Jordan: 4/29/2013

From: Jordan Schouten [mailto:jordan.schouten@myldsmail.net]
Sent: Monday, April 29, 2013 9:48 AM
To: Mike Schouten; schouten.julie; John Schouten
Subject: my letter 4/29/2013

 

First off, Shaylee, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope you have a great day tomorrow. Love you a ton.

Well, this week was good and bad. We had some cool things happen, but there were also few challenges. We had a guy named Oscar that had a baptism date for last saturday, but he didn´t get baptized. Satan is working like crazy with him and he´s doubting everything that we´re teaching him. he´s still listening to us, but satan is doing everything possible to keep him from getting baptized. Satan is a smart guy. I realized that satan works really hard with the people that are going to be really really good members. If this kid gets baptized, he´s already told us that he wants to be a missionary and teach and help other people. So, Satan is doing everything to keep him from getting baptized. We´re going to keep on teaching him and praying a lot and hopefully everything will turn out well.

Things with my comp are up and down. Some days we get along really well and i really enjoy being with him. And other days, i just want to hit him, which is weird because i´ve never wanted to hit anybody in my life, but something about the attitude that he has sometimes drives me crazy. But, all in all, things are slowly getting better with him. But, even if we never become great friends, i´ve probably learned more from him than any other companion. I feel like i´m really becoming a lot more Christlike with him. I´ve never been a patient person with the weaknesses of others. But, with him, i´m learning that the Lord has blessed me a lot and that i need to be patient while my companion is learning. Really, in the 3 weeks we´ve been together, he´s changed a lot and he´s becoming more and more obedient. 

I did divisions this week with an elder in my district. He´s really cool. his name is elder Asay. He´s from draper Utah. He´s a really cool guy. he has about 8 months in the mission and he really wants to be a great missionary. He´s training right now. He´s not very good at spanish, but he´s got a great attitude. I had a really good day with him on tuesday. We found a family of 4 that´s super cool and has a ton of potencial to progress. I hope they get baptized.

Yesterday me and my comp tound a really cool family. it´s a young couple with 2 little kids. It was awesome because in paraguay, a lot of people don´t really listen and don´t understand what we´re saying, but they understood and they thanked us a ton when we finished the lesson. Usually people are like "finally, they´re leaving" they don´t actually say that, but it´s obvious that´s how they feel. But, they were like "thanks so much for coming. We weren´t expecting anything like this but we really enjoyed you visit." They acepted a baptism date for May 18th, my last saturday in paraguay. If we can get them to come to church these next 2 weeks, they´ll get baptized. We´re pretty excited. 

Other than that, i don´t really know what else to write. I´m glad Kyle´s homecoming was really good. I´m pretty worried for my homecoming if it´s going to be the first sunday back. As you can tell by my emails, i don´t really remember english very well and i can´t ever speak english because my comp doesn´t speak any english at all. But, that´s ok. We´ll see what happens.

Mom- thanks for everything. I´m glad your week was a little calmer than last week. it´s always good to have a good day or two to rest a little bit. I´m glad that everything is pretty much done for Grandma and grandpa´s new house. I´m pretty excited to see it. It´ll be different, but i´m excited. Oh yeah, question... what do you want to do for the mother´s day phone call. If you want to talk to me, that´s great. If you just want to wait 8 more days to see me, i don´t really care. It´s your decision. i´ll be fine with whatever you decide. It´s your day and if you want me to call, OK.

Dad- that´s for the answers to my questions. Love you a ton.

John- i´m glad you like your classes. That´s always a good thing. Are you living with Karson Kennington? (I think that is his last name) That´s cool. Just be patient and love him. things will turn out ok.

Austin- bummer that you can´t be there when i get home, but that´s ok. Better to finish with straight A´s than see me. You´ll be able to see me an hour later. Have you heard anything about that kid that you gave a BoM to in New York? Also, you have 2 weeks left to write me a normal letter that isn´t a plea for advice ;)

Tasha- how are things going? Have fun.

Shaylee- again, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Gotta run. The church is true. I know. I know Christ lives and loves us. This is His work. I love it.

Love you all, 

Elder Jordan Schouten

 

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