Banana or Folleto?

     Hope everyone is still doing alright, doing big things, living the dream. Because we sure are. I mean cow stomach soup for lunch is pretty much as good as it gets honestly. But like always just another week in paradise. Elder Mojica and I had a pretty fun week, from English rap playing in the buses to getting lost on a sketchy bridge, to finding someone with the direction (ask the lady who sells potatoes where the chocolate guy is, then ask him where the mountain is, then climb the mountain and they’ll be there), to the highlight of the week when Josue and Luis were both baptized. So yeah it was a good week. Josue and Luis are a pair of brothers we have been teaching for a while, 16 and 19 years old and just total studs. Honestly these dudes work nonstop to support their grandma and sacrifice so much everyday. They wake up at 4am to haul maize in to make tortillas and spend their days making and selling and helping in the house front store that their grandma owns. They overcame a lot to get to this point and we are way excited for whats to come. 

     Which brings me to my title. We have a goal to talk to 20 new people every day. And sometimes its hard to get a random person on the street to listen to 2 missionaries, sweating buckets through their white shirts and ties. So we get creative. For example one day while walking in the street, I happened to have a banana in one hand and a pamphlet of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the other. Now, as I am sure all of you would agree, there really couldn't be better tools to use to invite someone on the street to listen to our message. So we tried it out, and long story short, I offered Fernando food for the body or food for the soul. In the end, Fernando took the pamphlet and my companion took the banana but the point stands.

        To throw a something a lil more serious in this email I just wanted to share a story in the Book of Mormon. Mosiah 24:10-22. More or less its about a group of people that starting praying for help and turning to God only cuz they had a problem. They later continued praying with faith that God would help them. And he did. And to finish the story they prayed again to say thanks. Now the reason I love this story is this- it doesn't matter why or where we start out, what matters is that we keep going. What matters is that we grow. At one point or another we all have a time where we have no other choice but to turn to God for help. And that's ok, he’s always gonna be there looking out. What matters is that we keep going, we keep praying, and when things are good we pray even more, cuz that's when he is helping us the most. So if you find yourself praying out of desperation, keep on keeping on. Just know that when the day comes and the help you need is there, that's the time to get back on your knees and pray again. Hope everyone has an awesome week, and remember when the choice comes between a banana and a message of Jesus Christ, do the right thing and take the pamphlet.

SALUD

Elder Moulton

Elder, Me Amas?

Well, another week in paradise. Apopa has been good to me if I'm going to be honest. Yeah, a baby threw up on me in the bus and my comp and I ate an entire plate of beans and fried bananas in 30 seconds. And Elder Mojica busted his foot through his shoe, but we fixed it with super glue so its all good. But all in all it was a pretty stellar week. Got the chance to travel to a few different areas and work with a few different missionaries, it was neat. We didn't eat anything too crazy but one lady offered us cow udder so we always have that option, or squirrel. But we'll keep you posted. Got told I look like Vanilla Ice, Bruce Lee, and Steve Carrell from various people here and had to explain to a very confused man that no, I am not from Utah about 12 times. But to explain my title, my companion is sadly "allergic" to a surprising number of vegetables. Which means that when we are eating lunch or dinner and I hear the question, "Elder, me amas?" it means I am about to get a big scoop of pipian or whiskil. So yeah don't worry, its not just pupusas and chicken foot. Although we did have chicken foot tamales this week.

On a more spiritual note, Elder Mojica and I have been trying something a little different in our studies. We think of a question, focus on it and then open up the scriptures and read. And I know there are probably more effective ways to study but with every question that I have had, I have found an answer this way. And its actually been amazing to see. But that's not the whole process. We were talking to a lady this week that has been going to church for a long time now, even has a son on a mission, but who has a few obstacles in her path. And we were talking about how to find an answer. This week has been full of questions and answers honestly, and for that reason, what I wanted to share this week is the process. First we have a question, a problem, a struggle. And we gotta take that to the Lord, ask for help. Second we have to be willing to do whatever it is that we get in response. But the third part is probably the most important. As my mom said to me every time I complained back home, get off your knees and go to work. Prayers and questions will only get you so far. What we gotta do is do our part. (Eter chapter 2 and 3 ) God is going to give us what we need to get through any problem. But he's not going to do everything for us. In the mission we get a lot of situations where we just don't know what to do. When a family is struggling just to put food on the table or when married couples ask us for advice its a little daunting. But we trust the process. And it always works.  Hope everyone has a great week!

SALUD, 

Elder Moulton

La Vida Es Una Autopista (pt4?)

Don't know if you could tell by the title but, its that time again. We out here changin everything. Long story short, this Wednesday I packed up my stuff and headed to a new area with a new companion. And things are good. My new area is a city named Apopa, and my comp is a beast. Elder Mojica, he's from here in El Salvador and has less than 3 months left on the mission and hes a stud. Its super hot here tho, and our shower is broken so our house is always wet and somehow even hotter than outside but we are doing good, we have running water, a couple of fans and a hammock, what more could we need? The work is pretty solid here too, the people are awesome and someone even gave us ice cream the other day. Although another house had a dog that kept biting my arm so its like 50/50. But on the real, loving it here in Apopa. It was hard to say goodbye to Cojutepeque, I may have even teared up with a couple families, and Elder Felipe was hilarious, but we already have had some crazy amazing experiences here in Apopa and I'm excited for whats coming down the road. 

Scripture I wanna share this week is one that we shared at a birthday party we accidentally interrupted. Its found in John 16:33-

33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

Basically in life, we all got our issues and sometimes it feels like everything is moving a million miles an hour. And peace is something that's very hard to find. Ive been doing a lotta thinking recently, in Spanglish because I am starting to forget English, and I think peace is something that everyone is looking for. Its the answer to a lot of questions and the solution to a lot of problems. What I like about this scripture is that it explains how we can get that peace, and it explains the purpose of the gospel of Christ. Also it helped us out because we didn't have a birthday present so we figured offering peace would do the trick. Totally worked. So when life is moving fast, or when you are frustrated or with whatever comes this week, just remember there is peace in Christ, and that's a pretty valuable present. Hope everyone had a great week, thanks for all the love.

SALUD

Elder Moulton

Vale la Pena

Hola y Buenos Dias from your missionaries down in Cojutepeque, hope everyone is doing alright. The rainy season is starting so I walked around town with a trash bag strapped to my back to protect the goods. Besides that I was attacked by a chicken, 3 puppies, and a 4 year old girl with a shoe. So that was good. Got told a rant that was either about babies or Catholic views on music by a nice old lady with no teeth but strong opinions. Perfected the pizza and pupusa dinner combination, I lost the keys to the house, (still MIA if you hear anything let us know), and got to see Nancy go to the temple for the first time (which was way cool and she loved it). So while this week wasn't a whole lotta new, it was still pretty exciting. From hanging out the back of a pickup on the freeway to exploring a new little city in our area, there is never a dull moment. And so in this email I figured I would give you all the rundown of what goes on in the life of a missionary.

6:30am: We get up to a semi-annoying ring tone with a huge smile and a shining disposition to start the day.

6:30-8:30: Workout, make/eat breakfast, shower, iron clothes, get ready for the day, clean a little bit, ball out

8:30-12:00: Plan out the day, personal study (Bible, Book of Mormon, etc.), study together -some language study (Portuguese, Kaq Chiqel, English, occasionally Spanish), ball out, study some more.

12:00- Lunch at the comedor by our house (fried chicken, rice, french fries, and 4 tortillas cuz the dude behind the counter is a homie and hooks it up).

12:45-9:00: THE GRIND. Teach lessons, paint houses, wash dogs, invite people to change their lives, meet new people, step in dog poop, take buses, share scriptures, answer questions, teach English, ball out, wash dishes, hike through the jungle, and do God's work down here in the promised land.

8:30-9:00: Pupusas

9:00-10:30: Study more, ball out.

10:30: dormir 

Its a good life honestly and we have a really good time. We live 4 missionaries together in the same house so we keep things interesting and have fun in the work. Its not always easy but as we say down here, "si es facil,  no vale la pena." Hope everyone has a great week, thanks for all the love.

SALUD

Elder Moulton