Aloha!

haha, bet that threw you for a loop. :) Anyway, it appears that the enter key will never work, so that´s that.   

[I've formatted it so it can be read more easily.]

Okay, first, to answer the questions from my lovely madre: I´ve definitely settled into the culture here. Well, maybe not the food, but I have another year and 11 months, I´m sure I´ll get used to it. The language is still coming, but I can understand a lot more now. We learn reading/writing/speaking all at once, which really helps actually.

Elder Barrera is doing well...I think. He speaks really quickly and kinda mumbles, plus he doesn´t pronounce the beginning or ending of a lot of the words, like most of the Chileans here, so it´s still really difficult to understand him, but I´m getting better. I know that he used to be in some kind of color guard thing, he may have played the drums, he has two sisters, both older, and his mom, and I think that´s about all I know of him.

I´m doing fine with the pillow I have, thanks, and I wouldn´t be able to bring another thing in my suitcases. I'm pretty much at the limit already.

I did get to go tracting on Saturday! It was a really amazing experience, actually. We went tracting from about 9:30 to 4:30, and during that we had 20 contacts and we actually got to teach one lesson. We probably could have taught more lessons if we had been trying to teach lessons, but we thought that the only reason we were there was to get contacts for the missionaries assigned to the area. It was really cool though. I understood more than I thought I would, but I was still lost at least 66% of the time. I got to say a prayer for a family that we taught at their door, and then we got to go in someone´s house and teach the first lesson. I could feel the Spirit then, and the lady seemed fairly interested, or at least she looked that way. I felt that we could have taught her as a person more. I think we ended up teaching a lesson and not a person, but she seemed grateful still. We also gave out 6 Books of Mormon, which was awesome. On our way back to the capilla for lunch we passed one of the people we had given a Book of Mormon to reading it on the sidewalk, and that just got me all kinds of excited. It´s very exciting to see people follow through with commitments, especially so quickly. I was ridiculously tired after that day, but it was a good day.

Sundays really aren´t much different here than they were in Provo, except all of Sacrament Meeting is in Spanish. I´ve actually probably received the most cards and letters of anyone in my district the whole time they´ve been here, but it definitely has slowed down. Here´s who I´ve heard from so far: Grandma (Judy), Grandma Ruth, madre, Brother and Sister Johnson...I think that´s all. I got Grandma Ruth´s package yesterday in the mail, so I think that I´ll be getting lucky with packages. Several elders have actually gotten them here at the CCM, which is odd, but I´ll take it. And thank you for your birthday wishes! I´m definitely having a good birthday.

Temple this morning, I bought a scripture case for my spanish scriptures and then some food at Tottu´s (It´s more like a grocery store with electronics, because I tried to find an Ecuadorian fútbol jersey and they didn't have any jerseys at all), where I got a 3 litre of Crush for 4 soles, which is roughly $1.50. the exchange rate is 2.74 soles per dollar, and I don't feel like doing the math right now haha. Also, there's a candy here called and Olé Olé, which is a marshmallow covered in chocolate. They're only big enough for one bite, but 60 come in a bag. I finished the bag in 5 days...they're soooooo good.

Okay, not much time, most spiritual experience, go! Okay, on Friday I was kinda in a funk. I don't really know why, I just woke up that way. Anyway, I stayed that way through lunch. After lunch, when Elder Barrera was brushing his teeth, I said a prayer asking Heavenly Father to comfort me, because I was really starting to feel down. Well, about 2 hours after lunch we have TRC, where we go and teach a fake investigator in front of a large class. It's really not the best learning environment, but that's what we do. We were called very last (our first time thus far) to do a door approach. We got into the house because the lady said that she had a dream that God sent her two messengers that looked a bit like us. When we were inside, she asked us if we were the people in her dream. Elder Barrera kind beat around the brush a bit and never really said yes. I wanted to, but I couldn't because I didn't want to interrupt Elder Barrera. Anyway, two more people came up to the door and said that they were missionaries of another church, and they of course told her they'd been sent by God. She then started to usher me and Elder Barrera out, but I asked her one more question. I asked if she knew that she was a daughter of God. She said yes. I said that because she's a daughter of God, He loves her, and He wants her to hear a message that we have brought specifically for her. I was of course stumbling all over my words (because I really only knew half of the right ones), but the Spirit was incredibly strong. Because of that, she allowed us to stay inside, but then time ran out and we had to go. I wasn't thinking that that situation would have given me any comfort at all, but I felt so happy and good for the rest of the day. It's incredible how God works and how he knows us individually.

I'm very proud of all of children of the Schomburgs! Way to go guys! You guys are so awesome. Keep up the good work.  I don't actually have any time left, so I must finish up and go. I love you guys very much.

I know that this Church is Christ's true church, the same one that he established when he was on earth. I know with all of my heart that the Book of Mormon is true, and that God really does have a plan for us. God loves all of us individually, and I feel that every day.

I love you guys. Keep up all the good work, and stay strong! I hope to keep hearing from you guys! Write more!! :D I love you! Bye!