COOL STUFF

[PLEASE NOTE THAT LAST WEEK'S LETTER IS POSTED BELOW THIS ONE. WE WERE AT THE BEACH SO I'M LATE GETTING IT ON THE BLOG!--CHRIS' MOM]

Yallo, how're you all? Exhausted from relaxing at the beach? Sounds normal! Mom, a seagull does sound like a good reincarnation choice. I wonder if we would be able to choose stuff like that. Haha. Only problem would be eating carcasses and stuff.

Good job, Jeff and Ivan, the air mattresses in the hurricane-storm sounds like a good idea.... dont worry, I fully appreciate the drunk people you encountered at the campsite, thats hilarious, I love drunk people, I keep running into this family of drunk native americans here, and had some pretty deep comversations with them, good stuff. Nothing as deep as "you're the [poop]" though, thats intense.

I'm sorry no one found a conch shell. You ought to do something sweet with the shell pieces, like make a sculpture or something... you gotta get the conch song on camera plz! Sorry about the dying bird, thats very tragic. It sounds like you did all you could to make its demise comfortable and painless. I'm glad Holly was there to save it and not me... :) Ha, the singing in the car.... wow. I'd like to say I've developed more patience on my mission, but I'm not sure its enough for something like that, although I've had companions do similar things and just had to bite my tongue... heh, glad that Jeffrey has kept his role in the family.

When's school start for you all? Senior year, man, thats crazy! What grade is everyone else in? I've been telling people Heidi 8th, Holly 5th and Amy 3rd? Something like that...

I DID get the packages! Thanks for the cables and card and candy! Also the pictures were awesome, loved them and all the extra paraphanelia (?) that was in there. Stefan is definitely doing a better job celebrating his mission markers with fire, I've been in city and thus its been hard to burn anything legally..... loved the talks, both very good. I didnt really know that Hosea Stout had gone ACROSS the plains, somehow I had thought that he was in Nauvoo and stayed there? Funny, but that was so intense, I bet that must have so hard, knowing if you just gave up you could go back and be in comfort, but deciding to suffer and follow the Savior and His prophet. Cool!

Hmm, coolest thing THIS week was definitely Dyana Lambaren's baptism! Finished up the family! We decided to have a hot chocolate party with her to celebrate her new life as a former-coffee-addict-for-a-day. It was fun. Again most of the ward came to support her, all the young women, got her hooked up with the necessary bracelets and charms and YW theme posters and such. She had to get baptized 3 times because she INSISTED on wearing a baptism DRESS and not the jumpsuit, so parts of it kept floating up. Best part was Norma, her mom, got up to bear her testimony, and it was so powerful. She is possibly the most converted recent convert of the mission. She bore solid testimony that this was indeed the TRUE and RESTORED church of Jesus Christ, and told all the things that had confirmed it for her and her family. "I know that this is the true gospel of Jesus Christ, and if my family follows it, we will be ok, and one day make it to the presence of heavenly father." That's one of the coolest things to hear, she's not just here because she was sad or cause she thinks its a good church, she KNOWS the truth, and is committed to it. Amazing. Even cooler, her mom comes in from Mexico today and we're eating dinner with them, so maybe we'll get to baptize her too! And their teenage cousin decided to be baptized the 22nd. SWEET!!!

Elder Sigal is doing well, a lot better. I'm SO glad I went to college first, I think the family separation thing is a lot harder this way, just completely severed with almost no communication... Funny, HIS dad is a computer programmer. They have a side business selling things from their home. He worked for his father (only he didnt get paid). The whole family usually had to pitch in to help. Just funny that even on another hemisphere in a different language people can be a lot alike. Their business was selling computers - the name of the business was KOLOB COMPUTADORAS - funny, the logo is a planet...

We ate dinner with the coolest family in the world the other day, and they had been all over Cuzco - they couldn't believe that Cuzco was its own mission now and they almost died of excitement for Steven. They said it will be amazing, and is so beautiful there. Their son, an Elder Crane, will enter the MTC the same day, going to Chile, so keep an eye out for him, Steven! Good luck!!

Weeeeeell, love you all, thanks a bunch, live the gospel and enjoy the last... precious... moments... of.... your summer. Bwhaha. So glad I dont have to go sit at a desk all day for the next year :)

Love, Elder Thelin

Ps OK Mom, after hearing about the oil spill in the gulf Im officially afraid of fish now. Also Yellowstone is pretty close, that could be bad... I met a convict running from the law, wanted in 10 states and Utah joined in, didnt make it though to Texas, which was his plan for escape. Suprisingly, his wife, who does drugs and such, lives in the trailer next to Norma's and ironically played a critical role in resolving Norma's baptism doubts a few weeks back. Never underestimate people. Hilarious.

Ppsps Poor Tanny. Fyi, if we decide to have more dogs, DO NOT get a chiuaua and DEFINITELY never a cat, they're both evil.