February 16, 2009

Dear Mom,

It was one of the most odd things to see a Maryland number on a California cell phone, and then to instantly recognize that it was you by the number. How odd was that! It was a bit ironic because last night my comp Finch called home to talk to his parents about sending glasses out here due to some constant headaches he has had as of late. Just killer migraines from about 10 am to the end of the day. But yet, he wants to work most, if not all the time, so we get the work done at a practical pace. And, the Lord has been blessing us with strength to go out and work even though the work is not so great right now.

About the rain, it's rough biking around in the rain. I have to squint even more so I can see what's ahead of me. And with the constant fear of just wiping out and getting even more soaked. But, the desert needs some rain desperately. We've been getting a lot lately. Last p-day it snowed...then became rain. So we're being blessed with water from the heavens!

Monday we chilled all day and watched movies. Way chill. So relaxing. I realized that The Incredibles is one of the greatest movies of all time! Just love it!

Tuesday, Finch wasn't feeling so great, so we went to an appointment, which canceled, and we came back and I let him just sleep. Just overwhelmed by headaches. Nothing really went right that day. But, we did have a good appointment with Anayansi and she's doing her best to set a day to be baptized. We came home for a quick dinner and went down to Sta. Clarita for the despedida! Got to see some elders go home, and it just reminded me of how I must use my time wisely so I'll have no regrets when my time does come. No regrets. Finch was so excited to go down...he wants to go everytime to see all his pals in the mission. Our investigator Mario Sanchez came with us, and he was having a good time. From what I could see, he was soaking it all in. It was just what he needed, as missionaries testified about prayer, about the Restoration, and about the Book of Mormon. Being with Finch going down brought up a lot of mission stories out of me...I told him a lot of them. Good times! Long night...home right before 10 pm and we had a quick planning then to bed!

Wednesday was almost the same. Got to see an eye doctor for Finch, and he just needs glasses. Headaches are coming from somewhere else! But, we went to a few appointments, and contacted the rest of the day. Finch's head was killing him so we stayed inside after dinner...poor guy. Our one appointment (the one that canceled on Tuesday) with our Peruvian member, was spectacular. She had a few concerns about the temple and we answered as best as we could. She wasn't digging deep either so it was good. We shared story after story about the temple, of blessings we have received there. An abundance of the Spirit!

Thursday went better. We ended up walking around so the other elders wouldn't have an excuse to not work (Cid is dying...literally). A sacrifice that got them to go out and work. We did find a less active family in the English ward, the Moores, who speak Spanish also. The wife is quite...adamant. Just stubborn. Daughter wants to come back though, she loved going to church at school in El Salvador. So, we have hope!

Friday! District meeting! We all were a bit down...just depressed and stressed. One of the sister snapped at us as we were trying to lighten the mood up. Oops...but the day went pretty well. We had a great time at dinner with an Argentine family and then a movie night at the church...good day. Saturday was the best by far.

I had a very pleasant surprise on Saturday evening. We were coming from a very long dinner appointment and we had just eaten pupusas. Not the greatest 'let's go and bike' food. So, we felt a bit sick on the way there. We get there, a bit wet from the puddles around the place and I just feel so sick. We knock on the door and we hear some muffled noises on the other side. We're like...well, what's taking them so long to open the door? Next thing I know, the door opens and I hear 'Happy Birthday'. Right now it just brings tears to my eyes because it was too nice of them to do that for me. I was very grateful and I really felt at home. I love the Villanueva family. I can't ever express how glad and happy I was to be welcomed to their home and to celebrate my birthday. Their kids made a hat for me, and we just had a great time. We shared a scripture, well I did because I was so humbled by it all, and I really couldn't express my gratitude. The past week was really rough, and to just finish with a birthday celebration just lifted my spirits! With my favorite family here, the Villanueva's! The Lord uses others to touch my life. There is no doubt that this is true, especially on Saturday. These are the memories I treasure most, of the kindness and love the members have for us, the missionaries. One of the most memorable birthday parties I've ever had!

Sunday was good too! The talks that the stake speakers gave were excellent. The stake YW speaker spoke of returning to virtue. I understood it all due to the language was English, and it really reminded me of how virtue fights vice. A good reminder in this muddled world. The high councilman gave a splendid talk, at least it seemed to be a typical talk at first. His Spanish was pretty good, and I knew he put a lot of preparation in it and a lot of love. He served in Villahermosa, Mexico back when he was younger. He shared Elder Wirthlin's last talk, and used Miguel Cervantes' life as an example of how we ought to persevere during trials to eventual;ly recieve a reward. I really liked it, until he put all his notes and books away. "I want to share a personal story with you, brothers and sisters," he began. Then, he shared how his first marriage failed, how he was deep in debt, and he even had to live in a noisy and dirty room in the place he worked because he could barely stay afloat. There, he said, he learned what it is to have faith and to endure to the end. He learned about the love of His Savior, and that he had to wait for promised blessings. 'Why me?' he asked. But, as time went on, he was blessed with another wife and another family and here he is today. What a testimony! Just shook the ward! Everyone was really appreciative of the talk, and I was too. I had to thank him for that moving talk he gave, and he humbly said he did his best and he tried his best with his Spanish. A humble man of the Lord. Church went well, classes were...classes. My favorite was our priesthood class. I felt moved to participate more, since usually us missionaries wait for others to contribute. But, I did and it ended up contributing a lot to the message on 'beware the bitter fruits of apostasy'. Thoughts came to mind and I contributed, and it became a great discussion. Thanks to the other members there, it was an edifying and learning experience for all. We got home, ate lunch, relaxed, napped, out to work! Found Michael Ruiz, finally, and set a tentative baptismal date for March 7th. We walked around and knocked doors, with little success, but we did get into a Jehovah's Witness house. Oh man, a weird feeling as my comp said. But, we talked about prophets to this old woman Maria de Jesus and she believed it. We bore witness of the Restoration, and she felt the Spirit. Yet, like all JW's, they deny it. Pity on her. She corrected Finch when he bore witness of the Restoration, saying, '...God is Jesus Christ.' No...God is the Father and Christ is His Son. Darn distorted doctrines of man! Oh well, we did our best. Went to support our fellow Stewart as he did a musical number singing in a trio with Cid on the guitar. A few mistakes, but what can you say? They had just practiced for about ten minutes prior. Good number though, and the service was very spiritual. Just loved it. Home, Finch called home, and we called it a night. I love the work!

The work is improving, I just have to do better with a lot of things as a missionary. My greenie is quite the foot soldier and doesn't complain, just deals with it now. Good kid. The Lord is just testing us right now...we have to be patient!

I really appreciated your letter Mom, it really helped me pick up my spirits and run with the work! It came at the right time, when all was looking down. And yes, Volk wrote me and I wrote him back. A great man, indeed. I hope all is well, I love you, I miss you, and I can't wait to talk to you again!

Love,
Spencer