June 28, 2010

Well i am on foot and bike. in the mountains. Rains every day between 2-4 HOURS.

President and Sister Martineau keep saying this will be the best part of my mission and that it will be the icing on my mission.

I left aruba. i bought a new carryon which ended up costing me 11 dollars and i saved 40 on overweight charges because flight between islands allow half the normal US weight standards. As i left i really felt like i was leaving my area in great condition. With several great investigators and great friendships with members and a strong english class that elder Zenger and Lopez and i had set up. It felt great leaving but then as i got to my area. Diarrhea struck one of the few times on the mission. and the humidity of puerto rico seems so much worse than i remembered. My bed is moist when i get in it at night. My towel never completely dries unless i leave it in the sun. Then i realized that we dont even live in our area. We have to walk down a huge hill to get to our area. Meaning later throughout the day we have a nice walk up. =) i will hopefully lose a little weight. Then on sunday we had a district conference with president martineau. I cried through the majority of it. Felt like a baby. It was just a really emotional meeting for me for some reason. President and sister martineau talked for their last time. and they sang a song that they have sung several times "follow the light" i think it was partly missing being in san nicolas. What a great area with great people it is. coming to rain. and a little bit of reflection on the lack of time i have left. It makes me happy to go home but just fear and sadness to leave these beautiful people. It just was too much for me that day.

I did however get to see many of the members with whom i started the mission. Some didn't remember me some did and gave me hugs immediately. it was great. Then we went home and ate.... My companion is a great guy but very slow and just without pep in his step nor contacts. He eats slower than molasis. I eat and then still have time to take a half hour nap or shower or study or do a load of laundry. =) he says he doesn't like to be rushed. I respect it. =)

Then this morning we went grocery shopping and because of all the Airport tax and everything i didn't have as much as i had written down. Same problem that i had with keybank where they overdrafted me for money that i had. but becuase the comuter hasn't caught up to the actual funds i could only spend 12 dollars on my gorceries. That was after getting 40 dollars worth. Kind of embarassing but the lady was really nice about it. =)

Now i am in the internet place it costs 5 dollars an hour. Nitido. =) All i can really do is smile. and just laugh at all that is happening. being rained on so much and climbing little hills all day long. Fun two transfers these will be.



Well cuidense y hasta la proxima...

i probably wont be writing till next wednesday. Becuase of 4th of July i believe.

Almost 21 crazy

June 22, 2010

President buckley is a funny guy. This morning i woke up with a huge zit on my nose. and we went to president buckleys to do our laundry and he walks out and starts singing Rudolph the Red Nose Reigndeer. I told him thats what you used to tell me. and he started laughing and said he wants to meet you. He says. Yo dad seems like a coo cat man.

So this week we also had a great time listening to president martineau yesterday. He did our last interviews and i was the last misisonary that president martineau has and will interview in his time as mission president. Then he sat us all down for our death talk. and Started saying. "what is one rule as a missionary that will make your life miserable if you continue to live it after the mission?"

We thought a little and i said coming home by 9:00 another elder said 140 contacts a week. another said 12 hours of finding time. And all were pretty funny but then president said "you guys are beating around the bush" Then he told us when we finish our missions we need to flirt again. Said It is your Priesthood responsibilty to find a Worthy daughter of God and Marry her in the temple. Then talked about 5 things that if we live them we will never fall away. Starting with Prayer. Scripture Study. Journal Keeping. Understanding and participating in the Sacrament weekly. Temple attendance. But it was great. This week i also read one of the Liahonas and it came with the world wide leadership training of 2008. It talks so much about families. That we are never to put that off. Not put it off for School not put it off for a car not put it off for anything. Then it talks about how having children shouldn't be put off for anything either. and we need the faith to have them not have them becuase we can but becuase its a commandment of God. i think i want like 20 kids. =) no my trunky reading aside we also have had a great week of success.

We talked to anamilena and i had left her with three chapters to read. Turns out she read the wrong chapters becuase i wrote it a little unorganized. Instead of reading 1 nephi Chapter 8 she read 3 nephi chapter 8. Instead of reading 1 nephi chapter 13 page 27 she read 3 nephi chapter 13 verse 27 on to the end. Really strengthening her faith in tithing. It was a fabulous cita with her. Then the next day at church She wanted to get up and so she stood up in Gospel principles and said that she was so grateful that i came here and i may not see her be baptized but she will do it. She someday down the road will send me pictures of her baptism. My companion shared with her about procrastinating the day of her repentance and she put her face in her hands and said "this is speaking to me" She knows what she needs to do and now its just getting the faith to do it. Fabulous.

we also started teaching a great lady named candy who came to church this sunday and just cried the whole time. She loved it and is so excited to change her life. She said that she is very upset that i am leaving too.

I really dont like recieving attention. i wish they wouldn't do it in front of people. in church especially. We are there to worship God and remember his servants but Christ is the main focus and i dont like it when it Leaves that topic. My homecoming talk (not that i have been thinking much about it because i haven't but it wont be about my mission it wont be about the experiences i had but will be just like the talks i give here. No different. talk about experiences can be after. they really can wait. Especially in sacrament meeting. it seems absurd to listen to the prayers of the sacrament then talk about one and their accomplishments.

What a great little place San Nicolas is. I know a lot of people here and i am sad to leave. president assured me that these last two transfers will be the best and pass faster than i can imagine.

I am heading to Lares, Puerto Rico. with a companion that will be a great learning experience. Im excited.

Love you All

Jue 14, 2010

It was another great week as a servant of the Lord. Keith and Anamilena decided on the 26th of June to be baptized. We asked in church if they would be willing to do it on the 21st becuase president Martineau and his wife will be here, and she said: Well we will go discuss it and pray about it, and let you know on monday evening. so we are pumped to go over there. I was so excited to be able to come down here to aruba and to stay for the rest of my mission mainly because ever since i was young and saw movies like Jonny Lingo and The other side of Heaven, i thought it would be awesome to baptize someone in the Ocean. It would be a wonderful little tender mercy to see it happen with Keith and Anamilena. Another wonderful thing is Tom and older man we are teaching decided on a date to be baptized and he kept it a secret telling only president Buckley. It is very exciting that he wants to be baptized as well. His wife not so much be He is going strong.

So i called one of the other elders here to see if president had given any more information out. and i heard some new news. At first when i heard from elder Roggeman i was upset because he told me i was going back to Puerto Rico. i Love aruba! I really do. This really is my favorite area of my mission. so far. But then after a few moments of thinking i realized i will love my new area as well. i will Serve the Lord with the Same Love that i have the last few years! Great Expereinces lie behind and ahead and i will still Love being a missionary! I have no idea where i am going to be sent. But i have such a different attitude right now. I have learned a lot in this stay here in the Islands. I obviously know there are times i could have done things better but i have a condifence in the Beautiful scriptures found in 2 nephi Chapter 28 stating how we learn and how the Lord gives us. These last Two years. (there are still 3 months) Have been the Greatest learning opportunity of my life. I have learned about people i have learned languages i have gained great friendships. but one of my Favorite things that i have learned is that the people the the Lord has put into my path have "breathed easier" I have heard of so many people that have continued after we left the Area or to come back to this area and see member Going strong. I know that through the Power of God we have accomplished many things. Me with my personality being the Crazy person i am. and my companions. Being the skeptics of my strange attitude, and with their own strange habits. But that is the Beauty of life. None of us are the same. Each person has their way. Each person sees through a different pair of Glasses. What great work it is to spend two years trying to look into those people and help them understand a message that will change their lives. I am eternally Grateful.

We visited the Adventist Church this last week. Quite funny experience. We showed up and they greeted us and everything. Then went through the service. Started by electing people. Not by spirit or revelation at all but in a democratic way of doing it. Just voting on people. Then we had Sabbath school. NOT Sunday School but Sabbath School. it was good. The Teacher wasn't prepared. and the students the members just started arguing. one with another. There were about 6 different groups for sabbath school. and as i looked around at all of them there were people arguing in each one. Wether it was the teacher or students. Then for the final part (3 hour service) they started out saying Welcome to our visitors today. and they asked the visitors to stand up. so we stood. then everyone gave us a "Wave of Welcome" and as they did we looked around. The only two white people in the Whole congregation of about 150 and the only visitors that day. so we just stand up two Nerdly White Smile clad Kids waving at all our black brothers and sisters. =) Quite the experience. They were very nice people. Good message too. Lack of Inspiration and Revelation.

That was our week in a nutshell. I have been kind of sick this week. and we are painting our apartment.

By the way two weeks ago president buckley told me to Say hello to you but i forgot. HELLO ELLIS FAMILY! from president Buckley

Love You!

June 7, 2010

so this week we had for the First time in history 50 people in church! What a great blessing it was. We had 4 people in church too! That is awesome. i know my companion was sent here to teach me a few things and to help this area. That is awesome.

So this morning when we went to do laundry at president buckley house he lit fireworks to "celebrate 50" He even had us plant a papaya tree to remind him of 50. and everytime he eats a papaya and it drips down his face he will remember Elder Ellis and Elder Lopez. =) the fireworks weren't just any fireworks. Things that make a lot of noise. Cherry Bombs Mortars and tons (a whole box) of fire crackers. it was so loud all the car alarms on the street went off. it was hilarious. and he did it in his backyard. =) funny funny funny.


This week has been great and i am really feeling much better and trying to put into practice what we talked about in District meeting. We had Anamilena come with Fitzgerald to church this week. She is doing great! She still loves everything and said that again coming to church she just felt a peace. A love and a feeling she wishes could be with her always. As for Tom and sixta, he came this week but told us. Now i can't come to church every week but i have enjoyed these last two weeks coming to learn with you. He said that he feels a great friendship with the other members.

But Mainly we are just trying to keep going strong and i am so grateful to know what the spirit feels like. now its a matter of better knowing when to open my mouth. Its a funny process the process of learning. We do things and notice reactions but the real difficulty is taking the reaciton as your main goal and only doing things that help you in achieving that goal or reaction. What an adventure this has been it really scares me that there is so little left. I really enjoy meeting with people and seeing the changes in their lives and the light in their eyes. as they learn and grow in this Wonderful Gospel. What a blessing it has been. i am eternally Grateful to have been born into the family i have. Great experiences that have helped me become the person i am. Weak and helpless as i sometimes feel i also feel that i am learning and progressing line upon line and precept upon precept.

i have had quite an interesting week. Not a lot has happened since wednesday untill now. Supposedley while translating yesterday in church i said something completely wrong and my companion made fun of me for it. but he didn't even remember what it was that i said. He said my spanish was perfect but i said something that was false doctrine. Saying something about the bible being incorrect or something. The mouth just went a little too fast for the brain in that one i guess. or maybe the other way around. =) he was laughing for a while. We're finally painting the pink apartment. We got the paint last week and today we are going to paint it. =) Woohoo!

My watch broke. the band just completely broke into pieces. so i took it to a watch store and they put a new band on for 10 flourins. $5.55. Woohoo! i went a week without a watch and it was horrible we were late for everything.

So also about the immigration. President martineau called me on thursday night and said "elder ellis your going to go where the lord wants you. If you dont get more days in aruba you will be taken early to the Dominican republic and finish your mission there." as i heard that i was way excited! almost to the point that i wanted to purposely mess up my immigration. =) but no i am going to go apply today becuase we just got our tickets and everything.

One of the greatest spiritual experiences this week was when we had a tradeoff on monday and we had three elders in our car for the District meeting. We went to visit a recent convert and we sang Brillan Rayos de Clemencia. dont remember the name in english. But we sang that, the 5 of us and we all sang the different parts. IT WAS AWESOME! so powerful! the spirit was way strong then while trying to think of what to share with her, the story of Nephi came to mind. We needed to share about the word of wisdom with her and i had no idea what to share. I started without knowing what to share and just started reading how nephi entered the house Furtivamente. Not knowing beforehand what he should do. as he went up to Laban SHABAM drunk man on the ground weak and vulnerable to whatever may threaten his life. all the sudden the word of wisdom tied in so greatly. It was a great lesson and she understood perfectly. I love finding new ways to use the same stories. I think i have used that one story of nephi in a different way in every transfer of my mission! What a great learning opportunity for all of us.

Well i love You all! Take care and will write you in a short week!

June 2, 2010

So sorry i am writing on Wednesday. We had district conference on Monday trade-offs yesterday and then today we finally get P-day.

President called me yesterday and said that if i dont get more immigration days here in Aruba i will be going back to puerto Rico next week. and will no longer be ending in the Santo Domingo mission. So i am going to the immigration office today to try to work everything out. I honestly dont see any problems arising just that it takes a week or two for them to process the extension requests. So i hope president doesn't send me out. i am willing to Go wherever though. I would love to finish here in Aruba but if the Lord needs me back in Puerto Rico. So be it. This week was an awesome week. We had 5 investigators in church Tom and Sixta who are an older couple. They are a fabulous couple He mentions and said in church that every time he went to Colombia and saw the Temple. He was Just amazed. He felt something so different. So President Martineau and President Antivilo (the new president) came and for the last hour just answered questions. Tom asked if it is possible to be attracted to a Mormon temple without being a member. and they answered telling him that God wanted to tell him something and he needed to pray to find what it is. Then Anamilena finally came. and we went to their house with President and Sister Martineau as well. It was great! They are such humble people. We gave her a Liahona Magazine and she loved it! She started reading it and said "This has so much to help us. It talks about being smarter with finances and talks about real life situations." then in church she asked if she could share her testimony in combined.
She said that she felt a great peace in the Church that she had never felt before. She loved how they were talking about their own families and telling their own experiences that they have had. She said that it was a beautiful experience. I just hope they would see that they can bring Fitzgerald. He doesn't need to stay home. at the end of Church sister martineau took a picture and President Martineau leaned over and said. "Elder you've got some good investigators" It was great. we are working hard with them and it is really a pleasure to see them progress and love what we share.

Then in Zone conference we talked about using the Book of Mormon more and it just testified my desire to only use the book of Mormon for the Rest of my mission. President also talked about being pure in heart and of clean hands. It was a great conference and i am already feeling the spirit more strongly as i apply what we talked about. AWESOME!
AMAZING!
ALMOST OVER... =(

i am not even looking at calendars anymore. i dont even like looking for baptismal dates because just a few more clicks and it into September.

I love you all! I am so proud that Hailee was able to go to the temple. What a tremendous blessing.

Hailee are you reading your scriptures every day?

do you still have family prayer and scripture study?


I wish you all the best!

Ku boso por sinti e amor ku ami tin. E ta asina grandi ku si e tabata den un blas e blas lo bai "boooom" asina grand'e ta