Circunvalacion 1 - Week #10

¡Hola Familia!

I've got to start off admitting that my week did not start off quite the way I would have liked. The news of Sunday evening came pretty hard to me and I struggled with it Sunday night and ALL day on Monday. From Tuesday on I was a little closer to normal, every once in a while I feel the pangs from it but I'm at least functioning now!

How's everybody holding up at home? And the family in California? I wish so much that I could be with ya'll right now, but I'm where I've got to be... it makes it all that much harder that that's how it is!

Bummer that Ryah-Roo is sick! How did she manage to go off and do that?!?!? LOL.

Apart from all that, I just wanted to say Happy Birthday to Dad! I'm sure that this is a hard time right now but maybe even amidst all this I hope you can find a little bit of happiness! You've got one up on Mom... I didn't forget your birthday!!!

I've got good news and bad news... Good news is that our ward building did not get vandalized like the other missionaries told us. The bad news is that our ward building did not get vandalized like the other missionaries told us, and that it would have made for a good story had it happened.

The work here in the office this week has made lots of progress towards our goal. Every day we realize that there is even more work to get done than we originally expected, but that we are still constantly, if not slowly, working towards the end... There is finally a light at the end of the tunnel! I'm extremely worn out, my patience (what little bit I have) is tried every day, and I can't wrap my mind around exactly what I should be learning or exactly why I'm here in the office again! I'm struggling!!!

I'll let everyone in on a little bit of an insight... As I'm sure you've all figured out, being an office missionary is not something easy. The "Mission President's Manual" says that the best missionaries should be assigned to the office, because even then they will still have the desire to work. I don't see myself as one of the best missionaries here, nor close to it. We see a different side of the mission than most missionaries do... a side that isn't as nicely painted. We see President when he is happy, sad, excited, mad, you name it! We are on the inside, and lots of missionaries don't really get how hard that is. Our relationship we have with President is different than that of most missionaries, and when something goes wrong you know it. It hurts to mess up!!! Lots of missionaries can make a mistake and it will often times go without recognition, but us... when something happens or we mess up it really REALLY hurts!!!

This last week was filled with wrapping alot of things up for the end of the change and the end of last month. We haven't had a whole lot of time in the sector, but that's the way the cookie has seemed to crumble recently! We are hoping to be able to teach our star investigator, Jennifer, today and hopefully she'll be able to go to church tomorrow too.

This coming week is going to be full of preparations for changes, happening next Sunday/Monday. We are sending 12 missionaries home and receiving 9 newbies, 6 Latin Elders, 2 American Elders, & 1 American Sister. Ought to be a blast! It is also entirely possible, if not probable, that someone in the office is going to have changes... we're leaning towards the fact that it will be that someone is training rather than receiving a transfer since we are still not ready to train anyone within a one-week time period.

Still not much news on the new mission president. His article either should have recently come out in Church News or should be coming out very soon, but I haven't gotten a chance to take a look. If it hasn't come out yet it should be out in the next week or two.

Hope that work and school is going well for everybody! Be safe in your travels this week, I was left in doubt the other day in whether the funeral was last week or this coming week... they did draw this process out quite a bit. Be sure to write me Friday night, and if you get another chance I'll at least be able to read the letters before I write again.

Love ya'll and send my love to the family!

¡Con todo el amor que poseo!

-- Élder Todd