Hey Mommy.
well the back still hurts but i have decided after staying in the apt for 2 weeks to get out and work, the Lord with care for me. it has been hard to adjust to walking with a cane.. ok so that story goes like this... so I told the mission doctor that i am having strong difficulties walking because of the virus. which now infects my lower back also. and as you remember this virus causes the muscles to break down, so that is why i have the cane, and why they told me to have the cane, is because i have a week lower back, they want as much support as possible, so they gave me the cane idea, and i was like ok whatever. but its not so bad. i look old hahaha... they also want me to take physical therapy but it would cost me 90 dollars a visit to do what i need to do. with the missionary medical plan i only have to pay 10 dollars but i know what i need to do. they want me to exercise my back and my abs, but i am not to be moving my back, so they want me to buy an electric pulse machine to work out my abs and my back, i don't got money for that, and i am not allowed to go online, so that's where i need your help, if you find one for a good price, would you be so kind as to purchase it and send it my way? a good one is the Contour ab belt. it is pretty pricey tho like 200 dollars or something.
ok so now to the spiritual experience. ok so this past weekend we had another 3 baptisms, ya you can just call me John the Baptist haha, jk jk, in the mission that is the nickname they give the missionaries who have baptized the most in the month... we have had a baptism almost every week this month it is great... i left Miami Beach with 7, and in 1 transfer i have almost doubled it,.. XD makes me happy XD but anyway, last monday, we both had the spiritual impression to knock on a couple doors and found our eternal investigators house, and we were having a family home evening so we invited them and it was awesome, we watched the testaments, and they were all crying and they committed to be baptized this past weekend. so it was very nice.. it was very spiritual and powerful to see eternal gators get baptized. awesome!!! you never told me when James goesinto the MTC, QUE PASO? and quick, tell RYAN i am so proud of him and get his mission address so i can write him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! oh and when elder flores leaves for home, i will be sending you emails in spanish that i want you to forward to him ok thanks! XD TEILER! QUEPASO CHICO MALO!!! i didnt get a letter form you this week! i want to know how the heck are you? next week right? ok good. smell you later! anyway, Mom and Dad you have no need to worry about me, wait your myparents its your job, so never mind. jaja it is hard but you know what? what Christ did was harder... (MOM! keep having FHE's that are spiritual power-bombs, like you!) I received revelation about my back situation. just like stated to Joseph Smith, my trials and tribulations are to be for my experience and my benefit, so i will endure them to the best of my ability... i gotta go but until next week, Portense bien! chow pescado. i got pics!!!
Yours Always,
Elder Maki
Dear Mommy!
Ok so all your spirits are high and mighty! and get ready, mine are not...:( i have been in the apartment all week in bed, my back crashed on me :'( i didn't even get sick! and i have been officially prescribed a CANE! :/ i look old! elder Flores says i look like a prophet. my leg got all nice and blue during the week cuz of the Virus, but hey. what is a little test of faith eh? (BOOYA still CaNADIAN EH!) i am trying to be as positive as i can, especially now that i have to walk with the cane the rest of my life, so they say! i said to the Doc, i am 20 not 80, that is still weird thinking i am 20 but oh well.. so my spiritual experience of the week was last Monday, we gave a blessing to hermana Nava, you will meet her, she is the sweetest most cutest and witty woman ever!!! i love her to bits!!!!! she is like you mom, a great example of Faith.. when we were is sacrament meeting yesterday, i was in a lot of pain, and this ward is huge so i couldn't lay down. so i was clenching my fists, she looked at me from across the congregation and made a sad face and went with her finger from her eye making kind of like a tear movement...but anyway, on monday we gave her a blessing, she was experiencing back and leg pain also, Elder Flores pronounced the blessing that her pain would be taken from her... they were talking afterward, like wednesday, that her pain could have been placed on me, which i thought hmm maybe. but there is only one who suffered all pains and afflictions, Jesus. so when does James enter the Missionary Torture Center.. I Mean Missionary training Center? lol.. nah its really a great place. it was so nice to get a long letter from Teiler, it felt as if he really does love me lol jks. i know he does, i can feel it often...i will try and send the package with the camera this week. or have one of the other elders do it for me... but you should get it this week.. BTW you were saying that you are gonna try to sell the cars and get better ones, you know what i am thinking already, you should keep the small blue car for when i get home, seeing as i will have nothing lol. a nice little car to get me around, and fairly fuel efficient. it is obviously your dicision., and i will try to take a pic of me with the nuescence, i mean the cane so you can see how ridiculous i look. :Z, so how is the rest of the family? you have to tell me cuz apparently they don't like to write me, Lonna and Jerry, Doug and Rachel, Jesse and Robbin, Lloyd and Rachel everyone else i have gotten a letterfrom, but still let them know that i have had no time to write themback. anyway, I need to get some pain killers.
I love you all so much!
yours always,
Elder Maki
Hello Mommy!
That is so exciting to hear that James is going to Provo!!!!!!! the highest baptizing mission in the world next to us, he and i will have a competition! muahahahah! lol. anyway, this past week was great! We met with lots of our investigators and taught very spiritual lessons but the other night was the ultimate highlite of my week.. ok so we went out to harvest, and even though it was dark and not many people want to talk to you, we put our trust in the Lord...we said a prayer to ask where to go, Elder Flores said well i think we should stay around here, and i said, "No, we need to go over by the Church," and he said, "but that is 4 miles away and its almost time that we need to go to our next visit." and i was like, "Elder, there is someone over there who needs us this instant." so we went, and we there and we talk to this one family and they up and rejected us, and then we felt discouraged so we said another prayer asking what door to knock. at that moment a young women, maybe had 30 years, came and was taking food from her car to her apt, and we asked her if she needed help, she replied with a shy No thank you.. so we continued, we were about to contact a family who was out side and she came out again to her car, we asked again if she needed help, she said again no, but regardless we introduced ourselves and told her we were there to bless each and every person who would receive it, she accepted! She introduced herself as Yesica. (Jessica) and we were about to go in when we discovered that there was no man in the home, but we just taught a lesson instead, she expressed her situation, she is from Cuba, her grandfather, is very sick and she loves her grandfather alot. she has been searching and praying that someone would show her the way, and we showed up... it was amazing, and she lived right next door to the chapel. so its nice and easy to get her to church! she was unable to come yesterday but tonight we are going back.
This is how we teach the Book of Mormon, what i tell my gators, is that the Book of Mormon, is another witness, how? because it testifies of Christ, It may not tell the life of Christ like the new testament, but it still tells the divinity of the Son of God, and why he is so important, in 3 Nefi from chapter 11 on, tells of when Christ, after is resurrection came here to the Americas and stood in front of his people here, and said, "Behold, I am Jesus Christ, of whom the Prophets have testified shall come to this Earth and shall redeem his people, Arise, and come unto me" He said in the new testament, that "Other sheep i have, which are not of this fold, them also i must bring, and they will hear my voice, and there shall be one fold, and one sheppard" he was talking about the people here in the Americas, if you want to understand a little better, just watch the Testaments. it explains very well the mission of Christ. Ammoron is the Prophet in the movie, who gets killed because of it, but it shows the scriptures, written by the prophets. I also tell the gators, that the only way we are going to know that it is truly another witness of Christ, is to pray about it, i pray in Spanish and only Spanish. and first read Galatians 5:22-23 and pay attention to those feelings. I promise it will help... also D&C 8: 2-3. Here is a list of scriptures that will help more than anything: Alma 5,Alma 7,Alma 32,Alma 36,Alma 37,Alma 42, 2 Nefi 32, 2 Nefi 43, Nefi 9-11, 3 Nefi 11-18 especially 17.
I love you all so much!
Yours Always,
Elder Maki
Hello Mom
Oki Doki, this past week was amazazing! only 2 of the gators got baptisized but hey its better than 0. we have and we should have 5 going down this next weekend or soon thereafter. Ok about the camera thing, I cant tell you when i will send it back, but when i have the time i will. everything is soo crazy here right now, we are busy like crazy... (una cara loca) ok so my new companion has never tried canadian candy, so could you send me a care pkg with some famous canadian goodies, and i need more canadian keychains for the gators. btw speaking of gators, i saw one the other day! it was cool! its scary to think that i only have just 13 months left on my mission, dont worry i am not trunky. ok and how about this spanish word, Parangaricutirimicuaro! crazazy eh? HAHA YES STILL CANADIAN! oh and here is the sprirtual experience last week, we have an investigator named marianela Snyder and she has had bronchitous (dont know how to spell it) and she asked for a blessing, in which i offered and the other elders joined the circle, everybody said that it was the most powerful blessing they were apart of, and sister Snyder, was healed completely. she heard during the blessing a voice that told her to open her mouth and breathe out, so she did. and after the blessing she told us she had no chest pain from that moment and that all feels perfeect. it was a testimony builder for me personally.
Teiler Whatsup bro? How was hanging out with your mamasita? lol its always fun eh?Dude today is colder, and yesterday i was bitten by a homosexual mosquito. wanna know how i knew it was a homosexual mosquito? because it came out of the closet.. haha Chiste!!! haha yesterday also Elder Flores was kicked by the young women's president it was hilarious! he was talking to some of the young women, Maria Jose, who is a active super cool girl, and then Andrea who is a less active returning to church person, and the ym president heard elder Flores say the word ugly, haha he was saying that if they dont come to church they will get ugly and the ym president stepped back and wound up and kicked elder flores in the shins. it was like POW! he was limping for most of the day hahahahaha....oh and dad, guess what, estoy ensenando una Filandeza or translated, I am teaching a FINN!!!!!!! her name is Lara Flebles, her mom is Finn, and her dad is cuban,..,, weird mix i know. she is sooooo stubborn and she gave mesome fazer chocolate (again dont know how to spell it) it was the best chocolate EVER!!!!!!!! and there is a phrase in finnish that is a bad phrase in spanish, if you remember how to say "look and the tree" or (something) sounded like Taxa puuta or something. it is bad in spanish hahahaha, she said it and all the spanish people around us stared at her and said "what did you call me?" haha in spanish it is like caling someone a whore.... but oh well.. it was funny. she didn't know... she is Jehova's Witness, and so she cant accept our msg very easily... her mom is converted from lutheran and her dad is muslim...again weird mix. dont know how they get along. But anyway, if you got anyphrases i could say to her let me know lol... This past week i got sick and it was as tho the disease in my back flared up but in my leg, my leg lost its color and it was really painful but now its ok cuz i took the valtrex. i am good on pills by the way.. Elder Flores is Awesome! he is going to sell me his GPS and is going to give me his watch that turns off TVs its sick!!! only like 4.5 weeks until he goes home and i take over lol... i wonder if i will get a trainee. you never know but I need to go and buy a camera now, and food i am starving.... even though i have eaten about 4 meals a day. :D
Yours Always,
Elder Maki
