Email Rec'd 2-28-2011

mother

i was very sad to hear the news about aunt loreen. she was always very loving and i never remember her without a smile. but i must say something that most everyone already knows. and that is that right now she is in a state of such peace and happiness and it is harder for me to be sad rather than happy for her. right now she is awaiting the day that she will be able to come back with christ in that glorious day. the first principle of the doctrine of christ is faith. if we have faith in christ we need not have fear of death because we have a firm grasp of the plan of salvation. fear is the exact opposite of faith. if there's one thing i learned form my trainer it's that as missionaries we need not worry about the things in our homes because if anything does happen we will see them again. i knew an elder here whose mom was murdered in front of his family here and not once did i ever see him loathsome or sad, always had a smile, when asked why he replied, because i know i will see her again.

mother you need not have worry that you were a bad mother becuase you were not. your children were disobedient. there is a difference and the only thing you could've done was shown love and look and where i am now. and i will forever be in debt to you for your love and patience with me.

i have not received my package yet but probably within the week or next week. if you could please get me the email address for stuart. but please hook me up with that email and i will email him. thank you for everything mother just know i love you dearly!

as for things that happened this week nothing much happened. i didn't get transferred so i'm here in BOER for another 6 weeks or so. we had 2 baptisms set for saturday and they both drank the night before..... satan will never leave my investigators alone!!!!!!!! we were also teaching this one lady who was sick, like really sick and couldn't even see. we taught the restoration mainly hitting the points of the preisthood and gave her a blessing after. the next day we went over to check on her and she was up walking around with a smile on her face, but then she told me she wasn't going to accept the invitation to be baptized. and went on her way. I learned 2 valuable things this week. 1 is the divine power of the holy priesthood. and 2 is that not even miracles can turn the hearts of some people. but that is what i'm here to do. to try my hardest to give everyone a chance to listen and to recieve. and if i tried my hardest to help them understand then Jacob 1 :19 will not happen to me. haha i love you all dearly sorry i don't have any photos for you this week!!

elder galvan

Email & Pictures Received 2-21-2011

Here is the jersey the baseball scout made for Val. It is pretty cool, huh?

Elder Pace, Elder Weight, Elder Diamond & Elder Galvan--- not sure what the faces are for- but they sure are cute....

This is Elder Rojas--- he is huge***
***this must be who Val is saying is 3 Nephite******

today is presidents day? hahaha thats nuts hahah i never know anything here. but yeah that house in freeman farms sounds nice but yeah always make sure its right before you do anything haha. thats gonna be a fun calling!!! your gonna have fun! but yeah im already used to living in crap with nothing haha so anything i come home to is gonna be luxury hahaha.

yeah this week was kinda crazy. tuesday we took a bus to a different area to go pay a visit to this lawyer who still hadnt finished our papers for our wedding we had like a month ago so we show up at her house and we're like hey we're here do our papers cause were not leaving till you do them hahaha so shes like oh yeah im just finishing them up..... 4 weeks later hahaha then on the way back there was a white girl on the bus, like a real white girl not a chela from chinondega hahaha my comp was like contact her she needs the gospel!!! hahaha but i didn't hahah i was too scared i havent talked to a girl in forever!!! she was dang good looking though.

i think hahahahahah but yeah our baptism for this week fell, which sucks but were hoping for next weekend. hey could you send a thank you to the crouches for me they sent me like two letters!! but yeah this week our assistance was like 128 which is really high!!! me and my comp didnt have any investigators there but we had 12 less actives there which was really awesome!! but yeah i might have changes this week, everyone thinks so but im not sure so il let you know where i am next week haha. alright for the pictures theres a couple of my jersey the dude made for me and there's one with me elder weight and elder diamond and elder pace in the back and then another with me and elder rojas hes huge!! and then me with Socio hes the guy i told you about that everyone thinks is a 3 nephite haha but i think that if he really was that this picture would have been blurred or he would have disappeared our something, crap my spelling sucks (he doesn't know that his mommy is trying hard to edit the letter's before she puts them on the blog) hahaha sorry but thank you for everything i love you mom!!!

elder galvan

Pictures Received 2-14-2011

So, I realized that it might be good for you to read the post before this than come back & look at the photo's. I think Val explains some of the pictures. Maybe he doesn't . I don't know at this point, I know that I am his mother & I am grateful that he sends me pictures----- haha. Sometimes the photo's need explaining--- sometimes they don't.

I'm not sure what is going on here- accept that I think that is Val's new toy "eva mendez" haha. (the machete)

These photo's are of a family home evening the elder's had with some recent converts.

I think this is Val's companion- elder garcia.

The "wall" at the sports store-

This is the "scout" Val was talking about in his letter. Anyone that "knows" Val, knows how much he LOVES baseball. Look at the smile on his face!!!!! I think that meeting this man on his mission was super exciting for him. Than he tells me, that he wants to go back and teach him the gospel & baptize him. (but he's not in my mission) awww. I love this kid! My eyes are tearing up when I look at that smile, because I know how much he LOVES what he is doing. I am sooooo proud of this boy!

Email rec'd 2-14-2011 Happy Valentine's Day

oh freak today is valentines day? haha i never know anything down here haha but yeah that stinks you guys couldn't go to landon's thing i cant beleive he's leaving already thats so nuts haha im gonna have 5 months more than him thats crazy haha but yeah its kinda weird to think you guys will have a new house when i get back haha i liked that other one but still my favorite of all time is the circle g house hahaha but yeah im 107 percent sure that if we didn't move into that ward and i wasn't friends with them and my boy b lake again i'd be in some trouble somewhere hahaha so im forever greatful for them and that ward and the decision to move there. thats crazy you called my number hahaha i didnt know it existed anymore but yeah thats what we call being trunky down here haha i get a bad case of it every monday when i write home haha but its all good. thats cool about J beibs... thats all i hear around this place anyways hahaha everyone here has the beiber fever its nuts even 56 year old dudes. thats cool kenz went to a dance. alright time for my stories of the week. my first for yesterday,we were about to start the 3rd hour of church when the bishop comes in and says Hermana Dora just died and were gonna take the whole ward to the house to visit the family. it was pretty sad, us missionaries went there and cleaned out the room so they could have the service that day and when they brought the body in it was nuts everyone was screaming and crying this lady was so pilas she always walked to church every sunday like way far away and bathed and dressed like 14 grandkids herself every sunday for church but yeha that was kind of intense.
Today was a little more on the bright side. me and elder ward met up and went to this store where they sell sports stuff. so we walk in and start talking to this guy about all of his pictures on his wall with manny ramirez joe torre and others and i was like oh freak thats you in those pictures man and hes like yeah im a scout for the Red SOx for nicaragua and i manage one of the nicaragua teams here.... ... i was like DUDE TAKE A PICTURE WITH ME!!!! hahahaha so we got to talking and hes making me a BOER (my area) jersey with my name and number on it!!!! so sick!!!! this dude was so cool he scouted some dude that plays for the padres and would only talk to me cause the other kids there didn't play baseball hahahahahahaa i want to go back and teach him and baptize him but he's not in my area :( but yeah i have a picture with him and his photo wall im sending but yeah that was so cool for me hahaha. but yeah we should have another baptism this saturday to complete a family for Edwin who's wife was baptized 2 weeks ago so cross your fingers for him. but yeah all is well here. .... yeah whatever i dont really care but yeah all that stuff sounds good!! thank you so much for everything!! i love you mom

elder galvan

Email rec'd 2-7-2011

hahaha its a machetie!!!!!! and i keep it under my pillow just in case..... haha the streets is hot mah. anyways i'm writing you first this week cause were writing pretty early and i dont really have any new pics to send this week was kinda dull but still good. haha i dont have any pictures with him but yeah he's iight. better than my first comp hahaha but yeah i hope that everything is going well for you guys keep your prayers up for the house and have faith and patience and you'll recieve your answer when the lord is ready to tell you. how is everything going with the girls? hopefully all is well kenz didn't email me this week so tell her to get on it kid. haha i love her emails they're so funny!! she told me some dude shot up the mall or something then stopped for a taco at baja fresh hahahaha what a DUFUS!!!!!!!!!! anyways not much going on here, just a lot workin, we havent got alot of people that are ready for baptism yet but were still working with them, alot of them either don't keep they'r commitments or keep failing to keep the word of wisdom haha and the law of chastity so we have our work cut out for us. but yeah i love you mother!! thank you so much for everything!!!

elder galvan

oh and hey where are my pictures you told me i was getting 4 months ago!!!!!!!!!! hahaha love you!!!!

Pictures Received 1-31-2011

hmmmm, val's new machete. nice-picture to send to your mom. he say's this is for his protection-- hahaha. i'm not sure i like the look on his face.

Val's new slippers, he calls them: chinelas

Elder Galvan & Elder Ward in the center of their Zone Leaders & in the back-- Elder Weight (Val's mtc companion.)

Marriage of Edwin & Diana Almandaris, before baptism

Baptism pictures of Diana Almandaris

After the baptism & marriage they went to Pizza Hut.

Email rec'd 1-31-2011

ahhh that stinks about your email but its all good cause you have it back now so were good haha. yea i looked happy huh!! well guess what else happened this week!!! i got another comp cause my old one got sent to a different area to be a zone leader!!!!!! ahhhhhhhhh come on!!!!!!!!! hahaha but its all good my new comp is cool he's from guatemala. i dont have any pictures of him yet i just got him yeserday haha. but yeah i had a baptism saturday/ marriage and it was good!! ill be sending pics too dont worry.but thats sick about heath!!! hahaha 20 more months and ill be home. well thats cool about cj!! just tell her to keep working hard. alright mom i love you!!!!!

elder galvan

oh yeah go ahead and send that package soon cause i need shave gel and lotion haha!!! thank you!!