"Living the dream! "

Date: Mon, 26 Apr 2010 11:29:49 -0500
Subject: Living the dream!

Hey yall!

Sorry about last week. We went to the temple on Tuesday so we couldn’t do the internet thing until Tuesday, but this week will be normal again. Josh has another kid on the way how cool is that! Congratulations buddy!

Wow! Chris has a long, hard road ahead of him. I pray the best for him that he will continue to make good life decisions and not let the military life corrupt or disappoint him. Chris is setting the example for his older brother. Good for him!

That’s cool to hear that you were able to spend some time with Ryder, Mike, and Sunny. Every parent does what they think is best for their children and we have to respect it but I won’t be over protective that’s for sure!

It’s nice to hear that Jill, Dean and the girls are doing well in Utah....AKA Mormonville!

LOL! It’s the sad truth Mom we are ALL getting older and there is nothing we can do about it! I am happy that Jackie and Rodney are happy as well.

What’s the deal with Wally and Jennifer? Are they not working the business any more? I hope they haven’t given up already! Cool, give Barbara a holla for me!

It looks like Justin is in for a whole lot of hard knocks. Jeff is doing well that’s good to hear. I guess there’s hope after all! Tell Josh Euer I am super happy for him! He deserves all the blessings he gets and more! Those accountants make good money so he won’t have too many financial problems and I’m happy for him.

I’m working it here like a slave trying to find people who want to change their lives and be baptized. It’s really cool though because I have really lost myself in the work of the lord and it’s a gratifying feeling. I feel at peace. It’s funny because I was talking with Elder Hyde the other day and his mom is super trunky! He is a little bit but still working like a champ!

Well that’s really all I think, just doing what I do and crazy enough in 2 months I will be home telling stories about the jungle and how cool the Peruvian people are.

I love you all and pray for you always. Keep working hard and being obedient to the commandments and the blessings will come!

Much Love,

Elder Morton

Word up! Working it in Perú!

Date: Tue, 20 Apr 2010 14:51:28 -0500
Subject: Word up! Working it in Perú!

Hey yall!

It´s all good mom. I know things can be hard at times but everything will turn out all right. I haven´t received the box yet but I´m sure I will get it soon. This will be my last box in the mission I think. How crazy is that!

Wow Alberto is 28 now. We´re getting old aren´t we? Well that´s how it goes, like it or love it! I can´t wait to go to Italy in 2012! It will be a blast! We have to work hard and be obedient so that we can be blessed enough to go and not be poor the rest of the year afterwards.

Javier Aldave is a member of one of the wards I am in here. He hangs out with us all day doing what missionaries do because he sent his mission papers in and is waiting for his mission call so he goes to school and helps us all day. He´s a good kid.

John Roberts what´s he up to these days? Wow his kid is a man now. That went by fast!

I hope all goes well with Chris and that he makes good life decisions so that the family that he will have in the future has a better life than he had. He can do it.

It´s weird showing a new missionary the ropes but it´s cool. It requires a lot of patience, humility, and understanding. I have to be a ball of energy so it´s good for me because I like working hard and being positive. The funny thing is that my English is starting to go because I am dominating spanish more and more every day. I have completely forgotten how to pray in English. I am really seeing the results of hard work and obedience. I also see clearer what happens when one slacks off a bit because the blessings don´t come as one would like. I have a few really high goals that I want to accomplish and I will stop at nothing to accomplish them. I know that the lord has my back and now I can truly testify that all that the church teaches is true. The lord has big plans for us we just need to put our shoulder to the wheel and show our faith in him.

The mission has been a true blessing in my life. I love serving the people of Perù and I have to say that the mission has gone by way too fast! I have about 2 months left and I am torn. I want to go home to the people I love and the things I love doing (THE GYM) but it feels good challenging myself mentally and doing things that I would never have done before because of fear and pride. These truly are the best two years. When I get home I am planning on taking the family to church and if they are willing I will teach them why the church is true. I love my family and I would like to have an eternal family and the same goes for our friends, I will share the gospel with a whole lot of people that I didn´t get a chance to before. We are going to kick butt on every level when I get home so buckle up! I love you all and pray for you often.

Love,

Elder Morton

man son guapos!

Date: Mon, 12 Apr 2010 12:47:56 -0400
Subject: Re: como estas Elder Morton?

Hey yall!

I was really pleased to see the photos of the Mortimer family....man son guapos!

That’s great that Sister Mortimer will be having another grandchild. The Mortimer family are great people. Everything is going good, progressing as the lord desires. I am training a missionary for the first time, in another words my new comp is completely new, fresh from the CCM. The president has to have a lot of trust in me to give me a greenie! I am super pumped because I am learning a lot from my first ¨Son¨. I hope I don’t corrupt him too much! LOL!

In regards to the Souza kids I don’t want to hear about how stupid they are acting. I will deal with that when I get home. Chris seems to be the only one with his head on straight and I hope he makes goods decisions unlike his brother and cousins. If he makes good decisions he will be blessed for it.

In regards to the others none of this is new or surprising. That’s how they are and we have to work around it because they are family. We can’t get upset for the lack of importance they give us, but grateful for the time they do give us when they give it.

I too look forward to dating for once, making contacts and doing the single’s ward thing but I must say I love the mission because we progress a whole lot in such a little amount of time because the lord is with us in every step we take. The only thing is that all good things in life must come to an end. It’s sad but the mission will come to an end no matter how much I love being here serving the people of Perú. All we can do is move on and learn from every experience and phase in life.

We need to learn from the good and the bad. The lord gives us everything that we need to progress spiritually and temporally look at the Nephites, when they obeyed the commandments they prospered and when they fell into being prideful and not obeying the lord they had a lot of trials and problems but when they humbled themselves before the lord and obeyed the commandments they were blessed. We really can learn our lessons from the stories in the Book of Mormon. I encourage you to not only read the book of Mormon but study it thoroughly and apply the lessons you learn in you life.

You are children of God and he loves you all. NEVER forget to PRAY! Give thanks for the blessings you receive daily, ask the lord for what you need and then go to work to make it happen!

The mission has taught me that humility is empowering and that pride is what kills us. In another words the majority of the time we are killing ourselves and we don’t even know it because our pride is blinding us. I had the same problem before the mission but I have been able to recognize my error and fix it. For that I am grateful. For that I know that God loves me because he corrects me and forgives me for my many faults.

Please send my love to the family and friends and tell them that I will be bothering them soon enough, so don’t worry! Hasta la vista baby!

Love,
Elder Morton

HAPPY EASTER!

Date: Mon, 5 Apr 2010 11:43:32 -0400
Subject: RE: HAPPY EASTER!

Hey yall!

I got the shirt and tie from Jennifer and they are cool! Thanks!

It was a week full of drama for us here too. We had a great week and this past week just about all the baptismal dates we had fell through because of stupid stuff such as being catholic and not being sure about being baptized again because their priest said they don't need to be baptized again, to not wanting to give up drinking and another one was, their uncle died in morning so the whole family had to go to the hospital.

I got the news that I will be training a greenie this change so this change will be absolutely nuts! I never even dreamed of training a newbie but I will be doing it so obviously the President has more confidence in me than I thought.

It seems like Justin chose a real ´´winner´´ excuse the sarcasm. It’s sad but he will learn the hard way. The good news is that he will learn because he isn’t stupid. ´´dinero, dinero es lo que el mundo quiere´´ (´´money, money is what the world wants´´) says Daddy Yankee a rap artist that’s from Puerto Rico and it’s true.

Brandon is another story and really I don’t want to say what I think about what he is, has and will do with his life. These kids are ungrateful for what they have. They are so blessed and it’s not enough they think the world owes them more and it is absolutely false. The world doesn’t owe them anything. You get what you give.

Vic is married. I am speechless. It seems to me that the end of June will be full of mixed emotions for the family but I will be happy to be home and start molding my future as the lord would have me do. I didn’t do much for Easter. I saw the conference and it pretty much was the bomb! In regards to my call to you on mother’s day I have no idea when I will be calling but it probably will be in the afternoon, but I will call the day before to inform you about all of that. The time is flying by I can’t deny it. Can you believe I have been here in Peru for 21 months? I’m on the home stretch so I need to work hard and stay positive till the end.

That’s sad that Aunt Wilma hurt her arm but she will recuperate well. Wow Jenn is getting old too! 35! I am feeling and looking my age. I think I will be bald by 28 like your father. That’s life. It hasn’t stopped Clark Broome! I feel good really. Easter is weird here because 75% of the people are Catholic so everyone was drinking and partying it up in the name of the lord. I am really working hard and that is the best thing one can do as a missionary because these two years are short and they go by fast! So much to do so little time to do it in. The sad part is that all good things must come to an end and it’s creeping up on me faster than I’d like. I have mixed emotions about the fact that it will be ending soon. It’s great and yet I am sad too because I have so many great friends here. Without a doubt I will make my visits here whenever possible. I love you guys and because of that I am busting my butt so that you all can receive blessings but it all depends on your obedience to the commandments. If you do what you know is right you will receive the blessings afterwards. I invite you to work hard, pray often and have faith in the lord in all things.  Love,  Elder Morton