Hey Fam!

How is everybody? I'm doing well. This week has been pretty good. We had some good experiences.

We've got a couple new investigators that are pretty awesome. One (Armando) is really struggling from alcoholism, but he has a broken heart and a contrite spirit and really wants to change, so it'll be neat to watch him as he's healed through the Atonement of Christ. The other new investigator (Eliseo), was actually baptized like thirty years ago, but never confirmed, and he never went back to church either. But he's got some pretty serious family problems right now and is looking for some help from the Lord to help his daughter raise his granddaughter a little better. He's an artist, and makes some pretty sweet stuff. Everything he makes is one of a kind, and he sells them to vendors who then sell them in souvenir shops. It's actually a pretty cool job, and he's been very wealthy from it in the past, but right now work is hurting a little. He promised us that he was going to come to church on Sunday, but he didn't show up, so after the sacrament I grabbed one of the priests and we took a taxi to Eliseo's house to bring him to church. When he opened the door he looked pretty surprised to see us, and I just asked how he was. He then begun to explain to me that he couldn't go to church because he had a big order for some plates he had made that were just drying from their paint job, and he had to get them to the vendor ASAP. Then he started going on about how he has faith but his family has to eat, and he can't just sacrifice everything like that to come to church, and said that it was all just too much. I asked him how long it would take for the paint to dry, and he said about forty minutes. I told him we'd have him back home before then. He said ok so we took off to the church. It was fast and testimony meeting, and the testimonies that were born seemed to be exactly what Eliseo needed to hear. He was really paying attention to what everyone was saying and seemed to be pretty comfortable there. After the service he talked to us and said that he knows alot of people that were there at church, and knows that they go through trials just like everyone else, but that for some reason they all just seem to have a great peace about them, and a light in their eyes, and made the comment that that's what he wants in his life right now. It was a pretty neat experience.

Elder Walker played the piano in church. He went up to start playing after the congregation had already begun to sing. He began to play, only to find that we had all started on a different note than what the song normally begins on. He picked out the note we were on, and just started playing the song in a different note. I was pretty impressed. Especially because he started to learn piano a year ago. I guess that's why he's going to major in music.

On Friday we went to a conference for district leaders and it was super sweet. President Jespersen taught us a ton of sweet stuff about faith, and told us some sweet stories about his mission. I loved what we learned and we had a good time. But I got car sick on the bus as usual.

Mom- I am working on overcoming the natural man, and I read a talk by Elder Holland recently from back when he was the President of byu, called The Inconvenient Messiah, and it helped me alot. I highly recommend it. That was an interesting story about Fui. That'll be a good one to tell in the future, especially when he sees that part of New York on movies and stuff. Thanks for letting me know about the mail stuff. I'm sending letters to the grandparents for the birthdays of Bam and Gram and to say thanks to Grandpa Dennis for the Christmas contribution etc. I'm also sending a little note to Bam that I wrote a long time ago and found today, so it's like a year late. Thanks for everything Mom, I love you, have a great week!

Dad- Thanks for the clip from the ensign. That's some pretty good advice, and it'll definitely help me out. I just need to keep losing myself in the work and finding joy in the journey. Thanks Dad. Love ya, have a great week!

Dig- Sweet job on your pin Dig-man! Sounds like that was super sweet. And that's awesome that you're varsity now, especially cause by the time your in ninth grade you'll be super pro! Love ya Dig, have a great week!

Shash- What did you do for your science project? I want to hear all about it ok? I sure love ya Sloosh, have a great week!

Nay- That would be so sweet if you and your friends got on to Ellen! haha. That's cool that you took that tour of Utah State. My comp use to live there, and go there. He liked it alot. How's school and stuff going? Love ya Nay, have a great week!

Den- Sweet job on your B ball game Denny o! Sounds like you're pro material, just keep practicing. It's like my Mission President says- If we all practiced the piano every day our whole lives, we'd all be really good at piano, and it's the same with everything else. haha. Sounds like the Superbowl was pretty sweet. Love you Den, have a great week!

Love you all!

Elder Aguilar