Week 9: Tuesday August 6, 2013

Family,

   KRUE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I miss you soooo much, buddy! I hope you have the best birthday party ever! I can't believe you are turning 5! You are getting SO big! I want to see so many pictures of you at your party! I want to see what you got! I hear it's a turtle theme, that's awesome! It's going to be so much fun! I love you & miss you, buddy!

   Before starting I just want you all to know how much I appreciate your letters, thoughts, questions, concerns, etc. When I am having a bad day or perhaps a rough week, it always makes me feel so much better reading your letters & it gives me the strength to keep going another week. Now, having read that, you may have guessed that I had another hard week this week.

   Things here are becoming more natural & normal to me, but they are still very difficult & often times very inconvenient. Casey, in your letter you mentioned that you didn't have a hot shower for the duration of your mission, even in winter. I can't imagine how you did it, especially in the winter! I, like you, will also not have the luxury of having a hot shower until I return. Granted, I do not have to go through a winter when there is snow on the ground. Taking a cold shower here reminds me a little bit of working at the pool, specifically SHAC during the winter time. The leisure pool is warm, but the lap pool is always freezing & whenever we had in-service we would have to get in & do our laps/training. I would always dread it because it was cold outside & then we had to get into the cold pool. Well, my showers are a little bit like this. Even though it is hot outside, once we get into the apartment & turn the fans on, we cool down a bit so by the time I get to the shower, I am back to "normal" temperature.  Getting in the shower is like getting into the cold pool. You are hesitant, but once you "man up" & just go for it, it feels great once you are in. I just wrote a paragraph on how my showers are. That's awesome. You can tell a lot has happened this week. . .

   So, let me just tell you a little bit about my companion. Well, he, like myself, is a pretty quite person, especially around people he doesn't really know. Therefore, there is not much conversation between us. The most we talk is when we are teaching or doing companionship study. One thing that is good about him is that he is a very hard worker. We teach many people each day & always have over 25 lessons a week & over 100 people contacted on the street. The couple I told you about last time came to church on Sunday! They are really progressing, but they still have to get married before they can be baptized. The language is always improving, little by little. I feel like I can find a way to say pretty much whatever I want, & even though I still don't fully understand them, I am starting to pick up & understand more & more.

   Grandma at Lagoon sounds HILARIOUS! I can just picture her in my mind, riding the ride, & I can't help but laugh. It sounds like you all had such a fun weekend together. I wish I could have been there! But I couldn't. I'm here. 7,000 miles away. In the Philippines. Chantyl, your awkwardness also sound hilarious. I laugh just thinking about you trying to teach & play with the little kids. But don't worry, you'll get the hang of it! I'm sure they love you! Chad, California sounded awesome! I remember playing sand whiffle ball with dad & our cousins when we would go & I too always enjoyed that more than the game itself. Starr that picture that you sent of Dax is crazy! He doesn't even look the same from when I left. He's getting chubby! He's so tall, too! He has his eyes open! I bet he does all the time now. I miss the little guy.
 My most missed food is probably. . . I don't know, I miss everything! I would say sushi, but I am sick of rice. I really miss Cafe Rio. I miss good old American food like mashed potatoes & gravy with ribs, chicken, meat, corn, etc. I miss Coldstone! OH! I miss MILK so much! They don't have milk here, only in some places & even then it's not fresh milk. I really miss Dr. Pepper. I miss my chips so much. My potato chips. If you send a package send me like a family size of those Ruffles. & every other kind of chips you can think of. My favorite snacks here. . . We have this bakery outside of our apartment that is way good! They have like cinnamon buns, bread with sugar, just a bunch of different things that are way good. Unfortunately, I  haven't seen any Belut yet. I want to try it. If you don't know what it is, google it. But yeah, I'll probably come back weighing like 125. I was 190 when I left, there's no way I am keeping that. Chad, I want to start working out with you when I get back. I have to get buff again & look good for the ladies. Also, I have consistently kept a total of about 30 mosquito bites since I have arrived. The worst part is that you can't feel them land on you like you can a fly. I don't know how, but they somehow get to my legs as well. It "bites". I'm hilarious! I always forget to send pictures. Sorry, I will try to next week. But in return I would like some pictures from you guys! Especially at Krue's party!  By the way, I want to see the finished backyard! Jazz & Seag had their grass put in right? I bet it looks awesome! I can't wait to play some football on it.

   If everyone could send me their address's, that would be awesome. Just in case I need/want to send something, then I will have it. Well, I guess that's about it from me. I miss you all very much. I can't wait to see you all again. I love you.

-Elder Staheli

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