Letter 06/25

HEYYYY!! wow it was super weird seeing you guys out camping!! i wasnt too upset because i feel like im actually there with you just in a different part of the world!! hahaha this week has been crazy and like normal the usually challenges! It is weird to say but i actually like to go through challenges and struggles it brings the greatest joy and happiness for me!! haha Only because i know when i am going through hard times i am being taught the most.  This week i learned about the importance of sacrificing our own needs for the needs of others.  At the beginning of the week i was really struggling with how i could make the people like me and just stop making fun of me because it was what has been happening constantly.  I honestly thought the people were just super rude and just didnt like me and so that is why they were just being so rude.  However one night my comp. decided to do a comp inventory and it was just horrible because we were having problems and in the day i was just upset and i didnt really want to talk at all.  we ended sitting for 10 mins in silence because we didnt even know where to start.  we ended up talking little by little and we just couldnt figure out what to do and ended up calling Elder page for guidance.  He ended up coming over to our house and talking with each one of us and truly giving inspired words from the lord.  after about a hour things were great and fine and the day was good a little bit rough but good.  then the next day i went on changes with the zone leaders!! his name is Elder Nybo who is such a great missionary with about 3 months left!!  throughout the day i was still confused on what to do because people just continued to laugh and joke about me. I was so tired that i actually prayed to heavenly father to send me someone or teach me what i need to know. later that night Elder Nybo was talking with me and he explained the reason things are so hard is because i am fighting the fact that people are different here.  I didnt realize it but i actually was asking the people to change how they acted and were because it wasnt the way i did things.  It was such a huge thing to realize that it wasnt them who needed to change but me!! I realized that all the times they were joking and all the times they were playing jokes and messing around was there way of welcoming me.  It is weird to grasp and accept but once I realized it my whole mindset of the mission had changed! I went from having people make fun of me to people who were open and loving.  They really have been doing what they do when they are welcoming people however it is different from what I'm used to so i thought it was them being rude.  I have sacrificed my ways of thinking and have realized that they aren't correct for 2 years that i actually have to become a nica!! hahah After realizing this and actually trying to change things have gotten so much more better! The people truly have tons of love and open hearts and are so willing to change and it was right in my face i just didn't see it!! However another sacrifice my zone made was service!!! it was so awesome! i used a mecheti or however you spell it! we cut down grass that was super tall for a hospital! I actually had a ton of fun doing it and was able to get a ton of pictures that i will send you!! I have learned a lot about myself this week and also about the people of Nicaragua! I am still upset about how i haven't baptized anyone yet but I'm hoping that i will be able to! It inst to big of a problem to get people to want to be baptized because they see the need and want to change and become better however they don't do the things necessary for it! Its very frustrating and some days i just pray and pray.  A huge problem here is a lot of people drink, smoke and say they want to quit but say its to hard.  we do however have a lady that is really positive and we actually have 2 other ladies that listen to us and really are interactive.  its a mom and her two daughters however the one that is really positive is the daughter of about 30 named perla and she has gone to church 2 times and is really progressing and so on the 7th we have a date but not exactly sure what will happen there! i just am so frustrated because i feel the spirit so strong and we have the investigator progressing and when it starts to come close they drink or something happens that makes it so they cant.  Satan really works against us a lot and We just try our best and help them the best we can! we also have a FAMILY who was really interested and so we will be teaching them and i hope so bad that they want to come the husband has a drinking problem and also a problem with smoking but he has been trying to quit both for a couple months now and we told him that he can receive power to over come his problems and he really got interested! we will have to see about them!! but I am going well and in great health the heat is exhasting sometimes but somehow i find the strength and am able to do it every day!  I think my body has started to adapt to missionary life so thats good but i have a lot more strengthening to do before i am really 100 percent.  Thank YOU SO MUCH FOR THE FOOD AND CANDY!! i am trying to be wise with it because it is in really short supply(they dont sell it) hahah so I'm trying to be smart! anyways I'm glad to hear your all doing well!  I would like to try something though because my mission is going to change me and give me so much happiness i want you to experience it with me!!! This week I was able to learn the principle of sacrifice and what it means to sacrifice! I was able to pray to my heavenly father and he truely answered my pray and gave me Elder Nybo to teach me that I need to give up my way of thinking to truely help others.  In a scripture i read it explains this purpose(2 nephi 31: 6 or 7) not sure but it explains how the people will learn in thier language and understanding. I was able to fallow the guidence of Elder Nybo and the scriptures and change and use the atonement to become better and more like christ.  To be able to learn that through sacrifice i can be happy and i can recieve joy! So this week i would like you also to think of something that you have a challenge with and pray to god and ask for help and what his will would be!