Hola

Dear Family & Friends,
    
Sorry - my computer just malfunctioned and deleted the e-mail I was just writing.  I have to take off to the waterfalls in the next town right now, but I'll get back to you tonight.
    
So . . . here I am again.  Since my e-mail was cut off the first time I won't be able to write too long.  Earthquakes in divers places huh/  Thanks for that letter of Matt's.  That was a cool story and he described it really well.  Elder Sloan, (my new companion ) is really cool.  He is kind of like me and probably my first companion that I would have been friends with before the mission.  That has it's ups and downs though.  When you are good friends, it can get hard to keep the eye single to the glory of God - but we are working really hard and we are teaching really well together.
    
The ward here is getting really not the way it should be - so we are trying to help them by starting to visit some of the 200 in-actives!  Good news is that we had 7 in-actives at church on Sunday!  Bad new is that we only had 3 investigators there.  We need to find a way to juggle both re-activating the branch, and still baptize.  I'm trying my hardest to reach the standard of 6 again - but I am a little unsure about bringing those investigators to church when it is the way it is.  I was expecting to be somewhat of a role model for church members before I got to the mission . . . but I never thought that we would be the source of church knowledge and who the branch would turn to as it falls apart.  It's hard.  Really hard, but It's good for me.  My companion and I are having a training meeting this Saturday for the leaders in the branch. It is a little daunting trying to teach all of these people old enough to be my parents and grandparents how to run things, but it needs to be done.  They have next to no idea what they are doing.
    
So we went to the waterfalls in the next area over today!  It is sooooo green over here.  I have some cool pics, but don't know if I'll have time to send them today.  If not, I will try to get them over next week.  Oh, and I don't know if I have mentioned it before, but water straight from the coconut is really growing on me.  Same with pretty much everything they eat here to be honest :)
    
All right - so I have to write the President, but I'll talk to you all next week!  Love you - bye!

Elder McBride