August 12, 2013

hey mom!

well so i guess i´ll just get started into changes. so yep my comp left, went to this place called bocas del toro, which is like a 12 hour bus ride. so he left, and i have a new companion now. his name is elder velez from ecuador. he actually started the mission at the same time as me, well a week later, and this is his first change being zl, so it should be interesting. i told the assistants that i really wanted a comp that wants to work, but i don´t think i really got that. he´s fine i guess, but not really the change i wanted. i was so close to getting elder clarke you have no idea haha. he had changes, and my comp too, and then there´s a zone that´s right next to us and one of them had changes too, so it was like so close that he was gonna come here. that´s probably why i´m so bummed cause i sat with elder clarke on the bus on the way to changes, and we were like positive it was gonna happen, so then when it didn´t i was disappointed haha, but oh well.  elder velez is chill enough. he was actually with me in this zone when i was in barrio centro, so we kinda know each other a little bit. he´s a bit of a talker, and has admitted it a few times already to members and people that he´s just not very spiritual, so we´ll see how it goes. i really just wanted someone that wanted to work super hard, ever since my 3rd and 4th change i´ve never been with anyone that just wants to work hard. it´s kinda frustrating. i wanted to end strong and not have to drag my comp along or anything, but i don´t know what´s gonna happen.

at least with my last comp, he was a little dead, so not a lot got done. in the area we don´t really have anything right now. the members don´t really help us out that much, we can barely get food from them. this is my only area that we don´t have lunch, so we have to make lunch in the house, which means a lot of sandwhiches and water, mmmm...haha. the ward is cool, but for some reason they just aren´t very supportive. i know that a ton of activities have been done and family home evenings and everything, but they just don´t get excited, and like i said the time you asked about the members and missionary work, the work here will never go like it should or can if the members don´t get involved. so hopefully my comp has some ideas and we can spark something for the members here.

one super cool thing happened this weekend though. so we had stake conference this weekend, and it was so cool seeing everyone from barrio centro again, i loved that area. but there was this family, familia tejedor, and they were less active when i got there, and so we started visiting them. the little girl was at the age for baptism, so we talked to them about that, and tried to help reactivate them and everything. the mom always expressed desires for a temple marriage, but the dad felt guilty for some past sins. but long story short, the little girl got baptized and they started going every week and the dad got a calling with the young men. so that was super cool. he got the aaronic priesthood when i was there, and yesterday they presented his name to get the (i´m gonna be honest i don´t know how to spell it and i´ve not even gonna try to not look like a fool haha) but anyway the higher priesthood! and as i was talking with the elders in that area last night they said they have a date to go to the temple at the end of the month! i got so pumped when i heard that! it´s things like that that make me say that it´s all worth it, just to know i helped, however little, that a family went to the temple to get sealed. super cool. i really want to see if i can go to the temple with them that day, cause that would just be the best!

so really again it was a quiet week. the stake wanted us to go to the temple with them on friday to help there, and so we spent a good chunk of the day there, and then with changes and my comp saying bye and all that stuff, it wasn´t a super exciting week. this week should hopefully be a little more normal. i´m glad karissa works in a clothes store and gets a discount, cause i imagine trev has most of my clothes, and i really won´t have anything i bring from here haha, so i´ll need a new wardrobe! :) i wish everyone an awesome week this week, and we´ll talk to you soon!

much love,

elder paskett