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March 29, 2010
Dear Family,
Oh my gosh Cindy… you fell and hit your head? That picture is awesome!!!! I hope it knocked some sense into you. Ha-ha-ha! Just kidding. I’m glad the doctors didn’t find anything wrong with your brain, though I’ll be honest, I was kinda surprised. Ha-ha-ha Okay, sorry that might have crossed the line a little bit. But you know I do love you and you’re awesome!!!! At least you’re not dumb like I am. I got hurt and had to have surgery here in South America!
It’s so awesome that you tried out for Americas Got Talent. I’m really excited for you. I would love to see you advance on; it could really be a good foot in the door for you. That’s so cool. I’ll pray for you to get better and maybe even win so that by the time I come home; we can be millionaires… ha-ha-ha. In all seriousness, I’m very happy that you’re okay and that now you can heal and get better. I love you, ya know.
Well for the rest of you, I’m still doing it. I have had a very interesting week. I got really sick on Friday. I don’t know if I ate something bad or what, but I definitely sure did have my troubles. Elder Maluff and I are having a blast. We are slowly starting to have more and more success in our area every day. We have been working so hard and have been super obedient to the rules. I have never in my entire life felt better spiritually than I do now. Dad, I loved the quote you sent from President Eyring and I look so forward this next week to General Conference. It’s going to be so awesome.
This morning we put on a ward activity. We had a futbol tournament. The stake patriarch is in our ward. He is a 60 year old man who really seemed very tranquil. But this morning, he came dressed in a soccer jersey and all the gear. He played futbol and was pretty much the best player I have seen since I started my mission. It was Hilarious. We had awesome turn out and we expect the ward to give us referrals and help out a lot more (now that they like us).
Besides all this, it was a good week. I did have a tri-zone conference in Montevideo on Friday. It was great to see all the missionaries that have now become such good friends of mine. I learned a ton. The mission president has challenged us all to read the entire Book of Mormon in Spanish in six weeks. I’m going to try my best.
I’m doing great. I’ll keep you all in my prayers. I hope that you will all have a safe week. Cindy, stay away from cinder blocks. I love you all and stay safer...
Love your brother and son
Elder Sluder
Monday, March 29, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
Week Two in Miñas - I'm Doing GREAT!
March 22, 2010
Dear Family,
Wow… another week gone by and I don’t know what happened to the time. I have had a very successful week and I’m doing great!
Yesterday at church, we had a branch conference and had great attendance once again. The stake president spoke and said that he wanted this branch to become a ward in the next year or so. So that is now our main goal. We are looking for new priesthood holders and praying for miracles.
We have seen our miracles this week and I have learned that there is no better feeling than when one of your investigators looks at you and says that they read the Book of Mormon and they felt something special.
Mom, I think it’s funny that you mentioned Alma 17 in your letter. I had just read about that this morning in studies and it really is incredible. I’m also reading the journal of Levi Jackman daily. It’s unbelievable! I’m about halfway through and I love it. He was an awesome example of a missionary.
Well, I don’t have much more time. I plan to send you guys some pictures. We had a rain storm last night and it’s starting to get cold here. Here are some pictures of us four missionaries who live together here in Miñas. Elder Maluff is my companion. He is the Latino; he says "good looking one". Elder Haws is the extremely tall Rubio (blonde). And Elder Powell is the guy that’s going bald. He looks a lot older than he really is. Ha Ha Ha They are all so great!
I’m doing really well and look forward to talking to you all in about a month for Mother’s day. Well thanks mom and dad for keeping me informed. I love you guys very much and I hope you have another wonderful week.
Love, Your Son,
Elder John P. Sluder
By the way, I wanted the photos of the family reunion that were taken in front of the house and were all wearing brown and everyone is there.
Dear Family,
Wow… another week gone by and I don’t know what happened to the time. I have had a very successful week and I’m doing great!
Life here in Miñas is definitely different than the life I had in Sarandi Del Yi. The work has been great and my companion, Elder Maluff has been awesome! My companion and I worked hard this week to find new investigators and we are now teaching some really awesome families. So that’s been great! We have been planning some awesome activities here in Miñas and have plans this Friday night to have a movie night. I got my hands on a copy of the new “Joseph Smith, prophet of the restoration” movie in Spanish and we plan to show it here in Miñas. We found a projector and plan to have a huge movie night and invite everyone in the city. The thing about it is, there aren’t any movie theaters in town because they just don’t really exist in South America. The people we have invited so far are excited and we plan to have an awesome program. We also have a branch fútbol tournament planned for this next upcoming Monday. We announced it last Sunday in church and everyone in the branch got super excited. We hope to bring excitement and spirit into this branch so that it will be ready to accept the new converts that we plan to baptize. We also want to let the members know that we do need them and we appreciate their help. So far this has been working. We had a branch activity the other night. I taught the lesson and we had about 40 people show up and afterwards we made some tortas fritas. It worked out great and we definitely could see that it helped when we went to church on Sunday.
Yesterday at church, we had a branch conference and had great attendance once again. The stake president spoke and said that he wanted this branch to become a ward in the next year or so. So that is now our main goal. We are looking for new priesthood holders and praying for miracles.
We have seen our miracles this week and I have learned that there is no better feeling than when one of your investigators looks at you and says that they read the Book of Mormon and they felt something special.
Mom, I think it’s funny that you mentioned Alma 17 in your letter. I had just read about that this morning in studies and it really is incredible. I’m also reading the journal of Levi Jackman daily. It’s unbelievable! I’m about halfway through and I love it. He was an awesome example of a missionary.
Well, I don’t have much more time. I plan to send you guys some pictures. We had a rain storm last night and it’s starting to get cold here. Here are some pictures of us four missionaries who live together here in Miñas. Elder Maluff is my companion. He is the Latino; he says "good looking one". Elder Haws is the extremely tall Rubio (blonde). And Elder Powell is the guy that’s going bald. He looks a lot older than he really is. Ha Ha Ha They are all so great!
I’m doing really well and look forward to talking to you all in about a month for Mother’s day. Well thanks mom and dad for keeping me informed. I love you guys very much and I hope you have another wonderful week.
Love, Your Son,
Elder John P. Sluder
By the way, I wanted the photos of the family reunion that were taken in front of the house and were all wearing brown and everyone is there.
Left to right: Elder Maluff, Elder Sluder, Elder Haws and Elder Powell
Left ro right: Elder Maluff, Elder Sluder, Elder Haws and Elder Powell
Left to right: Elder Sluder, Elder Maluff and Elder Powell
Monday, March 15, 2010
Week One in Miñas
March 15, 2010
Dear family,
Well… Wow!!! I’m doing great. I love my new area and I love my new companion even more!
I went to Montevideo this morning because I had to sign some paperwork with immigration. Anyways I took 500 pesos out of my account, which is like 25 dollars American. I was expecting my reimbursements this week, but because of all the changes, it’s going to be another week to get them. Today is P-day and I’m in need of a haircut and I really need to buy a bar of soap. My companion says I can use his for as long as I want, but I figure since I have been using his soap for a week, I should just buy a bar of my own. Today being P-day is the day to buy stuff like that and I really don’t want to go another week without it. I’m sorry. For now I’m about 98% sure that I won’t need to take any more money out for a while. I’m expecting reimbursement of 2500 pesos to come next week. Then the next week after, I will get paid my gyro of 3100, so I should be more than fine. I plan to put some money away into an emergency fund so I no longer need to use my account. If I can slowly build up my reimbursements, I will have plenty from here on out. Sorry for this inconvenience.
Miñas is awesome!!!! I live with three missionaries as you know. It has been the best time ever and I’m loving every minute of it. My new companion Elder Maluff is amazing and this past week we have had some success and plan to work hard and be obedient to the rules! So far so good and we are accelerating and doing wonders in only our first week together. It’s really strange, we get along really well. He speaks English perfectly, so that’s been nice. When I have a question or don’t understand a word, I can ask him what it means and he can tell me. I feel like I’m a missionary now. I had a rough month in February, but now I feel incredibly blessed and it has been wonderful.
Miñas is divided into two areas, Miñas 1 and Miñas 2. Before I came here, there were only two sets of missionaries. Sister missionaries are usually assigned to Miñas 1 area. The mission president split Miñas 2 area, so now we have 3 sets of missionaries in the branch. Now that we have more missionaries here, the mission president has set a goal to turn Miñas 2 and eventually Miñas 1 into wards. I know it’s possible and I know that we were all put here by inspiration from the Lord to get this done. I was given the half of the city to work that has the countryside and I will once again be working in the country going from farm to farm. Miñas is beautiful. It is the only place in Uruguay that has mountains. It’s awesome and it kinda reminded me of home… kinda!
Last week I did receive two packages. I got my package from you with my camera! It rocks to have a camera again; thank you so much!!!!!! And I also got a package from grandma. I loved it and I felt so blessed I can’t even tell you!!! I still have my bike. I brought it with me from Sarandi Del Yi.
Dad, you tried sending me those photos but my email won’t accept them… I would love for you to send me the photos from the family reunion that we had back in august. I need photos for lessons to share about families. I can just print them off here in the cyber cafe for like 5 pesos apiece.
Lots of things in our new home are broken, so I have been busy fixing them. My comp says I’m Mr. Fix it and he too offers my help to people who have problems on the side of the road. He tells them, “Hey, my companion is a really good mechanic; he´ll fix it for you for free”. I think I have now fixed more crappy cars on my mission than before. Unfortunately I can’t drive any of them and I’m just stuck walking for now.
It’s now starting to get cold here. It’s kinda weird; I’m not really looking forward to the cold here. It’s been over a year now since I have experienced winter. So this next one is going to be kinda interesting
Well I've got to go. I love you all and I’m alive and safe. I’ll keep you all in my prayers.
Love, Elder Sluder and ELDER MALUFF
Dear family,
Well… Wow!!! I’m doing great. I love my new area and I love my new companion even more!
I went to Montevideo this morning because I had to sign some paperwork with immigration. Anyways I took 500 pesos out of my account, which is like 25 dollars American. I was expecting my reimbursements this week, but because of all the changes, it’s going to be another week to get them. Today is P-day and I’m in need of a haircut and I really need to buy a bar of soap. My companion says I can use his for as long as I want, but I figure since I have been using his soap for a week, I should just buy a bar of my own. Today being P-day is the day to buy stuff like that and I really don’t want to go another week without it. I’m sorry. For now I’m about 98% sure that I won’t need to take any more money out for a while. I’m expecting reimbursement of 2500 pesos to come next week. Then the next week after, I will get paid my gyro of 3100, so I should be more than fine. I plan to put some money away into an emergency fund so I no longer need to use my account. If I can slowly build up my reimbursements, I will have plenty from here on out. Sorry for this inconvenience.
Miñas is awesome!!!! I live with three missionaries as you know. It has been the best time ever and I’m loving every minute of it. My new companion Elder Maluff is amazing and this past week we have had some success and plan to work hard and be obedient to the rules! So far so good and we are accelerating and doing wonders in only our first week together. It’s really strange, we get along really well. He speaks English perfectly, so that’s been nice. When I have a question or don’t understand a word, I can ask him what it means and he can tell me. I feel like I’m a missionary now. I had a rough month in February, but now I feel incredibly blessed and it has been wonderful.
Miñas is divided into two areas, Miñas 1 and Miñas 2. Before I came here, there were only two sets of missionaries. Sister missionaries are usually assigned to Miñas 1 area. The mission president split Miñas 2 area, so now we have 3 sets of missionaries in the branch. Now that we have more missionaries here, the mission president has set a goal to turn Miñas 2 and eventually Miñas 1 into wards. I know it’s possible and I know that we were all put here by inspiration from the Lord to get this done. I was given the half of the city to work that has the countryside and I will once again be working in the country going from farm to farm. Miñas is beautiful. It is the only place in Uruguay that has mountains. It’s awesome and it kinda reminded me of home… kinda!
Last week I did receive two packages. I got my package from you with my camera! It rocks to have a camera again; thank you so much!!!!!! And I also got a package from grandma. I loved it and I felt so blessed I can’t even tell you!!! I still have my bike. I brought it with me from Sarandi Del Yi.
Dad, you tried sending me those photos but my email won’t accept them… I would love for you to send me the photos from the family reunion that we had back in august. I need photos for lessons to share about families. I can just print them off here in the cyber cafe for like 5 pesos apiece.
Lots of things in our new home are broken, so I have been busy fixing them. My comp says I’m Mr. Fix it and he too offers my help to people who have problems on the side of the road. He tells them, “Hey, my companion is a really good mechanic; he´ll fix it for you for free”. I think I have now fixed more crappy cars on my mission than before. Unfortunately I can’t drive any of them and I’m just stuck walking for now.
It’s now starting to get cold here. It’s kinda weird; I’m not really looking forward to the cold here. It’s been over a year now since I have experienced winter. So this next one is going to be kinda interesting
Well I've got to go. I love you all and I’m alive and safe. I’ll keep you all in my prayers.
Love, Elder Sluder and ELDER MALUFF
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
New Area Assignment and New Pictures
Note from Dad: This week marked John's six month anniversary in the mission. March 3rd was the official six month date.
March 9, 2009
Dear family,
Well, I’m so excited. I finally got changed! I’m currently in Tres Cruzes in Montevideo Uruguay. My new companion is named Elder Malluf. He’s from Paraguay and he speaks perfect English. I’m so happy!!!!!! So far he seems to be awesome and I’m looking forward to this change and working with him. My new area is called Miñas. It’s up north from Montevideo and it’s much bigger than Sarandi Del Yi. I will be living in a house with three other missionaries; Elder Haws, who was the old assistant to the president, and his oro and my companion. My old comp elder Rostaing is with a new missionary who is super obedient and I'm so happy. And I hope he can change him. I had a really rough last week with Elder Rostaing. I'm hoping that he gets better and they can see some success in Sarandi Del Yi.
I'm really glad to hear that your choir trip was so successful and I’m even happier to hear about all of your referrals. If I had referrals like that here I think I would die, because that's unbelievable. Congratulations.
I just met Hermana Walton who is now going to be in my same zone. I'm really looking forward to going to my new zone, Maldonado. I hear there are zone conferences on the beach.
I had a really strange experience the other day. My first baptism, Luis Zaidan hasn't been to church in about a month. Because of my surgery and everything, I haven't seen him in a while. We were working and walking up the street and we saw Luis. He walked up to me and I could tell he was drunk and he had been drinking. He was covered in blood, and he looked like he just got into a fight. I asked him what happened. He started to cry, and told me his wife beat him up. He had all of his stuff with him, and told me that he was never going to go back to his wife. He then pulled out a picture of his baptism. He thanked me and told me this was the happiest he had ever felt in his life. It put tears in my eyes, and after that I had a hard time working the rest of the day. It made me sad to see him like this. Besides all of this, I hope that he can somehow get over it and get back to church.
The assistants called me the other night and told me that I have two packages that just came in. So, just so you know, I should have my camera. They said they're waiting for me in Miñas.
Well, it was good to hear from ya. Another week down. It's crazy how fast time is going. I'm having so many experiences, and I'm going to really miss Sarandi Del Yi. I hope that you all have a good week; you need to know that I'm doing good and my health is returning back to normal. Thanks for everything.
Love your son,
Elder Sluder
P.S. Here some pictures taken yesterday before I left Sarandi.
March 9, 2009
Dear family,
Well, I’m so excited. I finally got changed! I’m currently in Tres Cruzes in Montevideo Uruguay. My new companion is named Elder Malluf. He’s from Paraguay and he speaks perfect English. I’m so happy!!!!!! So far he seems to be awesome and I’m looking forward to this change and working with him. My new area is called Miñas. It’s up north from Montevideo and it’s much bigger than Sarandi Del Yi. I will be living in a house with three other missionaries; Elder Haws, who was the old assistant to the president, and his oro and my companion. My old comp elder Rostaing is with a new missionary who is super obedient and I'm so happy. And I hope he can change him. I had a really rough last week with Elder Rostaing. I'm hoping that he gets better and they can see some success in Sarandi Del Yi.
I'm really glad to hear that your choir trip was so successful and I’m even happier to hear about all of your referrals. If I had referrals like that here I think I would die, because that's unbelievable. Congratulations.
I just met Hermana Walton who is now going to be in my same zone. I'm really looking forward to going to my new zone, Maldonado. I hear there are zone conferences on the beach.
I had a really strange experience the other day. My first baptism, Luis Zaidan hasn't been to church in about a month. Because of my surgery and everything, I haven't seen him in a while. We were working and walking up the street and we saw Luis. He walked up to me and I could tell he was drunk and he had been drinking. He was covered in blood, and he looked like he just got into a fight. I asked him what happened. He started to cry, and told me his wife beat him up. He had all of his stuff with him, and told me that he was never going to go back to his wife. He then pulled out a picture of his baptism. He thanked me and told me this was the happiest he had ever felt in his life. It put tears in my eyes, and after that I had a hard time working the rest of the day. It made me sad to see him like this. Besides all of this, I hope that he can somehow get over it and get back to church.
The assistants called me the other night and told me that I have two packages that just came in. So, just so you know, I should have my camera. They said they're waiting for me in Miñas.
Well, it was good to hear from ya. Another week down. It's crazy how fast time is going. I'm having so many experiences, and I'm going to really miss Sarandi Del Yi. I hope that you all have a good week; you need to know that I'm doing good and my health is returning back to normal. Thanks for everything.
Love your son,
Elder Sluder
P.S. Here some pictures taken yesterday before I left Sarandi.
Sarabdi Del Yi town sign
Another ward family and Elder Rostaing
Looks like an old train car... John and trains.
Not sure who this is...
Bishop Barreto and family
The Ward Building
Sermon on the mount???
This is my favorite picture so far (Dad).
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Back in Sarandi Del Yi
March 1, 2010
Dear Family,
Well... I’m back! I got in to Sarandi Del Yi on Friday morning. Once again I traveled alone, so that was kinda tough, but it wasn’t too bad. I really hate to say this, but as I came over the bridge coming into town on Friday morning, I really felt at home. It was really weird. I have now served in Sarandi for four and a half months and I’m getting very comfortable and very accustomed to it. It’s really been great to get back to work and to come home to Sarandi Del Yi. Dad, just so you know, for now, all feelings of home sickness have left me. I was glad to see the pictures of the family and I hope for all is well with everyone.
On Thursday night, I got word that I was to return to Sarandi the very first thing in the morning. I tried calling my companion, but the line was cut and I couldn’t get a hold of him at all. When I showed up on Friday morning, everybody was shocked. It was hilarious. We have been working hard and I don’t think I have ever been more obedient to the rules. I’m feeling great! On Saturday night, we had a talent show as a ward activity. Everyone wanted me to sing, so I got up and performed “Lead Kindly Light” as a solo with no accompaniment. I sang the first verse first in English and then the first verse again in Spanish; and then the last verse in English and then the last verse again in Spanish. Afterwards, everyone complimented me. All of the men and some older women gave me hugs and kisses and said they were very happy to have me back. Just so you know, kissing on the cheek here is the custom for saying hello. The problem is, at times even the women come up and kiss you too. Anyway, now I can probably say that I have gotten kissed more during my mission than before. Ha-ha-ha.
So overall, I’m doing just great. Thanks for all you do. Next week is cambios so you won’t receive an email from me until Tuesday morning because P-day isn’t until Tuesday. I’m kind of excited and curious to see what happens. Well I’ve got to go. I love you all so much. Take it easy and have a wonderful week
Love,
Elder John P. Sluder
Dear Family,
Well... I’m back! I got in to Sarandi Del Yi on Friday morning. Once again I traveled alone, so that was kinda tough, but it wasn’t too bad. I really hate to say this, but as I came over the bridge coming into town on Friday morning, I really felt at home. It was really weird. I have now served in Sarandi for four and a half months and I’m getting very comfortable and very accustomed to it. It’s really been great to get back to work and to come home to Sarandi Del Yi. Dad, just so you know, for now, all feelings of home sickness have left me. I was glad to see the pictures of the family and I hope for all is well with everyone.
On Thursday night, I got word that I was to return to Sarandi the very first thing in the morning. I tried calling my companion, but the line was cut and I couldn’t get a hold of him at all. When I showed up on Friday morning, everybody was shocked. It was hilarious. We have been working hard and I don’t think I have ever been more obedient to the rules. I’m feeling great! On Saturday night, we had a talent show as a ward activity. Everyone wanted me to sing, so I got up and performed “Lead Kindly Light” as a solo with no accompaniment. I sang the first verse first in English and then the first verse again in Spanish; and then the last verse in English and then the last verse again in Spanish. Afterwards, everyone complimented me. All of the men and some older women gave me hugs and kisses and said they were very happy to have me back. Just so you know, kissing on the cheek here is the custom for saying hello. The problem is, at times even the women come up and kiss you too. Anyway, now I can probably say that I have gotten kissed more during my mission than before. Ha-ha-ha.
So overall, I’m doing just great. Thanks for all you do. Next week is cambios so you won’t receive an email from me until Tuesday morning because P-day isn’t until Tuesday. I’m kind of excited and curious to see what happens. Well I’ve got to go. I love you all so much. Take it easy and have a wonderful week
Love,
Elder John P. Sluder
Monday, February 22, 2010
Continuing to Heal and Getting Back to Work
February 22, 2010
Dear Family,
Well another week has gone by and I’m still here in Montevideo doing the same old stuff. It’s interesting that you shared my email with the Stake President and he’s sharing it with the Bishops now. I’m also glad to hear that they have hope for Kyler and I too hope that he can get better and back out. I’m living in the mission offices in the Carrasco neighborhood of Montevideo. We are only a few blocks from the temple and it’s almost like being in America again. The houses here are very American-like and nice. It is known as the nicest area of Montevideo. Here in the office, I live with five other American missionaries and one missionary from Mexico. They all speak English; we have had a great time speaking English together. The other day they asked me if I would pray in English before we left the house. I think it was my first English prayer in public for a while and it was horrible. Ha ha ha
I don’t live in the mission home with the president. He lives a few blocks down the road on the same block as the temple. Last Tuesday was the office workers p-day. Presidente Da Silva called and asked if anyone was up for a game of futbol. It was pretty awesome. Of course, they didn’t let me play, but it was still fun to sit and watch them duke it out. The truth is, my 50 year old Mission President is a whole lot better soccer player than all of the American office missionaries combined. I watched him make several goals and every time it just made me laugh. I think growing up in Latino America automatically makes you a great soccer player.
Last week I also went out to start working. It was great to get out once again. My first days were a little difficult and by the end of the day I was definitely ready to go home and get in bed. But I have slowly gotten used to it and yesterday I worked my first full day and I came home feeling great. My health right now is great and the doctors tell me that I’m making a miraculously fast and successful recovery and that I can soon return to my area of Sarandi Del Yi. My old companion is still in Sarandi. They gave him what is called a corto plazo. That is a young man who is trying the mission out to see if it’s what he wants to do. It’s also known as a mini-mission. Luckily the Bishop in Sarandi found a great kid in the ward and from what I hear, they are doing well.
I have not yet received your package dad, but I figure it will be here in the next few days. I received Jennifer’s package about a week before I had surgery and it helped out a ton and I loved it so thank you! I really do appreciate it.
Yesterday I went out and worked with Elder Carlock who is the secretary here in the offices. He’s from New Jersey. We started out by going to church. He is in the same ward that both my Mission President and the Mission President from Montevideo West are in. We also have the Temple President and about 4 American couple missionaries in the ward. We have several families also from the United States that work for the U.S. embassy here in Uruguay. All in all it was really almost like being in a Sacrament Meeting back home in the U.S.A. Really the only difference was that it was still in Spanish. It was great and I really enjoyed it. We then went out in the afternoon and contacted and sat down with several people and did missionary work. It was great.
Tomorrow I have a doctor’s appointment to remove my stitches and then I might be able to go back to my area. I figure if they do let me go back to Sarandi Del Yi, it won’t be for very long. The change is coming up in about two weeks. It has been my assigned area now for three changes and usually missionaries don’t have more than that in one area. I figure when I do leave, I will be kind of sad. It’s now been the place that I have called home for some time and I have grown attached to it. To be honest though, I don’t really know. It all depends on where I’m supposed to go and who I’m supposed to meet and talk with.
Anyway, I’m alive and I’m doing great. When this week ends and we go into March, I will be starting the 7th month of my mission. Time has gone by ridiculously fast and I can’t even believe it. That’s a 1/4 of my mission! I feel very blessed and I know that the Lord has helped me every step of the way. I love it here in Uruguay. I’m having the time of my life. Thank you for all of your support, prayers and love. I hope that you all have a good week.
Love, Elder John P. Sluder
Dear Family,
Well another week has gone by and I’m still here in Montevideo doing the same old stuff. It’s interesting that you shared my email with the Stake President and he’s sharing it with the Bishops now. I’m also glad to hear that they have hope for Kyler and I too hope that he can get better and back out. I’m living in the mission offices in the Carrasco neighborhood of Montevideo. We are only a few blocks from the temple and it’s almost like being in America again. The houses here are very American-like and nice. It is known as the nicest area of Montevideo. Here in the office, I live with five other American missionaries and one missionary from Mexico. They all speak English; we have had a great time speaking English together. The other day they asked me if I would pray in English before we left the house. I think it was my first English prayer in public for a while and it was horrible. Ha ha ha
I don’t live in the mission home with the president. He lives a few blocks down the road on the same block as the temple. Last Tuesday was the office workers p-day. Presidente Da Silva called and asked if anyone was up for a game of futbol. It was pretty awesome. Of course, they didn’t let me play, but it was still fun to sit and watch them duke it out. The truth is, my 50 year old Mission President is a whole lot better soccer player than all of the American office missionaries combined. I watched him make several goals and every time it just made me laugh. I think growing up in Latino America automatically makes you a great soccer player.
Last week I also went out to start working. It was great to get out once again. My first days were a little difficult and by the end of the day I was definitely ready to go home and get in bed. But I have slowly gotten used to it and yesterday I worked my first full day and I came home feeling great. My health right now is great and the doctors tell me that I’m making a miraculously fast and successful recovery and that I can soon return to my area of Sarandi Del Yi. My old companion is still in Sarandi. They gave him what is called a corto plazo. That is a young man who is trying the mission out to see if it’s what he wants to do. It’s also known as a mini-mission. Luckily the Bishop in Sarandi found a great kid in the ward and from what I hear, they are doing well.
I have not yet received your package dad, but I figure it will be here in the next few days. I received Jennifer’s package about a week before I had surgery and it helped out a ton and I loved it so thank you! I really do appreciate it.
Yesterday I went out and worked with Elder Carlock who is the secretary here in the offices. He’s from New Jersey. We started out by going to church. He is in the same ward that both my Mission President and the Mission President from Montevideo West are in. We also have the Temple President and about 4 American couple missionaries in the ward. We have several families also from the United States that work for the U.S. embassy here in Uruguay. All in all it was really almost like being in a Sacrament Meeting back home in the U.S.A. Really the only difference was that it was still in Spanish. It was great and I really enjoyed it. We then went out in the afternoon and contacted and sat down with several people and did missionary work. It was great.
Tomorrow I have a doctor’s appointment to remove my stitches and then I might be able to go back to my area. I figure if they do let me go back to Sarandi Del Yi, it won’t be for very long. The change is coming up in about two weeks. It has been my assigned area now for three changes and usually missionaries don’t have more than that in one area. I figure when I do leave, I will be kind of sad. It’s now been the place that I have called home for some time and I have grown attached to it. To be honest though, I don’t really know. It all depends on where I’m supposed to go and who I’m supposed to meet and talk with.
Anyway, I’m alive and I’m doing great. When this week ends and we go into March, I will be starting the 7th month of my mission. Time has gone by ridiculously fast and I can’t even believe it. That’s a 1/4 of my mission! I feel very blessed and I know that the Lord has helped me every step of the way. I love it here in Uruguay. I’m having the time of my life. Thank you for all of your support, prayers and love. I hope that you all have a good week.
Love, Elder John P. Sluder
Monday, February 15, 2010
My Surgery and the Things I Have Learned
Note from Dad: An incredible letter this week. I am really proud of my son.
February 15, 2010
Dear Family and Friends,
Dad… Happy Birthday!!!!!! WOW, one year older and wiser too. Felizidades!
Well I’m alive and doing fine! Dad, I’m kinda sad to hear about Kyler, but like you said, things happen for a reason and we always can learn and grow from all of our experiences. Wish him well for me, would ya? Dad, my surgery was not laparoscopic, but to be honest I’m not in too much pain. The nice thing about my situation is that with my time in Montevideo, I will get all my mail and packages faster. The mission president gave me permission to open whatever I wanted to, any day of the week, not just p-day. So everyone… send me mail.
Wow… what a week and an adventure I’m having! Most of you know there have been some things that have happened. I really don’t have any idea how much you all know, so I decided to write this letter to clear up any misunderstanding you might have over this entire situation. I hope this clears up everything and that you completely understand that I’m doing very well and have no more worries about my situation. I guess I’ll start….
Two weeks ago it started to rain in Sarandi Del Yi. And it rained and rained and rained. Sarandi Del Yi was built between two rivers, the Rio Yi and the Rio Malvajar. These two rivers come together and make one river just south, right outside of town. There’s a famous primary song that says the foolish man built his house upon the sand. But here I like to think that the really stupid man built a city between two rivers and when the rains come down, the rivers go up. And that’s exactly what happened. 200 homes in my small town were under water. In a town of 8000 people, 200 homes is really a lot. It was one of the crazier things I have seen in my life and reminded me a lot of the video footage that we all saw on the news of New Orleans when hurricane Katrina happened back in 2005. We spent several days last week doing what ever we could to help. The thing about it is that the poorest of the poor are the type of people who live closest to the river. So now these people, who didn’t really have much to begin with, don’t have anything anymore. This whole experience has been a humbling, life changing one. But it was really nothing compared to the adventure that I was about to be going through this week.
It all started on Friday, February 5th 2010. Friday was a very long day and we worked all day in the rain doing what ever we could to help people. We got home about 9:00 o’clock that night, wet, cold and tired. As I was getting ready to call it a night and head to bed, I went into the bathroom to finish cleaning up. This was when I first noticed a problem. There was a strange looking lump sticking out of my lower stomach. I was kind of confused and it really didn’t hurt, so I pushed it and it went flat and the lump was gone. I just thought “whatever” and continued brushing my teeth. Well, it soon came back and that’s when I started to get a concerned.
I talked with my companion about it and then started making phone calls trying to figure out what the heck was going on. After talking to my mission president, the mission doctor and a medical physician in the ward, they all agreed that I had a hernia and that I needed to see a doctor right away. So the next day Saturday, I went to the hospital here in Sarandi Del Yi. The doctor checked me out and said he had never really seen one like this and that I needed to go to Montevideo on Monday and see a specialist, and until then I am not to do anything, except just lay down and take it easy. He even told me that I really shouldn’t go to church on Sunday for fear that it would get worse and really cause me some problems. So that’s what I did all day Saturday. Nothing. I’ll be honest, it really wasn’t fun.
Sunday morning I woke up and I felt very strongly impressed that I needed to go to church. So I did. I got dressed and went. The word that Elder Sluder had “something wrong with him”, got around the ward really fast. Everybody kept pulling me aside and asking if I’m alright. It was really kind of funny.
It was fast and testimony meeting, but for me it wasn’t just my typical. For what ever reason, every testimony was very spiritual and I think I can honestly say that it was the most spiritual testimony meeting I have ever attended in my entire life. Right before it ended, I got up and I had to bear my testimony. It was just an amazing experience. After the meeting I talked to several different families and they all wished me well. I was just getting ready to walk out of the church when one of the brethren in the ward asked if I could talk with him privately in one of the rooms in the church. When I entered the room, I realized all of the priesthood holders in the entire ward were in there also. They told me that they wanted to give me a blessing and have a special prayer. So we did. I cant really describe the feeling of it but, when we finished there wasn’t a dry eye in the room and I felt comforted and ready for whatever was about to happen.
Before this event, I really had never felt anything special for most of the people here. My ward has had serious problems with unity and to me they were not together in spirit. But this experience changed all of that. For the first time in my mission, I felt the feelings of Christ-like charity and love for the people I am serving and especially from the saints of Uruguay. It was something that changed me and I will now always have a special place in my heart for these people.
Monday morning, my companion and I woke up super early to catch the bus to Montevideo. After a four hour bus ride, we finally arrived and saw the doctor about ten o’clock in the morning. He immediately referred me to a surgeon and the surgeon referred me to a sonogram specialist. The sonogram specialist confirmed that in fact it was a hernia with photographic evidence and that I need to go talk to my mission president and make a decision.
We took a taxi to the mission home and by the time we arrived, my mission president had already talked to the doctors and knew much of the situation. He called me in his office and sat me down and this is what he told me. “Elder Sluder, you have a medical condition that if left alone, will definitely get worse and will cause you problems for the rest of your life. With this condition, I don’t want you out doing missionary work. You have two options; you can go home now, have the surgery, and rest until you get better. Or you can have a surgical operation here and when you recover, you just will get right back to work. I’ll give you sometime to think about it.”
At this moment my head was spinning. I thought a lot about home. I was confused and my mind was being flooded with all sorts of thoughts. But then something came to mind that was clear and more profound than anything else. It was the scripture mastery I had memorized my sophomore year in high school. “I will go and do the things that the lord hath commanded me. For I know that the Lord giveth no commandment unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he hath commanded them.“ (1 Nephi 3:7)
The powerful words of Nephi were my answer and I have fallen back on to them many times over the course of these past few days. The Lord commanded me to serve a mission for 24 months, not for just six and call it good and go home. I knew what the lord wanted me to do and I knew that it wasn’t going to be easy, but it was necessary. I shared some of these thoughts with my mission president and his answer was, “Good, I’m proud of you.” He picked up the phone and called the doctor and they made plans for surgery Wednesday evening. It was just two days away, so he sent me quickly back to my area Sarandi Del Yi to get some things and to say goodbye to some of the members.
I woke up Wednesday morning really early once again to catch the bus. I was told to go back to Montevideo solo and leave my companion with an assigned member until I was to return. It was the first time in all my mission I was alone. I felt so lost, strange, and very alone. When I arrived in Montevideo, the assistants to the presidents showed up and gave me a ride to the hospital, helped me check in and get my hospital room. The nurses soon came in, put me on a stretcher and rolled me into the operating room.
Surgery in a South American hospital 5000 miles+ away from your family and loved ones is to be honest, somewhat scary. For me there was a lot of unknown. I didn’t really know what to expect, and up to this point I had not even talked to my parents about it. I did the only thing that I knew that I could do and that was to put my trust in the lord. The operation went great and was very successful. I did wake up with a four and a half inch gash on my lower stomach though, which really wasn’t too fun. I’m sure it will leave a pretty nice scar and it will always remind me of my decision to just do what the lord wanted me to do when I was 19 years old serving a mission in Uruguay.
The real truth of it all is, even though it’s been a little trying and at times painful and difficult, it has ended up being a huge blessing in my life. There have been countless lessons that I have learned and I know there are still more to come. I feel that it has changed me so much and someday when it is time for me to come home, I will be a better man and the Lord will be able to trust me with responsibilities to continue this great work, because I have proved him here.
I’m currently living in the offices of the mission in Montevideo with six other missionaries. It’s kind of nice; I’m not going to lie. I’m going to be here until the end of February to fully recover and then I have plans to go back to my area. So for now, I’m just going to enjoy this time that I will get to spend here. In the evenings I go hang out with my mission president, Presidente DaSilva. Before he was called as our mission president, he was in the first quorum of the seventy. He’s good friends with Thomas S. Monson, the first presidency and the quorum of the twelve apostles. So it’s been really cool at nights, when we have dinner together, to just listen to some of the things he talks about.
Oh and yes, I have now been more than well counseled on money. I made a promise to my mission president, and now to you too mom and dad, that my new goal for my mission is to no longer rely on my personal debit card during the month and to budget my mission money correctly. I will not spend stupidly any more. I plan to no longer carry my card with me and only use it when I’m really, really, really having problems. But at the same time, if I do and budget right, I should really never have any problems. So that’s the conclusion that we came to on that matter. I’m truly sorry for any inconveniences.
On Saturday February 13th, several members from the ward in Sarandi Del Yi went on a ward temple trip. Well, since were only a few blocks from the temple, they decided to walk over to the mission offices and pay me a visit. I was sitting typing letters on the computer when I looked out the window and saw the ward walk up to the home here. It was another amazing thing that has now happened. All in all, I feel loved and I feel that I’m in good hands. Dad, If you would or could send a letter to the Barreto family somehow again (in Spanish) and just tell them how much they helped me out and also how much I appreciate them for all that they did for me. That would really be nice. They really deserve it and yes they played a big part in this whole thing.
Well, so you don’t spend more than an hour reading this short story, I better close it soon. Thank you for your letters and your support. I feel the influence of your prayers and I’m so grateful for all that you do. Life’s interesting huh? At times, you feel that you have complete control over everything. Then something happens and you realize that you never had much control over anything. Our best option in life is to control the one thing that we do have; our attitude. We must always try to find some positive in every situation. If not, we will not just end up destroying ourselves, but also the others in our lives that we share this time with. If you come to a crossroad in life and don’t know where to turn, turn to the Lord. I know now without any doubt, that the Lord exists and helps us in this life. I have felt him at my side and his hand of comfort in my life over and over again this past week. I know if we will just put faith in him and rely on his help, he will carry us through the roughest of times and someday we will look back and realize it was the best of times.
Love your, son, uncle, brother, and friend,
Elder John P. Sluder
February 15, 2010
Dear Family and Friends,
Dad… Happy Birthday!!!!!! WOW, one year older and wiser too. Felizidades!
Well I’m alive and doing fine! Dad, I’m kinda sad to hear about Kyler, but like you said, things happen for a reason and we always can learn and grow from all of our experiences. Wish him well for me, would ya? Dad, my surgery was not laparoscopic, but to be honest I’m not in too much pain. The nice thing about my situation is that with my time in Montevideo, I will get all my mail and packages faster. The mission president gave me permission to open whatever I wanted to, any day of the week, not just p-day. So everyone… send me mail.
Wow… what a week and an adventure I’m having! Most of you know there have been some things that have happened. I really don’t have any idea how much you all know, so I decided to write this letter to clear up any misunderstanding you might have over this entire situation. I hope this clears up everything and that you completely understand that I’m doing very well and have no more worries about my situation. I guess I’ll start….
Two weeks ago it started to rain in Sarandi Del Yi. And it rained and rained and rained. Sarandi Del Yi was built between two rivers, the Rio Yi and the Rio Malvajar. These two rivers come together and make one river just south, right outside of town. There’s a famous primary song that says the foolish man built his house upon the sand. But here I like to think that the really stupid man built a city between two rivers and when the rains come down, the rivers go up. And that’s exactly what happened. 200 homes in my small town were under water. In a town of 8000 people, 200 homes is really a lot. It was one of the crazier things I have seen in my life and reminded me a lot of the video footage that we all saw on the news of New Orleans when hurricane Katrina happened back in 2005. We spent several days last week doing what ever we could to help. The thing about it is that the poorest of the poor are the type of people who live closest to the river. So now these people, who didn’t really have much to begin with, don’t have anything anymore. This whole experience has been a humbling, life changing one. But it was really nothing compared to the adventure that I was about to be going through this week.
It all started on Friday, February 5th 2010. Friday was a very long day and we worked all day in the rain doing what ever we could to help people. We got home about 9:00 o’clock that night, wet, cold and tired. As I was getting ready to call it a night and head to bed, I went into the bathroom to finish cleaning up. This was when I first noticed a problem. There was a strange looking lump sticking out of my lower stomach. I was kind of confused and it really didn’t hurt, so I pushed it and it went flat and the lump was gone. I just thought “whatever” and continued brushing my teeth. Well, it soon came back and that’s when I started to get a concerned.
I talked with my companion about it and then started making phone calls trying to figure out what the heck was going on. After talking to my mission president, the mission doctor and a medical physician in the ward, they all agreed that I had a hernia and that I needed to see a doctor right away. So the next day Saturday, I went to the hospital here in Sarandi Del Yi. The doctor checked me out and said he had never really seen one like this and that I needed to go to Montevideo on Monday and see a specialist, and until then I am not to do anything, except just lay down and take it easy. He even told me that I really shouldn’t go to church on Sunday for fear that it would get worse and really cause me some problems. So that’s what I did all day Saturday. Nothing. I’ll be honest, it really wasn’t fun.
Sunday morning I woke up and I felt very strongly impressed that I needed to go to church. So I did. I got dressed and went. The word that Elder Sluder had “something wrong with him”, got around the ward really fast. Everybody kept pulling me aside and asking if I’m alright. It was really kind of funny.
It was fast and testimony meeting, but for me it wasn’t just my typical. For what ever reason, every testimony was very spiritual and I think I can honestly say that it was the most spiritual testimony meeting I have ever attended in my entire life. Right before it ended, I got up and I had to bear my testimony. It was just an amazing experience. After the meeting I talked to several different families and they all wished me well. I was just getting ready to walk out of the church when one of the brethren in the ward asked if I could talk with him privately in one of the rooms in the church. When I entered the room, I realized all of the priesthood holders in the entire ward were in there also. They told me that they wanted to give me a blessing and have a special prayer. So we did. I cant really describe the feeling of it but, when we finished there wasn’t a dry eye in the room and I felt comforted and ready for whatever was about to happen.
Before this event, I really had never felt anything special for most of the people here. My ward has had serious problems with unity and to me they were not together in spirit. But this experience changed all of that. For the first time in my mission, I felt the feelings of Christ-like charity and love for the people I am serving and especially from the saints of Uruguay. It was something that changed me and I will now always have a special place in my heart for these people.
Monday morning, my companion and I woke up super early to catch the bus to Montevideo. After a four hour bus ride, we finally arrived and saw the doctor about ten o’clock in the morning. He immediately referred me to a surgeon and the surgeon referred me to a sonogram specialist. The sonogram specialist confirmed that in fact it was a hernia with photographic evidence and that I need to go talk to my mission president and make a decision.
We took a taxi to the mission home and by the time we arrived, my mission president had already talked to the doctors and knew much of the situation. He called me in his office and sat me down and this is what he told me. “Elder Sluder, you have a medical condition that if left alone, will definitely get worse and will cause you problems for the rest of your life. With this condition, I don’t want you out doing missionary work. You have two options; you can go home now, have the surgery, and rest until you get better. Or you can have a surgical operation here and when you recover, you just will get right back to work. I’ll give you sometime to think about it.”
At this moment my head was spinning. I thought a lot about home. I was confused and my mind was being flooded with all sorts of thoughts. But then something came to mind that was clear and more profound than anything else. It was the scripture mastery I had memorized my sophomore year in high school. “I will go and do the things that the lord hath commanded me. For I know that the Lord giveth no commandment unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he hath commanded them.“ (1 Nephi 3:7)
The powerful words of Nephi were my answer and I have fallen back on to them many times over the course of these past few days. The Lord commanded me to serve a mission for 24 months, not for just six and call it good and go home. I knew what the lord wanted me to do and I knew that it wasn’t going to be easy, but it was necessary. I shared some of these thoughts with my mission president and his answer was, “Good, I’m proud of you.” He picked up the phone and called the doctor and they made plans for surgery Wednesday evening. It was just two days away, so he sent me quickly back to my area Sarandi Del Yi to get some things and to say goodbye to some of the members.
I woke up Wednesday morning really early once again to catch the bus. I was told to go back to Montevideo solo and leave my companion with an assigned member until I was to return. It was the first time in all my mission I was alone. I felt so lost, strange, and very alone. When I arrived in Montevideo, the assistants to the presidents showed up and gave me a ride to the hospital, helped me check in and get my hospital room. The nurses soon came in, put me on a stretcher and rolled me into the operating room.
Surgery in a South American hospital 5000 miles+ away from your family and loved ones is to be honest, somewhat scary. For me there was a lot of unknown. I didn’t really know what to expect, and up to this point I had not even talked to my parents about it. I did the only thing that I knew that I could do and that was to put my trust in the lord. The operation went great and was very successful. I did wake up with a four and a half inch gash on my lower stomach though, which really wasn’t too fun. I’m sure it will leave a pretty nice scar and it will always remind me of my decision to just do what the lord wanted me to do when I was 19 years old serving a mission in Uruguay.
The real truth of it all is, even though it’s been a little trying and at times painful and difficult, it has ended up being a huge blessing in my life. There have been countless lessons that I have learned and I know there are still more to come. I feel that it has changed me so much and someday when it is time for me to come home, I will be a better man and the Lord will be able to trust me with responsibilities to continue this great work, because I have proved him here.
I’m currently living in the offices of the mission in Montevideo with six other missionaries. It’s kind of nice; I’m not going to lie. I’m going to be here until the end of February to fully recover and then I have plans to go back to my area. So for now, I’m just going to enjoy this time that I will get to spend here. In the evenings I go hang out with my mission president, Presidente DaSilva. Before he was called as our mission president, he was in the first quorum of the seventy. He’s good friends with Thomas S. Monson, the first presidency and the quorum of the twelve apostles. So it’s been really cool at nights, when we have dinner together, to just listen to some of the things he talks about.
Oh and yes, I have now been more than well counseled on money. I made a promise to my mission president, and now to you too mom and dad, that my new goal for my mission is to no longer rely on my personal debit card during the month and to budget my mission money correctly. I will not spend stupidly any more. I plan to no longer carry my card with me and only use it when I’m really, really, really having problems. But at the same time, if I do and budget right, I should really never have any problems. So that’s the conclusion that we came to on that matter. I’m truly sorry for any inconveniences.
On Saturday February 13th, several members from the ward in Sarandi Del Yi went on a ward temple trip. Well, since were only a few blocks from the temple, they decided to walk over to the mission offices and pay me a visit. I was sitting typing letters on the computer when I looked out the window and saw the ward walk up to the home here. It was another amazing thing that has now happened. All in all, I feel loved and I feel that I’m in good hands. Dad, If you would or could send a letter to the Barreto family somehow again (in Spanish) and just tell them how much they helped me out and also how much I appreciate them for all that they did for me. That would really be nice. They really deserve it and yes they played a big part in this whole thing.
Well, so you don’t spend more than an hour reading this short story, I better close it soon. Thank you for your letters and your support. I feel the influence of your prayers and I’m so grateful for all that you do. Life’s interesting huh? At times, you feel that you have complete control over everything. Then something happens and you realize that you never had much control over anything. Our best option in life is to control the one thing that we do have; our attitude. We must always try to find some positive in every situation. If not, we will not just end up destroying ourselves, but also the others in our lives that we share this time with. If you come to a crossroad in life and don’t know where to turn, turn to the Lord. I know now without any doubt, that the Lord exists and helps us in this life. I have felt him at my side and his hand of comfort in my life over and over again this past week. I know if we will just put faith in him and rely on his help, he will carry us through the roughest of times and someday we will look back and realize it was the best of times.
Love your, son, uncle, brother, and friend,
Elder John P. Sluder
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