Zacami-Week 22

HOLA!
Hows everything going? From all of your letters, it sounds like it is going great! This week has been pretty good for me... I felt like it went by really slow, but by the time its p -day again, I think the week has gone by super fast!  I have been having a lot of trouble with patience. I learn time and time again that people are more important than time. But its tough to remember. My comp is pretty much a Johnny Raincloud like all the time... so its hard for me to stay positive and smile a lot when he constantly looks at the glass half empty. He kinda complains a lot... which drives me crazy. He seems almost depressed for like a few days... and then he'll suddenly have a happy day where he will actually try and talk to people... but anyway.. the change is almost over so it'll be good for a change.. I like him and stuff... most of the time...on those bad days he has, I always ask him what I can do to make him happy.... then he says that me asking makes it worse... I don't know really what to do... other than endure to the 4 of JAN! jajaja
But anyway, other than that, everything is going great! The 24 and 31`of this month are when the people here celebrate The 25 is just like a normal day.... so we already have like 5 families that want us to come by... so I'm planning on eating a little bit in every house....:)
That little girl that got baptized about a month ago gave me an early Christmas gift. It was that stuffed dog in the picture that I sent. Then she gave me a big hug. It was awesome... I felt honored:)
This week we also got new mattresses! LEGIT! COMFORT!
Hermana Elizabeth and Rosa and Veronica went to do baptisms for the dead in the temple on Saturday! It was insane...Hermana Elizabeth was just like glowing... she was so excited.... and I was too! There's nothing better than seeing someone you baptize go to the temple. I was ecstatic.
This week also was the camping EFY thing that they do here called SOY. It was definitely a success. In sacrament yesterday all of the youth were to give their testimony and what they learned at SOY... all of them said it changed their lives.... stuff like that is just what the people need here... strength. They were all crying and stuff... just like our testimony meetings that we have done in our ward in the past./ my EFY... legit.
So we are teaching this family and we taught them about the word of wisdom and the things that you shouldn't do....then they had the question about pills from a doctor... then I had the idea (or in other words Heavenly Father put the idea in my head) to tell that joke about the guy sitting on the roof top in a flood... and there was like a boat and helicopter that came telling him to get on to save him... but he kept saying that God was going to save him... Then he died and asked God why he didn't save him... then God says, "well I sent a helicopter and a boat and you didn't get on!" I related that to the pills from doctors... it went pretty well.. it wasn't in like a laughing format or anything like that... but it was like one of those ah ha moments for them...but they are a really great family.
Also, Evangelical churches down here are more strict in their "rules" than our church... weird!
Also, we had a baptism yesterday!!! YAY!! FINALLY! It was the baptism of Carmen Concepcion Chavez.... it was legit.. she asked me to baptize her and I was honored.. She is really awesome and will make a great member of the church. She has been a tender mercy for us... we found her on a fast Sunday where a guy gave us a false address... so then we found her.... she is awesome. I can not express the feeling you get when you bring someone to Christ... you cannot put it into words.... But Carmen has a sister... she will be a little harder to work with just because she has already been baptized in another church and active in that church... but.... she has a bad kidney...so she's got a lot of problems... she was married... her husband left her when she got sick... she lost a baby in that marriage... she lives with her three dogs... basically her life sucks... but she has the best attitude about everything...we read the first part of D&C 121 and 122 with her and she really liked that... she has so much faith that God will take care of her and she has the best attitude... she always has a smile on her face... she is an example to me....and should be for my comp!!! I just thought of that right now, as i was typing! Geeze. I just gotta talk to him about her! Thanks family for that idea...
So I know that my next package probably wont be until my birthday... but I do want a few things... ipods are against the rules so I need some Cd's! there's kinda a lot on my list... but we should have all of them except maybe like one... but here's the list:
rob Gardner... the three discs... the Joseph smith one... he is Jesus Christ.... and Lamb of God.... I'm pretty sure that's what they are called:)
Mix of Jon Schmidt
mix of Jim Brickman
Steven C
Reflections of Christ
Alex Boye
men of Mormon tab choir
movie mix ( like from pirates, gladiator, UP, Harry potter 6)
William Joesph... the 2 Cd's  within.... and beyond
and like my classical Debussy stuff
And one more called the vitamin string quartet... or something like that... but they do like coldplay songs but in all strings! so that would be legit...
and anything else that you think that I might like!
also, I would like to have that teeth whitener bleach to put in your retainers if that's cool...
and a new buzzy Gillette razor because mine broke..
and whatever else you think I might need:)
But thank you in advance! you guys are so awesome!!
Mum,Thank you for your letter! I always enjoy reading letters:) also.. I'll call on Friday or Saturday to tell you the plan for Sunday... but here's the deal... I can only call to tell you when I'm calling... and you can't cry.... deal? va...and yes we found a house that has skype so we are gonna skype it up!!! I'm so excited to talk to you all! But yep... thank you for all the sacrifices that you made for me to get me out here.. you are pretty darn amazing, mum. It was you that got my eagle, got me through high school, got me into college and got me on a mission... thank you for everything. and I do love the little notes on the tree... thank you! (and Ellie and whoever else helped:) I love you mum!
Dad, it sounds like you can recognize the marmot's! jaja. I hope they turn out to be a cool family! and yeah, I decided that I will probably need to do a cleanse when I get home to cleanse out my stomach and all the parasites I've probably got growing in there... jaja... but I haven't had any problems with my stomach! so that's all good.. but it sounds like everything is going good! I hope the dunes goes good this year! Alma 37:37. love you pops!
Austin, freak! you are just going to have to make the dunes legit.. that's what its all about... we didn't do anything that you guys cant do! you gotta shoot some fireworks at each other and stuff...and Ash does ac-dec? freak! I had no idea.... but anyway...have a lot of fun this week... don't forget to read your scrips and stuff. love ya!
Ellie. Gracias por todo! te agradezco por todo lo que has hecho para mi! el arbol es super chivo y yo estoy bien agradecido por ti y por tu ejemplo.. TE QUIERO Y FELIZ NAVIDAD!
Brynn, are you pretty darn excited for Christmas? I know that I am! I cant wait to be able to talk to you all! but here's the deal... you cant cry... deal? cross your heart. Cross it! good... no going pack:) (UP) love ya!
I love you all and I'll talk to you all in a bit! HAPPY CHRISTMAS!
ELDER T

Zacamil- Week 21

HOLA!
Hi, how's everything going? It sounds like everything is going good with all of you! This week was good... a little interesting I might add... but good. The beginning of the week I was sleeping in my hammock... It was comfortable, its just that I cant hang it up in a very good position in our house... so it ended up being uncomfortable about 2 in the morning...jaja... This week was good, but it was a little hard... just that we are starting to sing all the Christmas songs and I started thinking about Christmas and all that... just thinking about home a little... but its all good. I'm staying busy! This week we ate at hermana Elizabeth's house and she played Christmas music in English(because she can speak English) and I accidentally called her grandma... she didn't hear... but OOPS! jajajaja...
This week was the famous game called the Clásico. The classic game between Real Madrid and Barcelona. We tried to work for a little while but it was very very inefficient.... no one was out and no one would let us in... so we went and watched it at lunch... jajaja. Thankfully Barcelona won 3-1. I won a new tie out of it...its absolutely crazy when there are goals. Fireworks and yelling and people running around for a few minutes until they go back to watch more... jaja. I sent a picture of my reaction after the game... jaja

 

ON Thursday we had a activity for the ward and some investigators showed up... but then they didn't show up for church? what the??? but that's OK.. it was a great activity for them and they must have just gotten a little bit busy... but we'll see tomorrow!!! jajaja. So do you all remember Carmen? The culebra we were teaching? Well she's basically awesome. She goes to all the activities. She has a bunch of friends in the ward already. She went to a dance the other day with friends from the ward... and, she has a testimony. She told us one day that she wanted to wait to get baptized to get to know the church a little more. Which is nothing unusual.. but we taught her a little bit on Saturday, went through the baptismal interview questions, and read acts 8:26-40. Then she accepted baptism for this weekend!.. it almost felt too easy... but it was legit. I think it helped a lot to have one of her friends from the ward there with us... jaja:) But we finally have another baptism this weekend! YAY.
The interesting part of this week was the beginning... A priest in our ward, who has been a great friend to me and always comes out with us was getting ready to leave on Tuesday(on his mission)... get set apart that night and leave the next morning. Something happened Tuesday with his non- member mom or something and suddenly he didn't want to go...:( we talked with him for a long time and we both thought that he was back on track. Then we went to an appointment and came back to see what the situation was... he told us that he had some news... that he would be spending Christmas with us and he would leave in January.. I was a little upset, because my mission has meant everything to me.. but I think it might be better for him to calm down and get all that stuff in order before he leaves... but we'll see. We did make a deal with him... that he has to come out with us at least 3 times a week to get him excited again about leaving... I really hope he ends up going... because he has become a great friend these past couple months in this area...and I want him to experience the happiness!
Something that I learned this week was that lots of people think that the book of James in the bible was written by the brother of Jesus.. In other words, the brother of Jesus wrote the versus that inspired Joseph Smith to go out and pray... small world! awesome!
Also, watching the game, I heard this Christmas song by Natasha Beddingfield... its called shake up Christmas... it made me feel good:) its really happy and got good lyrics... I didn't listen to it all.. it might not be your type of music either, but its good:) the girls will like it:)
Dad, thanks for everything! your the man... Alma 38:2-3. Also, we got permission to skype! but I gotta figure out more of the details.. Because if we cant find a member with a computer with a camera... we would have to come to a Internet cafe... and we wouldn't be able to do that on Sunday the 25... it would be the day before... But I'll let you know! Also that's legit that Andrew is going to work for you for a little bit... he's awesome.  Love you pops
Mum, thanks for your letter and letting me know whats going on and always helping me out! I'm excited to talk to you on Christmas! I love you
Lady, you are legit... I cant believe you got asked to Sadie's already... that's insane...love you brotha
Ellie. Thank you for that tree! that's so legit and all the notes on the back are awesome... thank you and I love you!
Brynn, You are awesome... great job on your state report.. I did mine on Utah... but anyways, you are awesome! I love you
I love you all! listen to Coldplay for me!
Shorty

Zacamil- Week 20

HOLA
Hey everyone.... thank you for all the letters that you sent me! And don't even worry about not sending me some last week, mum... you guys were busy! But this week has been better... today we played some futbol... it was awesome as always.... I basically look forward to it almost every week... then get let down when we don't play... jajaja... But everything has been getting better for me! My comp has been pretty sick... I was sick at the beginning of thus week... I couldn't even hardly talk because of my nose... so Hermana Ochoa who is a nurse gave me some water stuff to stuff up my nose a few times and then blow my nose out... it was basically like grandmas little tea pot thing that she told me to try but I never did... but I tried it and it worked well! But now I'm pretty much back to normal.... its just my comps stomach that's giving him a few problems... but you know.... whatever....jaja!I actually did start using some zinc and stuff... but now, I'm all good!
Speaking of the familia Ochoa... they have invited us to eat at their house twice already... and its actually the only family that we have eaten with that actually eats with us... usually the families that we eat with already ate as a family and just serve us and we eat by ourselves.... NOT THEM! jaja... then last Monday they took us out to eat... which was good:)
I have started to take videos with my camera.... its just that I can't send them because they are too big.... so I was gonna wait a couple more weeks to fill up my card a little more and then send my card home so you can see the videos and then you can send it back... sound good? OK:)
The beginning of this week was super cold! There was a few days that I didn't even sweat and one night were it was hard to sleep because it was cold... but then I just put on my sweats and my sweat shirt and I was good to go:) The weather is crazy here... supposedly there is another cold front coming in tomorrow... but who knows!
Chivo=cool... but chivo literally=calf... que chivo... translation? que calf!   así dice un hombre en nuestro bario. jajajaja
I got the little packet with the pass along cards! thanks, mum... you are so awesome...
Song that you would all think was funny. Moves like Jagger by Maroon 5. Its starting to get a little popular here and it just made me think of Tim Hawkins...jajaj.... I dunno... I like it!
This week I went on divisions with our new district leader... Elder Rosario from la Republica Dominicana... He is seriously so crazy! We watched John Tanner twice that day... one time in a lesson and one time in comp study..(then I actually used a direct quote in a lesson later in the week, I almost starting cracking up in a moment very serious jajaja) but it was so much fun and I really learned a lot from him... he is trying to learn English and he practices all the time... he can actually speak pretty well... but its just super funny his accent is a little different from any other Hispanic trying to learn English... And he is so black!  But also, he teaches like a mother bear... he is a way good teacher and I learned a ton from him... all of which my comp and I are working on this week.. there is a reason that he is a leader... but one of the biggest things that I learned is how your tone of voice should be when teaching about certain things... and you need to testify of what your comp says after every single time that he talks... it doesn't really matter what he says... but you have to testify of what he says... something that I did... but not after every time he spoke. to say the least... my comp and I have some goals to start to work on:)
I decided that its pretty funny that we get excited about stuff... like finding scriptures and stuff like that... learning new stuff about the gospel that you didn't know before... deep doctrine that I had never heard before... its crazy how much I have learned... and I hope it continues! which it will, with the help of the Lord.
Last night was the Christmas Devotional from the first presidency.. it was so awesome... I seriously love hearing their voices... and I was able to hear it in English! That was a huge blessing for Elder Brose and I.... not that I wouldn't have been able to understand in Spanish... but it really is a blessing to be able to hear their actual voices. And the choir was definitely legit as always.. Alex Boye was on the TV for a long time... next to the other black guy that sings in the choir... so legit... I tell people all the time here.. Yo quiero ser negro... y yo soy negro en alma:) jaja
Mum, thank you for all that you do and have done for me.. I don't think that I could thank you enough for all that you have done for me.. always making sure that I have everything I need... just sending me stuff for kicks and giggles... sending me letters and videos... its all good! Thanks for everything mum! and guess what? I love you! I love you! I love YOU!!!!
Dad It sound like every thing is going good! Have you ever even  done a 54 hole course before? thats huge... but I know it might be hard, but I would try your best to get a course up before the first half of 2012... its like what you said... being a contractor is like a roller coaster ride! jaja...but ask God first!  are you still riding like you were? a little bit? are there any races that you are planning on doing? anyway, I love you dad! just a couple more weeks and I'll be able to talk to you... all of you! and that link of the El Salvador temple is awesome... I got teary eyed.. just like at the dedication itself!
Austin, I was able to listen to part of the CD. It is so awesome. Thank you. I really like number 3... I dunno what its called but that's probably my favorite so far... jaja.. you are so awesome... and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! THE BIG 17! that's insane.... it sounded like your birthday was awesome and that the dance was legit as well. Its weird thinking that in two months I'll be 20! that's insane... I will always be a kid at heart... hey but thanks for everything stee. You have no idea what an influence you have been on me and the things that you have taught me...I would not be the big brother I am if it weren't for you. I would not be the person I am if it wasn't for you. You just have no idea how much you mean to me and how much my character has depended upon you. To the world, you may just be one person, but to one person, you may be the world... you are the world to me brotha...I hope one day to be like you...you really are my best friend.... OK now I'm getting teared up so I'm going to stop.. but thank you for everything! I love you brotha!
Ellie, holy crud you are getting good at the piano... was that jazzy? If there was one thing that I could do over, it would be to take jazz lessons... like from a jazz pianist... because brother sirrine can play it...but he doesn't know it all... he's legit, but jazz is a whole new ball game... jaja... but you are getting really good! don't stop practicing! you are doing great! love ya ell bell!
Brynnie Tay, you are getting so good at the piano too! holy sod! I am very proud! don't worry about messing up... I mess up every Sunday when I play at church... but you are a better player than most of the people in that room so don't even worry about it:) you just gotta keep practicing and practicing! its hard sometimes to practice but that's one thing that I would change as well.... I would practice every day... be more disciplined about it... but you are doing great! I love you!
Hey thanks for everything! you are all amazing. :)
SALU
TTT

Zacamil- Week 19

Our Thanksgiving!

HOLA FAM,
So whats up? I guess the weekend must have been good because you ALL forgot to write me! jaja just kidding... I honestly didn´t expect you to write me this week. Walking to the ceber this morning I thought to myself... they probably didn´t write me today... but that's OK:) I hope everything went well on your Thanksgiving weekend! Its crazy its already Thanksgiving. A TON has definitely changed this past year. jaja.. I´ll probably say the same thing when January rolls around... jaja. But anyway!
So changes were this week. It is crazy to always look back on a change. How fast it goes. Then you start a new change and think that it goes slow sometimes... Its weird... We both stayed in Zacamil just like I thought.. so I will be here until Jan 4.. at least! with any luck I´ll have another change here and spend my birthday here as well.. that would be sweet. But we got some new members to our zone! Our new district leader is legit. He entered the MTC on the same day that I did. He is from the Dominican Republic and is so legit. I actually met him in the temple my first week when I was sicker than a dog. He was there with me for a while. And he talks to me like a black person would in English. Its legit. He is a way good missionary and a way good leader. Just the way that he goes about being a leader is way different than any other district leader I have had yet.. but you know... lo que sea!
SO we had a Thanksgiving as well. We cooked a boatload of food and I thought that I was going to explode!  I made arroz con leche and Elder Brose made some pupusas and some kinda of desert thing that he thought might taste good... it was...... interesting. jaja. But it was awesome.

Also on Thanksgiving I  received the packages! I opened them right away for one reason... to see if there was food in there... because if there was food, the ants would definitely get to it... so I found everything and it was awesome.. I didn´t open presents! I´m going to wait, but I did set up the tree and stuff. (see picture) and it was legit. I found austin´s little note... all i´m gonna say is that i have the coolest brother on earth... Thanks lady:)
I also got some letters on thanksgiving. Two from Mons and one from Sister Cottam. One of the ones that Mons sent was sent in Sept. and the other like two weeks ago... weird! Anyway, it was nice to here from him... also say thank you to Carolyn for me. She is so awesome and never fails to send a letter. It sounds like Alexis and Elena are also doing awesome! As well as Cody and Monson. Its weird how we are like all over the world right now.... crazy.
ON a not so great note... I got sick. The weather changed so fast and no one was ready for it so a lot of people are sick right now... Its still bloody hot, but the nights are pretty nice and cold. jaja But you know me... I´m loading up on medicine! (sarcasm) jaja...
So we kinda starting teaching this super old grandma about three weeks ago. She´s like 86 or something. She has a testimony. She knows the church is true. She has been taught by many missionaries that have passed through this area. and she says that she´ll get baptized next year... but she doesn´t know when yet. :) I was thinking, "you don't have much time left, you gotta get this done!" I didn´t really think that we would be able to baptize her anyway... I thought it would be better wait and do the work for the dead... but we challenged her anyway and she said next year but doesn´t know when! big surprise... but you know... whatever.
So remember the culebras that we were teaching? Well they are getting their testimony an has a baptismal date! well, one is.... she came to church yesterday and really enjoyed it. It was pretty funny because a few of the priests were all asking me if she had a boyfriend (she does) and asking me when we are going to go visit her again... we always have some trouble getting priests to come out with us... but they were like,.... I´ll come the day that you go visit her! I was like, yeah right...NICE!  jaja.... she is pretty cute, I  have to say...I  know that I´m a missionary and not supposed to notice, but its hard not to! when everyone here wears tons of make-up and dresses funny....I guess its just nice to see someone who dresses more like they are from the U.S. and cute... there´s a difference! jaja... OK! I´m done talking about this! Back to missionary mode! But she is really a great investigator... most people here don't read. So to have someone that actually reads what we leave them is pretty awesome... not only does she read, but she studies! and highlights and takes notes! its insane...and it came from the fruits of fasting! legit!
DAD, Thanks for your letter this morning! It sounds like the dunes were pretty awesome. Yeah we didn´t make a turkey but we had our own Thanksgiving where we just ate a ton of food! Elder Brose is starting to like soccer... but you know... pinche gringos no le gusta futbol... but yep! I´m getting something super cool made for our family that you will definitely enjoy! I just don't know when they are going to be done! hopefully soon... but thanks for everything dad! you are the best! love you pops
MUM, thanks for you letter this morning! This week went a lot better numbers wise than last week... We found a lot of good people and we are excited! Thanks for always thinking of me and always wanting the best for me! You always know how to make me happy and always are thinking of creative things to make me happy:) Thanks mum! I love you!
LADY. all I´m gonna say is that you are the best brotha ever. And happy birthday this week! 17 years old! that's pretty legit! love ya brotha. Tell me all about the b day.
L-BEL. it sounds like the dunes were a blast!  Riley really knows how to drive the razor huh? all I have been hearing is that you always had a huge smile on your face! that's awesome! always keep a smile on your face.. I made a goal this week to put the biggest smile on my face when something doesn't go my way... it helps a ton!
BRNNIE TAY. I think that you can't ever go wrong with getting like a freedom t shirt for Austin for his b day... but you know! whatever! It sounds like the dunes have been awesome and that you had fun! love ya!
Thanks for everything and I´ll talk to you soon!
ELDER TTT

Zacamil- Week 18

Hola panchos!
So this week was pretty crappy... numbers-wise... we had like four bad days this week where all of our appointments fells through and all the members that were going to come out with us had sudden changes in plans... but you know, whatever... I guess that happens sometimes... But this week should be a lot better! Its already started a lot better..we played futbol today! The beginning kinda sucked but towards the end, it was awesome. I was basically MESSI! (The best player in the world who plays for Barcelona/Argentina) Anyway, it was a good time.
I did get to use a new toothbrush this week! That was pretty legit... some people burn ties... I have some pretty ugly ones that I don't like, but I decided I'll just wait until my year mark to burn a shirt and a tie...
I also met a Brazilian guy who is so black and so ripped and played for a professional team for El Salvador... basically, I want to be him... I tell people a lot that I want to be black... always have... then all my dreams would come true. jajaja.
So I did get a new pair of shoes this week... for futbol... Elder Coy was letting me use a pair of his... its just that the shoes that I brought (my two pairs of barefoot shoes) they kill my toes when I kick the ball..:) So there is this kid in our stake that can get legit discounts at the Adidas store... so I gave him fifty bucks and he brought me the pair that Messi wears! I was stoked. I definitely didn't expect that, but i was excited. I will have to send a picture. but....... THANK YOU ABUELITOS! I figured they could be for and early Christmas... jaja.. Thanks grandparents.
Elder Brose and I are going to do our own turkey day... considering we are both gringos.... well he's German and I'm English... that's what we say anyway... I cant wait until I'm home and actually get to choose how much food I want to eat. I always feel so stuffed and fat... we eat so much... not because we want to, but because everyone gives us a boatload of food... and its not like you can say no to them... but whatever... I guess I'm just getting prepared for turkey day. Here they don't celebrate Thanksgiving so almost every house already has had their Christmas decorations up! For about 1-2 weeks. Its pretty insane for me... jaja... but i like it:)
So I have had THE FRAY stuck in my head all week... not their newer stuff, but their older stuff... From those summers at Tee'd off golf...Its weird how long that has been... it seems like yesterday When we used to work there... jaja.."everyone know I'm in over my head ..over my head"
Here's a funny story... we went to go visit one of my recent converts this week...I had mentioned to her that I want to be a doctor... she happened to study medicine... so she got on her computer and started to show me some of here power points that she did and what she studied... turns our she had studied the reproductive process of women... she had diagrams... all that stuff is super interesting and stuff, but COME ON! I"M A SODDING MISSIONARY! I already see women feed their  babies on almost a daily basis... but anyway... my comp and I were laughing about that quit a bit... jaja..
I am also reading Jesus the Christ... wow... what a book! I am learning so much about Him... its insane...I am learning a ton!
On a more spiritual note, elder Brose and I had to give talks in church yesterday... it went really well... I was really surprised with how Elder Brose did.. he did awesome. I just talked about the first principals and ordinances of the gospel... it was good!
Also, we have are teaching some culebras right now... we found them through a fake address that someone gave us one fast Sunday... we went to their house to contact the guy and it was a house where three women lived we asked if we could come back and they said it would be alright... we went back and taught them, went back again and only two were there but accepted to be baptized. It almost felt too easy... its just a testimony of fasting... because that fake address that the guy gave us led us to a house where people are prepared and ready... and because they like us, they are doing the things that we want them to do (reading and studying the Bof M) and actually gaining a testimony.. its legit...
One of our families, we are trying to get them to get married... We had a lesson with them this week and we had them write cards to each other of what they felt for the other...It was very successful. I am excited to find out what happens... it was a very different lesson... different than any other lesson I have done... but it went really well:)
Mum, thanks for everything ... i still haven't got my packages yet but I know that they are in the office... so I'm just waiting for the ZL's to bring them to me.... why would I have to wait until the first of Dec? why not the 25? I was just a little confused... but that's OK! don't worry, I'll figure it out :) love you mum
Dad, good to hear that the trade show went well! and it was cool to know that you talked with Neil and stuff... Last week was the first time I had done a session at the Temple here.. it was really a cool experience.. And it sounds like that the tour went well and everyone did good... love you pops
Stee, it sounds like you are really liking the name Patrick, considering the last two letters you said you are going to name your son that... It would be really funny if you only have daughters! jaja... But it sounds like your getting pretty fat as well. me too.. jaja just kidding... but that's cool that you have been biking! keep it up! love you brotha
Ell bell, sounds like things are going good and that you are having lots of fun with your friends! always read your scrips and pray every day! love ya!
Brynnie Tay, I'm glad that everything is going good with you too! Sounds like knitting is going good and that you are all excited for Christmas! stay nice so that Santa will come! the elves are watching! love ya!
I love you all and thanks for everything!
Elder TTT

Zacamil- Week 17

Hola Panchos!
SO today was a good day... I got a haircut... reluctantly...and a pedicure... it was legit. Hermana Lopez does haircuts and pedicures.. she does the haircuts for free and she gave us both a pedicure for 4 bucks. I thought: Deal. So she cleaned up my feet:) I don't think I'll ever cut my own toenails again...jaja just kidding:) Also today, our district went to go try some exotic food. Armadillo, iguana, etc. I didn't eat any... not because I didn't want to because I really wanted to.. but just because it was like 10 bucks a plate for something like that. So I just got a carne asada... and my comp got  armadillo. legit!
So this week, on Friday, I will complete 6 months on my mish... that's legit... I think the thing I'm most excited about is using a new toothbrush. :) You know how they say that you should change your toothbrush ever 6 months? Well, ladies and gentlemen, on Friday I will use my new toothbrush! I'm stoked.
So last week there was a funeral.. Everyone we talked to that day said that we need to be there... so we went. It went well... about as well as a funeral normally goes.. jaja.
I feel like I should explain a little bit about my comp... I think that I have made it sound like I'm having a hard time with  him... definitely not the case... I really do like him! He's an awesome missionary and a really hard worker and has a funny sense of humor. I'm learning a lot from him and it feels almost as though that he's training me more than I'm training him...jaja. I dunno...I think that I have just been missing Elder Coy a little bit... but its all good! My comp is an awesome guy...
So a little bit about the familia Ochoa... I completely forgot about following up about the word of wisdom... so they had been drinking coffee.. Uhh Ohh! Before their baptism... of course... But anyway, the day of their interview, the interviewer asked them about it all and they gave him all of their coffee. I felt really proud of them..It was almost as if they were laying down their weapons of war. Like the Anti Lehi Nephis. I felt so proud of them.. and I let them know it. Then the wife on Saturday told me all about the per-pressure she had been getting from her friends and all that to drink coffee. But she said that she has been withstanding! Normally you have to have them give it up for a while before you can baptize, but the Elder who interviewed them just said that he just felt that they were ready! So that next Sunday morning, we baptized them. It went super well and it was probably my most rewarding  baptism yet... It was so awesome. There is just something different about a whole family. It was awesome!We went to see how they were doing afterwards and their house ever felt different.. They all have the gift of the Holy Ghost!!!! :)
So a few days ago, the cultural event for the temple played again... it was even cooler to see it a second time. I don't know if you all saw it, but maybe it is on lds.org now??? it would be worth it to check it out.
So remember when I said that there was an Elder that looks like Abed from the show called community? Well that Elder is now the AP (assistant to the pres) He is really funny. He came out for soccer in like everything the whole she-bang!.. he had a Manchester United jersey on but it actually looked like he played for Manchester... it was hilarious! It was like he was dressed up for Halloween.. exactly like something that Abed would do. Jaja
We have found a lot of new families. We are teaching like four new families... the only problem is that they all have to get married... its ridiculous. So basically we are going to be pros at putting together weddings... jaja...
So there is still quite a bit of gossip in our ward/stake. It is actually really funny. We had an activity on Saturday and there was some prepared dances that were pretty cool. Then the girl that everyone thinks is my girlfriend got up with a few people and started their dance. I was taking pictures of everybodys acts... .but I turned to look at the audience and like ALL of our ward was looking at me!! I was like, What the bloody hell are you looking at? I guess that was pretty funny, as well... but you know, whatever. I guess I haven't lost any of my skills with the women... jaja  just kidding...
Anyway, thank you for all of your letters and stuff! I was able to watch the videos today...  the song is cool! and Roxy looks tired... but she'll hang in there... :)The shower looks sweet as well!
Anyway, I love you all! I love you mum. I love you dad. I love you lady. I love you L. I love you B.
SALU PANCHOS!
ELDER TTT

Zacamil- Week 16

Hola Familia!
Hey sorry I'm a little late today..I was on the other side of the city like all day today... and the freaking bus took like an hour and a half to get home...  I don't really have much time... so I'll just tell you about today! And if  have some time, some of the sick stuff that has happened these past couple weeks.
Today we went to the temple!!!! So legit... I picked up some stuff in a Spanish session that I had never really noticed in English before... it was awesome. The president came with us as well so that was really cool... I also saw Frank Wall. He is so chivo. He is the only one in 6 months that has called me by my first name... it was a little funky! But He came up and gave me a huge hug and was talking to me about the family and all that. It was really cool to see him. I'm sure he'll be writing someone here pretty soon as well... asi me dijo..jaja.. So, two zones went to the temple today... including the zone that Elder Coy is in! He was waiting for me in the celestial room and gave me a big fat hug as well... I guess this day was just filled with hugs! Then we went and played some Futbol together... the two zones!! that hardly ever happens... jaja It was so darn fun... I swear.. I am the biggest futbol fan now... crazy what eating pupusas can do to you... jaja. But I was thinking.... I dunno what you sent me in my Christmas package, but maybe it would be cool just to send me a little money to buy some soccer shoes????? If not that's totally cool... I will be happy with anything!
Also, thanks for the video! I could only watch one... but that's just because they made me switch computers and this one doesn't have the software to play the videos... que chafa... but I'll see the rest on Monday! its already almost Monday... crazy....
For all you that are wondering, YES! the familia Ochoa got baptized! on Monday I'll tell you a little bit more about that...in my next letter.
Mum, Thanks for your letter and the videos and all that! looks like everything is going great from what I see... To answer some of your questions... I had some oil on my hands in those pictures.. you have to put oil on your hands to make pupusas... jaja.. yes we were making them at the familia Lopez. super buena ondas... But it was really fun! Elder Brose is a legit cook so he taught me a few things one night when we didn't have a dinner date...so this morning, I made myself arroz con leche... soooooo delicious. I like my comp and all... he's really good... I think we just kinda bug each other in a few ways...  but who knows? we could get over it in a couple weeks! There's usually three types of companions that you can have. 1. They'll be like a best friend for the rest of your life. 2. They're nice guys... you sometimes will talk to them after the mish, but its not like type one. and then 3. You just hate em.... but he's good... in the 2 category. I sent a picture of an Elder and me at a zone conference ( multizona) His name is Elder Nicholas Reid... He's legit. He goes home at the end of November.  I have always really looked up to him as a missionary and stuff... He is our zone leader... Anyway.... food for thought:) Also, I did know that there is a futbol team for SLC. jaja  If I had to choose a team for the US, I would say New York or LA. But anyway, I love you mum!
Dad,  Speaking of soccer, I was thinking of making some jerseys for our family. Wanna know who owns the team for New York? RED BULL! their jerseys are legit! So I was thinking that would be cool for our family.. what do you think? I think it would be way funny and super chivo...jaja... I'm glad that the primary is going good... how old are they again? Just gotta keep persevering..  and dude you gotta get back on the bike! hows it going to feel if your son is faster than you after being gone for two years? We don't want that do we? jaja just kidding..love ya pops
Stee. As for your "plan" believe me I have thought about that... jaja!  por eso estaba pensando y estaba curioso sobre la cancion de coldplay, up with the birds! porque le dijo a mama algo sobre eso...si pues... but so you are the strongest person in the school? eres tan humilde tambien... jaja!  I think I'm pretty much the strongest missionary here as well....;)  jaja! but anyway... read your scrips... say hi to people for me.. as well as Bro. Rupp and my home dogs in seminary.. jaja salu
Ellie.. where did you come from? where did my sister go? holy crap that story that you wrote me about was legit... and the way you applied it was even more legit... 2 legit... 2 legit 2 quit. Anyway... thanks ell bell... have a great weekend! talk to you Monday:)
Brynn, you fasted all the way? that's insane... I am impressed... usually what we do is eat a huge breakfast Saturday morning and start our fast Saturday morning... so then we can eat Sunday morning and we are sleeping during the hardest part! crazy... but I'm real proud of you!
I love you all and I'll write you about cooler stuff on Monday! Salu panchos!
Elder T-wizzle wizzle fo shizzle my nizzle bam tizzle tizzle my shizzle pizzle bam bam my pockets are getting full . shizzle shizzle salu.
That was my rap for the day. Love you!

Zacamil-Week 15

HOla Familia
This week went by so fast! and now its already Halloween! Crazy! I liked all the pictures! All of your costumes were funny and the pics of Austin doing the foos-ball was cool also. This morning for p-day, we played some real futbol. It was way fun and I got sunburned, which was legit. I cannot tell you how much of a soccer fan I am now. It is so fun! but anyway... Thanks for all your letters and stuff!
I have to shave everyday now... it sucks... but I guess I'm almost a grown man... but always will be a kid at heart:)
Hey maybe it would be cool if you sent me a memory card full of videos that I can watch on my camera like every time you send a package. That's what this one Elders family does and it is actually really cool! just a thought :)

Last Monday, I ate some corn like the corn from Nacho Libre. I was like..... I was like...... GET THAT CORN OUTTA MY FACE! jaja. It was actually pretty good. Also, we learned how to make pupusas. I'm pretty much pro... My comp really likes to cook a lot. In our mission, we don't cook, but he's still teaching me a lot. I always ask him how they make the stuff we eat and he always knows exactly how its done. So even though we don't cook, I'm kinda learning how to cook! jaja...Also about my comp, he got sick for a day last week. I guess he had parasites in Guatemala in the mtc... poor guy. so I gave him a blessing and now he's all better! SO that's good...
Yeah, so this week passed really fast. Whenever I have weeks like that... well its awesome. I think that I have shared this scripture before, but its passes like a dream... just like it was said in Jacob 7:26. crazy. A few great things happened this week... one of which is that I got a letter from ASH! It was legit. One of my favorite people in the world. She's got a funny sense of humor and inserted a picture from the show community and wrote a quote on the back... I was laughing so hard. But she also said something that was so... cavalita... there's not really a translation for that word, its slang here... but its like... so right on.. hitting the nail perfectly...??? I dunno.. but she was like, "'sorry I haven't really written you. I could use the excuse of saying that I don't have time but this letter took me like 7 min to write... but sometimes its just easier to send prayers rather than letters. So that's what I've been doing:)'' Something like that. But its so true. But just so you know, I understand! I dunno what I'm trying to say... but you know... whatever! cavalita.
Another great thing that happened this week. Remember the familia Ochoa? One about polygamy? Well, we had another really good lesson. Then we went on divisions and I went with the bishop. He answered every one of their doubts/questions with absolute clarity. I learned a ton from him. But as the lesson was wrapping up, we invited them to a baptism of a little girl (I'll talk about her in a min) then we talked about baptism for a min. Then the wife said, ''well can I get baptized tomorrow?" I was kinda thrown off guard!  jaja. But then the husband told a story about a dream he had had and that he knew that the Book of Mormon was true. It was like a dream come true. So then we put the baptismal date for this weekend. YAAAAAYY! Yup... 3 months of working with this family. My first family baptized. I am so excited. 3 months, and its finally happening this Sunday. YAY!

Also, a little girl that just turned 8 got baptized yesterday. Elder Coy and I taught her because her mom was inactive. So technically it was a baptism for the ward, but in my heart, she was mine.. not to say that I baptized one more person... but just because we got to teach her and helped her mom to go back to church. It was awesome. Whenever that little girl sees us she runs at me and yells ELDER THORNTON! and gives me a huge hug.  She has been a huge example for me. She's so sweet.
Also, we found a family this week where the son is a member but the parents are not. We are going to visit them today. The only hard thing is that they only have free Sundays like once every 4 or five Sundays or something... but we'll see.
DAD, I'm glad everything is going good! That's crazy that the tour de Tucson is already here again. And the trade show. I hope everything goes good with that. Have you done the trade show in Europe yet? You need to! We've been talking about it for like two years and you always say next year... jaja. I'm glad you are liking your new calling, it'll be hard but just try to make the best of it:) As for reading your scriptures... just do it in the morning right when you get up. When you are making your shake or something. I found out at college that it quickly became a habit. I would roll out of bed and immediately sit down and study... just try your best:) love you pops!
MUM, HIIII! Thanks for your letter! and your track by track review! Do you think the new Coldplay CD is more like early Coldplay or kinda like the last one with some big songs and some classic coldplay? Just Curious :) Thank you for everything Mum...there's Christmas coming up fast! And I can't wait to talk to you! That's in like two months! Crazy...love you mum! besos
Lady, hey it sounds like you can finally have a little bit of a life now that the foos-ball is over. That's legit. When is winter formal? Who's your date again? chivo. Just remember to keep to the basics with scriptures and prayer... you'd be surprised how much they actually help. love you brotha
L, hey Ellie bellie, sounds like you are having quite the fun time too! having lots of fun with friends! just remember to be nice to everyone... even when that time of the month comes.... jajajajajajajajajajajaja! just kidding ell bell. Have a great week! love ya
Brynn, yours and Ellie's costume was so funny! You and her are quite creative!  They don't celebrate Halloween (dia de brujas) here... but they have a holiday called El dia de Los muertos (day of the dead) on Nov 2. and its where they celebrate and remember all of their relatives who have died and gone to a better place. They celebrate death here rather than be sad. Because they know that they all have a better life after this life. Its a huge blessing for us to know the plan of salvation! Love you Brynny!

Zacamil- Week 14

Hola Familia!
Well first off, I wanna apologize for my depressing letter last week.... I just remember after sending it that I thought, well crap... that was stupid to say.  I was thinking, way to go tanner... But it seriously meant so much when you said that little Ashlyn Allen prays for me every time she prays... I dunno if I mentioned it last week, but that was awesome. I printed that email out to save it:) BTW, I also printed my priesthood line of authority... THANKS! for doing that for me. And I´m glad my little package got there! That was a relief... and it got there fast. I didn´t expect that. I thought mid November or early December... I guess I was mistaken! But I´m glad you all liked your stuff! I always keep my eyes open for cool tourist stuff, but this country really isn´t a tourist country... so its tough.. but I am always keeping my eyes open for stuff for you guys!
So yeah, it has stopped raining...  Luckily I am in the city so the drainage system is a lot better. But out on the other side of the mission in San Miguel, its bad... lots of floods and stuff... But Now every things good! At least in our area.  Also, I read in the paper this morning that there was a big earthquake in Turkey yesterday... there must be stuff that happens like that every day... we just don't hear about it... just like you guys had no idea about what was happening here! weird... But my umbrella finally broke... so I bought another and that broke as well. But I fixed it with some duct tape.. duct tape can fix anything. But yep! Its been sunny since Thursday!
Last Monday, we were doing a family home evening with the Lopez family..We were watching the RM...jaja and Sis. Lopez's sister called and said that their little boy had just broken his arm and was sobbing crying. I guess it looked like Austin's when he broke his! So we quickly ran over there, I gave him a blessing, we left and went back the next day and it was like nothing had happened! There were having a birthday party and stuff. (see pictures) there may or may not have been some drinking going on... drinking of juice! jaja.
But this week has been OK, numbers-wise.. I have never worked harder, but our numbers don't show... jaja.. QUOTE: You cannot control the numbers, you can only control the effort. Speaking of numbers, yes my comp still wants to baptize a ton. He'll figure it out. Yeah, we can go baptize that many, but it would be like baptizing inactivates... its exactly what dad said. Its about quality not quantity. All of my converts so far are all active and strong and have their testimonies... I don't wanna have converts a that are gonna fall away.
Also, this week, I had the second best lesson of my mission. We taught that one family about polygamy. Remember, he had a huge problem with it? It ended up being a 3 hour lesson where we watched the Emma Smith movie, read a butt load of scriptures, and by the end, they finally got it. I was so excited. Then they all came to church on Sunday and said that they wanna come next week as well. YEAH!!! I am almost positive that we can baptize them in November. Maybe heavenly Father was trying to teach me something when they weren´t baptized a few weeks ago. But also, my comp gave them the assignment to read Jacob 2 with emphasis on vs. 30. After that he said that he has never been sure about the Book of Mormon before, but now knows that it was from God. Fist pump. After that, we went to the familia Lopez and they downloaded the song Paradise for me! VIVA COLDPLAY! It's a pretty song as well. It sounds like a big song... a lot like lost was on the Viva la Vida CD.
Speaking of my comp, he´s really great... we are just two totally different types of people. I´m a hard worker, I think, but I like to work intelligently to get the most out of it... he doesn´t. He basically wants to kill himself from working. Its just one of those things that everyone told me before I left... You have to have time for fun. Fun is one of the things you need to have a good mission... I sure hope that he finds out how to have some fun one of these days...but other than that, he´s a good guy... he´s just really bold with investigators where I try to be their friend first and gain their trust and then be bold... but you know, whatever! (Have you ever wondered where you came from, why your here, and where your going?) :)
So I have had a countdown in my agenda of when the new Coldplay CD comes out. ITS TODAY! I want the low down... track by track review please. Whats good? Whats bad? (nothing) track by track!
Yesterday, we found someone that isn't a member but I thought that he was! He´s been coming to church with his wife for like two months and we found out that he isn´t a member! So we went by his house yesterday and by the end of the lesson was asking what he needed to do to be baptized! Crazy awesome!
"That which you serve, you come to love" good quote for you there... jaja
 So, about the Facebook, ehh... do whatever you think is right. I dont plan on using it for anything but keeping in touch with the people from down here, but I wouldn't mind having my close friends from home... but whatever! Thanks!
Well I don't have a lot of time to address all of your letters, but thank you for all of them and I really enjoy reading about what is going on!
I love you all!
ELDER TAN MAN (still LM)

Zacamil- Week 13

Hola!
So this week has been pretty darn crazy. For one, I started training a new comp & it has been raining non-stop for the past week. I guess there's some hurricane going on or something? Some areas are really, really, bad. Like really bad! People losing there houses and stuff. Major mudslides and flooding. It was no surprise that the church down here all started doing humanitarian work.
So yeah, Monday night, at about 11:30, The president called when we were sleeping. Elder Coy got up and answered the phone. He then woke me up and said that I was wanted on the phone. I think I said something stupid because I was so tired and I didn't know what was going on... jaja.. but the president said that he wanted me to train a new missionary. I obviously acepted, probably because I was sleeping, but he told me to come to his area in the morning for a little bit of training. So,needless to say, I could not sleep that night. I was so nervous. And humbled that the president thought that much of me... I just finished MY training!...The president usually takes zone leaders and makes them trainers... I felt, and still feel way under qualified. Tuesday, I found out that I would be staying in Zacamil... Its quite likely that I'll be here for another 3 months. That would be ok... I like this area for the most part... its one of the only areas in the mission that has a mall you can enter without permission...jaja! Anyway, I sure hope that I can be as good of a trainer as Elder Coy was to me... Pres.Glazier said that the people that affect your mission and really your life most are- 1, the Lord.. 2, the mission president.. 3, your trainer (papá). Elder Coy has taught me so much and I will never forget him. On The day of the changes, he gave me a blessing before he left. I was, and still am, super nervous. But the blessing was much needed.
But Monday and Tuesday, we just visited some of our converts and families that have been really good to us and on Wednesday, Elder Coy got changed. We stayed in the church like all day waiting for the bus...but we made it fun.. jaja
That night I talked with my new hijo for a little bit.. His name is Elder Brose.. He's a gringo from Missouri.. He seems like a pretty cool guy.. He's just got some really high goals and stuff. Stuff that has never been done. Like baptizing a thousand! Thats pretty much impossible... but I felt something that maybe feels a little like parenting. :) I didn't want to let him down. I wanted him to get that goal even though its like impossible.. I personally have never had a goal for numbers and I really don't like it when missionaries have number goals...but I still don't want to let him down. Sure Alma did it, but he had 14 years... or something... I dont remember the story very well...That next morning, I spent my personal study praying harder than I ever have before in my life. Just crying, and pleading with Heavenly Father ... please help me to be able to do this. It almost seemed like everything Elder Coy had taught me went out the window...I've forgotten it all! That day, we didn't teach a ton, I just took him to meet members... so that helped a lot. That night, he started to cry and say how hard this really is and all that.. so I just talked to him for 2 hours straight... just trying to help him feel better.. I told him a little bit of how the mission is, how the culture is and how it is going to take a while to get the hang of it. The rest of the week went pretty smoothly...its just different... and you all know how much I dont like change... jaja... I was all ready to be junior comp and do what my comp says... I guess thats not where the Lord wants me... D&C 122.
But its all good! I'm staying positive.. Its just hard because I've also had a fever on top of all that... after church I went back to the house and slept for 3 hours. It was magical.
But anyway, so yeah, there's like a ton of rain.. the country is in like a state of emergency... the assistants called this morning and told us all to not leave our houses for the next two days unless its important... but I'm safe! So don't worry. :)
So, I got all teary eyed with the poem that Ellie sent and that comment about Ashlyn Allen praying for me every night. I have never stopped loving that family and it was such a huge blessing to hear that I still mean a lot to them and that they still are loving me! T-Allen is doing some good work up there right now... I know he is..
But thank you for everything! Sorry this was kinda a little depressing letter.. things are actually going pretty darn awesome... so dont make the mistake of thinking otherwise. I've been seeing lots of little tender mercies... But I'm sorry I don't have much time... but Can you give me my preisthood line of authority and the address to Grandma Thornton? I realized that I will never have enough time to write a email to her... tell her sorry until I can send a letter...BUT, thank you all for your letters... you have no idea how much they helped this week... the comments that you all wrote and everything... Hope everything goes well with dad also! good luck pops... and I love you all!
Elder T

Zacamil- Week 12

HoLa FaMiLiA!
Thank you for all of your letters! I actually just got dad´s like two min ago.. jaja. Whoa, Primary teacher.. good luck pops! So how´s everything going??? From the sound of it, everything is going great! Things getting back to normal... sounds like anyway... yeah, grandma is awesome. She wrote me this week! So that was pretty cool... hopefully I have time to write her back, because I wasted a lot of time sending fotos.

One of the reasons we had so many fotos this week is because we went to the volcano. that was pretty spectacular. Way legit. On the way up, it was awesome. Nice smooth road. All I wanted was a bike. It would have been so fun.. But yeah.. It was awesome. Actually, the bus didn´t even make it up all the way, so we had to walk about twenty min to get to the top. It started to rain after about an hour so it got really foggy and actually really cold. I haven´t felt those temperatures in a long time. Easily fifties... but it was an awesome experience. Today we are going to play futból in a super cool field. We rented it our for  90 min and I´m stoked. jaja
Also, this week was Elder Coy´s birthday!  It was pretty awesome. I think that we had like 4 parties for him with different members and stuff. It was really fun! I bought him a tie for his birthday. I bought the same one for me. I think I sent a picture of that... but yeah! it was awesome. The cake maybe wasn´t the greatest, but its all good! So I am at 170 lbs. I´ve never been this heavy, but I´m not getting fat, I think its because I´m working out my arms, chest, and abs a lot more than doing cardio. My arms chest and abs have never been stronger or bigger. I´m getting huge!....jaja. It wouldn't be because of all the donuts! :)
Also, I sent a package home this week. So that should be coming soon. I hope you like the things I got you. So you know how everyone says that I sound like dad when I talk and all that? Well when I answer the phone here, its the same response! They always think that I sound like Elder Coy, my papá in the mission. How weird. I guess I shouldn´t be too surprised, right? So I guess I kinda have a Guatemalan accent.. cool! That's kinda cool because I like the Guatemalan accent more than El Salvador's. ja  Accents are funny. Our zone leader had a Chilean trainer so he talks with a Chile accent. Its pretty cool sounding. The only accent that I don't like is...... wait for it.................. the Argentinean.... sorry Hunter....jajaja.
Every morning, we have hot chocolate. Its really good. but they give it to you in a bag inside a cup. So when you are ready to drink it, you take the bag out and pour it in the cup. I was sitting on the couch in our cook´s house and spilled boiling hot chocolate all down the front of me. I´ve never felt that kind of pain before in my life! I thought that I would have blisters and all that. I could only think of when it happened to Brynn so long ago. It hurt like a mother bear. When we got back to the house, I expected to find large ugly blisters... because this stuff is insanely hot. Its like boiling in the cup when they give it to you. But when I examined, there was just a small red spot. After an hour, it didn´t even hurt. I thought, holy crap, garments work! I should have been seriously burned bad... but wow. Testimony builder!
Also, transfers are this week. I dunno if I´ll go or not. Part of me wants to leave but part of me wants to stay.. we´ll see what happens on Wednesday!
We had divisions this week. I went to go sleep in the house of the missionaries who work in the office. They have a super nice big house. WITH......wait for it.........................................A HOT SHOWER! I had my first hot shower of my mission. Probably one of the only ones... but that's OK! The cold ones aren´t so bad... jaja.
So last week, when we were fasting, one night we were contacting someone on the street who didn´t seem really interested, but a good looking girl walked by and said hi to us, like they always do (culebras), and kept walking. We finished our conversation and went on our way. She was waiting for us at the corner and came up to us and asked what she needed to do to come to church with us. We asked for her contact information and all that and then she said, You´re Elder Coy right? And he said yeah, how did you know? She then proceeded to tell a story about when he gave her an umbrella when it was raining really really hard. I was not in the mission field yet, but Elder Coy taught me something that day, people remember you and the things you do. Elder Coy was a true example of Christ and she wanted to know more about us. Oh, the power of fasting.
So yes, we did have some baptisms this weekend. They were a wonderful experience. We baptized Rosa and Veronica (mother and daughter) and Hermana Miriam whose husband  baptized her.  It was a fantastic experience.  I baptized Rosa and confirmed Veronica. I cannot tell you how great a feeling it is to bring someone to the gospel! So that family that we were going to baptize... We have been working with that family for the whole time I've been here in Zacamil. We found them on my first p-day here. We have been working so hard and praying so hard with them. Its the same family that we taught while we were out with Elder Martino. Finally they were ready and agreed to be baptized on friday. I dont think I've ever been more excited. All of the hard work, and everything was coming together! The next day, we had the powerful baptisms of Rosa and Veronica. Then, this family was going to be baptised on Sunday. That night, I went with the DL to do their interviews. The husband said that they would not be getting baptized. He said he'd been reading on the internet about polygamy in Joseph Smith's time. We explained everything, but he wouldn't change his mind . Unfortunately, the wife wasn´t there to help because she has a strong testimony. She has two jobs and provides for the family and when she gets home late at night, reads the Book of Mormon. She is a great example. I couldn´t have been more heart broken. All of our hard work, thrown out the window. The husband has always been hard to convince... I thought that I was going to cry! Sunday morning was Hermana Miriams baptism. Although I was really excited about that, the sister missionaries said that whole morning I never smiled with my eyes. I cannot begin to tell you how much that hurt.  I was so sad. I still am a little... I´d rather dip my jewels in honey and go on a bear watch than go through that...oh wait, that kinda already happened..ja. but These lyrics for some reason came to my mind when all this was happening:

I descended a dusty gravel ridge
Beneath the Bixby Canyon Bridge
Until I eventually arrived
At the place where your soul had died
Barefoot in the shallow creek
I grab some stones from underneath
And waited for you to speak to me
In the silence it became so very clear
That you had long ago disappeared
And I cursed myself for being surprised
That this didn't play like it did in my mind
All the way from San Francisco
As I chased the end of your rope
'Cause I've still got miles to go
And I want to know my fate
If I keep up this way
And it's hard to want to stay
Awake
When everyone you meet
They all seem to be asleep
And you wonder if you're missing your dream
You can't see your dream
You can't see your dream
You just can't see your dream
A dream
And then it started getting dark
And I trudged back to where the car was parked
No closer to any kind of truth
As I must assume was the case with you

I never thought of this song in disappointed way before. Its always been one that I liked...But anyway, our converts together are absolutely amazing. Veronica came up to us after church and said that the blessing I gave her was amazing and she bore her testimony in church and came up to us and said that we were angels that were sent to her. She said that she didn´t know what she was missing until she got what we have. After that, I was OK. I finally perked up a little and thought, Its for the better.. I don't want to baptize inactives. But what she said to me was just what I needed.
Mum, thank you so much for all that you do for me. You have no idea. That mormon.org site is awesome! I loved watching the videos in the MTC and stuff. I think that would be a great idea to have the family make a profile. That would be legit. Also, I have a daunting request....Can you make me a facebook? Something so that I don't forget the families and friends that I have made here. But here would be the deal, you cannot accept anyone as a friend unless they are from El Salvador or served with me here... what do you think? Something that would be easy to find me for the people here? like a name like Elder Tanner Tod Thornton? I really don't know how facebook works... still hate it... but want one for my home dogs here. I love you mum!
Dad, congrats on your new calling! just remember, the Lord brings us down low so he can lift us higher. You are going to learn a lot teaching them and it will be hard, but it is where you´re supposed to be. The Lord needs you there for some reason or another. But just have a good attitude about it and realize that they are just little kids.. they are going to be a little disrespectful... But you´ll do great! Other than that, things sound good! Are you getting back on the bike yet? Any races coming up? anyway, I love you dad. Ecl 4:9 & 10. I don't remember what it says, I just have priesthood written next to it..
Austin, Whats up lady? Hows everything going? So you got asked to winter formal already? So are you stoked? Hows football going? I hope every things going good brotha. You´re my hero. "To the world you may only be a one person, but to one person, you may be the world." A nice quote for you there... also 1 Tim 4:12. Its a good one. mentioned a lot during conference. jaja. Love you brotha!
Ellie, Actually, Elder Martino is a seventy member and the area president here. Cool right? He gave the closing prayer in the Sunday morning session. But it sounds like things are going great! read 1 Tim 4:12 also, Its good. And stay away from those boys! Love ya!
Brynn, I´m so proud that you got up and bore your testimony. I´m glad that you are so sensitive to the spirit and can receive answers easily. That is a huge gift. 1 Tim 4:12 would be a good one for you as well. Love ya Brynn!

I love you all and tell grandma thank you and that I love her and I´m sorry, I don't have much time because I sent like 40 fotos... but I´ll write next week!
ELDER TTT

Zacamil-Week 11

Hola familia!
Thanks for your letters and all that! Its good to see that you are all doing well. So I have so much to talk about with just a little bit of time... We are going to the volcano today for P- DAY! Like half of the mission is going with us... so that´ll be really cool.To say the least, this weekend has been absolutely crazy.
First, we made pan dulce again this week. and the hermano gave me the recipe so know I can make some stuff.. jaja. its super good. When I get back, you´ll have to try it:)
El Pato is amazing. I shared a can between four of us and they all said it was amazing. So legit. And yes I got both packages... thanks mum! you´re the best:)
So Sept is over and that means there is no more 2 for 1 donuts. Our final donut count is 62 donuts this month. I´m glad this month is over! jaja. We were going to take a picture next to all our donut boxes, but we didn´t have time... so next week!
So the houses here are really close together and small. They have these weird windows that are always open because no one has air conditioning, I decided that it is extremely difficult to teach a lesson when Coldplays the scientist is playing super loud next door... jaja.
Also, I know that Mons goes into the MTC soon... what info do I need to send a dear elder?
"Si no trabajarás para Dios, Él no trabajará para ti." Good quote. translation for you gringos-"If you do not work for God, He does not work for you."
We were walking one day and these two little girls were sitting on the side of the street. They were  maybe ten years old. They were like,"hey look at the two gringos!" and then the other said, "they´re not gringos, they´re Mormons!" kinda funny story right? maybe.... jaja.
So all the scripture cases came! They look really good. All of them were perfect... except for mine. he spelled my name THANNER. I wont have that...I  know that I will get another set of scriptures in the future so I decided to get a cover for English as well. But they look super good and I´ll work on sending them soon. asap.
So something I say a lot is "OK". Here they don't say OK.. they say "va" So every one thinks its the funniest thing. So now, a lot of the members started saying OK. Its kinda funny because they just use it whenever... I say " Gracias hermana para la cena. Bien amables.." Etc Etc. Then she´ll just say.. OK!  Just one example for ya... It cracks me up! jaja.

So I decided that it is super cool when one of your converts gets a calling in church. Hermana Elizebeth is now the family history person for the ward. How cool is that? It just makes you feel all good inside. The challenge here isn´t so much baptizing... its more keeping them active. I have been very blessed with the converts we have had because all of them are active. And actually, we have 3 set baptisms for this weekend, but the goal is 6. We want to baptize a family of three this week as well. The familia Ochoa. They are a very odd family for El Salvador. And by weird for El Salvador, I mean they´re a normal family. The husband and wife love each other and never fight. In other words, they would be a perfect family for the church. We all wrote letters to each member of their family and I think that helped a lot. The wife and the 14 year old girl came to the first session of conference on Saturday and the husband came to priesthood.  They all came on Sunday. They said they really liked it. The wife wants to get baptized but the husband is just a little skeptical.. but I tell him all the time that there comes no testimony until after the trial of their faith. So he actually started to read a little bit and pray a little bit and decided that there is nothing that could ever be bad in the Book of Mormon.  I hope with all my heart that we can baptize them. It would be my first family baptized.
Another story of two investigators that we have.  Rosa and Veronica. A mom a her daughter.  We are never able to teach them because they leave for work at 6 in the morning and don't come home until 9 at night. They always come to church. You don't normally find people like that here. But they have been here every week since the first time we found them like 6 weeks ago.  We just haven't  been able to teach them the lessons.  They came to both sessions of conference on Sunday.  Elder Coy is really good with people. So he took them into a classroom one at a time to extend a baptismal date for this weekend.  The mom accepted, but the daughter didn't.  We were a little disappointed but it was OK. She said she just need a little more time to figure it out for herself. That not such bad news, at all. So, that night we walked into the house to hear the phone ringing. Elder Coy quickly answered it. It was the daughter. She said that ever since she has said that she needed more time, she felt something bad in the pit of stomach, or something like that... I don't know exactly how she described it... but she said that she would be baptized this weekend. YAY! Miracles happen.
The other baptism we have scheduled was a reference from a member. Her mother in law is a less active and so is her husband. But she is legit. She teaches us everytime we come. Literally. We give her the pamphlets, she studies them with the scriptures and when we visit, she teaches us what she knows. thats very odd for El Salvador also. So we gave her a Preach my gospel.. and she studies that. She started the Book of mormon like 2 weeks ago and already is in mosiah. She is going to be a great teacher in the church.
So conference this year. Crazy good.  Its kinda hard to believe that 6 months ago dad and I just finished the Tour de Phoenix!  weird. It was also cool to know that I was watching conference at the same time as all you! Except maybe mum and dad...being in Ireland and all, but it was really cool. Probably one of the best ones I´ve seen... but I normally say that every time... so I dunno.. jaja. But there was quite a few themes. One that I noticed was missionary work. There was like 7 talks that said something about missionary work. Missions. Missions Missions.   Also, Elder Martino gave the closing prayer in the Sunday morning session. That is so cool that he called! It just stinks that you weren´t there... he was probably waiting until he got to the states to call... I'm so glad that Grandma was there and answered the phone! but that's really cool the nice things he said. So yeah, I watched all ten hours and I have never been more in tune. AMAZING. My favorite full session was priesthood as it normally is.. My favorite talk was by far Elder Hollands.. like always.  Austin, Watch that again and again!  Please watch it. And all you kids watch Boyd K Packers again. Satan is real and wants to take people down with him. Read your scriptures every day! No matter how much homework you have. Get up every morning and plead with the Lord to help you get through the day and then again in the night to thank him. Be thou an example of the believers. Remember the messages. Missions Missions Missions.
"To those of you who are not yet to the season of life when you might serve a couples mission, I urge you to prepare now for the day when you and your spouse might do so. As your circumstances allow, as you are eligible for retirement, and as your health permits, make yourselves available to leave home and give full time missionary service. There are few times in your lives when you will enjoy the sweet spirit and satisfaction that come from giving full service together in the work of the master" Mum, dad, prepare. You have no idea how awesome it is. :)
Psalms 46:10
1 Peter 3:15 => always be ready to give an answer.
Dad, So it sounds like Dublin was awesome! And work will be OK.. just stay humble. Fast. My testimony of fasting has grown so much in these couple months. It is real and it works. Pray. Read your scriptures every day. Something that I have really liked since I got here is the last chapter in John. Lovest thou me more than these? One day when I´m back we can sit around a fire with some Hot Chocolate and talk about  it:) I love you dad. You are my hero.
Mum, sounds like Dublin was awesome for you as well! Thanks for you letters and the constant love you send. Thanks for always making sure I have everything and all that. You do more for me than you know. Just make sure that dad is always doing the basics... as well as Austin and Ellie and Brynn. Make sure that they know that when times get too tough to stand, kneel.
Austin, you stud. It sounds like things might settle down now that football is almost over right? I hope it does. You are an animal. Just remember to always do the basics. There´s 48 half hours in a day... just use one to read the scrips. love you brotha..
Ellie, how was your conference experience? I want to know how you felt and what you learned. Will you tell me? Cross your heart. Cross it! Good. no turning back. jaja I wanna know all about it.
Brynn. I wanna know what you learned as well. Tell me what you're reading about in the scriptures... How´s school? Grades OK? Piano? lemme know! Read Moroni 8:3

I love you all and thank you for all that you do for me! You have know idea what your letters mean to me.
Elder T

Zacamil- Week 10

Hi familia,
Thanks for all your letters this week. Its awesome getting letters and stuff. But its even more awesome when you get a package! Thank you all! Very, very cool. Those little toffee candies remind me of dads old office in Tempe when he always had them on his desk... jaja. But, something that you should probably know... They have honey bunches, and actually a lot of stuff you sent. I dont normally buy it here so it was nice for little bit of a change in diet... but I don't want you to spend a bunch of money to send stuff that I could get here... There's a lot of stuff you sent that I can't get here though... But all in all, THANK YOU! and my comp is really thankful as well. I love you guys and you are awesome to always be thinking of me:)
So some bad news: I left my memory card in an internet cafe last week and it got stolen and I lost all of my fotos. I was really depressed for a day. But I hope that you have been saving them! I didn't send all of them home, but I hope I sent all the good ones :)
So me and my comp were thinking it would be really funny to make a movie about our companionship. We are always laughing and doing funny stuff and we always say stuff like, "This would be great for our movie" jaja. The name of the movie could be: The ELDERS. Kinda catchy right?
So someone asked a couple weeks ago about the soda down here... They have pretty much all the same kinds that we do in the US, but one that they dont have is called Kolashanpan. Its really, really good. At first it tasted really weird, but its probably my favorite down here. jaja. too bad. I don't really like soda.. jaja

So, for the Drama: Its pretty funny when you go to a baptism in the ward and half of the ward looks at you like they hate you and half like they love you. Its still all that gossip and stuff... But the most recent is that everyones all ticked at me because I wont teach a primary kid the piano. But to be fair, we brought it up to the president this week and he said that we dont have time to teach piano. But whatever... I dont care what people think of me.. Its my calling as a missionary to preach the gospel.... not piano... jaja. I actually find it pretty amusing. but,whatever.
Has Elder Martino called you guys yet? Maybe he can't until he goes to the states for general conference?? Maybe He'll speak! That would be awesome.. jaja.
There's this family that we have been teaching, se llama la familia Crespin. There's 4 girls, mom, and 2 boys. We have been visiting them for months... but they still haven't budged towards baptism. They know that the BOM is true. I know that they do. It just sucks the death out of you because they won't commit! We go by their house almost every sunday to bring them to church and they always have some kind of excuse for us. When just the day before they said that they could go.... JUST COME TO CHURCH!
So, sometimes people think that I'm a lot older than I really am. One lady said that I look like I'm thirty. The average guess is around 25. I wont have that, I wont have it!! So I decided to grow my hair out a bit to appear a little bit younger. Good idea right? Yeah, I thought so too:) For the record, I'm not even close to going bald yet! In fact I'm not going bald. Its genetics 101. If I go bald, it wont be because of dad. jaja
So sometimes gang members get on the buses and demands money from everyone. My comp always told me that it happens but I didnt really believe until this week.....So I got robbed again. Not everyone paid him, but because I'm white, he said it was necesery. I heard that sometimes if you dont have money, you could get stabbed or something... anyway, cool beans!
Also, our district leader is kinda funny... We called him every night to give our numbers and stuff. last monday, we asked him how his p-day was. He was like, "Buenismo! I took a nap for an hour without one mosquito bite!" It probably doesn't sound very funny... but if you knew him.. jaja
D&C 129- good to know if you're gonna be in latin america. Thats all i'm gonna say...
So last week we had lots of investigators to church right? So the president called us to ask us how we are doing it... because we always have good numbers for sacrament meeting attendence. His wife takes notes, so she talked to me because she doesn't speak great spanish.. well she does, but she just wanted to be sure... anyway, so I talked to her, I sounded like Michael from the office talking to David Walker about his branch.. about how they are doing so good... to say the least, I sounded like a retard...I tried to tell her what we are doing but I didn't know what to say! But I figured it out later... we are working smart... we not killing ourselves like some missionaries. We are just working smart. If I had to give advice to anyone going on a mission... Just work smart..................Later that week, we had interviews with the president. He said something about me that I really liked..He said that I reminded him about a quote that Neal A. Maxwell said.. something about plants being low maintenance and high yield. He said that he dosen't really have much to say to me because everythings going good! and I dont have any problems to tell him, so he said that I'm low maintenance and high yield! That was kinda cool... I guess thats what I've always been taught right? From you guys... thanks mum and dad...Anyway, it made me feel good... But once again I'll say that I dont boast in myself, only in my God.
Thats so awesome about Mons. It sounded like he did great and stuff. And he goes in next week which is also awesome... I have been blessed with the best friends anyone could ask for. Cody is gone, Mons is leaving, Hunter is almost done.. Its crazy awesome how blessed I've been with my friends.
Family History: DO IT! You were doing it for a little while, but continue to do it... because it is super importante!
Today, we went to a place called Soyapango. We met the other panchos that got moved from our district.  They came into the capitol today so we went to go see them.. That was pretty awesome. I miss those guys. I got pictures, but I'm at a computer super chafa.. so I can't send pictures... sorry.
I took the lead in a lesson this week.. I actually do that quite a lot, why are you so surprised? But anyway, how to recognize the spirit... For this super bueno familia. Anyway, I focused on a scripture in Alma 32. verses 27-33 with emphasis on 28. Because, if I remember right, its kinda the same way that dad felt before he got baptized. Which reminds me... Mum, dad, I want hand written copies of your conversion stories.. all the details. how you felt, when was the pivotal moment, why you let the missionaries in?... all that jazz. Please and thank you:)
Dad, thanks for everything. You have no idea how much you have taught me. Alma 38:2-3 is one of the scriptures that I can say changed my mission. Lots of missionaries have scriptures that they say changed their mission. I know that I dont have a lot of time in the mission, but that always changes my attitude. Thanks pops.. also, thanks for the JB's! I sometimes get these cravings to do stuff here in the mish. Like two weeks ago... I had a craving to ride my bike, this week has been wakeboarding in lake powell. Who knows what this week will bring? But thanks for everything dad. I love you.
Mum, HI! thanks for the package and making sure that I have everything and all that jazz. You do more for me than you think. and I notice more things than you think.. I hope that Dublin is awesome! Bring me back something Irish! jaja I love you.
Austin, I forgot to mention that you started doing your hair like Cristiano Ronaldo. Sick. I'm glad that you had fun at HC and the day activity was all thumbs up. Just hang in there and read your scriptures before you start your homework. Love you brotha
Ellie, Sounds like everythings going good! Sounds like you are liking choir and all that. Good, stick with it. and the piano. practice practice practice. And I guess I'm finally moved out of the house if you're gonna take over my room...:( salu panchos... jaja just kidding.. love ya!
Brynn, Dont put up with any crap. Do what you gotta do. don't let anyone push you around. But more importantly, read your scriptures and pray every morning and night. love ya!

Hey love you all and Salu!
TTT