Prep day in Caldas #2

Hellooo awesome family!!

Holy cow! I was suprised to have an inbox full of great emails! 20!! But alas, my inbox is also starting to get a bit full, around 69% or so, so I would also be greatly indebted to anyone who would get on my lds email and clear up some space, starting from the back, copying over or printing and then deleting... thanks!!

Whoo-hoo! Way to go Joy!! That is awesome you did your half marathon! I wish I could´ve been there to have the Chariots of fire and Eye of the Tiger music goin for you. Great job!

Thanks Kit and Aup for the lovely pictures. Such beautiful nieces!!

Whew, what a busy Preparation Day! Elder FLINT (Elder and Irmã Parker are the awesome casal here, Elder Flint is my companion with same first name) and I blitzed on our grocery shopping first thing in the morning so we could be on time to have lunch with the Parkers at Irmã Dolores, the branch Relief Society Presdent, home. Food is good! Then we went over to Mafra to meet up with Elder Dean and Elder Peterson and went through the National Palace there. Cool stuff! Unfortunately we ended up taking a bit longer than planned, so we made it back to squeeze in our email time before our first teaching appointment this evening.

Ah, Life is amazing!! What can I say more? Monday after district meeting we had divisions here in Caldas with our zone leaders, Elder Oliveira from Brasil and Elder Fay from Massachussetts (sp?). Great Elders, and great examples, and I know I always have more stuff to learn and improve on to be a better instrument in the Lord´s hands. Yesterday we had a nice busy day, especially in the evening. We had a little training we give every week on Preach My Gospel to some branch members, and then we had a FHE with them and other branch members. After that we went to a less active man´s home who had contacted Elder Flint and Elder Fay during the division. Carlos (the less active man) really wants to come back to the Church, and his wife Suzana really likes the Church but doesn´t want to get baptized because she doesn´t want to obey the Word of Wisdom (silly...), and their older daughter Rafaella is 10 and kept on looking at her children´s Book of Mormon and her dad´s copy, so it seems she likes the scriptures too! A little backtrack -- on Saturday evening we had an extra half hour or so, and prayerfully sought the guidance of the spirit. Lo and behold, we ´contacted´ a man who had been baptized a long time ago but had moved away and became inactive. But he moved back to Caldas some time ago, and he said he wants to come back to Church! I love being a missionary!! The Church is true!!

Well, those are just some tidbits... the gists of news of this week. Zone Conference is Monday, and I am looking forward for correction and instruction from President Terry and the other mission leaders! I love all ya´ll!! Take care!! And please someone clean up a bit of my inbox por favor! C VU PLAY!! (Sorry my beloved Frenchies, but I don´t know how to spell your beautiful language.) Tchau!

--Elder Ellis V
CM SBF FDP S&H