Changes Abound

Hola,

Well, first things first:  life is full of changes.  That's right, our trio has gone the way of all trios, and I've been informed that I have special changes.  I couldn't understand the name of my new area, so that will be a surprise for next week.  However, as far as my new companion goes, his name is Elder Ortiz.  He used to be one of the secretaries for the mission, so I have had the chance to meet him before.  We got along pretty well, so I'm not too worried.  The only thing I am worried about is that the cycle ends in two weeks, and it's possible that they might leave me in charge of my new area barely knowing anybody when changes come.  Still, we'll see what happens then.  So, other than that things are going more or less the same.  I'm not looking forward to packing tonight, but that's the mission.

As far as news from my area, things are just about the same.  We have still been having some difficulties finding new people to teach, but we have had some success.  There is an investigator that we have been teaching that has a lot of interest in the church.  Her name is Libia, and she attended church for the first time yesterday.  I'm pretty hopeful that she will continue to progress.  Other than that we haven't seen too much progress.  Still, I know the Lord is preparing people here, and I feel like I have done what I could in my time here.  I am going to miss this area, but I'm pretty much as used as somebody can be to changes.  And I know, like always, that there are going to be good people in my new area.  Still, this is the first place since my training that I've been in longer than six weeks, so it's a bit harder to say goodbye.

I think that's about it for me this week.  I'm sorry it's a short one, but I always find it hard to find things to say when I've got changes.  It looks like things are going pretty good for you guys there.  I am glad to hear the puzzle is finally finished.  Do make sure to send me a picture.  I want to see this monstrosity for myself.  I'm also glad you got a chance to get out of the smog for a couple days.  One thing I am going to miss from my current area is the fresh air.  And I do believe unruly angel is a pretty good description of dad.  As far as a certain surprise gift that have to do with my shoe size, I think it would be a bit better to send some money, because my current shoes are at the point that I'm going to throw them away as soon as possible.  I'll try to send you some pictures so you can see what I mean.  I think I mentioned it, but they sell ramen here, so I'm OK on that front.  As far as things I want, I can't think of too much.  The only thing I can think of is an oddly specific one, and if you can't find it, don't worry.  Basically, they sell these really nice pens in the MTC.  They are these super fine tipped caligraphy pens from Japan, and they are perfect for marking scriptures, because they don't bleed through the page.  I also love them for writing.  Anyways, the brand is Pigma Micron.  And they come in different sizes of tips.  The good ones are size 005.  Now, I don't want you going crazy trying to find them, just if you happen across them I would love some more.  I have one that is red, one that is blue, and one that is orange, so if you find some, I would like a couple other colors and maybe a couple black ones to write with.  I'll try to attach a picture of one.  Anyways, I think you've learned better than asking questions like that now.

OK,  that's it for this week.  I love you and I'll talk to you next week, from who knows where.

Love,

Elder Samuel Long

January in Mexico

Hola,

This has been a pretty good week.  I feel like we are just about used to working in a trio, and I know that means that things are about to change.  It does seem to work like that often, when we feel comfortable with something is always when God decides we need a change in our lives.  Still, it does keep things interesting.

As far as the work goes, everyone is coming out of their holiday hangover, and we've been having a bit more success finding people to teach.  The thing I have noticed is that of all the people we talk to in the street during the day, half of them at least here say that they have talked to the missionaries before.  I think that gives you an idea of how few people there are in our area here.  Still, we have managed to find some people to teach, so I have faith that we will continue to see progress here.  Not too much new has happened though.  The husband of Ema, the less active who I talked about, died this last week.  It was really sudden in some ways, but expected in others if that makes sense.  Basically he had been pretty sick for awhile, but he had been showing signs of improvement.  Still, he's free from his pain now, so that's good.  Ema has been taking things pretty well so far, and we'll see what happens with her and her family.  She keeps going to church every week though, so I have a lot of hope for her.  Other than her, we have another less active we are working with named Lea.  She literally lives next door to the church, but hadn't gone to church for about a year.  Until yesterday, when she attended.  With her, we have seen that it's not always the best to have so many family members in the same ward.  Basically she and her sisters have decided that they are no longer releated, which is pretty impressive because she lives next door to one of them.  Still, I know that time and the atonement can heal all wounds, so we'll see what happens with her.

Other than that, things are going more or less the same here.  It's still a bit cold, though nothing like January in Utah.  Today was actually pretty warm, and right now I just have a short-sleaved shirt on.  Basically, I think Sarah would love it here.  I love you, and I'll write you later.

Love,

Elder Samuel Long

Holiday Season

Hola,

The Holiday season continues here in Mexico, but we have been able to get some work in.  I'm hoping things will go back to normal after this week.  Apparently they don't have enough holidays, so they also celebrate the sixth of January here.  It's called something like All Kings Day in English, and apparently it's the day that the wise men arrived to give their gifts to Jesus.  Apparently the tradition now is that the wise men bring gifts for all the good children, so basically they have 2 and/or 4 Santas here.  They also have a kind of cake/bread called rosca de reyes, which has different sections.  One of the sections has a little baby Jesus statue in it, and whoever gets that piece gets to be a king for the day or something like that.  Needless to say, all the parents today were a bit frantic looking for some gifts, and whatnot for tomorrow.  (Whatnot or what not?)  Still, I think this is the last official holiday for awhile, so hopefully everything calms down here.

Other than that, things are going more or less the same here.  I'm just about used to working in a trio, so I'm sure it will throw me off when we have changes and I go back to only having one companion.  Still, it's been a good experience.  It's really helped me learn that you can't always please everyone.  But we do get along pretty well usually, so it hasn't been too bad.  I'd heard some horror stories about being in a trio before, so I'm glad to see most of them didn't come true.  The one problem we do have is getting everyone through the shower in the morning.  It can be difficult with two, but with three it's just about impossible.  And like always we don't always agree on everything, and even more now that there are three of us.  Still, I don't think I'll have too many bad memories from this cycle.

OK, I think that's about it for me this week.  I'm sorry it's a bit short this week, but I don't feel like there is too much news to share still.  The volcano still lets off some smoke every once in a while, but I'm confident that nothing bad will happen.  I love you, and I'll talk to you later.

Love,

Elder Samuel Long