Family,
Thanks for your letters. Life is good. Really good. I get to wake up at 5 every morning and make breakfast. It's the best! I get to go to bed by myself everyday of my life. Its fantastic! I love it! haha. Name that movie. :)
This week was really good. We´ve just been going nuts and talking to everyone and inviting everyone to be baptized haha. Our goal for baptismal invites this week is 40. :) I seem to recall that in The Best 2 Years Elder Calhoun did 99 in a week. I want to beat him haha.
Every week I have tons of cool experiences and funny stuff happens but for some reason I seem to forget about them all on Monday morning. Sorry about that.
Dad - Hopefully Bode can get something. He needs to redeem himself from his slalom run in 2010. Wow, working everyday of the year is pretty intense. I hope you can break that streak this week, and back to the good ole 904. I´m writing you a letter about the decision, so you may or may not get it before I get home ha.
1. Are transfers next week already?
- Yes, I can´t believe it. I´ve been telling my companion that I´ll be going back to Tapachula jokingly. I hope I´m wrong...haha
2. Have you seen any Destroyed in Seconds type of things, like with the propane tanks being refilled in a residential area. It seemed like the show got a lot of material from places like where you are. Floods maybe?
- haha. I haven´t seen anything too devastating. I´ve seen a lot of car wrecks. This Sunday was the most recent, the most notable was a combi that got in two wrecks within 45 seconds haha.
3. Tell us what you hear around you right now.
- Some Mexican love tunes, some people arguing, ´´Sunday Will Come´´ by Elder Wirthlin, mototaxis, street vendors, etc.
4. What do you do while your laundry is washing? I think it is not in a bucket, but by a machine where you live?
- The same thing I would do if I was at home - I eat. Don´t think that my washing machine matches up to the one we have at home. You have to fill it up with buckets of water and you have to squeeze the water out by hand. The cord lets out sparks, and plugging it in is a moment of tremendous fear every time. But even so it's one of the greatest blessings ever. It saves so much time.
5. Have you recovered from you stomach problems of last week? I hope so.
- Yeah, on Saturday I started to feel better. I´m feeling 100% now. No worries.
6. How large, geographically, is your area? Have you been to all parts yet?
-It's really big. From Berriozábal to Cintalapa and out to Villaflores. I´ve hardly visited any of the outer areas. Just Lucio Cabaños and Bonampak.
7. Do you ever think you will be in a bicycle area?
- I don´t think there are any in the mission. There might be a few in Oaxaca - I´ll be sure to advise you if I ever get a bike. Of course it's possible that I´m in my last area right now. :)
8. Tell us something that made you chuckle this week.
- My companion. haha. He is so hilarious. It's tough to describe it over email - you just have to hear his voice. Everything he says makes me laugh.
9. As you meander about during the week, what is the predominate type of music you hear?
- A soul numbing cry of drunken desperation. The bars always play really terrible music. ha. The other day a drunk guy sang to us in the street. It was a song called ´´Tragos de Amargo Licor.´´ (Swigs of Bitter Liquor). There is a version of it by Carla Morrison that is really good though (don´t ask me how I know that - just kidding - We heard it in a combi.)
Well dad, thanks for the weekly emails and the daily support. I love you!
Mom - Everyne has those moments. Don´t kill yourself over it, just learn from it. :) Perhaps it's a cultural difference, or it's due to the fact that we are foreigners here, or maybe it's just a general truth, but I have found that people, with few exceptions, respond very kindly to our efforts to teach them and invite them to join with us. I think you´ll find that to be true. I´m really glad you are praying for missionary opportunities. In Deiter F. Uchtdorf's talk Waiting on the Road to Damascus he says that we should teach the gospel at all times, and if necessary use words. Then says, ´´opportunities to do so are all around us, do not miss them by waiting too long on the road to Damascus. I love that. :) Thanks for the insights and encouragement, you´re the best! I love you mom!
Andee - haha, that slope style guys sounds awesome. I think I´ll just wait for the winter semester to start my classes. As for where I want to live, and all of that - I have no idea. haha. I hope Roy´s interview went well - tell that bum to write me haha. Love ya AD. Have a fantastic week.
I brought my camera so I could send you pictures but the computer isn´t recognizing my memory. I´ll be sure to send them next week.
I´m going to include something that I wrote to Bishop Maughan as my testimony of missionary service.
My Good Bishop Maughan,
Now that almost a year has passed since you wrote me I finally remembered to write you back. My bad. I hope all is going well back in my beloved Jax Beach ward. I´d like you to know that I think of you practically every day while I iron my shirt. I remember you saying in Tom´s farewell that you owe all of your blessings to your mission, including the habit of ironing your shirts every day. How true it is. There is not one principle of the gospel that I can think of that the mission has not clarified, or amplified, or planted deep within my heart. Especially the principle of consecration - anyone who thinks that ended with the United Order ought to go to the temple and give it some serious thought. God forever has and forever will require our all. This has been the best experience of my life. Help those young men get out in the mission. It will change them forever. Send them my love and my testimony that this is the Lord´s work. Nothing can compare.
The gospel is true. And I love you all.
Elder Roth
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