Made a Cake

Hello, it's Preparation Day again. It seems like we just had one yesterday! The days are going by faster and faster. It was really good to hear from mom and dad in their e-mails today. And I really enjoyed the pictures from Alesha last week. Her hair looks really nice too. I can't believe you let Emily drive the car to Provo. When mom first got the car she wouldn't let me drive it without signing a contract and selling my soul to her first. The Big-A camp sounds like it was a ton of fun! I wish I could eat those fish you caught! I can't wait to see all the cousins again in a couple years! It sounds like you all had a really good week. That is crazy that dad has read so many books! He must be really bored. I can't believe that Cory's farewell is on Sunday!!!!! That is really exciting! You will have to let me know how it goes! Oh, and it sounds like Cory and Cody are going to see each other in the MTC for over a month! That will be pretty awesome. Cory is going to be there for an eternity, but he will love it!

Yesterday was a weird day. Sundays are busy for missionaries! Last night we had a President's Fireside for recent converts, and Elder Hopoate and I were waiting for a couple people to arrive. Then the Assistants to the President came in to the church and one of them had me come with him (Elder Ellett), and the other one stayed with my companion so he could be at the fireside. I didn't really know what was going on, but it seemed like an emergency. So then Elder Ellett and I went down to the Harbor area to a hospital where President and his wife and some other missionaries were. It turned out that one of the missionaries got hit by a car pretty hard and was in the hospital. He is doing fine now. It was really fun to be with one of the Assistants to the President for a few hours. He is a really nice guy from the dusty city of Loa Utah. He has one arm, and he's really awesome. So that is my crazy story for the week.

Things are going well in our area. Transfers are coming up next week. I will most likely stay in the same area. Elder Hopoate leaves to go to UVU on the 18th of August, so maybe he'll see Alesha there! There will be some sort of companionship change next transfer, but we're not sure how it's going to work out yet.

Funny story. So my companion tells me that I have been sleep talking a lot lately. He says I sleep laugh too! He said I sleep walked one time. Another time he said that I tilted my head up and started whistling in my sleep! HAHAHA!!!!! He has a little recorder and he said he's going to record me next time I wake him up!

Oh mom, I lost my camera cord....ooops...so I was wondering if my camera box is still at home and you could go pick up a new cord for me, because without it I can't charge my camera and I can't send you pictures of how big my biceps are. If you can't find the box (I may have thrown it away), then just let me know and I will give you the information for my camera. Also, I need David Feltch's phone number for the mission office. Dad already sent my his address, but they need his number too. They are supposed to have all the missionaries' Bishops' information for some reason. Oh yeah, and I have been using my personal card a little. I will try to not use it too much. The missionary card wasn't enough for the first little while because we flushed in to two new areas in a row, but now things are more settled down.

Last week we found and taught this lady from Nicaragua. She is really awesome! We found out that she is half Latina and half Chinese! Crazy! ! Haha I'm excited to see how things turn out for her with the Gospel. She seems really awesome. We taught the Restoration to a woman this morning and she seems really ready too! I just hope we can teach her husband soon too.

Yesterday we baked a large cake for a recent convert we are meeting with. We aren't very good at baking things, but it turned out okay. We took two different cake mix flavors and put one on top of the other and then did the swirly thing that I've seen mom do before with cake. I really wanted to eat it, but that isn't very charitable or missionary-like. Then Elder Hopoate frosted it and it looks really funny! I'll have to send you pictures!

Spanish is coming along piece by piece. We speak a lot of English, even though we are in the Spanish Program, but we get to teach a lot of Spanish lessons. Sometimes we teach in Spanish and English at the same time because we have families where it is easier for some to learn in Spanish and some in English. When I come home I am going to give my talk in Spanglish, which is a common dialect in Los Angeles haha. There are a lot of people who speak Spanish then all of the sudden they will throw in an English word haha! It's weird to transition between the two but it works!

When I come home, remind me to tell you about the 6th Ward singing experiences hahahaha they are awesome!

I hope everybody is doing well back at home. Things are going well out here. Thank you for your prayers. I feel them help me a lot. I pray for you all the time! I am so grateful for family! It is one of the greatest things we have in this life, and definitely the best support system we have on the earth. I am glad to hear everybody is having a good summer. I love you all so much! Keep being strong in the gospel. It will be worth it! I know that Jesus it the Christ. He died for us. Heavenly Father's Plan is perfect. We are part of His plan and it's our duty to help the church grow. I love you all.

Love,

Elder Ross Watkins