Aug. 23, 2010

haha love the pics!!! looks like i missed out! haha so when you said andy came out with the two girls i was like, well, theres cayman, and andy.... and i forgot about cali!!!! well, i didn´t forget, i just didn´t remember ;) wow, i thought you just got out of school and its starting again??? crazy stuff.... well, an update on me: just when i think i'm FINALLY getting used to the food and stuff, i get sick again.... :( i´ve had some HORRIBLE stomach issues this past week and nothing is helping.... i took out a whole pack of immodium and that worked about as good as chicklets. (that means it didn´t help at all) so i´ve been on a bread and electrolyte drink diet. (and it isn´t very yummy) hopefully it´ll all get better soon!!! we walk everywhere and no we don´t usually get rides. its probably why i´ve lost a ton of weight. i don´t know if i told you but i had to buy a new pair of pants cuz these other ones ripped.... like down my thigh so i wasn´t able to stitch it or anything.... i think it had sun rot.... just guessing.... and i wear a 34 pant now so i just can´t stop loosing weight. i eat a bunch of cheese cuz Villa Ahumada is known for its queso. really, its like the wisconsin of mexico. so there are a lot of quesadilla's and meat in my diet and i still lost a ton. weird. the prominent religion here is Christian.... which i thought was everyone that believes in God but its not.... its a church. they pray to Guadalupe and Mary which is really easy to teach about cuz thats taught in the 10 Commandments!! seriously, read 2 nephi 31, 3 nephi 11, and 3 nephi 27. these are the scriptures we can teach our first lesson from and its a pretty plain and simple message. they´re pretty much able to teach themselves with it. i´ll record a vid next week and try to send it off to you but i make no guarantees. well, i think thats about it so i love ya´ll and miss you a ton!!!

Elder Arko

Hey Pat,
How are things this week? We loved the pictures you sent and congrats on your first baptism! I'll bet it was a special day! I am so glad you had the spirit with you and could baptize this young boy. I hope you have many more opportunities to do this. The pictures that I am sending you is just a continuation of last weeks pics. These were the other ones I wanted to send you of the family reunion. So Megan and Brent came out this week. It was so good to see them! It's great to be able to Skype, but you can't get the hugs and kisses like you can in person! Andy decided to come with the two girls (Larry had to work), so we had all the grandkids here together!! We had a great time..playing games,swimming in Vernal and ..of course..Cafe Rio! The girls all came and helped me in the library, too. That was such a help to me! It turned out so cute! I'll have to send you pictures of what we did and pictures of all the grandkids! The girls got them all together and Megan took some cute pictures...so I'll get some copies and email them to you next time.
So tell me what is going on there? I'm not going to send you any packages..but just know that I want to!!! Do you need money on your card now or should I wait til closer to Christmas? Do you need anything in particular? I hope you are continuing to feel better and getting more use to the culture! You should get some Gatorade
or something like that to give you the things your body needs. That's one thing I had sent in you package...but anyway..that might help. Well..school starts this week and then I have college classes the following week, so we will pretty much be back on a regular schedule. How is your schedule? Do you have to walk to all your appointments or is there someone who drives you around? I imagine you do plenty of walking!! How many investigators do you have right now? I'll bet it is a challenge to find those who want to listen to the gospel! Is Catholic the prominent religion there? It's always hard when there is such a prominent church other than ours. But don't let that deter you!! You have the truth and that is yours to share! I love to read your testimony and I feel your spirit and the love you have for your mission. You are a wonderful example to everyone!! Thank you and stay strong and work hard to be the best you can be. We love you, you know that, and we think of you daily!! Send us another video when you can..maybe of what Juarez looks like. Well, I'll let you go for now and we'll hear from you tomorrow. I'll send you more pictures next week of all your nieces and nephews! They miss you and talk about you a lot. Work hard and keep up the good spirit! Love you lots!! Mom