Update...Puerto Cabezas

Date: June 28, 2010
Area: Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua
Companion: Elder Velásquez

28 June 2010

Okay, I am doing SO much better than I was last week. I talked to a few of the missionaries that I'm serving with for advice, and thanks to them I have been doing so much better out here.

Puerto is totally different from all of the other Zones in my mission. For one, everyone speaks Miskito! It's crazy. I am learning little by little, and this week I'm going to acquire a Bible in Miskito and a dictionary. The people here have noticed that I love learning the language and I have had a few people ask me to study well so that I can translate the Book of Mormon into Miskito. The people here can speak Spanish, but that's about it. They can speak it and nothing more; it's very hard for them to understand scriptures and deep conversations. I have been praying that the language will come quickly, as I really do not know how long I will be here.

We get out new president in 2 days! Ah!!! Crazy! I love our current/soon-to-be-gone president. He has seriously helped me so much in like 2 weeks. A couple things that he has told me that have really struck me as important in this life are:

1. The Scriptures. We need to read the scriptures as families, then as couples/spouses, then individually.

2. Trials. We all go through trials, but we have all been given people to help us: companions. We need to go through a weekly "companionship inventory" with our families and our spouses. We need help fixing our problems, and who better to help us than those whom we love?

Okay, full story. After transfers I went out to get my bags and one was gone! So as of right now I have like 4 short-sleeved shirts, three pairs of pants, 3 pairs of socks and a number of garments (almost all have been purchased by the mission for me). Someone took my bag on accident, and they have it in their house. This doesn't happen a lot, but it's awful when it does because one is left without clothes for 6-18 weeks! Then, when I got to Puerto I found out that the Branch I'm serving in is solely a Miskito-speaking branch. Wierd. Then, when we were heading back to Managua, I found out that we were going to fit 13 people in one Toyota truck. We were all crammed in there for soooooo long. I lasted 13 hours in the bed of the truck, then spent 2 hours inside. My back was completely bruised and I couldn't sleep well for almost 5 days. Painful, but soooooo much fun. The Hunger Strike that we encountered was totally savage: everyone there had weapons and machetes and were not very kind. But we got through. It was a miracle. Many people here in Puerto have been telling me that they fear the war is starting again. Sure, there's always the fear that the war will commence again, but the people here feel as if it is imminent. This saddens me, for I just want to help the people here and how can I do that if I'm in some other country?

We got back to Puerto Friday afternoon (after being in Managua for 4 1/2 days!) and went back to work. I've been working so hard so that every night when I pray and report back to my Heavenly Father I can tell Him that I worked my hardest. I have been trying so hard to be a great missionary, but to be honest it's hard to be fantastic when you have others holding you back. I mean, we plan and plan and plan but then we end up not doing what we planned at all and sometimes it feels like we're wasting time. I'm sure things will get better over time.

Letter--I will only get dearelders when I go back to Managua or when someone from Managua comes to visit our zone, so if you all want to keep writing, go ahead, they'll sit there in the office for a little bit longer, but I can enjoy them later.

New address:

Oficina Discover
Oficina 2D
Apartado Postal 3600
Managua, Nicaragua

Okay everyone, time is up for me. I love all of you so much and cannot explain to you the love that I can feel from you. It is amazing how much help I have received from your prayers, the scriptures, my prayers and my Patriarchal Blessing. Remember to read your scriptures and pray like I said, family, couple and individually as well as read your patriarchal blessing. I shall await more emails!

-- Love,Elder Bolton