Email rec'd 8-22-2011

whats upppppp!!!!!!!

hows everyting going today???????????? hopefully wonderfuly splendid!!!!!!!! hahaha im doing alot better than last week. just learned to kinda accept some things and move on ya know. i always love hearing about the temple and this week was perfect cause we had the dedication of the el salvador temple all weekend through broadcast, we watched the cultural thing on saturday and then on sunday we watched the dedication which was super cool. i loved it and seeing all the pictures and stuff made me really trunky.

yeah that was good advice for her, it really does start with the friends though i'm a huge testigo to that. i dont know where id be without b--lake and the Basha Family. i love the mission so much. i love home too but the mission is only once. its a commandment that every young man needs to go and i think alot of people fail to recognize that it really is a COMMANDMENT and commandments are of god through prophets and they expect to stay in the church and say that a mission isnt for them, they're denying the prophetic power and the ever so loved bible verse that reads if you love me keep my comandments. i'm with the ones that are struggling to go i feel it i know what it was like but i just hope all can get out of the dumps and get the help they need.

haha the green apple two step hahaha thats funny .hey i'm sending some pics, there's one of my student id and my nicaragua id that i got a while ago but hey i look way different. and a baptism and some pics of an area in my zone i have a couple more to send though but i love you mother thank you so much for your help i love you so much your the best mom ever and hey in 4 months we talk on the phone!!!!!!!!!!!! i cant wait!!!!!!! i love you!!!!

elder galvan

Pictures rec'd 8-22-2011

Val sent us his ID-- next to his student ID from CGCC it is sure interesting to see how much he has matured in his looks in a year. (at least --his mommy thinks he has :)
More photos of Masaya-- probably around the area where he lives.

Some photo's of his area- maybe by his house?
Val calls these his "power ranger's"-- he says they are SUPER STEEZEY-- he found them at the market for $5.00-- they actually look pretty cool.
Their most recent baptism.
Here are some pictures of the house that Val is staying in now. It looks pretty nice!

Looks like the "study" area for the missionaries--maybe.
The kitchen in the home where Val is staying.

Email rec'd 8-15-2011

Mother!!!!

well im glad that you liked all the stuff i sent i have some more cause today we went to a place called catarina that was super cool and i will definitely go back cause they had real mexican food there so i ate some quesadillas and it was awesome!!!!!! haha thas so crazy that everyone is leaving on their missions and everyting. its really cool the mission is the best sometimes it royally sucks but its still the best i could be doing right now.

you went to the temple with my girls!!!!!!!!! tell them all i said whaddaaaaa!!!!! hahaha thats great that you had a good temple experience. it must be really nice to go to the temple...... me and my comp had a stake council with all the leaders in the stake and the mission president and he asked why it was important to have good attendence at stake conference and everyone was like... to feel the spirit, to learn, to listen. so i stood up and was like --look you guys need a temple here thats what we as missionaries are doing-- preparing your country for a temple so yeah its very important that you have good stake confernece attendence cause if not whos gonna go to the temple if they build one?

haha it was cool as we work with the stake president alot and its fun we get to see how all the missionaries are doing in their wards and what not. but i miss the temple so much. dad sent me some pics of you guys at the dbacks game i cant belive how grown up cj looks? its crazy!!!

hahaha well ok the pictures im sending are of catarina and of some quesadillas i had and catarina is basically a big lagoon by the volcano so it was pretty cool im sending more pics so wait for those. i got a new comp. im now training a new zone leader. and doesnt like to feel like he is taking orders even though i always ask i never command. anyways, well thats all the news for today ill send more pics but i love you all!!!

elder galvan

Pictures rec'd 8-15-2011

Sweet picture of the boys. P-day in Cantera, Nicaragua.
The baseball field at Masaya, that he "snuck" into to take this picture.
Val's description of this photo: a big fat pig :)

Lunch with "Franklin" a church office employee that came to take them to Papa Johns for Val's birthday. Val said that he was so cool he has invited him to come hang with us in AZ when he gets home.
Elder Galvan's watch tan--




Mexican food in "catarina" --real mexican food. Awesome Elder Galvan says.

Email rec'd 8-8-2011

well mother,

this week was way good for me!!!!! today monday has been kinda crappy....... but ill leave that out hahaha i hope you enjoy all the pictures and the voice recording i am sending. for the voice recording this wont be a super long email. thank you so much for the birthday wishes!!! i love you so much mother and you have no idea how much it means to me to have a mother who loves me as much as you do to me. i cant wait to get back and go to the temple with my family who i havent seen in almost a year!!!!!

haha but that only means that in one more ill be home seeeing my family again just like old times. my birthday here was way fun and as you will here in the voice recording it was full of suprises haha i even got a few eggs on my head thats the tradition here in nicaragua haha but tons of investigators and members did stuff for me i took home like 4 cakes hahahaha it was crazy and we ate alot.

but yeah well changes are this week and were supposed to find out soon but idk ive only been here for 6 weeks but you never know with the changes they could be crazy. tell nana and tata that i was sorry but i did email them back today hahaha i hope you can share all the pictures with everyone its not all i have but its most and i have practically no time cause we made a movie for the zone and we still have to put it all together today hahahaha well mother i love you so much these past 20 years have been the nuclear bomb and i love you so much!!!!

elder galvan

Pictures rec'd 8-8-2011

This family came from Managua to visit Val on his birthday. They are a family that he baptized & he said they are his favorite family. They brought him a cake & a 2 liter of Fanta. How awesome is that. I am so happy as a mother that there are good people there that care for my son and are thinking of him on his birthday. I know that his birthday was so emotional for me & I am very thankful to my Father in Heaven for those around Val that took care of him.
Im not sure what type of pizza this is, but I know they are at Papa John's. I see the garlic sauce on the side. At first I thought it was a dessert pizza, but than I saw the pictures of the cake.
This is a nacatamal-- Val says it is the nica's version of a tamale. Which we love here is AZ. I am sure that he wanted to send us this picture so I could show Val's nana & tata.
I think this picture is so cute. If you can zoom in on his face-- he looks like he is pouting.
A couple sister missionaries helping Elder Galvan celebrate his bday.
I think this cake was from the sister missionaries and they brought it to Papa John's.
Here is one of the cakes he rec'd for his bday!
This is a funny picture from his birthday-- that is the way he described it. I was so worried about his birthday- was he going to get a cake, was anyone going to sing "Happy Birthday" to my boy? Well, he rec'd 4 cakes-- so-- he was taken care of. A little spoiled I would say.
One of the sister missionaries in his zone-- she must be little- look how much Val is bent over
Their most recent baptism.
I'm not sure if this is his entire zone- but it looks like a big part of them. This is the "funny" picture" (Val is in the far left corner at the bottom)
Val explained that part of what they were doing to get their zone pumped this month was, they were having jersey's maid for everyone & making a movie of some sort. Here are the jersey's- on the front's they say Masaya- which is the area he is serving in now. The back's have their last names.
This is pretty self-explanatory, huh?

Email rec'd 8-1-2011

good afternoon mother!

first off i would be sending some pictures but the computers here suck so your gonna have to wait a while for pictures hahahaha. sorry.... well i cant believe the girls are back in school now. thats so crazy. its crazy that all the young kids are leaving now too. and i almost have a year........ hahaha im so old haha and skinny!!! i love it!!! speaking of utah.... idk mother idk what i want to do with my life. i honestly have no clue. i want to go to school, but i want to work with dad, and if i went to school what would i even study? ha. and can i even go to a good school with what happened at cgcc? im kinda worried about it haha not too much obviously i have a lot of time to think but idk. yeah it does kinda stink not having a temple but that's why i was called here. because this country needs a temple and we're here to help make it happen.

when we baptize families they have to wait a year before they can enter into the temple but when they go they go to el salvador and no the mission president doesn't go.

thank you so much for the birthday wishes. i love you all so very much and you dont know how much it means it to me right now in this point in the mission. these have by far been the slowest 4 months ever in my mission and everyday i try my hardest to turn it around but it just gets harder and harder. but i love it. the mission has taught me alot of valuable things and i am so grateful to be here. i love you all and have a great week

elder galvan

Email rec'd 7-25-2011

good afternoon

well sorry this letter is late. that's cool that you now have time for yourself. i'm sure that will give you alot of time to do things you want. i loved going to dbacks games. those were really fun. glad kenzie is taking advantage of the prime seats dad has. i can agree with you rthat the power of the priesthood is something very special and sacred, and is not something that just anyone can have and use worthily. ive seen so many leaders here try and use their priesthood unworthily and its sad to see but its the world. Ty really is staying in the states??? freak i thought he'd leave for sure. yes i was thinking about that the other day too, how lucky i was to have parents that actually loved each other, we were at a wedding/baptism of a companionship in the zone and the couple didn't even want to kiss each other after the wedding it was just super awkward like there wasnt even a speckle of care there. idk.. im just really greatfull for the example you both have set for me and the girls cause not many people have two parents that love each other like you two do. i cant believe the year is almost here, just 2 more months and ill hit the hump then its all down hill. things are starting to pick up for the zone so we should have a good month in august. yes i received everyting in the package and thank you so much for everything, i really appreciate everything that you guys do for me i love you all so very much have a great week mother

elder galvan