January 22, 2007

  • From a letter dated 1/9/2007

    Dear Family, Friends, and Xangans,

    Excuse my lack of letter writting and xanga updating (via my dad). I have been busy this holiday season and have not had the chance to keep up with all the things I want to do. Entonces (oh, sorry, I accidently slip into spanish so natually now)- So, I have not gotten the opportunity to write you (Lisa, Heather, CHO, Andrew, Grandma and Grandpa, etc. etc. etc.).

    Por exemplo, ahora estoy aprendiendo epanol; estoy ensenando ingles a mi companero; y estoy corriendo mucho de un investagadora al proximo. Obviously I need to work on my grammar because I'm sure I just made some big mistakes, but you get the gist of it: I am learning (and remembering) spanish, teaching my companion english, and running around trying to contact all these people that I am trying to work with.

    This past weekend I confirmed another convert. Depending on how you count baptisms, I have had <b>6</b>, 9, or 7 converts on my mission. I mention this merely as a statistic to give you perspective, please don't read into it. I prefer to think about lives changed, or touched. That, however, is not measurable (as it should be).

    My companion is awesome. He is from Colombia, and so I get to eat cool Colombian food and what not. Funny story- En Colombia they make tomales con hojas de platano. (I understood tomales, and platano- which means banana). Upon learning this I went days imagining tomales wrapped in banana peels. One day during a conversation about tomales, I told my companion that I thought it was really weird to wrap tomales in banana peel. He couldn't understand why. Finally everything because clear, and we both felt very silly. I have since learned that hojas means leaves. Tomales in Colombia are wrapped in the giant leaves of banana trees. JaJaJaJaJa!

    Yesterday I made real authentic Chicago pizza for everybody. Tons of work, and I made them all reemberse me for supplies, but man it was worth it. It was very authentic, I have become an expert.

    Two Sundays ago we spoke in Sacrament meeting again, and we also taught Sharing time in primary. This past Sunday we taught at a fireside for the turning 8 year olds on baptism. All in all, this ward continues to love the missionaries, and we continue to love this ward. It really is the best area I've ever served in. I should have known, after all, R. Swartwood came from here.

    Well, until next week, Take Care. Again my apologies to all of you that I have neglected. I love you all so much, and miss you. I'm at the point now where I want to finish strong in this area, start a new area and get it going well, and then go home and become a member of the Church and put everything I have learned to practice. It's a strange sensation.

    Love,

    Elder Embree