Baptism!!!!

Hey everyone how's it going?  This week was awesome because it was Christmas or NAVIDAD here, and I got to skype my family. That was really cool. I had a good talk with them and my comp said that I actually started speaking a little Spanish during the skype so thats weird. Anyway, during my comps skype I see his family and they start talking to me and he has this sister right. Well turns out shes freaking hot and she speaks English and she is actually in school to be a translator.  Anyway, Brother Huapya starts joking and saying,hey Atwood your girlfriend and soon pointing to Elder Moreyra your brother in law. That just ruined it for me so I  was like no no no no no that cannot happen . haha  
We had Sabastians baptism on Saturday and it was great. I said the opening prayer and was a witness while his uncle got to baptize him. I got some really good pictures. By the way this is just for the sake of a point to say mom you were right everyone learn piano!!!  We haven't had a pianist in the ward since Hermana Karrate got transferred and you know its just plain awkward.  We had everyone singing on a different verse,it is horrible man I need to go back in time. It was a great baptism and one of our new investigators Franesa came to the baptism. We got a reference to teach Fancesa from the zls anyway he is golden .We played the Joseph Smith video,  and the spirit was strong. Franesa was almost crying. His daughter is actually on a mission in Argentina right now so its hard on him but Sabastains entire family was just in tears and it really felt good. That made the week for me.  Franesa's  daughter on a mission in Argentina gave him a Book of Mormon with her testimony in it . He loves us he took us out to lunch and got pictures with us and is now like best friends with our ward mission leader which is great. We commited him to baptism on the 17th of January. Ok so we had been teaching this kid Miguel and well he wants to get baptized but his mom doesn't want him to so that sucks.  Yesterday we went to visit our investigator Herep and he speaks fluent English, like the only one here that knows any English . Anyway well he has been busy lately so we haven't been able to visit him. Well we go to his house and he said hey come in. We gave his mom an English Bible to give to him for Christmas because that's what he said that he wanted, so he was thankful for that. Anyway we started teaching about the Book of Mormon and  I got to talk to him in English so that was good. He said does it replace the Bible and I told him read the cover The Book of Mormon another testament of Jesus Christ.  I said nothing can replace the Bible  but this is simply another witness to the glory of our Savior. Last time we visited him he said he had a question why would Christ only visit Jerusalem and what about everyone else. I brought up that question again and read him a heading in 3rd Nephi ch 11 and he was happy. It was great! I was able to resolve all of his concerns and questions and i gave him a promise to read the Book of Mormon and then get on your knees and ask got if it is true and your heart will burn with joy and you will know that it is true. It was really good to teach in English again. After that lesson my comp said you need to learn spanish faster if you can teach like that haha!! Anyway we will be visiting him again tomorrow so I have a lot prepared for him. Since it is new years I am going to share with you some of my goals

1. Pray every time I enter the house . This will help me continually keep Christ in mind. 2.Complete the Book of Mormon every 3 months. 3 write in my journal everyday 5.smile even when its hard 6. speak fluent Spanish 7. baptize 20 people anyway 

Love you all 
Elder Atwood

Well for my usual letter  things this week have been kinda slow. I had to go to freaking immigration twice all day getting up at  5 am. Oh well. Our investigator Fernando is making tons of progress, my comp doesn't think so but I see it. He is about 60 years old and last week we gave him a chapter in the Book of Mormon to read and yesterday when we went to check up on him he told us he read the chapter and told us how its so cool and how the Book of Mormon and the Bible like complete each other. I was psyched and told him thats exactly right. I wanted to give him some scriptures to read about the birth of Christ in the BOOK of MORMON since it is Christmas but my comp wanted him to start with 1 Nephi. I was kinda mad because he is in charge since he is the senior comp but he really doesn't know how to connect with people or how to decipher the needs of the investigators. For example we were teaching this lady who had her husband pass away a few years ago and I was so ready to teach the plan of salvation but instead he decided to teach the Restoration.  The Restoration is wicked important and but the main message that our church has in my opinion is FAMILIES CAN BE TOGETHER FOREVER. 

In my opionion that is why we make the covenants that we make. I love him but oh well at least he is being obedient now which is good so I have no complaints about that. Anyway, right now I would like to share something about President Zant.

You know I got my mission call then I got it delayed i was so depressed I felt like nobody loved me not even my friends or my family.  I felt so alone in the world as if the Lord had completely abandoned me. I remember hearing about President Zant a few weeks earlier. I never really knew him that well but I was still a little sad. I remember getting home from work late one Friday night I just got in bed and went to sleep and I woke up to my cell phone ringing. I answered and I said who is this.  He said President Zant.  I was like ok whats up. Cuz it was like 2 am haha. Well he said that he wanted to talk to me at 8 am the next morning i had work off so i agreed. I got up that morning and got in my car thinking oh this is going to be some worthiness lecture or something. I went inside his house and he shook my hand he started to talk to me but my mind drifted and started looking at the pictures above him on the wall. It was pictures of his family. He noticed this and says oh your looking at my family. I said oh sorry . Well he said oh its ok and started talking about his sons and sons in law. Then he started to talk about his daughter who had died a few years ealier he said that he knows that families can be together then I just broke in tears he started to talk to me.  I said I just feel so alone in the world right now. God doesn't love me,my family doesn't, no one even cares, no one loves me. He read to me D&C sect 122 and said Canyon your going through a really hard time right know and I just thought the man who has cancer, the man who has had his daughter taken from him is feeling sympathy for me. I remember that as he told me things would be ok he walked me out the door  and gave me this hug and said I LOVE YOU CANYON and I felt like the savior was hugging me. I have shaken hands with apostles as if they are a ordinary person but with him I trembled. He is the reason that I am here today. I know without a doubt in my mind that he is with God right now. The last words that he remember him saying were I LOVE YOU CANYON . Those words echo in my mind everyday as if he just said them.

Love Elder Atwood

Week 6

Hey guys, so this is what happened this week. Things are better with my comp so thats great. I have the President to thank for that, he really helped. Anyway,we taught about 31 lessons this week . Most of them are less actives. We also had 2 investigators to come to church. We were supposed to have a baptism this week, a kid named Sebastian. Well, Friday night the day before his baptism he was running and fell on something sharp and had to get 4 freaking stitches!! WOW! But the kid is ok so thats all that matters, although we were a little upset that we had to cancel the baptism but that was all out of our control so we just rescheduled the baptism for I think this Saturday or the next but hopefully things will workout. Last night we actually were trying to find people to teach so we went to this less actives home. Her name was Hermana Juarez she was great. We only wanted to share a quick message about how the gospel blesses families with the scripture Alma 10:11 but she ended up making us hot chocolate and sandwhiches so that was cool. We started talking to her asking her how her prayer and scripture study was.She said that she says prayers daily and reads the scriptures but that she has a difficult time understanding the scriptures.Well I told her the scriptures are actually really hard to understand and that I sometimes don't understand the scriptures. I told her that that is why we have other resources like scriptures with pictures in them and videos made by the church and that by listening to modern day prophets and apostles we can better understand the scriptures. I don't know what happened but I was actually able to understand her, probably because she spake at a normal speed and not lightning fast like a lot of the people here. Anyways,thinhs are going good  and haven't really eaten any strange foods or anything yet. We do have a lot of dogs running around which drives me nuts but oh well.

See ya next week

Love Elder Atwood

What is your apartment like?
My apartment here is actually nice. Unlike most apartments we do have a fridge but no stove or microwave or anything else. We don't really keep anything in there, its actually cheaper to eat out and than it is to go shopping for here at least.  I  don't know about other places but one week we went shopping and spent $80 and felt like we were starving the whole week, and the next week we ate out spent $50 and were full.

Did you get your hot water back?
Yes we did, and I am so happy.

Tell me about teaching this week.
We are mainly teaching lessons 1 2 3 and reviewing them and resolving the concerns of our investigators . It's a little hard since I can't speak Spanish. Things are good with my comp but our teaching methods are so different for example he loves to share a lot of scriptures and there is nothing wrong with that but I like to share pèrsonal experiences and interact more with the investigator.  I'm just waiting for the gift of tongues to kick in so I can teach how I want as well

How are you doing this week?
I'm doing ok.  Me and my comp are all cool now ya we are eating ok. The food is basically three things RICE,chicken, and potatoes, and variations of that.The plate is 90 percent rice so I may never eat rice again after my mission.

John Richard Erickson, 54, and Annette Koski Erickson, five children, Silver Springs Ward, Henderson Nevada Green Valley Stake.Brother Erickson is a seminary teacher and temple ordinance worker and a former high councilor, bishop, bishopric counselor, ward Young Men president, elders quorum president, and missionary in the Chile Concepción Mission. Managing partner, Woods, Erickson, Whitaker, & Maurice LLP. Born in Othello, Washington, to James Gilbert and Ann Barbara Kowal Erickson.  Sister Erickson is a ward Primary pianist and temple ordinance worker and a former counselor in a ward Relief Society presidency, counselor in a ward Primary presidency, ward Young Women president, and missionary in the Perú Lima North Mission. Born in Provo, Utah, to Dale Iver and Charlotte Madsen Koski.

Week 5

Hey guys so this week was alot better. President Erickson came and talked with me and my companion separately and resolved our issues, he was awesome.  Also, that day he came with me and my comp to all of our appointments so that was awesome. He has a really strong testimony of the Book of Mormon. It was actually published in the Liahona. I read it and he was apparently a convert and on his mission he Read the Book of Mormon 8 times, wow! The guy is truly amazing. Me and my comp our cool now. This week was good we had two investigators that are preparing for baptism this month come to church on Sunday so that was awesome. We actually found a new investigator. He is actually a drunk and he came up to us saying how he wanted to change. So we will be teaching him this Wednesday so that will be interesting. You actually have to be kind of carefull with drunk people. We actually contacted this other drunk guy and  saw him about a week later passed out in the middle of the road.  Anyway, I am making a little progress with the language so that feels good.  It's gonna be a long 6 months to understand the language. Nothing really interesting has happened this week so I thought that for this email that I would share a testimony. Well all lot of people gain their testimony of the church or the book of mormon after they read moronis promise and pray about it and that's great but sadly I wasn't one of those people.  I have felt the atonement of Jesus Christ in my life I have felt his love for me and because of that I believe. I am still working on my testimony of Joseph Smith and of the Book of Mormon. Because I have felt that Atonement of the  Lord I believe! I remember one day for some reason for some purpose I  felt like talking to the Bishop and I remembered not long after my father reading to me Alma 36. I remember getting on my knees that night and crying like Alma did," Jesus thou Son of God have mercy on me". I didnt feel instantly better or instantly forgiven but right then at that moment I knew that I could be forgiven and I knew that this was the true church. I guess what I am trying to say that this is how I know that this is the true church and  that is how I know that everything else is true. For ME the Atonement is my rock, its the foundation of my testimony. I just wanted to share that with everyone for this email.

Love Elder Atwood

Week 4

Well on Monday after I emailed you guys we all went to this place got pizza and then went to the stake center where we had ping pong, air hockey, fooseball and even got to watch The lego movie (IM Batman).   Well a hermana in my district, Hermana Osinaga was having a head ache so she sat down all of the sudden she couldn't see.  Some elders carried her to a room to kind of be alone and relax, well she kind of fainted while they were carrying her. The President had to meet her and her comp at the hospital.   Poor Hermana Karrate had to stay with her companion for 2 full days sleeping in a chair, apparently this has happened to two of Hermana Karrates companions now so that sucks. Well my comp was the district leader so he was kind of stressed out for her. We actually listened to a talk by Jeffry R Holland that really  motivated me he said, "tell me how your obedience is and I will tell you how your mission will be."  I  loved that so I want to be exactly obedient. 
Love, Elder Atwood

Week 3

Hey guys whats up. OK so this is my 3rd week in Lima, Peru. Ok so Sunday through Wednesday kinda sucked because I was sick like vomit sick. I looked at our schedule Tuesday and realized that we had to teach so I got my companion and went to teach them but they weren't home so we were sad, but it was probably a good thing. We went back to the house since I was sick and right when I walked in I went to the bathroom to throw up so good thing I didn't do that in anyone home. Anyway,the rest of the week has been alright. We actually had an activity Friday night like a talent show and my ward mission leader dressed up like a clown and made me and my companion dress like clowns and help with the activity. It was weird but the little kids loved it. Well after the activity we met a kid I don't remember his name anyway he is in our area and he wanted us to go and teach him and his family so we did  and it was awesome.  We actually set up another appointment to teach him later this week. Ok so this is the experience of the week, I was on exchanges this week with a companion who didn't know any English. Elder Mamani and I just finished teaching a family and we went to teach another family in the area but they were not there so we went to a recent converts house, a kid named Jesus. His house was all the way across town so just as we were about to knock on his door we got a call from the Hermanas: They said hey we need you guys right now to come and give a blessing to this lady who is really really sick. Well her house was where we just were so we ran across town again to give this lady a blessing . The lady had cancer in her lungs and holes in her intestines. So I gave the first part of the blessing and Elder Mamani gave the other part.Ok so apparently the Hermanas were walking to a investigators house when the daughter of this sick lady ran out and said hey come here right now we need your help so they taught her then called us. It just proves that people know that there is something special about missionaries. Anyway the language is still a little hard, but during a lesson this week I started to teach the atonement, I shared Alma 36 because that's my favorite scripture. I bore my testimony and  I think I said ¨( the atonement of Jesus Christ is real I have felt it, I remember when I cried Jesus thou Son of God have mercy on me and I felt clean and I felt good) then I promised them that they can feel that way too. Take in mind I did this in really broken Spanish probably got a lot of the words wrong and the lady replied, ( You have a really strong testimony ) that shows me that although I probably didn't say the correct words the spirit makes the corrections. Our investigator Kevin didn't come to church on Sunday so he has to come 3 more times before baptism. We actually committed his friend to baptism as well. The good news, a family that we have been teaching the mom and her less active son who is not a member came to church yesterday and LOVED it.   The kid was asking can I come next week, can I come next week. The mother loved it as well so that made my week. It is so easy to get people to commit to baptism read the Book of Mormon and pray. The hardest part is getting them to come to church because everything that happens here happens on Sunday like parties, soccer tournaments, and drinking. That is why we don't really do a  whole lot of contacting on Sunday, mostly just visit less active families. Well that's my third week in my mission I'm just gonna keep studying and keep praying that the gift of tongues kicks in.

Love, Elder Atwood

Belated Happy Birthday Grandpa Atwood

Elder Coomer and Elder Atwood in the laundry room at the Mexico City MTC

Mexico City Temple

Elder Moreyro and Elder Atwood after visiting the Catholic Church on Pday

Week 2

Hey everyone! This is now my second week in Lima Peru it is awsome! The people here are so nice and friendly. Our investigators that are preparing for baptism are Sabastan, Arturo, and Kevin. Sabastan is 9 years old he is the son of a less active member named Raquel. She was unable to have a lot of lessons with us because she works a lot, but she allowed us to teach here son and he committed to baptism on the first lesson. It was so cool I shared how the Book of Mormon has blessed my life and I promised him that it will bring more blessings to his life than anything else. It was so cool, the little kid couldn't wait so he started reading the Book of Mormon right then while we were setting up an appointment to teach him again. Arturo is an awsome investigator we actually just had our first lesson with him on Friday and he commited to baptism it was so cool We were closing the lesson and asked him to be baptized and he said yes what do I need to do. Kevin, we taught him a couple times last week.  He is getting baptized on the 29th and  has a really strong testimony. Kevin actually has a best friend that was a recent convert that has come to our lessons with us he has been a huge help. Oh this next story is great.  So we are teaching this less active family, familia Martos.  They haven't been to church in years so every other night or so me and my companion will go over and read a chapter in the Book of Mormon with them. Usually its just the adults, well this time on Tuesday there son who is about 2 years old, Santiogo ( James in Spanish), decides to join which was fine at first. He then started pulling hair screaming, anyway we closed with a prayer and while in the middle of the prayer he started peeing on the floor. That was an awkward experience. Well we went to visit that family on Thursday again but there son Yaret who is 8 years old decides to join and read scriptures with us. We asked if we could close with a prayer and they asked me to choose who says the prayer so I chose Yaret. He didnt know how to pray so we gave him a card that shows him how and he gave a wonderful prayer. Well him and his family came to church on Sunday which was the first time in years. The little kid Yaret came up to us after sacrament meeting and said that he wanted to be baptized so we are going to teach them again this week. I got a little sick yesterday so I wasn't able to do much sadly I kept feeling like I was going to faint so my companion told me to take it easy and so I pretty much just slept all day so I feel 10 times better. I'm just glad that I wasn't sick earlier this week because Sunday here is actually the worst day for prosylyting. Everyone is either drunk or playing soccer and partying so we have to have our appointments set, we cant go knocking doors .Anyway its been a great week, Spanish is a little bit of a challenge but my companion blessed me yesterday to be healed and also that I will learn spanish very fast. I keep reading my Patriarchal blessing that promises the gift of tongues so I know that it will come if i keep working hard. I am actually finishing up Mosiah in the Spanish Book of Mormon. I don't know if the comment Gordon B Hinckley actually made is true or not but it can't hurt anyway. I love you all so much and can't wait to email you again.

Love Elder Atwood

Earthquake in Lima, Peru

LIMA, Peru (AP) — A light-to-moderate earthquake centered in the ocean south of Lima rattled Peru's capital Friday evening. No injuries or damage was reported.

The 5.6 magnitude was centered 48 miles (78 kilometers) south-southeast of Lima and was 28 miles (45 kilometers) deep, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.

The tremor struck at 7:18 p.m. local time.

1st Week in Peru

Hey guys,

Ok so this is my first week in Peru. It was awesome!! . I am serving in Lima District in South San Juan Lurigancho.  My companions name is Elder Moreyro, he is from Argentina and he actually speaks really good English. I thought that would be a problem at first but we made a rule that he will only speak English in the house but only Spanish everywhere else. We have a good ward but most are inactive. We only have about 80 active members and 100 and more inactive so that sucks but we will do are best to reactivate them. We are teaching this woman who is an alcoholic, we are helping her recover and  she is attending church next week. I am serving in the absolute poorest part of Peru is what my mission president told me. Homes here don't even have a roof. I have only been in 3 homes that have a roof, but the reason is it never rains. The people here are so friendly and nice and ready to accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We already have 3 people preparing for baptism !!! It is so amazing. The thing about Lima is it is dirt, literally. There is barely any grass and most homes are just dirt mixed with cement for a floor and a brick wall that has holes and if the house is lucky enough to have a roof it is a couple sticks across the walls with posters and paper glued to the sticks. It is insane how happy these people are when they have so little. If you thought Mexico was poor, times that by about 50 and you only have an idea of how poor this place is. If you thought the traffic in Jamaica was crazy you should see this place. I will have pictures next week because I found a place to buy a card reader today.  You will have to wait 1 more week. Anyway,  the traffic is crazy and most taxis are a 3 wheeled car with a small bench in the back. you might be able to find a picture on Google but I will send you one next week.  I had to fit all my luggage and me and my companion in that thing for a 1 and a half hour drive to our home. Talk about uncomfortable. The food here is freaking amazing, I love it. The people feed missionaries a lot and give them way too much food but you have to eat it all. Missionaries gain about 20 pounds of fat a year which is amazing considering how much we are walking and hiking. On Saturday me, my Companion, and the Hermanas went to an investigators house to help them move. Hermana Osignagi and Hermana Kirratti. Literally those are there names. Hermana Osignagi is from Bolivia and Hermana Kirratti is from Utah.  We are the only GRINGOS in our district ha-ha. Well anyway we were supposed to help them move well we ended up helping them cement there floor. I had to carry 4, 93 pound bags of cement 1 mile up a mountain in the burning sun. We all got sun burnt pretty bad but oh well it heals. That was the most exhausting thing that I have ever done. They have this drink her called INCACOLA you will have to order some online its really good.  They only make it in Peru. I met the ward mission leader my first day here his name is Miguel.  Get this he was baptized 6 months ago and has read the Book of Mormon 4 times since then.  He is awesome he actually reminds me a lot of brother Courter except more hipper ha-ha. Anyway, Hermana Kirratte told me of a promise made by Gordon B Hinckley that by the time you finish reading the Book of Mormon in that language you will be able to speak that language . So I have been reading the Book of Mormon in Spanish out loud a lot everyday and I am on the book of Jacob as of today. I really believe that if I do that I will speak Spanish. I remembered the scripture faith without works is dead,  so I actually have to work and have faith the miracle comes after the trial of your faith.  Man I just love being a missionary right now, everyday is like a privilege. I have never been this happy. We actually had a meeting with all of the new people so basically everyone in my district at the CCM and it was crazy. They all wanted to go home they were complaining about how they weren't doing any good here and wanted to go home. I know I'm not zone leader anymore but I still felt obliged to talk to them. I gave them some tough love,  I said your are sure as heck not going to do them any good away at home so stop being a baby and suck it up there is nothing waiting for you at home right now so finish the job. It kind of felt good to get that off my chest because they have been complaining since day 1 at the CCM. It was funny Elder Johnson wicked whinny was always saying that the MTC is the hardest part of the mission. He probably wants to go back to the MTC .  My shower electricutes  me every time. For the first 3 days the heater didn't work,  it's electrically heated. All my clothes are filthy and there are dogs everywhere. I love every bit of it, every time I get shocked I wake right up and I am full of energy, its great. By the way, me and my companion found a gym nearby to go to everyday for really cheap its awesome because he wants to lose weight and I am

building muscle so I love it. The President actually scolded some people for not going ha-ha.

  There is no greater blessing than to be a missionary right now. Anyway I love you guys so much .

SEE YOU IN TWO 

Love Elder Atwood

Made it to Peru!

Dear Atwood Family,

We are thrilled to welcome Elder Atwood to the Peru Lima North Mission and look forward to serving with him. His preparation day will be on Monday and he will e-mail you then.

Sincerely,

Hermana Erickson

Letter from Canyon

We received this letter via email from the Mission President on 11/10/2014.

GOT MY PLANE TICKET FOR PERU!!

Hey mom and dad I literally just got my flight plan.  I leave Monday morning at 10 am!!!!!!!

I am so pumped anyway I am sending you guys this email because I don´t know when my next P day will be or when I will be able to email again. I have heard that you can call once you get to the mission home and the airport so keep your phones on Monday because I want to talk to you guys.  Anyway maybe even wait until Tuesday if you still haven't heard from me because I  have no idea what will happen once we get to Peru.  Anyway I love you guys so much and I can't wait to leave the CCM and start to share the gospel with others, even if it is in crappy broken Spanish.

Week 4

Hey guys how is everyone doing? Okay, so when I was called as Zone Leader I was told that we don't have to do anything. My first day as Zone Leader some kid in another district in my zone gave a friend of mine in my district a concussion during handball! So our district leader was yelling at that kid and it was going back and forth so I had to separate them.   We left with like half of gym time left because everyone was angry.  My second day a new girl who is actually going to the Houston mission suddenly broke down and cried in the middle of our nightly hymn so I had to go and talk to her. She is doing fine now so that's good. The 3rd day one kid who has been here about 3 weeks broke down  crying saying that he needed to talk to the Branch President. So I had to walk with him to reception, call like 3 different people and they told us that he could talk to the kid in 30 minutes.  I guess he couldn't make it, we found that out after waiting for 2 hours then we called again and  the counselor could talk to him at like 8 that night. The kid is doing good now. That was a lot of drama for a first week Zone Leader !! I think everyone is doing well! I gave a talk about the restoration in complete Spanish on Sunday. I had the Branch President tell me that I spoke with a perfect accent and that I have made to of progress. I actually had some people come up to me asking me how long I have spoken Spanish. I had to explain to them that I had only learned in the MTC and that all I know is religious vocab. Its been good here, our Latino room mates left yesterday.  They were super cool and taught me and Elder Coomer some slang and some things not to do. One was actually from Peru so he told us some of the customs there and apparently some common hand signs that we use everyday are really bad in Peru and Mexico, even the way you knock can be a curse word.  That was good to know because that's how we were knocking on people's doors for our fake investigators. Ha ha.  We will be receiving our flight plans probably on Friday but I know that we are either leaving on Tuesday or Wednesday. 

I was actually thinking about something to tell the priests. Here is my advice. Although seminary, scripture mastery, knowledge about the gospel, and church attendance are important, the most important thing that you can do, the most important thing that you can have is an unshakable testimony of Jesus Christ. I never really loved seminary or stayed awake.  Ha ha!  I never really had a lot of scriptures memorized but what I developed through all of my experiences out of everything that I have been through I came to the MTC with an unshakable testimony. You can brag about your seminary attendance but guess what the spirit don't have a GPA. You can have all the scriptures in the world memorized to teach your investigator but they are just words that you have said. I heard a kid tell us during role play his mom said this his mom knows that, I asked him but do you know?   He was stunned silent. When you have your own unshakable testimony in Jesus Christ they are not your moms or anyone else's testimony it is yours, there becomes a Spirit that just carries you. There becomes power in those scriptures that you know. So tell the young men to do whatever it takes to gain THEIR OWN UNSHAKABLE TESTIMONY OF JESUS CHRIST. I love you all so much and i cant wait to hear from you again.

Our conversation with Canyon today!

Are you flossing and brushing?I am flossing and brushing religiously whatever gets the taste the food away.

Are you still getting along with your companion?

Ya i am getting along better with him we are just totally different but i guess that way we feed off each others strengths

Have you made any good friends?

I have become really good friends with most of the guys in my district. 

Have you had a good week?

I just got a crappy haircut like and hour ago. Its super short the lady literally buzzed my sides and my back and left the top way thicker but oh well it will grow back.

Do you have to pay for your own haircuts at the MTC?

No, we don't have to pay for our haircuts. The hairdressers actually give every man the same haircut like the exact same. Funny story, this Hermana walked in to get her hair cut today, Hermana Ruthterford, she was the hot one that i was talking about. Anyway I started talking to her a bit, she is actually going to the Riverside California mission so Kendell better not marry her before I do H aha. Okay, so the hairdresser came over and I told her that she wants it supper short like Abby dent short and the lady was like okay.  She started talking to the Sister and I had to tell the hairdresser that i was kidding. H aha.

Are you getting excited to be in PERU?

I am super pumped for Peru. I just cant wait to get out and serve people. It's so exiting!   I know its gonna be hard but I can't wait.

Is there anything you want me to try to send something for Christmas in Peru?

Nothing right now. I actually heard that there is a mail strike going on in Peru right now.

(I looked online and Canyon is right there is a mail strike.  Sorry Grandma Atwood.  They said they would send the mail back to sender)

Hey, I have had an awesome week. I actually just went to the temple today. Well technically the visitors center because the temple is under construction, but it will be opening again about July next year, that is what I heard.  It was still amazing to see another temple, just another reminder to me that families can be forever. Well I got news for you guys, I just became Zone Leader on Sunday so that will be a cool experience.  It has been fun so far and because its the MTC its a fairly simple job. The drive to the temple was about 40 minutes or so and we saw so much poverty that it nearly brought me to tears. I wanted to get out and give people all of the money that I had in my wallet, which isn't much. Hearing Elder Anderson speaking was awesome.  He talked about missionaries and the atonement.  It was amazing, but i think everyone felt so guilty afterwards about every little sin. Haha! It was awesome though I actually got to shake his hands. I wanted to exchange ties with him , but President Pratt threatened to shoot any elder that attempted to do that so I decided against that idea. I never really found out how many missionaries here at the MTC but there are a lot but not as much as the Provo MTC.  Lately its been raining a lot mostly in the afternoon at around 7 pm. My most spiritual experience this week was actually giving the spiritual thought last night on Monday for our zones family home evening activity after which we all play signs. Never thought that I would like signs, but as Zone Leader I have to play. Anyway, life here at the CCM or MTC is good.  The food sucks so I really love those packages mom but life is awesome. My teacher comments everyday on how much my Spanish has improved. I can talk fairly decent, but I cant really comprehend all of the words yet. I actually got two new roommates and get this one of them is from Peru.   The Peruvian talk so freaking fast most of the other Latinos here have to ask him to slow down. He told us that everyone in Peru speaks that fast but that the members will try to talk slower for missionaries that are trying to learn a language, which i think is courtesy.  It was so humbling when the Mexico missionaries, the ones that were dirt poor told us that Peru is poor.  I almost cried. I actually met a missionary today at the visitors center form the US. He did not have a good attitude about his mission.  He said that he couldn't wait to go home. But he did say that it only takes about 3 months outside of the MTC to learn Spanish so that was comforting. I just want to let you guys know that I love you all more than I can explain, but I have no intentions of going home until my work is done.

Love your son, your brother, and your friend
Elder Atwood

I love you Mom. I love you Dad.

This our conversation with Canyon via email today. It was soooo fun!!

I am so lucky that I have parents like you that raised me the way you did. You know lately whenever I feel a little down I have been reading my patriarchal blessing. One part really stands out to me about my mission. You were called to this work to prepare the people of this earth for the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for he will surely come. I read that and I prayed about it and I just thought what if I go home? what if I don't serve my mission? what if I decide that this is too hard? Will the people of the Earth be prepared for the Second Comming of the Lord Jesus Christ? I don't know but I do know that it is my responsibility to prepare them 

That is my testimony and I cant wait to share it with everyone, not just in Peru but in the world that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God! 

I love you guys more than I could ever hope to explain but I know that I am here for a purpose and that my purpose is to prepare the Earth for Christ!

Love your son Elder Atwood

(We sent our video to Canyon that we made for Papa Atwood's 70th birthday)

Hahahahah

Man that video was awesome.  That just made my day! Haha thanks.

That was awesome, could tell dad wrote that!

Do you have your departure date figured out?  Do you know exactly when you leave for Peru?  do you know what area of Peru yet?

We leave for Peru in about two weeks on a Wednesday. I think but we don't get our flight info until last minute. Most don't get it until the day before they leave.

Zone Leader?  Wow?  What are your responsibilities?

I am basically in charge of family home evening, church, hymns, and prayer that our zone does every night which isn't a lot.  I also have to do a weekly check up on all of the District Leaders and call our Mission President about once a week. Our branch presidents name is Muchado.  Sorry I meant so say Branch President.  We call him every Wednesday after lunch.

Anything that made you laugh this week?

 Nothing in particular that I can think of at the moment just the basic goofing around that I always do but only on P days. Haha!

It surprised me when you said that most of the missionaries were sleeping in except for you and your companion.  I don't remember anyone in my MTC group sleeping in or really slacking off.  I talked to a few other people around my age and they didn't seem to remember that being much of an issue then either.  Just make sure you don't let them drag you down.  What percentage of them would you say sleep in?
 Just a couple of the guys in our district but they have actually been good the past week probably because I was made zone leader! Haha!  The Hermanas still sleep in on occasion which is kind of annoying.  Thanks for the advise dad.

Thanks for all the packages you guys have sent me its like Christmas whenever I get one.

One missionary in my district is being spoiled by his mom and literally has gotten a package every two days, don't do that to me!  Haha!

What is your Sunday's like?  

On Sunday we have study until about 10:30, but now that I am ZL I have meetings from 8 until 10.  We have priesthood at about 10:30 then we study for about 30 minutes and at 12 we go to sacrament, and then have lunch at 1.  We study until about 3, we have a devotional that ends at about 4:30, then we study until about 6:00, which we have dinner.  We watch some church movies from 7:30 to about 8:30 or 9.  At 9:15 we all have a closing hymn and prayer as a zone.

Conversation with Canyon via email

We were able to chat with Canyon back and forth later in the day.  Thanks everyone for emails and prayers. 

Are most of the missionaries there American or South American?

Most of the missionaries are from the states but we do get a fair amount of latinos.

What about the teachers?

All of the teachers are latino and I want to say that most of them are from Mexico.  By the way they don't speak English after day 1.

Are you getting enough sleep?

For the first couple of weeks I was only getting about 5 hours of sleep a night mostly die to hearing fireworks at night.  Apparantley they just use fireworks whenever in Mexico.

What kind of food are they serving you?

You do have to be careful about what you eat because almost everyone has gotten diarreah.  I haven't yet but I'm waiting for my turn.  Food here is sketchy.  Rule of thumb if it looks like it already has been digested, DON'T EAT IT!!!

What changed your heart about your companion?

Well at first I was like crap because he was strictly obedient but now after seeing the results of exact obedience I Love Him, and plus we got to know each other more.  We actually might be the new zone leaders after this week because all the other companships are fighting and being lazy.  They are sleeping in until like 8 when we have be up at like 6:30.  I'm so glad God gave me the companion that I needed and not the one that I wanted.  I still think about that phrase all the time as well, pray like everything depends on God then work like everything depends on you.

Are any of the large group talks in English or is everything in Spanish after the first day?

All the devotionals that we have are all in English but church and all classes are completely in Spanish.

Do you run into many Canadians?

That blonde guy at the airport was Canadian from Edmonton.  He speaks fluent Spanish already.

Is most of your district going to Peru, or are you guys going all over South America?

Almost all my district is going to Lima, North except one sister who is going to Chile and another sister who is going to Salt Lake City.  Are those the hot ones?  No we don't have any hot sisters in our district or even our zone but there are some hot ones that we just talk to.  (Hermana Rutherford)  Everyone wants to try and get her email but that's not why I'm here.  I will think about girls when I get home.

Are you still playing ball for exercise?  How often do you play?

I play ball for exercise just about everyday except last week I played cage soccer and volleyball to get to know why my zone a little better.  We get gym everyday after breakfast.  There is a shower area but we mostly just shower back in the dorms so we can get out of our sweaty clothes.

What's cage soccer?

Cage soccer is just soccer with like a cage around it.  It's pretty much playing soccer in a tennis court with 2 goals.  It's pretty fun.

Do you ever go off the MTC campus?

We never go off the MTC campus until we get to use the temple which is shut down.  We only will get to use the visitors center but still it will be awesome.

Have you been writing in your journal?

Ya I've been writing in it every single night.

Hey I love you guys so much.  Anyway, I better let you go. Elder Coomer will be my only companion in the MTC.  Oakley, I love you so much so keep being a good boy and do me favor and don't grow up until I get home.  Ridge, I love you man, you are a freaking genius and I love you.  Ireland stay away from boys right now they are gross.  River keep working out to look like me.  Mom I love you so much.  Dad I love you and I'm glad I have a father who set an example for me.  I love yo all so much.  
Love your son, your brother, 
Elder Atwood 

WEEK 3

Hey guys thanks for the email, letters, pictures, and the Dew. It really means a lot. So the computers here are totally gay and won't let me send pictures unless I have a cord or a card reader and they don't have that at the store in the MTC so if you could send me a card reader so I could send you guys pictures that would be perfect. Congrats to River and Ireland! Thats super impressive. I can't wait to here from you guys again. I actually got the letters about Wednesday last week, but apparently when you send letters in the package with dew or food or whatever it gets here like the next day or even that day which is dope. Anyway, I have grown to love my companion. He is so dope. We are just about the only ones who follow the rules in our district so I have seen blessings come from that. I have a sick experience that I'm going to share with you guys. Ok, so last time I emailed you guys I was extremely struggling with Spanish. Well later that week me and my companion Elder Coomer went to teach our investigator and suddenly I could speak Spanish . Not perfect Spanish but I was able to give the lesson about the plan of salvation in Spanish. It was so awesome. I have been getting complements all over the place on how much I have improved. Its crazy because me and Elder Weaver, a Elder from my district both came here knowing no spanish. He decided to goof off and talk during study time while me and my companion would go outside away from distractions and study hard. We are up early every morning studying, we labeled everything in our apartment in Spanish so we have to use it in a sentence every time we see it. Now Elder Weaver is at the same level that he was at his first week here while now I am one of the top 4 Spanish speakers in the district. Weird thing though after I gave that first lesson in Spanish I could not say a word in Spanish for the rest of the day. I think God is funny that way. I think that he wanted to show me that without him I am nothing, but with him I can do all things. So this Sunday we have a member from the quorum of the  twelve coming to the MTC here in Mexico. Can you guess which one? That's right Elder Anderson! We are all so psyched, but our mission president did say that the Elder who asks to exchange ties with him will be shot! Haha!  He is a little scary. I could swear that he has killed a couple people. HAHA!! Anyway I would greatly appreciate it if you sent me a card reader that would work with my camera because I really want to send you guys pictures. Letters are awesome because I can read them that day while I have to wait a week for email. LOVE YOU GUYS SOOOO MUCH I PRAY FOR YOU ALL DAY EVERYDAY.

LOVE,

Your son, your brother, your friend, and your missionary Elder Atwood.

WEEK 2!

Hey mom, Hey Dad,

 Words cannot explain how much I miss you guys!  I miss home, but I am so extremely happy to be here. My average day at the MTC is wake up at 6 am to get some extra study time in, breakfast at 8, then we learn from our teacher until lunch, after which we teach our investigator a 20 minute lesson then continue to study until dinner. Then we go to the computers to study for 1 hour then we get together with our Zone and have a hymn and prayer. My companion is Elder Coomer, and is from Seattle, Washington. He is exactly like Kevin Bushman. I have made some decent friends here but not like the ones back home. Everything and I mean everything is in Spanish form day 1 which sucks. I feel like I have kinda gotten stuck at the language. It sucks cuz I'm up early to stud, and study hard throughout the day while everyone else in my district goofs off and sleeps in and they are still learning spanish better than I am. We can't go to the temple at all during my time at the MTC, something about it sinking a little bit every year. Someone said it will actually have to be rededicated. General conference was awesome. I cried my eyes out during Jeffrey R Hollands talk on the Saturday session. I felt really good about that talk. I dont know why but that's the talk that I needed to here that week. OH and DAD HAPPY 41 BIRTHDAY!!!!!!

Dont think that i forgot!!

I love you so much and I would really appreciate it if you pray that I will have the gift of tongues because that is something that I have really been struggling with this week. By the way River you know how we thought all Sister Missionaries were not hot. Well WRONG!! These are some of the hottest girls I have ever seen so just keep that in mind. Actually funny story before conference on Sunday a leader at the MTC gave a talk on specific prayers one of the stories that he shared was how this Sister used specific prayer to find a husband. Anyway, so Iglance over at this Sister Missionary that was sitting beside me who was really hot by the way, and I saw in her notes a sentence that took up the entire page! In all caps it said ( HOW TO FIND A HUSBAND). I was laughing so freaking hard it was the funniest thing in the world. I should have said something like,"  Look No Farther Honey Im Here!" HAHA

Anyway its been a great week I would actually really appreciate some letters or something with a picture of our family and some of my friends with maybe a bag of skittles just cuz you get diarreah here like crazy since all the food has already been digested before you eat it. Anyway I love you guys so much and cant wait to here from you again. I'll make sure to have the sign for papa next week for his birthday.

I love you all soooooo much! Oakley keep doing what mom and dad say. Ireland stay away form boys they are icky. River keep working out eating right and someday if you are lucky you can have a body like Kevins. Mom keep being awesome. Dad HAPPY BIRTHDAY and make sure that you tell mom you love here everyday. Ridge your an awesome kid we are more alike than you think, remember to tell mom everything about your day when you get home and don't bottle up any emotions. I LOVE you guys so much and cant wait to see you in two years and see how much you have changed! GOD BE WITH YOU TILL WE MEET AGAIN! 

LOVE YOUR SON, YOUR BROTHER ELDER ATWOOD

Week 1

Hey Mom, Hey Dad,
I cannot explain how much I miss you guys.  For the first couple of days I really wanted to go home, it seemed like everyone that I ran into already spoke Spanish, even the new missionaries.  My companion was driving me crazy, still is.  My bed was way too small and I couldn't stop thinking about home and my family.  We have been teaching this fake investigator Jovani for a couple of days now.  It was hard for me because I wasn't able to communicate with him and my companion Elder Coomer wouldn't shut up!  It felt like all my endless prayer and study was just a waste of time.  Yesterday when teaching Jovani I was able to understand him and communicate a little with him.  I am far far from fluent, but I have seen the grace of GOD carry me through this time.  I know that I am here for a reason! I love you guys so much!!!  GOD BE WITH YOU TILL WE MEET AGAIN.
Love your son, your brother, your missionary,
Elder Atwood

P.S. Tell mom my room and closet are her type of clean so she taught me well.

This is Canyon's second email later in the day.
I love you guys all so much and miss you everyday, but I know that the Lord needs me here and I am happy to be here.  I apparently got a new nickname, it's basketball.  I guess I was playing and some people thought I was pretty good but honestly everyone sucks... not to be rude or anything.  Anyways, I love you all so much and I pray for you guys everyday.  I love you guys.
Love, Elder Atwood

Missing my Missionary!!

Hey Mom, Hey Dad.  I am at the MTC and it is so overwhelming.  I met up with a bunch of missionaries on the flight and most of them already know Spanish.  One guy from Edmonton spoke practically fluently.  Anyway, I just want you guys to know how much I love all of you.  God be with you till we meet again.
Love your Son,
Elder Atwood

It was an emotional morning today as we sent off our first missionary. 
We dropped Canyon off at 6:00 am departing from the Midland airport. The airline workers were so helpful getting Canyon checked in, took pictures of our family,and tried to comfort me as they could tell I was having a hard time.
Canyon flew into the Houston Airport and called me from a payphone there.  He was a little teary and told me how much he loved me.  So sweet!!  About and hour later my phone beeped and I looked down to see a picture of Canyon with a few other missionaries. A dad had taken the photo and texted it to all the moms. It felt like Christmas to see this photo with Canyon and the other missionaries.  We are so proud of Canyon and excited for him to share the gospel in Lima, Peru North.
He then caught a plane to Mexico City and will spend the next 6 weeks in the MTC.

Saying goodbye to Elder Atwood from the Midland, Texas Airport. It was a teary morning.