Letter 74

December 10, 2012

MERRY CHRITHMATH!!

Well the weather here sure had a change on the cold side. I busted out my mangas largas today (long sleeves). Also today since I'm feeling in the Chrithmath Spirit I'm gonna get my picture taken with Old Saint Nick at the mall. I couldn’t go last week because the member that was going to take us never called and so we just played volleyball. I'll try to send it to you afterwards via email.

To answer some questions. No I didn’t know that I was on TV but I love that picture! hahah Elder Curletti is my favorite! (Jordan’s picture was on Mormon Times on Sunday – they were talking about the ladies that put together the tree at the Festival of the Trees in honor of the McAllen Texas Missionaries that were killed last year). That’s really cool! And no I never sent a tie... no one ever asked me :(. (I was told that the tree skirt for that tree was made from ties donated by missionaries from that mission – I saw one that looked just like the tie Jordan wore in his mission pictures and wondered if he had sent it)

I've been thinking about what I want to go into and I think I might go into Graphic Design... maybe illustration... maybe business... who knows? I’ll talk to you about it on Christmas.

This week in our area we are doing pretty good. Elder Williams and I found a few PM families that we are starting to teach, but during the lessons that we had with them the member got really off topic and we lost control. We had a lesson with the mother of one of the sisters in the English ward. She's 87 years old and has heard the missionaries lots of times and so far dose not want to join the church. We tried to get to know her and help her to feel comfortable with us and everything, then we tried to start the lesson and the members with us started teaching about SEALINGS IN THE TEMPLE! I don’t know why they thought that would help at all... anyway... We are planning this week to sit down with these members and sharing with them our lesson plans so they know their part and wont highjack the lesson AGAIN. sheeesh...

Mario is doing pretty good. He's is under a lot of stress because of a financial situation he is in right now and that in turn is making him really sick. He called me on Saturday and just unleashed all of his feelings. I felt really bad for him. We just told him to pray and read the Book of Mormon. Anyway... He's had the hiccups for the last 6 days! I don’t even know how that happens... haha but it was pretty funny when we visited him yesterday. He was just hiccuping and hiccuping over and over. He was really stressed when we went by last night but as we talked he calmed down a lot. He said that he loved us and that he's sorry that he gets a little "cranky" sometimes. haha I love that guy. He is prepared to be baptized and said he is excited for this Sunday but he said if his health goes downhill he we would have to postpone it.

Mario's daughter, Gina, is doing AWESOME!! She is so prepared and accepts everything that we teach. She came to the YSA ward yesterday and stayed a little later to go to the English Ward with her mom who she invited to come. She went to the YSA's FHE and institute and a little dance they had this week. She's stoked for her baptism this week.

Since Mario loves art I think I am going to draw him a picture of Christ for his baptism, and I actually might just draw one and give a copy to all of my recent converts here! Speaking of recent converts The Harkriders went to the Temple to do baptisms for the dead for the first time!! The both had the chance to do the work for some of their own relatives! And Sam is going to come up to Utah to visit BYU and stuff in January probably and I told her to visit you guys too. Show her a good time up there in Utah!

Well that’s all I have time for this week but I love you and hope that you all have a cup of Horchata for me this Christmas! (because it tastes like Christmas)...

-Elder Jordan Stewart