Week 2 from LaJoya, Texas

Hey Mom,

Yeah we had snow Friday morning at 8 in the morning for about an hour, it didn't stick but it was the first time they have gotten snow here since 2004. It has rained a lot too, the days leading up to Friday it was in the 40's all day and rainy. I guess I am bringing some rain with me from Oregon.

Elder Ritchey is from Utah (Surprise, Surprise) I don't remember where he said but it is a small town about 30 minutes West of Salt Lake. 

The week has been good, just mainly checking up on investigators and less actives. The ward attendance here is about 90 people and there are like 500 members on the records so there are quite a few people that are either inactive or less active. We haven't really had a chance to do any service here, there is always something we could do but the people here are so worried about others that any time we ask if they need help they always tell us they are doing alright. 

We are in a really nice apartment actually, it is just Elder Ritchey and I and we have 2 bathrooms so that makes getting up and getting ready really nice.

The people here say my Spanish is really good for being brand new so I guess I can take their word for it. I am not able to understand them as well as I thought because they talk super fast and because of health issues some people are missing teeth or have other things such as lisps or kind of a mumble and that makes it hard to understand them. It just takes time I guess.

We always keep our bikes with us, since we have a mile limit each month we aren't able to drive everywhere so on some days we end up having to bike so our bikes are always with us in the apartment. The mission office is in the church, it is it's own little area in the church that has all of the mission stuff in it.

I am glad Matt's concert went well, Elder Ritchey used to teach his friends how to sing so he is helping me a little bit, he says I'm not all that bad, I just have to work on hitting the right notes. So you can tell Matt that I am learning how to sing. That should make his day.

Elder Ritchey and I will actually be teaching a little bit of Seminary tomorrow morning (no release time here, seminary starts at 6:45) We don't know exactly what we are teaching but we will wing it I guess.

The food here so far has been really good, we have had dinner appointments almost every night. One night we had pasole which was really good. You take corn and boil it or something to make it pop, not quite like popcorn but you just get it to expand a little bit and then you put that in like a broth that kind of reminded me of the broth for lasagna soup, then you shred some chicken and put that in there, it is really tasty. We have also had a whole bunch of tamales and those are sooooooo good. The homemade tortillas here are delicious, haven't learned how to make them yet but I eventually will. What is funny is that at some stores down here they sell pre-made tortillas but they aren't cooked so you throw them on a griddle or in a pan and cook them (genius). That's all I can remember that we have had so far, more dinner appointments this week so we will see if we eat anything new. Also another thing about the food here, for snacks they cut up fruit, especially oranges and apples and sprinkle them with chili lime seasoning and it is delicious. Just the kick from the chili lime and then the sweetness of the fruit, it is so good. I may start doing that when I get home, such good ideas.

How is everything and everyone else doing over there? 

I will talk to you guys next week, 

Love you

Elder Jaden Goodbaudy