Been here six months. Just saying!

I love my son! I love the work he is doing and I love that he is learning so much. I bet he could go up against anyone in a scripture battle and be able to hold his own. I am so impressed how much the missionaries get to know and love the people wherever they are serving. I am pleased that it is going as fast as it is too. I know I will look back and think it was no time at all but there are days that I still think he has been gone forever. I miss him and I love him. Still no pictures and that is a bummer! I need to get a picture of him soon or I just might think he is avoiding sending me one for some reason!



Before I start saying anything much, I´d like to point out that as of today, I have been in the mission for six months. Just saying.

This week was cool except one thing. While we were preparing Mónica for her baptismal interview, we discovered something. This something was rather large. Over a few hours, it came out that there´s some stuff in her past that means she has to have an interview with President King. So when we went to the interview, we sat outside the room anxiously for almost an hour. Then she came out, apparently having cried a little. We now await that interview with the President. We went over to her house immediately after and talked some, but then, the next day, she didn´t come to church, and wasn´t home at all that day. This happened before I was working with her when she couldn´t quit smoking before her first interview. She became afraid of what we were going to say or do when we arrived.

I am very grateful that I can tell her that what happened doesn´t matter with the Atonement. I do not know any other comfort she could possibly recieve. I always think of that story from the New Testament when a bunch of Jews bring an adulteress to Jesus to see if He´ll deny the law, or approve of a stoning, either one conflicting His position. Jesus says something like, "Let he that is without sin cast the first stone." Every Jew left. Then Jesus says, "Where are thine accusers? Hath anyone condemned thee?" She says, "No, man, Lord." Then the important part : "Neither have I condemned thee. Go, and sin no more."

My teacher in the MTC said that it´s as if we have a "sin account". We can´t pay back anything that is charged to it, or, at least, not enough to ever come back even to zero. Christ´s account is infinite. He has an unlimited amount of "credit." When we accept him, we get our number, plus infinity. How much is that? You could be at $-998,547,569,985,655,858,658.25. What would that even matter?

On the other hand, we´ve finally been able to get Pablo to read the Book of Mormon every day by himself. He´s kind of a Joey personality, if you will, but he is doing it anyway. It did take a few weeks to get here, though, believe me. We actually had to threaten him with corporal punishment a few times.

I read something really interesting in a Liahona the other day that has to do with that I think may be of value to you. Someone asked Elder Bednar, I think, at what point do we let kids have their agency to say, not go to church. He asked, "How hard is Satan going to try to win?" Well, I´d imagine he´d do anything to win, including fighting every day on every front to lead anyone "carefully down to Hell." That should be about as hard as we try in reverse, more or less. I recommend finding that and reading it. I couldn´t tell you where it came from, besides that it was in a Spanish Liahona.

As for mail, I´m sickened that that letter I sent AT THE BEGINNING OF THE CHANGE just arrived. I am trying to write stuff to people, but you´d be appalled at how little time I have in a day for that stuff. Then Pday comes and I can get a half a letter out between things we´re doing. What can I say? My first journal is done. I could send it home, I suppose. I don´t know if I´d still want it here or now. Advise me, please.

Cameras are expensive here, perhaps 20% or more in extra money due to importing. The Ipad here costs 450,000 pesos - more than $900, for example. As for the Ipod thing... you´re probably right. There´s a ton of more stuff I´d want, actually. I´d want Josh Groban, for example. (Elder Smith has some on his Ipod that´s very good.) If we were to do that, I´d need to take some time to put together "requests" so I don´t sit here and think and waste the time.

But, I did get that package on wednesday. The socks are amazing. I´ve been trying to wear them until they absolutely stink too bad to wear. And the pens too. I´m using one now instead of my lame Chilean Bic that I hate.

Also, just randomly, I´ve been doing an advanced study of the scriptures and I have discovered I don´t have any idea how to mark them. I´ve been kind of making it up as I go. Do you have any thoughts? There are scripture mastery stickers I´d like to put in my Spanish scriptures. Please look into that. I don´t know if you´ve ever been into marking at all. I find that I remember the things better when I mark them, and also, when you look at them again, you can understand a lot easier.

Thanks for everything, including being who you are. I love you.
Elder AC Crist

Tell Abby she has to bring the wine bag to Annie. (inside joke)

Also, are there more Dragonball Z things? (I believe he is talking about some funny mocking cartoon)