Elder Ryan Skalla: Up to the Challenge

Hello!

This week was a crazy but really good week. On Wednesday we started the Super Divisions with our zone. I stayed in my area, which I was really happy about because I wanted to try leading the area without my companion and I learned a ton, and I was with one of the Zone Leaders, Elder Flores. He is from Sinaloa Mexico and is actually on his way to his house as I write this. This was his last cambio in the mission. He is a great missionary and he taught me so much. He is very confident and persistent and I learned a ton. My comp Elder Flores went with the other ZL Elder Hallman from Utah in their area, which is central Tampico. We both learned a ton from two great missionaries and are applying and teaching each other what we've learned. On Saturday one of our investigators, Brandon, who, if he goes to church the next two weeks, will be baptized the 6th with Mari y Leo, came with us teaching for almost all of the day which was fun. He's a good kid and says he wants to serve a mission too, which is cool. Yesterday was the last day of this transfer/cambio and Elder Flores was all worried they were going to transfer him because he has been in this area for 3 transfers and felt like he was going to be transferred. Turns out being transferred was the least of his worries... Before, there were 4 missionaries in our ward, and Pueblo Viejo was split into two different areas, mine and Elder Flores area, and Elders George and Raymundo the other. Yesterday we found out that both Elder George and Elder Raymundo are being transferred, they are closing their area, and expanding ours to be both areas. It's absolutely HUGE now! If you go to LDS.org they have a thing where you can do google maps with the ward boundaries, so go look at it. We now cover all of Barrio Villa Cuahutemoc. Also, Elder Flores is going to be District Leader too! So now we have a gigantic area with no car/bikes, that has absolutely 0 progressing investigators, hardly any active members, and Elder Flores is all stressed about being a trainer and district leader at the same time. I'm not sure how we are going to do it, but we will have to work insanely hard and walk a ton more. It stinks because we are having lots of success in our area and lots of progressing investigators and now we are going to have to revive the other area which is going to hurt ours. All we know is that we wont be doing it alone and that we will just have to push ourselves even further and trust in the Lord.

I don't know how often you check the weather, but it's starting to cool down a bit and rain a ton more. This morning we woke up at 6:30 and went for a run because I can finally exercise and right when we got back it started dumping rain. I have a video I'll try to send. It's really fun when it's raining but after it's a ton hotter and everything's wet and muddy, but its fun.

With the scripture case, don't send leather. The other material is better. I don't now what it's called but it's not leather. And the best would be two separate cases, one for the Bible and the other for the B of M separate. I don't know what the material is called but it,s the same material as my shoulder bag or as my scripture case--Not leather though.

Grandma Judy told me about the bats last week. That's pretty funny. I bet Tate is having a blast at the ranch. We will have to go when I get back. I cant believe how big he is. I love the pic at Ryan's Camp with his hat and his Hurley shirt haha.

With the pictures, if Costco isn't too expensive, that would be perfect. Just small ones and maybe one 4x6

Also my watch broke which is lame... the date stopped working and we tried to fix it and accidentally broke it more haha. I have a backup but it doesn't have a date so maybe a new watch would be good. Nothing fancy, just simple with a date. I don't know if you remember the one we bought at Walmart, but it was perfect so if you find that one again or something similar. Just plain and with a date. and not a metal band, leather or rubber.

Things are getting better in the ward. We had ward council yesterday! Yay! And we made a list of home teachers with the EQ president and they are going to start doing that! Woot! The only thing is that they had this marvelous idea that the missionaries can accompany them to the home teaching visits, which is totally not our responsibility, but if that's what it takes to get them to do it and strengthen the ward a bit more I guess we will do it for a little bit. I don't wash my suit, and no there isn't a dry cleaner... I think that's all your questions...

Love you,

Elder Skalla