November 17, 2010 Email

hey fam!

don't worry about me! i'm doing great. we moved into a new apartment and it's really cool. i have everything that i need. i MIGHT need to ask you to send me my electric blanket, but i don't think i'll need it for like another month. we have a pretty good heater system in our current apartment. some of the other elders in older apartments don't have it as good as i do unfortunately. thanks for the emergency money dad! i'll probably buy a few wool socks, but in my last apartment i found like 3 pairs in a drawer and i just took those haha. we'll see when the REAL winter comes how i'm feeling.

 

i'm glad that you guys have been keeping busy. everything sounds really fun with the FHE group and everything. i really would like to do a lot more service things when i get back home. we have a really awesome family in the ward that is so generous. they do not focus on themselves, but on how they can help others. instead of buying themselves new things, they find ways to donate money, or they go and plant trees in the neighborhood. it's neat. but anyway i was talking to some elders and it's going to be hard to come back home if we don't have something to do! like going to school or working right away. because when you are busy it helps you to keep active and happy. work really does bring happiness! as long as you aren't over-working yourself.

 

the work is going well. my comp and i went tracting and it always seems like the last house is the one to actually let us in! haha but this woman let us come in and teach her. and the lesson was AMAZING the spirit was so strong and she started crying in the first vision. it was really cool because i could feel the spirit working inside me. i can't really explain how powerfully it's presence was. we always have the spirit there when we are teaching someone, but this was stronger than usual, probably the most strongest on my mission. i really think that she is an ellect person from God. she truly has a lot of faith and said that she wants to continue learning and see if she can get an answer to her prayers like joseph smith did. we explained to her how her answer would more likely come, but it all went really well. and she accepted to be baptized! we set a date for this december :) and we hope to begin teaching her family this week. 

 

lazaro is still progressing too. we set his baptismal date back, because he wanted to make his own goal. so december 4th is what we're looking at.

 

i love you all. thanks for all your prayers and emails. i miss you but i'm thankful to be here.

:) love

e. mUnOZ

 

November 11, 2010

hello familia!

 

well, things here are going well. we had transfers and i'm going to be staying in the same area with the same companion. this is three transfers together! i've never been with another companion more than one! i'm enjoying it though. he's a great guy. maybe a little bit trunky, but he's still working so that's great. sometimes him and elder filipi (in our district) make me a little bit trunky haha but i'm doing good. time is going by so fast! we moved apartments, but in the same area. the one we have now is smaller, but it's nicer. my companion and i re-arranged things and it's SWEET. we even bought a new (not ripped and moldy) shower curtain! it's got a big green tree frog on it. haha i like it.

 

well i am loving being in chicago. the weather this week has been a great blessing. 60's all week. i'm scared cuz i think next week it's going to start dropping again! but that's the life in chicago. we have been doing really good on our first lessons here. the mission has been stressing on teaching the first in a short 15-minute spirit packed lesson. and include a bap-invitation. and i love it. i think our teaching skills are constantly improving. i really like teaching. and lately I'VE been the one to invite them to be baptized, and it's so spiritual. i love it. it's cool because i really feel a lot closer to my purpose now that we are doing that better. we did it before, but i don't feel like we were as consistant.

 

lazaro is doing well, but we're going to push his baptismal date back a little bit. he wasn't able to come to church this past sunday, AND this weekend there are a lot of schedule conflicts with him, the bishop, the ward mission leader. so we're going to wait a little while. we want to make sure that he is ready before he gets in the water!

 

the other day, because we had to move so suddenly, we didn't get to do our morning studies. we had to move into our new apartment and shut down ours (we used to have 2 companionships covering this same area, but now it's just my comp and i). so we were packing and getting ready for other missionaries to come with the moving trailer. and i must tell you all, my day felt so much different! especially when we were trying to teach and everything we missionaries do. i didn't read my scriptures that day and it was a tremendous difference in how my day felt. it's hard to describe in words. we teach people all the time that there are 3 basic things we must do so that we can stay strong and endure to the end. 1.go to church every week 2.pray every day and 3.read the scriptures daily. i hope that you are all finding time to read every single day. and to constantly keep a prayer in your heart. because these things can make a world of difference.

 

i love you all and hope the best for you! i pray for you all daily!

e. MuNOz