Elder Salinas: December 10, 2012

Dear Family. . .

So another week gone in the mission. Another Transfer completed. THis is Transfer number 14 of 16. The end is comming. But this last transfer went by way fast. We didnt have any baptisms....and its just a tuff area. ME and elder chavez have been trying a lot to be better missionaries. Just to not think about time or stuff at home...

This week we had our zone meeting. It was a tuffy. Pres Agazzani and his wife came and dropped the cane on us a bit. We have 2 baptisms as a zone for december, and they want 18. We dont have anyone in plan 1 or plan 2. IT really seems like they just want numbers. If we can all baptize 16 people in each zone, we will reach 1000 baptism this year. Then pres agazzani told us how next year he expects 2112 baptism. That is a crap ton of baptisms. They told us that we were going to have a Christmas zone conference and to bring a white elephant gift. Should be fun. ITs going to be on the 21st of December, AKA, End of the World Day. Im so tired of hearing that....everyone asks us if the world is going to end on the 21st of Dec. We just tell them thats its really possible that it ends, so they should listen to our message so they can be prepared....it doesnt work tho.

This week was really hard too. We dont have any investigators. None. We found 2 new ones this last week and they are not like gold trophies or anything. We had 6 lessons this week and 2 more with less active members. You thought you were embarrassed mom. My numbers were crap. We cant figure out what happens to us. Ever since we lost our two investigators Alex and Nelson, we just havnt been that same. Im just in that down point of the wrestling season. Im just trying to climb out. Ever since mothers day i have had one thing on my mind. The week after we did skype, you said that you had seeen a huge change in me...and that you couldnt wait until christmas to talk to me to see an even bigger change. Everyday is just how can i make mom proud, but i dont feel like i have been changing that much these last weeks. Last week i didnt even want to do skype, just because i didnt want to let you down. But a lot of that changed yesterday when i gave another last minute talk in church.

So saturday night i slept on the roof. I got eaten alive by mosquitos. I woke up at 6:30 to the cell phone...it was branch pres....elders, its 2nd sunday, that means that its missionary work...can you give talks. Sure, why not....so i make a talk about the gifts that we can give to Christ in this christmas season. I talked about the first christmas when God gave us His only Begotton Son. I talked about how christmas is about giving and not reciving. Then i told everyone how each year, one of our families is in charge of giving christmas to another family. I told them about my last christmas at home, when we as a family wrapped up all the presents and the spirit of Christ(mas) was at the barn with the family. Then of when i bought you, dad, and grandma presents...since you guys never buy anything and always buy stuff for us. Then how it made you and dad feel...you didnt care how much the gift cost, only the thought that i had of making christmas good for you. The main theme of the talk what things we can do for Christ, and how we need to find the Spirit of Christ durring the Christmas Season. Then i explained how Christ, had that spirit, he didnt care how much the Atonement was going to cost, how much pain, nothing...he had the Spirit of Christ, or the spirit of giving. Then i quoted Pres Monson, when he said we all need to find that christmas spirit, then drop the last syllabyl and it becomes the spirit of Christ. I then invited all the members to find that spirit durring these next weeks, so that they can enjoy christmas more fully. Of the 30 in attendance, there were some cryers. Then we sang Silent Night....and the Spirit was strong. In the Liahona for December, Elder Holland speaks of his first Christmas away from home...he said that then, was when he got it...when he understood the spirit of christmas. I felt the spirit of christmas last time i was home...but as we sang Silent Night, I got it too. I am eternally greatful for the birth of our Saviour Jesus Christ and for His sacrifice for me. Even tho i am far from being like him, he will help me. I hope all of you can find the true spirit of Christ(mas) this year.

So its just been little by little, but durring the last 2 years, i have learned a ton. It great to be a missionary. Little by little came my testimony. I had always been waiting for the one experience that was a life changer, write to the liahona church magazine. But, its still commmin little by little. The next for months are gonna fly by. They are the 4 fastest in the whole year. I hope that my testimony will keep growing like it has been.

Dad, cuantas veces tengo que preguntarte? ¿De donde es abuelo? ¿Que parte de MExico?

We went to the Cemitary again this week, and we taught lesson 2 or the Plan of Salvation to some people. They looked happy, like we had given them a little hope for the future. They arent investigators or anything, but in the future they will remember what we shared with them and about the pamplet we left them. One day. Also, we found some bones this time....that was more creepy than the coffin sitting in the open.

Saturday was not a good day. There was nobody here in 3 Bocas. Everyone was celebrating the day of the Maldita Virgen de Caacupe. Everyone went for the stupid walk to fufil their promiss. I will buy my statue of her to bring home with my rosary!!! If the Catholic Church was true, every country would worship the same freakin Virgin. But here we got Caacupe, in Mexico Guadalupe, in Brazil, the Señora del aparecida....whatever...read Salms 115:3-8......that will teach them!!!

We have changes this week...i would really like to leave this area. Go to a new area and then for my last 2 transfers, train a newby...from america of course. Ill see what happens tomarow at the district meeting.

Oh, and the last thing of the weeek. We have a Porron, Joto, Maricon, Marica, calling us and sending us gay text messages. He is always sending us messages, oh how sexy of a voice you have....call me....sooo anoying. But whatever, cant live with them and i dont know what to do about them!

Oh and i talked to elder heiner...he said he got accepted to byu idaho, and that he was maybe going to tell his mom to sign him up to byu too. I say we will both get in to byu because there are no people there. Pero por si las moscas, if we dont get into byu, we will be at byu idahoand i will wrestle and you can come watch me....be on the intermural team haha!!!!!!!

One thing that made me trunky this week...only 127 days left and I saw a Honda CBR 1000 and a Yamaha F1....yeah im gettin a sweet crotch rocket when i get home!!!!!

love you all

oh and mom, tell me where i am going. Yeah i get home ar noon an the 19 of April...but do i go to Brazil, Argentina Texas or what?????

ELDER CHARLES TAYLOR SALINAS
PARAGUAY ASUNCION MISSION
ROHAIHY