Working our tails off…

Letter from 3-2-09

Man, this week has been a rush. We started trading off who gets to sleep in the beds bc the tile floor is NOTHING like i remember camping to be! I feel kind of like a bum on the street, sleeping on a piece of cardboard with an ugly blanket. I guess that we all have different ways to have fun, but this isn’t mine yet. Actually, i think that my comp likes it... but he is a little crazy...

This was a tough week, but productive for us at least. We are going to baptize at least 2 people this Saturday that we found on Friday, and we have a bunch more that we are excited to baptize this week or next. The other elders in our house are also getting ready to baptize a few people. In testimony meeting an investigator went up and started telling this wild story about how her son is in prison for killing two people, but that he is innocent, and how other people were going to kill him in the prison and were trying to ransom him for 8000 bucks, and a bunch of other crazy stuff. I was watching the bishop, and he looked REALLY nervous. After like 7 or 8 minutes of this crazy story, she said that one night this week she was praying and crying and that she received and answer to her prayers that the book of Mormon is true and now she wants to be baptized. It was cool because the ward is already excited to have so many missionaries, they had never had 4 before, and our first Sunday there, a crazy lady went up and said that she wants to be baptized ASAP! So the ward thinks that the new missionaries, US, are going to turn things around in the ward. And with the Lords help, we will. We brought a whole family to church this Sunday. Most were inactive members, but there are two children that we are going to baptize on Saturday.

Other than that, not much else. We are lost. It is super hot, and i am sweating a TON. (I always stink, at least to me i stink.) i get these weird heat/sweat rashes all over my body, and they itch a lot.

DAD- wait, let me see if i understood- your missionary experience was getting doors slammed in your face? Bummer. I try and teach the missionaries that it is SO important that they work with members. The Lord knows this, and so, the Lord will provide a way for them to have a spiritually uplifting experience if they seek Him and His help. And it works. I have never left with a member when, even when everything goes wrong, we didn’t find a way to have a good experience or find a good person to teach. Sometimes it was hard, but the Lord prepares a way. Good luck with the field days, no throwing rocks.

The other gross stuff this week is the weird case of chaffing that i have got going. It itches and hurts ALL the time. What do you do fix it? I am a little afraid to ask the mission president’s wife- i am not sure how to say a lot of the words that i would need to explain it and it would be awfully awkward. Imagine me trying to explain what the problem is with my poor biological vocabulary i would end up using the cruder words that i've learned on the street here. It might come out way wrong... i bet i will have a funny experience to tell you next week bc of this. :-)

MOM- actually elder harmon is one of the new assistants to the president. President called 4 right now. He is a really cool guy. Turns out that being dedicated in the MTC, (even if he was annoying), stayed being really dedicated on the field. We have since met several times on the mission and we love talking. We had a bunch of meetings when we were zone leaders in zones close to each other. I have got a cool picture that i took with him like 2 months ago that is really cool, he is a LOT more fun these days...elder rhodes is one of the new assistants too. So we get to talk a lot more now. Whenever i want actually. Weird that jimmy is coming home already... but cool that shane comes home at the same time as me; didn’t he start before me? I think that i am getting ripped off out a few days of mission service, but i don’t think they have a complaint desk for me to call about this one. Be sure to email before or after the trek, BUT DONT forget to email me. Alyce that bum, didn’t get around to it again.

ALYCE- hey goonie! What’s the deal sis? Hope you are alright... guess i’ll here from you next week.

Well, i got to try and buy mattresses today and maybe bunk beds- so have a good week.

Love you more than mattresses (which i love a lot)

Elder helland