27 March 2017 - Quisqueya (San Pedro de Macoris)

(Response to Dad's e-mail, in which he counsels Christian to stay busy, talks about the crazy spring weather--rain, then snow, then 70 degree sunshine, Ian's budding new photography talent, Jason's upcoming assignment in Nigeria with Jami and the kids coming, and the new Thomson baby expected toward the end of the year, and finally the upcoming Book of Mormon Evidence conference in Orem the week following General Conference.)

Busy is right! Here in the DR the weather...is a bit different. The sun burns REALLY REALLY hot during the whole day, and then rains all night. Its been doing that for about a week now and...wow. HOT.

Funny, I never pictured Ian as a big photographer. Funny to see where life leads our interests.

Yeah, Jason told me about NIgeria and the baby! CRAZY!! And youll have to tell me about the BoM conference. Pumped for conference!!

(General e-mail)

Well I dont really know what to say this week. I always say I will write more...but then I run out of things to say. hahaha You all know that I shout in lots of doorways, ask tons of references and eat weird food. Im not really trunky, havin a great time and....yeah...missionary life.

Well in my personal study Ive really begun to develop a deep love for the Book of Mormon. Im moved by the stories and I always wish I had more time to read. Elder Anderson told us that that was one of the signs of a true conversion. Yay personal progress! (not the young womens program. ;))

The contreras family continues the same. They all came to church on sunday and always love our visits. We watched an old cartoon with them that some of you might remember! Living Scriptures, Lehis dream. Its very old, but I still love it and it helps to teach the principles. We are going to put a baptismal date with the daughters of the family for april as we still havent fixed their paperwork situation.

THis week we also started to see just how much help our branch needs. The members fight and bicker, our presidency doesnt/cant do anything and Im just kind of caught in the middle, doing what I can to help. We are praying alot to know how we can bless the branch, but...its hard. hahaha NEVER LOSE HOPE! WOO!

Anyway. Thats...pretty much it...I cant think of anything else woth mention except CONFERENCE THIS WEEKEND!!! The sad part is that our branch doesnt even have money to go to the district center to see it, and we cant really watch it in our chapel...We're workin on it. haha

Love you all!

20 March 2017 - Quisqueya (San Pedro de Macoris)

(Response to Dad's e-mail, in which Dad mentioned some medical seminars he's been to and suggested some alternative plans for college this fall.)

Hey dad! So thats awesome about all the seminars. Im always interested to learn new random things, but I dont think id understand it if you explained it to me. :P haha

As for school...I dont know! I thought I was certain, but now you are giving me new options i hadnt considered and Im confused. Ill give it thought and prayer this week, but we will see.

Also, as for the chat. I dont feel great about it (just to make it known and you dont think im being disobedient), but it is allowed and I only use it to check up on important things like college.

Love you Dad! If you guys as a family could do a little research into what the different schools offer, Id be very grateful (cus I dont ahve time nor permission to do it myself.) :) Love you!!

(General e-mail.)

Let me try and jot down a few notes for the week.

so...

Elder Anderson was AMAZING!! I got to shake his had as wellas those of a whole bunch of other 70s. The choir number was gorgeous and went off almost without a hitch.

Elder Anderson spoke in spanglish with some portoguese mixed in there as well.  He also speaks french!  Thought the whole thing I just kept feeling that this WAS a chosen apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Super spiritual.

The Contreras family continue being awesome, but we still havent been able to figure out their papers.

Not much news in other parts. All is well, Im out of time and will write more next week. Sorry these letters are so short!

Love you all!

13 March 2017 - Quisqueya (San Pedro de Macoris)

(Response to Dad's e-mail, in which he shared about some medical conferences he attended and asked whom Christian wants at the airport when he arrives. NOTE: "JJ" refers to "Jami and Jason".)

Lots of cool office things and medical terms I dont fully understand! Cool! Well, right off to answer you question about the Homecoming, Id MUCH rather have JJ there for my arrival. I wasnt very close with...anyone in the ward, so that really doesnt concern me. I pick Door A.

Dont worry Dad, That doesnt even make me trunky. Dave wrote me a really great letter today and Im gonna try alot harder to get focused and chartible in these last few months.

Love you dad! BA!

(General e-mail.)

Elder Anderson tomorrow!!!!! AAAAHHH!!!! EXCITEMENT!!!! Also, I get to sing in the special choir that we´re preparing! Front row seats and...we get to sing!!! For an apostle of the Lord!!!! AH!!!! Pumped.

Anyway, the week.

So it was a pretty normal week. Absolutely cruised by, but thats not abnormal. We´ve been finding ourselves doing an inordinate amount of walking as many appointments fall. Weekends here are a nightmare as everyone leaves our tiny field village and goes off to the big city to do real person things. The Contreras family are still awesome but...there´s a big problem with their marriage. We were trying to take out copies of the Birth Certificates but when we used Molly´s (the wife) ID to try, a man showed up in the system instead of her! Looks like the derpy dominican worker goofed on some numbers. So thats unfortunate. The cool part is that when we talked about it with Billy (the husband) on Sunday, he was pretty chill. He told us that he still wants to get baptized on the 18th and that he knows the Lord will do his work and provide a way to get them married and baptized. It seems he is developing an exceptional faith. :)

So apart from that we found a few new families! Of note we have a new man named Hector. We are teaching his whole family, but he stands out. We left a BoM with him to read, but then couldn´t return for like 2 weeks. We would calll him and talk and he would always tell us that he was reading and had lots of questions and the he REALLY wanted to talk to us about the BoM. When we finally went back yesterday, we finally discussed the book and he LOVED it. He accepted a baptismal date for April and seems very excited about everything we taught.

We also found several people who apparently used to go to church a bunch, but then stopped going for work and lost contact with the missionaries when transfers happened. After speaking with them, they seem very excited to come back to church and learn more! Yay blessings!

For normal life news, Ive decided Im going to apply to UVU for multiple reasons, among them many mission friends are going there, living with my Hermano Dave, and starting afresh in a new area. :)

Love you all!! Remember, God hears you and he loves you VERY much. BYE!

6 March 2017 - Quisqueya (San Pedro de Macoris)

(Response to Dad's e-mail, in which he shared that he just got back from a seminar and will be heading to another one. Also how excited he is for General Conference next month.)

Another Seminar??? My goodness. Thou art a busy man. haha That sounds super awesome though!  I am PUMPED for conference.  Itll be my last in the mission which is SUPER weird, but oh well. Time passes.

(Response to brief note sharing that it was snowing here.)

Hey pops! Thats great! I miss snow....

I didnt get in to BYU FYI. THinking of going to UVU. Opinions?

(Response to Dad's e-mail, sharing his opinion that UVU is good, and so is USU, where Christian could be with Ian.)

Yeah, Ialso thought of USU, but at UVU I could still go and live with Dave.

Ill take it to the temple on wednesday. Any personal thoughts?

(General e-mail)

Oh the Big letter.

So the week was normal as far as the work goes.  I will add a few cool stories, but the majority of these come from study and other stuff.

So, the Contreras family. SUPER awesome.  Billy the dad is helping the family alot to realize that this is the right decision.  He always shares with them what he learns from the BoM.  On wednesday we put a baptismal date with them for the 18 and also put a marriage date for the 11th.  They dont have tons of money, but we talked about the faith and all we were in agreement that if God wants them to get married on the 11th, itll happen; as long as we do our part.  It was a really awesome and spirit laiden lesson.

So apart from that, personal study experience!  One day, I was sitting, wondering what I should study.  I leafed through scriptures and liahonas, but nothing felt right.  The Lord wanted me to study something else.  I felt directed to a specific Liahona, picked it up and started to read. Soon, I found an article about when good plans go wrong, for young adults.  It talks about a group of people who all have great, solid plans for the future, but all go awry.  As I read it, I felt that the Lord was preparing me for something.  Then, today I got a letter from BYU that I wasn´t accepted. I had received a direct answer in the temple that I should attend BYU, but the article helped me to understand that The Lord had other plans. For now. ;) So! We continue with more applications.

I received multiple witnesses this very day that God loves us and know exactly what is happening in our lives.

THis week, we are going to the temple!! My last with the mission. :\  Also, the date of Elder Andersons visit comes ever closer!

I will TRY to write more next week, but time just....grr.

I Dont have alot of time left, but I love you all! and time goes by too fast so enjoy every second!