Monday, September 24, 2012

9-24-12

Dear Family,

This week was another great week.  I love my area, my companion, and everything is going really great.  We have really gained a lot of trust with the members here.  Elder Smith and I made a goal to be really good friends with ALL the members.  So we are doing it and they love us.   It is so fun to go to church and activites because we are like superstars.  All the kids want to play with us and the parents love us.  We started making no-bake cookies with them too, which they love.

We are trying to find some new investigators.  Which isn`t a super easy task.  The people here are really catholic, which means they are afraid of us.  But we are plugging along, little by little.   

But, like I said, things are going great.  I am freaking out a little bit about going home... but I am really excited to see you all!  I love you lots and hope you have a great week!

Love,
   Corey

Monday, September 17, 2012

9-17-12

Dear Family,

This week has been really good.  I am having a lot of fun.  We kind of struggled through the work week, but we are happy.  It is a lot of fun to have an american companion.  

So, to answer the popular question of the week......   Taco Bell no longer exists in Medellin...  We searched and searched, but it was all in vain.   So we decided to go to Panda Express!!!  Which, as it turns out, is NOT Panda Express....  So yeah, we kind of failed last week.  So as a result, we decided to make up for it all this week!  So, today we got out of the house at 10 and headed out to a place called Santa Fe.  It is a big mall that reminds me of America.  The have a lot of cool stores and a lot of restaurants.  So today, we ate at Cinnabon, Subway, and Crepes and Waffles!  We are officially satisfied!  

Also, this week, we decided to make some no bake cookies with some members!  They turned out really good.  It was nice to have a real dessert.  The desserts aren`t very good in Colombia.  

It looks like I will be getting home at about 10 30 pm on the 19th.  So get ready to party!

Well, sorry, but I am about out of stuff to write...  I know I am really bad at writing, but get your questions ready so that when I get home I can answer them all!

Love you lots and hope you have a great week!!!

Love,
    Corey

Monday, September 10, 2012

9-10-12

Dear Family,

This have been going really well.  I love my area and I am really enjoying my companion.  He is a really good guy and we are having a lot of fun.  Today, we are gonna set out on a search of Medellin looking for Taco Bell.  We heard a rumor that it exists so we gonna go look for it.   

We had a baptism!!!  We baptized Sara Henao.  She was super prepared and ready.  She will be a really great convert.  We see her as the future relief society pres.   Funny story from the baptism.  So with both of us being american, we usually get requests to sing in english, so we did. Kind of.  We sung a verse of I need thee every hour in spanish, then we were gonna do one in english then another in spanish.  So we started well.  We got to the first line in english and blanked...  We could not remember the words.  Everyone made fun and laughed and thinks we are dumb cause we don`t remember our own language haha..  but other than that, the baptism went really well.  Sara`s family is now interested in getting baptized.

It is really funny to have an american companion.  You should see how people look at us in the street.  Everyone stares and many have their mouths open.  But, i think one of the funniest things (and also a bit frustrating) is that no one beleives we speak spanish.  They speak really slow and use lots of hand motions.  And then we can rattle off a few lines in spanish and they catch on.  

So I am sorry my letters are lame.  The truth is, I am kind of tired of writing.  I feel like I can just share all my experiences in person here pretty soon.  So, sorry.  I will keep writing, but don`t expect too much.  

I love you all and hope you all have a great week!!!

Love,
    Corey


P.S.  I don`t have flight plans yet...  but they say I leave the 19th at like 7 or 8 in the morning.  We go to Miami and Chicago, and then to Salt Lake.  So expect me to be home really really late that night...  

Monday, September 3, 2012

9-3-12

Dear Family,

I had a really great week.  Tons happened and I don`t have a ton of time to share it all... but I will do my best.

I had a pretty good birthday.  It was nice to know that Elder Christofferson came to see me for my birthday haha.  The conference was really good.  It was super spiritual and nice to see an Apostle so close.  It was cool because he speaks spanish really well.  So no translator and we got to hear his actual voice.   He talked about a lot of stuff.  Remind me when I get home to share with you what he said.  It was amazing.  

We had a giant zone conference and it was really cool to see everyone there.  Lots of friends and people I haven`t seen for a long time.  We played soccer and I got sun burned pretty badly.  Actually, all us white guys got burned pretty bad.

I think I told you that I have a new companion right?  Well turns out he is super super cool.  I am glad to have such a good companion to finish with.  I am really excited to work with him for my last transfer.  So my new comp. is Elder Smith.  He is from Layton and was called to Barranquilla and got sent here to Medellin with the mission split.  He goes home a transfer after me.  We are really enjoying ourselves and speaking a lot of english.  We actually talk so much that we have a hard time getting to bed on time and focusing during our studies.  But things are going really well.  

I hope that next week I will be able to tell you more...  But I love you all and hope you have a great week!!!

Love,
    Corey