Email from Elder Tellez 3-26-12

Hello, how is everyone doing.

I won't be sending photos this week, because the camera doesn't want to connect with the computer and usually I had this device that I used to plug my card up to the computer, but E. Lastra took it with him. For some reason, there isn't a slot for the card on the computer. It's all good (although I did waste 20 min of my time trying to fix it so this will be a small email). E. Barnes is cool. You would think that people would be talking to me more now, but Marcos still comes with us everyday and now people are coming to him for missionary matters that he doesn't know. During the weekend, I lost my voice, due to the extreme change in weather and the fact that Papa (E.) Lastra is gone and I teach almost all of the lesson. E. Barnes speaks really good spanish and clearly knows more words than me, but he speaks incredibly white, haha. The people in this town are a little think and just act like they don't know what we are saying, haha, it's all good though. People have said that I sound mexican when I talk (I wonder why?? haha). So, E. Barnes told me that he is just waiting on the elders from the MTC to get their visas so they can come to Mexico and then he will train, he actually only has two more transfers left not three. So, either this week or next week, I'm gone. This past tuesday, Mexico had an earthquake, my first one!! Yay!! E. Barnes and I were sitting at the bus station in Veracruz when all of a sudden, I thought my head was hurting and that everything was getting dizzy. Then I realized that it was the ground that was moving, we ran outside and waited for it to be over, yup, that was cool experience, haha. Thank you everyone for the emails. Brother Smesny is getting baptized!! He is cool. I love you all, talk to ya later.

On the Roof 3-26-12

3-26-12

Hey! Thanks for the emails and pictures! I'm doing well here in Anchorage. I am definitely speaking Spanish more often. It's kind of tuff just because the only Spanish I knew was the mtc Spanish and that was 6 months old.  So the one getting trained is better than me ha. But my companions are really good and help me a lot.  Oh yeah I did get the package thank you for that. We'll be sure to dye some Easter eggs.  Oh and I got a package from Nicole!  Thanks Nicole!  So is it only strange to me that when we go out and do stuff we always try to fit in an Ikea visit?? Haha!!  Congratulations D'nel, keep it up!    Megan needs to take one of those actual drivers ed courses where they drive with you and everything lol, no offense of course :) The work in Anchorage..... It's more hectic that's for sure.  And I see a lot more missionaries.  Oh and sorry I was wrong, "breakup" is definitely starting now ha.  It's terrible. We went through a carwash and in the 2 minutes it took to get to the next persons house there was already icy mud on the windows.  And by the end of the day I could write on it already.  No more moose encounters as of yet but don't worry they'll happen.  Yeah the sun is already staying up until a little after 8. So yeah, there’ll be long days.  Dad’s mowing the yard now? I saw some grass yesterday.  Well,  the work has been fast here. We're teaching people English more or less,  then asking if they're interested in the Gospel.  If they're not we still teach them English of course.  But yeah we had four people we're teaching come to church yesterday so that was awesome!  Oh yeah and it's a branch you know so there are no young women and like 2 young men and 1 High Priest. And probably like 5 Gringos that speak Spanish ha. One person passes the sacrament.  Quite a change from 7 in Ketchikan.  It's great though.  The people are awesome and don't make fun of me too much for not being able to speak well. I'll probably be here for a while,  which I don't mind.  Elder Samuelson has been here two different times and it totals to 12 transfers which is like 14 or 15 months haha.,so yeah things are pretty good here. We're excited for General Conference!  I'm not sure if we're going to listen to it in English though..... I'm a little worried about that. Oh yeah before I forget. You know that "Mexican blanket" I brought with me? How am I supposed to wash it?  Well thanks again for the email!  Everything is great with me here. I hope you guys are ready for May. It's coming fast and I remember that was always a ridiculous month.  All is well in this part of Zion.

Love,

       Elder Waddell

Email from Elder Tellez 3-19-12

Hello lovely people that live in Texas,

How are you all doing? I'm good. So, tomorrow morning, E. Lastra is being transferred to Xalapa, finally, haha!!!! My new companion is E. Barnes, he is from Idaho. He leaves his mission in June. The way I'm thinking, I will be transferred the next transfer which is in April (every 6 weeks). I say this because I think the E. Barnes will become a trainer of a new missionary (the training takes 2 months or 2 transfers), and since he ends his mission in June, two months before that would be April. My reasoning is why would they put someone with experience that is about to end his mission just as senior companion, he has to do something. So, that's that, after 6 months in "La Goma", I'll explain what that means when I come home, or Isla, I will finally go to a different area. Aunt Becca, thank you for your email. I am glad that everyone is doing good and that band is a part of the kids' life!! Music is great. What instrument will Logan be playing? Bianca, thank you for your email. I have 13 baptisms. After this week, I will have 15. I'm glad you kind of like your job, haha. Gramma, as always, thank you for your emails. They always impact me in some way. Mama, thank you for your email as well, haha. I haven't gotten letters or emails from anyone yet. The way it goes here in Isla is that they basically ignore the missionary that has been in Isla for less time than the other. They always talk to the other missionary that has been here longer and always ask him questions, EVERYTHING, in this case, it was E. Lastra. But he said that that is how it was when he first came to Isla, he would tell a joke or something and they just ignore him. It is just the way they are. I'm not straight or square or stiff, I'm friendly and cheerful. The kids love me, like always. Not much new other than this. I have to go because my compa. is ready to leave. Love you all. Take care.

I leave today. It's kind of bitter sweet. I'm going to the Spanish Branch in Anchorage. So here are some of the bitter parts. I love Ketchikan and Anchorage is completely different from here. I'm leaving right before the weather gets good here and right when "break-up" happens in Anchorage where all the ice melts and it's gross. Buuuuttt I get to learn Spanish. I get to meet more missionaries. I get to have meetings in person. I get to do stuff with more than just my companion on P days. I might see the northern lights. haha so it balances out. Oh and I'll be in a trio companionship so that will be interesting. I guess we'll see what happens. Okay so to this past week. Guess what I got to do on Friday! We went to Metlakatla to kind of recon the area and see what we can do about getting missionaries there full time eventually. You know what made that trip even cooler? We took a float plane haha. Isn't Alaska the best??  So yeah we took the float plane there then some members showed us the town a little. Then we prepped in the chapel ( which is the only brick building on the island) (and the phase 1 like the one in Livingston before we got there.) so we could know who to visit and where they were and stuff. It was kind of difficult because we were on foot and none of the streets were named or labeled I guess. We visited some members and people who missionaries had talked to before. Asked about how the area would receive missionaries and all of that. It was pretty fun. Oh and it's a reservation so there was a casino there. But yeah, that was the highlight of the week for sure. I'm just glad we got to do it before I left. Oh Anghel took and uploaded that picture while we were saying goodbye to them. They're some goofy kids. I'm going to miss Ketchikan a lot but I guess it's time for me to go and experience other types of missionary work, people, and adventures. So as usual all is well in Zion.   Elder Waddell

Email from Elder Tellez 3-12-12

Hello again everybody,

As you might have guessed, I am still alive. Nothing new happened really. We had a baptism this saturday. As you can tell in the photo, there are 4, but the little girl didn't get baptized after all. She was scared of the water and the people, so E. Lastra closed the curtain, but she still didn't want to E. Lastra said that he was just going to say the prayer and then dunk her, but she was latched onto her mom. So we only have 3, but she will get baptized later in life. We have 3 more for this Saturday, we'll see how that goes I guess, haha, and a couple more the week after. This is the last week of this transfer, we'll see if I or E. Lastra get transferred (cross your fingers), if not, it will be 5 1/2 months with him and in the same area. I still don't have the trust of the members, I really don't even think they like me. But, I just keep my head up, smile, and show love to them, haha. As long as I am doing what I am doing and living a Christ-like mission, it will all be good. I got the email from E. Newell, he seems cool, in the few words he wrote, haha. Haha, Nyah will play the saxophone, yea buddy!! Just thought I'd throw this out there, I don't like Conte at all, watch out for him. Haha, my mom is a Jack in the Box employee, re-living the old days at Burger King. You are going to end up working more days and doing more things, because that is how it is at Jack, you want a job just two days and just doing prep, but the thing is that all employees need to know every station in the store. All managers know that, it doesn't matter if they are friends, haha. But it is all good, you are working, you will meet new people and make money. Gramma, thank you for all of the emails and quotes and things. So, I only had like 20 min on the computer because it kept on crashing, now E. Lastra is done, because he had his full hour and is impatiently ready to go. So, with that being said, I bid you all adieu. Hope every one is safe, healthy and faithful servants of the Lord. Love ya -Elder Tellez

3-6-12

Hey. Well sorry I didn't email yesterday. President and the Zone leaders were down here in Ketchikan so we spent the day taking President and Sister Beesley around. So it was another slow week as far as the work goes. Not a whole lot of progression from people we're teaching and actually not really any teaching. We have a few potential people lined up but that's it. On Tuesday we had our weekly District meeting over the phone. Then on Wednesday we had a few hours of training over the phone. Then on Thursday President and the Zone Leaders came down. So we did Interviews and went to training for the Ward Council. We tried to go on splits with the Zone Leaders as well. Not a whole lot happened. Friday we kind of did the same stuff with them then dropped them off at the ferry so they could go to Prince of Whales Island. So we tried to get some stuff done and invite people to the fireside that President was holding on Sunday. Then Saturday we spent pretty much the entire day doing service. On Sunday one of our investigators that we hadn't seen all week appeared at church so that was good. The downside was that she took off and didn't talk to us. Oh yeah part of the reason this week was slow was that there were regional basketball tournaments going on so everybody was doing that. Everybody! Anyway, after church we picked up President and the Zone Leaders again. (They flew back on a float plane from POW) The ward fast started on Sunday as well so we went to some members to break their fast and talk to them about missionary work. Then we went to President's fireside. Only 2 people that we invited showed up. Anghel and Jhasen, but not their brother Rheman. But it was a really cool fireside. Then Monday, like I said, we spent the day with them showing them the Island. It was a beautiful clear day too. But today it snowed a few inches and is raining and snowing right now. But the cool thing that happened this last week is that Bishop Davis convinced President to try to get missionaries in Metlakatla. So guess who's going for a test run tomorrow? We are! We get to take a float plane over there in the morning and another one back in the afternoon. We're supposed to visit as many people as possible and look for a place the missionaries could stay in case of emergency or to stay permanently. So we're pretty excited about that. Not everyone can say they got to ride in a float plane for their mission. Oh and this is the last week of the transfer so if Elder Satini is training next transfer we'll get a call tomorrow night. If not we'll get a call on Saturday morning for what is happening. During the interview with President he said he would like to get me in the Spanish branch with an Elder that's about to go home this transfer before he goes home. So we'll see I guess. Meanwhile we're still trying to find people here. All is well in Zion.

Elder Waddell

Email for John on 3-6-12 title: "Hello, Is it me you're looking for?"

Getting this email on Tuesday instead of Monday was very nerve wracking. It was all I could do to not email his Mission President asking what happened...lol...I think he likes his birthday present I sent him. The Plan of Salvation teaching aid in Spanish :-) I can't believe he got the package so soon....Enough about me...lol...Here's John....

Hello again, I am alive and still kicking, haha.

So, I recieved the package this past Wednesday. That must be a world record or something, haha, less than a month. Yesterday, the whole town didn't have Internet or cell phones, so I couldn't write. But, here I am, haha. Gramma, the reason why we only had rice was because we were poor and didn't have money therefore, we couldn't buy groceries. But, we recieved money this past Wednesday and yesterday, we went to the Bodega Aurerra (an incredibly, small, offspring of Walmart). Now we have food, I bought my own food because E. Lastra buy things like rice and crackers. I bought stuff like yogurt, cereal, canned fruit, Cambell's soup, kool-aid, things like that, of course I looked for the cheapest brands, haha. I probably will be in this same area for another month or so. Once I am transferred, I hope to go north. I'm glad the gumbo was great, I really want some. Mama, you don't have to send a package soon, you can wait for a couple of months. I don't want you all to spend money to send a package right after you sent another. Thank you. Ok, now I recognize the elder that was there in Liberty almost 2 years ago. The translation of my spanish is: The time has gone. Now I am going to eat. See ya later. Have a good one. Be careful. I love you. Haha, that crazy translator. Now I must be going, because my companion decided that he would want to only write for 30 min, not the usual hour. Love you all, send many emails and pics. Bye -Elder Tellez

Trinity 2-27-12

Hey! thanks for the email. That's a pretty good leap Megan. My Birthday was just a day ,haha, not much to speak of. I was kind of sick from the day before. We did go to an Inactive members house for her birthday and then at night time for some reason they were shooting fireworks from the top of Deermountain so I guess that was cool. We were supposed to have a baptism but that fell through. Not too much of a surprise. Did I get any presents? no ha but one of our recent converts said Happy Birthday haha I did get the box you sent but I accidentally opened it a few days before my birthday sooooo oops . How did her dance competition go?  I'll send her a thank you card the problem with that is that the only thank you cards I have are ones that she sent me haha. I'll get a different one. Yeah, I got a letter from Regan, I'll reply. The girls want to go to London eh? That sounds like an adventure. Wouldn't they need passports as well? Day trips out of Austin for spring break? That sounds like it has pretty good potential. Of course there are no day trips out of Ketchikan so maybe I'm just missing that possibility. Well this week has been interesting. We taught 4 total lessons this week. I've had weeks with almost 20. So, things have been moving slowly. But this week we did some more finding and actually talked to more people we had never met before. So we have a few possibilities lining up but so far no breaks into a lot of work anywhere. Our ward is starting a 40 day fast and it just so happens that on that same day President Beesley is going to give a fireside in Ketchikan. That works out pretty well I think. President and Sister Beesley and the Zone Leaders are coming on Thursday for some ward training and interviews. Then they're going to Prince of Whales then they're coming right back on Sunday for the fireside and they're leaving Monday morning. So it will be another interesting week. Then, 5 days after he leaves here we get transfer calls. exciting stuff. So yeah I guess it's just the normal happenings here. It was beautiful and sunny the past 2 days and of course on our P-day it would start snowing for the first time in a month haha!!  I can't wait for winter to be over. I want it to be warm, maybe even hot! I at least want the sun to be out.  It would be cool to be able to do things outside as well. But I will miss the waterfalls everywhere. I don't know if I've mentioned that there are always hundreds of waterfalls going down cliffs on the side of the road here. It's pretty sweet. Well I guess that's enough of my pointless rambling. I'm glad things are going well. I'm kind of envious of what your weather is right now but, all is well in Zion.

Later….

Yes I am having a good day. I think we're going to play basketball with some members today. I wish I could swing dance. I miss dancing and music, definitely one of the biggest things. I can't wait till I get back and D'nel is taller than Megan haha! She should stay in band until at least 8th grade. But yeah force her to do piano. That’s one of my top regrets is not knowing piano already. Thanks for the email! love you!
Elder Waddell