Bicyle!!!!! Bicycle!!!!!!!!!!! Bicycle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hola,

I am no longer greeting you from Sunny Redwood City (Climates best by government test), but rather from the scorching City of Livermoore. It's hot here (like 80 degrees is a break from the heat). Also, I am on bicycle. Hence the greeting. Imagine the subject line sung to some lyrics by Queen and it makes more sense.

Before I tell you what I know about my area I will tell you what went down at transfer meeting. We were blessed with a surprise. My trainer, Elder Tidwell, was made an Assistant to the President. He looked like a deer in headlights when President announced it in transfer meeting. Spanish assistants are rare. He'll be great. I'm not sure if I've made mention of this, but our mission has four AP's. He will be companions with Elder Woolf from Pennsylvania, while Elder Monday from Great Britain will be companions with another mission friend of mine, Elder Provolt. I know it doesn't matter much to the rest of the world, but I thought it was good.

Now, about my area. This area should be good. I am in a Spanish Branch. We live in an apartment with two other Spanish missionaries and have a lot of work to do. We currently don't have any people with baptismal dates. This will change. My companion has been out for six weeks and is being broken. (Mission speak for second companion) I am eager to get to work. I have yet to see any huge pockets of Latinos, but they're out there. We just have to find them.

I love you all. Good luck with school, work, being awesome, and your letter writing. I appreciate all the postcards and letters I've received. I'm also glad to hear that Grandpa is doing better.

Love,

Elder Badger

PS Tell Casandra that her hair cut makes her look "Muy mona" That's Spanish for "very cute" or also "Very monkey." It doesn't quite translate directly.

Can he go for one more transfer?????

So....

Here's the deal. I'm crossing my fingers I'm staying in Redwood City, but I really have no clue. I had interviews with President on Thursday and not a word was mentioned about transfers. I gave up asking two transfers ago. I figure I'll just focus on the work. If I'm getting transferred, I should know on Monday after transfer meeting. On the bright side, I know that there are quite a few baptisms I will be coming back for. All in all, I think my time here should yield over ten baptisms from the different people I've taught. We're allowed to comeback and see our old investigators get baptized if we have members take us, so I can look forward to that.

I've decided that Summer is the weirdest time in the mission. All the kids are out of school and life for everybody else moves at a different pace. It makes it really weird for missionaries. Instead of talking to adults when we try to do finding, we only find kids. Kids are great, but we really can't teach much to children unless their parents are on board. Besides, we want families. I'm sorry to hear that Grandpa is ill again. Wish him well for me. I am always eager for your letters.

I've received a few questions about Prop 8. I haven't heard much, which is surprising when you consider that I am only forty minutes south of San Francisco. Most of the people we teach are more concerned with things in Arizona. To be honest, I know nothing of the news. I was a news junky before the mission, but am grateful to be away from all of the slant and slander. I realize it can drag on people.

Our investigators are doing well. We found a family that had been taught by the missionaries four years ago. They are really eager to learn and realize that they are missing something that they felt when the missionaries were teaching them. The missionaries even arranged their wedding. They all know that they need to be baptized and we are just struggling to commit them to a date. These are the trickiest situations. These are the type of lessons where you go in fasting and praying hoping that you can convey what the Lord needs you to say. I've had them before, but they are always tough. They're the type of experiences that leave me completely exhausted at the end of the day. It's a different type of exhaustion.

Hey, I don't have much time left. Love you all

Love,

Elder Badger

The highs are higher and the lows are lower

Dear family,

The sun still shines in Redwood City despite the letter I sent this weekend. You all received the news that Dina, the woman that was baptized in May after three weeks of knowing the church, has cancer. I mispoke in my letter and made mention that the cancer was gastric cancer. I have found out that it is actually Hodgkin's Lymphoma Stage 2B, the exact same type of cancer I was diagnosed with two years ago. It's very unfortunate that she has cancer, but she received a very favorable prognosis from the doctors. They put her chance of survival in the ninety percent range. In place of chemotherapy, they are planning on doing radiation. It will be tough, but I'm sure that she will be able to make it through. She has a lot of support from her family and understands he place in the Plan of Salvation. I really think it's been harder for her twenty-three year old son. He is taking good care of her, but has many question for me about the cancer. She is really beginning to wrap her mind around the diagnosis and is now grateful that she can treat the source of her health problems.

In other news, we are working our tail off this month trying to make the mission goal of 80 baptisms. The mission achieved 60 in February, but would like to shatter the record. It's interesting the entire mission is trying something that Elder Tidwell and I used our second transfer that contributed to much of our success. We have promised the Lord what we as missionaries in the San Jose Mission are willing to sacrifice and have set this goal according to the Spirit. To achieve this goal, Elder Metcalf and I really feel like we can contribute three baptisms in the month of August towards this goal. We have two lined up right now, but have this feeling that there is one more out there. I don't know who it is, but I know we will find them, if we live up to the promises we've made. Please mention the 80 and the three whenever possible in family prayers. We are trying our hardest to find people. It probably will mean having to take some dinners to-go, but we know we can do it. The person is out there, ready and waiting. We just need to find them.

Sincerely,

Christopher Badger

Baptismal Delight!!!

Hola,

Once again, I greet you from wonderful Redwood City, "Climates Best By Government Test." Now you know the cheesy motto that I see every time I drive through downtown. I see it everywhere. They have arches that make it impossible to forget. I still wonder who determines what the best weather is. Call me a little bit of a cynic or maybe just conservative, but I'm not sure I trust the government to determine the best weather. I'll leave it at this, the weather here is good.

Even better than sunshine is baptisms. This weekend we had the baptism of Adonay Luna. It was amazing to hear him talk to us after his confirmation. He told us that now his life is different; he has the help of the Holy Ghost. I'm glad he gets how important the Baptism and Confirmation really are. It was really nice to see the baptistry of the Menlo Park Stake Center full with members ready to greet him as a new member of the ward. I really have been spoiled in my first area with a ward that is eager to help. We rarely have problems getting members to appointments or getting them to give talks at baptisms. We have begun to use some of our recent converts in some of these roles as well. It's very nice to hear them share their simple, yet powerful testimonies as they progress as recent converts. The progress they make in a few short weeks is remarkable. It increases exponentially once they receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost.

I'm glad to hear that things continue to go well at home. Kate, please be aware that I prepared a discourse of why you need a car this year at BYU. It is in the mail and should arrive "muy pronto." My favorite reason is so that it means that it would be my turn to have a car in about 17 months. I tease. I still have a long time to go. Do whatever you want as long as you make sure to contact Matt and Thaddeus and tell them what bums they are. I haven't received so much as a postcard from those guys. For all I know Thaddeus could have grown a beard and is under deep cover in Afghanistan. Matt could have.... well...heaven knows what Matt could have done. I think I'll just wait for him to tell me. It's probably better that I not guess.

Love you all,

Elder Christopher Badger

P.S. Please tell people that letters are greatly appreciated. I still have about six inches left in my shoebox of letters. I've got to fill it up before I get transferred.

We Have A Go!!!

Hello once again,

Things are bright and sunny in the San Jose California mission. We've been working hard, teaching lessons, and preparing for a baptism. I love weeks like this. They tend to be the busiest. I don't know how we're going to have time to eat dinner this week. I think we'll just have to get it to go. I don't really mind. I will do just about anything to make sure a baptism goes down smoothly. These are some of the best weeks in the lives of missionaries.

The man getting baptized this week is Adonay Luna. He was a referral from the English elders. He's from El Salvador and drives a truck for some construction companies. (Side note: construction is a good job for our investigators, it means they usually don't have to work Sundays). He remembers taking the missionary lessons as a child in El Salvador. His family never did get baptized, but jumped at the chance to bring the Spirit that he remembers from when he met with the missionaries years ago.

It's amazing to hear his understanding of the Gospel. All we have to do is teach for a minute or so, ask a good question and let him go. We find that we end up learning more from him then we could ever teach. It's as if someone is feeding him conference talks.

I've hear that there is some inner tubing going on back home. I'm a little jealous. Then again, I am doing better things. I'm sorry this letter is short.

Sincerely,

Elder Badger

I don't speak that Language!

Hola familia,

Once again, the work progresses here in Redwood City. Things have been a little bit of an adjustment since getting my new companion. It's amazing how much I got used to leaning on Elder Tidwell's Spanish to fill the gaps. I realize I still have a long way to go. Luckily, my understanding is very good. I'm just waiting for my mouth to catch up. I can translate from Spanish to English comfortably, but thinking completely in Spanish has yet to come. I guess it probably won't come completely, due to the fact that we use English a lot.

Right now we are teaching men. This is a nice change. It will be nice to baptize some prospective priesthood holders into the ward. Every ward can use more priesthood. Each investigator has very unique challenges that make teaching different in each situation. For example, we're teaching a man named Abel who lost his eyesight in a construction accident. We spend a lot of time stopping by and reading the scriptures with him so that he can gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon. He has such strong faith. We taught him the Law of Chastity and asked him if he wants to get married to his girlfriend of three years. He said "Of course, if God says so, I need to do it." We then asked him if his girlfriend wanted to marry him, his response was, "I sure hope so." I can't wait for his baptism.

Also, we are beginning to teach a man named Moclovio. He is deaf but knows ASL and reads Spanish lips. With the help of the ASL Elders we hope to be able to teach him. It makes things very interesting because there are a lot of languages flying around the room as we teach. Sometimes I get confused and forget which language I'm speaking. I also find I make things worse by trying to talk with my hands. It doesn't help the situation.

To top it off. We're teaching a man that broke his leg playing soccer. There you have it. Blind, Deaf, and Lame. We got it. All are wonderful people and have already begun to see the changes that come through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Love you all,

Elder Christopher Badger

Ch-ch-ch-changes!

Hola familia,

Once again I write you from sunny California. I'm doing well. Happy, healthy, and ... I can't think of any more H words. Anyway, here's the big news. I survived transfers. I'm still in Redwood City. Elder Tidwell went to Marina with a companion from my group. I have a new companion that came in a transfer after me. His name is Elder Metcalf, he's from Draper and seems like a pretty nice guy. I have learned to avoid transfer meetings like the plague. Unfortunately, the odds are I will probably go to next transfer meeting and get a new area.

The work has been progressing well. Elder Tidwell and I began teaching a man on Friday. He had an accident working in construction and lost his eyesight. He accepted a baptismal date on the spot and was very excited at church. He should be baptized on August 7th. The cool part is the fact that he wants us to teach his family. This would be the first complete family I've taught. It's also very good that he accepted the date first. Usually when the head of household is baptized, the family follows. The rest of our investigators are progressing very well and we are set to have quite a few baptisms in August. August should be right now three are very solid while one is kind of up in the air.

I realized how different it is to have a different companion after four and a half months with Elder Tidwell. Last night I completely forgot how to speak Spanish for about ten seconds, even worse, when I remembered how I had forgotten the lesson we were on and almost taught a principle from lesson 5. I guess it was funny at the time, but I'm sure Elder Metcalf must have though "This is going to be my companion." I guess I just need to relax, when I get nervous I forget everything I have learned.

I'm really trying to relax after yesterday. With all of the hype that gets added to transfers it really can make one tense. This morning is much better. I can feel myself beginning to settle into the routine of missionary work. I'm sure I will still have to make adjustments, but the biggest one is out of the way.

I'm glad that the family reunion went well. It sounds like the tardiness was perfectly in line with some of the meetings in the Spanish program. Sacrament meeting can be pretty empty when the world cup is on.

Les Quiero mucho y espero que esten bien. Disfruten su semana.

Con Amor,

Elder Badger