04/26/2010 (Mayaguez)

HOLA FAMILIA

Well everything here in PR is going great. We have the same awesome investigator! haha He is so cool! Yesterday we went to his house and he is like a professional in all the martial arts and mma and all that stuff and he travels all over the world and he was talking to us after the lesson and talking about all the fighting stuff and my companion, he’s a funny guy, well he thought he would show this youth that we had with us some fighting moves. Well he went and he lifted his leg up and when he did he completely ripped out his pants. It was so so so funny! But the guy had some dress pants that he doesn’t wear anymore so he gave us like 4 pairs. It was pretty cool. I told my comp that he should teach fighting moves a little more often and maybe we’d get some more free stuff! hahaha

But anyways, that’s really cool about the football players. Idaho athletics are moving up in the world haha :) but yeah I don’t know anything about what goes on in the sports world because no one here in Puerto Rico watches anything but baseball, boxing, and basketball so yeah I don’t ever get any news! (Kyle Wilson (BSU) and Iupati (U of I) got drafted into the NFL in the first round draft pick! - Kyle Wilson is going to play on the NY Jets and Iupati the 49ers.)

o yeah … so for mother’s day I’ll just do the same thing I did at Christmas and I will call. I'm pretty sure that they are going to have us call the day before again to make sure it works and to set everything up but yeah I'm not sure but I think I will be doing that. I was wondering how I will call Jason? We should figure something out about that haha but yeah when is he going to be calling you guys?

But that’s cool about Brian and Brandt. Haha! I'm going to have to find a good job when I get back from my mission or I’ll be hurting when I go to college.

o and Nate is in Korea right now and then he is going to go to Ukraine with Jared to teach English for like 4 months so yeah they will leave for Ukraine in July but I look at it as a really good thing because I doubt either of them will get married in Ukraine so they’ll still be free birds when I get back hopefully.

But anyways life is going great here we are working hard and teaching a lot of people and yeah it’s great. Today I get to go to CRASH BOAT I’m excited! (I looked on the internet and found out that Crash Boat is a beautiful beach in Puerto Rico!)

Love you guys

Elder Ward

04/20/2010 (Mayaguez)

HOLA FAMILIA

CHACHO!!! (that means WOW! in Puerto Rico haha and it’s going to be hard for me to quit using that word when I get back I think haha) but it sounds like things are going good and crazy back home. Missionaries coming home and leaving and volcanoes and airplanes! haha Sounds pretty exciting!!

This week has been really good for us. We had some cool experiences. First off one of our investigators, William Lopez, he’s an awesome guy. His friend is a member and he’s been going to the church a lot to help with the unemployment program here. All of a sudden one day he walked up to us and we didn’t know who he was or anything and he said I want to be baptized so we told him alright we’ll see what we can do to help him. Haha! It was awesome! So then the first time we went to the church to teach him and we sat down and he said ok what do I have to do to get baptized haha it was crazy! I didn’t think I would have an experience like this in Puerto Rico!) But we explained what a testimony is and how that all works and how he has to gain a testimony for himself and then we taught him the first lesson and read and prayed and all that good stuff! So he came back and he said after the lesson he was reading and he prayed and he asked to know if he was doing the right things. He said he really didn’t get an answer until right after he decided to go to Walgreens and his ex-wife and daughter that he hasn’t seen for like 3 years was there and she yelled at him and said come over and see your daughter and that she wanted him to be a part of her life and that she was going to let him see her once a week. So he came back two days later for the second lesson and he said he got his testimony and he was telling us all this stuff. He’s learned about the church and it was really awesome he is a way way way smart guy. He’s a doctor but an herbal natural doctor (I think kinda like Wendy’s friend but he does a lot of chiropractic stuff too). But yeah it was really cool and he asked us if we could baptize him that day but we told him we have to wait and teach more and keep praying and reading and yeah it was really cool. The only bad thing is that he has cancer and he gets really sick. So Sunday he ended up not making it to church and we couldn’t teach him one day but we saw him yesterday and he’s doing better again and really excited for his next lesson. It’s been a pretty awesome experience.

And now a funny experience … so two nights ago we went to a lesson and we had to leave to go eat dinner with some members. We were supposed to take the other missionaries to eat with us but when we called them a member answered their phone so we thought they were just joking. But I guess some how they accidently did something with the phone and the lines got crossed so every time you called the missionaries it was the member’s phone. But we were late and my comp thought the members were joking and so he was getting super mad and we couldn’t find the missionaries and then they called and we were already there and my comp was still all mad and then the other missionaries were getting all mad cuz they didn’t know what happened either, So everyone was getting all ticked off and I was trying to calm them all down and remind them of President Monson’s talk about not getting mad cuz anger only destroys. It was a pretty crazy night but at the end we gave them a ride home and everyone figured everything out and my companion said he learned his valuable lesson of not getting mad no matter what the situation. It was a nice little mission learning experience but yeah it’ll be one I’ll have to expound on for you guys when I get home. :)

But other than that, things are going great and we are having fun. Don’t worry about the ties just keep checking they’ll come on every once in a while just make sure they are polyester and old and not clip ons haha. My buddy accidently got some clip ons.

It’s really hot and we have been doing a lot of service and I ate a chilly and then worked in the sun all day and fried my upper lip really bad. We all got a good taste of picapica … the worst plant in the world … worse than stinging needle! Haha!

Tell Kori I said hi! I can’t believe that he’s home. Chacho that’s crazy and today I’ve been a missionary for 11 months :( time really does fly! Well I’ve got to go but I love you guys and have a great week!

Elder Ward

04/12/2010 (Mayaguez)

HEY FAMILIA!

So everything is going just great here in Mayaguez. It’s wonderful yeah -- Elder Christensen was here for 3 transfers before I got here and so yeah I know him. Right before he left he told me he left me some good food so that was rather nice of him! Haha! But yeah we are doing great Margarita still has her baptismal date but what happened was that when Elder Christensen left they put 3 new missionaries in the ward and split the area. So Margarita is in the other side so really I have never taught her but I have talked to her at church. She is an old lady that has been going to church for about 2 years. The only reason she hasn’t been baptized yet is because she cant quite give up her last little half cup of coffee she drinks every morning but she will do it soon I think and we are praying for her :)...

The other people in the area are great! We are teaching an awesome family that includes a mom and three young boys and they are awesome. They live in the same house as a member so it’s really cool! We are teaching them and she is always going to church so I’m pretty sure we will set a baptismal date with her pretty soon. Then we have another family that goes to another church but we have been teaching them and yesterday we went over with a member to teach them and the coolest thing about the member we took is that she was a founder of the church they go to! Haha! so I really really think her testimony helped and they will start progressing really soon :) other than that we have had some really good experiences and some new people that we have found and are teaching so yeah this week should be really awesome and I’m way excited to teach :)

So Andrea and Bill’s house looks way awesome. I want to go visit before they sell it! Haha! o well I guess just tell them if they sell it they have to buy a really cool different house! :) But yeah sounds like you guys had a good trip and things are going good in Mtn. Home! It’s also crazy to think that Bishop Price has not been bishop for a whole year isn’t that kinda crazy? but yeah I don’t know what else to tell ya haha I think we are going to go to one of the nicest beaches in Puerto Rico today! I’m not sure exactly but I think we are so if we do I’ll take some good pictures and send them to you guys next week... my shoes are going great no problems I think my black ones might last my whole mission I have my fingers crossed and I’m praying haha.... but yeah well I better get going but you guys have a great week!
I love ya

Elder Ward

O yeah just send stuff to the office it’s a lot easier that way :) love ya

PS: O yeah mom I wanted to ask you a favor. So the best ties in the world to have on the mission are the old polyester ties and I figured out how to get them. I guess you can get on eBay and buy boxes of like between 15-50 ties for really cheap like $.50-$1.50 for every tie so that would be awesome if you could get on there and buy me a box and send it to me and then I can send some to Jason too if you want so that we only have to pay shipping once. but yeah there’s a missionary that’s always getting boxes of them from eBay and they are like the coolest ties ever and they are durable so if you could do that I would appreciate it :)

Love ya!

I Love Pics!!!

Birthday Cupcake Bonfire - Elder Ward turns 20!!!

Give a bunch of Elders B-day hats and this is what you get ...

A few ninjas assembling bunkbeds!

Coloring Easter Eggs!

04/05/2010 New Area: Mayaguez (6th Transfer)

Transfer #6
Area: Mayaguez
Comp: Elder Rivera

HEY GUYS!

ok sorry it’s been a little bit what happens here in the Catholic capital of the world is semana santa (holy week) and during holy week everything closes down and everyone eats fish and so i couldn’t email cuz the library was closed and everyone was off eating fish haha

but anyways I’m currently living in Mayaguez right now since Wednesday. i was really bummed to leave a lot of the people that we had found in Ponce including the man that had the baptismal date. we found him and he felt so bad that we hadn’t taught him for a while so i think he will probably progress again with Elder Wilson but yeah and then another guy named Juan is just amazing and I’m excited to hear if he gets baptized.

This week has been way crazy because we had to do all the moving stuff … helping all these people move, building bunkbeds and just crazyness and then we had a normal work day FINALY this Friday and it was good I got to get out and work hard in the new area and we had conference WHICH WAS GREAT! they talked a ton about families and wow it was a great conference. for some reason i just got the feeling like the times are only going to get worse and worse as we get closer to the last days and they were just advising us to be strong do things we need to strengthen ourselves and our families and just seguir adalante like they say over here haha

but yeah I’m really excited to be here in Mayaguez. its another giant city but on the awesome side of the Island. I’m on the west side and really close to some of the nicest beaches in PR and i live a rock throwing distance from the ocean but yeah everything is going great. My new comps name is Elder Rivera from El Salvador and he is great. Its awesome having a latin comp because my Spanish is getting even better :)

well i got to go but it sounds like you guys had fun in England. o and i also thought it was funny about Jason because all the stuff he asked for is stuff you learn you want on the mission and i should have told him haha cuz i wear short socks a lot, the watch thing, and everyone always get the PMG shrunk they do say its illegal but all the missionaries get them haha but yeah ill talk to you guys later

love ya
elder ward