Conference Week

I think Alex is feeling a little forgotten! It takes so long to get anything to him that I think many are not trying to. If you feel like you want to write to him, here is his address, alex.crist@myldsmail.net He will answer on Mondays if he can, otherwise he will snail mail you. Please remember him! He is far from home and in need of "Old Friends and Family." I think he would just like to know the everyday things. Whether that is happy or sad or whatever. He is out of the loop and misses everyone.




Could you print out the 100 pushups in (certain number) of days thing online to send next time?
Also, my zone leader has a LUMIX camera that´s really good.

Well, conference was pretty good. That´s kind of a joke, actually. That was a great conference. I would have sat there for another 10 hours for more of that level of advice in a second. I pretty much asked for the three last talks of priesthood. I asked for the talk before Elder Holland also. That one about pain was pretty good too.

It was fun the way we watched it. The english speakers got to watch it in English (Because, as we can read in.. where is it... I think it´s 2 Ne. 32. The Spirit speaks to a man in his own language.), which was a relief, because usually it´s Spanish speakers, down to Spanish notes, with Spanish jokes, etc.

I do hope you managed to watch all of them. I can´t look at the text until the Liahona comes out, so you can bet I was paying as much attention as I had. I am no longer convinced it´s a good idea to watch it at home in a really relaxed setting. If you were going to see, I don´t know, Jesus speak, even on TV, you´d probably sit up straight. You might even put on slightly nicer clothing, shower, and take notes aggressively the whole time. I´m just saying. Well, He is too.

Speaking of things you may want to preserve, you are hanging onto these emails... even printing them, right?

Let me tell you about those last three priesthood talks I requested. The priesthood in my life before now wasn´t a lot. God´s expectations weren´t a lot. Notice how it´s not capitalized. It´s a fun mormon tradition for some people. When you get out here, for example, to Chile, to the razor edge of the battlefront, the Prieshood is something that changes lives.

That´s not to say we don´t feel inadequate. I´m having a lot of problems with that very thing right now. Pretty much everyone I meet here seems better than I am, in the language, in attitude, and in teaching. Reading D&C 19 recently didn´t help terribly either. (Look at 15) I´ve had some major successes, but none of them had to be me in that situation - I don´t think I´ve uniquely affected anyone´s life - I don´t feel neccesary.

That´s hard stuff. I think I may have found myself sitting in a familiar little cabin on a cruise ship. Randy is up in a banquet hall, apparently. Just got to find the stairs.

--

What´s interesting is as I was just thinking about that, one came to my mind. Then another. Then another. God is not a merciless God.

Having run out of time, I´d like to leave that with you. I let the pictures tell you the dumb stories. I am going to bring a list of things to write next time. Make it less... lame.

Love,
Élder A. Conrad Crist
(note accent mark - it makes it cooler)

We´d just like Scripture Mastery from Seminary. Elder Silva would really like them because they´re almost impossible to get in Chile.

Make sure to keep me up on what you´re doing. Tell people that anyone who can claim a blood relation (or a lawful equivalent of the same) can email me and recieve a response, says my zone leaders. If people email and they aren´t, I just have to write them physically - no problem. Don´t forget about me! I feel pretty small here sometimes.

I actually don´t feel like a foreigner anymore, though. With regards to an accent, I don´t think so. The funny thing is, though, since I rarely do more than just speak a few hours a week to other missionaries (and to Elder Silva in his language study), my ability to write and spell has become labored. (Taking notes was rough in Conference) The way Spanish works breaks that American habit of dangling prepositions - it simply cannot be done in Spanish. So that´s actually an improvement to my English. Accent - not yet. Wrecked spelling (trying to spell everything like it sounds), yes.