Favorite Scripture

Alma 36:21-22
21 Yea, I say unto you, my son, that there could be nothing so exquisite and so bitter as were my pains. Yea, and again I say unto you, my son, that on the other hand, there can be nothing so exquisite and sweet as was my joy.

22 Yea, methought I saw, even as our father Lehi saw, God sitting upon His throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels, in the attitude of singing and praising their God; yea, and my soul did long to be there.

Monday, October 22, 2012

This week on "The Email Chronicles of Christopher."
O....K....WHAT! Awe! Yah just had to go mention doughnuts didn't you? Psh, yes my mouth is watering and I am going crazy! Well, I guess I'll just have to eat a Bon a Bon and try to forget. Bon a Bons are these wonderful little chocolate thingies that come in either bar or ball form. They are yummy gooshy stuff in the middle and have a layer of chocolate on the outside. The crunch they made reminds me of a Crunch bar and the only downside is the price. Bon a Bons! Buy one today!hehe...unfortunately, they are too much for little ol Elder Wartena this month. Yup, this month has five P-days instead of the normal four, so I have got to budget. This week's dinners will consist of Josh's "specialty rice" (wonderful by the way, and cheap to make) mixed with chicken and other little things that don't cost me a ton. Yup, frugality is good for you, you may not eat like a king, but it teaches you how to pricewatch.
No, really Elder Thacker should have left next month when I had some more money. Why? Because he wanted to go souvenir shopping and so I was trapped. What could I do? Here was a perfect opportunity: already in the shop with an Elder headed to my home town in a few days and willing to take something to my family. Psh, I bought something for you guys. Hope you like it. Actually, three things. Two are the same type-I bought them that day Elder Thacker bought stuff. The other thing I got off an investigator's drunk brother. Story, not horribly exciting, but a story. You'll read that in my letter with the stuff. The point being, I spent money and now I must be frugal with the rest.
Funny thing happened this week: I missed Subway! Don't you dare tell Justin, but I heard a song in the street that used to play all the time at closing and I could literally taste my sandwich of choice. Oh, this is bad...no...actually I take it as a sign that I am improving. If the adversary is using Subway to tempt me then maybe I am getting even closer to finally settling down.
So, this week I got to do something really cool. The picts with me and the hoe are of me digging in a machamba. We did two hours of service there Thursday! A Machamba is, quite simply, a Mozambique style farm. The women who work on Machambas lean over so much that their backs, after a number of years, seem to stay that way: they are called Machamba mommas. There is a picture of one who's back isn't quite all that bad yet, but I have seen some who really need some help. What we did there was clear ground. We walked out into the grass and hoed until we had a descent sized square of soil in the place of grass and weeds. The dirt there is really quite fertile looking, loose and rich. Unlike Utah, where it's dry and cracked in places(love it anyway) here it was quite easy to pull up and hoe. Nonetheless, the work gave me blisters on my hands. AH!
Well, investigators...we had three at church yesterday! AAAHH!!! YES! I was so happy when I saw Gito and Lizia(and their baby girl) come in the door. Also, totally unexpected was Flora's daughter. So happy.
Conference it was(finally got them here). In Portuguese, conference is really hard to understand. I got some stuff out of it, but I will still be watching it over again in English(the missionaries keep the discs after the church uses them).
So, I need help. I am trying to think up good goals for my mission as a whole. Ask the bros, dad, etc... perhaps even a devotional idea (Hey! I can help homeschool out her:. "Goals for my 2 short years") and let me know what ideas you come up with. My first goal is "at the end, when the plane ride home is near, be in the mindset where I will beg to stay. I want to have leaving M. be a hard thing. I want to miss this place, the people, and the work."
Well, I'd better email Dad and pres. so I'll wrap this up. Temple thing? I AM SOOOO DOWN FOR THAT!!! YES!!! Write that down somewhere because we are definately doing that. (I suggested we go on a "serve in a different temple a week" thing when he gets home.) Love you, Elder Christopher Wartena

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