June 18, 2012

Hola Familia Mia,

Well like always I truly loved the letters and the messages this week. All of them seemed so positive and happy and exciting. I love to hear that from you guys! Congratulations on performing music camp so well little girls! I always loved watching you guys dance and sing.  As for me, things are going awesome here! I seriously am having such a great time here in Apollo Beach. We had a couple miracles this week and we just started a couple more sweet things so I will just get started. Lightning responses, Carlee this week I was able to have the delicacy known as Chicharrones. In other words pig skin. but this was not deep fried nor very delicate. Actually it is straight up soft chewy pig skin with all the fat in the world still attached to it, and I happened to be Mr Lucky that night and scored the box with the most in it. I was able to eat about 7 tacos worth of these things and I had barely dented the pile. (as a mexican you just use tortillas as your fork and spoon and knife, so you tear out a chunk of tortilla and use it to grab a chunk of meat and beans and rice so just a hint when I get back home dont judge me for manners! hahaha) so 7 tacos means 7 tortillas broken into chunks with a big ol pig skin drippin with grease and juices in the middle. Not the worst but definitley not the best. As for the pizza mom yes we finished it well and got wings for afterwards. That puts me into another thing, I am gaining weight and size again. due to the very broad intelligence of Elder Shields when it comes to workouts and supplements and such.  He is now leading me in a full on charge for 200 if not 225. We just got to start going to a gym due to the English Elders who allow us to be their "buddies" so we can get in. Its part of what they payed for. Today I did 215 on decline bench by 5 with 4 negatives! oh yea. I am beat let me tell ya. Also my comp from the mtc that went home is coming back out this next transfer and we hope to train him. So a tripleship in a house of about 20 by 20? Should be fun. Now as for spiritual things or those things that actually matter. We are having a baptism this Saturday! His name is Samuel Lopez and he is from Puerto Rico and he is about as buff and thick as dad and wears the same type of clothes and everything. He is however a little younger. The funny thing is is that we met him last Sunday and committed him to baptism after one lesson. He said yes and then bought a whole sunday getup and he does everything we tell him to. Just fell right into our hands from out of nowhere! So we are super pumped about him! Oh to go along with the whole size thing, the members here are really starting to love us and because they love us they ask us to come over and eat all the time now! Last night we had HUGE turkey legs and Mac and Cheese and mole and a bunch of other stuff! Great for the protein intake eh? hahaha But the cool thing is that the family we ate with is less active and owns a store and now they like us so we have a family night with them this week and everytime we come she lets us take anything we want from the store. pretty cool stuff. As for that other baptismal date, it hasn't been set because apparently the girl is going through a nervous breakdown and never is home now. So we hope she took her chill pills this week hahaha. No we really love her its just hard. We did a ton of service and we got to hang out with all the members as we painted a whole house in one day. Then afterwards two of the hermanos took us out to eat at a chinese restaurant which was super good. So we have been doing pretty good and we are only getting better. Even english classes are going very well. we have two returning people and one brought his two kids last time. We kinda hope to baptize him and his family. So we are doing great and I love being here!  So keep it swell and write back all the adventures. I love you guys because you are the best family!

Love, ELDER OLIVER