Ratones?

Ward Mission Leader

 

Meg – nice singing story. I had the opportunity to sing twice after baptisms. One time it was two Hermanas, my companion and me.  The Hermanas decided to mix two songs by interchanging the words of one with the tune of another. I don’t know if such an experiment should be tried live. It was like making a milkshake using tomatoes and orange juice and sounded like nails on a chalkboard. 

You asked about the comp last week. He is good guy. He is on the tail end of his mission. He likes to smell things. Before every bite at lunch he sniffs the food. He often smells the furniture or things laying around the house.    We say prayers after planning at our desks every night.  I often hear him fussing around, like moving things on his desk while I say the prayer.  

 

He is not a morning guy

 

This week we were in a lesson when a tiny dark shape moved quickly in the corner of my vision.  I saw it again and asked,¨tiene ratones hermano?¨  The investigator replied with a spanish yup and wasn’t fazed at all. He just said ¨they wont bother you.¨   ¿they?    I thought it was a good thing my mother wasn’t here.  

Atta girl cate knocking over your coach! Way to lower your shoulder.

Hey, I got to go. Next week I will send one big long email on life here; an update on our investigators and the details on what happened in my area four years ago. I just hope what happened then doesn’t happen now.....

 

The Kids Refer to the Blog Editor as J.R.

Plumbing, Water Bills, etc.

 

Word of the week: Tuxedo in spanish is smoking! 

The computer lab here where I am writing this email just started to play Creedence Clearwater.   

During sacrament meeting here there is the normal noise; crying babies and chilren scurrying around; but there was a period of 5 to ten minutes of almost utter silence except for the speaker this week. Then this hard core spanish rap ringtone sounded.  I looked over to see who it was and it was the sweetest elderly lady and she was fussing to turn it off. =)   Respect. 

There is a hermana here named Vicky. She is soo close to tackling a smoking problem.  She hasn't had work for the last 2 months and has lost 25 pounds. Some days she just doesn't eat. She started smoking just to quench the hunger. The members are so great here and one of them offered her a job.   She was also having problems with her toilet so my companion and I went to try to figure that out.  She doesn't have AC and it was a hot day, so by the time we got it all worked out, I was soaked with sweat and toilet water.  When I told her it was all working and she looked at me with her normally serious face, then burst into smiles and squeeling and ran over to me and gave me a big hug. Then my comp had no idea what to do so he just let his arms go limp at his sides. =) ha  

This week I lost my mission card - the card we use to process our finances. I think it might have been swiped while we were in a public place called the Centro so I had to cancel that and wait for a knew one. But the new one is black and bien lindo. My comp said " oh man I should have lost mine earlier." 

 

Our landlord didn't pay the water bill so they came to shut the water off.  This process included shoving a large stick in the pipe to block the water. What?!  We spent half an hour digging that out with a neighbor and a drill.  

I hope you have a good week.

-friendly neighborhood speener man

    

Elizabeth

 

The news of the week is that Elizabeth, the chemistry student we have been teaching, was baptized on Saturday. I have high hopes for her. It was very nice.

The new comp is really great. He is not full of pride so I can totally work with this.  We sat down on our first day and talked about how we would follow the rules to the dot and so far he definitely is getting up earlier than some other elders.  

 I loved the letters from Reed & Lois.  Reed needs to write more; he has quite the gift.  

 Zach is a stud and he will do well on the mission.

So Beazer’s 7 year old daughter is still in love with me? Madison has character. Give her 15 years and heck - she has a shot. =)  

Thanks for the stories from Montana and Canada. Did mom really clap on your hike to scare away the bears? The last thing I remember before leaving home was watching a TV special at the barbershop while I was getting a hair cut from a bald barber. The program was a special on bears coming into areas dominated by humans.  A man sat in a reinforced metal box, sort of like a shark cage, and filmed bears coming and slamming into the box.  

I was talking to another missionary and he told me that in the MTC he didn’t receive a single email from his parents and even now all he receives is a short paragraph every couple of weeks saying to work hard and don’t embarrass the family.  So thank you for the meaningful letters and pictures.

Love you all.

Speen

The Neighbor

It was a real solid week. We had 2 baptisms yesterday and have one scheduled this week as well. I received a few of your written letters yesterday. One was a birthday card with a picture of Half Dome and the Pope.  I also received one from dad sent March 27. It contained a talk by Elder Holland and a personal letter.  Thanks so much for those.  The comp that I have coming today supposedly likes to sleep.  So we will see about that.  I learned a lot with my present comp about how if we show love even when not instantly returned it yields really good results. 

This week we were visiting a family that is consistently progressing when a passing neighbor came over to join in the conversation. She told us that her father was a good man, always friendly and a faithful father, but had never been baptized. She feared his resting place was with the adversary.  What an experience to be able to look someone in the eyes and tell them the truths of the gospel of our Savior.  She quickly fired off several more profound questions and we ended up having a discussion that extended way beyond the ten minutes that she initially said she would stay.  She has long time been a smoker and has wanted to quit and I fully believe she has found the cure.  She has a deep conviction of the bible and even could quote several verses of Isaiah.   I can’t really imagine living without knowing about the Temple or the Book of Mormon. What a privilege to share what was freely given to me.  

This week we were walking on an ordinary street, thinking ordinary thoughts, in an extraordinary work, when a miracle happened. A dog spied me a distance off and came bounding toward me. I was preparing to sling off my back pack to defend myself when a different dog leaped in the way and chased away the aggressor. My hero!  

You will have a blast in Montana. I can’t believe it has been five years since we were there watching Megan learn to drive.  Man! I drove for the first time in Nauvoo – the hazards were flashing, the doors were wide open, and there were sudden intervals of braking. An exhilarating moment in this guys life.  Also, I remember when Meisha learned to drive.  She was doing some hours when I returned from Mill Hollow. After my return, mom got a lecture about how her son and some other rebellious ruffians had chased a squirrel. Now the wildlife chases me. 

Love you all,

Speen

What is this thing in my sewing kit?