WE LEARN WE CAN"T, BUT HE CAN

Hey s' up family, how ARE you all?

Sorry about the lost pictures, Mom. Sometimes we gotta shrug and let things go right? Like our baptisms last week. And the fact that I forgot to get a receipt for gas yesterday that I needed to give to the mission office. And now I must account for. Haha. Whoops...

Well, yup, its been a fairly crazy week here too. Working, singing, talking to EVERYONE (new theme here for us, before we tried to do 10 unplanned contacts a day. President Olson declared that if we don't have 10 unplanned contacts a day, thats pathetic. So we speak to EVERYONE. Including pulling over the car to talk to walkers, shouting across lawns, etc., etc. Intense. Missionary license. And Elder Baquedano is pretty awesome. He grew up in Mexico City for 13 years, then moved to Las Vegas. Unlike Elder Muro he didn't lose his Spanish - we talk just about 95% in Spanish now, which is a blessing for my Spanish. I actually think in Spanish a lot - the other day I was imagining a conversation between me and Jeffrey and Dad, then realized that in my mind Jeffrey was using words like "entonces" or "loquisimo"... and it occured to me that Jeffrey has never had that conversation with me because he's never spoken Spanish with me, so I was translating in my head... yeah... weird. Probably means my mental processes are like moving at half the speed, but hey, whatever.

HEIDI, stop being sick. That's always a bad idea. It's not fun, and it's not cool. So stop that. Ha. Man, that's no good! You gotta get better quick kiddo. No, we don't have too much of "the swine" here, but we are trying to keep clean. I'll start using more hand sanitizer again. And I've heard that the shot is scary, so careful with that. And sweet about Reagan! Amazing! I regularly put people on the prayer rolls at the temple, and we pray for all of you, so I'm glad she's well. Grandma too!

And WHOOO AMY! That's so exciting! Your baptism is on Saturday? That's so cool! Fun! I talk about my baptism all the time with people. Baptism is really cool. It's one of the best feelings in the world. You're going to love it. You just feel really clean and happy, like you're wrapped up in a warm blanket. It's been like 12 years since I was baptized, but I still remember it. The Holy Ghost will warn you of things, help you remember things, help you feel happy when you are sad, help you calm down if you are nervous, and will be like a best friend inside you. I am so glad you are excited, and are going to be baptized! That night, write down in a safe place how you feel - I forgot to do that, and wish I had it written down. But a long time from now, you will want to read that and remember how you felt. It will be a great day. I love you Amy, and am so glad you are part of my family. Good luck, dude!

Speaking of baptisms and confirmations, we had the privilege of confirming Adrianna after 2 weeks! She is now a full-fledged member of the Church of Jesus Christ! She is happy, and hopefully more of her family will follow! Her sister's husband came to Church for the first time on Sunday - he promised EVERYONE he'd come - before he never came because he said "la cama siempre gana" or the bed always wins. Good grief. It was pretty good though. Also, we met a lady that was offended 40 years ago, and left the Church. We taught her, and I was on exchanges with a greenie, Elder Brown - he is still learning Spanish, and trying hard to talk. I turned to him, and he started just giving his testimony. It was very simple, but one fo the msot powerful testimonies of the truth I ever felt. She was crying. A little later we gave her a blessing for some health problems, and she cried again, and told us she felt a peace and joy she hasn't felt for years, and then, in a firm voice, declared she would not miss another Sunday. She is going to Church this Sunday no matter what, even if she's dying, even if the world's ending, NO MATTER WHAT. It was super cool. We've had a lot of spiritual experiences like that this week, where I know that people felt what we said is true. It's true! The Spirit testifies.

Dad, cool, you're going to be a boatsman, eh? The many sides of Gordon Thelin... just don't be too crazy with the money...

Well, yup, life is crazy, not quite used to these responsablities, but I can see how the Lord is trying to stretch me, and what I'll learn from all this. Just means a lot of working and changing to get there. I still think just imparting pure knowledge instantaneously is easier, but I guess it's something we have to work through. The Lord has a plan, and we are able to do all He hands to us, even if we don't think we can. And it sure looks like we can't sometimes. I guess that's the secret. We learn WE can't, but HE can, and humble ourselves enough to let Him work THROUGH us. We should never fear or doubt our potential in this life. As a general authority told us at BYU, "God is for us, Christ accomplished the Atonement for us, and the Spirit is with us." Can't fail. 2 is a majority when one of them is the Lord. Just need to lean on that Rock, and learn to stay there. This Gospel is true. God has given so much for us to build upon. I am thankful for the Book of Mormon and the Bible. I am thankful for the faith of Joseph Smith that was so strong - like a rock, he knowlingly faced persecution, faced all hell and earth could throw at him, and as a Prophet of the Lord Jesus Christ weathered it all in defense of the truth, for us. I am thankful for the temple, and the promises we are given there. And most of all, I am thankful for the Savior, and for all He has given and made possible. We can grow and live and change and have hope because of Him. I know He lives.

Well, love you all so much! Take care, don't get SICK, and love life!
Love, Elder Christopher Thelin

PS Calc is crazy, just look it up online...

PPS Jeffrey--WRITE about SNRa Johnson, haha, funny lady

PPPS I lost Kayla and jaime's addresses - can someone send them? I want to write, but cant

PPPPS MUSIC- we have none here.... the 2 other EFY cds are in the white shelves in DVD like cases. I'm not sure if I have any other that's appropriate, but I'll think... could you send those with the contacts? THANKS!