Sea Como Miguel

Just want to start off this email by saying that Elder Clove and I are not here to mess around. We are here to turn this place upside down see Acts 17:6. This week we decided to go big and leave our mark on this town. SO we went by a local smoothie stand, and we invented the CLOTON. A half pineapple, half chocolate milkshake concoction that is rapidly spreading across El Salvador.

 We were also mistaken for some kind of secret agents by a sweet lady on the street and asked to investigate an underground scheme involving her and all recent former presidents of the United States. So yeah its been quite the week. We also got beat by bronchitis, which postponed Andy´s baptism, tried to teach a lesson in English )but struggled not to use Spanish cuz we are losing our English skills, and found a cat in our house with Elder Webb-who is as sick as a dog right now.

But like always, I will explain my poorly translated, English phrase-turned cheesy email title. For those of you who may know, there was a basketball player a while back named Michael Jordan. He was pretty good so he got a buncha commercials and reps and stuff. Long story short, one of his most famous Ads lead to the phrase, Be Like Mike. I'm in Central America right now so I have had to change it a little bit, to "Sea Como Miguel." Besides actually meeting a couple Miguels this week, one of which is a nice old guy who hates shirts and fireworks but loves missionaries, the phrase really hit home. Looking back at my life, I have had a whole lot of Mikes to be like. My parents, family, friends, church leaders, many of the people who get these emails, you have been my Mikes. And just from being out here in the real world for a little, I have seen how everyone out here has their examples, their role modelz, their Miguels. As a missionary I get to share the greatest example of all time. Jesus Christ. It would not have been very appropriate to title this email "Sea Como Jesus," but more or less that's the Elder Moulton message this week. Because I can't think of a better person to be like than the only perfect man to ever live. Following his example is the surest way, the only way to living a happy and successful life. And yeah I got whooped in basketball this week by a 14 year-old girl who plays for a national team and heard her brother, who knew English, trash talk, so maybe I should take my own advice on the being like Mike, but becoming like our Savior is a far greater goal.

I hope everyone has a happy New year and is doing alright. Thanks for being my Mikes and for the love and support.

SALUD

--

Elder Moulton

Milagros de Navidad

Editor's note: We were able to "see" Tanner and his companion this morning . He looks great and is loving El Salvador and the people there. 

Feliz Navidad! Espero que todos tengan un buen tiempo y puedan descancar y disfrutar este tiempo. This week has been a pretty good one for us. Been really feeling the Christmas spirit, especially because everyone down here loves English Christmas music and they blast it in the streets and buses. Also because every passage of houses puts up strings of lights and we got to help some neighbors put theirs up this year. We have been singing a lot of Christmas hymns in lessons, church, the house, and even once when I went with Elder Stoker for a day, we sang in the middle of the street to try and meet some new people in the neighborhood. Worked. 

We have had a lot of special experiences this week tho, lots of Christmas miracles. First off, this awesome lady in our ward made us a replica pinata version of me. Which was cool, shoutout to Hermana Uribe. 

Second off we found a burrito place in our area that sells 40cm burritos for 3 dollars. Which is actually pretty expensive because pupusas are like 20 cents but it was the first burrito I have been able to find here. 

Got to paint some houses, play ball with a buncha other missionaries, and eat a bomb Christmas dinner with a family who has been to Chula Vista. Mas que todo, this week really did have some crazy miracles. Met cancer survivors, saw people recover from horrible injuries, found an NFL jersey store that sells for $2, shared the story of Christ's birth with dozens of people, and got to see some of the strongest faith in God I have ever seen from some people down here. More than anything, a little boy in our ward named Evan finally was able to be baptized. 

We have been working with Evan and his family for a while now, and this Saturday, his older brother got to baptize him. This little kid is only 9, and his brother 17. But they get themselves to church every Sunday, come to activities during the week, and have been prepping for this day for a long time, and they do all this with very little support from home. The actual baptism itself was a miracle honestly, and it would be hard to put into an email just how special, crazy, and blessed it was. So we will just chalk it up to another Christmas miracle. Also we had Walton and Walter show up to church, couple of guys we have been teaching for a minute who are buddies and have very similar and confusing names. 

Christmas has been special here in El Salvador tho, and even tho the traditions here mean nonstop fireworks all night and no sleep on Christmas, the purpose of Christmas here is the same as it is everywhere. I have had a little time with the Spanish language now, and I don't speak fluently yet but with the limited knowledge I have, I want to share one thing. Christmas can be split into two words. Christ and mas. While yes technically this is in English, "mas" in Spanish means more. So I hope when you see Christmas you can see that message. More Christ. Because that's what it really is. More focus, more love, more gratitude for Christ. And we really cant ever have too much of that. So I hope you all have a merry Christ'Mas and that everything is going well for you all. Thanks for all the love and support, its a pretty great Christmas present.

SALUD

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Elder Moulton

Solo Envíalo

The grind has yet to stop down here in the promised land. Lots of crazy stuff happening but I wouldn't have it any other way. First off, found out that Christmas is on the 24th, which totally blew my mind. Also we have ran into quite a few English speakers this week, which means Spanglish and funny words. We had running water twice which was pretty cool, it had been a while without using a bucket to shower. Roasted marshmallows on a cardboard box, got a whole buncha free pupusas, prayed and found the missing iguana of friend of ours, climbed a tree and saved a cat, taught the youth of San Bartolo how to say, "Whats up dude?", played guitar at an old mans house while inviting him to be baptized, met Santa Claus, and listened to a bunch of members of our ward try to sing Christmas songs in English. They were very close. All in all, I can safely say it was another great week in Las Canas. Excited to spend my first Christmas here.

But to explain my title, we have really been trying to focus in and do work this past week and heading into next year. For anyone who knew me before the mission, you know I was always a big fan of Sending It. which has more or less become our motto here. Good things aren't just gonna happen, miracles don't just fall in your lap. This isn't just for missions either, it applies to life. To reach a goal or accomplish something, yeah usually some divine assistance is required. But it wont do us any good unless we get up, get going, and go as hard as we can. Or in other words, send it. And just in case you thought this was Elder Moulton Doctrine, I got a scripture to back it up.

DyC 66:6

Tarry not many days in this place; go not up unto the land of Zion as yet; but inasmuch as you can send, send; otherwise, think not of thy property.

SO basically my point is this, a new year is coming up, and there's always opportunities that come with it. But as a missionary I have come to find that it wont do us one bit of good unless we rise up and work to make it count. I hope everyone is having a happy holidays and is ready for Christmas, whether you choose to celebrate it on the 24th or 25th. 

Salud

-- 

Elder Moulton

Cucarachas No Son Amigos, Ni Comida

If you couldn't tell the title of this email is a poorly translated and El Salvadoranienized reference to one of the greatest movies of all time. First off because we started a war on the cockaroach race this week and second off because the food the past few days has been insane. We have a cockroach graveyard and it increases in size daily. Nowhere is safe, they fly, climb, scurry, and attack. Food wise I wouldn't be surprised if we have eaten a few of the little buggers this week. We have been working on a worldwide initiative this month called Illumina el Mundo, where every night we have the chance to have a Family Night in the homes of various members of the church down here, and help them share the message of Christs birth with friends or neighbors. But we also get fed a lot of interesting food, and then go immediately to eat dinner at another members house. So we have gotten everything from plates FULL of vegetables, to snow cones with Lemon-Salt-Chile-Cactus, to cake, and chicken heart. Its been fun. Also ended up teaching up a lesson with a parrot on my shoulder at one point, it ended up attacking me. Painted someones house, met a guy from Oceanside, and met a kid on the street by using his drumsticks to bang out a song on his neighbors wall.

But on a more serious note, this initiative has been a great experience so far and its an awesome thing to see people talking about the birth of our Savior with friends and family. Lots of times when we think of Christ we think of his death on the cross, or his life of miracles. But none of that would have been possible without the humble birth 2000 years ago in a stable in Bethlehem. 

-- 

Elder Moulton

https://www.mormon.org/christmas?cid=312375129334&cpid=1632159288&agid=66208990470&kwid=kwd-337015008150&iloc=&ploc=9031265&network=g&dev=c&clkid=EAIaIQobChMIhb_6wq-W3wIVhIbACh001QONEAAYASAAEgImefD_BwE&match=e&keyword=light%20the%20world&exid=&adpos=1t1&clicktype=expanded-headline&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIhb_6wq-W3wIVhIbACh001QONEAAYASAAEgImefD_BwE

Rimas con Clove

Pretty much a normal week for us missionaries here in Ilopango. Had some close calls with some dogs, found a cross street pupusa rivalry (Izquierda es mejor), taught a bunch of people in english-spanglish, because they used to live in the U.S., climbed a mountain in a cowboy hat, spent a day with another missionary from Cali and we balled out (shout out to Elder Stoker) got to help a family move (shout out to CV3 and all those good times back home), and we now start every lesson by singing a Christmas song. Speaking of my comp and his angelic voice, to learn Spanish we have been trying to make rhymes and it’s the hardest free styling session you will ever hear. If you want to hear the story of the Restoration of the Gospel, in Spanish and poem form, hit us up. He wanted to say hey tho so this next part is just straight Elder Clove:

Yo, I am Elder Clove, the weirdo from Sin City. Or at least a little town near Vegas that is full of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Before my mission, I played video games and watched YouTube 24-7, and now I am out preaching the Gospel, talking to people, and living without any of that stuff. So anybody can serve a mission and do well, you just gotta put your heart into it. My purpose here is to work Elder Moulton as hard as possible. He is quite possibly the most amazing person I have ever met. He also edited this message before he sent it. 

Back to Elder Moulton now, this past week has been pretty special. We have gotten the chance to teach a lot of kids and kinda younger people the past couple days and that was super fun. Something that we talk about a lot is the fact that this message is for EVERYONE. Sometimes we get funny looks or jokes cuz we are just a couple of gringos with heavy accents, but always we are reminded that our differences really don’t mean anything. Which sounds like a motto for Coca Cola or something, but its true. I’m not puro guanaco yet but these people here are definitely my brothers and sisters, and its been such an awesome experience to see the examples of faith and strength all around me. Especially with Christmas right around the corner, its not a bad time to focus on Christ in any part of the world right now. Cuz no matter what is going on in your life, we all got the same way to get through it. Christ.

I hope everyone is doing well, thanks for not blocking my email.

Salud!

-- 

Elder Moulton