Mason's letter -- November 15, 2010

Hey familia,

Whats up in Logan? Everything is going great here in Choloma. I just wanted to say to mom that I know that the house was really really dirty. But I want you to know that it is absolutely all of Elder Lopez´s stuff!!! I'm serious, he is super dirty and disorganized and has his clean clothes thrown in the sink and his dirty clothes are just thrown all around the room. It's really gross. But I'm just waiting for a few more weeks (2 more) until he goes home. Then it will be all clean and free.

My companion is basically my biggest trial right now. He's a great guy and I get along with him well, but he is soooo ready to go home. I feel really alone in the aspect of being the zone leader. I feel like I am doing everything because he really doesn't care anymore. We had interviews on Friday with the President so we had to go to San Pedro all day. President tried to talk to Lopez about finishing off strong and chopped him up pretty good, but he told me it was like talking to a wall. So we have all tried to talk to him, but nothing changes. So I can only wait now until he is gone.

So I've been praying a lot to ask help from Heavenly Father, because I want to do a really good job and we need to find new investigators (we have absolutely nothing right now after all the baptisms). God really answered my prayers this week. There has been a problem with a missionary in another area. He has been flirting and texting some girls in his ward. Well I guess one of the girls that he was flirting with ¨fell in love¨ with him, and began to spread rumors in the ward that they were boyfriend and girlfriend and that they loved each other and that they were getting married and a whole bunch of crap (she's like 21 years old). So they talked to the President about it and he will be emergency transfered tomorrow. So for a few days we have had to do divisions with this elder and his comp to keep an eye on things. So right now I'm with the bad missionaries comp, who is a brand new greenie gringo, and I've been with him for a few days while my comp is keeping an eye on the bad missionary. I feel like I'm training again haha. But it has given me the chance to work in the area how I want to work! So we have been working really hard these last couple of days looking for new people. It has also made me realize how far I've come and how much I've learned here in the mission. The poor greenie doesn't know any Spanish and he is just really scared of everything. haha

But on Saturday we found a cool family. They are really humble and everything but it was a great lesson. They were so interested and were hanging on every word that I said. haha it was funny and really cool. One of the little girls kept getting out her cell phone to take pictures of us because she had never seen a gringo before. haha I would explain what faith was and then their eyes would get all big and they would turn to each other and say ¨did you hear that, that is what faith is, that's so amazing¨. haha they would say that after every sentence I said. They said they were willing to change their lives and that they really wanted something better and more. At the end of the lesson I felt impressed to warn them Satan would put little things in their way so that they wouldn't go to church and that in the morning they would have a feeling that they wouldn't want to go to church. They said they would go and they were positive about it. Well we passed in the morning, and they didn't go. that was sad.

But a cool guy showed up to church all by himself so that was a blessing.

I also found out that all the members are really tired of Elder Lopez and don't want to help us until he leaves. They are all just waiting until he leaves. That's what everyone told me yesterday.

So it's been a good week. I'm glad Layne did a good job on his talk. Oh, and the greenie that I'm with was in the MTC with Beanz and knows him really well. So that was cool and we have been talking about Beanz all week. hah

Love Elder Mason Cardon