WHAAAOW

that is how they say whoa here, "WHAAAAOW". i just soaked up those emails like a sponge this week. bomb--dot--com.
YAY more missionaries! that just rocks my socks! megan and kimi way to go!!!! tell kimi que ojala que te vaya super bien con tus papeles para la mision. pero, espero que nos vemos antes que te vaya po! quiero hablarte antes en enspañol! chuta, deben mandarte a la mejor mision en todo el mundo aqui en chile rancagua! que BAKAN seria!
tell those elders at home (and rm's in arizona) HOLA for me! tell them to work their little tootsies into the ground. i don't wanna be hearin no whinin from loosing drivin priveleges. that's not a real mission are you kidding me? ha ha ha we don't even have bikes. man we be out here hand-washing our clothes, living in the winter time without central heating, walking everywhere on the road and dirt--need i go on? elder kay has got it cush. so he better work hard! Where much is given, much is expected!
man, i can't hear cedar city without thinking about college. i want to go back SO BAD after da mish. and i want to art it up SO BAD. the longer i have been away from art classes and painting and entering shows the more i am dying to get back into it. it's so funny because all those things i took for granted just kill ya on the mission. like alex was saying about piano and how he wants to take classes from richard marshall again. (BOYS--and hope-- don't let things slip through your fingers! take advantage of the opportunities and blessings you have!) i am kicking myself for not really developing the talents i have like piano and singing and art. in the branch i am in right now they don't have anyone that can play the piano. they have just been singing without any music every sunday. so i got a hold of a book of simplified hymns in spanish and started practicing and i played for sacrament meeting a few times. but when hermana larson came in she saved us because she plays like alex or amanda stephens, she is pro. but the relief society has asked that we teach hymns so they can know and sing more than the more popular hymns. so we have been singing and teaching some cool ones. i LOVE the hymns in spanish. there are some that we have always sung in english before that never meant much to me before, but now we sing them in spanish and during our lessons in peoples homes and it hits me so much harder. "divina luz", and "paz calmense" and "señor, te necesito" y "acompañame" are some of my favs. it's awesome! i have learned to direct music out here too. i did that almost every sunday the last change in my old sector and here i do it for relief society. i love it. but i just think to myself, "WHY wasn't i doing this before???" BAH. and painting. oh I MISS ART. so much.
SO, here is what i am thinking. i have been throwing this around in the back of my mind for some time. i know i still have 6 months left of the mission, (and NO i am NOT trunky in the least, believe you me!) but if i want to go to school when i get home i have to start that whole process now. i have prayed about it and thought about it and talked to my comps and i want to go to utah state or weber when i get home. somewhere close where i can take maybe 3 or 4 classes and work and study. i am going to ask pres. macarthur for permission to look online for grants and scholarships (he gives missionaries applying for school an hour a week to go to a ciber to do all that). i figure i have nothing to lose. i can only go if i can find some grants and scholarships, but i might as while try. i hope it works out! i have been dying to go back to study agriculture and art so i can get some skillths in horsemanship and livestock. i'm afraid la hermana hunsaker has talked me into livestock keeping as well. i am sold! ha ha. don't worry hope, i will have cows and chickens and ducks and cats and dogs and horses gallore! har har har. and a garden....
ok, enough of that. just life-changing decisions....
oh MAN i am so happy jill and terry have been so comforted by that song. it is my favorite. it comes from 3 nephi 22:7-11 and DandC 121 i think. that scripture passage from 3 nephi is one of my top favs. i have used it a lot in the mission. i have that song on a cd that is a sunday music mix. hey mom, have you sent that yet? i can't believe i didn't bring it. i have a prince of egypt soundtrack too that i would love to listen to. if you could find those two and send them, that would be great.
this past week has been great. some highlights:
did service on thursday with the two elders in our sector. we helped this part-member family at their house. they live in a makeshift home they put together, and they took it all apart piece by piece to move it and make it bigger. the just took out all the nails and had a huge pile of wood on their land. we helped them move all this wood and other random material like foam board around to clear up the yard while they were nail wooden boards to the house to complete it. it's amazing how they work here. it reminds me so much of grandpa actually. nothing goes to waste. even when they tear down a house they don't throw anything out.
we had completos (big hotdogs) thursday night as well to celebrate my year mark. we went after the end of the day. me and hermana larson were headed to the completo joint when all the power went out over the whole street all of a sudden. we were passing a bar when it happened and we could hear all these peole talking and coming out and we started to run. we ran all the way up the street trying not to trip on things because we couldn't see a thing. we got up to where the elders were and they were about to walk us home when the power came back on. whew. it scared me so bad though. argh!
we also had a lot of visits with members this week. i have thought a lot about what you said, dad, about how it isn't always bad to visit members. from my experience with hermana bonilla i didn't want to be a slacker missionary and we hadn't been visiting members at all. but this week we decided to get to know them more and be there for them and to build relationships with them so that they can help us as well. we actually received 10 references because of it and we have 3 days this coming week where we have scheduled to go out and do visits with the members we visited. WOOOOT! there have been a lot of members that we have found that actually really need our visits and our love. it's been an eye-opening experience! and we still did really well with everything else too.
well, i have to go. i will send some pics.
thanks for everything. i love you MORE THAN YOU KNOW!!!!!!!!!
samsam