7/4/2011

Family, how are you all? Thank you so much for the letters. there were awesome. It sounds like a lot is happening. I didn’t even realize that it was the 4 of July till i read your letters ha a little sad but o well. That is awesome about the byu camp Caleb and Braiden. Caleb you were dang lucky. I have never played in the Marriot Center and i always wanted to. Are you allowing the illegal firework in your show this night? How many baptisms does the eagle stake get a month dad? Isn’t the stake going to split soon? wow that’s so cool that Jordan is finally taking off in a couple weeks. Its all weird to think that i will have a year by the time he gets in Paraguay! I love being senior companion. Before i always relied on my comp when i got stuck and didn’t know what to do but now i can think for a second and then just do and say what the spirit brings to your mind. It really is amazing how the spirit works. Its almost as I’m not thinking one thing and it comes out anyways! (took me like 30 seconds to think of the word anyways). I defiantly have more pressure like if we don’t have success then it falls on my head. But this last week we almost had another baptism. But the young man that was going to get baptized cant find his moms house ad we need her signature... we talked with her on the phone but she doesn’t want anybody to know where she lives so we will see how that all falls out. 
The weather here is..... kill me cold! I always have 4 or 5 layers on through the whole day and it rained all week but that always makes thing more fun cause me or my comp fall in the mud at least once a day. My comp has a good picture of me when i fell in the mud. This last week was a week of learning. We didn’t have much success but I learned how to handle so many situations better, that’s for sure. We have another mother in law that is the devils wife I’m sure!!! The sister of our recent convert we are teaching and the first 3 times were all good and we watch the restoration and the spirit was doing it’s work and then the mother in law caught on and now every time when we come over she runs out of the house to beat them and says there not here or sleep, another day!! Man she is horrible. And then with diego ad erica the investigators that i love they didn’t go to church and i haven’t talked with them for a while so we decided to go to his house and hope the M I L is not there but.,... she was and came out yelling what do you want with my diego? He’s not here don’t come back. hahaha i love her, although she makes it difficult to talk with him. He will get baptized soon I’m sure. But for the highlights of the week mariela and wilfrido the converts they didn’t go to church yesterday and so we went over to ask why and before we could talk she said I’m going to start with a prayer and in her prayer she cried asking for forgiveness that they didn’t go to church. And because they didn’t go neither did her sister, and it really touched me. They’re sinceridad towards the church. But that was a very powerful lesson they are doing really good with helping her sister’s progress. Also we got a text from the sister who we are teaching with her husband and it said, my mom doesn’t like but i want you to know that we will continue with your church and please come back!!!! Yep that was awesome! So i think they will get baptized the only thing is that he works Sundays. For a funny, i had a great encounter with a 2 drunks in the night. They came up to us and started to yell saying, what are you doing here American i will shoot you... then they paused and started to laugh and said just kidding... paused again and said we have guns but your aour friends come with us we will buy you something to eat. so we followed them and they bought us food and we left. Really I’m not going o lie i get scared but its not a scared like you think. I don’t have any doubt that we are protected here, as missionaries and I know that nothing will happen to us. Its a really cool feeling! I’m healthy, safe, try to be the most obedient i can thanks for the example you always put parents. 
Remember Braiden and Caleb to read the scriptures every single day!!!! Don’t miss one day even if you are busy partying! I love you all Elder Shaw