January 11, 2010 (Still in Guzman!!)

Ha! Poor dad doesn´t get to write! Lol Well, I just started writing and it´s 53 minutes on the clock. Writing presidente and sorting letters and reading all the gobbly-goop the assistants send me is annoying and time consuming. That and I was also dinking around with Walmart.com... i now have a startling and impressive addition of 194-195 photos. Today in the morning we went on a 4:45 a.m. journey to the ´volcan´ (which is volcano). We all got ready by 5, waited a little for the ride to get there (our elder´s quorum president) and we shipped off, picked up a girl in the ward who wanted to go, Christian Diaz, the young men´s leader also went and we headed up the mountain. The first pictures you will see is the ´choir´ I have told you about so emotionally, which I FINALLY get to load up and then a few random opens, then when you see 10 elders tightly grouped togther in the back of a truck with blankets and mattress pads, bundled down in sweaters and coats and jackets, that´s us in the back of Pdt. Espinoza´s work truck headed out. The Road was frost bitten and white, the trees were empty and shadowed, then at 6:30 we broke the horizon limit going up the side of the moutnain and found a FANTASTIC sun rise. We later got up and the rest our photos of our volcano adventure. We are on the mountain/dormant volcano - Nevado del Colima. It´s called ´del Colima´ even thought it´s technically in Jalisco. The tall peaked one with snow is this volcano. You´ll see several other photos of a large volcano shaped mountain with an open top and smoke coming out. That´s Fuego del Colima; an active volcano currently holding a ´caution´ rating, due to the possibly pending erruption. YEAH!!! Now we´re in the ciber writing. This week was impossibly hard. We baptized Erika on Sunday. It was interesting. The entire week her family and friends have been cutting her open with their comments and criticisms. Mom destroyed her, her best friends decided they didnt´want to be friends anymore, relatives mock and criticize her, husband threatened to divorce her (but thankfully isn´t...whew...) and just a slew of crap. She stayed firm, she knew what she wanted to do and she did it. I´m very happy and honored to say I had the blessings of seeing her in that process. Yesterday I was DEPRESSED. It was bad... This week was just rough. I don´t know if it´ll be any better this next week but I´m just going through the motions right now. I still don´t have my head on straight. I complain alot. Either I´m happy and everyone hates on me, or I´m depressed and everyone´s fine. That´s my point of view, the social worker I´ve been talking to has helped me kind of stop and take a step back looking at the situation and I´m sure it´s not that bad a situtaion. I took a picture of me one day in my room. You´ll see one of my just ... upset looking resting my head on my fist. That day was just a pissy day. Lol, so I took a picture. I´m just tired...I´ll tell you what, I´m exhausted. Everythings tested. Leadership, discipline, obedience, physical (I´m been constantly sick with one thing or another), testimony, love & charity... EVERYTHING is being tested and challenged. And I´m exhausted...The good news is that we´ve had success. Like I said we´re kinding of just going through the motions, but we´ve had lots of success. There´s a 17 yr old girl getting baptized the 24th of the month, she´s getting married to an inactive member of the ward who has several active family members. Those family members invited her and we´ve been teaching her, and it´s great, she also has a great testimony. I like the quote you sent me my Presidente Benson about pride, because I think i´m guilty, for example I´ve thought recently that she takes a little more to Elder Perez, but I think I´m just sensitive to others way of looking at me. It´s all added up though, the comments that I receive everyday. I understand oh, they´re just kids yelling at me, or oh they´re jsut jealous that you´re tall, things like that, etc. etc. so on and so forth, but it all just builds up. I relax on Mondays and then TUesday and Wednesday are fine, I deal with, laught it off. THen THursdya it´s a little...ha, ok..yeah... Friday I´m just dealing with it and then Saturday I¨m just done, I´m just.... DONE, sick of hearing GUERO GUERO GRINGO GRINGO GRINGO GINGO Hablas Ingles (doy ou speak Ingles???) Gran Khali! (Some WWE wrestler). I´m sick of people swearing at me I´m sick of stupid comments, idiotic assumptions about everything. It just builds up. That doesn´t limit the problem either. I have 4 months in this forsaken city and I love it here, I really do. More than almost all areas I´ve had. But I haven´t had anything to show for it. I´m really tired...I don´t have a whole lot of positive things to say about this country...I march forward. 9 Months. Not that long...To answer a few questions. A new suit, that would probably come in handy...lol. The ones I have are pretty gnarly...lol. It would just have to be a lot smaller. Lol. Ther´s o Men´s Wearhouse in Guadalajara, if there is, I have no idea how to find it...nor do I believe they would carry the same product, they large chains usually don´t. Walmart for example is completely Mexican based with very few articles from the states found there. You´re selling the little white and blue ones?? Why so? The Thing too??? Now i can´t fit in the little thing so I´m not reall going to miss it that much, but that´s fine piece of property. Mom really should get out an drive it more, but ... I don´t know. The Mountain Dew one is pretty slick, but thinking bout it... a paint job I can get on any buggy. Look at he parts before the paint...well Dad you know a whole lot mroe than I do, just pick the one you thinks best.Spekaing of cars..have you talked to trick my truck yet??? Lol, andale! (let´s move it...lol)The packages I don´t think I´ll get til February. We only get them every 3 weeks and this time around we aren´t even goign to have interviews so our packags won´t come in...I mean to say they´re there in the offices but we won´t be receiving them for a while.Now I have a few fvors I´d like to ask of you. Could you, by some way, write the offices here and ask if I could go to a chiropractor or get some sort of therapy. Sister Nobel maybe?? She does that...I think it´s a possible shot, if my back is out or my neck, that could cause this head and body pain. A pinched nerve for an inflame or stressed muscle. I lie down and night and just watch and feel my body twitch. The contracting and spasming of my muscles in every centimeter of my body. Maybe it´s not that bad, but I got to spice it up a bit so I get some attention here, actually it really does feel that bad, that´s a very accurate description...lol. Head pain, sinus squeeze, stress and anxiety, lack of concentration. Sorry, I like to complain, but this is ridiculous, haha. (Note I write this with the best of humor...that I can muster, lol) Well just to finish it off as I´ve gone over by an hour, lol. I´m wearing the read nintendo shirt! YEAH! Lol. Your beloved and wonderful dashingly, handsome and wittingly intelligent with magestically English accented son,-JakeLolP.S.Send Ties! (X-Long)