Week 32 in El Salvador

July 26, 2010

Hey,

So I tried to send my letter from last week, cause I’m not sure that you got it, or the pictures. Tell me if you have gotten it. ----I sent a package last Monday, so it should get there around Thursday more or less. I’m sending my memory cards again. You can look through the pics, but don’t put anything on facebook.

There have been miracles happening in the ward. Since our problems with people falling away, things have happened, and everyone has changed their style of work. People are coming back, and the gossips have mostly stopped, and the Stake of Ilopango was congratulated for having the highest retention rate in El Salvador for the past couple months. I didn’t think such big problems could change so fast, but it’s true when they say that with God all things are possible. The stake now has a goal to divide the Montecristo Ward, which I am in with my companions Elder Perez, Elder De La Cruz, and Elder Dexter. There is a huge project going on, and the leaders have told us that the Quorum of the Twelve is also looking over it. We are doing all new activities, and are going to start “linger longer,” which these people have never heard of.

This has been another crazy week, but I have been learning a lot.

It rained yesterday, and there was tons of lighting that was close. Usually you wait for the thunder to come after the lighting, but it was happening the same time---the flash and the sound. At the first lighting strike the power went out of the entire colony, and almost left our ears ringing. There was tons of water, and today we are going to run by Guillermo, and see if his house has fallen apart again. Guillermo, has become a very involved member of the ward, and the ward loves him...they all call him my grandpa, because he has blue eyes and light skin. I have learned a lot from him, and from being around him.

I love the photos. What has Alyssa stacked up? Is the red car Megan’s and Gid´s?

So, I have written a couple letters, but I forgot to bring them here, so I’ll have to send them next week. We only come to Soyapango on Monday, to write, and the rest of our week we are in our areas. Just telling you in case the dates are all messed up on the letters.

Things with my companion have gotten a lot better. We are working more together now, and it is so much easier to work.

Well that’s about it. Maybe I can do something crazy this week, so I can write about it on Monday.

Salud pues,

Corey

Week 31 in El Salvador

Hey,

The rains here are not really what I expected. Most of them are just like Kirksville, and occasionally the roads flood a little, but it is nothing like what I saw in Zacatecoluca----back there when it rained, I was wading through water up to above my knees.

The other day, we were talking to a friend named Edwin Castillanos in the street. We saw huge black clouds come up over the hills, and tons of lighting. I told my comp that we should probably head in, and when I said that a huge gust of wind hit us, when there was no wind before. The gust nearly pealed the palm trees over, and they were all bent with the wind. It hadn’t started raining, but we ran a full out sprint to the house, and it was only like five streets, but when we got to the house we were soaking wet, and there was tons of lighting. Later we were talking to Guillermo Roberto Masferrer about the rain. He lives in the train line, a very poor part of the community, and the rain nearly stripped his roof off. He said they were up till 3 in the morning trying to repair it.

Ok, so have fun, take some pictures, tell Gid to buy the dirt bike. Anyway, thanks for everything again. I’ll try to get one of my packages in the mail. I hope my pictures of the stop signs made it to you.

ttfn,

Corey

Week 30 in El Salvador

July 12, 2010

Hey,

So I guess the rules have been changing for the whole world, because they are doing a revision on preach my gospel. Elder Clark also made up the new rule that we have to be with our companions for at least three changes. There have been a lot of good changes, things that I noticed should’ve been changed earlier, but the main problems are still not taken care of.

The ward is getting worse and worse, but we’ve been put in a new district, so we are working together more---before our district wasn’t even in our same ward, and we couldn’t do anything. The members aren’t helping us at all, or the other members, and even the classes don’t work like they should, so we have more work to do with they members, but can’t leave the new people off the plate, so thanks to the ward, our workload has been doubled.

So, interesting story----so we know this guy named Victor, that we have been teaching and helping. We’ve known that him and his friends have all had problems with alcohol, and we’ve been trying to help them out, and they all have been progressing well until now. One night he was crying outside his house, and we came up to him. His problems with alcohol had created more problems with his life, but he’s been wanting to quit his addiction first. So we started analyzing the problems, setting goals, making solutions, and looking for alternatives---the whole gig and process. He told us that before he had once quit drinking for eight months, so we asked him how he did it. He said Suero---here its like this nasty vitamin drink, and I’ve had to take it many times when I was sick----usually it comes in pouches, and you mix it with water or soda. But we were like “ok, let’s go get you some suero and you can start tonight, and we’ll call you or visit you every day to check how you’re doing.” Anyways, he got really excited, so we started heading to the tienda, to buy some Suero. While we were walking, he switched directions, and said that there was another tienda, that sells Suero in bottles. We get there, and it’s an alcohol shop, and he asked for suero. All I see on the shelves is vodka, so I jumped in---“hey, this is the vitamin stuff right?”---yes---“No alcohol”---“no this is clean, no alcohol.” So they bring him a bottle. Vodka, of course. I freaked out “No! what are you doing? Put it back!” and I grabbed him, and we took him around the corner, and told him that vodka is alcohol also. He said no, that he mixes it with water and sugar, and then there is no more alcohol. We sat there explaining to him for ten minutes again, the commandments, the effects, and the goals.... so he finally said he would try to quit drinking, and he said one minute. He went back to the tienda, bought the bottle, shoved it in his pocket, the whole time thinking that we didn’t see anything, and walked away high chested, and he comes up to us---“ok, thanks for teaching me about goals, I’m gonna start quitting tonight.”-----Well, that’s about the closest we’ve gotten to a commitment with him. So we decided to look for more people. Knocked 60 doors, absolutely nothing. So that’s still our goal. I don’t know how well you can see the map, but there are 28 streets. We started knocking (because the members don’t give us references) at street one. This is the second time around, and we are at 15th street again. It’s a huge change form Zacatecoluca, because over there, nearly everyone would let us in, and we could talk and do little service projects, and nearly everyone would start and keep commitments.

So, you can look on the google map again---across the highway from Bosques de la Paz, there is a little train line. It’s abandoned, but there are houses there too. It’s the same place with the grim reaper graffiti that I sent the other week. Anyways, there was a huge gang meeting---like 60 people, all in a circle and some sitting on the rooftops. We stayed with some members until they left.

Well that’s about it---things are going well—I’ll try to send some pics. I hope everyone is doing well, and I’m glad that dad has someone to help him out. Tell Karlie that’s the way to do it, if you aren’t getting stuck, then you aren’t having fun. Tell Isaac that he should send me some pics of his work.

Salud!!!

---Corey

Week 29 in El Salvador

Hey,

Changes were today. I’m still in the same area, with the same companion. My district has changed a little, but I think it will work out a little easier to work in both areas. My last district was nice, but the other missionaries were a long ways away. I don’t know if you know the parents of Elder X. He’s sick, and had to call them the other day, but couldn’t from his phone, so the district leader told me to get a hold of them. He’s got stomach problems, and was in danger of leaving for his stomach, but I think he’s good now. Since your already talking to the whole world of moms up there, if you want to get a hold of them, their names are ....

Hey, so if you got this month’s addition of the Ensign, there is a picture of the stake of Ilopango at the temple in Guatemala. Anyways in the upper left corner, there is the mom and dad of the Sorianoz family...she is the only one in the picture with her hand on the shoulder of her husband...they used to help us with the laundry, and we are good friends. He works in shipment boats on the coast...anyway, that’s my stake.

President Clark came to the mission. He’s from the second quorum of the seventy. He’s changed a lot of stuff, and the mission is in a confused process of changing---I think---but things are weird right now.

The ward is bugging me right now. Between the members there is a lot of enmity. Almost everyone gossips about everyone else--even between relatives. It’s hard to set up times to work with them, because some of the families refuse to work with other members, and other families refuse to work with investigators, and the ones that can help us don’t have time.

Happy Fourth of July! ---It feels kinda weird to celebrate here right now, but I was thinking of busting out an American flag for their 5th of September.

So, I got money this month, so all is well.

Well, I’m doing well... how is Dad doing? So are Megan and Gideon staying at the house now? Tell Gideon that I’m pretty sure the frame is tweaked a little. How is Louis doing? Has Ian sent in his papers yet? --Tell him he needs send his preference in for El Salvador, we need him down here.

Hey, thanks again.

Corey