Saratoga Wyoming week 2

Im not sure if you get jealous but I think this next phrase will hit you pretty hard.  I get a carton of fresh brown eggs once a week and they are amazingly tasty.  We also get fresh sausage, ground beef, and bacon.  My town is so small and spread out with all the ranches and what not.  When the people say downtown I always get confused because it has one gas station and one grocery store, and I wouldn't consider that a "downtown".   The labor and service we do is chopping fire wood and hauling it around, since people are trying to stock up before winter hits.  At the trunk or treat my companion wore his superman t-shirt over his normal clothes and I put on my black jacket with a bolo tie and that was all the dressing up we did.  I changed my tie and my companion took off his shirt when we went to go teach a lesson after that.  Plus we have to be in our house by 6:00 on the actual Halloween night.  The members are really awesome here, they are great at helping us find people to teach.  We have three actual investigators that we are teaching lessons to and way more who want to get baptized but their parents wont let them.  Im working hard and being obedient.  My companion has been out in the field for five months now and he is only a month older than me.  He played football so he has that aspect about him but he is usually a gentle giant, although he isn't as giant as me.  There are some big families here so when I say I have six siblings its normal half the time.  On the computers we use for emails I found a playlist on the computer labeled LDS super hits of the 80s.  Oh yes.  Its fantastic.



My companion eats biscuits and gravy like my father

This mornings pose, I froze to death two minutes later.

Last week in the CCM and 1st week in Wyoming

Conference was awesome and loved it.  There is a very special spirit here and it is constantly giving revelation.  I got more out of conference than i ever thought possible.  AND it’s not because i was awake the whole time.  Health wise I’m doing well, the food has caused me to be repeating Jeremiah 4:19-21 while I’m in the bathroom.  Some scriptures take on whole new meanings.  Some of these missionaries are quite childish.  I’m working hard to learn the Spanish, I can give lessons on almost any Gospel topic.  I just don’t know every word, I forget seed or grass or something like that but it will come.  I have three months to perfect my Spanish while I’m in the field.  I can’t wait to eat normal food.  I can’t wait until I don't have to be quoting scripture in the bathroom.  More over I cant wait until I’m out in the field serving.  All is well with only one week until freedom.  I have been quoting Braveheart since yesterday.  Rallying up everyone leaving soon by saying, "every man dies, not every man lives, they can take our lands, they can take our lives, but they will never take OUR FREEDOM!"  We will gloriously wake up at one in the morning to be at the airport five hours early.  That day will be as the christmas morn, glorious and exciting.  The only time I look forward to waking up early.

 

First week in the Ft. Collins Colorado Mission

The field is, how do I say this, Amazazing (to quote richie from benchwarmers) I’m doing so much work and teaching so many lessons it’s crazy.  I’m in this remote town in Wyoming where there is one grocery store and I’m tracking from one cabin to the next.  In all fairness I can say I’m in Coon country.  Its like hillbillies mixed with hunters mixed with that guy from the fox in the hound.  I however am enjoying the good food of my own cooking.  Every problem I ever had in the MTC is completely gone.  My new companion is great and we don’t ever complain about each other, we just agree.  It’s like the perfect marriage. My bathroom just so you know is way small.  My feet hang off the bed, and when I shower it’s almost exactly the same as buddy from Elf showers.  Which if we did do the comparison a midget would love the homey feel.  It’s too bad I’m a freaking giant.  I still think it’s fantastic here.  I have written in my journal everyday since I left home.  Now some days may be a sentence but others are full pages. 

Life in the CCM

 

The CCM is just one trial after another, but the lord seems to be helping me. This last week one of the guys in my district asked me what I pictured when I prayed, his logic was to see what we were picturing so that I knew my prayers weren't going anywhere. I never really thought about it like that. I figured they were sent directly to heaven and I always knew that. I tried it that night though. I started off thinking of God and I had a really clear image of him sitting on His throne with Jesus on his right hand side. I approached them and speaking to God I thanked him for just about everything, I felt like I was standing in front of him so I wanted to be as grateful as possible. Then after sometime I knew I had questions for him and so I asked those. Then when I wanted to ask him for blessing I totally hesitated, why ask God for any more than he has given me so far? But then I asked and when I did I started sobbing. I didn’t want to wake up my roommates who had just fallen asleep so I was covering up my mouth but I still made those crying sounds. I felt a little embarrassed but I know I was crying because I could feel the spirit testifying to me of what I was doing was right and that God always listens to our prayers. It wasn’t a dream, more like an in between state, but wrote it down already.  You should still send some donuts, like next week.  Happiness is hard to come by here.  Either you are tired and angry or overwhelmed by the spirit and about to cry. 

Other than that this week has been pretty normal. I seem to be doing better with my companion but I realized that my trial of getting a really annoying companion was mistaken. Mostly, because I got a companion who is exactly like dad. Yeah I know its even more of a trial. The language is dificil as usual. We have to teach our teachers as if the are investigators about two/three times a week and its brutal because they take every mistake we made and make sure to tell us. Also I'm constantly getting picked on by my teachers and classmates and have the time its for saying the prayer.  I never even have prayer face. I was talking to this one teacher who was helping me with grammar and he said he likes the word endure in Spanish better because in English it means being strong enough to get though something but in Espanol it means to work hard until the trial is over. I traded a couple ties with this guy who had really good sense in style of neckwear as i do. It was really hard to say goodbye but were definitely going to be friends after the mission so I can get them back.

        

Uncle Pat and Aunt Suzy came for a visit!

Mexico City Temple