Cockroaches!

Hey Family!

So this week has been pretty crazy. The Olivarez family with the seven kids have some cousins that moved in with them who´s father we had previously contacted, and they are actually a family of twelve. So we found a house with twenty one people that had all asked to hear more about the gospel! But sadly, they don´t seem to really want to let us in to share a message. I was pretty bumbed about it because at first the parents were just never home, but pretty soon we realized they´ve just been making up excuses. So we probably won´t get too far with them. After that things started looking a little rough. We had two baptisms planned for two primary aged girls, but neither of them could get permission from their parents! Our list of progressing investigators was starting to look pretty short. But, we kept working, and didn´t loose faith. We found a pretty large amount of investigators in the streets that are all super excited about the gospel. I´d like to tell you in particular about Jose Luiz and his wife Blanca. We found Jose on the street washing his car, and he invited us to come back and teach him. A couple days later as we were teaching the restoration, his wife Blanca who lives down the street (not uncommon here) showed up and asked him for the laundry. She then got mad at us, and said we should try to teach him the gospel because he´s not good enough and doesn´t deserve it and isn´t going to change. They then proceeded to argue (at the top of their lungs) for about forty minutes, each trying to prove to us that the other was at fault for the many problems their family has had. At one point I really thought it was going to turn into a smackdown. We kept reading them scriptures and trying to calm them down, and finally they cooled off. We invited them both to come to church, and they both ended up coming. They loved sacrament meeting, and they got to see some baptisms after church. That night we taught their family for the first time, and they all want to be baptized. We let them know that they need to make sure they have a testimony first, but our goal date is this Sunday. I´ve already found out that after a baptismal date is set, Satan is doing anything possible to stop it, so please pray for them to recognize the importance of having the gospel of Jesus Christ in their lives. Reuben Carmen and Maria are all doing great. Reuben and Carmen got the priesthood yesterday, and I really think Reuben will be a stake president before too long. We also found a woman named Beatrice that is supre excited about the gospel, and already seems to have learned alot about it before we even found her, just from praying to recieve answers through the Holy Ghost (it´s really pretty insane how well the Lord has prepared her).

So this week we had a war break out in our house. Us four, against about a trillion cockroaches. They´re all pretty big. Luckily there have only been about ten or twelve that have made it into the house, but outside in the back there´s quite a colony. We have a sink in the back outside and they´ve all been living under the sink and in the pipes and stuff. There are also some old pots and pans out there that we never use. A bunch of them were gathered in a pot so we lit some papers on fire and threw them in with the cockroaches then put the lid on with just enough space for the fire to stay alive but to keep them all inside. It´s all starting to get a bit out of hand.

One thing that´s awesome here is that the buses are all privately owned. All the drivers have their buses fixed up pretty sweet. The other night we took one home that had a bunch of black lights in it with some pretty sweet toys and decorations in the front. It was pretty awesome. There are also a ton of musicians that just get on a bus and sing or play for a while to make a little bit of cash. The other day there was a blind man with a karaoke machine that was a super good singer. It´s pretty cool because they all sing about the Savior and stuff so we don´t have to worry about any innappropriate lyrics to ignore or anything like that.

The people we´ve been teaching live right by a huge market. Every day I get two apples and two mangos for the total cost of what would be about eighty cents in the U.S. I´ve really been loving the food here. Yesterday we ate at the bishop´s and the meal was just chicken in an Italian sauce with beans and garlic rice and tortillas and it was incredibly delicious. I don´t understand how they make such simple food taste so good.

Gram- I got your dear elder at the start of last week and I loved it. I definitely agree with what you said about learning things in life and relying on the Lord. One thing I´ve learned tons about is the many different ways the Atonement can help me get over my less admirable qualities and strive to be more like Him. That´s awesome about gramp´s flowers that he made. I´m glad to hear he´s been having a good time at the school. Love you gram.

Bam- I got your dear elders also. Thanks for keeping me updated on the fam and all. That´s great that we live so close now and you can just come on down for dinner or whatever whenever you want and we can visit you anytime. I got your package as well which was awesome. I can find milky ways and snickers here but they´re not a very good price, and there´s not really any reeses or kit kats or anything like that so it was sweet to have some good old American candy! I love you Bam. Thanks for your support.

Egans- I got your dear elder and I love hearing about the baby on the way. I love the name too by the way. My companion has actually told me numerous times (he has a pretty bad short term memory) that he´s going to name his first kid Trey, so he was super stoked to hear about that too. Thanks for the stories about Evan and Drew, I love hearing stories about the little cousins. I can´t believe Evans already so concerned about impressing the ladies with his fresh breath. What a little stud.

Dig- Yes they did think da bomb was pretty impressive in the MTC, haha. And as a matter of fact the UFC elder did cry a little from it. As far as your question about if people have told me to get away from their property and stuff, no I haven´t really seen any of that, but people don´t really have yards here or anything and all the houses are fenced off pretty good. I have had some pretty crazy experiences already though, and I´ve been writing all about them in my journal. I´ll be sure to tell you about whatever crazy ones you want to hear after my mission! That´s sweet that you got to do all that stuff at scout camp. I remember those good old days. Shotgun was my favorite, and Tanner was always the best at the knife throwing stuff. That´s too bad you got sick from the fritos. In spanish if you call someone a frito that means they´re lazy. Well I hope you´re feelin better Dig. I love getting your e-mails dig I think they´re hilarious. I met a kid in the stake who looks alot like you and he´s funny too. It´s sweet to find people that remind me of home. Well anyway, thanks for helpin me to laugh a little each week diggy-o. I love ya!

Shash- That stinks about how you hit your eye! I hope it´s feeling better. It sounds like your sleep over was pretty sweet with your new friend. I´m glad your having alot of fun in the new house and everything. I love you slooshby.

Mom- That´s awesome about Fui´s call! New York will be sweet. Tell him I said congrats! I have been getting the dear elders and packages and stuff. I can´t wait for that package to get here. By the way I still haven´t found out a way I can get pictures to you yet. I really need a usb hookup for the camera. I´m excited for you to get all the pictures up and stuff to make the house complete. I´m glad things keep getting better. I love hearing from you mom, and I use things that you´ve taught me every day to help the people here. The knowledge of the gospel really is the greatest gift like you said, and I really can´t even put into words how lucky I am to have had parents that raised me in the gospel. I definitely feel the support of your prayers. There´s no way the results we´ve seen could ever come about with out all of help we get from the Lord. I love you mom.

Denny- That bike activity at scouts sounds like it was pretty fun! I´m glad your having a blast with your new friends. That´s sweet about your soccer goals! Keep up the good work! I played soccer today but I didn´t make any goals. Love you Denny-o

Nay- Yes, we too have to shower with buckets. Our water boiler is broken so we put an iron in a bucket of water and it actually heats it up pretty fast. It´s really not that inconvenient, but it´ll be weird to come home to fully functioning bathrooms in a couple years. It sounds like you´ve been having a blast lately. That´s awesome. I´m glad that Sam guy is so cool. He better be if he´s gonna be hangin out with my little sister. I say that alot I know but still. I know what you mean about the time thing. Time is something we definitely don´t have enough of here. And don´t worry so much about impressing people! The only opinion that matters is the Lord´s, and He always sees your full potential. I love you Nay.

Dad- Yes I did actually read an article just before I left about Brian Johnson. That´s pretty sweet. I really want you all to record the games for me while I´m gone. Ya I´m pretty sure you found the house. We actually live downstairs and the other companionship lives upstairs. I definitely know what you mean about the power of prayer. It guides every part of my day. I don´t know what I would do without it. I love you Dad.

I love you all!

Elder Dallas Robert Aguilar