EL PORTAL

We have been renovating our kitchen the past three weeks and sent Elder Maki some pictures of the tear out and rebuild.  This is his response.

Wow Everything looks different in the house!!! looks like pretty much you are building a new house! oh well. I cant wait to see more pics... ok so this week was a little disappointing besides our 4 baptismal date commitments for October. Its a pretty interesting story what happened to us this week... ok so first Monday was P-Day, Tuesday we saw an investigator and set a baptism date, Wednesday we had no success in finding, Thursday we were sick, cuz on Tuesday we had 4 meal appointments, Friday Elder Stubbs had a trainers meeting and I went to El Portal with Elder Beer and Elder Hanna, while there our very first lesson, we get there, lock up our bikes, (btw el portal is the ghetto of Miami) we get into our lesson and perform the lesson extend a baptismal date, leave, talk to a guy standing in his yard, and go to get on our bikes, and all the tires were slashed!!!!!!!!! Every single stinking tire!!!!!!!!! And everything that was on our bikes, (Lights and mud-flaps, PEDALS) were all gone, they tried to steal my front tire and my seat, I put my seat on really good but the tire they almost got besides the fact they couldn't get past the brakes muahahaha. But we spent 2 hours fixing everything and we found our pedals in the middle of the next street over because they were just plastic.  They cant get drugs for something that cheep.  But anyway, that's my interesting story for this week. But everything happens for a reason, right? so I had to go and get new lights and stuff, and get a tune up on my bike, all my spokes were kicked in and about 10-50 holes per tire, it was a fun day. haha. But anyway everythings all good now... There is a bike shop and the guy that owns it is not a member but has a history of about 30 years helping the missionaries out with bike stuff.  So that was fun.   Ok so Noria and Kashmil are strong and Kashmil was confirmed yesterday and I performed that and it was great. She felt the "baptism of fire" she said. Sister Gonsalez called me about 2 minutes after she hung up with you on what was it Thursday something like that, and she told me everything lol... I am glad to here everything is ok there. Everything is great here and the temperature has been around 90-110 the last couple days, and of course 100% humidity haha.  I am getting pretty dark too! especially spending two hours in the sun at 2 in the afternoon fixing bikes! Last night we added another 3 investigators and 2 baptismal dates!!!  Can't complain really.   So we have been spit upon, mud thrown in our faces, tires slashed, robbed, beaten (not really, just hit but beaten sounds cooler HAHA), burnt, screamed at, loved, honored, remembered, worshipped (haha that was a funny story) chased down to find out more, but mostly.......rejected haha, oh well we are to plant the seed right.   So ya I have pics of the bikes but I forgot my camera so I will send them next week. So Teiler, how is everything??? How's school? Tiene una novia todavia? hehe, que tal una feche con una mujer? hahaha, hay muchas mujeres aqui quien te amaria, hahahahaha. entonces, translate that.  Oh and we ran into a tranny that looked like Bronco (Brutus) this week!!!!!!!  Tell dad that!!   I nearly peed my pants laughing before  I even started talking to him hahahahaha sooooooooo funny.   So other than that I dont think there is anymore to talk about.

So from the first family missionary (immediate and grandchild) Pues adios!

Suya para siempre, hahahah yup

Elder Maki

DAD'S SPANISH LESSON

Hola mi querida familia! Dad, not to be rude or anything, but your spanish is terrible lol.  Dad you should say, "Hola mi misionero, que pasO?" Okidoki, where do I begin, the baptisms were amazing, and they are so strong, yesterday only one of the girls was confirmed which was sad.  About the back pack thing, I want the camelback, not a shoulder bag, I have a shoulder back already, and its worse, so a camelback, cuz I can put water in it and books of mormon, ok? thx!  The thing with sending it is it can ONLY go to the mission office. Its against the rules to send it anywhere else, even to a members house.  From the mission office, then they send it to me, we are in our apt. till 1:00 in the afternoon anyway and posts come at about 11:00 so I should be able to get it.  If not the post office is only a block from our house.  Oh can you send me my back braces too!  My back becomes really sore when I sleep from the day, so that with help me to sleep much better.  Um the other thing with the pics, I sent some last week but I guess you didnt get it so I will send them again, and I did get a universal charger for like 40 bucks, and at Ross I bought a white tie, and at Staples I bought a prayer journal so I can write down all my "revelations"... :D which there are alot... I am doing great, here it's been rainy, and 2 weeks ago today we kinda got a hurricane lol... the wind was sooo strong.  Reminded me of home, and you couldnt see 6 feet ahead of you cuz of the rain.  Its fun tho... all the interesting storms everyday, and riding the bikes in them and all that.  With the cruise subject, only book carribean cuises, and they are expensive and the bahamas cruise takes 7 days, really for the money you spend, i have heard from people it isnt really worth it unless you are on the bahamas for a week, you are only there for maybe 2 days. so you spend a five days on a boat, and than 2 days on one of the most beautiful collection of islands, not really worth it lol... but I have lots and lots of people we can visit instead lol.  The cool thing is I will be able to translate.

Last night at the Sierra's house me and Agustin, their little 14 month old had a crawling race, (he crawls with his butt lol) so he and I had a race and I got pics...hopefully they work this time. 

This place is absolutely gorgeous and I love it, we are getting some flooding from the rain, but oh well, at least there are no basements, I am excited to see the kitchen pics! but I only have so much time to write so until next time, remember, CAMElBACK lol not shoulder bag, and back braces, both of them plXDse! thx. I love you all so much and I miss Tiibo too! lol

yours always five months out!

Elder Maki
p.s has time gone that fast already???

WHITE NIGHT!

Hey family!!!!!! OK imagine this, Elder Maki, Elder Stubbs, Noria Gomez, and Kashmil Lopez all in WHITE TONIGHT! yup that's right they are being baptized tonight, and wow its been a journey!!! Last night we received a call about transfer info, and ..... we are both staying together and for at least  6 more weeks. I love it here in Miami Beach. Ok so hurricane watch has slowed down a little, and storms are still an every day thing. Oh ya you think it rains a lot when it does where you are at, well here, about the same amount falls in about 10 mins. haha lol... its crazzy.  Ok I need some stuff, my backback is now bothering my shoulder, if at all possible I need one of the camelbacks from home, nice light, enough room for a couple books of Mormon and WATER!! , Its been in the 90's and 100's here lately and its crazazy.  Oh and tonight I will get more pics and hopefully also today we are going to Best Buy and getting a charger if they have one.   Well, what else oh I need some CD's for my investigators lol.   What ever happened to those pics that were taken by Shanna Bickman?  I am waiting lol... I cant even contain my excitement I have for tonight!!! I am finally in the water. I will be baptizing Kashmil because she is lighter than her mom and that will be good for my shoulder. My shoulder (besides being sore from the backpack) is great, the scar is awesome and healed great... it is permanently damaged tho and will never be the same, my arm itself is twisted from the Capsul Shift they did. But all is well and I am pressing forward... We found a man from Peru the other day, really receptive and spiritual, also received a referral from Elder Edwards. Lately daily I have been biking anywhere from 3-16 miles a day.  Depends on where our investigators are at.  So I assume that you have seen my apt. now and we got our inspection the other day.  We passed.  I am now 166 pounds and holding...   The strangest thing I have eaten now, but was extremely delicious (Elder Stubbs didn't really like it) is called Ros de Marino, (rice of a mariner) it has full shrimp (head legs everything) clams, (muscles, and with the shells) and all that oh-so-delicious stuff, for me, Dad and Teiler anyway lol...  When we come back we are having some at Hermano Venagas' house lol... its SOOOOO GOOOD.   Anyway... yesterday, because it was a holiday was spent it prosiliting so thats why I didn't write yesterday.  Oh and tell T.J that I am still writing his letter in spanish lol. Hold Tight... So Jorge is awesome and is so strong in the gospel, and Noria and Kashmil are now preparing for the temple... its amazazing,,, But with the tracting thing, we do not tract, in the FFLM it is called harvesting lol.  Basically the same as tracting, door-to-door but instead of saying we have a msg that will bless your family, we say the Lord sent us here to leave his peace and blessing in your home...and we have had in the last week about 300 door slams lol... so yes we get door slams all the time...any way I need to go so I can write my mission President.   But a quick thing to Teiler, Dude whats up? 12th grade eh? (go Canada) I still have no clue who it is who you are going to date lol... But if I can tell you anything that means everything to me, is to have your mind set on serving a mission, it is the best decision I have ever made, and that you will ever make.


I have seen miracles here in the 6 weeks I have been here.  Especially Noria, Kashmil, Luz, and Jorge.  In all honesty, the Lord has spoken to me, telling me where I should go, what door I should knock, and who needs me, and especially what to say in the blessings of the homes we enter... Let me tell you that the Spirit of God really does feel like a fire is burning and the Lord is leading me with it, to knock not only the doors of houses (or billions of apts) but the doors of the hearts of the children of men. How exquisite is the work of the Lord in my eyes. especially now that I have "locked my heart" and sent the key back home (locked out girls) and now that I have learned how to exercise my faith and how to teach by the spirit.  Because I have done this, I have seen 4 magnificent miracles, one of them is waiting for baptism but the other three are amazing people and I am so grateful I came here to teach them,... when you are tempted, remember this,

I say to my feet "keep still"

I say to my hands "just stay"

I say to my all-over-everywhere self

"I am in charge of you today"

I am the King of ME.

I love you all so very much and I am missing some pics!!! lol send some in that pkg lol

yours always, eternally

Elder Maki