long day, sorry I can't write

We didn't get an email from josh until 9:30 pm because they were busy with fixing the truck. I asked the senior sister missionary where they were today since we hadn't seen an email - this was her answer:

 I wondered if they had had time to do much emailing this morning. They came over a little before 8 to email President Batt, I think. Elder P and Elder N were told to take their pickup to Farmington for the transportation Elder to examine. I think they are having trouble with tires. Elder Beck and Elder McCarrey had to go for something else. Maybe because Elder Beck is District Leader. Elder B and Elder M took 2 Elders from somewhere, I think Lukachukia, with them. I know they were either going to try to email from the Farmington Mission Home, the Farmington Public Library, or from here this evening when they get back. Our computers are not the best, but they work.

I looked it up and that's a 2 1/2 hour drive so no wonder he didn't have time for email!  :(

so here's his email for the week:

sorry. I don't know why I never have time these days.  I have a stack of things to do on P-day but the past couple of weeks I've been out of town at meetings and getting our truck fixed so I overloaded. I'm also really slow at thinking of what to type when I do get to email. You will be happy to know that I type with all my fingers and I am actually kind of fast if I know what I want to say. I need to work on time management and make sure I know what I'm going to say before Monday. Tell Aaron and Chris sorry but I'm not going to be able to email them this week. I only have a half hour instead of an hour this time to be on the computer because it's late. I will send home a letter, and it will be long. I feel bad that I haven't given you much. For now just know that I'm doing well and I love all of you! Goodnight!

Point with your lips!

Sorry I didn't email much last week. I logged off and then realized I never actually sent an email talking about my week.  The Halloween decorations you sent me two weeks ago are hanging up and the elders and I have eaten most of the candy.  The temperature is usually in the 60's which means it is suit season. I get to wear my suit every day! I wear the separate pants we bought that can be washed so my suit pants don't get dirty. Its nice when all my cloths are the same shade of black haha. Thank you for the hoody! I use it every morning because its freezing at 6:30 in our trailer. I feel like a weirdo for asking you to send the blanket, because the week after I asked you a member gave me a fleece blanket with a Navajo design on it. Then, 5 days ago an Investigator we teach gave my companion and I a blanket. Now I have 4 blankets and I don't know what to do with 2 of them haha. I have a really cool story! We have been teaching a youth minister from a Christian church for a month or two and we have set a baptism date with him before but he got too busy with school and finding someone to take over the church so we had to move it. When we met with him two weeks ago we re-set a date and last week we meet with him to see how he was doing. He told us that he is training someone to take over at the church but his school work is making it hard for him to read. When we asked him about the date we set with him he told us that he didn't want to push it off anymore and he wants to do it on that day. He basically bore his testimony the whole time and decided at the end that he could find time to read because he knows its important. Last Sunday was Stake Conference and he showed up and brought a family he knew who ended up being a Less Active in the church. (He is already a member missionary and he hasn't been baptized yet) He told us that he is reading the Book of Mormon every day and he has seen the difference it has made in his life. I'll let you know how his baptism goes :) We keep joking that after he is baptized all the people in his old church are going to be converted and we're going to have 100+ new members! He is Awesome! Feel free to ask any questions about the area because I've been here long enough that things that are different seem normal to me. I can say some obvious stuff that I can think of... The people here all have wood stoves to keep them warm in the winter so every fall they go get some wood in the mountains near by and haul them back in their truck. We cant leave our area to help people get the wood but we can chop it up after they bring it back. I've already chopped wood 20+ times and lets just say I'm pretty good at swinging an ax now haha. The people here also refer to stuff plural all the time so instead of saying "wood" or "fry bread" they say "wood's" or "fry bread's." They also point with their lips instead of their finger, which freaked me out at first but now I'm starting to do it on accident and it doesn't bother me any more. Maybe you could try it some time, it looks funny. Well, that's all I can think of so I guess that's it. Talk to you next week, Peace!

Snail mail is the best :)

 This week was kind of slow but it was like a super recharge when I watched conference. When you're on a mission everything in Conference applies, so I got a lot out of this one.  The people we are seeing are showing improvement and two of them watched conference and now are super exited about the Gospel. I have had my own little miracles and my testimony of the power of prayer grows a lot while I'm out here. We have found a few people so ready for the church its like they're already waiting for us in the baptismal font and all my companion and I can do is scratch our heads and wonder why we didn't find them earlier. A lot of the people in Many Farms know who we are but a lot of them are caught up in their traditions and don't like change. But we meet a lot of people who are super nice and even if they don't want to talk with us they give us water and talk with us for a while. I am amazed how nice people are after you get to know them and the Natives are super loving. I love where I'm at and I know this is my mission for a reason. Transfer week was this week and I'm staying here for at least another 6 weeks. anyways, I got to go because I'm out of computer time. Could you please have Rachel and Dad send me mail. I can write letters any day and its cool when you get mail. Thank you! Peace!

Josh's address:

New Mexico Farmington Mission

400 West Apache 

Farmington, NM 87401

(all mail and packages must be sent first class priority so the mission home can forward it - otherwise it sits at the mission office for 3 weeks until the district leaders take it to them)

The picture of the home I sent you is the mountain man we visit who lives in a shack a 1/2 mile up the mountain. hiking to his house is fun.

Traditional Hogans are made of sections of logs like a cabin only in an octagon shape and have dirt floors with no running water with only a few windows and a wood burning stove in the middle. Some people have modernized the traditional Hogan and have put running water but still no plumbing (Most people who live in them have an outhouse.) The newest ones have siding, insulation, wood floors, and electricity. Every Hogan I've been in has been one big room, but I have seen people drape a blanket across a section for privacy. We go shopping every Monday in Chinlee at a store called "Bashes." That's the only store in the immediate area so when ever we go to Farmington or any place with a Walmart we stop in and get wheat we need. Many Farms has 2 gas stations and that's it. My companion is from North Dakota and the two other missionaries are from Utah and Idaho. I have food to spare and lately the members have been feeding us dinner. I bought cereal and eggs for breakfast and I usually have a sandwich for lunch. I bought Spaghetti noodles and a bunch of caned food for dinners and other meals as well. I put an effort into making my meals instead of eating ramen my whole mission. I had tomato soup for dinner last night and I made cream of wheat the other morning for breakfast. The members feed us Fry bread all the time and its awesome :) We have a washer and dryer in the trailer and the color catchers are working. Every now and then I wash my whites by them selves and put bleach in the load. My whites might be brown when I come home.  Peace!