2 Nephi 10:23-25

Hello there!!

So, I am doing fairly well today. We just got back from a zone activity where we went to this place to see the Tsa´chilas, a native tribe here in Santo Domingo. It was pretty cool. We got to hike through the forest and such, we got to see how they do some things like make the skirts they wear, we learned that they're a peaceful, nomadic, hunter-gatherer tribe, and there are about 3000 of them in 7 different areas around here. It was pretty fun, and it was a good bonding experience for our zone.

This week has been a bit...mixed. We had a rather heated discussion among our companionship a few days ago because Elder Fernelius is having a respect problem, and it's not just with us, it's now spreading to other people. Oh, and the other elder in my photos was Elder Smith, the trainer, and he has 19 years...yeah, in Spanish you say, "Tiene 19 años," which translates to, "He has 19 years." My English and Spanish are crossing, so, yeah. Anyway, yeah, we had a rather heated discussion and Elder Fernelius still doesn't really like Elder Smith. Somehow they both still like me; even though I'm pretty much on Elder Smith's side, Elder Fernelius still at least will talk to me, so that's good. But yeah, our companionship has been going through a rough spot. Elder Fernelius doesn't seem to accept that he does things wrong, so that's a struggle, but we're trying to help him the best that we can. It's an ongoing task though.

We'll finally be having baptizms this next week, if all works out right. The funny thing is, I won't be here for them (I don't think) because an old investigator of mine in La Concordia wants me to baptize him, so I have to go back to Concordia Saturday for a bit. I'm excited though because he's an investigator that Elder Huarahuara and I found and taught, and they've gone through quite a few problems, and he had to wait for 6 weeks after his wife was baptized and have two interviews with two different mission presidents in order to get this baptizm, but he's stuck it out and is finally reaching his goal. I'm so incredibly happy for him, though it will be a little tough not beeing able to see our investigators here in Las Islas (that's my sector here in Sto. Domingo) get baptized, because Elder Larrea and I found them. It's just crazy all around, but it's crazy amazing.

Oh, so, through experimenting I have come up with the best pancake batter ever. They're so flavorful that a topping isn't even needed, though I still like to put blackberry jam on top of them (it's a whole lot cheaper than syrup). I'd give it to you guys, but honestly there isn't a set amount of any one ingredient. I just dump stuff in until it looks about right. But they are tasty. Also, turns out that making pancakes or french toast every morning for breakfast works out to about .50 cents a day for breakfast, which is darn cheap. So it's tasty and cost efficient! Huzzah!

I am very excited to hear about the trek that Jeffery and Elizabeth are going on. That seems like it'll be a ton of fun. Hopefully there will be a lot of chances for spiritual experiences, and hopefully they'll learn more skills, too.

I think I've been feeling the Spirit more this week than last. At least, that's what it seems like. There have been several times this week when the lesson came around to me to say something, and I really had no idea what to say, but I just open my mouth and words come out that work. That's definitely the Spirit working through me. It's such a good feeling, too. Also, even though we didn't have a lot of lessons this week, they were very good lessons for the most part. I am so thankful to have the Spirit to be with me.

However, with one "victory" comes another trial. This time it's trunkiness. Now don't go getting all worried, I'm not trunky as in pinning (pining?) over home all the time and wanting to come home. I recently heard that trunkiness could be called anytime that you're thinking about something that distracts you from the work here for some time. That got me thinking, and I think that I could be better in this aspect. I do frequently think of new things that I'd like to learn (something that I'm kinda learning right now is how to play the piano, but of course there aren't a lot of opportunities to practice or anything, and I'd love to learn another language after Spanish) or things that I'd like to cook (yeah, that seems a bit weird, doesn't it?), and I've realized that these things may be distracting me a bit. I could definitely work on thinking about my investigators more, but my mind seems to jump around a lot. I also find myself not really thinking about anything in particular. It's much more difficult than I thought to always be thinking of someone else, though in this case it's multiple people. I need to figure out how to do this, but I'm not sure how. I'll keep praying and studying about it though.

Well, I'm out of time basically, so I'll go for now. Oh, by the way, mail sent from Washington, D.C. gets here in about 5 days, so if you're ever in D.C. and want to send me a letter, I'll get it pretty quickly. Yeah, anyway, I love you all. I'm so proud of you, Madre, and all that you're doing to better your life in all aspects. Keep on keeping on with school...and then teach me how to study when I get back please! Thank you all for all of your support, and for all of your prayers.

I hope you all keep on being the best that you can be, and make sure to put aside time for your Heavenly Father, because He gave you this time. Just something to think about. Also, 2 Nephi 10:23-25 is one of my new favorite scriptures. I used it so many times this week. You're all free to choose! Remember that! I love you, and I'll talk to you next Monday, possibly from a new location! (Changes are next Sunday, so we'll see what happens.) Cuídense, ¿ya? Ciao!

Love,
Elder Schomburg