HOT HOT HOT July Fourth!

Hola Padres!                July 5, 2011   

        Como estan? Well another crazy week has come and gone and it is that time again. Well I know that this is a day later then usual, but that is what happens when places shut down on the holidays. The main thing that I can talk about is ... the weather, I am sure that you are all thinking "wow again with the weather talk. How can it get any worse or hotter then it already is?" But let me tell you it does get worse. This week is has not been below 100, and it reached at least 115 this week. So it has been hot, but I think I am starting to adjust a little bit. If you can really adjust to 110 degrees.  I am still trying to make the best of it. We still go out and do the work, but we are just a little hotter and a little sweatier throughout the day.

Well you know that along with being a District Leader, I am required to interview all the baptismal candidates before their baptisms, and that is one of my favorite things to do. This week has been a crazy week for interviews. I interviewed some people that were so prepared for being baptized and to become a member of the Church, that if you met them on the street, you probably would have thought that they were LDS already. They were not just the "set" given answers, but they understood everything on a deeper level and really knew what was going to happen and why these things were so important.

Everything has been up and down in this area for the last few weeks, so we decided to try a few new things and put our trust in the Lord a little more. We have had a really big group of people to teach for a long time, but they have not been following through with the words that they say, so we gave them a little space. So it came time to find new people to replace them, and that is where a lot of faith came in to play. It is usually pretty difficult to find new people that are genuinely interested and really prepared to hear this message, but faith is more then just words, it is action. So we took action and we went to work to find these people that have been prepared. Then things just happened to start clicking and coming to us. We were receiving phone calls from different people saying that they had a neighbor for us to teach or the new someone that lived around the corner, or we just happened to be in the right spot at the right time. One of these new people is named Martin. I know that he has truly been prepared for this message and the Gospel. He came to Church and we talked to him, and he said that he would love to meet with us. So we have met with him a few times and he is learning and understanding at an incredible rate, it is truly amazing to see this work moving forward. We are still going out and teaching a bunch, but that is just what comes with being a missionary. We are here to help others come unto Christ, and by helping them come unto Christ, we teach them about Him and His teachings and how they can grow. It is really a simple statement, but it is a really big one.

I am absolutely loving this opportunity. I know that being a missionary is one of the greatest things in the world, it doesn’t matter where you go or what language you help others in, but the fact is that this work is ordained of God.

Sunday night Elder Leguizamon got sick, so we didn’t go out and proselyte because he was in no shape to do that.  I was inside for the night reading and reading and pondering. It was really cool. It gave me some time to reflect and really learn a few little things from the Book of Mormon. (Isn't it AMAZING what a mission can do for a young 19 year old boy?  Help him mature and develop wisdom far beyond his years.  -- the Mom  )

Holidays always seem to change everything a little bit. We had a good 4th of July. It was P-Day still, so that was a good part. I also played basketball for the first time in 4 months, so I am definitely feeling the effects of that today. But after that, we went to a barbecue and hung out with a few families. Then we were permitted to stay out until 10:30, so we went to the Temple and watched all the fireworks that they lit at the rodeo just down the road. It was a different feeling to be watching fireworks as a missionary and not be at home doing crazy things with all of the friends. I will on have one more 4th of July and then I will be back at home. That is a weird thought. (Time really does go by FAST on a mission!)

One big thing from this week as well was that I had surgery. It wasn’t a big surgery; I just had an in-grown toenail removed. I don’t really understand how I got it, but I guess it just comes after walking everyday for 10 hours a day for 5 months. It just comes with the job description. Well I feel a lot better that it is gone, and I don’t feel any pain there anymore.

I am really starting to feel that I am truly becoming Elder Davis and not just "Chad" anymore. It may have taken a little while, but it is a weird thing. I am truly separating myself to focus on the work at hand. After all, I have only two years to be Elder Davis and I have my lifetime to be Chad. It is even extremely hard to answer to my first name. When I went to the doctor this week I was the only one in the waiting room, and the nurse came out and said "Chad" a few times and then she finally said "Chad Davis" and then I was like "oh that is me!" It is just a strange thing to hear someone else use my first name after I am becoming so used to everyone calling me by Elder or Elder Davis.

Well Mom, for my birthday, I am pretty sure I will be in another area, but I am not absolutely positive. This is my third transfer here, and usually in this mission you don’t stay in an area for longer then that. Nothing is really for positive in the Utah St. George Mission.  I will let you know by the 17th of July whether I am going to stay here or be transferred. But to be really honest Mom, there isn’t anything I really need, or want for that matter. (Spoken like a truly humble missionary.  I love you Chadboy!)  I mean I am addicted to ties, so you can go with that as a default. But you can just go with what you want and I will be appreciative for anything I receive for my birthday. (Chad's birthday is July 30th!!)

(To preface this next paragraph -- Chad's father has been battling kidney cancer in his lung. Three months ago we were too worried to let Chad know about the possibilities. Tests showed no cancer cells.  However three months later (last Friday) the doctors confirmed the growth in Darin's left lung has doubled in size and he will have to have surgery to have it removed. We told Chad this time....)    Well now to the tough part..... I am glad that you at least told me about what is happening this time with Dad. It is kind of bitter sweet. I am glad to at least know what is going on, and at the same time it makes me feel a little worried, but I am glad to have this knowledge. I will be praying and waiting to hear how everything goes. So is the surgery going to be back in Spokane again or is it going to be in the Tri-Cities? Well I have a lot of questions, but I guess they will just have to be answered with time. (The surgery is scheduled for August 2nd at Kennewick General by Dr. Dizon.)

Well thanks for everything and I hope that you all have a great week!  Live it, Love it, Preach it!   Con Muchismo Amor,  ELDER D