BYU Neckties No Bueno, Temple Visit & Praying for Changes

Hello world!!!

Okay, another week down! So this week was pretty uneventful kinda like the last week was as well! The best part of course was going to the temple!! We went on Wednesday morning and it was great! I am going to try and send some photos here! Here is a picture of my companion, Elder Omontes. Another super short, dark skinned,  South American! After the temple trip I realized that the ties that the mission gave us are all BYU colors, so I officially retired that tie after two uses. The president is such a die hard BYU fan, so he ordered those ties in his colors. Maybe I will give it away to some young man in the branch here!

So in the other pictures you have a couple shots of the temple, and also a shot of the stake center with some random tall building in the background... probably apartments... who knows!

This week was very uneventful week. There is only like a week and a half left in this change. I really do miss my trainer Elder Tenecora because he was the perfect mix of a hard working missionary but very hilarious and fun to be around. With him I even enjoyed the days when all the appointments fall through and we just walked across town 10 times trying plan A - Z. He just knew how to make the best of things and have fun with everything! We would have days where everyone is having so many problems in their lives and they all want us the missionaries to help, and by the end of the day we are just so mentally dead that we would just laugh about how ridiculous of a job it is being a missionary!

So I am really excited for the next changes this next week. I am hoping and literally praying that I can stay here and get a good companion who wants to work hard. I will be really sad if I have to leave the area. At the start of the change my zone leader told me that I will potentially be a trainer soon, and he said it all depends on how well I do in this current change, so I am trying hard to do my best because supposedly training is the best!!

Sorry for an uneventful email, I hope you enjoy the photos, and wish me luck this week! Talk to you next week!

Love,

Elder Vaughan.

Making Papusas, Holiday Lull & Too Hot

Hello World!

I know that I said we were going to have P-Day on Wednesday, but they changed plans on us again, I guess our zone leaders couldn't make up their mind on that! Anyways I am here as normal! I was afraid that I would see an empty inbox because I said I wouldn't write until Wednesday, but fortunately many of you still wrote me!

Here is a random picture of how the pupusas are made! A family invited us over for a FHE with pupusas! It was great! Here is an action shot of Hermana Adela making one, then below is some flipping action on the flat iron grill!!

Sooo... not much has happened here since we last talked. These holidays it has been hard teaching our investigators, because who really wants to talk to the missionaries about the gospel on Christmas? So we really just spent a lot of time with the members around here on Christmas, and I imagine it will be the same today since its New Years Eve! This year has really gone by fast, so much has happened in what seems like such little time. Here in El Salvador it is strange because I feel like I am still in Summer, because it just keeps getting hotter and hotter every single month, until April when it hits the hottest point of the year! Mom, you sent me those snowshoeing pictures, that makes me so jealous because it's December and it just gets hotter every day, I showed my companion those pictures and told him that here in El Salv there is no such thing as cold, pointing to the picture and showing him what cold really is! When people say it is cold here, I just tell them that that is how the weather is at the peak of summer in Washington... if we are lucky! So after this whole mission thing I would love to live somewhere cold for the rest of my life, because I really miss the cold!

So  this week we have the temple trip in a few days!! Finally! It has been a while since we have been to the temple, it will be great to be there since it is something we only get to do twice a year now. I really feel bad for those missionaries who serve in places where there is no temple in the mission! I like how we have the temple here, since the country is tiny and everybody knows the new Mormon "castle" that was recently built, it is a great teaching opportunity for them!

Anyways, I really don´t have much else to report! I hope that you all have a great New Years! I miss you all and look forward to talking to you next year!!

Love Elder Joshua Vaughan!

U.S. Steaks, Sock War & a One Dollar Haircut

Hello Family!

Well this past week was a ton of fun at the Christmas party at President´s house! We ate a ton of food (yes, real food). He has some US steaks shipped in (because good meat just doesn't exist here) and we enjoyed a sock war in the house and lots of other fun games. In the other picture there we had to take pictures of "every-day events" that happen to us missionaries in the mission. So here I am being chased by a bunch of dogs! Its dumb but funny. Me and the guy in the green shirt (from Mexico!!) are the missionaries running from the dogs!  Another Photo from the Christmas party, the whole group that day (2 zones), my new companion, Elder Omontes is the Elder with the shiny name tag from the flash on the camera! And I am the Gringo with glasses! We had a lot of fun that day! More than anything it was a sweet break from this never ending job we have as missionaries, everything has been such a sprint since I entered the MTC in May 30th. 

 

A few weeks ago when I was still with Elder Tenecora, we were talking about how the life of a missionary has to be the hardest job in the world, other than fighting in the army of course. Because our job is literally non stop for two years, and we have to live "higher-than-temple-recommend-standards", which is so true, for example, a regular temple recommend holding member can go to the movie theater to see a nice film, but for us, that's just rebellious! But its a cool job being a missionary, there are things to experience that you just can't do anywhere else, its cool.

So next Monday (December 24) at 4 in the afternoon we are planning on calling on Skype. There´s a member in our branch that owns a cyber cafe thing, and will only charge us 50 cents for the hours, man I love how cheap things are here, especially for us all the members give us good deals. For example I get my hair cut for one dollar. Before at the USU barbershop I spent 13 or 14 dollars for a haircut! I might just die when I come back. 

So this month we are hoping for a baptism, German, the 15 year old "niño pastor". If he comes to church this week he will be baptized on the 31st, new years eve! We are excited for him, as he is excited too. The only challenge with him is that he works selling candy on the buses that run between here and San Miguel. So sometimes on Sunday he gets called in to work super early in the morning, so he just needs to come to church a little more and he will be good for his baptism! He is super excited, this kid always is "Machetting" (criticizing) all of the other churches around, but he likes the LDS church because he can´t find anything to criticize it, and the Bible completely supports the church. So hopefully it comes out well!! 

As of right now we are looking forward to the 24th to Skype home and all that. On January 2nd we will be going to do a session in the temple here, I am super excited!

Love Elder Vaughan

Trainer Transferred, New Companion & a Guy Named Kevin

Hello World,

Well this past week we had some changes here! I am still here in San Vicente, but now I have a new companion, Elder Omontes, from Lima Peru. Ok, not going to lie, this week with changes was VERY hard! First of all when Elder Tenecora left that was pretty sad because we are really good friends, he was sad to leave here! And, ok, I don´t want to talk bad about other people, but my new companion is not the same. It's hard because my trainer was really great, not perfect, but a really good missionary, and for that this change has been super tough so far.

Ok, good news. We found a member here in the ward who owns a cyber cafe, and he has cameras and everything for using skype. So I think that on the 24th we will be calling home (because in Latin America Christmas eve is more special than Christmas.), I am still not completely sure if we will do it that day or not. I would rather call on the 25th because on the 24th we are already going to be writing home in email and all. This week we will get things figured out for sure. I think my Skype account I made before the mission is "joshua.vaughan4". I think, The Jenni Domski could confirm that for you. If I can´t access that account, I will make a new one. No worries.

Tomorrow is a very exciting day for us, we are going to the President´s house in SanSa for a Christmas party, I am super excited. We are going to be there pretty much all day! I can´t wait! Then in January we get to go to the temple! Woooo!

So in the Liahona magazine from December of this year, there are 2 stories regarding the SanSa temple, and one of the stories in there is about a family with a young guy named Kevin (his story also is on a video in Mormon messages online). Anyways, I met Kevin this week on Wednesday at the changes meeting, he is a super cool kid. Well he is leaving on a mission to Mexico in 2 months, but he is serving here in SanSa for two months as a mini-missionary! I just had a short chance to greet him, but hes a really cool guy.

So that´s about all interesting this week! I am excited to talk to you all soon, I will let you know next week what day and time we will call! also, do you have a skype account, what is the username?

Ok, well it sounds like all is going very well back at home, Have a wonderful week!

Love, Elder Joshua Vaughan

Dull Week, Trio & Rolling with the Punches

Hello World,

So this week, not going to lie, was kind of dull. Nothing really stuck out to me. On the 30th of November, that was the 6 month mark for me since I entered the MTC. I am a quarter way done! It goes by so slow, but so fast at the same time! I think the thing that makes it seem slow is that I am still with my trainer, for such a long time, that it feels like I am still brand new in the mission and all. Well this Wednesday are the changes, I will probably find out in a couple hours who is going where and who is staying. I would guess that Elder Tenecora is leaving and I will be staying, with the slight possibility of me training a new guy. I really don´t like the Idea of ever having a big leadership position, because for many people they like it to have more recognition among the other missionaries, I really don´t care for that. But what I would like to do is train, I think everyone wants to train at some point in the mission, I think it would be fun! So that could be a possibility with the huge wave of new missionaries that are coming in this week!

So, for now we are going to be in a trio with one of the zone leaders until Wednesday, the changes, because the companion of this zone leader left this morning to go be the new assistant to the president, so for now we are stuck in a trio, which everyone who was ever a missionary knows that trios are super awkward!!

Right now the biggest challenge that we are having as a branch here is church attendance! Our investigators and the members really don´t recognize that church attendance is important, and it is such a struggle to get people to understand that. Everyone here always says "the church is us, in our hearts", biggest load of garbage in the world. Right now we have a good handful of people whom we are teaching, but the challenge with just about all of them is church attendance! So this week we will be teaching the importance of church attendance like crazy!

So.. As of now I am really looking forward to what happens with these changes, we were looking forward to them dividing our area in two, but yesterday the president changed his mind and we will Not be dividing our area this change, hopefully in the future we will see it happen! I guess the big thing this month is the Christmas phone call I get home, I am really excited for that! It really shouldn't be too hard to do the phone call, because here you can buy 30 minutes of talking time to the USA for 50 cents, super cheap! I just hope all the ads I see for that are true! What number do you want me to call when the time comes? let me know so I can have it ready!

Well it sounds like everything is going very well at home. I am excited to see and hear from Riley and Spencer on their missions! Although Riley has a few months to go until he leaves,  he will be out there soon enough! The mission is really tough, lots of hard things to deal with, but all you need to do is roll with the punches! Some things happen that are just out of our control and there is nothing much we can do about it. I have really come to love the phrase "it is what it is"! Because lots of times people freak out and complain a ton, when you just need to be patient and let the hard things pass by. Wow, these past sentences make it look like my life is terrible, I promise it is NOT! :) I mean, stuff happens like getting sick, people dying.. OK, maybe that one isn't too normal, but it is what it is! :) Things are really going here, tough... yes, doable... yes. Although I am only 6 months in, I would not trade this time for anything. I have learned so many things here that will help me on later in my life, in ways that I can´t even see.

I hope that you all have a great week back at home and good luck with all that you do!

Love,

Elder Joshua Vaughan

Top Ramen Thanksgiving, Multi-Zone Conference & Six Months

Hello Family!

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving time for me (since I didn´t!)!! :)  So the zone leaders know a man named Romel, the only man in this city who actually knows how to cook, and made arrangements to eat a Thanksgiving dinner! All four of us were going to go and enjoy a nice meal for once! But in the afternoon on Thanksgiving I came down with an insane fever, so we went to the house and rested some. I woke up a few hours before the planned dinner only to have some fun vomit diarrhea combinations! Soooo for that we didn´t go to dinner, we ended up eating Top ramen for Thanksgiving!

As far as health goes, I am doing great! When I get sick, I just say whatever, let stuff come out that needs to leave my body and in the blink of an eye (or a day or two) I am back on my feet! Its just one of the sad facts of life here that one needs to accept!

So on Wednesday we went to San Salvador for a multizone conference with the Prez, it was cool. Here is a picture of my zone with the Prezi and his wife! After the meeting there they handed out letters and packages, I got my ballot about a month late :( and some other letters which was all super awesome!

So this week I am about to complete 6 months of being a missionary. I think it went by fairly fast! A lot has happened! I remember sitting in Provo(lone) in my first week just wishing I could get to this 6 month point in the mission, being able to understand the language and communicate and all that. And... here I am! almost at that 6 month mark! I really have gotten to a point where the speaking comes without thinking, only sometimes I have to think when it is a word I haven´t learned or used much!

So this week we have been working hard with a few investigators and a great family. Its hard to tell who is going to be able to progress or not, but this one family we are working with really has the desire to be baptized and they love the church and all that. This family of course has a lot of challenges to overcome, but we can help them and hopefully in December we will see a baptism with them!

Other than all that, I don´t have much else to report since a couple days were spent sick and all. Right now I am doing great and I am excited to continue working 18 more months in this great work! Good luck to Spencer who is going in to the MTC this week, he will do a great job! I have missed you all over this holiday week and hope that all goes well the coming week!

Love Elder Vaughan

Mute Kisser, Broken Chair & a Drumstick Sandwich

Hello world!

Well, another week down here, This week went much better than the last. First funny thing that happened, last Monday night a mute guy found us in the street tried communicating with us, but failed, and out of nowhere the man dove in and kissed my companion on the cheek. Soooooo hilarious!!!! We were just standing in the street when it happened and many people saw it, and right after he kissed him I started to walk away at a brisk pace in fear that the same would happen to me. But I made it out fine :) We were laughing all night about that! Then Saturday we were in the house of an investigator teaching and my comp was sitting on a plastic lawn char, and the two back legs snapped and he fell right off, funniest thing ever!! Lots of funny things have happened to my companion this past week!

 So this week we started teaching a cousin of Hermano Alberto (the brother of the guy who died), his cousin is named Luis and we are teaching his family now which is super exciting!! They already came to church twice which is sweet! Wow, really nothing else happened this week. It went by too fast with too few significant things happening!

Hmm.. well Thanksgiving is coming up soon, nobody here does anything for that holiday, just another good ol' Thursday here!

So here I attached a photo of me and my companion hitchhiking one day which is always super fun! Then I attached a picture of some sandwich that we eat a ton here! As you see there is a before and an after picture. The bread is filled with all sorts of junk and in the second image you can see that there were two whole drumsticks inside. Very interesting, but I like it! Lots of missionaries don´t like it!

Anyways, That was our week! I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving week!

Love Elder Vaughan