Hello from Nicaragua!

 
Sent: Monday, October 15, 2012 2:30 PM
To: Jim And Sandy Bever
Subject: Hello from Nicaragua!

Hello,
I hope this email finds all of you well. Thanks for your email, its always nice to hear how things are
going at home. And thanks for sending a package, I can't wait to get it! I'll try sending some letters or
something here in the next couple weeks. Things are going well here in Ticuantepe and I'm still learning
a ton. So this week we are for sure going to baptize Moises. We had to wait for a couple of weeks
because of the last time he drank, but he's well on his way to being a baptized member of the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints. So this Saturday at 4:00 we have his baptismal service planned.
Sounds like fall has finally come there at home, the weather here hasn't changed a whole bunch and
from what I've heard it really doesn't change a whole lot throughout the year. Supposedely, December is
the colder time of the year with April being one of the warmer months. But cold means 70 degrees and
rain and warm is something like 90 degrees without rain.
I'm getting more and more used to the mission life here in Nicaragua and the packed busses, three
wheeled moto taxies, smoke from burning trash everywhere, and of course spanish are all feeling a little
more natural. Elder Lopez is doing well and he knows how to just sit and talk with people, which is
something I'd like to do better in Spanish.
Here are a couple of pictures from the past week or so, the first couple are of our old district and then
Elder Franco and I with the branch president and his wife. (they had us over for dinner the night before
we had cambios the other week) The other two are just of a cool sunset that we saw the other day while
walking around, there are some more beautiful places here.
Something I learned this week was about sacrifice. In reality, the mission is just one big sacrifice or test
of endurance to see how much we want to continuously allign our lives with The Savior's. Every day we
have the choice of being a mediocre missionary or a consecrated missionary. The difference is how
much we want to sacrifice. To better understand the Savior, we need to sacrifice some things for others
that are better, and this is most important when these sacrifices are most difficult. Yesterday I was
feeling pretty sick from something that I ate, and it was pretty difficult for me to be out in the houses of
our investigators, but as I decided that I would do it anyway, I could feel a love for the people here and
of the Savior that was different than before. I turned out when others would have turned in and gone
home. I know that the Atonement changes lives even when that change is to go from something good to
something better. I'm not perfect, but I'm happy because I know that I'm trying to be.
Have a wonderful week,
Love,

Elder Bever