Feliz Ano Nuevo!

Sounds like you had a great christmas break. I wouldn´t mind if you sent down some of that cold down here in La Nueva. This past week it has warmed up a bit and it gets really hot during the day. Although all the people here still think it is pretty cool. About half of our investigators have a cold and they are always complaining about the cold in the morning. That drives me crazy because as they are telling me this I have sweat pouring down my face. This week has been really good though. On tuesday Elder Rigby and I did divisions with the Zone Leaders. I went to Tiquisate with one of them and the other came here with Elder Rigby. It was a really good experience and I really learned alot. He is a latino so it was cool to be able to talk in spanish all the time and he commented on how good my spanish is. It was also cool to see a different teaching style and to be able to learn from that and try and apply it to my teaching. Also this week we divided the Trochas (the farm area around the town) with the other Elders.

I went out there for the first time on Friday and it was crazy to see how big the area is and how many people are out there. We went to a members house and it took us an hour and a half on the bus to get there. We want to try and get 6 priesthood holders out there so that they can start a branch because it is so far for those people. It would also be good because they could send some missionaries out there. We weren´t able to teach much there because we were helping the member fix his car so he could take around. I had my first experiance pumping up a car tire with a bike pump. We are going to try and go there at least once a week. On the way back the bus drove past the beach and I got a couple second glimpse of the ocean. We had forgotten that Friday was New Years Eve but we remembered quick with all the firecrackers going off. We went to bed at 10:30 but ended up getting out of bed at midnight to watch the Fireworks because there was no hope of us sleeping. It was crazy, probably twice as big as christmas was. The next day alot of our appointments fell through because they were all at the beach but we got to teach some good lessons. This week we had set a goal of getting 14 new investigators and it was really cool to see how much God blessed us in our efforts as we concentrated on this goal. We ended up finding 16 new investigators and some good families. It felt really good on Sunday to go over the week and know that you had worked hard and be able to see the results of that work.

There is still a lot we have to improve on which is something that both Elder Rigby and I learned from the Divisions. That is the cool thing about life. We are always learning and always finding ways in which we can improve. The danger is in becoming content which I know I have struggled with. Something that Presidente Maravillas always says to us is "Siempre felices, nunca contentos." We cant become content with the way we are now or compare ourselves to others and justify the way we are. I have struggled with that alot with justifing my actions. One of the Elders in my District shared with me something that has helped me a lot. He said one of his goals on his mission was to "Be the best that I can, without being better that others." I like that a lot and Im going to try to apply to my life. Anyways life is good. We haven´t got the pouch yet from the office so I haven´t gotten any packages yet but we should get it on Wednesday. Well times up, but know that I love you and I am greatful for you.

Con Amor,

Elder Thorley