January 18, 2009

First of all, Andrew's heading into a devastated area, a buddy of mine in Puerto Rico shot me an email saying that all the missionaries in pretty much all the caribbean are being sent in 3-4 day shifts to help out. He said he hasn't heard of any missionaries injured but that's not his mission so he doesn't know for sure.
Is it crazy freezing in AZ? I saw on a telivsion here that there was 10 deaths in Florida from freezing cold temps all throughout the US. That was a jaw dropper, I pray it doesn't mean it will be like that this winter here. UGH
To answer dad's questions, we get served pan dulce a LOT. I like it, but pretty much noone else does. It's like dry fruitcake haha As for the coke, we drink more coke than water most days. It's all people serve, I probably drink around a liter of coke a day minimum (the days we have a decent number of lessons and such). That photo was Christmas Eve at Michael Jackson's house. Coke and alcohol-free beer haha. It was funny.
I got the family newsletter from Grandma! Still no package from Aunt Donnell and no letters or packages from you guys, maybe tomorrow :) Stacy just got back from India yesterday or today, right? I can't wait to see and hear all about that!!!
As for Nichole, missionaries in HER area would be the best to teach her, when I get back I can sure help them, but I wouldn't hold the keys and such. That's so cool about the scriptures though, I'm so excited to hear she's getting interested! There's so many wonderful answers in the scriptures. Especially the New Testament and Book of Mormon. In fact, every answer!
So the last 2 days Elder Grau was super sick vomiting and diarrea and all that, so I read Jesus the Christ and it was fun :) He was okay for church, but super dizzy, so when Hma. Rosa wasn't there to teach Principles of the Gospel class, guess who had to? Me. hahaha my first class in Spanish. It was pretty funny I think. Turned out alright though I think.
I'm excited for the Olympics, an opportunity to brag about my country. hahaha Sorry to hear Obama's ratings are low in a time we need optimism. It's all right though, the Lord won't allow anyone who shouldn't be the most powerful man in the world be him. He's there for a reason, if only to set the stage for the next President haha Have patience.
As for the photos, I can't really take a better pic of where I live because it's a little door in the cement wall behind the Pet Store in that picture. The owners are really nice!
Tell me how the temple tour is! Especially the chandelliere, I saw the $32 million one in Draper and I don't think that could feasably be passed up.
Congrats Aunt Michelle! Keep up the hard work!
As for people we're working with, Josè and Nauel are going to be baptized the 30th. Josè is so smart and he's progressing always. Nauel is still a crazy 8 yr old that runs screaming to us whenever he sees us and gives us a HUGE hug haha. He's such a funny, good kid. He's very ADHD, but with Elena's support he's still okay to be baptized. Next month, Nelida is for sure baptism, and we're also preparing a woman named Alicia(59) and her daughter Andrea(15), Marta (early 70's), and the Rey family: mom (52 i think...) and kids aged 29, 25, 23, 15, 12, 9, 8, 5. Josè the oldest child and Jenny the 9yr old, and Nauel the 8yr old (2 of em) are all excited to be baptized, the rest also, but the mom has a ton of questions to work out and is trying to quit smoking (and she works a lot to support a MASSIVE family haha) and the rest of the siblings work Sunday mornings and pretty much always are at the university when not working, but hopefully all will be baptized shortly. It would be awfully funny and awesome to have that many baptisms in one month in this area, so we're working hard with them. There's tons of other great investigators too, but everyone has so many problems to work out first haha. As missionaries, our purpose is to invite, so we offer commitments always (Will you read so and so....? Will you pray to find out....? etc...) and I've found one of the most common ones I have to give is "Will you divorce your ex husband/wife?" because everyone gets married young and divorce is super long and expensive here so people just leave their old spouse and move in with a new one and never are actually married. A couple we've been teaching have been together for 30 years (both are about 50) but the woman was married when she was like 18 and he left her a year later and never got divorced, so for all intents and purposes, these two are married, raised their kids, etc... just don't have the legal documents and can't be baptized. It stinks! So, hopefully our investigators will get divorced ASAP so they can get married and be baptized! So many good people that are stopped by something so small but tough.
So I have a blog? haha make sure it's clear that I'm not the one doing it, because if someone saw that and thought I was breaking a rule it would be very bad. Same with facebook please! and please always open my email account on hotmail every week or so so it doesn't close! That would be bad. Have a WONDERFUL busy week! and HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAYLI AND GRANDMA! and Aunt Maureen and Aunt Pennie are in the same week too, aren't they? I can't remember ha.

Love, Elder Magnusson