April 16th 2012 (Handwritten)

Hey Mom & Dad!

I did get the Easter card from Ciana, tell her thank you & I love her so so much!

Thank you for the Birthday card! It's ginormous! It really does mean a lot to me every week. I'm really excited that I get to write & more importantly read your e-mails. I miss you a ton!

I don't really know of anything interesting that happened this week. It was pretty boring. We didn't have many lessons. We were just trying to find more people. Oh, my birthday was pretty much the same as every other day. I did get a birthday call from the Mission President's daughter. She is handicapped I guess, and makes sure she calls everyone on their birthday. So that was pretty nice. We did go to a families house, that is getting baptized this Sunday. They are awesome! They bought a cake for me & we ate it there at 8:30 PM. That was a good end to my birthday.

Our bikes are starting to crap out on us. Yesterday on the way to church there was a really loud noise. It sounded like something metal being shot out. We didn't know what happened but Elder Harvey's back tire went flat instantly. My back tire goes flat pretty fast so we have been having to pump it up 2-3 times a day. I'm going to go fix that here soon.

Not much of a P-day. Just did some shopping, laundry, & got mail & played Horse. There's just not much to do. Especially when you are on bikes.

Elder Jarman said that it was only 2 missions that got their visas. He's not sure where the other Elder Draper is going. He doesn't seem very excited to go. He says he really likes it here. I like it here too but I'll be really excited & nervous like always, to go to Mexico.

Don't let Sadie run on that ankle too much. I'm sure she acts like she's fine when she sees that ball. Give her a big hug for me!

I was really happy to hear how much Ciana liked that picture. It took me that whole week since I didn't have much time to just sit & do it. The more I drew the more I remembered. I was wondering if you would notice the yellow caps on the post. I gotta say it was nice to see that yard again. 

Well, I better get to fixing that tire. Tell all the FB people thanks for me. I love you guys so much & I miss you like crazy! Tell me all that is going on over there.

Love you tons!
Aaron

Notes on the envelope: 

Oh the towels work pretty good & dry fast. There was only a blue & green one, no brown one. I'll keep trying them & probably send the others home sometime.

I told Michael to get more music and I said stuff like Coldplay, but I feel like I typed Outcold. So if he asks. I don't know if I did or not.

Also I just went out with a guy that worked with Duane Redetzke at Roto Rooter. His name was Chuck Scott.

Hey family!

Well, I guess a lot of missionaries got their visa's this week. I however, did not. Elder Jarman got his. I don't know if its only for where he is going or what. I guess we shall see if more come in this week.

I don't remember too much from this week. We are riding bikes all over Midvale. I like it a whole lot better than a car. However, in the rain its not too fun. On Wednesday I went on an exchange with Elder Kulu. Jarman went with Harvey. That day it poured like crazy. Kulu and I got soaked. The exchange wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I actually liked it. It just sucks having to pack everything up. One person we went to teach this week went a lot different than we thought it would. We went over there to drop him. He has been really hard to get a hold of and didn't really seem too interested. He has been getting taught for awhile. Well, he was actually really wanting to be baptized but he has a girlfriend there and says she won't marry him if he does. But we are actually going to get her a BOM and she is going to start reading. So, maybe she'll change her mind. She doesn't even go to church. 

Spanish isn't coming along very well. I don't say too much unless I have a part of the lesson. Oh, well. I probably have learned more than I think I have. Whenever someone asks me a question or says something directly to me, I completely blank and don't know what they said. Even the easiest questions. 

Oh, one guy we knocked asked what he could do for us. When Harvey said we were the missionaries the guy just laughed and started to close the door. I couldn't help but laugh out loud. It was the best response I have had yet. 

Well, I gotta go. If I think of anything I will write home.

I love and miss you all!

Aaron

April 9th 2012 (Handwritten)

Hey MoM(?) & Dad,


Sorry my e-mail was so short. I did get all 3 packages. If that’s the right #. Thank you so much for all of it.
I’m pretty short on $ & food so that will help a ton.  I get fed pretty well here so food isn’t too big of a deal. I found like 8 boxes of macaroni so that will help also. We are on bikes now & I like it way better. It’s just more interesting. Harvey I think hates it. He complains about it all the time. I think it’s fun.


Nelson & Ngatu are in a quad!?!? That’s awesome! I haven’t written all of them yet. I haven’t gotten any
news about Tuxtla. I wonder why Nelson does. I’m going to try those towels out for sure. That will save
me a lot of space.


We played V-ball today, finally. Every morning we play B-ball, which I suck at, or soccer. It was really nice
to play V-ball.


I do know Elder Jarmin. He’s 6’8” if you didn’t know & played for BYU. It was pretty fun but there are
some sucky players here too.


Some funny things that happened this week, some kids wanted candy but we didn’t have any. (I do now
though, thanks!) So Blanc gave them Mormon.org cards. Then when we were leaving a girl came back
& asked for a card but we were out. Harvey had one sucker & gave it to her. I told her to hide it & then
told Blanc & Harvey they were all going to run back over when they saw it. I was right! They all started
chasing us, so we took off for the car. It was pretty fun.


Today we got groceries & as we were leaving a guy asked us for a $1. Harvey gave him one & I gave him
about a $1 in change. I guess his car was out of gas. While we were talking with him an old guy came
up to us & said “You want a real challenge?” Take a shot at a 73 yr. old vet of Vietnam! I fought for
separation of state & religion & then I moved here and it’s like another country!” All I said was “Well,
this man just asked for $ so we gave it to him & we’re just talking.” I think he felt kind of dumb because
of his expressions. He kept talking about it & talking down about us. The guy we were talking to kind of
defended us. The old guy finally left. The guy, Ken I think was his name, said he hated when guys twice
(3 almost 4 times) your age do that. He turned out to be a Jehovah’s Witness. He was a really nice guy.


I’m still writing in my journal a half a page to a page every night. Everything is going just fine. I love you
more than you’ll ever know! I don’t have much time left in this P-day so I better go grab some food & a
shower. Thanks again for everything!


I LOVE YOU!!!


Aaron


Also thank Monks for the B-day card & cookie! It was delicious!

Hi Family,

Well, all of the transfer stuff happened this Wednesday. Im still in the same area and everything. Blanc is now the Zone Leader and moved out so I have a nice soft, real bed! Elder Harvey is still my companion.

Easter was alright. We went to a BBQ yesterday. They had carne asada, lime chicken, and hot dogs. They also had cactus. Its alright but not my favorite. They warmed the tortillas in the BBQ and they got really dry once they were out. It was all pretty good but you couldn't let it cool or it tasted way different. They didn't hide eggs like we do. They just had the kids go inside and then spread them all over the yard. I like our way a lot better. Harvey was sick Saturday and Sunday so we went home after the BBQ and he slept for 4 hours and I just studied upstairs. 

Saturday I tried my first goat. Not that great. I don't know if it was just the piece I got or what but it was really chewy. It definitely tastes different than other meat. I also had Cerviche. Cevriche is shrimp or crab or other sea food that isn't cooked by heat. It's soaked in lime juice and then mixed with pretty much pico de gallo. It didn't really taste fishy so I was glad. I'm sure Michael will know more about it.

We had a baptism on Saturday. A 9 yr. old. It was pretty cool. I don't know if I count that as my first one or not because I didn't really teach her much. 

I still don't know anything about my visa. They haven't given the visa waiters more money yet either. So maybe that means we'll be leaving soon or maybe they just forgot about us. I don't know. Well, I will write home with other stuff if I think about it.

I love and miss you all!

Aaron

To Monks. Love, Aaron

Aaron drew a picture for Ciana the little girl my mom nannies for. She just loves Aaron!


The picture Aaron drew was folded in thirds and it said "To Monks, Love, Aaron" when you lift the first flap of the letter it then said "Can you find all 9 (almost 10) hidden eggs? Plus the 3 bonus tennis balls? I Love you Ciana!


You can enjoy his art work and find the hidden objects yourselves!


Dad, Mom and all of us siblings laughed and laughed over all the detail he put into this "Masterpiece!" Now it's your turn to laugh and laugh. 


Mom asked Ciana what this was a picture of and she said "Our yard!" Mom told her "It's not your yard" she said with a smirk..."I know...It's our yard!" 


She had a lot of fun looking at it and finding the eggs and balls. She giggled all while finding them and looking at all the stuff Aaron drew!

As you can see he put a lot of detail into this! Those of you who know my parents yard I am sure will get a kick out of it. I can't believe he remembered all that he did!



He has his sweet Sadie girl (the black dog), Zoe (the spotted cat) Joey (the white cat with a black spot on her head), he even added the goats pen with a goat on top of their little house. Aaron and Ciana jumping on the tramp. Sadie's water bucket (with one of her many balls in it). The igloo cat house on the porch. You can see the Sadie's trail where she runs in the yard. And so much more!! :) 


What a funny boy!


Hope you had fun!! 

April 2nd 2012 (Handwritten)

Hey Mom & Dad!


I’m not sure what I’m going to write but I figured I would send a letter over there.


Andy still hasn’t gotten my e-mails. So if you could do that, that’d be great.


Something pretty funny happened this weekend. We went to watch General Conference at an investigators house. Elder Blanc was trying to find General Conference in Spanish. He went to Telemundo but it wasn’t on. It was just a commercial with some women dancing. He tried to return to the last channel but actually hit the replay button. It replayed the exact part. They weren’t wearing very modest clothing either. She then said “You just wanted to see that again huh?” We all laughed pretty hard. Then he changed from that & it’s a bunch of people dancing on a beach!


I’m not really sure what else happened this week. It seems like I have been trying to translate this whole week. I’m tired all of the time. I’ve been close, a couple times, well, a bunch of times, almost falling asleep in a lesson. The hardest time was during General Conference though.


We just ate at Los Betos. On the door it says “Ot#er Door.” I don’t know if someone meant to do that, but I can definitely see someone here doing that.


This P-Day hasn’t been all that great. We waited forever to get the key so we could e-mail today. We got done with that at 2:30. The rest of the day we just ran around town getting different things done. And now we’re about to leave to go to some lessons.


How is everything going over there? How is Ciana? I’m going to try & draw a pic for her tonight. I hope I have time. How is Boot Camp? Does Sadie still run away? How’s your knee dad?


We went to the Jumbo Buffet the other day. It’s not as good as the Grand Buffet but reminded me of home.


I don’t know what else to say. I miss you a lot. I better go get some things done before bed. Give Sadie a hug for me.


Love you tons!


Aaron


This is last week’s letter. I hope Ciana’s picture didn’t get ruined. It’s pretty much a masterpiece. (Not sure if I spelt that right) – Love you!

Hey!

Another week down. One full in the field. Its kind of crazy, it seems like the MTC was much longer ago or didn't even happen. 

This week has been alright. I still have no freaking clue what anyone is saying. At times I do but most the time I don't. 

I have been pretty lucky with the food here. We eat a lot of tacos. Yesterday we ate carnitas. They were pork meat and some pork called buche, I think. That stuff is not very good. From what I heard, its meat from the stomach. It just seems like you are eating straight fat. I only tried a little of that and that was all I wanted. We have been teaching quite a bit but I still don't say much. I just don't know what to say. Whenever someone asks me a question I blank and have no clue what they said or what to say back. They just talk really fast. 

Oh, I don't know if I told you, the missionary that's supposed to be going to Taiwan lives in Draper, UT. His house is in this mission! 

My companions are pretty good. Harvey,back home he had really long hair, threw knives, messed around with swords, and plays dungeons and dragons. Blanc played sports and stuff. We all get along pretty well. The house is really small. I don't know if I told you. Its pretty much a little study area, a tiny kitchen, a small bathroom, and a bedroom wall to wall with beds. When you walk down the stairs you have to duck really low. Its like a wine cellar or something turned into a house. It works though. 

We have transfers happening on Wednesday. This mission might get split into 2! Its already really small. I have no clue where I will be or if they will even move me. We gave the air mattress back to the mission office and they gave another one to us which also leaked, probably faster than the other. But we found the hole and taped the crap out of it and its working so far. Maybe I'll have a bed after this transfer stuff, we'll see.


We had a lady tell us that she wasn't going to let her daughter be baptized. She talked for a really long time and once again I had no clue what she was saying. Only that she said baptism a lot. 

Well, I don't know what else to say. I guess we'll see what goes on this next week.

I love and miss you all!

Aaron

I guess you have my address. But if not its "8060 South       615 East    Sandy, UT 84070    SLC South Mission

Love you!