October 2011

October 5, 2011

hey there fam!

that's cool that annie told you about the application for a scholarship. i'm gonna need it! yeah it's going to be down until oct 17 so that kind of stinks. but it'll work out. so can you get a copy of my high school transcript and send one to me as well? thanks. and i'll  be asking my mission president for a recommendation soon.

guess what? josh, annies brother, is going to serve his mission in Louisville, KY!! guess what? you know the delgado family that you've talked to before? that's where their daughter is serving too! so he's going to meet her i'm sure! isn't that crazy? small world. i've talked to Hermana Delgado on both Christmas and Mothers day because she called the house when i was having dinner with the family. haha i was serving in her ward a few months before she left for the mission field. cool stuff...

wow! so dad and jeremy are in the bishopric? crazy. i don't know anyone anymore. how many bishops have changed since i've been gone? i thought bishop jackson has been my bishop this whole time! what's going on!? haha i don't even know who bishop doly or fulbright are... however the latter name sounds familiar.

well thanks for my birthday package! i loved every bit of it. i've been wearing those sweet pj bottoms nightly (don't worry i wash them!) and the shades are really cool. of course the candy arrived JUST in time for general conference weekend haha and now it's almost all gone... and i'm really happy about the new journal, that even has my name engraved. haha ya'll are the best. i love you all a ton!

well, i recieved so much revelation during conference. it's the greatest spiritual feast ever. man i can't wait to actually go and BE THERE next year for conference. i'm going to do my best to go. i'm not sure if i told you but there is a family here that wants me to go and meet up with them for general conference. they are an awesome family. guatemaltecos! i really enjoyed the talk by Boyd K. Packer. he really reminded me of the spiritual war that we are in and the need to strengthen myself against evil. going along those lines, i loved the talk by sister dalton about being a great father and priesthood holder for your kids. i like that both these speakers talked about how it's not only very important for ourselves to be worthy of the Spirits protection, but it's something vital for my future children who will be growing up in such a moral-decaying society. and President Monson is amazing. he is so strong in spirit and still has such a great sense of humor. oh i love that man. it was very exciting to hear about the new temples and also about the new temple fund! i think that's an excellent idea! i can't wait to help contribute to it.

i love you all so much. i know that this gospel is true. and i love it. i love the peace and happiness that the gospel of Jesus Christ brings to our lives. i know that we have a very special purpose being here on the earth. and i know that our Heavenly Father wants us to succeed in our endeavors, and we CAN! as long as we put Him first in our lives.

love,

elder derek  munoz

October 12, 2011

hey there!

 

i had a great week and a great birthday thank you very much! 22 years. man i'm so old, wise and mature right?? ;) thanks for the cake. the other elders and i loved it.  can you believe that caleb is almost home?! tomorrow he gets there! blows my mind. i miss him a ton. i hope you all can give him a big hug for me. i think he's grown a lot too. haha he keeps telling me that i should be an awesome missionary but then he says, but don't turn into a robot! dont be lame! hahaha i love him.

 

thanks for your testimony mom. it's always nice to hear the testimonies of my family members. it makes me so grateful to know that my family is strong in the gospel and trying to keep on the right path in this life. wow i don't know what i would do without all of ya'lls great influences! i know my Father in Heaven has given me countless blessings and i am eternally grateful. know that i love you!

 

well i got transfered! wait wait, no i didn't. but my comp did. i'm now going to be serving with an elder findlay. i've served around him before and i'm excited to now be his companion. we're going to get along fine. today me and him are going to the dollar store and we're going to decorate Elder Barney's apartment. he's been serving in the ward with me the past few months and we're really good friends now. he's training! so we're going to get balloons and write, "it's a boy!" and stuff like that. haha because who you train is your "son" in the mission. so that should be fun today.

 

you should be happy to know that i have a pretty determined goal to write daily in my journal the last few months that i am out here. it's about 4 months til i get home. i'll be sure to write details like you always say, and reflect a lot. i'm trying to "live in the moment" mom like you always used to say.

 

love you,

elder munoz

October 19, 2011

my dearest mother,

 

howdy!! that's awesome that his whole family was able to speak! way cool. i can't wait to see caleb. it's killin me! haha i miss him. it's so great to hear that everyone is doing well. everyone has their own different callings now which are pretty cool. i'm sure sometimes its demanding. but that is so neat that everyone seems happy and enjoying what God has given them. one of the closing testimonies that i heard yesterday, the elder talked about letting God change him month by month. i think it's so cool and important that we look to the future with faith, and open ourselves to allow the Lord to change who we are. he wants us to continually progress, and never plateau.

 

HAHHAA hilarious story about the dog door. haha wow you all are crazy... i miss it! what fun.

 

so my comp and i had an AWESOME and long conversation last night. well, he had a lot of things on the mission that he bought that weren't the most... obedient. it just was not allowing him to focus the way he could. the mission really pushes you in many different ways and sometimes its hard to deal with it all. well we had an awesome conversation and we decided to have an experiment for this week. we boxed up anything and everything that might distract our thoughts or our hearts from the work and we're going to see what changes. i'm excited! blessings are bound to pour out upon us. i'm trying to push him, but not too hard cuz i don't want to have a reverse effect happen. but anyways he's a great kid and i love him a lot. i know that he's going to do great things on his mission. i'm really excited for him.

 

so yesterday we had a zone conference with elder ellis from the 70 and it was really cool. i learned a lot. i know that i need to be a lot better at exercising my faith in the Lord. he encouraged us not to be praying to find SOMEONE to baptize, but instead, a FAMILY to baptize. so that's what we are going to begin to do. i'm stoked.

 

well, we are also going to have a baptism this saturday. i'm really excited for Karla! elder swenson, my old companion, interviewed her and said that she was way prepared and ready for it. that made me feel so good. the mission is awesome. seeing Karla go from "not believing" to being prepared for baptism is just the coolest blessing! ah... i love it.

 

i love you all. take care!!!

elder munoz

October 26, 2011

hello there!

no problem for the letter! i thought that you might like a little surprise. thanks for the prayers! thinsg are going well with my investigators. i'm happy for them. it's hard sometimes... because you just want the best for them and sometimes they don't want it. we gotta continue strong tho and help them out as much as we can. many of the conference magazine talks that i have are aobut families and doing your best to help guide your kids on the right path even tho sometimes they may wander. you just have to do your best to love and guide them the rightg way. i guess that's similar to what i have to do with the people i teach.

thanks for sharing your journal exerpt with me. i really liked it. i'm so grateful for how much my testimony and LOVe for the scriptures has developed. they provide such greater strength than i every thought. it's awesome isn't it? i have found that the gospel has provided such a great barrier for me. between me and the world. it provides such a protection that makes me never want to lose it. i feel so happy and comfortable when i have that with me.

well things are going well. we had a baptism! i told dad all about how stressful it was.... hahaha so ask him to fill you in. the good thing is that it went through and she's doing great. horay! i know that sometimes satan tries to throw us off course, but as long as we trust in the Lord and strive to do what He has asked, things will be okay. he wants us to succeed.

so mom when is the family reunion?? i want to be there but i may be in school if i'm going to the summer term at byu. give me the low-down. well i apologize this letter was short. i love you tons! we'll talk again next week ;)

your missionary,
elder munoz