Letters Home: Six months

Cameron James Smith

Aug 14

to me

Dear Mom,

Life is good here. Elder Vega and I are getting along a lot better and I am happy here. After taking some good advice from President Smith, we are finding more people to teach! We started working in a previously untouched part of our area. It was exciting to go there and explore. There are no old investigators or members there but we are finding people with questions that are willing to listen to us! I am happy to be working with Elder Vega. Winter has "been here" for a little over a month or so but it's not that intense. I've been told by the members that this winter is more mild than normal. They keep telling me to wait for August but it's August and it's still pretty mild. We take jackets with us but only use them in the night. It's sunny enough that I get sunburned (which isn't much but it something).

The language feels like it's coming pretty well. There is still a ton that I don't know but people understand me and I understand them. I downloaded a bunch of music and talks from the church in Spanish to try and spend more time with the language. I have also switched to reading scriptures and preach my gospel in Spanish. And any other written Spanish that we have. I was actually reading in the Liahona yesterday and read about protecting your kids from pornography. One of the suggestions was to have your kids put their phones in the kitchen or parents' room at night. I'm sorry that it's a fight with Andrew. Keep going. Although it is taxing, it is a battle worth fighting.

I do feel ready to move to a different area. At the end of this transfer, I will have completed 6 months in the area Suarez 2! Wow. I'm hoping to go to provincia next. It's a more country-like area of our mission. However, I'm happy with wherever I get sent.

My exercises are pretty limited here. We don't leave the apartment because there is only concrete streets and sidewalks to run on. Mondays we play football in the church's basketball/football court and the rest of the days I do stretches, push-ups, planks, and other simple exercises. Haha, sometimes I dance to EFY music to exercise too but Elder Vega thinks that's weird. If you have any good ideas for exercises I can do without equipment or exercise programs for a one-room apartment, send them my way. I am dying for variety.

Clothes and shoes are all doing good! You can hardly see the wear on my shoes. I wear each pair twice or three times a week. They should last me my whole mission. My shirts and garments are getting a little less white. I wash them with soap every week and with bleach every other week. Any suggestions on keeping them white? At my one year mark, I'm planning on using the other 6 shirts that I have saved in my suitcase.

I am excited for Jeff to head out! Where is he going again? It is hard to keep track of all the people I know on missions. I hear from Miles and Shelanee every once in a while and that's it.

I hope your week goes great! I think about you and pray for you often. Thank you for being a loving mom and my friend.

Love,

Elder Smith