Hermano Rubio is the best!

trying out my new hat in the snow from tyson..it's so warm!

So the week started out with a fun shoveling snow experience. What do you get when you have two missionaries shoveling snow side by side with metal shovels? A split open pinky. It was just a bad angle, and then all of a sudden the metal blade went like a quarter inch into my pinky. So I haven't been able to bend my pinky all week, but we used some gauze, and it eventually stopped bleeding. So that was fun. I guess it's a good story maybe? I guess it’s not that cool.

We went grocery shopping today and laughed about how easy us Utah missionaries have it. We had unlimited sushi earlier this week, chicken salad the next day, and then grilled chicken. I am just talking about lunch-time, not even at dinner. Elder Shaw leaves in a week, and we cook together...everyday… until he leaves. We are having Santa Fe steak, couscous, and grilled tuna sandwiches. Life is pretty hard for us. We are going to President Reyna’s for dinner today at five, so that will be good, too. 

We went to a fireside last week on Saturday, because we needed to help clean up, and I was playing the piano for the Spanish number. It was put on by a lady named Janice Kapp Perry. (I think?) She wrote, “Army of Helaman,” “I Love to See the Temple,” and like a thousand other things. My favorite part was when she just had us all sing primary songs together. There was lunch after, so that was good. We brought enough leftovers home to feed like forty people. Then when the women ate, we went outside (there was a snow storm) and cleaned off the snow off their cars…I should have brought a jacket. It took an hour to clean up all the chairs. 

More!

Elder Cabrera

So I'll tell you about Elder Cabrera now. He is Elder Martinez’s cousin. He was born in Guatemala and grew up in LA. His dad is living in San Francisco now, and that is where he has been for a long time. His dad is less active, and he hopes his mission will help his dad go back to church. His mom is in Guatemala and is on dialysis, and he may or may not see her again. It has been a couple years since he saw her last. He is 25 years old and said he is really the only kid to serve a mission in his ward. He wasn’t ever active in the church growing up. He said he kind of just went back and forth. He is the second most prideful person in the world (me being the first) which means we do butt heads a lot on stuff...the most amazing thing happened. He told me I need to be more serious! I never thought I would hear that from a companion, but he gets mad if I laugh while we are out proselyting. So I guess I will teach him what Elder Martinez did for me. I really couldn't have fun or joke around at all until Elder Martinez kind of changed me and showed me how to be obedient and enjoy your mission, too. I am not sure how Elder Martinez did it, but I will figure it out. 

He is a great teacher. He asks good questions and is very good at connecting with people. He sincerely cares about people and has a desire to help them better their lives. He is a really good missionary, and I am going to learn a lot from him and him from me. I just don't know how to teach him without doing it in a prideful way. Another thing is that he REALLY can't handle my sarcasm. I didn't even realize how much I joke around with Elder Martinez and Elder Shaw, but it really offends him. I just found that out last night, so I need to work on that. However, in comp inventory, he did say I need to smile more in the mornings when I wake up so I am still getting that feedback, ha-ha. 

BTW-Elder Martinez is a Utah Ogden version of Elder Endemano, Elder Hamilton, Elder Mackie etc...there aren't any other missionaries like him at all...there are some good ones..but not even CLOSE to Elder Martinez. I can't say the best missionary I have ever seen, because I have seen some great ones, but he is up there. It's one of those things that really just makes me wonder why he isn't one the missionaries leading us and the disobedient ones with big numbers of baptisms are the ones leading us. He is too humble to ever say that, but I notice it.

Look at those lips!

Pues, this week has felt pretty long actually. Having three different companions in one week is quite a change! People have asked me if I will be homesick about Emma...nah. I will be fine. Keep sending the pictures; I can take it. I was sad on p-day, but it didn’t last longer than that…. Sorry to the rest of the family; she and Jessica, I feel like, are the only ones in the family I ever pray for anymore. 

So I did end up getting those Costco pictures from Mom. It was kind of funny. We were at Costco shopping, and I knew they might be coming. Then our ride showed up at 3:00 so we had to leave. I went to the picture place, and they said they wouldn’t be ready until 3:30. So I had to leave without the pictures. We got home, and I was just going crazy and couldn’t take it. I called president to ask him permission to drive to Costco to get the pictures. He said, “I am at Costco right now! I will just get them for you!” So he picked them up, and it did cost money which was ok. I just paid him back. Then I went and picked them up in the office the next day and walked around showing them to all the office staff. Not an effective use of time, I guess, but I was excited. I carry a couple in my scriptures to show people when it comes up in conversation...with me, it pretty much does come up in every conversation. I'm sure it drives my companions crazy.

I am an uncle!

I am an uncle...I don't even want to write this email. I just want to look at more pictures. I am sure everyone will feel the same way about reading it, ha-ha.

Well, this week was good. We have a new companion. His name is Elder Shaw from Salt Lake City. He is waiting for his visa to go to Monterrey, México. OK, so the story on that is Saturday they called and said our area was splitting. Ten visa waiters are coming into the mission on Monday. They will split our area so we can each train one. We got there on Monday (yesterday) and then we realized they had 12 trainers there. So there are ten visa waiters here, but next week two missionaries are coming that are permanent (non-visa waiters). They didn’t get here on the transfer, because of the new MTC schedule being next up.

Elder Martinez, Elder Shaw, Elder Bassett

But anyway, I am training one of them so I will get my son next week...mom and dad will be grandparents, again! I am excited. One of them is Elder Martinez's cousin so that would be cool. Me and Elder Martinez weren’t very happy about not being companions anymore, but I guess its ok. I am sure training will be good.

Elder Shaw is awesome. He has pretty good Spanish for not knowing anything beforehand. He only has a day here, so I am sure he will get more used to the hang of things, and how obnoxious I am. We introduced him to Faye, so that was fun for him.

I really can't even concentrate. I keep minimizing this window to go look at pictures of Emma again.