And A Happy New Year!
Monday, December 30, 2013
I
hope you all had as merry a Christmas as I did! It was great to see my
family again and to hear how much my younger brother's voice has
dropped. And saying goodbye wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was
going to be. In fact after I got off Skype with them, I felt invigorated
and had a new determination to be better and try harder, instead of
depressed and wishing I could go back to them.
We (Elder Carper and I) also had a chance to spend some time with some investigators on Christmas and make some German potatoes (which are basically funeral potatoes) and spread the Christmas cheer with them. They are really pressed for cash so that was our present to them.
On Friday we went on exchanges with Elder Angles and Gilles which was a blast! I got to go to the Spanish area and play the "dumb gringo" card a lot. What I found interesting was that when people learned that I didn't speak Spanish, they would use what little English they knew to try and include me. Unfortunately, I can't do the same for them: I know some Spanish words and I can pick up the gist of a conversation, but to try and speak it is above my pay grade at the moment. Though I am realizing more and more how convenient it would be to know Spanish out here, if nothing else to ask if they would want Spanish Elders to stop by. But there's still time to figure out the phrasing and I've been around Spanish Elders my whole mission and from the looks of things, I still will be at the rate the work is going.
In light of the New Year, I want to share President Uchtdorf's remarks last conference that I find very applicable to this time of year:
"If we see healthy eating and exercise as something only our doctor expects of us, we will likely fail. If we see these choices as who we are and who we want to become, we have a greater chance of staying the course and succeeding."
So set goals that you want, not ones that you feel you are required to do. When you change and improve yourself with a willing heart, then that change lasts longer than if you are compelled to change.
We (Elder Carper and I) also had a chance to spend some time with some investigators on Christmas and make some German potatoes (which are basically funeral potatoes) and spread the Christmas cheer with them. They are really pressed for cash so that was our present to them.
On Friday we went on exchanges with Elder Angles and Gilles which was a blast! I got to go to the Spanish area and play the "dumb gringo" card a lot. What I found interesting was that when people learned that I didn't speak Spanish, they would use what little English they knew to try and include me. Unfortunately, I can't do the same for them: I know some Spanish words and I can pick up the gist of a conversation, but to try and speak it is above my pay grade at the moment. Though I am realizing more and more how convenient it would be to know Spanish out here, if nothing else to ask if they would want Spanish Elders to stop by. But there's still time to figure out the phrasing and I've been around Spanish Elders my whole mission and from the looks of things, I still will be at the rate the work is going.
In light of the New Year, I want to share President Uchtdorf's remarks last conference that I find very applicable to this time of year:
"If we see healthy eating and exercise as something only our doctor expects of us, we will likely fail. If we see these choices as who we are and who we want to become, we have a greater chance of staying the course and succeeding."
So set goals that you want, not ones that you feel you are required to do. When you change and improve yourself with a willing heart, then that change lasts longer than if you are compelled to change.
I love you all and will talk to you in 2014!!!
Elder Cox
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| Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree! The little tree we sent Elder Cox for his apartment. |
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| Schmidt Tunnel |
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| Explanation of Schmidt Tunnel |
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| Panoramic view at the end of the tunnel - a dried lake bed. |
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| Another view of the dried lake bed. |
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| The light at the end of the tunnel. |
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| Elder Vargas being a "boss" while panning for gold. |
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