Things Are Going Well Here

July 18, 2011

Dear Dad and Mom,

Well what’s up? I haven’t received an Email from you yet this morning, but that’s fine. I figure that you’re super busy Dad with all the jobs back east that you have been working on.  I may come back this evening to check before I go out to work, so feel free to write me back.

As for me, I’m doing just fine. This past week has been quite interesting and we have been able to keep busy by teaching and inviting. Our ward here seems to be doing quite well.  We have good attendance in church and everybody seems to be quite happy.  We do have our strange members (that are a little crazy), but that is just how it always is. 

We have been teaching an older gentleman named Pedro Castro.  The plan is to baptize him this week.  He is fighting to quit smoking and so far so good.  We followed the steps in Preach My Gospel very closely and it looks like he will be smoking his last cigarette today.  Wooo Hooo.  Yesterday in church, he even went up to my district leader Elder Heywood and asked when he could interview him; he said I want to be baptized “el mas pronto possible”.  

We have a big activity planned for this Saturday, part of the baptism of Pedro. We are going to watch a copy of “Joseph Smith, Prophet of the Restoration”, a movie that I have.  The members are excited because they haven’t ever heard of it and many plan to bring their friends.  We are super pumped. 

I look forward to seeing you guys in six weeks. Time has gone incredibly fast.  I’m very excited!  I’m trying to make plans so that we have a very organized schedule when you guys arrive.  I plan to put it all together and will send it to you guys in a week or so. When you get here, you will have no doubt how to get around and you will have an idea where we will be going and what we are going to do.  I do need to know the exact dates and times of our return flight. I have forgotten what you may have told me. I need to know how much extra time I will have in the county so I can make appropriate plans. 

Well some bad news.  I looked at my account yesterday and it seems that I have over drafted again.  It happened because of my negligence to pay attention to the balance when using my card as a debit card at the stores here in Atalantida.  Things here are a lot more modern than in the countryside. I have had the opportunity to use my card here as a debit card.  It’s cheaper because there are no withdrawal fees, but I can’t follow the balance as well and the dollar is always going up and down.  Forgive me for my negligence.

Life this week was good to me… no real challenges.  To be honest, I am becoming very content with life. I no longer feel that change is the solution to all of my problems.  Thank you for everything Mom and Dad.  I love you both.

LOVE,

ELDER JOHN SLUDER

PS.  I’ll send you pictures of our baptism next week.