March 18, 2013

Dear Da,

I hope you caught the irish accent i threw in for you there. This week was just great. As a zone and stake, we've been working on this thing called la noche blanca, where we're putting on a big old baptismal service the thirtieth, with all the missionaries in melo working the lights out to get a bunch of people. As expected, there was opposition. Elder Kempton and I were working with 4 people to get baptized that day, and not a single one decided to come to church. Even though we went to all their houses and woke them up. So...yeah. We're still gonna have maybe two baptisms that day from us, and the future looks very bright. The members love us, and they keep giving us well prepared friends to teach, so this area is just golden.

It is very good to hear news from home, as always, and good work Thunder. Tell aunt trisa that I just barely got a letter from them and it was very motivating! I am so excited for James, Jory, Jake, Ethan and all these other guys that are about to leave. They are going to have the time of their lives. Especially James. He's going to discover the legend of the Mate. Uruguayans and Argentinians run around all over the place with a thermos of hot water stuck under their armpit and a cup of mate, which looks and smells pretty weird. But they all drink it. Every single one. It's like pouring a bit of hot water into some fragrant grass, then drinking it through a strainer. Kinda gross, but I'm probably bringing some home.

So here we go, answering questions! My health is finally awesome! I'm good to go. But all the toe injuries took their toll. I'm weighing in pretty heavy, like 178. But I've been doing so many pushups and pullups, so a lot is muscle. I look pretty different now. I was just fat before I got to melo. I was weighing about 186, yikes. But I've been steadily losing weight for three weeks now, so the future is brilliant. Sleep has been getting easier for me. For the first six months, I was like I always was at home, just taking forever to fall asleep. But I've just been getting more and more tired through the course of my mission, so now I get knocked right out. And not being cold cause i'm in a toasty sleeping bag helps too. I definitely feel the Lord strengthening me all the time, because I am just exhausted every day. It's so mental too, because I just spend all day worrying about people. And spiritual experiences wear you out. And last night we found a new investigator at like 7:52, taught him a lesson, and then we sprinted home to be there by eight, so that made me pretty tired.

As to opportunities to teach, I teach. And we solve problems. I'm getting so much new experience here, and the best part is that the language issue is all but gone, so I just talk with people. I have really grown to love talking to literally everyone I see. It makes me feel like I'm not gonna miss any opportunity that the Lord would give me. Bearing testimony to random strangers and feeling the spirit touch them is so cool. So thanks for all the prayers, everyone, because I got soooooo much help learning spanish.

Elder Kempton and I do work. We get along great, almost too well, haha. I love working with him too. He's a great missionary, a real example of diligence. I just hope I'm not ruining his discipline too much!

Ok, last bit of news, basically all the email restrictions are gone. So anyone can send me emails now, and I can answer! But keep sending letters, I like those too.

LOVE you all!

Remember Ether 12:28

Love, Elder Pyper