Letter from Jon 1-19-09

1/19/09

Hey Fam!!!!!!!!!!!!!Hey everyone thanks so much for fun emails today… I love you all! A special thanks to the Barber’s, mom and Bishop Greer and family for Christmas stuff. hehe I just got it and I loved the jokes of the kids and Tebbs I liked the Jon Bythway CD. It was so good! I’m glad you had fun on the trip to Zion’s . I guess me getting bit by a squirrel is kind of funny if you think about it…. But I was pretty scared.Thanks dad for study stuff , I love studying.Thanks so much for all fun package stuff and everything mmmuah!It’s been another week! Isn’t it just crazy how they tick off ? This one was a lot faster because we had tons to do… We had a baptism this week and it was awesome because we married them first yesterday in chosique. It was a lot easier to plan an arrange everything the second time and its so so awesome being able to marry people so that they can get baptized. The lady’s name is Maria and she is really small but she was so ready. I feel so blessed to be the elder to help this family.
It’s been a crazy week but a good one to end the change. Elder Blackham and I interviewed her and decorated for the wedding on Friday night them went to chosigue on Saturday. We baptized her on Sunday. The family invited Elder Blackham and I to the wedding and gave us time to speak and then we just chilled like two cool cats sippin away at our chitta margarita as they danced the night away. I was so so so so tempted to get up and dance. They were playing music like …sweet dreams of rhythm and dancing …and what is love in the chapel? hehe… It was great baptism and a fun way to end Elder Blackham and I’s time together. Maria makes 5 great friends we’ve been able to baptize into the church in these last 3 months. Today was changes and I was way nervous this morning and I always am when things happen like this. I just learned I’m staying here and Elder Blackham is going to Compoy! And his other buddy Elder Millard is going to Bayovar, my old area , both of the areas are in Lima. I am staying here but……………..I’m going to the CCM in Lima to pick up my next companion. He will truly be a greeny. I’m training for real this time yikes I’m way nervous!! There’s only like 6 or 7 new kids and I got one of them. I don’t know who he is and President will tell me after he interviews him on Tuesday yikes!!!! I’m kind of nervous, but way excited. I cant wait to help him out and be his bud. It will be interesting to see his wide eyes as he takes his first look of Lima outside the CCM. I can’t believe I’m finally to this point. I remember going to my first area and seeing all American missionaries speaking Spanish in yellow shirts with old shoes and I was like …I cant do this, but I am doing it. I don’t know if he is Latino or gringo but I’m staying here for one more month at least. I love you all! Thanks so much for always supporting me and being there for me. I am so spoiled and blessed. I feel bad sometimes cause some of these Elder’s families don’t even get emails from there family. My DL Elder Encinas has opened his page and found nothing many times and he just sits there while we write. It makes me tear up and I have the best family. I try to be there friends and make them laugh and I hope it makes them feel better. Thanks for always being positive and upbeat and telling me fun things about the family and friends. It really helps. Make sure and tell people to write their missionaries. Mail is the only thing we have. I’m so very blessed and truly so grateful. This work is a miracle. I love you all ..P.S. this week we did something kind of fun. We went to a different area to go tracking and look for a new apartment for new missionaries. Elder Blackburn and I saw a huge huge water tank and the door was open……. So I said hey lets go check it out. We went in there and we talked to the guy in there and he was like what are you doing in here and I was like oo we just wanted to invite you to church at nine o-clock in the morning. He was like o yeah?? Then I said can’t we go up and look and he said yeah so we went up in a huge lima water tank and I went up this tunnel all the way up into the tank and it was like the size of Dixie high school gym but a tank. There was no water in there but it smelled like sweaty gym and felt like a sauna. I was so high up( I was safe mom it was windy stair case then later a latter) I bet Clint would have loved it! I then continued up and stuck my grill out the top hole from the top I saw almost all of Lima. I started shaking cause I was up so high( I was safe mom) Then I went back down and said Blackie you got to check it out. It was really fun, I love experiencing new things. I just couldn’t help but think how fun it would be to take a little swim in there when it was full. It would be especially fun to sneak in at night and take a little dip! At night it would be so cool!Love your son Elder Rogers Muah!!!!!!!!!