3/13/2016
Greetings young elder. I hope this letter finds you well and in good spirits there in Guatemala. Thanks for the birthday wish. We had a great birthday this year. Last week I went to a show at the Dixie center to see about getting Cole una pistola. I got there in the afternoon so there wasn't a good selection. I saw a new company selling scopes and flashlights though. Stopped and talked to the guy and ended up buying a little flashlight kinda like yours. I overheard them talking to a guy about scopes. He was saying that they had been buying their lenses from Niikon but their new ones are from Zeiss. But he had some scopes left that were equal to Vortex. He was selling them for $199 at the show, but he said if he had a store they would sell them for $489. I came home and told mom that they had a great deal. She said, Why didn't you get it for your birthday? 20 minutes later I was back at the dixie center. They only had 3 left. A gun store owner bought up 30 of them right before. It is very similar to your vortex on your AH ERI. I'm stoked. Erin got a new pink dyed 10/22 with a Barska red dot for her birthday.
We went to Preston this weekend. I hung out with Jim for 2 days. He traded 2 22's and his Jeep with a frozen motor for 4 1947 ford trucks. They are even cooler than the Studebaker. We had fun getting one of them running yesterday. I felt like I was home for those 2 days. my heart is there again just as strong as when I first moved there. We also had dinner with Mike and Karalee. They say hi and keep up the great work you are doing.
So last week I had a great week at work. All of the region managers spent the day at my store. Plus their boss was there. They invited me to do a 2 hour walk thru and case study of my store. It was a lot of fun and it felt natural. In the end, they had high praises and could not find any faults. It was a great day. The Idaho region manager now has Logan, Preston, Pocatello, Blackfoot, Rexburg, Idaho Falls, Burley, Twin Falls, Nampa, and Boise. He is retiring soon and said he will recommend that his replacement live around Logan or Preston to be right in the middle and close enough to attend mtgs in SLC 3 times a month. Keep me in your prayers. I would love that opportunity. Finally, Grayson told me I was ranked #1 of all people in his region of 9 stores for last year. Mitch was #2. Was a great year and I know it is all blessings poured upon our family from a loving heavenly Father. Much of it is blessings from your service.
Sometimes when you are that far away you wish you could just have a few of the modern conveniences and it sometimes gets difficult to keep up the positive attitude. It is natural. You have been very blessed in your life with many conveniences. Even though many people might have more in terms of wealth and worldly stuff, we have been so very blessed. However, we do not aspire to wealth. We aspire to a good life where we can find peace and safety for our family. I grew up in a humble place where people are a lot like Jim Walton. That is why my heart is drawn back to Idaho.
In those moments when you wish you had running water or light, or a hot meal of no beans, just remember that this time in your life is a time that you will draw strength from. Sacrificing many things for 2 years will provide a lifetime of lessons. Ultimately there will be times when you are bogged down with school or career when you will long for the simple life in Guatemala. One thing is for sure, those people who now have the gospel because of your service, are thankful you decided to serve. I enlarge the baptismal pictures and see it in their eyes. You are doing wonderful things in the name of our Savior. nothing else is more important right now. We pray every night for guardian angels to be around you to keep you safe and energized. We also pray for your health and success. Know that we love you and are proud of your service. Have a great week!
Love Dad. I think I may have sent a couple of pictures before I dropped my phone and cracked the screen again:)
3/12/2016
We are up Idaho right now, Erin dad I and took off Thursday at 9:00am. We took the Honda to Cedar City with the intent of getting a rental car there, all of the rental cars were booked because of spring break, we could only rent from Enterprise.(I forgot to mention, I was in an accident Friday, March 5th, on my way home passing Diamond church on highway 18.I was following a truck and near Stahilie farms, the transmission part fell out from under the truck and I ran over it---fluid sprayed all over the front of the KIA. I was freaking out. This was a chunk of metal, luckily I didn't blow up, the obviously pulled over and I pulled over behind it. 2 hispanic gentlemen get out of the car and we get on our stomachs to look under the car. I couldn't see any of the damage, one of the hispanic men kept said, "it is ok, nothing is wrong. I Kept repeating, I hit that chunk of metal and I hit it hard, I think it did something. I got the insurance information and name of the owner of the Truck and drove the KIA home. I should have called the police and waited for them to fill out an accident report. When I got home I called the owner of the truck and he told me to call him if there was any further problems. I was able to drive home, but I knew something was up, it felt wrong when I turned. I took it to the KIA dealership next morning and sure enough, the transmission is cracked. and the left wheel is warped, so dad called up the owner of the truck, got his insurance info(liberty mutual) and liberty mutual is paying for damages and a car rental, and they only deal with Enterprise.) So when we get to enterprise there is no rental car!!!! Dad is so mad, the national number did not confirm the reservation with Cedar. So no car, so we drive the Honda up to Provo (dad hates Provo) and we get a rental there. Fun story hugh?
Dad has been working with Jim on an old antique truck that they went and got from Coleville yesterday, March 11th. We are going to stay over at Emily and Cole's tonight, go to their church tomorrow and then head on back down.
Erin and I were able to visit Arda Fern Smith today. It was so good to talk with her. She is so great and such an inspiration of enduring to the end and being happy. She wrote us on our birthdays, wanted to give her a hug.
Erin and I stayed at Jody's last night, no one was home, they were in Yellow Stone. That is what I call a true friend, someone who offers you their house when they are gone. She left me a thoughtful birthday gift for me as a welcoming present. Dad of course stayed at Jims.
Erin suggests that I ponderize Doctrine and Covenants 81:6,7 So I will 6 And if thou art faithful unto the end thou shalt have a crown of immortality, and eternal life in the mansions which I have prepared in the house of my Father.
So I will:)
XOxoXOxo--mom
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11:55 AM (7 hours ago)
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MOM!Hello,
This week my companion and I have been richly blessed. We get to see miracles every day and I feel so blessed to be able to see and testify that the Lord's hand is in every detail of our lives this week was weak one of the new transfer cycle in our mission! Fortunately my companion and I did not have any changes and we will both be in I XHU a T AN for one more transfer at least! We truly feel blessed. The work in our area is progressing and we feel that there is a great enthusiasm here.
This week we had the opportunity to travel to the capital several times. It was awesome to get out and about and see civilization again. We even try had the opportunity to go to Walmart. I have never felt so excited to go to Walmart in my entire life! But I will say that as soon as I had to wait in lines again the excitement was much longer than it was to begin with what a blessing.
This week we had the chance to return to an area called San Antonio and meet with one of our investigators named Marlon. Marlon is a stud! He keeps surprising me every time. I have the opportunity to speak with him. He is truly to change you because he is immersing himself in the gospel of Jesus Christ and because he has a lot of desire to live by is concepts. After church yesterday, My companion and I joined up with members and did splits. We were able to cover almost all the parts at in our area. We had an amazing opportunity to meet in the house of another member that lives close to him. We spoke about the priesthood. Marlon and was very interested and became more excited about this next weekend and his baptismal service. We read section 121 of the D & C together at the end of the lesson. It was so amazing to see his reason to the scripture that talks about the reasons that how many are called but few are chosen. And that it really comes from what we desire in our hearts. Elder Dallin H Oaks said, "Our desires dictate our priorities, priorities shape our choices, and choices determine our actions",.and Marlon is preparing to receive the priesthood now because that is his desire.
Love,
Elder Baldwin
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