It's Always Sunny in Baltimore

Hello everybody! Imma give you the rundown on my week...Okie dokie.

My area: Perry Hall.
Condition: nonexistant.
Goal: fix it up and get it going.

There is not a single investigator or recent convert in the area, and it's the biggest area in our zone. I know not what the elders before Janke and I did but I'm guessing it was nothing. The last time the area book was updated was 2005, and that is all we have to go off of. We've done a lot of contacting and a lot of tracting with no success, but I can feel it in my bones that we're about to hit a lucky streek. It's fun trying and talking to people and everything but I'm kinda jonsin' for a lesson to teach.

The only person I've taught is a wonderful woman named Allison. She isn't my area but is my ward and I've had the chance to visit her twice. She is an ex-ballerina, music major from U of Miami, plays guitar (she has a $800 Taylor acoustic), she can sing like no other, is crazy sarcastic, just super hXc cool, acts like she is 25 but just turned 50, and she is getting baptized Sept 19 ;). Instantly she liked me..probably a little too much and this is why. She gave two missionaries and I a gift the other night. A hand made Italian silk, one of a kind, two hundred dollar tie (she knows the guy who owns the label but still). I'm scared to wear it but I'm def throwin it round my neck on the nineteenth. I actually had a dream I got my visa the eighteenth and missed her baptism and confirmation and freaked out when I woke up because I thought it was real. Soo hopefully it comes the 21st :)

Yesterday was my first zone conference. Pres Belliston is flippin' awesome. His wife is super legit as well. 'Twas a good experience and I rather enjoyed it.

Life is going well. It's still beautiful here. Oh yeah, hehehe, the ward calls me Elder LMX because Lamoreaux isn't too simple and there is also an Elder Lamb. hXc legit.

I have no news on my visa, nor will I until I leave. Elder Godfrey (one of the elders in my apt) has been waiting for his visa for India for fourteen weeks. He is training someone and it's not even his mission. But the day my visa comes I get a phone call saying pack your bags, and I leave the next morning, but perhaps I'll be able to call again.

Love you all, talk to you next week :)

- Elder LMX

Finally in the Mission Field - Nottingham, MD

Hola.
Glad you got a message letting you know I made it safe. And even though I made it safe I'm sure you're wanting a story of my travels. Here it is: After we spoke I had two hoursish before my flight. I was chillin chattin with Elder Lamb from Henderson, NV. Randomly a man asks us if we speak Spanish (in Spanish). I told him a little and he asked for some help because he couldn't find his gate. I was able to walk him around, talk a little and point him in the right direction. Totally awesome to use it in the real world. (Random thought: but the real world was scary at first). Then we made our four hour flight to MD, flying over UT, WY, NE, IO, IL, IN, OH, Pennsylvania and finally MD covering roughly 1930 miles. I spoke to a man who just finished serving as a mish pres in Mexico in Spanish while waiting for our luggage. Then my pres showed up drove us around and took us to our apartment. I'm serving in English :/ but Imma study hard on my own and hopefully the visa comes soon, even though things are good here. It's really pretty. And even though I'm practicing my Spanish as I'd like I did with my Spanish elders and spoke with them quite a bit and they were impressed. I also know the gift of tongues is real, I can now give the first vision in three languages: Spanish, English, and Ebonics. It's shorter and a lil more exciting in the third.

So yesterday I made a couple appointments taught the first lesson on a store step, did some service and placed a bomb, sorry, BoM.

Today was P-day we hit up the zoo and downtown Baltimore, ate some lunch, took some pics, it's been a good two days. Elder Lamb (from the plane) is also in the apartment with his comp, my comp and me. It's like a missionary party every day except quiet cuz we're studying and stuff.

I'm doin good, enjoyin myself, workin hard, and waiting to leave. So I kinda miss the MTC district but...I'm glad I can't see them anymore cuz it means I'm in the field!

I hope everything is going well back home. Keep me filled in. I get a lil extra time for email here than in the MTC, it's pretty legit.

Love y'all.
Paz fuera. (peace out)
Elder LMX

Week 9 - Serving in Baltimore, MD until Argentina Visa arrives

Brother and Sister Lamoreaux,

I picked up your son along with another Elder going to his mission at the airport at 4:30 today, August 31. He looked great. He has been assigned to Elder Janke from Idaho Falls. They are serving in Baltimore.

Your son is a very impressive young man! I am confident he will be a wonderful missionary. We will do all we can to provide him with some great training and experiences while he serves in this beautiful part of the country.

Sincerely, President A. Brent Belliston

Week 8 - Leaving the MTC...but Where

Family!Okay good week I suppose. Here is the rundown...Thursday I got my flight plans!! I was scheduled to go from SLC to Dallas to Miami to Buenos Aries. A total of 23.5 hours of travel (including layovers and whatnot). But amongst all the excitement of travel plans I couldn't forget that I still do not have a visa. So I went to the travel office and demanded to know what was up...well...they don't know what's up. I don't have it and if I don't have my visa by Friday I'm being temporarily assigned stateside! It doesn't matter if I get visa or not I'm leaving Monday. I'd rather be in Argentina but anywhere other than here is awesome. And there's no way I can tell you. The computer doesn't let me log on if it's not Tuesday. So I'm sorry, but I will let you know as soon as possible. I've grown to enjoy the MTC. I love my district and my teachers, they're all awesome but in the nicest way possible, I don't want to see them again (because of the different missions thing).

Sunday, I attended a broadcast of the Oquirrh Mountain temple dedication. Monson's talk was hXc good. The others were good too. And I could not help but smile when Pres Eyring blessed the missionaries in the dedicatory prayer. it's crazy to know that people all over the world include me in their prayers, and my family :).

Okay my teacher Hermano Anderson has a cruiser (some Honda model), and talks about it quite often. Well I had told him about the VFR and the coast trips and flippin sweet they were and all that shizzle and he was impressed and jealous and now is looking into more fun bikes. just a brief funny story of what happens in class when we're supposed to be learning. We do learn, and the whole conversation was acceptable because it was in Spanish.

I lol'd over Dad and my mandals. [Wade wore Levi's sandals to Tyra's baptism.]Today was my last temple session for two years..kinda sad but it was my best time out every visit thus far to the Provo temple.

Anyways, I love you all! Thank you for all the letter's and emails and everything. You're the best family ever.

Love, Elder LMX

Week 7 - I Left the MTC...well, kind of

Hola, muchas gracias por los packages. I loved the flag! [Levi asked if we could find an Argentina flag so he could hang it on his wall] It's totally bisnitchin fer sure. And thank you for the shirt, candy, and chips. We were on the same brain wave because one bag was for me and the other was for the district (two of my sisters love salt and vinegar but had never had Poore Brother's). As for the ring, yes size 12, yes Spanish lettering (HLJ: haz lo justo, or in English: Do the righteous), no spinner, no shield, just cool looking, and I prefer the thick ones. Thank you so very much :)I'm glad to hear school went well for everyone. Oh how I remember the countless bruises from football practice. Tell Tate now that he has started Spanish I want some in every letter from now on. I'm sure Tyra is very excited about her baptism! I'm excited, I wanna hear all about that shiz. I'm glad Grandma and Breeze will be there :)..and Dan too I guess.

The meeting with the consul went well. I still do not have my visa, and I won't have a date until I get it but hopefully I'm not pushed back. He let us do a Q and A about Argentina and I found out fast food costs three times as much as it should because people want to be "modern". Business men will eat at McDonalds over another restaurant because of this. There some other interesting things, but in gen I'm just pumped to get out.

Speaking of getting out...I left the MTC!!!!! Elder Goodman had been feeling ill for bout a week so we finally went to the health clinic here who let us walk to the real Dr down the street!! Omgsh! I saw people. I saw magazines. I heard music. It was nice to know that the outside world still existed. I really wanted to contact every person I saw..then I remembered it was Utah and I left it at hello and other friendly salutations. No worries, Elder G man is good just a lil pneumonia.

My female teacher, Hermana Cochrane is also a high school volleyball coach so she wasn't in class last week for try outs and I had two awesome subs. One of them, Hermano Dallon, was straight up legen..wait for it...dary. He helped me a lot and totally an awesome teacher.

Well I have thirteen days left hopefully. John Greenleaf Whitier once said "Of all sad words of tongue and pen, the saddest are these: 'It might have been'." Just a lil daily gem I thought I'd share with you, and it's a lil of how I'm looking at these next twenty two point five months. It should be good.Next week is hopefully my last P-day here so it could be my last email for awhile. I don't know but I'll keep you updated with what I do know.Love you all.

Love,Elder LMX

ps: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TYRA!!!!! Eight is a totally awesome age. Live it up. Enjoy your baptism, and third grade! :)

Week 6 at the MTC - Hopefully Visa Coming Soon

Well I would like to start this email off with some good news. Two Argentina Elders have received their visas and left. I had a meeting with a visa agent on Friday and have a meeting with the Argentina consul tomorrow, so with how things are looking I should be leaving on time!!

Other good news, the new roomates I was supposed to get never showed up. E' G-man and I were anxious to meet them and we had some pranks ready and some intimidating lectures rehearsed just in case we didn't like them. So as our anticipation was about to end and we returned to the room Wed night nobody was there. Soo we don't know what happened but we're glad it did.

There is a new Hermana in my district (which now makes it four girls to two boys, we probably have the oldest average age for single missionaries). She is in our district because she had to have an inch and a half piece of glass surgically removed from her foot, so she is here for four more weeks while the rest of her district left. Okay so having foot surgery is funny, right? Well it gets ten times funnier when you find out that her name is Hermana Barfoot. It's hard not to laugh about it, but she is really very nice and will be serving in Bahia Blanca with Elder Blackhorse.

Oh yeah, crazy story time. During volleyball an elder who doesn't know how to play ran into a sister in my district. He knocked her over and she screamed and looked at her knee and her knee cap was not where it was supposed to be. They took her to the MTC Dr and he said it was dislocated and she probs would have a miniscal tear as well. They ambulanced her over to the hospital where they did xays and MRI and all that jazz and popped her patella back in place.
Well there was absolutely no damage and she is back to normal. fue un milagro (translated-it was a miracle)

You shouldn't need to send me any packages in Argentina, but if you do, tape a picture of the Virgin Mary on there. The mail people open up all packages and take the stuff they want, but they leave it alone if the Virgin Mary is on there. Kinda funny, and helpful.

I had the priviledge to watch a talk given by Pres Uchtdorf in which he gave some interesting new doctrine. Apparently, we will speaking German in the Big C. Maybe it was a joke, I can't be sure, but interesting to think about nonetheless.

Love you,
Elder LMX

Week 5 at the MTC - English No More

My week has been good. Wednesday was hilarious. It was the funeral service complete with a eulogy, talks, and a special musical number. Elder Goodman and I were the pallbearers and took English out to a secluded area in the back corner of the MTC which is hidden by some big trees. We were going to say a few last words and then head back. Once we got there, however, with divine intervention we discovered we had something important to do. At our predetermined location was a shovel! So I dug a hole and we buried the casket we made and with a sharpie wrote a headstone on a rock. It was beautiful. The musical number was written by one of the sisters in about five minutes. The words were such eloquent Spanglish I wanted to cry and mourn but I couldn't help but be happy that he had inspired such beautiful music.
Yesterday a native district I had become close with departed for their respective missions. It's always sad but exciting to watch people leave.
Elder Goodman and I also received some bad news...we're getting new roommates! We are the only obedient reverent mishs on our floor. Security is called almost nightly by the floor under us because they can't sleep with noise my floor makes. I don't wanna have to hurt someone so these new guys best not mess around.
I know nothing new on the flu but nobody has left for Argentina in a month and a half and none of them have leaving dates.Thank you for the bread and for the letters and the emails.
Love you,ELMX