Another week comes and goes

Hey guys,

You're gonna have to forgive the painfully short letter this week.

But it was solid. We worked hard and had some really good investigators come to church. I'm going to have changes, but my comp Elder Rowberry is staying in the area, and he's going to baptize them this weekend and next. He's really excited.

As for me, I'm going back to Cuautla!! Which I'm really stoked about. I've been here in this area for six months. It's been great, and we've had success, but I'm excited for the change as well.

So that's the big news. Minor details: we did several divisions this week which was really fun. today we played four square which was a fun little throwback to when I was a kid. All in all, it's been great.

I love you guys so much. Have a great week.

Love,

Elder William Jacob Long

My week

Hey guys!

We had a super sweet week. We worked really hard. We didn't find quite as many people as last week because we weren't quite as focused on that. But we worked super hard with the investigators we already have, and we had a lot of success helping them progress and get to church.

So we're really happy. My comp Elder Rowberry is getting along really well in the mission. He's having a blast. This is the last week of this transfer, so we're gonna work super hard and try to just leave everything out on the table this week.

The craziness of getting my teeth fixed is over. Today I went in to the dentist to get my tooth checked up, and to seal it finally. o the odessy is up, and we're moving on. So I'm happy, healthy, and everything is going just awesome.

So I don't have too much to report. But I love you guys a lot. I hope you all had a great week.

Love,

Elder William Jacob Long

This past week

Hey guys!!!

So not too much happened this week out of the ordinary. As far as missionary work goes, we had a fairly successful week. One of the best ones I've had in this area. We found several new investigators, taught several lessons, and had some great people come to church, as well as seeing the progress of our recent converts.

So the big news is that I had to get some emergency dental work done yesterday!!!!! I had a cavity filled last week, but the cavity was so deep, that it was down to the nerve. So the nerve got inflamed and got unbearable. Sooooooooooo crazy painful. So they had to operate on it immediately. They had to drill several holes into the tooth and remove the nerve. Crazy painful. The operation lasted for an hour and a half. Literally an hour and a half of dentist hell. So bad but it's over and everything is ship shape 100%. One of the wackiest experiences I've had on the mission.

So that's the big news!!! I hope you guys like the photos. They're from two to three transfers ago!!!

Also, some questions and answers:

1. In what ways has your mission been similar to what you expected, in what ways has it been different?

It really wasn't anything like I expected. I expected all elders to be perfect and like superheroes, super hard working and obedient, and the reality is that the majority aren't. But there are some really incredible missionaries that I have gotten to know, that make me want to be better. The mission is really concerned about baptizing people. I would say too concerned. The mindset of the mission is a little over obsessive. But the miracles and the blessings and the amazing humbling experiences and knowing and working with incredible people is really awesome.

2. How has your service changed you, so far?

It has taken away all of my pride. It has made me such a humble person. I've seen huge changes in my life in my way of thinking and treating people, in the way I talk and study, and over all, in the way I act in general. It has been incredible.

That's all for this week!!! I love you guys!

Elder William Jacob Long

My Week

Hey everybody!

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter.

So we had an awesome week. I don't have much in the way of photos or commentaries, but it was one of the best weeks, I think, in my mission.

We made several attempts to become better missionaries. We worked really hard to be more obedient, focus on our investigators, be more loving and more humble, and honestly, I feel like I grew as a person and a servant of the Lord.

The only constant about the mission is that I keep increasing in time. I now have well over 15 months, and things just keep picking up. I've been able to learn from the situations I've been in, and the experiences I've had. It has been transformative for me.

The highlight from this week is that one of our investigators, named Rosa, is progressing a ton, and is going to get baptized this week. She has made incredible changes in her life to bring herself closer to God, and it's been crazy for me. She's a single mother from a part-member family. She lives in a small town just on the limit of our area. Going out and teaching her has been a blast, because she's really willing to follow the Lord. So expect some photos of us in white next week!

That's all from this week. I hope you all have a great 2018.

Love,

Elder William Jacob Long

My week

Hey everybody!!!

As always, thanks for taking the time to read my letters.

So this week was awesome. It was just super full of crazy stuff.

So the highlight was the baptism of Hermana Rosa!!!! It was so awesome. She's progressed a ton. Her mother and her son are both members, but she never wanted to join the church. While we worked with her, we just saw so many miracles in her life as she decided to go to church, read the Book of Mormon, and keep listening to the missionaries. She's changed her life in a matter of weeks, and it's been such a humbling experience to be a part of that.

The low light was quite interesting. I've had a small cavity that's been growing in one of my teeth, and it's been getting worse, so I decided it was probably time to get it checked out. I did, and it was pretty deep and pretty bad, so today I spent about an hour in the morning getting shots in the mouth, getting the cavity filled, and my tooth reconstructed. But it's a good thing that I did it now, because if I had postponed it more, it's likely I would have had to have gotten a root canal on it, so crisis averted. And now my teeth look pretty good!

Other highlight is that the wife of our convert, Mariano, works at a crepe restaurant, and they sell cherry coke there. Probably one of the only places here that offers it. So we stop by frequently and pick up cherry cokes. It's great.

So that's my funny story from this past week. This week should be a good one. We're gonna have a series of meetings that should be good, and some great hard missionary work.

Elder William Jacob Long