Week 8: Best Mission Birthday Ever!

I don't know how any missionaries could stand to be disobedient and just sit around their house... I'm already going crazy... This week I didn't teach a single lesson because I'm just stuck at home trying to get better. It was a very long week, but I've had lots of time to study and I've gotten a lot better at reading in Spanish! I never study in English, so I don't always understand the things that I'm studying, but I somehow feel that I'm still able to gain testimony about the things I read through the spirit. It has actually been a pretty cool experience to read something and not understand a word, but feel the spirit nonetheless. I am at the point where I can pretty much understand everything I read in preach my gospel! It's the scriptures that are still a challange... But it's coming along. 

I've been eating super healthy and it is getting kinda old because I don't have a lot of variety. But we have been finding places to buy healthy food. The fruits and veggies aren't a problem and are pretty cheap. But finding things like brown rice was a little harder everyone uses white rice here. But we did find it through a member! When my companion brought some brown rice home I about jump in the air for joy! but in reality I just sat there because I can't stand... But you get that I was excited :) 

I think I may have had one of the best mission birthdays ever! This morning Elder West and Elder Olivos went to Chalco to get me something special. Let me give a little bit of backround before I tell you what it is though. There's a senior couple that just got here this week. The wife is going to teach people here piano, so they ordered 10 keyboards for her to teach members with. Somehow Elder West convinced our president and them to let me use one while I'm stuck at home! SO. That's what Elder West brought back today! Talk about an awesome birthday gift! But I can't let any other missionaries know because he doesn't want other missionaries asking for one. 

Elder West also came back with a package from you Mom! (awesome birthday right?) It was filled with wonderful health food stuff to make me better! AND AN AWESOME BLENDER!!! I wasn't expecting that! Thank you soooo much! Right after we opened it we ran out and got a bunch of fruits and veggies so that I can make awesome smoothies! But that wasn't all. You sent my piano books! A perfect combination with my new piano :) I'm actually looking forward to this week instead of dreading it now! But don't worry, I'm still going to try getting better even though I have all these new fun things ;) I'd gladly give it all up if it meant I could be better and out teaching again! But as long as I can't walk it's going to be super nice to have.

I experienced my first real disapointment from someone falling away from the gospel on Sunday. It was really hard to experience. A member that we have been working with since I got here to reactivate got up in preisthood and said that he was never going to come back to church. We were shocked because he seemed so happy ever since we finally got him back, but he said the bishop visited him on Saturday and told him that he wasn't allowed to participate or talk in church, he could only show up and sit quietly... So now he's gone. We're still going to keep working with him! But it's super frusturating when the bishop keep driving people away... This isn't the first case in the ward, just the first one that I've witnessed first hand. All prayers for our bishop to recieve a softened heart are welcome. We could really use it in our ward.

Well it's hard to think of things to write when all I did was sit inside all week. Hopefuly I'll be better soon with all this stuff you sent me mom. I think that I a seeing a bit of improvement, but it's hard to tell. There's still a lot of pain. But thank you for your prayers and support! I loved all the letters from everyone in the package! OH! I also got 12 Dearelders yesterday! Most of them were from Bryce, I think they got held up 3 weeks in a row. So sometimes I think they do take a month to get here. But I still loved reading every single one no matter what time it was from. Thank you or those! In the next package some pictures would be great too! Elder West has a whole album full of his family! I can print them out here low quality, but I'd prefer good ones if you can :) 

Thanks for everything! I love you and I think about and pray for you daily. Life sounds pretty busy, just remember to smile through it all! That's been the biggest thing that I've learned this week. It's not worth wasting any time in this life without a smile. No matter what we're going through, We'll always be able to have something to smile about, that's what the gospel gives us :) I've seen that more this week than ever before. I think if there's one quote that I could leave behind in this life it would simply be "keep smiling" that is what I want to live by.

With lots of love,

Elder Twede