Second Week in Uruguay

Hello there family! So my companion is great, like i said he is from Paraguay! He doesnt really speak English, lol probably about 10 words! We can communicate great! I know that the gift of tounges is being realized in my life right now! I pray for it many times during the day, cuz there is no way i could do this withough it! Its been a busy week. It is extremely hot here! Its great though, even though i never stop sweating! On sunday we had about three less active families come to church that we had visited through out the week and 5 Investigators! It was so awesome to walk into curch and see so many people there, cuz last week there was about 20. We are just working every day making contacts and visiting less active members! One of the members name in Analia, she is 28 and has 4 kids 8 and under. She has no runing water, its really sad. I think i told you about this in my last letter. Anyways the kids are always asking for carmelos, which is candy and they say they are hungary. So if you could send me cany for them that would be great! Also maybe some small games such a uno and other things would be great to play with them! I´m really going to miss thanksgiving with you all this year. But Christmas is going to be good because here they all wait up till midnight and shoot off fireworks! Huge ones, its the biggest holiday they have! It will be intersting to see! We have a pretty nice appartment now that i´m used to it. I´m tired of killing cockroaches though! lol its all good though. Nick, what a nice thing you said in your primary program! Your awesome buddy! I love you so much! I can see in your writing that your testimony is growing each day! Keep up the good work! Anyways my companion is really funny! And a good cook, along with the other latin zone leader in our apartment. They are all funny! I´m reading the book Our Search For Happiness right now. Its wonderful! It really has been a testimony builder for me. Everyday i find myself on my knees more and more. It has been tough adjusting to everything. One thing that i learned is that it is impossible to go through out this life without divine guidance. At least this is the way it is for me. There is know way i could make it through every day with out the Spirit there to comfort me and to know that my Father in Heaven and my Savior Jesus Christ love me. It is such an incredible blessing to be allowed to have the Holy Ghost as a constant companion if we live worthy of him. It seems like every day I begin to understand deeper meanings of the plan our Heavenly Father has made for us. Its so wonderful. One thing i´m especially greatful for is the Plan of Salvation. How incredible and magnificent it is to know that we can be an Eternal Family. This brings me so much comfort and peace every day especially when i begin to get home sick. Anyways, there is alot more things that I am greatful for this Thanksgiving that i have often taken for grantit. I hope you all have a wonderful thanksgiving, and eat extra turkey and pie for me! I will definately be thinking of you! It wont be long until i will be talking to each of you on the phone! I love you all and i hope you have a great week!
With all my love,
Elder Mitchell A. Williams

He Finally Arrived

Hello family! I´m here now! Alright so it takes a long time add pictures on here so i´m going to make you a cd and send it to you! Alright, so Tuesday we left at around 9 in the morning. We drove to the airport and were on our way. It was only about a 30 min flight. really short! We got off the plane, got our luggage and went out and met the President and his wife and the assistants. We then drove to a little park that over looked the ocean and the city of Montevideo and took pictures. It was beautiful! We then drove back to the Presidents house and had a little slide show and talked about the mission for a while. Then we had an amazing lunch! Potatoes and gravey, and we got ice cream and brownies too! The presidents house is really nice, probably the nicest house in all of uruguay. After that we then talked some more and then went to a temple session. The temple is beautiful! Wow, i cant even describe it! After the temple we went back and talked some more and had interviews with the president and ate pizza. Then we went to the Hotel on the temple grounds to sleep. Its for members who travel long distances just to come to the temple. This place was really nice! Wednesday we got up and went to get a mini physical from the doctors here at about 9. I think it was to see if we are helthy enough to live in the country. After that we went back to the house and met out trainers (1st companion). Mine is from Paraguay and doesn´t speak any english. I´m the only one out of our group that recieved a latin companion and one that does not speak any english. I was feeling a little overwhelmed and scared but i think i´m over it now. We then went and took our stuff to the offices in montevideo. There we took some pictures, which you will get in a cd, and then went procelyting for about an hour. We then got back and took our stuff to the bus station and headed on our way to my first area! It was about a 5 hour bus ride. The area in which i am at is call Paysandú. We live in an apartment with the Zone leaders on the 11th floor. We can see Argentina from the other side of the River! Its pretty cool! Thursday we had our first Zone meeting. It was good, I gave my first blessing there, i was really nervous but it turned out alright! After that we went and did some service, we walked about 30min to this members house out in the country. They kinda have a small little farm! We painted the inside and part of the outside of their house. It was good! Its really hot here! Man i´m dying! Friday we went and bought some food and got settled in and procelyted all day. It was good, we visited a few less active members and just started to get fimiliar with our area. Saturday we did the same thing again. The people here live in really smaill cement boxes. We are so lucky to live where we do. We have so many things to be thankful for. This thanksgiving will be different for me knowing all the things which we have that no one else does. There is this one single mother who was baptized in may who has 4 children under the age of 8. She doesnt have any running water in the house and has this really disgusting outhouse for a bathroom. I was holding back tears after we left her house. I wanted to help so bad but i know there is not much i can do. It is definately different down here. Especially in our appartment, I wont go into detail but just know that i am still having trouble adjusting to everything. Sunday we went to chuch and i had to speak. I just shared my testimony and introduced myself. There was only about 30 people who attended church. There are alot of inactive people here. I think our goal will be to start bringing members back to church. After church we ate lunch and then headed back out to go procelyting again. Every day feels the same here lol! We visited another less active member and that was the second time I used my priesthood authority t bless someone because she was sick. That is basically my week! I got your package and letters! Thank you so much for them all! I love the cds and the pictures and especially the candy! Nick, great job on your arrow of light! That is awesome buddy! I love you so much! I was a little sad i missed it though :( If you can, please send me some US stamps in a letter so I can letters home through pouch asap! Also, if you could send me my Long Beach hat that would be great too! I want to give it to this 18 year old member who said he likes it when he saw a picture of our family in sand diego. When you send packages make sure you put pictures of Mary on it. For some reason they don´t care if packages have Jesus on it. Also send it through the post office through a flat rate package box or envelope and make sure it under four pounds. If its not that okay but it will get here the fastest when you follow those guidelines. I also have an email address that i forgot in my appartment that you can write a letter to me and they will print it out at the offices and send it to me each week. I will give you the address next week! I cant wait to call home in about a month! I´m looking forward to hearing from all of you! I miss you all and love you so so so much!!!! Make sure to thank our Father in Heaven for all our many blessing. We live in such a great part of the world. Wow i cant even tell you how lucky and blessed we are. Well, i´m excited to be working here and serving the Lord. This is definately going to be the hardest thing i have ever done, and a huge testimony builder. Thank you for everything mom and dad, i love you so much! I will be looking forward to hearing from you next week! I love you all very much! I will get that picture cd to you as soon as possible!
Love always, Elder Mitchell A. Williams