April 21st Letter and Pictures

Hey everyone!

So I sent some photos earlier, they are of a zone activity we did. We played some games and had a water fight at the chapel it was really cool. I got hit in the face. We made water balloons out of fundas (bags that are super cheap and thin haha). They worked extremely well. Probably too well we got the whole zone wet. It was fun and stuff. Building unity or something (maybe it didnt really have a purpose, but hahahahahaahahaha). I dont have too many other photos kicking around as of yet, I keep forgetting to take one of everyone. Next week I will get one of at least our whole district.

Its really cool to hear about all the nice things happening! Wow, maybe Kyle will be getting married! To a scary scottish lady, but married at least! Haha, kidding. He has to be careful with those who play rugby. Especially ladies rugby. And she enjoyed quadding. Bad sign. But she said yes, so thats good hahaha. I am glad the family is doing well, I hope it justs keeps improving. Tasha will do well on exams, she is smart and intelligent as opposed to her brother, he is not so smart and is still learning how missionary work is really done (since its a little different after you move areas). Yes Elder Peña knows spanish, and he is super comfortable speaking it. Like, all the time. We mostly speak spanish in the house. And watch a lot of movies during lunch and at night. Cool stuff. We have piles of cds of music and movies. Its a fun house, a litle small maybe.

So Easter is super different here. We celebrated Semana Santa (the same as in Mexico) here with the zone activity today. All of everyone else´s weekend of celebration ended today with hangovers. So, the whole easter bunny thing doesnt exist here. Supposedly its a lot more religious here, the whole easter thing. People take the week to do about the same things as we do at home though. It was cool, but almost no one was home. They all went to the beach or something. Everyone was a little late to church, although we did fill the chapel with people! The branch isnt all that big, our chapel is kind of puny, but with it full I think there is a fairly large number of members. And investigators haha. 

With Brian in that picture is his mom and brother. His brother is an active member now, the mom not so much but its coming.

Our big news for the week is that we found this awesome family of 4 kids. Well, they were mostly a reference from a few family members who are members of the church, but we managed to follow up really well starting with the mom. She already has a testimony after just the First Vision, so she just needs to keep going! The dad is a stepdad but a super good one. They all came to church on sunday together and really liked it. We went that night with the movie ¨On the Way Home¨ and they really learned from it and loved it. Its the story of a family coping with the death of their youngest daughter, how they really fell apart, but then recover because of christ and a mormon friend and sister missionaries. Anyway, in all the family gets baptized and looks forward to being together forever. It realy stuck with the family, and so we extended the baptism invitation. They have all accepted for the end of may! We are superbly excited, we really love and care about this family, and they are doing a bunch of cool stuff. They read together and pray together and are arriving at a testimony together! We have been working a lot for them, and just hope that they keep on going and get through to the end. They are really close, but we still have weeks to go haha. Anyway, its really cool how the gospel sort of just enters people´s lives and they change. Their faces are already different. We are seeing some changes in their home life, and hopefully it just gets better! Its fun to be with a whole family like this. Reminds me of our family and that we are doing the same, all on the path to eternity. We shared with the family about losing family members, as the dad lost his dad recently, and it seemed to really strike him that nothing really ends. There are only mortal endings, and eternal begginings. Super neat our lives are. All it takes now is perseverance and prayer! We are really getting close to them, and Elder Peña doesnt want to leave next transfer so he can see their baptism. I hope that happens.

We also are having a baptism on saturday (triple baptism, the zone leaders and one of the hermanas are having baptisms as well). She is this really old looking lady who is actualy only 48 but smoking destroyed her. She has quit though, and given up all of that and is keeping all the commandments. She cant read, so thats a challenge, but we have assigned the Relief Society to go read with her. She lives out in this far off thing called Finka 6. Its sort of a banana orchard town thing. 30 minute walk from the house on a gravel road. Worth it to see this lady. She doesnt understand much, but has truly shown faith already. She walks to church every sunday for a little under an hour. She leaves early to get there an half hour early to be sitting in the chapel. She has diabetes and a bunch of other health problems, but still comes to church with her kids that her now gone and divorced husband left. So we call that real faith. She gets there before we do (although, we do take a guy in a wheelchair who was less active until now, so thats our excuse haha). So that faith and having the spirit is getting her baptized, but the Relief Society is going to have to work with the retention thing (visiting teaching and home teaching is always poorly executed, but we be getting there).

Anyway so yeah, we teach cool people. Another youth is getting baptized in a couple of weeks. She´s smart and has gained a testimony, so it will happen if we can finish teaching her (she is always sleeping at home....) We kind of need to find people now, or next transfer will be nothing but knocking on doors and bothering members haha. I do like bothering people though, and yelling ¨buenas!¨ into every single door.

So we do cool things. The work is nice here. The place is more relaxing and I think it looks pretty. People say its really hot, but everyone always says that about everywhere so.... ah well. The zone is fun, its kind of strange having hermanas but most of them are cool. Although every night my companion has to call them and thats kind of bothersome (it takes a while to talk with hermanas).Otherwise its a nice chill area There are stil all those non progressing investigators haning around, but at least they are not all the investigators this time!

So its nice here. Hot and sunny, another day in paradise or something like that. But awesome. I like the work here. Its been really fulfilling and it fills me everytime we see people now. I feel a deep love for the people we have been working with now. The members are cool here, one young man bothers me haha but everyone else is cool. People still think Im japanese sometimes. Or something. But they all love to hear about canada.

I am so glad to have my eternal family with all of you. Always in my prayers and heart. Thank you for everything, it has blessed me and every one of these people out here that have had the priviledge of getting to know the eternal family of God, or at least my part of it.

With all my love,

Elder Sullivan