Another Baptism

It was a really good week! I am happy Alexis got baptized and I was able to baptize him. It was really nice. Things are going well here. We have Yaresla in progress for this next Sunday. We are working with her to verify and help her. Alexis gets confirmed next Sunday. Things are going so nicely. I am loving the work. Try my normal password for most everything. If you don´t remember it, you originally created it. My old High school email had the password 184037716 if I am not mistaken it was all numbers. If not take out a 7 and try it. That was my old email the email was 14bgoode@davis.k12.ut.us I hope this helps I am not certain of the numbers.

I also don´t remember really well my credit card number. I haven´t used it in 17 months and my memory of the numbers is fading. I tried it the other day because I was low on money, but I couldn´t get it to work. I think that I just remembered the numbers wrong. I was having a hard time remembering. If I need money I will try it again, but we just got our money. 

Hey for Christmas do you think that you could try to send another Quadruple like you did before? I don´t know how long it will take, but it would be something special for my companion. His name if you want to personalize one. It would be Elder Diego Espinoza. That is how he would like it personalized, if you possibly can.  

Also for Christmas, I keep ending up without Rubik’s Cubes.... I like having them, but I don´t know if they are really expensive or not.... We have another young man in our ward that I was looking into giving one to, but I don´t have one right now. Do you think that you could send 2 when you get the chance? Sorry if the costs are a lot.... I don´t like spending money or making others spend money.... I have gotten over a lot of material wants just focusing more on what will leave sentimental mainly....

Hi Braxton!  Congratulations!!!  I am so happy for you to have finally used your white tie!  Send me photos please.  I am happy things are progressing nicely for you.

I have been using your normal password, but it didn’t work.  I can no longer access your old school email account.  They closed it.  I forwarded all the important stuff from that account to the email account braxtongoode@gmail.com, so I have the emails from Neumont.  I just can’t get into Neumont’s site because the password won’t work, but I will try the numbers and see if that works.  Or I will just call Jason and talk to him if he doesn’t email me today.

I don’t have your credit card number with me, but I will email it to you for next week.  Don’t you have the card with you?  I have heard from other parents that the best way to get money down there is to make a small purchase somewhere using your card and then get extra cash with the purchase.  If you do it as a credit purchase, it will have you sign your name.  If you do it as a debit purchase, it will ask for your pin number.  It is okay to do the credit purchase and sign your name.  It all comes out of the same account. 

I can get a quad, if they have them in stock and I will have them personalize it.  What about a case?  You want this to be in English, right?  Last time, I could only get it in black. 

I have bought two more Rubik’s Cubes and they are in your package ready to send.  I am just hoping to get the glasses sometime this week.  If not, I will send it without the glasses and send you another package as soon as I get the glasses.  I will have to work to get the quad into the current packages.  They are nearly full now.  I will figure it out.  I was thinking you would give one of the Rubik’s Cubes to your companion.  I may have to go pick up one more.  They are about $10 each.  Not a big deal.  

Foto del Bautismo de Alexis.

We went to the temple and they have their nativity out, so we took pictures there.

Thanks.  That is beautiful.  Did all of Karla’s kids go to the temple with you?  Was she able to do baptisms for the dead?

We only went with Karla and brought Cristobal from the Torrejón family. They are the family where the daughter left for a mission in Argentina and you added the mom on Facebook. She was able to do baptisms, but we haven´t been able to prepare names from her family yet, because we are working to baptize her kids. Cristobal was able to do baptisms as well.

That is awesome!  I am glad they got to go.  Is Cristobal male or female?  I love the photos.  It is so nice to finally get photos from you each week.

The nativity is beautiful.  Did you know that the nativity set they use at Temple Square in SLC used to be colored?  The first year they used it was a really hard winter and the pieces got damaged, so they sprayed them with a white fiberglass paint and that has preserved them so they could continue to use them for many, many more years.  Fun fact! 

Dad and I got tickets to go to the Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert on Thursday, December 17^th.  Our seats are clear up in the balcony, but it will still be fun.  They only let you get two tickets this year. 

I didn´t. I usually haven´t paid much attention to the Nativity sets. I hope that you enjoy the cold. I am really hot here. I could possibly use a few more short-sleeve white shirts. The ones I have are slightly stained and going a little gray, because I use them a lot in the summer and sweat a lot.... I still have un-opened long sleeve white shirts, because long sleeve and I aren´t really that friendly....

My plate was clean, because I know how to eat without leaving a mess. I also finished earlier than others and we were a table further away so they got there later to take pictures. All the missionaries here in this picture are in my zone. We usually end up eating near those who are from our zone, because we associate more with them.

Okay.  That is what I figured.  I can see your companion and the Zone Leaders in the photo.  Elder Brooks is from Brigham City area.  That will be nice you can keep in touch with him when you get home.  I have messaged with his dad a little bit on FB.

Another that came out a little better.

After the fact and a little wet and blurry but still.

Very sweet!  He looks like a fun kid.  I hope you are able to keep in touch with him all through his life. 

Thanks! Work on talking to Jason. If not, I can talk to President and get permission to look into college for the future. I am not stressed. I am fairly certain that things will work out. They seemed extremely interested in me when I applied. I just will need to refresh a lot of information. I feel really good about the scouting training camp for the summer when I get home if that opportunity opens up. I usually go through Rubik’s Cubes quickly... Having a supply for reserve wouldn´t be a bad idea either. 

The Quad would be in English because he is working on learning it and we are practicing. I am working on my Portuguese a little with him. He lived around 10 years in Brasil and has double nationality in Ecuador and Brasil. A Case would be great and as it comes the best you want or what you can prepare. I am not certain we will pass Christmas together, but we could. We have changes a little before Christmas, but how it happens, I will be certain that he receives it, if things change.

Okay.  I will get it.  It may not get in the Christmas packages this week as they are pretty full, but I can send another one and maybe pick up a few more Rubik’s Cubes to put in with the quad.  Did you get your Thanksgiving package?  Did you like the Rubik’s cube with the open center?

You said that all the companionships in your district would probably baptize this change.  Is that going to happen?  Have you been to a training meeting for the Zone Leaders and District Leaders yet?  How was that?    

We may have to make a trip to the SLC airport on June 27^th when a big group of missionaries is coming home.  They are being sent home a couple of weeks early because of the change in mission presidents.  That would be fun for you.

That group is Elder Brooks and his time with my Mission President and his wife. We haven´t had a training meeting yet and it is still possible. The sisters almost had a baptism Sunday, but the sister was a little scared. She had passes her interview with me and asked me to baptize her. We prepared everything, but she backed out. We are looking at it further on, but it is still possible. It just depends on what happens. The other sisters have a couple people that are fairly close to being baptized and the other companionship, being the Elders have baptized.

Elder Brooks has one change less than me and there are many other missionaries that live really close that I will be able to keep in touch with. Things are coming along well. We are looking for more miracles and working a lot with the Recent Converts. We have 7 right now and when the other two get confirmed, it will go up to 9 and we keep in touch with them all and work to baptize and help everyone we can, so that they are attending. Things are going really nicely and I am really happy. The Lord has been sending so many blessings here for us.

That is nice.  I hope it will work out for the sister who was scared.  I hope all of the sisters are able to baptize this transfer.  You only have a couple weeks left.  Wow, time goes quickly.  Congratulations!  Just keep working with them and it will work out.

Okay.  What size neck?  Are the ones we bought still the right size?  That would probably fill the box with the quad and the Rubik’s Cubes.  How are your socks holding up?  Do you need any new ones?  How are your shoes?  Anything else that is worn out?

The neck size is fine as what we had before. The socks are wearing down, but I am fine there. I am starting to toss some and I am fine with garments. My shoes are fine and should last. I still have the dress style shoes that I don´t use much. that will most likely be what I use when I come home getting rid of the others that are worn out. I still have the boots that I might bring home, because they are still really good, unless I give them away. 

Okay.  The boots might be nice for you to wear to school on snowy, winter days.  They would keep your feet warm on the train and you wouldn’t be walking all day in them.  It is up to you.  Get rid of the worn out stuff before you come home.  No sense bringing your sheets home.  We don’t have any beds that size.  Another elder might be able to use them.

It has been pretty cold the past week.  It is supposed to warm up a little this weekend.  We got just an inch of snow and it is still on the ground because it is so cold.  I hope Dad and Clain are able to finish cleaning up the garden on Saturday or it will be a frozen mess all winter.  I am happy you are warm.  Before you come home, you might want to give away most of your long sleeve shirts, because you probably won’t need them at home.  You will want one or two to go to the temple, but I bet you will not wear them any other time once you are back in Utah.  They would make nice gifts for the men there if they are the right size. 

I am going to look into it closer to the time to come home. I am out of time. I love you and thank you for everything that you are doing. I really appreciate it and thanks for the constant support. Talk to you next week!

I love you, too.  I love supporting you.  Have an M & M week, Magnificent & Marvelous!   You are loved and missed.  Be Goode!

Love always and forever,

Mom