And a Happy New Year!

Hey y'all. It's me again. :)

Christmas was pretty much amazing. Basically because I got to talk to my wonderful family. :) That was pretty much the highlight of the...year. Haha. It was great to see you all again and see how things have changed or not changed. I only got like...15 weird looks in the internet cafe for speaking english super loud. It wasn't that loud, I guess...but I was the only one talking...so everyone could probably hear me. Oh well. I only get to talk to my family twice a year. :P 

Christmas here was very different. First of all, it was the first Christmas I had spent away from home, and also they do things a little differently here in South America. Ever since I got here, people would talk about the 24th of December, like that was the holiday. I was always confused, because Christmas is on the 25th, not the 24th. Everyone knows that. So, come to find out, Christmas is still on the 25th, but they do more on the 24th to celebrate. Starting at about 7 or 8 at night, people started putting out their speakers. Everyone in the country owns a set of 4 foot speakers, and they put on whatever kind of music floats their boat and they turn it up as loud as they possibly can. Then there's the fireworks. Roman candles in the hands of 4 year olds, explosions all over the place. Whew. What a party. Then of course...there's the alcohol. :P That doesn't really need explaining. 

Anyway. It was a party. Haha. I could hardly sleep...people were up until around 4 am partying. Fun stuff. Oh, I was going to explain, here in South America, people wait up until midnight on the 24th (technically the 25th) to open presents. So, that's probably why they talk more about the 24th than the 25th. The 25th, people were out working like it was a regular day. The sober ones, anyway. ...Yeah. :P

We had a pretty good crowd at church too. There were about 80 members that attended. That does count the ones that came 10, 15, 30 minutes late, but that's nothing new. Haha. ;) 

Anyway, I love you all. I really don't know what I would do without my wonderful family. Thank you for your prayers, your support, etc. It means a lot to me. Really. :)

Until next year, 

...whoa. It'll be 2012 when I talk to you y'all again. Weird.

Elder Cannon

P.S. Would someone please listen to BYU vocal point's Nearer my God to Thee for me? :) Thanks.

P.P.S. Not that this isn't fun, but...I'm gonna look around. 

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Sup?

We wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas...

Wanna know what I miss? Christmas music in English. I would enjoy it in Spanish, but they only have about 5, and they play them over and over and over and over and over again. Silent Night, The Drummer Boy, Feliz Navidad, and a couple others that I don't know the names of. Will someone please listen to the Come to the Manger CD for me? Especially the one about the "beautiful lizzard sun." Haha...okay, so when I was a kid, and that song played, I think it's Bring a Torch, Jeanette Isabella, when he says "beautiful is her son," I thought he was saying "beautiful lizzard sun." Anyway, listen to it. Then laugh at me. But listen to it, por lo menos. :)

I have a question for you all: How many of you have water storage? And if you do, how many days could you last on the storage that you have? Do you know how many gallons of water it takes to flush a toilet? To do a batch of laundry? To take a shower? To brush your teeth? Just some questions for you. If you don't have water storage, you'd better get on that, because some moron might accidentally spill a bunch of petroleum in your water source and then they'll cut your water supply for 2 weeks and you'll have no way to shower or wash clothes or brush your teeth or use the bathroom. Yikes. That could get ugly, don't you think? It could happen to you. So...yeah. As a missionary, water storage was about the farthest thing from my mind. ...until this week. :P Luckily it rained once or twice, and we collected some. 

This week, President Hacking came for a Zone Christmas activity. It was really neat. We acted out the birth of Christ, sang some Christmas Hymns, and then they let us watch "Emma," the movie about Emma Smith. Absolutely incredible. I loved it. Then there was dinner, and presents! They gave us a bag of goodies and a cover for our daily planners. :) It was fun. 

I don't really know what else to say. There are a bunch of Chilenos going home this week, so we're going to see some cambios. Hopefully I don't get transfered...but you never know, eh? I also hope my companion doesn't get transfered, because then I'll be loster than lost. I don't even know how to take a taxi to our area. Actually, I think I do. But to take one back...I don't think so. 

Guess what?? Christmas is on Sunday!!! I can't believe it. It kind of doesn't feel like Christmas... That might be because it's like 90 degrees here, and I'm...not with my family. But I have friends here, and I'm not sad. It's just different than other years, y'know? Not bad. Just different.

I think I'm done talking now. Did I tell you that we're teaching a deaf/mute girl? Her name is Sonia, and she's amazing. Haha. She doesn't talk or hear at all, but she can read and write, and sign of course. We've been practicing the signs a little. I knew the ASL alphabet, more or less, but it's different down here. Some of the letters are the same, but others are different. And the few signs I knew besides the letters are also different. Hmm. So much for ASL. I should've learned LASL. Hehe. But she's progressing. Learning lots, attending church, keeping her commitments and everything. :) 

Most of all, I just want y'all to know that I know, without a doubt, that this Church is true. That Joseph Smith really was and is a Prophet called of God. That through him, God restored His Church again upon the earth. I know that the Book of Mormon is true. That is has the power to change lives for the better. I hope and pray that everything is well with all my dear family and friends. I love you all. God bless, and God speed. :)

-Elder Joey

P.S. My brother and I always thought that drowning in beer would be like heaven. But now all I got's two soakers and he's not here. This isn't heaven, this sucks! ;)

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Más fotos:

In the pictures from the first email, my companion is there directing the music. I took the picture, so you can't see me there. In the second pic, that's Elder Romero, another Elder in our apartment, Elder Espinal (my comp) and me. 

In these pictures, that's most of the zone holding Libros de Mormon. We all gave someone a Book of Mormon for Christmas after we finished singing. The second picture is the set behind the choir at the stake Christmas activity. :)

Love, 

Joey

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Cucuta is da bomb.

So, I'm not sure what it is, but I really feel at home here in Cucuta. That might be a little weird, since I'm about as far from home as I've EVER been, but I really feel at home here. Maybe it's my companion, maybe it's the members, maybe it's this Christmas season. I don't really know. But I've really enjoyed my 5 days here. I don't know how much I told you about my companion, but he's from Peru. He doesn't really look like it though. And he talks as if he's from Argentina. Haha. He lived in Argentina for a time, and I think he's planning on studying there afterward as well. He's a really cool guy. He teaches really well. He's been out for more than 20 months, I think. Also, he's a really good fútbol player. 

This week was pretty cool. I'll start from the beginning. I got here at around 7 pm on Tuesday night, and Wednesday, went out to work. We live in an apartment of four, which is cool, but it means that we live outside our area. So every morning we take a taxi to our area, and then again to return. Thursday we practiced for the Christmas activity we were going to have on Friday. It was a stake activity, and the idea was to have 200 non members come. Every missionary wrote his/her testimony in 6 Libros de Mormón to give as a Christmas gift to the non members. On Friday we sang the Little Drummer boy (Or...they sang. I don't know the words in Spanish.) Then Joy to the World and Feliz Navidad. That one I knew. Haha. We went and passed out Libros to all the non members. We had over 100. Maybe 150 plus. Then afterward, Santa came to give presents to the kids and there was arroz con pollo and gaseosa. While people ate and talked, we went around getting phone numbers and addresses from non members to visit them. :) It was a really cool activity. That was Friday. Saturday, it was back to the grind. We ate lunch with an Hermana from the ward, and then walked about 2 miles to our first appointment. Phew. I don't even think that's an exaggeration. We got to where the sidewalks ended, and kept walking. It felt a lot more like I was in a 3rd world country. And not really in a bad way, it was just...evident. Houses with tin roofs and dirt floors. some had walls made of brick, others of wood, and others of tarp-like material. We visited a couple families in that area, and as we were about to leave the second family, the Hermana started to kind of appologize for the less-than-perfect accommodations. I felt kind of bad. For...I don't know what. Being from the United States, or...I don't know. I don't come from a rich family, but compared to a lot of people down here...? I just felt bad. I told her not to worry about it, and started telling her about The Mansion, one of President Monson's favorite books. I explained that it wasn't a person's earthly possessions or status that mattered, but the things a person did for others, or for the Lord. I think it made her feel better. I know at least I felt the Spirit. :) It was a neat moment. Sunday we went to Church. They only have one piano here in Cucuta, and it's at the Stake Center. So I got to sit peacefully in the back with my companion, instead of on the stand like I did in Tejar. It was very relaxing. I mean, I always love playing the piano, but it was nice to be in the background for once. Afterward, we got to teach the Investigator/Recent Convert Gospel Doctrine class. We taught about the Restoration. It was a really neat class. We had 4 new investigators, and two that had already been to church before. Wow! :) One of our investigators is named Sonia. Hers is kind of an interesting situation, because she's partially deaf, and can't speak. She has to communicate with signs. The cool thing is that she wants to be baptized. :) It was really cool teaching her. We pulled out the Gopsel Art Picture Book, and tried to explain some things. Anyway, it'll be really neat teaching her. We'll have to pray a lot to know how to prepare her for baptism. Sunday night, our Zone got together outside a big mall and started singing Christmas Hymns, while a couple contacted people and handed out pamphlets and took down info. etc. That was probably the most Christmasy I've felt all season. It was really neat. I'll see if I can attach some fotos. Today was Pday, and we started washing our clothes in the morning (here you can rent a washer for 1,000 pesos/hour.) That's when they cut off our water. Apparently, some petroleum or something got into the water source, and we won't have water for 2 weeks! 15 days, as they say here. So...we're gonna have to find a member or someone outside the neighborhood that can lend us their shower. :P 

Anyway, cool fact about Cucuta: I can see Venezuela from our apartment. Ha! Cool, eh? I knew we were close, but I didn't know we were that close. We could literally walk to Venezuela! Not that I'm thinking about it. We were talking to an Hermano today who has dual citizenship in Venezuela and Colombia, because he was born there, but grew up here. We were talking, kind of jokingly about going to Venezuela, and my companion said, If we go, I'll probably come back without a companion. :P Yeah...I think I'm just fine here in Colombia. Really. The hermano also told us that in Venezuela, water costs more than Gasoline. Haha. He said that just a few years ago, he could pay 5,500 Bolívares (about 50 cents?) and fill up his car completely. Haha. Then he'd drive to Colombia, siphen his tank and sell the gas! He said he'd make about 200,000 pesos every day. Not bad, eh? Not bad at all. :)

Well, dear family, I love you all. I hope you get my pictures. I think I'm going to send some extras in another email. 

Take luck. Don't do drugs, and most importantly, read Isaiah. Because it's a commantment. In 3rd Nephi 23:1, Jesus Christ himself says "Yea, a commandment I give unto you that ye search these things diligently; for great are the words of Isaiah." I started reading Isaiah from the beginning, and have fallen in love with that book. So many amazing things to be found! I mean, at times it's hard to understand, but in my own personal experience, it was only hard when I was reading just to read. When I really wanted to read, and wanted to find things and learn things, they just start popping up all over the place. :) Another cool thing I found in 3rd Nephi was in chapter 26, speaking about chapters 24-25 (or Malachi 3-4). If you pay close attention (especially ch 26:9-11), there are hidden treasures to be found in those two chapters, according to Mormon. Anyway, cool stuff, eh? :) Don't you just love the scriptures? I do. :)

Well, have a nice day, eh?

-Elder Cannon

P.S. Happy birthday Alicia!!! I love you so much! :D

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myldsmail.net is being lamesauce.

So we've been here for almost an hour, and this website is being dumb. It keeps having errors. Maybe it's the fact that 50 some-odd thousand missionaries are emailing families today. Then I just realized that we're all in different time zones and that it wouldn't be that big of a deal. Plus the fact that it's powered by gmail. So why are there problems?

Well, I guess I'll get talking before it dies again. This week was pretty good. There were a lot of distractions to the work itself, because we had a lot of activities and such. We had a Show de Talentos in the Cumbre ward, a service project at a fire station (where they let us practice using fire extinguishers. Super-cool.) Also we used machetes. I'm not sure which I liked more. ;) That same day, we had a choque de fuerzas in our ward. Basically all 16 missionaries from our zone came to our ward and visited less actives and contacted and such. It was neat. We got another baptismal date and some new investigators from it. :) 

If you didn't know, I'm in the December Liahona. I'm pretty sure that would translate to Ensign, not New Era. It's the part where they're talking about the New Mission Presidents Seminar in the MTC. I'm in the picture of the choir. Some of you have probably already seen it. I'm in the back row, 5 or 6 from the right. And for those of you who went to Provo High and know Stephanie Osborne, she's standing in front of me, I think. I don't have it here with me. :) So...yep.

Happy Birthday Dad and Sophie!!! I really can't believe it's December already. I'm blaming it on the weather. It just doesn't feel like December. Everyone here is complaining about the cold. Ha. What cold? Cold is when you can't see the mark on the thermometer because it's so low. Cold... :P 

Basically the biggest piece of news is that tomorrow there are cambios. And I'm leaving. Ah! It took me by surprise. I was so sure I'd be here another cambio. In fact, I was so sure, I spent 50,000 pesos on food last week, and now I have to leave it all here. :P I'm going to Cúcuta. I can't remember which area exactly, but I'll be with another Peruano. Also, I have to go, because I have to go say goodbye to everyone before tomorrow. Wish me luck! Actually, luck doesn't exist. Brother Goss always told us that whenever someone wished you luck, you should kick them in the shins. Pray for me? That's a better option, I think. :)

I love you all. I hope all is well in the wonderful wintery Utah. Sigh. I miss snow. Lots.

Okay I'm done now. Have a nice day. :)

-Elder Joey

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