MOM PLEASE DON'T FREAK OUT!!!

So I have another good story for you this week, there is always something to talk about haha.

But first I am going to try and answer some questions. so I am not sure what’s going on with the riots, the last I heard and saw was more people tearing down there houses. But we live in a different part now about 5 minutes away walking. Where we live is in this building behind a bunch of tiendas. There is one on the corner or Ave. Jiron Caoba that sells gas we live in the building. But the situation has calmed down for the most part. This place where we are living will only be temporary because it is not the best room for all 4 missionaries so we are still trying to find a better one. But who knows what’s going to happen.

The work is going good here; we have a lot of people that we are teaching right now. We went contacting one day and found this lady who said she was baptized when she was 8 years old in Arequipa. So we found her records finally and she is a member, and she wants her whole family to be baptized. So we are teaching her 2 daughters Thaiz and Carmen, also her son David and her husband, but they aren’t married. So Thaiz has her baptism for this Saturday so that should be good. Carmen also, but she hasn’t attended church yet, so we have to wait, and we are working on getting Rocio and her husband married because the husband wants to be baptized.

Also we are teaching Flavio with his sister Delfina and her boyfriend Mario, also Vilma and then all of their kids like 3 of them. But the problem is that Delfina Mario, Vilma and her pareja (partner) all have to get married because they are living together ahhh!!! I don’t understand why people aren’t married here!!! It’s so frustrating!! Because all of them want to get baptized!!! But Falvio has his baptismal date for this Saturday, so we will see what happens.

So that’s all the news about the investigators.

Umm, mom yes I am using sunscreen every day, but spray not so much but, that’s okay. Haha

So I am happy that you got to hang out with my friends on your birthday dad!!!! I hope you had a good time!!!

Now if there are no more questions, which I am sure there are because I always forget, I am going to tell the good story for the week!!! So yesterday night, between Saturday and Sunday I went to bed, and about 12:30 in the morning I woke up and I did not feel good. So I went to the bathroom and I had super bad diarrhea, I am sure you all wanted to know that detail haha. So after about 20 minutes in the bathroom I went back to bed but about 30 minutes to an hour after that I had to go again, but this time while going to the bathroom I was throwing up at the same time. And let me just say that is not a pretty sight to see. So it ended up being that about every 30 minutes to an hour I had to go to the bathroom and it was diarrhea and throw up, so by about 7 in the morning I had done that about 12 times, not fun at all, and I couldn’t leave my bed because I felt so sick. So my comp called Hermana Calderon the wife of the Mission President. Because she is in charge of that medical stuff. So she said that my comp had to take me to the hospital right away!!!! So we get to the hospital about 8:30 and they start asking me all these questions about Dengue Fever because apparently I had the majority of the symptoms, and they admitted me to the hospital to do tests. Needless to say I was there for 9 hours yesterday on Sunday while they pumped 5 liters of water into me through an IV. But we never found out what was wrong because they forget to send the blood and what not for tests!!! So the zone leaders took me out of the hospital and I went to my room to sleep and they told me to drink this medicine stuff and it has been helping a ton. but I don’t know what was wrong because I feel a lot better today I still have a little pain in the stomach and head, but I feel a lot better, oh and the best part is the hospital doesn’t have a lot of rooms so the majority of the people are in there hospital beds in the hallway like I was, that was fun to here all the people say as they passed me, "look a gringo!!!!” Haha. Well that’s my exciting story. But don’t worry I am doing a lot better today, so mom please don’t pull a Jody and call the Mission President!!!!!

Oh and I am going to send some pictures of when we went with a member to the jungle last week for pday they are cool!!!

 

RETURN TO JURASSIC PARK!!!

So thank you for all of the emails that I got today! It was fantastic to hear from all of you!! I even got an email from Señor Thomas at the junior high school!! That was awesome!!!!

So I received the package today I was actually really surprised that I got it this fast!!! So I am still living in the jungle, but I have some fun stories from this past week!!! I don’t even know where to begin!!!

So mom you said you looked at the weather here and it was about 70 or 80, ya more like 100 with humidity! But I am getting accustomed to it, it doesn’t affect me as much anymore, my companion I am pretty sure is going to die!!! And we are going to be here for at least 6 weeks more, we have transfers tomorrow, but only 2 people in the whole zone of Puerto have transfers.

So I am glad to hear that grandma is doing much better, I hope that she continues to recover!! Also I can’t believe that Brittney is getting married!! I got the wedding invite today also; it’s crazy I didn’t even know she was dating someone! I am so far out of the looop!! so basically I want to cry when I saw the pictures of the high school getting torn down, so many memories, it’s going to be really weird to come back home and not to have it there!!!

So dad to answer your questions, basically it is just huts here, the majority of the house are a few wooden beams with tarps nailed in for walls. But it’s because it’s hot here you need good ventilation.

And also, there really aren’t cars, there are motorcycles, and these things called motorcars, that are motorcycles with a little cab for 3 people that really all there is. Oh and mom, I am doing good with my bug phobia, it’s all good, I can’t even tell you how much bugs I have crawling on my shirt and pants daily!!! Aaah

No for the exciting story!!!! So where the chapel is there is this land with people living in little tarp houses and it goes for miles and miles!!! That is across the street from the chapel, so this land is actually owned by the military, and what these people living there are doing is called an invasion to try and take the land.

But last week people started rebelling, and things got ugly!!!

One morning we were eating breakfast and the people there started fighting, and throwing rocks and a few had guns!! And it ended up being that a few of the rocks ended up coming towards our house, and going through our windows!!!! so we called the zone leaders, and they told all 4 of the missionaries to go in the room where there aren’t windows and to stay there and wait for more instructions, so we went in the room, and the entire morning we were sitting on the floor playing cards, phase 10 to be exact haha. Then the zone leaders called and said that we had to go to other sectores, with other missionaries to work for the day, so for Thursday, and Friday we were in other sectors while the zone leaders were in our sector looking for a new place to live. So they finally found a place, and Saturday we had to move everything!!!! So now the 4 missionaries are all in 1 room and it is very small and our bathroom doesn’t have a door, and is missing part of the wall!! One of the pictures you will get is of the other missionary going to the bathroom, or at least the view we have from across the room, it’s quite hilaioes!!! So that was fun! And now the military is burning down all of those tarp houses!!! So there really never is a dull moment in the missiona!!!!

Well I need to go I am out of time!! But know that I love you all and I am so happy that you are all doing good! I love being a missionary, and I know this church is true!!! Have a great week and I hope to hear from you soon!!!!

LOVE ELDER GOASLIND!!!

AHHHHH!!!!!

Holy crap so I have a total of 5 minutes to write you!!! Because now we have to write our mission president on the computer, and it took forever to figure out how to do it!!!

Well I am sure that you all want to know where I am, but I am going to start off by saying that I am far away and will not be going to Machu Pichuu, but they did return my money so I have that now.

I AM IN PUERTO MALDONADO!!!!!!! So my sector is ALL jungle, I live in the freaking jungle and it is awesome!! Just picture Jurassic Park and that’s my sector. So the heat is horrible!!!! I have never sweated so much in my life!!! But that is okay, because I wanted to come here, so we have 3 people have emergency transfers, so now the four missionaries in our branch, 3 of us are new here and we all have 5 or 6 months in the mission. So this is my first time to be in a branch in my entire life!! It is so weird! A lot smaller and we don’t have a chapel, we have a chapel house, and it’s the bottom floor of where we live. So because I live in the jungle we sleep with nets over our beds and that is pretty interesting, there are a lot of bugs!! Haha I am learning how to deal with it, but my comp does not like bugs at all!!!! Haha my companions Elder Torres, he is from Arequipa Peru, and has 6 months in the mission, he is really cool! We get along extremely well, but it is being kind of a baby about the heat here and he told me he wants a transfer... haha we will see what happens. But we are working well, the elders before us didn’t leave any information on how to find there investigators, so we have been startimg from the beginning!!! I am sending some pictures of the view from our room, and on that is one at night time that is when we were going into the jungle to visit a member. So I really don’t have a lot of time to write.

I am happy that you got my letters; I was worried they wouldn’t get there before Justin left. But they did!!

Don’t worry I am going to keep grandma in my prayers, I always do. I hope that she does better!! well I just looked and only two of the pictures are going to work out today, I will send more the next time and I hope that all is going well back at home, sorry I didn’t have time to write, but know that I love you all so much and I can’t wait to hear from you soon!!!!! THE CHURCH IS TRUE!!!

LOVE ELDER GOASLIND!!!!!

 

Hello there in Salt Lake City, Utah!!!!

So this email is going to be filled with all sorts of things!!! And sorry I don’t have any pictures, I didn’t take any this week. First I want to say happy birthday to Ashley and dad this month of April!!!

So I finally received the Easter package/party package from my friends. Thank you so much! Mom I love the tie, and the scripture quote it has on the back. so this week was interesting, I was bitten by my first dog, but luckily he bit my pants, so it didn’t break the skin because there was something blocking his teeth, and he was just a little guy so it was okay!!

Last Monday I sent home an envelope with letters for the brothers, Justin, and Josh Degraw. Sorry no other friends yet, I am working on those for later, but I wanted to send one for Justin and Josh to get it to them before they leave.

So I am sorry this isn’t anything new for you guys, but I was sick again this week. I could only eat about 1 meal a day, I had a fever, chills, migraines, stomach problems, but I am feeling a little better now.

So about general conference. I actually got to watch it all in English except for priesthood but I could understand. Me and another North American elder streamed it in on the bishop’s computer on the internet, so we watched it in his office! It was awesome! I loved every single talk!! Especially Elder Holland and President Monson. They are so inspiring, and it always makes me want to be a better person!!! I wish I could watch conference every day!!! Now we have to wait until October to watch it, and by that time I will have about 11 months in the mission! Holy crap!!! But conference was good, I really enjoyed it, it truly was inspiring and you can tell that these men and women are inspired from God, to guide us through this troubled world with their counsel. I now have a huge desire to help everyone understand this!!! This world needs the gospel; there is no way we will find absolute peace in the world without it. And for that we have missionaries now 65,000 around the world teaching and bringing more people to Christ!!!! What things did you all learn from conference that you want or need to apply in your lives, don’t tell me because it’s something personal, but think about it and how you can change your lives to draw more near to the Savior, I know that through our Savior all things are possible, and we can only progress in this life through him. I am so grateful to be his servant here in Peru, and I can’t believe all the blessings I have seen poured into my life as I serve diligently!!!
 

So I want to share this funny poem I wrote with you guys, I don’t know why I wrote it, I guess I was tired one day. haha it says...

Well the first week of April is over....

I’m starting to feel old,

But don’t worry I am not growing mold.

Cusco is cool,

But I want to take a dip in the pool.

With all this walking,

My feet are squawking.

All this rice is pretty bland,

I guess you could say it kind of tastes like sand.

But I can’t complain, because I’m a missionary.

A servant of the lord!

And with that role, who can be bored!!!!!
 

Haha that is my wonderful and weird thought for the week, hahahaaha!!!
 

So now for the big announcement. So the transfers are in 2 weeks on the 23rd. But I got a call last night at 10 pm from the zone leaders and I have an emergency transfer. Because they need to bring another missionary to Cusco, so I have no clue where I am going yet, all I know is that I travel tonight to my new sector. and the zone leaders told me that they are going to try and make it so I can still go to Macchu Picchu, but they aren’t sure, because normally you have to be in Cusco to go, so they are going to try, but now I might not be able to go until later in the mission if I return to Cusco, and if I never return I have to wait to the end of my mission. So that’s my exciting news, I am leaving for a new sector tonight. I was actually really mad about it, but I got thinking about the scripture that says, I will go and do what the lord hath commanded. And then about the hymn, I will go where you want me to go dear lord... I now the lord has a reason for his change, and that in the other zone there are people who I can help. So I am going to keep a good attitude because I know I am an instrument in the hands of the lord here in Peru.

Well nothing more, sorry if I didn’t answer your questions, I really have a hard time remembering after reading the emails. But I love you all so much, and I love talking with you every week!

I hope to hear from you next week! I love you!!
 

 

LOVE ELDER GOASLNID!!!

BAPTISMAL COUNT...6

Hey, so first, I am so happy to hear that Ashley had her baby!!! That is so cool!!! He is so cute, and I can’t wait to meet him next year!!! Haha, so sounds like you guys had a pretty tiring weekend with the trip to St. George, but it was for a good cause!!!

I am sorry that I have to start out with some bad news......so I fractured my ankle playing soccer last Monday......and now I am in a cast and on crutches for about a month or a little less.....pray for me!!!!! I really hope that it heals enough before Macchu Picchu!!!!

Haha April fools!!!!! That really didn’t happen!!!

So dad, my favorite Peruvian snack, isn’t even food. It’s a soda called Inca cola!!! They only have it in Peru and it is amazing!!!!!

So mom I was not able to do my notary, because I don’t have a license to do it!! I haven’t received my card saying I’m foreign yet, so I don’t have any license and I don’t have a passport because the mission keeps them until the end of your mission!

Umm... for Mother’s Day, at times we have the time to use Skype, I can’t remember my Skype account, so mom I hope that you have it on the paper of all my passwords that I left with you, and if not can you set me up a new one to use and give me all the details please haha.

About general conference this next weekend I am so freaking excited!!! basically it is just everything is an hour after you guys, we have from 11 to 1 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 so not bad, but we aren’t going to be working those days really because all of it is confre3rene!!! And it will be interesting to listen in Spanish!!

So now for some stories, so our shower broke this week and for 2 or 3 days we only had freezing cold water like ice!! It was horrible!!! I would jump in an about die!!

Plus, like Tyler had in his mission! We had ants in our fridge!!"! We took out some apple pie to eat and there were ants everywhere! But I couldn´t help but laugh because I thought about Tyler’s experiences in the mission with ants in the fridge!!!

So on Saturday I had my 6th baptism!!! her parents are members but they were very inactive, and so we started working with them to activate them, and found out that the daughter wasn’t baptized and so we put a date, and she got baptized on Saturday!!" and her dad had the opportunity to baptize her!!! It was so awesome! And now the family comes to church all of them every Sunday!!!! Plus we have 3 other inactive families that are starting to come!! It is awesome!!

My comp and I chose to fast the other week and ever since we have seen nonstop blessing from that!! It is amazing!!!

So I read this article in the Liahona of April 2012, and it is by David A Bednar, called THE ATONEMENT. You guys should look it up and read it, it is amazing!!! About how we can use the atonement in all aspects of our lives!! And maybe you could print a copy from the internet and send it to the Nielsen family; maybe it could help them feel some comfort!!!

I am out of time now, and it was so good to hear from you all of!!! I hope that you have a fantastic week, and I hope you are very receptive to the messages in general conference this weekend... and that you had a good Easter yesterday!!!

I love you all and I am so happy to call you my family and friends!!

LOVE ELDER GOASLIND!!!!!

HEY!

(This post is from his email dated March 25, 2013...Sorry I'm a little behind)

Hey this is going to be really fast and really fast because I need time to put pictures on a USB drive to print them.

So I got the package with pop tarts and all that, my comp is so grateful for the beef jerky he already ate it all!!! The missionary video doesn’t work in the mini DVD that we have and tampoco (neither) in the regular TV.

I also got like 8 dear elders and a letter from dad that he sent a while ago I think,

We will be going to Machu Picchu on the 22nd of April. I am so freaking excited to go!! But it is a Monday and I don’t know if I will get to email that day, but we will see. So I have a question, I want to know what day is Easter, and what day is Mother’s Day, I never remember dates like that, so please tell me!!!

Oh I have some news for you! So we all have to choose if we are going to leave the field 3 weeks before or 3 weeks after the date we began the mission, so I choose 3 before because I need to get everything settled for school, but guess what, that means I leave in 2014 on October 21st!!!!! I leave my mission, on my birthday, but it is like 2 days travel, which means I will probably arrive on Annie’s birthday!

This week Elder Brey called me with the cell phone of the zone leaders,  I hope that I get to see him in April for the transfers, but when we were talking he told me that is was so much help to be able to talk to me, and hear a familiar voice!!!

Also I was reading a Liahona the other day that was pretty old, and I found a picture of Grandpa Jack, and I freaked out and ripped it out of the Liahona and put it in my journal, and I’m pretty sure my comp thought I was crazy!!!

So mom one of my converts is 14 years old and she wants to add you as a friend on Facebook, her name is Bony Ananis Aragon, or something like that! Add her as a friend! She is awesome!!!!

The rain is finally starting to pass, this past week we had 4 straight days of sun! It was amazing! It was kind of like St. George weather, I think, but I loved it! I hope I go someone warm in the next transfer like Puerto Maldonado!!!

So this past Tuesday we had Elder Nash a member of the Seventy come and talk to the 2 stakes in Cusco, it was such a good talk, and the members here were basically in heaven to have a general authority here talking to them!!!

We are teaching a few people, but not many are progressing, we have like 3 people that want to get baptized, but they have to get married first, that is the biggest problem that we have here, is that people aren’t married!!!!!!

But we are working hard with them so they can have the blessing of baptism!

we are also working with this 9 year old who isn’t baptized but her parents are member inactive, and she wants to get baptized, so we have a goal for this Saturday,. And we are activating her parents and her dad wants to baptize her!!!

 Well I am so sorry that this email was so fast  but I really have to print these pictures, so I am so sorry!!!

I love you all so much, and I look forward to getting pictures of the new baby! I hope everyone that is sick gets better soon; you are all in my prayers every day!! I love you, and I am so grateful to have every single one of you in my life!

Have a fantastic week, and I will talk to you again next Monday!!!

LOVE ELDER GOASLIND!!!!!