February 16, 2011

Mom and Dad,

Haha so the CCM president announced who won the Super Bowl over the PA on Sunday night!! haha That sucks cuz I don’t like the packers at all!!!! Whatev! So I am 100% sick of rice.....we honestly have it for like every meal everyday except breakfast. I guess its a good thing though because I don’t eat as much and with that and from having these major digestive issues I have been having I have lost like 13 pounds! haha But other than the food, I love it here!! No we don’t get to follow up on Marco anymore....we just did the contacting and then the in-field missionaries do the rest!! Oh so last Saturday I didn’t get to go proselyting or however you spell it because I have been having some major digestive issues ever since I got here.....its all good though cuz i am still happy :) hahaha It sucks big time don’t get me wrong but I am just so happy to be here that I don’t even care!!

So I have 3 more weeks here at the CCM and then its off to the field!! Whooooooooooooooooo!!! I feel that if I could go teach in English I would baptize the entire mission and then move on to the others but yeah I still need a lot of work with my Spanish!  I just need to broaden my vocabulary and I’ll be golden!

So yeah its still hot and humid but I’m used to it now! My new comp is from Lima too so he won’t get here until tomorrow morning! All the Latinos are from all over South and Central America! In my last district we had some from Chile, Peru, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Columbia, Ecuador and yeah they come from everywhere! So I can understand what ppl are saying I just have to work on my vocab like I said, but that will just come with time!!
Well tell EVERYONE in our family that I love them and miss them! I’m so glad to hear that everyone is doing so good!
I love you all so much! I miss you guys!
I love you alllllll!!!!!!

Love,
Elder Driessen

February 9, 2011

Mom and Dad,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!!!!!! I sent you guys a letter on Monday through pouch so hopefully you get it! How is everyone? I want to know about what is happening in the world and in our little world of Cache Valley!! haha That is so awesome about Ryan!!! He is a daddy!!! PLEASE tell them I said congrats and that I love them!!

Well on Saturday I went tracting all day!!! haha It was so fun! I don’t speak very good yet but I did alright! We taught 4 good lessons, gave out 6 BOM's and a million pamphlets! haha We taught this one guy that seemed high but don’t worry he wasn’t he just had really weird eyes! haha He was really interested and said he wanted to learn more it was cool!

But something amazing happened when we were teaching....my companion was talking and I lost track of what he was saying and I started to pray REALLY hard to know what was being said and all of a sudden it was as if my companion and this guy (Marco) were speaking English.

Our Father in Heaven HEARS and ANSWERS our prayers. I love this work I am so happy to be here serving the Lord. I cant believe I have been a missionary for a month now!!!

In a week my companion leaves for the field and I get a new companion!! I have been having a lot of trouble with my companion lately like not wanting to obey any of the rules and just being lazy and I was getting really mad at him and yeah you all know me......I don’t have the most patience in the world,,,,but I decided last night I was just going to be the bigger man and the senior companion and I just said sorry and hugged him and it was like a chain reaction he apologized to me and to like half our district!!! He has been bothering everyone! it was really cool!!!

So they have ping pong tables here and I play like everyday :) I guess you could say I’m pretty much a pro now!! haha So on Wednesday Elder Nash, the Area Seventy, came and spoke and his whole talk was in Spanish of course but one part he said was too special so he said it in English, he said when he dropped his son off at the airport for his mission he hugged him one last time and said “give all of yourself to the Lord son, don’t hold anything back.” Sound familiar Dad? You told me that exact same thing. When his son came home he hugged his dad and said “I gave it all to the Lord, Dad I didn’t hold anything back.” That was VERY special to me that night. So you should expect those words from me in 23 months!

Well my time is up! Tell everyone I said hi and I love them!! I love and miss you all!! Thanks for writing me back Chan!

Love, Elder Driessen

February 2, 2011

Mom,

The ccm is soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much cooler and nicer than Provo!! haha That word Provo is taboo here because the Latinos think when we say it that we don’t like it here when really we do!! haha Well I only get to take pictures on Wednesdays, p day, so I don’t have any for you this time I’m sorry!! I love Peru its so cool! I don’t have any more time because I suck at typing but there is more in the email to Dad that I want you to read. I’m sooooooooooooooooooooo sorry.

I am so happy here. I miss you all like crazy but I wouldn’t come home for anything. I love the Lord and I love serving a mission. thank you for being the best mom a boy could ask for. I love you Mommy. I miss you.

Love, tu hijo, Elder Driessen

January 27, 2011

¡Hola familia!

How is everyone? Well I loved talking to you yesterday!! you all sound so good!! I miss you all!! I made it safely to Atlanta and had my last American meal (panda express) and then we flew to Lima!!! Its so crazy here everyone on the road like does what they want its kinda scary!! And everything is reeeeeally dirty and there are dogs and trash everywhere! The ccm is a lot nicer and a lot smaller than the Provo mtc. the food is really weird though.....I haven't like any of it so far...oh well I guess I’ll have to get used to it right!? I still cant believe I’m here its so crazy! I haven't stopped sweating since I got here haha its soooo humid!! I feel so weird here its funny!! My companion is Elder Utia from Lima and he doesn't speak a lick of English haha its good though I guess I’ll have to learn in fast haha! Its so cool there are ping pong tables and foosball tables here! Oh and they have a turf futbol field!! Its really cool!! Well I cant figure out how to upload pictures :( sorry! I’ll try it next time I can get on! I love you all so much!

Love,

Elder Driessen

January 19, 2011

Hola Familia!!!

So today is p day! We were supposed to go to the temple this morning but Elder McClure is really sick so I just sat in our room forever while he slept! I sent a letter yesterday so hopefully you get it soon! I love you all so much and its so good to hear from you! I am doing really good! I leave the MTC next Wednesday at 6:00 in the morning! We fly to Atlanta then to Peru! I don’t have the paper so I don’t know the times for sure though! I’ll write to you again and let you know! I love it here!!! Except that the food sucks really bad.....but its all good!! haha Well I’m a slow typer so I don’t have much time left so I gotta go!!  I miss you! I love you!

con amor,

Elder Driessen

January 12, 2011

Hola mi familia!

I got the package! Thank you so much!!  Could you send my Sanuks in the next one por favor??  Thanks! So last night we had a devotional and Elder Jeffrey R. Holland came and spoke to us!!! It was about always being a missionary even when we get home!  It was so cool and sooooooooo powerful!  I love it here and I am learning a lot! Spanish is coming a lot easier than I thought it would so that’s good! I miss all of you so much and I love you but I wouldn't stop what I'm doing for anything in the world! I love the Lord and my testimony grows more everyday! I don't have a lot of time but thank you for the letters and Dad for telling me about gma peggy that is so amazing!

I love you all!!!

Love, Elder Driessen