Kevin LOVES Vegi Lasagna!!!!

Mom I honestly am just shocked at how Veronica and Dalia treat me. The food was really cool, and it made me happy, but in all honesty that wasn't what touched me. What made the biggest impact on me was the fact that she was willing to go all the way up here, and the sheer quantity of food she gave. I felt just so very loved by all o them that was what made the biggest difference to me. I am just so very incredibly shocked by the way that they showed that. I really am going to miss them and want to keep a contact with them for the rest of my life. I hope to be able to see them for years, and will worry about and pray for them for a long time to come. My favorite was by far the vegi lasagna, oh my gosh so good.

We will have to go to universal world mom. I miss you too, don't worry I don't have too much longer here in the mission, but I need to stay focused and concentrated here in the mission. With that being said,  Today I am practicing hojaldras, you have no idea how hard it was to work that dough, but I now really have it down and am ready to cook a bunch of different things when i get back. I am so very happy to hear about your work and how things are going good. Are you guys in any kind of debt or is it just a general lack of savings right now. I get to keep the shoes and name tag so I will let you play around with it when I get back because I know that I wont do it justice.

So Satan is working super duper hard like everyone said, and each attack is different. First, I was walking in the street and its normal here in Mexico for there to be pipes and cables in the middle of the street. I stepped on one, and it was so scary because I accidentally stepped on a high voltage cable without noticing it, and it exploded under my foot. Luckily it just singed the leather of the shoe and it smelled bad for the rest of the day, but I was perfectly okay. Then some pipe broke and the entire sector of like 5 colonies lost water. That is like 30 or 40 thousand people with no water. No water means no shower, no washing dishes, no washing clothes, and when you have few pairs of shirts socks and the like sucks. Needless to say I found a spot where there was some water at about a mile from where we wash and we carried about 80 liters (each liter is about 2.2 pounds) for a mile to wash a few clothes, it stunk. We also are having a heck of a time finding investigators, it is super duper difficult, but I think that with a little bit of luck we should be able to handle it. I am frustrated, but what has made me super happy is that I herd that the hindu family I taught in Progreso is still semi active. They are awesome, also one set of converts is going to get sealed here in July. I cannot wait to talk to them and write them when I get back. 

 

Anyways, All goes super well here, I hope veronica sent you some photos, I forgot my camera, but in all honesty I will show them to you in person. Love you lots, I miss you! Good Luck!

Kevin

April 18th Letter ~~~ 30 days (for my reference only) LOL

Tell Veronica that yes I do get the packages and THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for the brownies, I felt loved! :) Definitely, but please send her a message telling her that Sunday´s are the best times to find me, I never know when I will be during the week, but whatever Sunday from 10-2 she can find me in the chapel from Reserva in avenida Tarimoya; I cant respond to her, the rules don't let me, and while it really really tempts me, I know that I am not allowed to and so I am super sorry!

Woah, I honestly cannot believe how much things have changed since I have gotten here. Its incredible to think that Taylor is getting married, and that Kevin and Meg are going to have a kid. It is just incredible how much things seem to change in just 2 short years. It makes me really wonder where everyone will be in a year. At the very least no one from my year is married yet, that is going to give me a shock when that happens.

This week mom I really just wanted to talk to you about the things that happened to me this week. So first I want to talk about a stake president who is simply incredible, he honestly showed me how a man should be a good leader. His name is president Cavallero (which means both knight and gentleman in Spanish and both are an apt description) Last Sunday he came and helped me out with a convert, I had brought her to an interview for a temple recommend, and the bishop just laid into her and was really rude and mean, so I took a really deep breath when I heard and called the stake president and just asked for his help. It was incredible because he calls and interview with her and brings my companion and I there. He looks at my companion and asks Elder Standridge can I teach your companion something, and I was a little shocked, and said sure have at it, and he says thank you, then pointed out to the convert what he did. He said I was in charge of capacitating Elder Garcia therefore he asked me permission first, and he said to the convert, sister there is always an order, and we have to respect those who preside, because in the end he who presides will be responsible before God for what happens. This got my attention, because it was a wonderful example of teaching by example. I had honestly been beating my head against a brick wall with the ward council (gosh i miss newbury park, wonderful bishops all of them and everyone does their callings) This past Sunday he comes in and says Elder Standridge come here we are going to see what we can do, and he grabs a priest and says, hey you are going to stay with Elder Garcia, you are not to let any girls within 1 meter, because that is what you are going to do as a missionary, you stay with him, you are responsible for him, understood? and then pulled together the counsel. Wow it was just incredible to me this style of teaching. He goes in, and organizes the ward counsel incredibly. It was funny because he showed in 10 minutes how to prepare a sacrament meeting agenda using the ward counsel, it was incredible, but I just felt so grateful. He also gave a talk on Sunday and it was funny because he animated all of us to just talk to those who didn't go on Sunday and to tell them how much they missed them. I am so grateful for the wonderful leaders that Heavenly Father has permitted me to get to know here in the mission, its just wonderful :)

I wanted to actually talk to you about my converts here and my investigators:

1.Omar-he´s a 9 year old, we reactivated his mom, and it was really funny, this kid would not pray, would not study nothing, and I was beating my head against a brick wall trying to get him to learn and accept getting baptized, and I have a belief that Heavenly Father has mercy on us when we buy bananas, because whenever I go buy bananas, good things happen. So I decided right before a lesson to get a kilo for breakfast, and I saw a sign for minirocos, they're like a cookie thing for a peso each (that is about a dime mom) so I got 5 and said, okay, today we are going to learn, and suddenly he got super attentive and started learning, and then he came to church, loved primary, and honestly it was super cool because the kid changed a ton, by just gaining trust with minirocos.

2.Memo-this one I feel super guilty about, he repented really well..I thought, butthe day of his confirmation he gave into temptation and drank, and hasnt come back since, he had changed a lot, but the world ate him up.

3Limon-this woman had gone 10 years to church without getting baptized, but the sad part is now that she finally got baptized, she is alone, because her kids dont want anything with church, its sad, just teaches us to not procrastinate the day of our repentace. I love this woman though, she is honestly one of the frimest converts I have been able to see in the church, I love hera lot, she is so nice.

4&5.Concepcion and aldo. This woman and her grandson got baptized, they were from paredesufrir (a bunch of brazilians that just want money), andit was awesome to get to see the change in them. Her son Aldo is gay, and we hope he will get baptized this week, he has gone 9 weeks without a boyfriend, it is honestly incredible

Besides Aldo we have 2 families of 4, one is Martin, all I can say is that he is golden, like honestly golden, he has 2 weeks investigating and has a rock solid testimony, and will bring his family along. The other is ray, he i great, he cant read, but he is ready to get baptized, he just needs a good lesson to help him get excited! I love him to death, but I dont know how to help him! Anyways, I will tell more later. Love you mom

Kevin

35 Days and counting!!!!

Mom,

I am so very happy to hear that you are working so very hard and that things are going back at home. I really am happy to hear about Leann graduating from college.   I really would like to go up to Fresno, I want to see everyone, and see how they are doing. I also really would like to drive a car for a little while so that will be cool.

 

 I am honestly so incredibly shocked by the difference in the living conditions between where we live and the people here. A standard salary for the men in my area is 10 dollars a day for 12 hours. a really fantastic salary here would be about 10,000 dollars a year, with that, someone would be living like a king. It is really really amazing the charity and kindness of the people here. I feel so grateful for where I was born and the conditions in which I was born. I love you mother, and all that you did for me. The scripture says that Christ loved little children, and I understand that because they don't understand, nevertheless, the kids here are so often a bunch of brats, honestly if you met some of the kids, its incredible how horrible a 6 year old can be if the parents do things wrong. I then thought what did you two do different. I paused for a moment because I never remember you guys studying for tests with me, and you never did my homework for me, so why did I not fail school. I suddenly remembered when you would sit and read harry potter with me, or play pokemon with me. I remember going to hometown buffet, playing with light sabers and reading the three billy goats gruff. So often they say that love is spelled t-i-m-e. I think that is truly the case with parents, so many parents here just leave their kids to do whatever they want and do not give them any rules. I am so thankful for how you took care of me and raised me because if I realized one thing about families its that they are so very easy to break if one does not do things correctly. Selfishness is the spiritual equivalent of arsenic for our families.

Love Elder Standridge


Daniella, a new convert, she has had the hardest life of anyone I have ever met.

This is how the gafette starts and how it ends.

More converts, Concepcion and Aldito, hopefully Papa Aldo gets baptized here before I go, he has to wait a little while more.