New Area, State of Emergency and Washing Clothes by Hand

Dear Mom,

Well, this week is kinda crazy. We are in this area called Sensuntepeque. It's actually very pretty. Sorry, I didn't take too many pictures this week. It was pretty crazy. My companion is a good guy .We haven't had any problems yet. Just when he beat me and Elder Brinkerhoff at 21. We now owe him 3 ice cream trips to the local Saritas here. It kinda sucks.... Because I won the first round for just one from each guy. Then we decided double or nothing, then triple or nothing. Not the best idea. Oh, fun fact for you guys, the country was on a state of emergency for a while, the gangs got a little excited and started doing the stuff gangs like to do and we were mandated to be in the house by 6 PM the past couple of days. A lot of time was spent in the house eating cereal, playing cards and telling jokes and reading. It really wasn't what we wanted. But now, we are going back to normal schedule this week and everything is all good now. I now have to resort to washing my own clothes, by hand. It kinda sucks. That is why you see all of my clothes on wires hanging outside of the house. We are trying to survive the heat and the end of the month money famines. But we're all good. Tell Daisy and Paul I said hi. And tell Paul he owes me a good Ice cream when I get back. Love you all and keep working in the work and don't stop believing. I know that you are the best guys in the whole world. 

Sincerely,

Elder Medina

New Transfer and New Companero

Dear Mom,

I understand about the boots thing, I told  him he's got to give them back to me when he's done. Dang! Johnny looks nice with a shirt and tie. I am so happy that he has been baptized, give him a hug for me. I did get transferred, and I got sent to open a new area with a new companion named Elder Ruiz, he's from Mexico and he looks pretty white. Him and I are just going crazy talking to people, we've got a new Book of Mormon project that is pretty successful. Me and my old companion from the MTC, Elder Jones, live in the same house now. He went and bought a hammock and when we get home at night we usually just chill in it. Our area is HUGE! But, the worst thing, is that it is a branch. There is so little people that go to church and the majority of them are women. But, it is super great, the people here are very humble and I love them and I really like this area. Girls camp huh? Oh! Mom, I have an idea for you, in our last area, what we did is that we gave a Book of Mormon to a few of the youth to give out to their friends. I don't know if it worked, I left before I could see. We were able to do a great service project, at which I got dehydrated hardcore, but the members here are super happy and helps us out now. My hillsports shirt has died. But that may be a good way to get the Youth in the ward a bit more involved in the work. I love you guys.  Keep on working hard.

Love,

Elder Medina

                                          I will miss this family

                                     and I'm going to miss this guy

                                   My new companero, Elder Ruiz

                                         A good day of service

                              Some of our awesome everyday friends

Post Mother's Day and Service Project

                                  Fried Mangos, Chicken and beans

Dear Mom,

To start off, I completely forgot (which I feel really bad for) to tell you HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We found a really nice pillow that I wanted to buy you, but, we bought it for our other "mom". She says hi too by the way, we weren't able to talk at her house, we wanted to because it was closer to the house. Everybody's homesick at times, we just keep trucking and remember our purpose. I still miss my mommy, the food at home was a HECK  of a lot better than my food here. I am doing a lot better with my budgeting too. But I know that I can do better, and I will do better. I love all of you and keep going.

Skyping on Mother's Day (Written by Mama)

Yay! We got to have our second skype with Elder Medina. That means we are close to the half way point. We tried to be better prepared this time. As a family, we wrote down a bunch of questions to ask him.

Here are some of the questions and answers

*What is the best food you have tried?    Papusas
*What is the weirdest thing you have ate?    He recently tried Chicken genitals (yuck!)
*How are your shoes and clothes holding up?   He gave a pair of dress shoes to his companion, because he needed some good shoes. He was taping the inside of his shoes. He also gave his nice pair of boots to the zone leader because his were in pieces.
* What is a typical p-day like?   He goes shopping, emails family and the president, plays soccer and does service.
* What do you miss most from home?  He misses wearing "real" clothes and music other than Mo-tab and the snow. He said it is always so hot and he sweats non stop.
*Where have you been getting all of the other clothes that you have been wearing?  The missionaries there like to trade clothes with each other.
*Do you use you mosquito net faithfully?   Yes! Dengue fever is very bad right now and they have been told that they all have to use their mosquito nets.
*How much does it rain?  Lately it has been almost everyday.
*How are your feet holding up?  Good, except for an ingrown toenail. No fungus yet!!!
*How often are you fed by members?  Not very often at all. He said they just do their best to try to budget and make their money stretch as far as they can.

Other than that, it was just a lot of other random questions and conversation. Diego was so excited to see "His Victor." His Spanish is great and he looked super happy!

New Investigator! Lots of Pictures

Dear Mom,

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I really don't know when we will be skyping you, we haven't been told when we are going to do that. We finally found an amazing investigator here in the area. He accepted baptism on the first invitation and he goes to church every sunday. He reads like his life depends on it and more. He already knows that the church is true and has had an assurance from God that everything we teach is true. It has been a great testimony builder for me and I feel like all of this work is starting to pay off. WOOO HOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so happy that Olivia got to BYU! Give her a big hug for me. I am positive that she is going to kill it. I love all of you guys. Keep working hard.

By the way, We learned how to make 100% homemade chocolate/hot chocolate. By far the coolest thing in the world!

 

Sincerely,

Elder Medina