First Door Slam to the Face, Dreaming in Spanish, and a Transvestite Haircut

Elder Wadley's last two e-mails were sent to me while I ran away to Hawaii (alone!) to spend some time with my sister Hollie. When I try to blog from my iPad, it formats weird, so I waited until I was home. I fly stand-by, and getting home took a bit longer. Okay, maybe I just decided to stay...it was 85 there, and 30 at home. I watch the weather in Manizales where Elder Wadley is serving. The weather is a little cooler there, averaging around 70, and a good amount of rain lately.
Here is last week's e-mail:

Hey haha hows Hawaii? Two times in Hawaii without me huh? Ha i hope you are having fun!

My week wasn't a whole lot of interesting! I have been sick basically all week which has been fun! Nothing too serious headaches and a cold really, but i am better now! 

My week went pretty normal nothing really interesting happened um we went to the farm again this week to visit Gustavo and i love going up there it is really pretty and i don't know i just really like it! It is away from everything. We also went to a couple of members houses to give them letters of some sort and one lady got really mad, and for the first time in my mission i got a door slammed in my face! So i am pretty pumped about that! Um there wasn't much else it was a pretty normal week. We had some pretty good lessons this week and put some baptismal dates which is awesome! I am super excited for these people! 

Oh we also got a new gringo here in the zone, Elder King. Super nice dude! He is from Bountiful, but we got to talk for a little bit which was cool. Um i don't really have a whole lot to say. Let me know if there is anything you want to know and i will be glad to tell you:) 

Questions:

1- (Hollie wants to know if you have had the pleasure of a good old South American pants sharting?)Personally i have not had the experience of South American sharting sorry hah! 

2- (Have you had to hide bad food from members yet?) No i have never had to hide food:)

3-(Do you guys do anything when you hit your one year mark? Like burn ties?) One time we ordered pizza.

4-(Any miracles or tender mercies this week?) Oh this week i have noticed the blessings in my life that the gospel has given me. A ton that i have taken for granted my whole life. I was super lucky to grow up in a home that is part of our church and for growing up in the gospel with my whole family. I have seen a lot of broken families here and i just want to express how grateful i am for that.

5-(Who cuts your hair? I know that is random- but do you go to a place or a member?) Its random haha whoever is open, last week i got my haircut by a tranny....... interesting experience...

Anyways i don't have a ton this week! I love you guys!! Have a great week!

Elder Wadley

And this is this week's email:

Well first off sorry you are "stuck" in Hawaii haha! Tell Grandpa that i said hi and Hollie as well!

My week was pretty normal nothing really happened. 

Last Monday we played soccer with some investigators and not going to brag but i scored a goal haha only one!

Other than that the leaders had a meeting in Medellin so Elder King was with us for like three days really nothing interesting happened this week sorry. 

I found a cool scripture this week though in D&C 38:40.

 D&C 38:40 And again, I say unto you, I give unto you a commandment, that every man, both elder, priest, teacher, and also member, go to with his might, with the labor of his hands, to prepare and accomplish the things which I have commanded.

 41 And let your preaching be the warning voice, every man to his neighbor, in mildness and in meekness.

It says that basically everybody needs to help with what the Lord has commanded. It is not just the work of the missionaries but of everybody.

I had been looking for a scripture this week to help motivate the members to help us out. Most of the time the members think that it is just work for the missionaries but really it is better when everybody works together. 

I have been reading a lot lately and learning a lot-which sounds weird especially if you knew me before the mission haha. It has been really good though i am really enjoying it! 

There are a lot of things i still need to work on and stuff that i am doing pretty good. Sorry these last couple of weeks haven't been very good writing wise. 

Questions:

1-(I assume your companion now does not speak English. Is he interested in learning? Have you taught him any English phrases?)He is a little bit interested and i am teaching him a little bit.

2-(I haven't asked how your Spanish is lately. Do you feel fluent now? Have you had any dreams in Spanish yet?) I don't think i speak very good and i don't think i am fluent but i am trying. I have had a couple dreams in Spanish.

3- (You are getting closer to one year down. Do you feel like it is going faster than you thought?)Time is freaking flying by- it scares me. I heard once you hit one year it gets worse also!

4-(Any miracles? Tender mercies?)This week i haven't noticed anything really big.

5-(I would still love some photos of your apartment now- and your street. Just regular stuff. It is fun for us to see how you live there.)Oh yeah  ha i want to send some photos but this computer kinda sucks i will try anyways:)

Again sorry i haven't had to much to say. I love you!! Have a great week!

Elder Wadley

No photos for two weeks! I will give him a pass, because I was in Hawaii. Next week I am going to shamelessly beg to see his face. :)

Who Needs a Ladder?

Another week down. Elder Jayden is doing great, and always amazes me with how upbeat he always is. I have yet to receive an email with something negative. Maybe living at home, with us, has been holding him back all these years! All I know, is that sending a boy on a mission (once you get past the rough first couple of months) is the best kept secret of the church. He is learning the value of selfless service and genuine gratitude. At 19. Here is Elder Wadley's email this week:

Hey sorry that last week i didn't have very much time, this week i am not as crunched for time. Happy (late) Halloween! My Halloween wasn't very interesting either haha i barely got to see any costumes. I did get three pieces of candy though!;)

My week was pretty good though!

Elder Wadley and his companion,  Elder Pacaya from Peru

Monday: We had our zone meeting in the morning which went really good! We had the rest of the day to do whatever as well which was nice! After the meeting we had a Brazilian lunch because we have two people from Brazil in our zone and one of them made us all lunch and it was super good! Towards the end of the night we went and played soccer with a couple of our investigators and it was really fun!

Tuesday:normal day ha

Wednesday: We had an intercambio with Olivera and it went pretty good! We had a normal day of teaching and all that good stuff and at the end of the night we helped a less active family move houses! We got to do a little move service thus week than normal which was pretty nice! 

Thursday: Ha Thursday i got to share all the candy you mailed me with a couple people and they absolutely loved it! Everyone thought the cracked pepper sunflower seeds were a little weird but ended up liking them as well ha! 

Friday:Was a pretty normal day

Saturday: We had another opportunity to serve. We went to a members house to help them build a second floor on their house. It was pretty fun! Ha the cool part is i could put in all these metal poles by myself because i am tall haha they were all on chairs and everything. Oh i also broke a ladder haha!

It looks pretty professional and stable to me. :/

Sunday:Was a pretty normal day it rained really hard .

My week wasn't anything to special but i really enjoyed it! 

Now to answer your questions

1-(Do you have seasons there? Or is it just hot and hotter?)There are not really seasons here it is the same weather all year round

2-(What do you do for p-days in your new area? Are there any cool things to see? I loved the pictures of the farm! That is exactly how I picture Colombia to look in my head- except that it is a marijuana farm. Lol.)We haven't really done anything lately today we might go do something today haha but i am not really sure:)

3-(Do you guys get callings in your branch? Do they have branch activities?)We are called as missionaries haha. There are activities but we are never invited:(

4-(What kinds of things have you been eating? Do you cook much?)Been eating rice haha and bread ha. I havent cooked a whole lot

5-(Do girls in Colombia shave their armpits or legs? Not that you should notice the ladies...)In the coast they dont really but everywhere else they do

6- (Any miracles or tender mercies this week?)I have been noticing a lot of things lately that i am super grateful for! A lot of things hah:)

Well family i love you guys! Good luck with your languages (Mikayla and I are learning Spanish, Brendan is studying German, Sam started Italian, and Shayne is trying out French. Duolingo, friends! It is the best!) and have a great week!

Elder Wadley

Dedicated and Motivated!

Our e-mail this week made me happy. It was short and had no pictures, which is normally the opposite of what makes a missionary mom happy. He didn't even answer any of my questions I had for him this week!
But you guys- you can literally feel his excitement about the work coming out in his words. This is the reason I wanted him to serve a mission. Not for the bragging rights, or the opportunity to learn a language, or experience a new culture- but to bring people to Christ. 
Here is the report this week from my Colombian boy:

Hey fam! Sorry your week was boring haha!

My week was pretty good! I don't have a ton of time today so i will try to make this quick but at the same time pretty good! 

We found a new investigator this week and the dude is a stud! His name is Cesar, and he is doing so good! We brought him to the conference with our president this last Sunday and since then he has quit smoking cold turkey. He is reading basically everything we give him and is inviting his friends and cousins to come and listen to us! He is such a rad dude and is progressing awesomely! 

Mainly we have been focusing on him this week. Other than that nothing really interesting happened. We had a meeting with the asistants this week and it went really well. I got to see my buddy (Elder) Opheikins. 

It rained a poop ton this week which was really nice makes it a little bit colder here. Sorry this was so short i promise i will be better prepared next week. 

I don't even have my cord to send pictures either. :(

Sorry again but i dont have a ton of time! Next week will be better!! 

Love you lots! Have a great week!!

Elder Wadley

I love this boy. Eight months down yesterday!
I am adding an old photo with this post- because I like to see his cute face.

 

High on the Mountain Top

This next week Elder Wadley will hit eight months. I can't believe it. Honestly it is going so fast. In the first couple of months after he left, I thought two years was f-o-r-e-v-e-r, but it is crazy how Sunday evening rolls around, and it is time to re-cap yet another week to my missionary.

A month ago, Sam and I challenged our kids (and ourselves) to be electronics-free on Sundays. We are trying to make more of an effort to keep our Sabbath day holy. It was really hard at first. Like really hard. Especially for me. I was surprised that I default so often to the TV, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram. I still use my iPad to write Jayden, to do my Spanish lessons, and to read the scriptures. Since we have so much down time on Sundays now, we have been playing board games and cards as a family. The girls and I break out "the card factory" and make handmade cards, and I am almost finished reading the Doctrine and Covenants.

This is just one of the blessings that I have recognized from having a son out serving a mission. We are more motivated to make better choices. Sure there are still a lot of things (tons) that we should be doing better, but his dedication to obedience is rubbing off on his family 3,000 miles away. We are all trying a little harder to be a little better. Thanks, Jayden.

Here is Elder Wadley's email this week:

Well congratulations twins on passing road!! Oh and good luck mom haha!

Sorry Kika, math sucks! 

Oh and tell Shayne no worries when i did road i started driving on the wrong side of the road on a freeway exit and Coach Rice had to yank the wheel pretty good haha! 

Well my week wasn't a whole lot of interesting.

Monday we didn't have money to do anything so we just kinda slugged around doing nothing haha it was kinda relaxing honestly. We had a really good zone meeting they talked about a lot of good stuff that the president is doing in the mission. 

Tuesday was really normal as well we just taught and walked up and down a bunch of hills:)

Wednesday was pretty cool we had a recent convert show us her brother and he has a farm above the city in the top of this mountain! He reminds me a lot of uncle Paul. He is 84 years old and runs this farm. It reminded me of working on the farm. It was cool! He is a really nice dude and the view from his house is amazing! I will attach some pictures. They are really short over here so it makes me seem like a giant!

Notice how the people are in coats, and Jayden is still trying to cool off after serving on the surface of the sun in his last area.

Manizales, Colombia

The sign says: Private Property, Be Careful, "Perros Bravos" which means VICIOUS DOGS, not brave dogs like I thought. Needless to say, my Spanish is still a work in progress.

Thursday was normal. We have a lot of normal not interesting days:)

Friday i had an intercambio with Elder Ampuño. He is a really cool dude and i had a really good time with him! We had a good day as well probably one of the best i have had here in Manizales. At the end of the night we had choir practice haha! We were going to sing for our president when he came down for the district conference but we didn't end up singing.

Saturday we had conference with our president and it went really well he is really good! He talked about a lot of really good topics and did an all around amazing job! His wife during the priesthood session went and checked all the houses and our house was the cleanest out of all of them ha! (I find this hard to believe)

Sunday as well we had conferences with out president and again he did an amazing job! He is really powerful and spiritual as well and cuts peoples heads of with so much love haha it is really good! (I had Jayden clarify this. "Yeah he tells people they are doing stuff wrong and tells them to be better really well haha direct and loving! Really good!")

Yeah anyways that was my week nothing too interesting.

Questions

1- (Any miracles/ tender mercies this week?)I have been noticing the real power of prayer in this last week! When you really pray with faith, God works miracles!

2- (Have you learned any funny Spanish slang or phrases?) Yeah a little bit of them haha (Yet no examples. So much for trying to spark conversation. Bless him.)

3- (What do Colombians think of Americans?)We are rich. 

4- (How is your health? Have you needed to use anything in your medical bag I sent with you?) All is good! I have used some stuff from there:)

5- (What do you wish you would have brought with you that you didn't bring?) Haven't really thought about that. Not much ha

6- (What would have prepared you better for your mission?) Studied more, scriptures, preach my gospel, and participated more in seminary and church stuff

8- (Do you need/want anything?) No i am all good:)

Oh and while i was reading the Book of Mormon this week i found some pretty cool stuff!

One is you know how in General Conference when there is a topic that is really important they usually talk about it three times??

Well i found this scripture 2 Nephi 11:3

"And my brother, Jacob, also has seen him as I have seen him; wherefore, I will send their words forth unto my children to prove unto them that my words are true. Wherefore, by the words of three, God hath said, I will establish my word. Nevertheless, God sendeth more witnesses, and he proveth all his words."

Also i was reading and Nephi said that the words of Isaiah are really important and that in "the last days" we will be able to and should understand them or in other words you should study Isaiah;) 2 Nephi 25:8

"Wherefore, they are of worth unto the children of men, and he that supposeth that they are not, unto them will I speak particularly, and confine the words unto mine own people; for I know that they shall be of great worth unto them in the last days; for in that day shall they understand them; wherefore, for their good have I written them."

Anyways thats all i have this week! Love you!!
Elder Wadley

A Funeral Was Attended, and Shots Were Fired. (Thankfully in that order.)

Today I had to pinch hit for the family business. So as I was cooking breakfast for an early morning bowling league, my phone buzzed with Jayden's email! I was able to send him back a selfie of me working the grill. Maybe that will help him appreciate the life that he has temporarily left behind. HA! Here is the email from Elder Wadley this week. My own commentary is in blue. This week warranted some commentary.

Well, i don't even know what to say about you working at the alley haha never in a million years did i think that this would happen haha! How was your first and maybe last day at the alley?

Hahah no i think it is cool that you want to help out!! Oh and thats cool that Shays kids got baptized! Holy cow i had no idea they were that old honestly haha! Cool though! 

My week has been really interesting- pretty good this week, not going to lie:)

Monday we went to the mall here,  just like Monterìa but this mall was way cooler and a ton bigger! It was a pretty normal Pday honestly. In the zone meeting an older couple came in and talked about family history work and they want us to fill out a couple pamphlets that we have here so if you could send me some stories and pictures of our family and grandparent and great grandparents and stuff like that would be awesome thanks!

So Tuesday was a really weird day haha we had a pretty normal day until about 2 in the afternoon where we got a phone call that said one of the people in our branch had died and the funeral service was going on in like half an hour. We wanted to go and show support for the family, the only problem is that it was at a Catholic church ( it was a less active family ). We stood outside waiting for a member to show up to go in with us. At this moment my comp and i felt really weird and out of place... When the member showed up we went in and i can't even really describe the experience we had there. It was terrible! We felt really uncomfortable and out of place. I talked to my comp and we could both feel a darkness inside of us that was pushing the spirit out of our bodies. Oh it was terrible! We left as quick as we could. We called the Assistant and asked him if we should go to the cemetery and all that as well and he said we shouldn't. So we left and we felt weird for the whole rest of the day, it was so bad. I can testify that our church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is the true church here on the earth and that nothing else even comes close to it!! Never in my life am i going to forget that!

Tuesday was pretty normal- nothing interesting really happened..

Wednesday, the other eventful day of the week haha! Well we were walking to a cita and when we turned the corner of the street we were going to take we heard a big old pop! We looked over and there was a guy yelling and limping around and not too soon after a guy came down yelling as well- but this guy was holding a big old pistol in his hand! Turns out the loud pop was a gunshot, he shot the other dude in the leg! Needless to say we took a different route haha. We were about 25ft from all this crap as well hah! Pretty nuts ha! (ARE YOU KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW?!!)

The rest of the week went pretty normal ha just lessons and missionary stuff. It has been raining a little bit here and there which has been really nice! I get to use my rain dress oh uh i mean rain coat haha! Remember how i didn't try on the raincoat before i left?? Yeah it is pretty big haha! (It looks fine to me.)

Anyways that was my week haha! A pretty good one if you ask me! (NO! Not a good week, you idiot!)

Now to answer your questions;)

1-What is the best thing that you have eaten on your mission so far?I have eaten some really good Areapas! (From Wikipedia: Arepa is a flatbread made of ground maize dough or cooked flour prominent in the cuisine of Colombia and Venezuela. It is eaten daily in those countries and can be served with various accompaniments such as cheese (cuajada), avocado, or (especially in Venezuela) split and used to make sandwiches. Various sizes, maize types, and added ingredients are used to vary its preparation. It is similar in shape to the Mexican gordita.)

2-Have you embarrassed yourself with the language or customs?Heck yeah! Basically everyday haha! 

3- Christmas is coming. Do you need new shirts, garments, pants, etc? I am good on everything! Some snow would be nice!

4-Have you gained weight or outgrown anything?I have lost what little muscle i had and gained a little bit of fat haha! My Pday pants and suit pants are a little tight:)

5-What is your favorite thing to teach people about? My favorite thing to teach is probably about Joseph Smith or the Word of Wisdom!

Anyway Mom this is all i have this week! I love you! I hope you have a fantastic week (at the alley;)) (No.)

Elder Wadley

"Me in my Rain Dress."

General Conference in Colombia; When Hymns Don't Translate

I just love General Conference weekend. Largely because we all get to hang out as a family on the couch in our comfy clothes. This conference session I thought several times about how 3500 miles away, my boy (as a missionary for the church) was listening to the same talks (in a different language), at the same time (in a different time zone). It made me feel for a few short hours that he was close to us. I am so grateful for the gospel! For the reality that families, although separated temporarily by choice, or a little less temporarily by death, can be forever- and that we will be together again.
Here is Elder Wadley's email this week:

Wow holy poop that is a lot of rain haha! I didn't think it was that gnarly! It rained pretty hard here too but all the rain runs down the hills, it looks pretty cool! Oh and Dad makes a pretty good looking Moroni! Sounds like you guys had a pretty decent week!

First off i want to say that i think it is crazy that we are in October already! I remember sitting in the CCM thinking that the next general conference was so far away! 

Anyway my week wasn't anything amazing but it went really well!

Last Pday we went to the church and played some sports and just kinda chilled there for awhile, nothing really awesome!

Tuesday- was just a normal day we went and taught some people and really just normal haha!

Wednesday- We had an intercambio. I went with Elder Suàrez in his area and we had a good day! We had time to teach a lot of lessons and he is a really cool dude! The intercambio was really short though which was kinda nice and kinda sucked. I learned a decent amount of stuff from him which was nice! In the night we got a call from someone that works for the mission saying that we had to move houses...

Thursday we spent all day moving and organizing the new house ha! We moved from a two story house to the fifth floor of an apartment building. Oh carrying all the stuff up those five floors was a pain in the butt! But the new house is pretty nice!

Friday- Friday we had to make up for a bunch of lost time from Thursday, but the day didn't go very good haha a lot of our citas fell and we didn't get much time to do anything:( This is the day that it rained really hard here as well and like i said it was really cool to watch all the rain run down the hills! 

Saturday and Sunday was General Conference!! It is a little bit different in Spanish ahah! All the hymns are still in English which is pretty cool! haha one of the hymns that they put on the screen doesn't exist in Spanish so the room was basically dead quiet haha! There were a couple people mumbling the hymn in English from the words on the screen haha! It was pretty funny! 

Conference was really good though and i actually understood practically all of it ha! I am super grateful for that! 

Anyways that is my week, it was kinda hectic but really good at the same time!

and now to answer your questions

1- (What was your favorite conference talk and why?)Well i did like the one that you mentioned that we need to ask God what we lack, i also liked when President Monson came flat out and said "Keep the commandments" I thought that was really good!

2-(Where did you watch conference? Was it in English?)I watched it in Spanish and we watched it in the church.

3-(What kinds of things have you been eating? Does your companion cook you and Peruvian food?)I have been eating nothing lately haha and if i do eat something it is usually not the best haha! My comp does cook breakfast every once and awhile.

4-(What is your apartment like? Do you have a stove, oven, microwave? What is different from your old place?)Its nice hah we have a stove basically and a microwave hah!

5-(Have you seen any miracles this week?)Miracles, nothing crazy big this week, just little things that the Lord has helped us with:)

6-(How is your health, do you need anything?)My health is fat haha! i am fine no worries!

Wellñ (<--I had to leave in this little Spanish typo. He types on a Spanish keyboard.) this is all i have for this week! I will talk to you next week! I love you all!!!!

Elder Wadley

This is almost our whole zone!:) (And I notice that Elder Wadley is the only Gringo)

Transferred to the Mountains of Manizales

Elder Wadley was sad to leave his last area but it sounds like this week he is super excited about his new area. I swear, I have never seen so many "!'s" in one email. And I got seven pictures! So it was a good week for me too.

Here is this week's email:

Well i think it is cool you finally had an interesting week! I had a pretty interesting week as well! Kinda funny how we both have good and bad weeks at the same time!

Well anyway like i said we got the transfers last Sunday and i am in Manizales now and it is way different than my last area! Montería was flat and really hot, and here is colder and has a lot of hills. Some of these hills are big and really steep!

So hopefully i will have really big legs and a nice toned butt when i get back hahaha!

So this last Monday was my last Pday in Montería and it was pretty sick! We got up in the morning and sent Elder Gabbitas off to Medellin because he is finishing the mission. When we got back we did all the regular Pday suff like wash the clothes and clean the house, all the good boring stuff. Our good buddy Elder Aust wanted to buy a machete so we went to centro because i know a place that sells them. While we were walking along the primera there were a bunch of monkeys and we bought a banana and fed some monkeys haha! There was this little baby one that was super chill and we could pet it and everything. 

On Tuesday we had to get up early and we took a bus to Medellin. When we have transfers everybody takes a bus to Medellin and stays in the "Casa Hotel" and then takes another bus the next day to your area. So thats what we did, it was like a 10 hour bus ride haha! We got to the Casa Hotel and just chilled there for awhile. They have a bunch of free food there that we can just chow down on. In the night i went with Elder Gabbitas to a families house just to visit. They are awesome people and everybody outside of the coast speaks so clearly haha! 

The next day we took another little bus to Manizales and when i got here i actually felt a little cold it was absolutely amazing haha! I slept really cold that night and the weather has been awesome! I use blankets, pajama pants, my slippers, basically everything i couldn't use on the coast haha! 

Oh my comp is really cool also! His name is Elder Pacaya! He is from Perú. When we got the cambios i was super excited for them! New area with a Latino comp oh man i could hardly wait! The second day in my comp said the same thing, that he was super excited as well. So far it has been really good! 

The area is pretty cool! We are up in the mountains and like i said it gets decently cold sometimes! The people are a little harder to teach and everything here but it is still really cool! My area is straight hills and some of them are monsters! Its cool though i really enjoy it! Oh and we are in a district here not a ward so its a little different. Everybody is pretty nice though which is great! Our area is a little bigger than my last area though but i love it! 

I think thats about it for my weekly update though. Everything has been good, my comp is a great guy and everything is rolling just fine!

Questions!

1-(what has been your biggest challenge this week?)My biggest challenge this week has been getting used to/learning a new area

2-(have you seen any miracles or tender mercies this week?)Definitely getting along with my comp, usually it takes a little bit to get used to someone new

3-(what are you looking forward to?)Improving my Spanish for sure!

4-(what are the biggest changes with this transfer? In what ways will it be better and in what ways is it worse?)Challenges..... hauling around all my luggage for awhile was a pain haha! Better- cooler temp Worse-hills haha!

Overall i am super excited! I hope you guys have a fantastic week! I love you all! XOXOX

Elder Wadley

Elder Wadley feeding a monkey some banana.

A baby monkey.

I love seeing his round cheeks, because he is smiling so hard.

A city view of his new area: Manizales

More of Manizales, Colombia

Some streets in Manizales. I love the colored houses!

Elder Wadley's last day in Mogambo, before his transfer. With Elder Aust and Elder Guerra.