I'm sorry for such a bad email

Hey everyone. 

So I'm not going to write anything today. Actually, I'm not going to have time to personally respond to anybody (family and Sofia included).

We're writing, but there isn't enough room in the cyber cafe, and one of the elders that I share an area with won't have time to write. He's just sitting there, the odd man out. So I'm just writing this. I love you guys. I'm safe. We've had a number of unrelated earthquakes here. The damage has been heavy. Several people have died. The situation is severe. But I'm good, the missionaries are good, tomorrow is transfers- I'm staying in my area, I'm receiving an elder called Elder Lopez, should be fun, and my house is good, there's no damage.

I hope you all can forgive me and I hope you all understand my reasoning.

Elder William Jacob Long

I'm okay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey Guys!!!!!

Survived earthquake number #2 (still having aftershocks, but everything is calm right now. Just got the ok to send you guys a letter saying I'm all good). The earthquake was crazy, I'll explain everything well on Monday. But here in Paseos de Chalco, the damage was minimal, people have already returned to somewhat normal life (for example, we're still proseletizing), and we are all good. Thank you for the letters. I love you guys, and know that I'm praying for you. The epicenter according to what I understand, was in Puebla, Popo is fairly active, and damage in Puebla and Mexico City is really bad, with several confirmed deaths already. But please post it on facebook and the blog that I'm all good, my comp is all good, we're moving on, and that life is crazy.

The earthquake was felt fairly strong. Dad, your stories from Tokyo were going through my head. It was such a similar experience. So weird. It felt like trying to walk on a boat in rough water.

That all being said, take care, and don't worry about me!!!! I love you guys so much. Pray for Mexico, because the situation is bad.

Love,

Jacob

One year in the mission

Hey everbody!!!

I just completed a year in the mission, which is fairly crazy. The time has gone by really, really fast. The weirdest thing is that it seems, that by the way that transfers are going to fall, I'm going to be headed home late August, instead of September. So I'm gong home in 11 months... that's weird and crazy to think about.

Looking back on one year, I've been able to see so many miracles in so many people. Maybe the biggest miracle I've seen is the changes I've had in my character. I've become a lot more patient, a lot more mature, and a lot more spiritual. I've seen people change their lives in weeks, people from all walks of life, and I've had just the most humbling experiences.

This week was really fun. We found an awesome guy to teach on Saturday, who came to church on Sunday (big miracle), and we worked crazy hard. One of the most interesting things I did this week was go into downtown Mexico City to a place called Polanco, where the immigration offices are to renew my visa. It was really cool because I got to spend the entire day with my ex comps Elder Child and Elder Chischihllie, and we got to eat American fast food, which was something I had been missing a little. I had a sandwich from Which Wich. It was pretty cool.

On Saturday, we went to a farm to give service which was a big highlight, and we had a big activity with some wards from my stake for Mexican Independence. All in all, it was a pretty cool week.

The other good news is that we got word that my comp's family is all good! No problems there. Thank you all for your prayers!!!

I love you all a lot! I put up a photo of my house, and me eating Which Wich with Elder Child, Elder chischillie, and our secratry of visas, Elder Merril.

Love,

Elder William Jacob Long

Great week!!!!

Hey everyone!!!!!!!

This week was awesome!!! Good news, I borrowed an SD card adapter from another missionary, so I have some photos to send! This week I'll get some good ones of my area and my church. But i have some even better ones; Baptism photos!!!!!!

So this week, our best investigator, named Celia, got baptized. She had been progressing little by little over time. When I got here, she had some of the lessons, but she still needed a lot of the commandments and friends in the church and a whole bunch of other stuff. She passed her interview on Friday, so we could go through with the baptism. She got baptized on Saturday, and it was awesome! My comp baptized her, and I couldn't be happier for him. We also have a great ward, and we had some great support from the bishop and Celia's friends in our ward.

The other big news is that there was a major earthquake here in Mexico this past week!!!! From what I understand, it was a 8.1-8.2 on the Richter scale, struck off the coast of the Mexican state Chiapas or Oaxaca, and that it was big and bad. The two states (Chiapas and Oaxaca) are devastated, and the situation is grave. Here in the state of Mexico, we didn't feel it that much. I actually slept through it (struck at 11:30 or so at night) and there was very little damage here. Life is normal, the mission life is normal, but Chiapas and Oaxaca are destroyed, so keep them in your prayers. As well, keep the family of my comp in your prayers. He is from Chiapas, and still hasn't gotten word from his family.

As well, we found four awesome new people to teach this week, which was great, and today, we had a zone activity watching the Best Two Years, which was hilarious, because it nails mission life, and it's just been an awesome couple of days.

I'm doing great. The photos attached are of the baptism (my comp is in white) and some photos from sports day, like a photo of me with my trainer, and a photo of me and my comp giving service at the local hospital!

I love you guys. Stay wet up in Canada, and dry down in Houston ;)

Elder William Jacob Long

I'm okay!!!

Hey Mom and Dad,

I know I'm writing this on a Friday don't freak, today our leaders called us and told us to write you guys and tell y'all that I'm okay, my comp is okay, last night we got hit with an earthquake, and that everything is fine, there seems to be no damage to the infrastructure, and life is following as normal hahahahahaha. It must've been fairly weak because I didn't feel it, I slept through the whole night. So feel free to search it, send me some info, where was the center of the earth quake, the magnitude, and all that :)

I love you guys a lot, and I miss you a ton. Stay safe up in the great white north, and feel free to publish that I'm all good on the blog and all that!

Love,

Wugsy

another week passing by

Hey everyone,

I'm gonna start off this email on a strong note: no photos hahaha sorry but these computers aren't that great.

But, I've got some funny stories, I think, from this awesome week I've had.

First off, I love my area. It's tough. We're not having a ton of success. But we're giving it 110% and working super hard. I get along great with my comp, Elder Hernandez. i love him a ton. and being in Chalco is really cool.

So funny stories- earlier in the week, we had some great contacts. The people here are really rough with us. One of the best contacts was a Pentecostal lady who rejected us really hard. We were talking to her for like 15 minutes in the street, and she was chewing us out hard core for worshipping idols because the card we had given her was a painting of Jesus Christ leaving the tomb. On the back of the cards, the church puts the web page, so that the people can check it out and learn more. So I got tired of her fighting with us, and I just ripped off the bottom part and said look, we don't want to offend you, we don't worship idols, but here is our web page, it's the most important part of the card, and you can find out more about our church there. She left, and my comp and I were in the street talking, and I was like how much do you want to bet were going to find the card littered in the street. A couple of days passed, and I didn't think much about it, and we were walking and my comp yells out "Elder long- no manches- look at this, you won't believe it. And I turned around, and in the sewage drain was the card. It was really funny. So we quickly removed the drain and took out the card, and now I have it on my desk and I'm not sure what to do with it.

Well I hope you guys enjoyed that story. We're working really, really hard right now. We're seeing lots of miracles, and we're really happy.

To be honest, that's about all from my week. The other highlight was today, we had our mission sports tournament with all the missionaries, and we did really well. We didn't win outright, we came in second (I guess third because there was a tie for first) but I enjoyed it a lot, and all of my zone bought these sweet Barcelona jerseys that have nicknames and our numbers on the back. It was really fun.

Well I love you guys a ton, and I miss you all. Those of you in Texas, please stay safe and dry!!!!!

Love,

Elder William Jacob Long