SWEATING ISN'T THE SAME

HEYLO!

Hey what up family, how's everyone doing?

Man, this week flew by... great week though. I feel like I've learned a ton, and been through a ton. Actually, it feels like someone's been beating me with a stick every day for several hours, and when I wake up in the morning it feels like I just laid down. I've been told once you enter this stage, you don't leave it. Haha. 19 months... no, but really, its good. I think this week I've started to understand really what it is I'm doing. Like, I've known intellectually that this is all important, but some things actually sank in better, and I'm seeing that this is eternally significant.

The baptisms were great. Thank you for your fasting and prayers - we didn't have 4 baptisms, just 2. Chantal y Carlos failed to purchase a marriage license, sooo.... we'll do that next Saturday instead. But Sinesio and Edith both came through. I've never seen anyone so excited to be baptized as Sinesio Vargas. He had everything planned out - he wanted it in a river, and to save a leaf from a nearby tree to remember, seal his baptisimal clothes in plastic and hang it in his closet forever, and have a picture of him coming up out of the water blown up huge on his living room wall... um, well, miracle, he settled with a baptisimal font, a program, and a picture of him in white. Funny guy, he feels like a good friend - he picked me to baptize him. It was a cool experience - I spent a long time beforehand preparing and studying what baptism really is about, and gained more of a testimony of it - it is the beginning of a path, a real resurrection of spirit, starting a new life. It was very cool to be able to do that for Sinesio - a very good service. Edith and Sinesio are both baptized, and will receive the gift of the Holy Ghost Sunday. Very cool.

We also had a zone conference, the first with President Olson. It was cool, we had a testimony meeting, and one Elder had, for medical reasons, began his mission in Finland, then to Florida, and then HERE to serve in Spanish. 3 missions, 3 languages. He testified that out of all of them, this mission is the best. The most growth, the most spiritual, and its just strong. It's weird. Utah? a MISSION? It seems weird at first. Some people call it a baby mission (which is ridiculous, there ARE no easy missions) but here it's a different kind of mission. From my personal experience, and from talking with older missionaries, it is probably one of the most psychologically demanding - you cannot serve here without a testimony. It's crazy - but I know that this mission is where I need to be. Believe it or not, there are people here who desperately need the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It feels kinda like entering a battlezone every time we step out the front door. But its cool.

I'm glad you got to go to the pageant. It sounds like a normal vacation - but really, you got to spend time together at least. Take advantage of that. I wish I'd done more of that on those trips. Even if everything external falls apart, the inner is the part that matters, the memory and experience. Probably could do without an exploding earlobe though...

Haha, but yeah, I laughed at that description of the trip - so familiar. I've been under the impression that I shouldn't think too hard about my life before the mission and stuff, that THIS is what really matters right now, but I'm seeing more something that Carl told me - that really, I'm still me, but in a magnified, dedicated sense. Ha, funny, camper crashing down - last time THAT happened I was in EFY, actually only 30 minutes south of here... history repeats... yeah, we should definitely go up to the pageant after this - that could be fun for a summer trip. Right after the Hawaii one, the one to Mexico, then the one....

Oh man, yeah, lets do it. I think I'll be ready to do a lot of stuff after this, I'm missing swimming, ugh... sweating isn't the same...

So yeah, one other cool experience this week, we went to go teach a guy, and his wife said he was enojado (mad) and was pouting in his room, so we went in, convinced him to come out, sat him down with his family and taught them for 10 minutes about having family prayers - afterwards we helped him pray for his family, and by the time we left, he was playing in the yard with his kids, laughing. Simple, but the Gosepl and the Spirit change lives. That's what its about. Bringing people to Christ, and changing ourselves through Him, bringing us closer to our Father.

I love you all, and hope you're all doing good. Don't waste the summer! Have fun together, and take lots of pictures! I know this is all true! Sometimes it doesn't make sense, but its true nonetheless. Recently my favorite scripture is Proverbs 3:5-6 (lean not to thy own understanding....)

-Love, Elder Chris Thelin

Ps: Yes, being safe riding our bikes. Of course mother. Ha, Sinesio needed a table and 2 chairs - we found some a mile or two away. We were on bikes. So, we put the chairs on our bike seats, balancing them, and rode our bikes all the way through hills, city, a cemetery, and part forest, balancing on a kitchen chair, all the way to his house. It was spectacular. We're safe... got pics...

PPPS: (the saga continues...)
As the van landed on the shores of Australia (the platypii carried it on their backs), everyone jumped out. "Hey, its hot here!" Amy said. "Utah is HOT right?" The platypii lead the group (and the dogs) inland, through the bushland, and into a small fortress. There a platypus king was waiting. Perry knelt in front of him and made his little gggggg noise (of COURSE I remember than noise). Then the king began to speak. Holly interpreted. "He says that we're in Australia" Heidi said "Ask him if he knows Chris" Holly did. All the platypii stopped, and bowed. "They say that Chris was their PRESIDENT before his mission! and that he said that anyone who's related to the PRESIDENT deserves their protection and honor and we can command all the platypii!" Luke liked that - an army of platypii to help them out. Suddenly the fortress shook. "Uh-oh....." barked Tippy. In dog language....

Chairs on bikes for Sinesio...


Buenaventura Baptism Room, Brother Ramos and Ward Mission Leader Brother Cazares
Edith Castro

Sinesio Vargas