do it so just be aware that ill have charges on my card after christmas. now, calling. so heres the thing about skype...if we did that wed have to use a members computer, which would be fine or whatever but well have 4 missionaries with us all christmas day. so, in order to have everyone calling home were going to have to go to the church and use phones there. so i dont think ill be skyping this christmas. if president donaldson gives you the ok, then ill do it for mothers day. is that ok? sorry, i just really dont want to feel rushed with 3 other missionaries wanting to call home too and not letting them because im skyping at a members. i really want to, but i just dont want to cheat the other guys. ill probably call around 1-2 your time. what else....i think thats about it. if you want, make a list of questions and ill answer them. what else...tell everyone merry christmas for me. get fun pictures to send me. i really hope im not forgetting anything essential. the rest i can tell you this friday when we talk! enjoy your week, dont get stressed, and im super stoked to talk to you on friday. love you all!!!!!!!!!!!! elder roney
Monday, December 14, 2009
From Braedon
hey everyone,this last week has been pretty awesome. last monday we played mud football in the downpour of rain...it was awesome. i ruined a pair of socks, but it was worth it. tuesday we started the training exchange thing. i went with two english elders, elder meldrum and henrichson. lets just say that im super glad that i got called spanish haha. no, the english work has plenty of potential too, but i really just missed spanish for those three days. we used the trolley/buses, so everytime i saw a hispanic i took the chance to sit by them and chat a bit. i was surprised by how many people in that area werent spanish. it was like my first time going to costco in a whiter area out here...it just felt weird seeing so many white people. im going to wig when i get back to utah. anyways, the training exchange was alright. i had a lot of interesting experiences. the 'good' investigators that we visited turned out to be quite the trip...poor elder meldrum and henrichson were at a loss after. one that had a date for yesterday ended up being an alcoholic, living with his girlfriend, and im pretty positive hes an active gang member. the elders werent aware of that, so it was awkward when he was looking forward to his baptism on sunday and they had to explain that they had to make some changes haha. another lady has massive explosions of anger and got pretty upset with elder henrichson. it was an interesting few days with those elders, but they handled it pretty well. we had some big time hippies call us over and they showed us their house and all. they were making food for the homeless (that was actually something really cool, they do it every week then even have leftovers for neighbors). there were like 20 of them preparing food, cooking it, drinking, smoking, or doing all of it at the same time. the walls were plastered with cd covers and such, i cant even tell you what color of walls they had. they had a compost pile outside that you could ski down. it was nuts. they were just going off about the project they were doing and then throwing in random tangents about the government and the world and such. super nice, but it definitely threw me off a little. then one of them started asking us questions about the church. he was legitemately interested and wasnt high or drunk, so it was actually a really good conversation. this week they should hopefully be teaching him again. anyways, after that and their little tour i asked if they needed help with anything. he said maybe next week they could use some help. so, i lined up some good fun service for elder meldrum and henrichsen this week, theyll have a good old time. and finally, as we left, eric, the guy who seemed to be the leader of the crew, gave us a big old hug. hahah, what a good guy. it was a very odd experience, but theyre doing a lot of good for their community so props for them. the whole three days were full of weird random things like that. anyways, that ended thursday and i was very glad to get back to my area. friday and saturday were pretty busy. we had to see everyone that we had been neglecting for the past three days. it went well though. then sunday come. sundays back in city heights used to be rough. theyd be the day of great expectations and then a giant crash. but not here in bonita 3rd ward. sundays rock. socorro and her 4 kids came to church, they brought a friend, and then the next door neighbor came too. then natty showed up again even though she really didnt want to. she felt super beat and just wanted to sleep, but she knows what she needs to do so came. shes solid. anyways, valeria got confirmed and that went well. im super happy for her and she keeps telling us how shes felt so great ever since her baptism. awesome. the chapel was full (when i say full i mean the front part...the divider into the chapel gets opened for a few people but we dont use too much of it). that was great. one of the speakers was from brazil and spoke portuguese. i really like it, i think its a pretty language than spanish. its really similar to it (i was able to understand it better than i expected), but just cooler sounding haha. idk, everyone loved it. the rest of church went well too. then we went home, ate, got stuff ready for the baptism, and made sure everyone had rides. socorro, alexis, andrea, and naomi had their baptism at 5. it was awesome. they were all so excited. and the ward gave a lot of support, we had 30-40 people come, it was amazing. bonita 3rd ward rocks. the baptism went really well. solid talk by the ward mission leader, the hymns actually sounded good, it was just solid. elder hanks baptized socorro and andrea, i baptized naomi, and elder crapo (he taught them twice before getting transferred) baptized alexis. so that was kinda unusual and isnt something we usually do, having 3 people baptize 4 people. but it went well. president and sister donaldson came to congratulate them and us too. it was just a really good night. then after that we had a mission-wide fireside, so i got to see a lot of the missionaries and members and such from my last ward. sister galvas (she used to teach us spanish and feed us often) says hello and merry christmas to the family hahah. she rocks, i hope you all get to meet her some day. but yah, that went well too. christian (socorro's son) and natty were there for church, the baptism, and the fireside too, and they loved it. christian was about to cry at the baptism and were really excited to focus more on him now. natty received her answer this week too. shes been having a rough week, so i left her those mormon message videos that they have online. i left one from elder holland about the atonement (the talk he gave this last april) and one from elder wirthlin (sunday morning will come is the title i think). so we told her to read, watch those, then pray on her knees. well, she did and she got pounded by the spirit. awesome. she knows its all true now and feels super peaceful when shes reading/praying/at church/etc. its amazing how miracles like that can happen when youre sincerely doing whats right. shes got a date for the 27th of december, im super happy for her. oh, and this is kinda random but its an awesome story. so theres a recent convert in our ward of 7 months. she was just made relief society president. so i asked about her conversion story. well, she and her husband met with the sister missionaries once and learned how to pray. that same week, her husband had a heart attack and she was with him. he was gone...done...past help. but then she remembered about the lesson she had with the missionaries and about prayer. so she prayed the way she had been taught and miraculously her husband came back to life. coincidence? definitely not. anyways, needless to say, she and her husband are super solid members and rock. ive heard lots of rad stories like that since being out here, but i just never remember to put them in my emails. ill try to be better about that. anyways, miracles can and do happen. radical. anyways, the work is still going really well out here, not thanks to me but im glad to be in for the ride. i just try to be as in sync as i can and things just work out. weird right? you live the gospel and do things God's way and then God's work gets done right. the mission rocks. its got lots of rought patches, but it still rocks. what else is going on...i feel like a keeblers elf. ive been making cookies all week long, giving them out to investigators and recent converts and such, and of course eating my fair share haha. but besides that, i havent eaten my own food this whole week. the members here really take care of us, were really lucky. um, what else. about skype. as of right now, i cannot find a computer to use to skype. my one hope is natty. she might be around on christmas and so i may be able to use her laptop. we wont know until this wednesday though. next week ill give definite plans, times, etc about christmas. and dont worry mom, all the elders in our apartment are getting thing for christmas from their families. even the one from el salvador is expecting a box this week. so yeah, were good to go. sorry, i had more typed but this comp wigged and i didnt copy the rest so it was lost. ill send cds with pictures on them next week. the big xmas gift will be late, sorry. ill send a small something though then the big one as soon as its ready. everyone needs to get feeling better. rest, take meds, and drink you 'icky'nasia stuff that mom gives you in your drinks. if i forgot to answer some questions, write me an email labeled 'questions' with whatever you want to know and ill respond to them all next week. sorry im out of time and cant rewrite all that was lost. super sorry. know that i love you all, miss you all, and hope everyone gets feeling better. have fun and enjoy the snow! love elder roney
Monday, November 30, 2009
From Braedon
hey everyone,
so this last week has been pretty nuts. last monday elder naylor tore his ACL. we were just starting to play basketball and like the first play of the game there was a scramble for a loose ball. well, nobody hit him or anything, he was just going for it, planted wrong or something and went down. i didnt see it happen but apparently it didnt look too intense (just like somebody tripping over their own foot) so nobody was too concerned, but he got off the court and such and long story short he tore it. so, he got shipped back home saturday morning to get surgery. he supposedly will be back around xmas, but there have been like 6 or 7 missionaries go home recently, and so far only 1 has come back like they were supposed to. well see i guess. so yeah, that happened monday. tuesday and wednesday were spent at the doctors office for him but wednesday night we managed some exchanges and i got to go out, gather investigators for mutual, then go to the church, teach some lessons, get kids to their classes, etc. thursday was thanksgiving and we managed to chisel away our schedule so that we only had two meals to go to. so we hit those up but besides that we just sat in the apartment (naylor couldnt go out with his knee). so, i spent all day packing, because i got transfered out. so, friday morning came, i packed up the car, then we went and said goodbye to sofia really fast before the transfer meeting at 9. that family is way funny, they didnt want me gone. i told them id be back occasionally and id give them calls now and then. well, that wasnt good enough for her but ill tell you about that later. transfers happened and i got sent further south to the bonita 3rd ward. i thought my last area was great, but this one definitely tops it. the members and ward here rock, our investigators are solid, and there are a ton of spanish people to talk to. the area is definitely more ghetto, but it works. one thing i hate about this area though is our apartment...its pretty nasty. i know its probably nothing compared to what adam is puttin up with, but i still think its gross. basically, anything that isnt in the fridge will have bugs crawling all over it, there it a permanent stench that i cant seem to locate/get rid of, and everyone around us smokes so all my clothes/sheets have that stench. idk, my last apartment was just so nice after we cleaned it, but this one seems to dirty itself after you turn your back after cleaning it. but, there are 4 missionaries in the one apartment so thats really fun. my new companion is elder hanks. he speaks crazy good spanish and has been here for a long time so knows the area and members really well. elder monterrosa and andelin live with us too and theyre pretty funny guys. im still on bike, but we have bus passes and elders monterrosa and andelin have a car so we arent riding all day every day like my last area. our investigators are all way awesome. in these past couple of days weve committed 5 to be baptized this coming week and i feel great about it. one of them is already inviting members and such to it, and another already has her program basically planned out, so i feel pretty confident about them. the other 3 are solid too, they just worry to much about not being good enough (but they totally are). so yah, out investigators are awesome people. the members here have already taken me in. i got sick last week and on friday, saturday, and sunday people have been helping out hahah. members made sure we had food for the weekend, one made me this drink that is supposed to help you get over sicknesses, and another even had me come over to their house to rest on saturday (i was pretty dead on saturday and sunday so stayed in most of the day...but dont worry im on my way back to feeling good). anyways, so i got invited over to rest/recuperate on saturday by one of the bishropic members and they said theyd have food and such ready for us. well, we show up, and indeed they had everything set up, but it was rigged big time. he had a sofa and blanket for me to 'nap' on, but right in front of the sofa was a tv with the BYU game on hahah. and the food he had for us? pizza, soda, and pie hahah. so i basically saw the whole last part of the byu game (including all of overtime) while these members 'nourished' me back to health hahah. it was a trap...but i must admit i enjoyed catching the end of the game haha. that family is way funny and super solid. the husband gave a talk yesterday in church about conversion and it was uber. we had all of our main investigators there too and they loved it. after church i crashed again cause i felt like i was dying, but that evening we had to go get stuff set up for elder monterrosa's baptism. i still felt gross but it was totally worth it. we had 4 investigators come and once again it was a super awesome meeting with good talks and the spirit was definitely there. president donaldson came and said it was the best baptism hes ever been too...woot for bonita 3. our apartment has a goal to have at least 1 baptism every week, and so far it is set up for that for the next 2 weeks so were excited. anyways, all is going well. im pretty settled in to my new place and am just trying to figure out street names and names of the members. oh and i forgot to tell you about sofia. anyways, when i said bye to her i said id keep in touch and call her sometime this next week. well, that didnt suffice her, so she found the sister missionaries, stole my new cell number from them, and weve already talked over the phone 3 times since i left hahah. that family is super funny. they keep asking for my address so they can bus down and visit me hahah. i told them i dont know it but that ill come up in a few weeks to the fireside and see them there. she said ok and that shell call me again tonight hahah. oh well, at least itll give me that much more practice with my spanish. well, everything here is going pretty well. im getting healthier bit by bit and should be fine by tomorrow. oh, and this is no big deal to you all, but on saturday it rained all day long here...thats ridiculous. usually rain here means a slight drizzle and its over before you even realize it. it was rad to see, i miss having variations in weather, strange as it is. hmm what else...i think thats about it. thanks for the packages from the family and from Virginia and her family. i appreciate it big time. oh, and speaking of mail and such...well here in this mission they do this thing every christmas season where they hold all the mail starting december 1st and dont give it to us until the 23rd, then we get them all for xmas. i think its lame because that means no mail for weeks. lucky for me, we have a mailbox in our apartment here too (ive been in like 2 of the 3 places that can get mail at the apartment haha). so my new address is this...
elder roney
4980 Logan Avenue
apartment #7
san diego, CA 92111
so you can send stuff there if you want me to get it before xmas or you can still send it to the mission office but just write "perishable" or "open immediately" on it. if you want it to be an xmas thing just send in to the mission office like normal and ill get it for an xmas gift. and speaking of christmas...i dont think the skype idea is going to work dad. the idea isnt entirely doomed yet, but ill find out this week for sure when i talk to president about it directly. what else...this week we begin the special training that the church is doing here...and guess whos in the first group...yup, me. elder hanks and i are lucky enough to be one of the first companionships trained. so tuesday-thursday well get trained by the APs and whoever is with them, then once were finished well go out the next week and train the next other missionaries, then theyll go out the week after and train another batch, etc. so that is something fun to look forward to. what else...i found a guitar that im gonna buy for 50 bucks. its a 300 dollar guitar that another missionary has (he bought it at home planning to learn but never did). he never plays it and is sick of packing it around when he gets transferred so asked me if i knew anyone who would want it. i told him i did haha. its a really nice guitar, im excited, itll be perfect for pdays and at nights. well, i think at this point im kinda just rambling. basically, all is going well here. big time thanks for everything and for you all, you rock. take care and ill talk to ya next week. love you all
elder roney
so this last week has been pretty nuts. last monday elder naylor tore his ACL. we were just starting to play basketball and like the first play of the game there was a scramble for a loose ball. well, nobody hit him or anything, he was just going for it, planted wrong or something and went down. i didnt see it happen but apparently it didnt look too intense (just like somebody tripping over their own foot) so nobody was too concerned, but he got off the court and such and long story short he tore it. so, he got shipped back home saturday morning to get surgery. he supposedly will be back around xmas, but there have been like 6 or 7 missionaries go home recently, and so far only 1 has come back like they were supposed to. well see i guess. so yeah, that happened monday. tuesday and wednesday were spent at the doctors office for him but wednesday night we managed some exchanges and i got to go out, gather investigators for mutual, then go to the church, teach some lessons, get kids to their classes, etc. thursday was thanksgiving and we managed to chisel away our schedule so that we only had two meals to go to. so we hit those up but besides that we just sat in the apartment (naylor couldnt go out with his knee). so, i spent all day packing, because i got transfered out. so, friday morning came, i packed up the car, then we went and said goodbye to sofia really fast before the transfer meeting at 9. that family is way funny, they didnt want me gone. i told them id be back occasionally and id give them calls now and then. well, that wasnt good enough for her but ill tell you about that later. transfers happened and i got sent further south to the bonita 3rd ward. i thought my last area was great, but this one definitely tops it. the members and ward here rock, our investigators are solid, and there are a ton of spanish people to talk to. the area is definitely more ghetto, but it works. one thing i hate about this area though is our apartment...its pretty nasty. i know its probably nothing compared to what adam is puttin up with, but i still think its gross. basically, anything that isnt in the fridge will have bugs crawling all over it, there it a permanent stench that i cant seem to locate/get rid of, and everyone around us smokes so all my clothes/sheets have that stench. idk, my last apartment was just so nice after we cleaned it, but this one seems to dirty itself after you turn your back after cleaning it. but, there are 4 missionaries in the one apartment so thats really fun. my new companion is elder hanks. he speaks crazy good spanish and has been here for a long time so knows the area and members really well. elder monterrosa and andelin live with us too and theyre pretty funny guys. im still on bike, but we have bus passes and elders monterrosa and andelin have a car so we arent riding all day every day like my last area. our investigators are all way awesome. in these past couple of days weve committed 5 to be baptized this coming week and i feel great about it. one of them is already inviting members and such to it, and another already has her program basically planned out, so i feel pretty confident about them. the other 3 are solid too, they just worry to much about not being good enough (but they totally are). so yah, out investigators are awesome people. the members here have already taken me in. i got sick last week and on friday, saturday, and sunday people have been helping out hahah. members made sure we had food for the weekend, one made me this drink that is supposed to help you get over sicknesses, and another even had me come over to their house to rest on saturday (i was pretty dead on saturday and sunday so stayed in most of the day...but dont worry im on my way back to feeling good). anyways, so i got invited over to rest/recuperate on saturday by one of the bishropic members and they said theyd have food and such ready for us. well, we show up, and indeed they had everything set up, but it was rigged big time. he had a sofa and blanket for me to 'nap' on, but right in front of the sofa was a tv with the BYU game on hahah. and the food he had for us? pizza, soda, and pie hahah. so i basically saw the whole last part of the byu game (including all of overtime) while these members 'nourished' me back to health hahah. it was a trap...but i must admit i enjoyed catching the end of the game haha. that family is way funny and super solid. the husband gave a talk yesterday in church about conversion and it was uber. we had all of our main investigators there too and they loved it. after church i crashed again cause i felt like i was dying, but that evening we had to go get stuff set up for elder monterrosa's baptism. i still felt gross but it was totally worth it. we had 4 investigators come and once again it was a super awesome meeting with good talks and the spirit was definitely there. president donaldson came and said it was the best baptism hes ever been too...woot for bonita 3. our apartment has a goal to have at least 1 baptism every week, and so far it is set up for that for the next 2 weeks so were excited. anyways, all is going well. im pretty settled in to my new place and am just trying to figure out street names and names of the members. oh and i forgot to tell you about sofia. anyways, when i said bye to her i said id keep in touch and call her sometime this next week. well, that didnt suffice her, so she found the sister missionaries, stole my new cell number from them, and weve already talked over the phone 3 times since i left hahah. that family is super funny. they keep asking for my address so they can bus down and visit me hahah. i told them i dont know it but that ill come up in a few weeks to the fireside and see them there. she said ok and that shell call me again tonight hahah. oh well, at least itll give me that much more practice with my spanish. well, everything here is going pretty well. im getting healthier bit by bit and should be fine by tomorrow. oh, and this is no big deal to you all, but on saturday it rained all day long here...thats ridiculous. usually rain here means a slight drizzle and its over before you even realize it. it was rad to see, i miss having variations in weather, strange as it is. hmm what else...i think thats about it. thanks for the packages from the family and from Virginia and her family. i appreciate it big time. oh, and speaking of mail and such...well here in this mission they do this thing every christmas season where they hold all the mail starting december 1st and dont give it to us until the 23rd, then we get them all for xmas. i think its lame because that means no mail for weeks. lucky for me, we have a mailbox in our apartment here too (ive been in like 2 of the 3 places that can get mail at the apartment haha). so my new address is this...
elder roney
4980 Logan Avenue
apartment #7
san diego, CA 92111
so you can send stuff there if you want me to get it before xmas or you can still send it to the mission office but just write "perishable" or "open immediately" on it. if you want it to be an xmas thing just send in to the mission office like normal and ill get it for an xmas gift. and speaking of christmas...i dont think the skype idea is going to work dad. the idea isnt entirely doomed yet, but ill find out this week for sure when i talk to president about it directly. what else...this week we begin the special training that the church is doing here...and guess whos in the first group...yup, me. elder hanks and i are lucky enough to be one of the first companionships trained. so tuesday-thursday well get trained by the APs and whoever is with them, then once were finished well go out the next week and train the next other missionaries, then theyll go out the week after and train another batch, etc. so that is something fun to look forward to. what else...i found a guitar that im gonna buy for 50 bucks. its a 300 dollar guitar that another missionary has (he bought it at home planning to learn but never did). he never plays it and is sick of packing it around when he gets transferred so asked me if i knew anyone who would want it. i told him i did haha. its a really nice guitar, im excited, itll be perfect for pdays and at nights. well, i think at this point im kinda just rambling. basically, all is going well here. big time thanks for everything and for you all, you rock. take care and ill talk to ya next week. love you all
elder roney
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
From Moroni
Dear Family
I am doing well. This week was a little dissapointing we were not able to meet with a lot of our investigators and we were not able to get any of them to go to church this sunday. The area we have focusing is far from our house and far from the chapel so I think we are going to focus on a different area the next three weeks. Theres a bakery near our house and there is a lady that works there and her and here son went to church with us this sunday. She said that she liked our church and we taught her the first lesson monday it was really good the spirit was there and I think next week she will be baptized but we will because right I am working with Elder P Souza in Jaiara for a few days. I am doing well I feel a little more confident in speaking portuguese. I dont always understand everything but I am geting better.
I am glad to hear that everything is going well for everyone and I hope that veterans day goes well for everyone.
Elder Boren
Dear Mom
I received a package from Aunt Becky last week that had some candy bars and a few snacks and I received your package today along with my visa card and the 20 dollar bill. Thank you for the CD I accidentally erased all my music so right now I don't have a whole lot of music. I am out of time.
Love ELder Boren
I am doing well. This week was a little dissapointing we were not able to meet with a lot of our investigators and we were not able to get any of them to go to church this sunday. The area we have focusing is far from our house and far from the chapel so I think we are going to focus on a different area the next three weeks. Theres a bakery near our house and there is a lady that works there and her and here son went to church with us this sunday. She said that she liked our church and we taught her the first lesson monday it was really good the spirit was there and I think next week she will be baptized but we will because right I am working with Elder P Souza in Jaiara for a few days. I am doing well I feel a little more confident in speaking portuguese. I dont always understand everything but I am geting better.
I am glad to hear that everything is going well for everyone and I hope that veterans day goes well for everyone.
Elder Boren
Dear Mom
I received a package from Aunt Becky last week that had some candy bars and a few snacks and I received your package today along with my visa card and the 20 dollar bill. Thank you for the CD I accidentally erased all my music so right now I don't have a whole lot of music. I am out of time.
Love ELder Boren
From Eliza
Dear Mom,
I’m doing really well, actually. I’m excited to come home. But I’ve done really well this last week at staying focused on the work. This last week was so good. We met with a lot of active and less active members. We’ve been sharing the first vision with all the members and giving them the challenge to share the first vision with someone else. Elaine Wood, who got baptized last May, took the challenge. She was thinking of sharing the message with the brother, who is in jail, but then the Lord gave her a different opportunity to share it. The very next day after we met with her she was walking her dog in the park and met a girl, named Sky. They got talking and she shared the first vision with her and she was really interested. Elaine said that She started baring her testimony and all these words started coming out that she didn’t intend to say, and all these scripture verses started coming to her mind that she didn’t know she had. It’s true, that promise in the Doctrine and Covenants, that if we are prepared and open our mouths, God will give us what to say. It was an amazing experience for her. She called us and she was so excited. The next day she went to the temple to do baptisms for the dead, and she had been praying about going on a mission, and she said she got a strong feeling that she needs to go on a mission. We, Sister Lieber, Sister Christensen, and I, knew the Lord had great plans for her. Her conversion story is pretty amazing. We are way excited for her to go on a mission. It’s amazing how the Lord really does have a plan for each of His children, and when the time is right, He will guide us to know what we need to do, or give us what we need.
A lot of other good things happened this week, but that is the most exciting. And although this week was good and we taught a lot of people on campus, we didn’t find any new investigators. We are really trying to find new people to teach right now, because all of our investigators dropped us. We are determined to find someone this next week. This next week is going to go by so fast. I’m not looking forward to packing. I’m still not quite sure how early I should start packing. I want to make sure I have time to get everything done that I need to before I leave.
Well, I’m glad you all are doing well. Isaiah, I’m so proud of you for doing so well with cross country. I can’t wait to see all of you. And don’t worry mom, I’ll make sure to make your home chaotic again. lol. Always, Sister Eliza Boren
I’m doing really well, actually. I’m excited to come home. But I’ve done really well this last week at staying focused on the work. This last week was so good. We met with a lot of active and less active members. We’ve been sharing the first vision with all the members and giving them the challenge to share the first vision with someone else. Elaine Wood, who got baptized last May, took the challenge. She was thinking of sharing the message with the brother, who is in jail, but then the Lord gave her a different opportunity to share it. The very next day after we met with her she was walking her dog in the park and met a girl, named Sky. They got talking and she shared the first vision with her and she was really interested. Elaine said that She started baring her testimony and all these words started coming out that she didn’t intend to say, and all these scripture verses started coming to her mind that she didn’t know she had. It’s true, that promise in the Doctrine and Covenants, that if we are prepared and open our mouths, God will give us what to say. It was an amazing experience for her. She called us and she was so excited. The next day she went to the temple to do baptisms for the dead, and she had been praying about going on a mission, and she said she got a strong feeling that she needs to go on a mission. We, Sister Lieber, Sister Christensen, and I, knew the Lord had great plans for her. Her conversion story is pretty amazing. We are way excited for her to go on a mission. It’s amazing how the Lord really does have a plan for each of His children, and when the time is right, He will guide us to know what we need to do, or give us what we need.
A lot of other good things happened this week, but that is the most exciting. And although this week was good and we taught a lot of people on campus, we didn’t find any new investigators. We are really trying to find new people to teach right now, because all of our investigators dropped us. We are determined to find someone this next week. This next week is going to go by so fast. I’m not looking forward to packing. I’m still not quite sure how early I should start packing. I want to make sure I have time to get everything done that I need to before I leave.
Well, I’m glad you all are doing well. Isaiah, I’m so proud of you for doing so well with cross country. I can’t wait to see all of you. And don’t worry mom, I’ll make sure to make your home chaotic again. lol. Always, Sister Eliza Boren
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
From Moroni
Dear Family
How is everything going? I am doing well. This past week I have had the opportunity to teach the first lesson in english to an investigator. He has only been studying english for two months but he understands us really well. He says he knows nineteen different languages and he has been studying the Bible in Greek. But he left town for the weekend so we only taught him once. Sunday we only had about 29 members at church and our ward has been going down hill for a while now if it continues they might divide the ward into the other wards. We have chapel there are only three chapels here in Anapolis and most of the branches that don't have a chapel to attend have more active members than we do so these nest few weeks we are going to be with the members and less active members a lot more. Overall everything is well.
I hope everything goes well for everything this week it sounds like well and I hope that it continues.
Love Elder Boren
How is everything going? I am doing well. This past week I have had the opportunity to teach the first lesson in english to an investigator. He has only been studying english for two months but he understands us really well. He says he knows nineteen different languages and he has been studying the Bible in Greek. But he left town for the weekend so we only taught him once. Sunday we only had about 29 members at church and our ward has been going down hill for a while now if it continues they might divide the ward into the other wards. We have chapel there are only three chapels here in Anapolis and most of the branches that don't have a chapel to attend have more active members than we do so these nest few weeks we are going to be with the members and less active members a lot more. Overall everything is well.
I hope everything goes well for everything this week it sounds like well and I hope that it continues.
Love Elder Boren
From Eliza
Dear Family,
It’s nice to hear how you all are doing. That is way cool that Isaiah is so involved in things. And I’m glad Nephi was able to get the camera for his birthday. I can imagine how much fun he is having with it. I hope you all had a fun Halloween. Normally we, the missionaries of the Texas Houston Mission are given rules for each holiday, like be in your apartment by dark, etc. But this time we were not given any rules. We even asked Elder Beck, the assistant to the president, if there are any rules for us, and he said “no.” So we worked all day like normal on Saturday, and then at night when everyone was trick-or-treating we met up with the elders in our district and played games all night. The CS sister came and hung out with us as well. And then we went home by 9pm like normal, and went to bed early. So Halloween was fun for us.
This week as a pretty sad week for Sister Christensen and I, though. We only taught 1 member this week and were not able to get in with any of our investigators. We spent the whole week tracting and talking to people on campus. We also had a zone meeting this week and went to the temple. And the temple trip took most of the day. Saturday night and Sunday morning I was feeling pretty down about the sad week we had had, but then church was really good, and we got a lot of things set up for this next week, so I’m feeling much better now. Yesterday was a really good day.
Last week was also hard for me because I started thinking about the fact that I am going home and I started getting nervous and scared about it. Every now and then I’ll realize how close it is, and usually I just don’t think about it, instead of dealing with it. But this week I really started thinking about it and, according to Elder Wilcox, started “freaking out.” On Thursday when we went out to eat with our Zone, after we went to the temple, we were talking about it, that we are going home, because Elder Wilcox goes home the same time I do. And Sister Ireland said “I would feel nervous and excited and scared and not ready and sad and excited and confident and trunky, all at the same time.” Then Elder Wilcox said “yeah, they have a term for that------it’s called Freaking out.” And that is how I have been feeling all week.
But this week is over and This next week is going to make up for it-----we are going to teach all our investigators, find new people to teach, teach lots of members, baptize thousands, and be focused and work hard. I’m not going to “freak out” about going home this week...hopefully.
Anyway, I’m glad you all are doing well. Thanks mom for the info on my home coming talk. And thanks dad for the info on Free Masons. I actually have another question for you about that. One of the elders in my district, Elder Lemly, has been wanting to become a Free Mason for a long time, and he is wondering if you will invite him, or hook him up, to become a Free Mason? He’s pretty new out on him mission, I think about 3 months out.
Well, take care. I miss all of you and can’t wait to see you. Always, Sister Eliza Boren.
It’s nice to hear how you all are doing. That is way cool that Isaiah is so involved in things. And I’m glad Nephi was able to get the camera for his birthday. I can imagine how much fun he is having with it. I hope you all had a fun Halloween. Normally we, the missionaries of the Texas Houston Mission are given rules for each holiday, like be in your apartment by dark, etc. But this time we were not given any rules. We even asked Elder Beck, the assistant to the president, if there are any rules for us, and he said “no.” So we worked all day like normal on Saturday, and then at night when everyone was trick-or-treating we met up with the elders in our district and played games all night. The CS sister came and hung out with us as well. And then we went home by 9pm like normal, and went to bed early. So Halloween was fun for us.
This week as a pretty sad week for Sister Christensen and I, though. We only taught 1 member this week and were not able to get in with any of our investigators. We spent the whole week tracting and talking to people on campus. We also had a zone meeting this week and went to the temple. And the temple trip took most of the day. Saturday night and Sunday morning I was feeling pretty down about the sad week we had had, but then church was really good, and we got a lot of things set up for this next week, so I’m feeling much better now. Yesterday was a really good day.
Last week was also hard for me because I started thinking about the fact that I am going home and I started getting nervous and scared about it. Every now and then I’ll realize how close it is, and usually I just don’t think about it, instead of dealing with it. But this week I really started thinking about it and, according to Elder Wilcox, started “freaking out.” On Thursday when we went out to eat with our Zone, after we went to the temple, we were talking about it, that we are going home, because Elder Wilcox goes home the same time I do. And Sister Ireland said “I would feel nervous and excited and scared and not ready and sad and excited and confident and trunky, all at the same time.” Then Elder Wilcox said “yeah, they have a term for that------it’s called Freaking out.” And that is how I have been feeling all week.
But this week is over and This next week is going to make up for it-----we are going to teach all our investigators, find new people to teach, teach lots of members, baptize thousands, and be focused and work hard. I’m not going to “freak out” about going home this week...hopefully.
Anyway, I’m glad you all are doing well. Thanks mom for the info on my home coming talk. And thanks dad for the info on Free Masons. I actually have another question for you about that. One of the elders in my district, Elder Lemly, has been wanting to become a Free Mason for a long time, and he is wondering if you will invite him, or hook him up, to become a Free Mason? He’s pretty new out on him mission, I think about 3 months out.
Well, take care. I miss all of you and can’t wait to see you. Always, Sister Eliza Boren.
Monday, November 2, 2009
From Braedon
hey everyone,
so things are here are going ok. we had a really great week of teaching and
such that was booked with appointments, but it was all for naught because
absolutely noone came to church. not even a lot of the members hahah. the flu
has hit a lot of people down here this past week. like not even joking, about
70% of the people weve been visiting have come down with it. and the other 30%?
well, they had to shower, and they take long ones, i mean like 3 hour/all church
long showers. lame. and the even lamer part is that we had people who wanted
to come to church but couldnt, because the people that were their rides were
'showering' or sick. bah humbug. our ward only had two investigators at
church...super lame. but its alright because we had some good news last night
too. morales, sofias son, wants to start coming to mutual every wednesday. im
stoked about that, because hes already opening up to the church a ton and i
think mutual will help a lot too. sofia is really excited about it too, shes
just dying to get her family to come to church with her. theyre all warming up
to us a lot. we had everyone except the husband join us for a lesson about the
plan of salvation last night, and they were all pretty involved. so thats
progress with them and im glad. also, abner, a less active, has a sister that
just moved in with them and weve visited with her a bunch these last two weeks.
well, she wants to come to church this sunday. im really glad too. abner, his
bro eddy, and their dad are all members, but not active. abner is coming more
frequently, but the dad and eddy havent been for a long long time. i think that
having the sister go will hopefully get abner and eddy and the dad back into it.
i sure hope so at least. also, yesterday alejandro found a job opportunity that
looks pretty good. if that works out, then betra, his wife, should be able to
drop her sunday shifts and the whole family can come to church. they still
havent come because she works 30 minutes away and gets off at 12 on sundays, so
he has to leave to pick her up at 11:30 and doesnt get back til 12:30 and then
she cleans up and such until 1ish, then theyre just lazy and dont come for the
last hour. but yah, hopefully that excuse is done away with and they can all
come. hermana sanchez still rocks hardcore (she read like 15 chapters when we
just left her one...she loves the book of mormon) but still hasnt been able to
get work off. we still see her a couple times a week, but less frequently than
before because right now she cant progress. politron and his wife rock. we see
them a few times every week, and every monday we bring investigators over for
dinner/fhe and its gone really well so far. de los monteros are helping out a
lot too. we have an fhe set up with them to help get some converts excited
again about church and then help them get into the temple. also, were working
with this sister lazaro that has a husband that isnt a member. were going by
every wednesday to teach english and then also teach the husband. i really hope
that we can help him out. so yah, the ward is getting into the mission work a
lot more. yay for that. what else. halloween wasnt anything too special. i
made caramel apples with chocolate drizzle. ill be honest, i was disappointed
with their appearance...i wasnt able to see my reflection in these ones.... :(
but they still tasted really good and nobody else really knew. so yah, i made
those in the morning, we did a bunch of work, then we had to come back by dark
(around 6:30) because halloween in san diego isnt exactly the safest of
situations. so we came back, and our complex missionaries had a mini party with
candy, catch-phrase, settlers of catan, and monopoly deal. that was pretty fun
i guess, but it wasnt anything extravagant. what else...i think thats about it.
i saw pictures of the boys, but i didnt she ashtons, dads, or moms costume, only
brolins and averys. those were pretty rad though. and the pumpkins looked
really cool. i really wanted to carve one this year but the people with cars
didnt want to and it would be pretty hard to carry a pumpkin a couple of miles
back from the store on a bike, so i didnt do it this time around. today ill
probably just play some ball and kick it. oh yeah! i forgot. so the filming
crews have been doing stuff in our church these past two weeks. well, that
means the head honcho of missionary work, and i mean all missionary work, not
just san diego or cali or the US, but i mean the whole world missionary work,
has been hanging out. let me tell you, thats intense. hes way cool, but if you
slip just a little he'll let you know. luckily he deals mostly with just 'the
district' that theyre filming and not so much with us. but still, its been cool
having him around. he knows what hes doing. also, this next transfer the
church is sending down people to train every single companionship in the entire
mission for 3 days straight. im guessing that is connected to the expansion of
filming and salt lake wants to make sure everyones on the ball before the
filming expands more. so that will be fun. what else...how much snow is their
in the mountains? has is snowed in the valley yet? i sent you a halloween
card...hopefully you got it before halloween but probably not. hope you enjoy
it. well, i gotta get to writing president, but im happy to hear that everyone
had a good halloween and that all is well. thanks for everything. i love you
all!!!!!
elder roney
p.s. i wrote 'bonjour' as my subject because one investigator speaks french,
and the sisters speak a little bit of french and i speak enough to say 'hi,
whats up, ok peace out', so weve been studying french so that we can teach him
without confusing him hahah. fun stuff eh? those two years of jr high paid
off.
so things are here are going ok. we had a really great week of teaching and
such that was booked with appointments, but it was all for naught because
absolutely noone came to church. not even a lot of the members hahah. the flu
has hit a lot of people down here this past week. like not even joking, about
70% of the people weve been visiting have come down with it. and the other 30%?
well, they had to shower, and they take long ones, i mean like 3 hour/all church
long showers. lame. and the even lamer part is that we had people who wanted
to come to church but couldnt, because the people that were their rides were
'showering' or sick. bah humbug. our ward only had two investigators at
church...super lame. but its alright because we had some good news last night
too. morales, sofias son, wants to start coming to mutual every wednesday. im
stoked about that, because hes already opening up to the church a ton and i
think mutual will help a lot too. sofia is really excited about it too, shes
just dying to get her family to come to church with her. theyre all warming up
to us a lot. we had everyone except the husband join us for a lesson about the
plan of salvation last night, and they were all pretty involved. so thats
progress with them and im glad. also, abner, a less active, has a sister that
just moved in with them and weve visited with her a bunch these last two weeks.
well, she wants to come to church this sunday. im really glad too. abner, his
bro eddy, and their dad are all members, but not active. abner is coming more
frequently, but the dad and eddy havent been for a long long time. i think that
having the sister go will hopefully get abner and eddy and the dad back into it.
i sure hope so at least. also, yesterday alejandro found a job opportunity that
looks pretty good. if that works out, then betra, his wife, should be able to
drop her sunday shifts and the whole family can come to church. they still
havent come because she works 30 minutes away and gets off at 12 on sundays, so
he has to leave to pick her up at 11:30 and doesnt get back til 12:30 and then
she cleans up and such until 1ish, then theyre just lazy and dont come for the
last hour. but yah, hopefully that excuse is done away with and they can all
come. hermana sanchez still rocks hardcore (she read like 15 chapters when we
just left her one...she loves the book of mormon) but still hasnt been able to
get work off. we still see her a couple times a week, but less frequently than
before because right now she cant progress. politron and his wife rock. we see
them a few times every week, and every monday we bring investigators over for
dinner/fhe and its gone really well so far. de los monteros are helping out a
lot too. we have an fhe set up with them to help get some converts excited
again about church and then help them get into the temple. also, were working
with this sister lazaro that has a husband that isnt a member. were going by
every wednesday to teach english and then also teach the husband. i really hope
that we can help him out. so yah, the ward is getting into the mission work a
lot more. yay for that. what else. halloween wasnt anything too special. i
made caramel apples with chocolate drizzle. ill be honest, i was disappointed
with their appearance...i wasnt able to see my reflection in these ones.... :(
but they still tasted really good and nobody else really knew. so yah, i made
those in the morning, we did a bunch of work, then we had to come back by dark
(around 6:30) because halloween in san diego isnt exactly the safest of
situations. so we came back, and our complex missionaries had a mini party with
candy, catch-phrase, settlers of catan, and monopoly deal. that was pretty fun
i guess, but it wasnt anything extravagant. what else...i think thats about it.
i saw pictures of the boys, but i didnt she ashtons, dads, or moms costume, only
brolins and averys. those were pretty rad though. and the pumpkins looked
really cool. i really wanted to carve one this year but the people with cars
didnt want to and it would be pretty hard to carry a pumpkin a couple of miles
back from the store on a bike, so i didnt do it this time around. today ill
probably just play some ball and kick it. oh yeah! i forgot. so the filming
crews have been doing stuff in our church these past two weeks. well, that
means the head honcho of missionary work, and i mean all missionary work, not
just san diego or cali or the US, but i mean the whole world missionary work,
has been hanging out. let me tell you, thats intense. hes way cool, but if you
slip just a little he'll let you know. luckily he deals mostly with just 'the
district' that theyre filming and not so much with us. but still, its been cool
having him around. he knows what hes doing. also, this next transfer the
church is sending down people to train every single companionship in the entire
mission for 3 days straight. im guessing that is connected to the expansion of
filming and salt lake wants to make sure everyones on the ball before the
filming expands more. so that will be fun. what else...how much snow is their
in the mountains? has is snowed in the valley yet? i sent you a halloween
card...hopefully you got it before halloween but probably not. hope you enjoy
it. well, i gotta get to writing president, but im happy to hear that everyone
had a good halloween and that all is well. thanks for everything. i love you
all!!!!!
elder roney
p.s. i wrote 'bonjour' as my subject because one investigator speaks french,
and the sisters speak a little bit of french and i speak enough to say 'hi,
whats up, ok peace out', so weve been studying french so that we can teach him
without confusing him hahah. fun stuff eh? those two years of jr high paid
off.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
From Moroni
Dear Family
How is everything going? I am doing well. The weather here is so warm I am use to it starting to cool down by now but here its warm all year round. This was my first week working with Elder Challis. He works hard and does not waist a lot of time. This week went okay we received a lot of addresses but we were not able to get into very many homes. There was this one man that we talked to on the street right outside his home he seemed like a really good man and he wanted to hear about the gospel but when we passed his house to share a message his wife did not want us in her house she said she has a religion, that she believes in the Bible and that she does not want to hear the gospel and she does not want us in her home. Yesterday we attended the church of another religion because the man agreed in we attended his church he let us into his home. It was the first time I have attended another church and the experience was a little weird. Also I had the opportunity of eating pig skin for the first time which sounds a little gross but it tasted alright but I don't know that I will eat again just because of the fact thats pig skin. I think my Portuguese is coming along well but I still have a lot of room for improvement. But I am doing well I am slowly moving forward and improving.
I hope everything goes well for everyone this week and Have a happy Halloween.
Elder Boren
How is everything going? I am doing well. The weather here is so warm I am use to it starting to cool down by now but here its warm all year round. This was my first week working with Elder Challis. He works hard and does not waist a lot of time. This week went okay we received a lot of addresses but we were not able to get into very many homes. There was this one man that we talked to on the street right outside his home he seemed like a really good man and he wanted to hear about the gospel but when we passed his house to share a message his wife did not want us in her house she said she has a religion, that she believes in the Bible and that she does not want to hear the gospel and she does not want us in her home. Yesterday we attended the church of another religion because the man agreed in we attended his church he let us into his home. It was the first time I have attended another church and the experience was a little weird. Also I had the opportunity of eating pig skin for the first time which sounds a little gross but it tasted alright but I don't know that I will eat again just because of the fact thats pig skin. I think my Portuguese is coming along well but I still have a lot of room for improvement. But I am doing well I am slowly moving forward and improving.
I hope everything goes well for everyone this week and Have a happy Halloween.
Elder Boren
From Eliza
Dear Family,
Sister Christensen and I are doing great. We had a great week, even despite the fact that a lot of our investigators have dropped us. It seems like we don’t have any investigators left, but we did find a new investigator, and still were able to teach a lot. Over all it’s been a good week. We do service for this woman named Jutta (Uda). She has a used clothing shop called “Resale Trends.” But she can’t say her “R’s,” so according to her it is “Wesale Twents.” I love helping her out. We inventory the clothes, and put them out on the racks, and organize the racks. I just love her. We help her out once a week. We are starting to do service at the Brazos Food Bank, which I think is a soup kitchen. We also are trying to get in with the American Cancer Society. Hopefully we can start helping them.
Today we are going to carve pumpkins with our zone. We were going to do it for district meeting this Friday, but the zone leaders said that district meeting is for spiritual renewal and uplifting, not for carving pumpkins. So it’ll be fun to do it today.
Well, I hope you all are doing well. Have a fun Halloween. Always, Sister Eliza Boren
Sister Christensen and I are doing great. We had a great week, even despite the fact that a lot of our investigators have dropped us. It seems like we don’t have any investigators left, but we did find a new investigator, and still were able to teach a lot. Over all it’s been a good week. We do service for this woman named Jutta (Uda). She has a used clothing shop called “Resale Trends.” But she can’t say her “R’s,” so according to her it is “Wesale Twents.” I love helping her out. We inventory the clothes, and put them out on the racks, and organize the racks. I just love her. We help her out once a week. We are starting to do service at the Brazos Food Bank, which I think is a soup kitchen. We also are trying to get in with the American Cancer Society. Hopefully we can start helping them.
Today we are going to carve pumpkins with our zone. We were going to do it for district meeting this Friday, but the zone leaders said that district meeting is for spiritual renewal and uplifting, not for carving pumpkins. So it’ll be fun to do it today.
Well, I hope you all are doing well. Have a fun Halloween. Always, Sister Eliza Boren
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
From Moroni
Dear Family
I am doing well. Transfers were today. I am in the same area but I have a new companion Elder Challis. he is from St George so his family does not live far from where you are. Elder Baker will be serving in Anapolis this transfer he arrived in the CTM at the same time I did so there will be 4 out of the 9 Americans in our group that will be working in Anapolis.
Right now I have not been teaching a whole lot of people. This area is a little tough. Its in the middle of the city where all the big stores are or downtown. But I don't know things might be a little different with Elder Challis. My companion does most of the talking I can help teach some of the lessons but I can't do a whole lot else. One thing I have trouble is in Portuguese when they ask a question they state it as a fact and I am listening for a who, what, when, where, or why so I have a hard time understanding their questions sometimes.
Sunday it rained really hard and one of the roads washed away. It was where the irrigation runs underneath the street. the water just completely washed everything away included a store.
I'm doing well and I am learning a lot. I get really nervous so I don't talk a whole lot but I am learning to talk more and I am learning how to speak portuguese but I am learning really slow. I have a hard time speaking some words correctly and I feel overwhelmed or like its impossible but I will eventually learn how to speak portuguese. I wrote some letters but I dont have any money to send them right now. I feel bad because I have not responded to any letters I have received.
The people here are really nice; one member that has helped us a lot is Andrade he was taught by the missionaries and I think that he has been a member for more than a year. He has a strong testimony. One thing I wish I'd brought with me is pictures I don't know why I did not think to bring pictures with me. Make sure you put lots of pictures in the next package you send
love elder Boren
I am doing well. Transfers were today. I am in the same area but I have a new companion Elder Challis. he is from St George so his family does not live far from where you are. Elder Baker will be serving in Anapolis this transfer he arrived in the CTM at the same time I did so there will be 4 out of the 9 Americans in our group that will be working in Anapolis.
Right now I have not been teaching a whole lot of people. This area is a little tough. Its in the middle of the city where all the big stores are or downtown. But I don't know things might be a little different with Elder Challis. My companion does most of the talking I can help teach some of the lessons but I can't do a whole lot else. One thing I have trouble is in Portuguese when they ask a question they state it as a fact and I am listening for a who, what, when, where, or why so I have a hard time understanding their questions sometimes.
Sunday it rained really hard and one of the roads washed away. It was where the irrigation runs underneath the street. the water just completely washed everything away included a store.
I'm doing well and I am learning a lot. I get really nervous so I don't talk a whole lot but I am learning to talk more and I am learning how to speak portuguese but I am learning really slow. I have a hard time speaking some words correctly and I feel overwhelmed or like its impossible but I will eventually learn how to speak portuguese. I wrote some letters but I dont have any money to send them right now. I feel bad because I have not responded to any letters I have received.
The people here are really nice; one member that has helped us a lot is Andrade he was taught by the missionaries and I think that he has been a member for more than a year. He has a strong testimony. One thing I wish I'd brought with me is pictures I don't know why I did not think to bring pictures with me. Make sure you put lots of pictures in the next package you send
love elder Boren
From Eliza
Dear Family,
Sister Christensen and I are doing great. We did a lot this week. We were not able to get in with our best investigators that I was looking forward to teaching. But we will meet with them this week and hopefully they will start progressing. We were, however, able to get in with a lot of members this last week, and a few less active members, and their non-member friends. We started teaching Cameron, this less active member, and his girl friend, Faith. And we taught Candice and her non-member roommate, Rachel. Both of which we are way excited about. And Seth Gibbs, also a less active member, came to church with his non member girl friend. I was filled with joy when I was Seth walk into church. We’ve been trying to visit him and get him to church for a little while. Heavenly Father is just so good. I feel like all the little things that we are doing, that the leaders in this ward are doing, and that peoples families are doing are not wasted. There are many people, who are lost, but God knows what they need, and little by little he is bringing them back into his fold. I don’t know if Seth is ever going to come to church again. But he came, on his own. It’s so true that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass. God takes the little things that we do, and makes amazing things happen. I hope that all these less active members will start to feel of God’s love and come back into His fold.
I also heard some great news about Yuki, from the College Station 1st ward, that made me happier than anything. But I’ll tell you about that later. It is a long story.
Dad, I have a question for you. We were talking about the Free Masons, and I remembered you are part of a group, and I was thinking that is the group you are a part of. Are you a Free Mason? And what do they do? And why are you a Free Mason.
Mom, you talked to me a little about my home-coming talk earlier, and when you wanted me to give it. When again do you want me to give my talk? And I don’t know what the topic is. If you want me to give my talk right when I get home, I want to know ahead of time what my topic is, so that I can be prepared.
I got my trunky papers. Those are the papers about my flight home. I fly home on Nov. 18th.
Well, I’m glad you all are doing great. Thank you so much for writing my and keeping me informed. Thanks for being so awesome.
Take care. Always, Sister Eliza Boren
Sister Christensen and I are doing great. We did a lot this week. We were not able to get in with our best investigators that I was looking forward to teaching. But we will meet with them this week and hopefully they will start progressing. We were, however, able to get in with a lot of members this last week, and a few less active members, and their non-member friends. We started teaching Cameron, this less active member, and his girl friend, Faith. And we taught Candice and her non-member roommate, Rachel. Both of which we are way excited about. And Seth Gibbs, also a less active member, came to church with his non member girl friend. I was filled with joy when I was Seth walk into church. We’ve been trying to visit him and get him to church for a little while. Heavenly Father is just so good. I feel like all the little things that we are doing, that the leaders in this ward are doing, and that peoples families are doing are not wasted. There are many people, who are lost, but God knows what they need, and little by little he is bringing them back into his fold. I don’t know if Seth is ever going to come to church again. But he came, on his own. It’s so true that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass. God takes the little things that we do, and makes amazing things happen. I hope that all these less active members will start to feel of God’s love and come back into His fold.
I also heard some great news about Yuki, from the College Station 1st ward, that made me happier than anything. But I’ll tell you about that later. It is a long story.
Dad, I have a question for you. We were talking about the Free Masons, and I remembered you are part of a group, and I was thinking that is the group you are a part of. Are you a Free Mason? And what do they do? And why are you a Free Mason.
Mom, you talked to me a little about my home-coming talk earlier, and when you wanted me to give it. When again do you want me to give my talk? And I don’t know what the topic is. If you want me to give my talk right when I get home, I want to know ahead of time what my topic is, so that I can be prepared.
I got my trunky papers. Those are the papers about my flight home. I fly home on Nov. 18th.
Well, I’m glad you all are doing great. Thank you so much for writing my and keeping me informed. Thanks for being so awesome.
Take care. Always, Sister Eliza Boren
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
From Moroni
Dear Family
I am doing well. I spent the last week with Elder Owen in his area. I learned a lot form Elder Owen just by the example he set. He makes everything seem simple and easy. I feel more confindent in learning the language wheras before I was having a hard time was feeling a little stressed but now I feel like everything will be ok and that I will eventually be able to speak with no problems. I am really behind on learning portuguese but I am still learning. His area is a lot smaller than my area which was nice because we did not have to walk as much. And the people are really nice. We had 4 batism planed for sunday. a girl about 18 years old and her friend and a mother her daughter but the mother and daughter did not want to get baptize that week and the girls grandmother got sick so they will be baptized in two weeks.
I am excited for conference this sunday. I never really paid close attention to the talks that were given at conference. we have a prophet, apostles, and church authories today that receive revelation from God and I did not really understand what that meant or what blessing it is to have a prophet to lead and guide us and direct the church.
The mail has stoped here so now is not a good time. Its good to that everything is going well and that your sewing bussiness is going well. Do you have a place you go to teach others to sew or do you teach at home?
Let everyone know that I love and miss them and I hope everything goes well this week.
Love Elder Moroni Boren
I am doing well. I spent the last week with Elder Owen in his area. I learned a lot form Elder Owen just by the example he set. He makes everything seem simple and easy. I feel more confindent in learning the language wheras before I was having a hard time was feeling a little stressed but now I feel like everything will be ok and that I will eventually be able to speak with no problems. I am really behind on learning portuguese but I am still learning. His area is a lot smaller than my area which was nice because we did not have to walk as much. And the people are really nice. We had 4 batism planed for sunday. a girl about 18 years old and her friend and a mother her daughter but the mother and daughter did not want to get baptize that week and the girls grandmother got sick so they will be baptized in two weeks.
I am excited for conference this sunday. I never really paid close attention to the talks that were given at conference. we have a prophet, apostles, and church authories today that receive revelation from God and I did not really understand what that meant or what blessing it is to have a prophet to lead and guide us and direct the church.
The mail has stoped here so now is not a good time. Its good to that everything is going well and that your sewing bussiness is going well. Do you have a place you go to teach others to sew or do you teach at home?
Let everyone know that I love and miss them and I hope everything goes well this week.
Love Elder Moroni Boren
From Eliza
Dear Family,
Sister Lieber and I have had a good week. As you know it was a little different this week. We had p-day in the middle of the week, and we went on exchanges twice this week with the CS 1st sisters. We also listened to a cd the elders gave us galled “the conversion of a Lutheran Minister.” It was so good. He told his conversion story, and it was very doctrinal and analytical, because that is how he is. A few weeks ago we listened to “the conversion of a Catholic Priest,” which we also got from the elders. His story was more personal stories, and promptings from the Spirit, because that is how he got converted. Well, both got converted by the Spirit, but the Lutheran was more of an analytical guy. Anyway, both cd’s were so good.
This week we also went tracting a lot. But it has been a really good week. Alex, one of our investigators, is getting baptized this Conference weekend. She was interviewed by Elder Porter last Friday, and is good to go. And church yesterday was just for her. The talks in sacrament meeting and the lesson in Sunday school were on eternal families. And that is the thing that Alex was interested in in the first place. It meant a lot to her because after church she told us that it is so cool how God is so involved in the little details of our lives. She was so ready for the gospel of Jesus Christ. I love serving in Texas. We have found so many people that are just ready for the gospel. She is getting baptized and confirmed this Friday, and then hopefully is going to have an extra spiritual weekend watching Conference on Saturday and Sunday.
I’m so excited for General Conference. I can’t wait. I hope you all are doing well. Take care. Always, Sister Eliza Boren
Sister Lieber and I have had a good week. As you know it was a little different this week. We had p-day in the middle of the week, and we went on exchanges twice this week with the CS 1st sisters. We also listened to a cd the elders gave us galled “the conversion of a Lutheran Minister.” It was so good. He told his conversion story, and it was very doctrinal and analytical, because that is how he is. A few weeks ago we listened to “the conversion of a Catholic Priest,” which we also got from the elders. His story was more personal stories, and promptings from the Spirit, because that is how he got converted. Well, both got converted by the Spirit, but the Lutheran was more of an analytical guy. Anyway, both cd’s were so good.
This week we also went tracting a lot. But it has been a really good week. Alex, one of our investigators, is getting baptized this Conference weekend. She was interviewed by Elder Porter last Friday, and is good to go. And church yesterday was just for her. The talks in sacrament meeting and the lesson in Sunday school were on eternal families. And that is the thing that Alex was interested in in the first place. It meant a lot to her because after church she told us that it is so cool how God is so involved in the little details of our lives. She was so ready for the gospel of Jesus Christ. I love serving in Texas. We have found so many people that are just ready for the gospel. She is getting baptized and confirmed this Friday, and then hopefully is going to have an extra spiritual weekend watching Conference on Saturday and Sunday.
I’m so excited for General Conference. I can’t wait. I hope you all are doing well. Take care. Always, Sister Eliza Boren
Monday, September 14, 2009
From Braedon
hey everyone,
this last week went pretty well. theres lots of the buggin' stuff still, but we're just focusing on the good stuff and plugging forward. david has had trouble with shootings in the past, so hes kind of on pause right now, but were still over there all the time because he literally invites people over to listen to us. talk about rad. last saturday he invited people over for burgers and a movie...little did they know it was a mormon movie night hahah. we watched the restoration and talked about it afterwords. it rocked. david is nuts, but hes a stud. his wife and one of his neighbors loved the movie and were working with them now. sick. we watched the testaments with sofia and her family last week...man that movie is long for a church film haha. it was good though, her family is getting more and more involved and excited about it. this week when sofia and her 7 year old daughter came, the daughter was actually excited to leave and go to primary, and sofia was throwing out answers during the classes...she was definitely representing city heights! woot! then she asked us right after church if she could get another ride next week at the same time. its rad having people so stoked about this stuff. were aiming for this sunday for sofias baptism. she rocks hardcore, im happy for her. what else. oh, that guy that got stabbed, his name is carlos. his wife is mari. we saw them twice this last week and hes back at home and just recovering there. but now they say that he wasnt stabbed. he says he was working with his friend in a house (they work in construction for a living they say) with a waxing machine, and the machine was too strong and threw him through a wall and cut him up. however, that doesnt really make sense because for work he rides around selling tamales on the streets, his 'friend' he was working with is the same guy that just two weeks ago the family hated, and a girl across the street witnessed the aftermath and its a different story than the one that carlos and his 'friend' have....sketchy to say the least haha. the wife doesnt even talk about it anymore, she just says hes recovering fine haha. oh well. the first night he got home we stopped by and he was on some big time drugs or drunk or both, because he was telling us he believes in aliens and no life after death but at the same time hes glad to have his dead ancestors guide him in life haha. so that wasnt a very good lesson, but we showed up a couple days later and he was back to himself. we did a lesson with about half of the family (thats pretty good considering they have like 20 people in that house haha) and it went well. carlos committed himself to repent before we even said anything, and the wife said she wants us to come by and talk to them more whenever we have time. woot. rad family. what else...oh yeah. this week we've had two people yell at us to get our attention and theyre just dying to talk with 'the mormons'. both are so ready for change, and for one reason or another they think the right way to do it is through our church. rad. i have no idea where they came from, maybe the labors of past missionaries, but whatever it is im stoked to see them tonight. what else....oh....i lost in golf again last monday, but i got cheated! the other guy pulled out the mulligan card on the 16th hole and made me count a gimme-shot (it was like 4 inches from the hole) that i shot between my legs for fun. blasphemy is what it was, straight up blasphemy. oh well, there is always next week to get my revenge! im still the ping pong champion, although its been very challening. my companion is freaking good. he reminds me a lot of kinny. we have had some epic matches. all that i have to say is that kinny had better bring some tissues when he plays me next, because he's going to need them to wipe his tears of defeat! hahah jk...but seriously. what else. still biking like crazy. the other day we went about 62 blocks west and another 15 south...77 blocks of biking for a person who ended up having moved hahah. oh well, it was fun to see new parts of the area. and plus, its cooling down a little bit now. i dont think its hit 100 at all this past week. so yah, its cooling down and pretty soon well have the famed san diego weather with high 70's all day long. booyah. im still getting letters and packages and i love it! thanks to everyone whos sending them! what else....oh hahah funny story from yesterday at church. i was sitting by sofia and her daughter during sacrament and i put my hand down by my knee for a high five (the kids there love to just hammer away with hive fives and bones and all). well she looked at my hand, looked at me, then looked back down at my hand and instead of high-fiving it she grabbed it and held it as if we were about to go skipping through a field of daisies or something hahah. so i had to pull her hand out real quick and tell her to slap it instead. she was kindof confused at first but by the end of the day she got it and was loving it. awkward funny. yup, well im not really sure what else to write. the missionary couple that is in charge of cars is trying to get us one woot. pray for that i guess hahah. jk. oh! before i forget...um...well...you should send settlers of catan down here (dont we have an extra one?). if you cant, thats ok, but were dying for it. we even made our own out of paper hahah. its legit. ill send pictures of it next week. for some reason these lame comps arent letting me attach them today. well, i best get going and do some shopping and such. im glad to hear school is going well, that byu isnt flopping so bad this year, that mom is throwing down some hardcore RS lessons, that ashton is internshipping in the same thing i wanna do, that all of the family is doing well, and that dad is the roney golf champ. oh, and avery....no matter how tall you get, ill still be able to beat you up. brolin, i challenge you to a reading contest. i bet i can read the book of mormon faster than you can. well, i gotta head. I love you all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
elder roney
this last week went pretty well. theres lots of the buggin' stuff still, but we're just focusing on the good stuff and plugging forward. david has had trouble with shootings in the past, so hes kind of on pause right now, but were still over there all the time because he literally invites people over to listen to us. talk about rad. last saturday he invited people over for burgers and a movie...little did they know it was a mormon movie night hahah. we watched the restoration and talked about it afterwords. it rocked. david is nuts, but hes a stud. his wife and one of his neighbors loved the movie and were working with them now. sick. we watched the testaments with sofia and her family last week...man that movie is long for a church film haha. it was good though, her family is getting more and more involved and excited about it. this week when sofia and her 7 year old daughter came, the daughter was actually excited to leave and go to primary, and sofia was throwing out answers during the classes...she was definitely representing city heights! woot! then she asked us right after church if she could get another ride next week at the same time. its rad having people so stoked about this stuff. were aiming for this sunday for sofias baptism. she rocks hardcore, im happy for her. what else. oh, that guy that got stabbed, his name is carlos. his wife is mari. we saw them twice this last week and hes back at home and just recovering there. but now they say that he wasnt stabbed. he says he was working with his friend in a house (they work in construction for a living they say) with a waxing machine, and the machine was too strong and threw him through a wall and cut him up. however, that doesnt really make sense because for work he rides around selling tamales on the streets, his 'friend' he was working with is the same guy that just two weeks ago the family hated, and a girl across the street witnessed the aftermath and its a different story than the one that carlos and his 'friend' have....sketchy to say the least haha. the wife doesnt even talk about it anymore, she just says hes recovering fine haha. oh well. the first night he got home we stopped by and he was on some big time drugs or drunk or both, because he was telling us he believes in aliens and no life after death but at the same time hes glad to have his dead ancestors guide him in life haha. so that wasnt a very good lesson, but we showed up a couple days later and he was back to himself. we did a lesson with about half of the family (thats pretty good considering they have like 20 people in that house haha) and it went well. carlos committed himself to repent before we even said anything, and the wife said she wants us to come by and talk to them more whenever we have time. woot. rad family. what else...oh yeah. this week we've had two people yell at us to get our attention and theyre just dying to talk with 'the mormons'. both are so ready for change, and for one reason or another they think the right way to do it is through our church. rad. i have no idea where they came from, maybe the labors of past missionaries, but whatever it is im stoked to see them tonight. what else....oh....i lost in golf again last monday, but i got cheated! the other guy pulled out the mulligan card on the 16th hole and made me count a gimme-shot (it was like 4 inches from the hole) that i shot between my legs for fun. blasphemy is what it was, straight up blasphemy. oh well, there is always next week to get my revenge! im still the ping pong champion, although its been very challening. my companion is freaking good. he reminds me a lot of kinny. we have had some epic matches. all that i have to say is that kinny had better bring some tissues when he plays me next, because he's going to need them to wipe his tears of defeat! hahah jk...but seriously. what else. still biking like crazy. the other day we went about 62 blocks west and another 15 south...77 blocks of biking for a person who ended up having moved hahah. oh well, it was fun to see new parts of the area. and plus, its cooling down a little bit now. i dont think its hit 100 at all this past week. so yah, its cooling down and pretty soon well have the famed san diego weather with high 70's all day long. booyah. im still getting letters and packages and i love it! thanks to everyone whos sending them! what else....oh hahah funny story from yesterday at church. i was sitting by sofia and her daughter during sacrament and i put my hand down by my knee for a high five (the kids there love to just hammer away with hive fives and bones and all). well she looked at my hand, looked at me, then looked back down at my hand and instead of high-fiving it she grabbed it and held it as if we were about to go skipping through a field of daisies or something hahah. so i had to pull her hand out real quick and tell her to slap it instead. she was kindof confused at first but by the end of the day she got it and was loving it. awkward funny. yup, well im not really sure what else to write. the missionary couple that is in charge of cars is trying to get us one woot. pray for that i guess hahah. jk. oh! before i forget...um...well...you should send settlers of catan down here (dont we have an extra one?). if you cant, thats ok, but were dying for it. we even made our own out of paper hahah. its legit. ill send pictures of it next week. for some reason these lame comps arent letting me attach them today. well, i best get going and do some shopping and such. im glad to hear school is going well, that byu isnt flopping so bad this year, that mom is throwing down some hardcore RS lessons, that ashton is internshipping in the same thing i wanna do, that all of the family is doing well, and that dad is the roney golf champ. oh, and avery....no matter how tall you get, ill still be able to beat you up. brolin, i challenge you to a reading contest. i bet i can read the book of mormon faster than you can. well, i gotta head. I love you all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
elder roney
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