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