e-mail August 16, 2010

Dear all,

That is interesting that you are going to get a job. Is there is reason? Are you running low on money for the mission or are you just bored? I hope to get the package when we go on Wednesday for changes.

We have been trying to run around and visit all of our members in the last few days. It has been crazy. It was been crazy to think about even being close to go home. It´s like the dream I had the other day when I was home and everyone was congradulating me for completing my mission. They were all telling me I had been out for 2 years and I was freaking out because I had only been out for 6 months. I told everyone that I had only finished 6 months and everyone told me I was done. It actually made me sad. It made me realize how much I need to treasure every moment. There are a lot of things I will actually miss, so I need to love and treasure everything, even the things that stink.

We are working hard and have worked hard this whole change. We don´t really have any investigators. Changes are on Wednesday and I am really hoping I get a Latino comp. We will see. So today for p-day, we went to a park that costs 15 cents to enter. The have monkeys there in the cages that you can feed. It was actually funny and quite fun. Those are the majority of the pictures from this week. We also had the party for Elder Ensign.

This week, I kind of got a machete from the sprit. I realized this week that I can´t teach very well. We don´t have very many investigators and we don´t get to teach very often, so i haven´t gotten very good and teaching. So i really realized that this week I need to mejorar my teachings. So i have been working on that. Plus, president Arredondo has changed how we do a few things. and how we teach.

Anyway, what else. O, so we did exchanges wth the ZLs this week. I was at their house sleeping. They are the one that have Wana. She is a member and cleans their clothes, the rooms and just takes care of them. But she kind of scares me becuase she is very demanding too. anyway, I have been sick all week and i was coughing that night. She came in and gave me some herbal tea and a pill of some sort. Then a few minutes later, she brought in some icy hot stuff. She told me to rub it on my neck and then she went and started pulling up my garment tops. I didn´t really know what was going on, but she pulled my garment top up and started rubbing it on my back. It was so funny. It felt just like having a mother. She rubbed it on my back and I could actually feel the menthal. It was good. It was imbarrasing too. anyway, that was the funny thing for the week.

I have daily occurances with misunderstanding spanish. I can´t even tell all of the funny misunderstood spanish things. I think that´s about it for this week. I will tell you who my new comp is next week. I am pretty sure I am staying, but anything could happen. We will see.

Thank you everyone for your continued support, your letters and your prayers.

Q & A August 16, 2010

1. How do transfers work there? If you stay and you get a new comp, do you have to go to Managua with your comp and bring a new comp back with you?

yes, I will go to matagalpa with all of the other missionaries from Matagalpa to Managua and come back with him and take him to San Ramon. We will rent a small bus that holds like 20 people for the day.

2. You said you got mail last week. Did you just get dearelders or did you also get regular mail? I wondered which of the addresses that I used made it to you. Let me know if you get my post cards also.

I got one postcard, the Saskatewan pastcard, a couple dear elders and a couple letters. Your dear elder and your letter that you raced got here the same time. But from the looks of it, if the bag doesn´t get lost, dear elders are actaully faster.

3. Do you know when the rainy season ends? I wish we would get some rain this week.

I thing i heard it ends here in Nov or Dec. I think I am going to go get a rubber rain slicker with some of Grandma´s gift seeing as how my umbrella broke. I sent a picture of it last week.

4. Did you get to have a party for your comp before he leaves? How did it go?

Yes, I get 10 dollars to one of the members to plan a party for him. It was good. Not very many members came, but the few good ones came.

5. I'm getting a package ready to send for your birthday. What do you want in it? Do you want those batteries this time? What else?

The batteries would be good. Some Mike and Ikes!!!! If you could send two crocheting hooks. Maybe you could send two in a letter and they would get here faster. I have a sister who wants an aluminum one from the states.Her husband had to try and make her one our of melting plastick into a needle. Umm, a journal, a normal one that just says journal on the front. maybe some more pictures of the family. I want to have some more pictures of things that we did together, that doen´t look rich either. People love to see pictures but i don´t want us to look rich in them either. Anything is welcome. I don´t really have any music i can listen to either. We can listen to mormon tabernacul choir. if you could send one or two CDs, that would be cool too. I think that´s about it.

e-mail Aug 9, 2010

Dear all,

Well, this week has been good. We are working hard and doing our best. My comp only has a week left, but we are still working hard and trying to find investigators. I am probably going to stay here for one more change. I don´t think they are going to shut the branch down and i have to train the next branch president.

umm, things that happened this week. Well, first, we found out that Sorayda, our recent convert got a job. We fasted with her about 3 weeks ago that she could find a job. She actually went out to look for a job and after about a week, she found one right down the street. It´s not a lot. Just 25 dollars for the month. But that 500 cordobasis atleast more than nothing. It was really cool for me to find out because we had talked to her about fasting and praying . She asked us if we would fast with her and she was able to find what she needed. It was a true answer. Anyway, we went to go see her and we found out that she has to work everyday from 6 to 6. We aren´t supposed to leave the city after dark, so we technically shouldn´t go visit her. Anyway, we need to go have a lesson because the Lord blessed her with a job but if she isn´t going to be greatful and keep the commandments too, the Lord won´t bless her for long.

So yeah. We had an activity with the teenagers of the district. They really are the strength of the District. They are often the ones who help the missionaries and help with activities. So we did an activity to animate them to help us and strentgthen their testimony. It was good.

I got like 12 letters from people last week when the bulsa finally came. A lot of your´s, mpm, where the coppies. But i think that´s because the bulsa didn´t come for like 5 weeks. Thank you Despains for your letter and Sister Key for yours as well. It is great to hear about everyone. Emily thank for your letter as wel. Sorry if i can´t write you all back. I can´t even find time to write me own family besites the email.

So for p-day, we went to this jungle park place. It´s called Salva Negra, Black Jungle. Anyway, they had monkeys, and a little museum. It was 35 cords just to get in.

But things are going good. We are trying to plan a little party with the branch for my comp before he goes. We will see how it goes.

I think that´s about it. We are teaching and walking and trying to find investigators. It is a hard area, but we are working and doing what we can. I have really llearned a lot about myself and continue to learn more every day about people and the gosple. The church is true, no matter where you´re at, what people you´re with or how small the branch is. We need to continually pray and feel the spirit to strengthen our testimony always.

With love,

Elder Ashby

Q & A e-mail August 9, 2010

1. Emily and I noticed that you are wearing your glasses in several pictures. Do you wear them often? Is there a reason?

Yeah, my eyes have been going crazy and burning. I have had to wear them almost everyother day these last two weeks. I don´t know what´s happening. I think i need to rinse them more often. I´ve been trying to go every two days with putting fresh solution in the case becasue i found out that a bottle costs 13 dollars here. But i guess my eyes are more important than money. I need to start being smarter about that.

2. What will happen to the members of your small branch if they close it?

I think they would have to meet in a member´s home and have some sacerdocios some priesthoods from Matagalpa come and do the sacrament, but it´s not looking like they will shut it down anytime soon. It is still a possibliity, but i think i will be here for one more change to train the newt branch pres.

3. What was the highlight of your week?
umm, my hightlight was finding out that our recent convert found a job, which i will write about more in my letter. You can´t ask questions like that becuase then you take everything i have to write about for my big letter ;)

4. Have you and your comp managed to keep going these last few weeks in the area? Is there going to be a lot of work involved for you if they close it?

I don´t know. We are still working hard. We go out and work and try and find still. My comp is more concerned about quality and not so much quanity. We are tying to strengthen the members more than anything. I don´t know how much we would be involved if they were to shut it down.

pics from San Ramon 8/2/10

e-mail Aug 2, 2010

Dear All,

Well, things here in San Ramón are going well. Nothing much has happened this week. We are trying to work hard, contact and teach. We are not finding a lot of luck, though. But, we are working hard. We went and printed off some talks from conference session and It is funny how, when your on your mission, you can read any talk and it applys to the mission, even if it didn´t before or wasn´t meant to apply. I read the Patience talk by President Uchtdorf and it was really good.

We have our recent confert, Sorayda. She is the one that is having a hard time. She has three kids and no job. She has some health problems, none that are big enough that she can´t work. Anyway, she is really funny and has a good heart. She has just been living poor for so long, she doesn´t want to put a lot of work in to find a job. We gave her a bunch of ideas of things she could do just in her house, but she didn´t like any o them. There is a saying that is in Work and the Glory 2 I think. It says, God provides for those who provide for themselves. It is so true. God isn´t just going to give things to people that don´t want to use it. Whether it´s in misisonary work. We have to work hard to show the Lord that we want to work and teach those who are ready. If we don´t work hard, He isn´t going to give use the success. For her, she needs to look and be willing to take whichever work the Lord gives to her. The Lord´s not going to give her work if she isn´t going to take it. Or if there is someone who is trying to investigate the church. The Lord isn´t going to give the knowledge if the person doesn´t seek if, or if they don´t want to try. A person has to seek for the truth and want to know if the church is true. If we show God that we want to find out and put our strength and our part, God will help us and give us the knowledge. But we have to try with all our might in all we do.

Anyway, Some of the pictures from this week were from District/zone meeting. The ZLs got a piñata for the meeting to try and get spirits up. It was quite funny. I bought a sweet soccer jersey this week in town. I think that´s about it.

We have a bat that lives in our house every night. It is getting...stuff all over the floor. So I eat a lot of bread here. It is the cheepest and the fastest. I eat a lot of bread. I also have a bad habit of when we are just walking or jsut sitting, I am not teaching or doing something and I feel like I need to eat. I have just started eating too often and I think my metabolism has slowed. I started feeling fat and unhealthy. I know i´ve gained some weight around my waist becuase my suit pants are fiting pretty tight. Anyway. I had to kind of go on a diet and cut back on how much and how often I eat. I have had to increase my workouts in the morning. I feel more healthy now and and actually getting back a little bit into shape.e Anyway, I think that´s about all. We will see.

I think my spanish is pretty good. I can communicate for the most part with anyone. This is five months down. It has gone by pretty fast. This last month was a little slower with this 9, almost 10 week change. It is really long. We´ve had 2 emergency changes in the mission already in some zones. Well, the church is true. Share the happiness and the knowledge with everyone. It´s our duty to amonestar, to warn all our neighbors and show the joy and happiness that comes from the gosple.

With Love,

Elder Ashby

Q & A e-mail Aug 2, 2010

When I asked Logan what he wanted to ask you, he wanted to know when we can go to your house. :-)

Well Logan, in a lot of years when we all save a lot of money, we will all take a trip back and visit my house ;)

Evan wants to know if you get ice cream there.

Yes, they have ice cream here. It is call eskimo ice cream. I can get a two scoop ice cream cone for 75 cents!

1. Really, we'd like to know what kinds of things kids do there for fun. John says that on his p-days, they played soccer with the neighbor kids, learned from the kids how to throw tops, and wrote letters. What do kids do there?

Well, kids watch quite a bit of TV here. All the kids play marbles. That is the biggest thing. There are a lot of soccer fields and kids love playing soccer.

2. What is the technology like there. Obviously you have access to computers, but are there lots of satellite dishes on the houses? iPods? Cell phones?

There are cybers where they have computers. Most people have some kind of old TV. A lot of people have DVD and a lot have satelite too. IPODS, not so much. A lot of people have a type of cheep MP3. Almost everyone has a cell phone, but they work differently here. They buy a 10 dollar stinky cell phone and then they just buy minutes called saldo when they need it. I don´t know how much that costs. But yeah. Some people , the fachenta people have flat screens