The Work Presses On

 I love it so much out here! There should be a rule against this much joy. Don't get me wrong, it is hot, there are mosquitoes like crazy, and things can be discouraging every now and then, but this is where I need to be, and that feels fantastic! We finally had some cooler days this week. That is super nice. 

     Night time stories! I generally sleep with just a sheet because I've been warm in our apartment. In fact, I haven't used a blanket since the first night in the CCM! However, we went on splits with the English elders on Wednesday, and their apartment got nice and chilly! I actually had to curl up a bit! Then, Saturday night, I woke up at around 3 a.m. because it sounded like Elder Rockhill was trying to plan stuff; I thought 'great, I missed the alarm.' Then, I realized the time and that he was still asleep. He was giving a lesson in his sleep. And it wasn't like mumbling either. I mean full voiced, out loud, fluent conversation with someone he was teaching in a dream! I giggled, rolled over, and went back to sleep a half hour later. 

     So for exchanges, Elder Johnson (English) went Spanish with Elder Rockhill, and I went English with Elder Stoker. It was way cool! We biked so much that day. It was good to be with someone else for a day to observe what that was like. We do a lot with the English elders because they only live like a quarter mile away from us. Cool guys!

     We got two baptismal dates this week! One for  a 22 year old named Ivonne. Her sister got baptized a few weeks ago. At her baptism, her son (9) said a prayer asking that Ivonne would get baptized too. So cool; he's going on a mission! Our other date was a 15 year old kid named Jordy. His cousin, Orbit (less- active) came and taught with us. The Spirit was really strong there! That was really cool as well because it means Orbit has to come to church to take Jordy!

     Other cool things: we taught D&C 4 in seminary this week! That went well. On Saturday, we went to a Fiestas Patrias, which is a hispanic cultural party thing. It was really fun. I got to know a couple investigators and ward members better. On Sunday, Elder Rockhill and I gave talks! I was so nervous! It's a good thing I had it written down, because my Spanish left me for some reason. I was told it went well, though. My subject was "Why is it Important to Be Honest?" Kinda hard! Yesterday, for the first Sunday I can remember, we did sweaty, hard work in service of a lady who was gonna be evicted if she didn't clean up her yard. We weed-whacked and mowed the lawn and destroyed this nasty shed for about 4 hours. It was really cool, and, I feel, brought me much closer to Christ!

     I love you all, and will talk to you soon! The church is true!

-Elder Spjute

This is me and my blurry companion with recent converts Alex (girl) and Johnathon. She's his aunt, and is so cool!