Tuesday, January 24, 2017

An Adventure in an Ugly Hat

This week Elder Jayden went on an adventure! His zone had a conference, and spent a day at a Colombian military base that had a museum. He sent a bunch of really cute pictures, almost more in this one e-mail than I have been able to scrape out of him HIS WHOLE MISSION.
I'll take them when I can get them.
This will fill his scrapbook out nicely.
In the meantime, Utah has been dumped on with another huge load of SNOW, and the pictures of his sunburned face make me jealous! My week has been a struggle, and I think a lot of it has to do with the dreary weather here.
Here is his e-mail this week:
Well i can tell you one thing, my week was not filled with snow:)
This week President came down and stayed for a long time in Sincelejo. We had a zone conference with him and learned some more about repentance and had a really good conference. 
This keyboard sucks.
I am sorry that your week kinda sucked. I hope this week goes better for you! 
This week was filled with amazing instruction from President. I willl shoot you some pictures in a sec. We went to a military base and we had a really good time. We played sports and ate and just kinda chilled as a zone there. There are a lot of parties and stuff going on in Sincelejo so the missionaries there couldn't really work so President decided that it would be better if we did something as a zone. 
With the meetings and the activity we had,  and because we have to travel an hour away(ish) to Sincelejo, we haven't been able to work a whole lot.
Oh also this week i split my pinky toenail in half, hurt really bad.
That's about all i have but i will hit you with some pics in just a little bit and hopefully that will make you happier:)
Love you!
Elder Wadley
I caught him online and we had this little convo:
Do you realize you have two more Mondays?
mom stop haha i know how much time i have left but i dont like people reminding me:) crazy though!
Can't stop. Won't stop.
Did you just miley cyrus me??
I also gave him a little crap about the hat that he is wearing in all of these pictures and who in the heck approved this hat? He looks like a 87 year old lady! I guess he hurried and bought it when they went out to the base. Maybe it was all they had? I dunno. It's pretty special.
Elder Flores, Elder Wadley, The Hat, Elder Canavese.
Two hats! One of the other Elders looks dorky too!

A little blurry, but USA!
His horrible split toe.
His whole zone.

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Baptisms on the Colombian Coast

I think I have kind of checked out on this blog. Maybe this is how missionary moms get "trunky." Our e-mails get shorter and more boring than normal, because we know the light at the end of the tunnel is getting closer. I have also been nesting a little, like you do your last month of pregnancy- getting his room ready, and preparing for his homecoming.

My heart is heavy too, for him. For him leaving the people he has grown to love so much. They say this separation is more painful to missionaries than the one two years prior when they left home. Because in the back of their heads they know that they will be returning home one day. Elder Jayden will never again return to the people of Colombia. Maybe for visits, but not set apart as a missionary, with all the rights and privileges that come with that call.

As he has been winding down his last few weeks as a missionary, he has been working hard.
This past week they had three baptisms!

I asked him a little about what he wanted by way of food for his homecoming. I told him I would have brownies for sure (they are his favorite, and he has missed them!)

Here is his e-mail this week:
Well honestly brownies yes! I feel like whatever will be fine though i think i am just going to get sick either way from the change of food so i guess it doesnt really matter what it is! Also 1`oclock church is going to be weird as well..... every church building here always starts at 9. Well i guess like dad always says "change is always good," but i dont know if i am quite ready...
Well this week was good and bad. I have been a little off this week. I guess i have been stressed and sad i guess you could say. Even though maybe i have not been up to par God still has taken care of me and given me a lot to be thankful for.
We also had three baptisms this week. two in our area and one in the other area. It was cool because we got to baptize them in a pool. It was a really cool experience and i was able to feel the spirit really strong even though we weren't in a church building for the baptism.
Honestly that was about it for this week pruebas, paciencia, y bendiciones.
(tests, patience and blessings)
Love you!
Elder Wadley
Our baptisms were: Jairo and the kid is Diego (i baptized him) and the other girl is from the other area her name is Maybelin ( i think is how you spell it!)

Side note: The day after Christmas, Elder Wadley transferred back up to the coast of Colombia. It was a long (12 hour) bus ride, and the coast is where he started his mission. It is super hot there, the missionaries are allowed to wear hats and sunglasses. His area is called SahagĂșn.

These baptisms took place in a local swimming pool.

This last picture he sent will always be one of my favorite mission pictures of my boys. One I will keep forever. He looks so good in his whites, and he looks so happy- a fullness of joy.
He also looks more filled out, and more mature and just different- and all those things tug at a mama's heart.
To notice the things you have missed by being apart for two years, balanced by the changes he could only have made by separating himself from you.
23 days.