July 25, 2011
Hey Family!!!
How are all of you all? I may not be putting very much punctuation or capitalization in this email because the keyboards here are different then the ones in America!!! Ah! so weird to be able to use technology again! K I'm safe, I haven’t gotten sick, yet, I am happy and I am working hard! How is home? I haven’t had a chance to read your emails yet the place we email at we have to pay to use the computers and if we enter the code and get on the internet I don't think that we can get back on if we log off.... I am not totally sure though because my companion speaks mostly spanish....... anyway! I will figure out how to better use the computers next week sound good? And by then I will be able to respond to all of your emails and stuff. thanks for writing me though! I was glad to get on and see like 4 or 5 emails from all of you! Lizzie included, but I am going to tell you all about my week sound good?
I got to El Salvador about 8 o’clock last Monday night, we walked out of the airport and it was about 90 degrees and 100 percent humidity..... we were sweating so bad! Definitely ok though, my hands are so soft from all the humidity!!! After this we took a bus to the presidents house and had a bit of dinner! Our president’s house is so nice! the outside looks like it is really run down but as soon as you step inside you like loose your breath, It is small like 1500 square feet but very very nice! Anyway, Tuesday we had orientation, and got our visas all taken care of! I am now legal to live in El Salvador! I have my green card so to speak hehe but Tuesday was boring because we were all so tired and didn’t want to be there haha but we met our companions Tuesday night. my companions name is Elder Encarnacion. He is from the Dominican Republic, which is cool because that is where Anthony Robinson is going yeah? I read that part of Lizzie’s letter, but he is a black person that speaks spanish very very fast! I was so lost the first couple days! He does speak a little bit of english though so we can usually get across what we want to say!
Wednesday was my first day in the field We stayed at the Assistant to the President’s house for the first two nights and we had to wake up at 4 to be transferred to our areas. I am in an area called Lourdes, I don't know if you can find it on a map but it is just to the west of San Salvador, it is actually a suburb of it we live in a community called Campos Verde 1 I think? I am still so lost here they don’t have street addresses or really have names for their cities like we do! I hope that you can at least find a little bit of where I am! It is a really nice area! there is a lot of people, but it is fairly clean! Definitely not the US though stray dogs everywhere you go, tons of people sit on their front porches, everywhere you go there are pupusarias, and all the buildings have dirt or smoke stains on them hehe Mom and Kalee would DIE here haha but to me it is nice! it is one the nicer areas there are in the mission, and our house is one of the nicest in the mission! our house has a lot of room in it there is a bit entry way that we don’t use for anything because we have like no furniture, a little kitchen we have a 2 burner stove with one of the burners burned out so that is fun! but we usually are fed by members, everyone here is so nice!, a little bedroom with two beds, a closet room with all our stuff in it, tiny bathroom, but it is clean! (now at least! I took bleach to it this morning hehehe) and then also a back room that is outside, it has our pila (which is our sink that we fill up and has our water during the day because our water turns off at 11 am to 5 or 6 pm) but it is all really nice! I like it! definitely different then America, and not going to lie I definitely miss America, but this is becoming more and more comfortable every day! I know that this is thanks to all your prayers! thank you so much! but the first day there, Wednesday, we went to teach a couple families, it was fun, even though I didn’t understand anything that anyone was saying! they talk with SO much slang here! I had one person tell me I won't be learning spanish I am going to be learning Salvadoranion haha but I am picking it up well at first I could understand about 15 percent of what people were saying, and now I can get about 60! hehe yay! but It will be here soon! By October I should be fluent! …says my trainer anyway...... at least that is what I think he said.... hehe
But anyways we have 2 baptisms scheduled for this next Saturday! One is a sweet 11 year old girl named Kaeti ( it is pronounced Katy in english) but she is the daughter of a less active woman and is really excited to be baptized! the other is a boy that is name Bryant, he may not be baptized though because every time we go to teach him he isn’t home and we haven’t taught him as much as we need to. But either way we have one for sure this Saturday! Exciting huh? We are also teaching a few other families, It is so fun to teach them the gospel and feel the spirit fill the home! it is so cool! This will be a great two years! Keep praying for me, I am always praying for you all! things are going to be good! I also wanted to tell you about church here! we have to travel about 15 minutes by bus to church, but it is a very nice church! There is no air conditioning though so it makes it a bit warm! but it is exactly like church at home, same lessons, same type of talks in sacrament! Funny to see that the church doesn't change even around the world!
Some random things that I wanted to tell you all:
There are these bread bikes that go around all day long selling bread! They have a horn on their bikes and squeak it going up and down the street! This is SO annoying! They start to go around at about 5 am it wakes me up! and then they dont stop going around until like 9 at night! gah so annoying! haha
We have to use Agua Cristal for our drinking water, so I haven't gotten sick yet! yay!
Dear elders! They have dear elders for my mission, go online and if you send it by Thursday, it will get to Sl Salvador by the following Monday! Like 3 days! The church has some connections to get them sent faster! Cool eh?
We seriously live like kinds in the US! the apartments at the end of our street are like the very best houses here! there are the rich sections that have like 6 million dollar houses, but for the average person that is about it!
everyone has parrots as pets! it is kind of cool!
I got to go to the temple on Saturday! It is a really small temple but it is so pretty next to the really really green landscape of the mountains behind it! EVERYONE is SO SO SO excited for the temple! Before this temple they had to take like a 3 day trip to the temple! it is so cool to see how many people are so grateful to have it so close!
Anyways! That is about all I wanted to say! I will respond to a few things from your emails next week and if you want me to for sure respond to something let me know at the beginning of your next week emails sound good? I will also send pictures next week after I have a few more we can send them over the email really easily so that is how I will be sending pictures! I love you all! Hope all is well! if there is anything I can do for you let me know! let me know when Kortnee and Kalee get married yeah? Hopefully soon hehehe Just kidding! es una broma!
I love you all! Stay strong! I will be safe, mom. Hope all is well!
Elder Braden Woodfield
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