It’s so cool to see the change in the people’s lives as they follow through with their commitments with us and with the Lord...

November 16, 2009

Hola Family!
Hey family- how are you all? It sounds like you are all doing great from the email. I am really looking forward to reading Julia and Janae’s blessings. Anyway so I had a really interesting week. Lol First I’ll tell you about the good things, such as our investigators and their progress! First, Jose Madina. Jose is doing great, ok so after church last Sunday he has been doing a lot better. We visited him on Tues, I think it was, and asked him how is reading was going. He told us that he read everything that we asked. He showed us his scriptures, and they were marked all over the place. He pulled out this marker that he bought that had 10 different colors. He marked all of his favorite scriptures, and that was more than half. It was cool because he was so excited. Really he had this big smile on his face as he read all the scriptures that he really likes. He sister who is already a member was sitting there just so happy. We visited him a few more times this week and he has been reading and he loves it. His baptism is still on the 28th. Then there is Rafeal Barre, and he is also doing great. I forgot to tell you this, but he has a daughter that is a member. Actually, she is on a mission. So she is a member, but she is the only one in the family, but after this Sat. her dad we be baptized. On Sunday he will receive the Holy Ghost and be the second in his family. We are still working on the mom. Like I said, she is really Catholic, but I think it is just a matter of time. Rafeal is so excited also for his baptism, he wrote his daughter and told her and she couldn’t be any happier. He is so excited, it is awesome. I am also excited, am not going to lie about it. It’s so cool to see the change in the people’s lives as they follow through with their commitments with us and with the Lord. They are always so happy and full of joy. So really it was a good week. Ok, so I gotta tell you about a few funny or cool things that happened to me this week. So the other day I woke up with a fat headache. I felt weak and I didn’t feel like going out. We took my temperature and I was fine to go out. So I took some pain reliever and we started out. The first place we went was this guy’s house who we have been trying to talk to forever. He is never home though and when he is he is always drunk. Anyway so he wasn’t home this time, so we turned to leave. The thing about his house is that he has stairs that are way steep. Like, the steepest ones I have ever seen. Anyway I started down the stairs and I got about halfway down when my foot slipped and I fell the rest of the way down. I fell like 10 steps and I did it with a lot of finesse, if you know what I mean. I made it look like I was snowboarding. Well lucky for me there was a fat metal door half open and half shut that stopped me. I slammed my head my arm and my knee into it. I had a fat bump on my head for like 5 days, I think it is finally gone. We went to a member’s house and they bandaged me up, but it was a good day. I had twice the headache that I did when I started the day and I felt like I was going to die. But I’m good now and I feel fine. When I get done with the mission I will either have a very hard head or be half retarded. Honestly, I have hit my head like 30 times in the buses. They are always packed and I run to get in there and I would say every other time I slam my head into the bar that runs along the top. It’s normally for people to hold on to, but for me its something to watch out for. Ok so I have another funny story. Ok so the other day me and my comp bought a lot of bread. We left it out over night on the table. When I got up in the morning I was so hungry so I went to eat the bread. I reached into the bag grabbed a little loaf and started eating. I took one bite when I felt something crawling on my hand. I looked down and there was like 20 little bug like things all over the bread and inside too. At first I was like ok that’s sick I just at like probably 10 in one bite. So I spit it out and threw the bread in the garbage. Then I realized that we didn’t have anymore food. So lol I picked up a new loaf with less bugs, picked them off and started eating. Lol after I had eaten I realized how sick that was, but it’s funny because you kind of get used to it. Lol there has been a lot of times that we see little bugs in our drinks or in our food and normally you just push them to the side. Then you say another blessing in your mind for the food to give you strength. Lol ok one more cool story. So I think it was two days ago all four of us woke up to like 5 or 6 gun shots in a row, right below our apartment. We heard people yelling outside and a car drive off. We never did find out what happened and it was kind of scary. But the scariest part for me was after the shots when I was trying to go back to sleep I was lying in my bed. I was lying there when I felt something crawl up my arm. I swiped at it and sat up in bed. I started looking for whatever it was when I felt it crawl up my neck and across my face. I practically knocked myself out trying to hit it off my face. I hate bugs, so I freaked out. I stood up and started shaking out my sheets. I found out that it was a cockroach about the size of my thumb. I tried smashing it, but it was way dark and they are way fast. It’s funny because you know after you have something like that happen to you in bed, every little itch or movement, you freak out. It was hard to fall asleep after that, but I think I eventually did. But ya those are the three things that I wanted to write to you about, that I thought were kind of different. Oh, so I had another comp exchange for one day and night. My comp for the time period was actually was one of the Zone Leaders. At first I was way scared because I thought it was a test and because he knows like 2 words in English. But I was able to actually communicate pretty well and I found out that he was way cool. It was funny because I was talking to him, asking what kind of music he liked and he pretty much liked all the stuff I did. Back at his apartment he had the soundtrack for Tarzan, and I forgot how good the music is. Hint hint- mom! Lol we were rockin out to Disney music. It was pretty funny. But ya some Disney music would by nice. But ya, so his sector was the same one that my companion got robbed in. It’s called the Izal or something like that. It was amazing, every single person practically that lived in the part of the town was black. They all live in huts made out of this bamboo stuff. Dad you know those metal sheets we would make forts out of? Those were the roofs over eveyone’s house there. A lot of them had no floors, just dirt. It was pretty amazing. If I ever go back or if I get called to a sector like that, I’ll buy a disposable camera and get some pics. It was really crazy, I wish you guys could see it. I still haven’t received the music- maybe tomorrow. I am really looking forward to that- thank you mom. Oh mom I found a place where I can burn my pics on to a CD for really cheap. Actually one of our investigators who works in a store said he could to it, so I’m thinking maybe this week or the next. Anyway I should probably rap this up. Mom I sent Lili another letter today, so if you could let her know that would be great. Anyway I am doing great here. I miss you guys all very much, like very much. I do have my first change this Sunday which is crazy. You are right time does go by quick. Lol Mom, Dad and everyone else, I love you more than ever and miss you even more. I’m looking forward to talking to you in a little over a month. LOVE YOU ALL!
With Love,
Elder Keables

To Taylor,
Taylor what’s up? So my mom told me that you are turning in your Eagle papers! That is way cool, congratulations! So it’s your birthday tomorrow- the big 18! I just want to write a quick letter to say Happy Birthday. That’s crazy man- Less that one year and you are going to have a mission call! Hey so I started writing a letter for you today and I’ll probably send it out next week or the one after, so you can be expecting that. Taylor, Happy Birthday again. I miss you, and I love you man! N.H. lol
Con Amor, Elder Keables