A Bumpy Week

Hey familia, ¿Cómo están? ¿cómo le fue está semana? Enough of the Spanish back to English!!!!!!!
I will start this email with what happened last Monday night because well not to sugar coat it but I had to do some serious chastising and behavior correction . . .After planning Monday night I told my comp we had to talk about the day we had Basically I told him we both signed a paper saying we would follow every mission rule because those rules are our protection. I told him I am trying to obey with exactness because I know the Lord will bless me. When Pres. Chavez asks am I obeying with exactness I can say truthfully YES. It was hard for me to say this but I knew it had to be done.
It is a bummer that he is senior comp and I only have 4 months in the mission and have to be the grown up. I have heard the he has had trouble before. The week started off bad but it got better. I just get so mad but, my companion has been better. I still have to remind him at times.....maybe this is why I am his companion to help him be obedient.
Well anyway here is some big news to brighten the mood. I have a baptism this Saturday the 31st. I am excited her name is Alejandra, she is 12 years old and passed her interview on Sunday. Elder Palacio is baptizing her which is okay with me. She is super excited and ready. I am happy about that. The work is picking up a little bit here thanks to the assistants. We did a intercambio with them after interviews on Friday and they help boost our excitement and get the work moving along. We found 10 investigators this week and have 12 baptismal dates. I just have to be bolder and speak even if I don’t understand. My speaking is getting really good but understanding is moving slower than molasses on a cold day. Hopefully it will get better soon. I study and read everything Spanish I can get my hands on these days. Pamphlets, scriptures a lot and Preach my Gospel of course. I am surprised to say it but I love to read when it is the only thing you can do in your free time you start to like it a lot. All the missionaries are surprised when I say I only have 4 months in the mission since I speak so well, but then I tell them I can’t understand they just laugh. President Chavez in my interview said he could see the change in confidence and my language skills during my interview....he just said to be patient work hard and have faith. He is a great Mission President, I really admire him and his love for the work...and the fact that he can speak English very well...Hermana Chavez on the other hand thinks she can speak English but cannot.
I really enjoyed my package. I am afraid to eat the candy because I know I will eat them all because they will taste so good. I don’t want to put weight back on, but I will start on them this week. I have a bunch of pictures but can’t upload them from my camera; you all will have to wait a bit longer.
There are only 15 primary kids in my branch. We had the Primary program this Sunday. They all gave talks but only sang one song and none of them knew the words. I can’t remember what song it was though. It is hard enough for me to understand adults when they speak and kids are even harder. There are only 4 active young men and about 5 young women....small branch but our attendance is up to about 65 every Sunday which is good. One of our new converts that was baptized the before I got here, Nick Miguel is 12 years old and is getting the priesthood next Sunday and that is super cool. He is a great kid. Nick and his sister were baptized but their mom and dad cannot because they are not married. They cant get married because they don’t have residency in Chile yet (they are from Peru) so they have to wait 5 years....3 years more, they are basically Mormon already.
Well I am good. It is a battle everyday with my companion but he is my companion for a reason. This is the way the Lord wants it to be. Sometimes there isn’t an answer to all things. We just have to wait it out and look back at the end of the road. Hopefully when we get there we are a better and stronger person.
Time crawls by for me but I am trying to enjoy every long second of it. The more I focus on the work the more I will be blessed. We just have to push pull fight and struggle through stuff in life. It is all for our good.....it wouldn’t be called life if it was easy, but it sure makes it easier when we are doing what is right.
I hope you all are doing absolutely awesome and are nice and busy with your lives and callings. Have fun all work and no play well!.....it just is no fun. Got to work hard, study hard and best of all play hard. I love you all so much and miss you all a bunch too. Not a day goes by I don’t think about you all....even through this bipolar weather we are having hot one day cold the next then 3 days of rain, it cannot make up it’s mind of what season it is. I love you so much you are always in my thoughts and prayers. I pray that you all will have the gift and interpretation of tongues because one day in the far future I will speak and write in Spanish too.
cuidense, les vayan bien, The work of the Lord must go on and so must I.
Love Eric