January 14, 2013- It's Almost My Birthday!

hi mom.

im still alive. have you got me a new international drivers permit yet? i need it very soon. did i leave passport pictures there to get the permit? if they need one tell sister leavitt and she will call me and i will have the office photo copy one and send it to your email and you can print it off on real paper and take that but i need it quick.. i just really need it bad my other one expires in a few days and if i want to have a better job i need it.

i got 6 letters but no packages.. 1 from the stake 5 from grandma.

I miss the cold. How are the snowmobiles? I still didn’t get to go to Ouidah, but I want to. I bought some hamburger this week. It was really good.  I want to send Grandpa a letter but I need to go find the envelopes to send the letters. i will find them here... i just dont find much free time.

The power keeps cutting out here today…it’s bad. I keep having to restart the computer.

Thanks for the birthday wishes for tomorrow. Tell Wes there is no way I will be married within 8 months of getting home... im too cheap for that.. give me 3 years. i want to be almost done with school before i get married but definatly have a good paying job before a kid. I’m not district leader anymore. Miambo is again. hes older than me in the mission. You know, age before beauty!

I will probably not use the snow you sent with the kids. The bissap kids are cut but they always get bissap on my shirts. You should get the stuff to make bissap at home. Dried hibiscus flowers and sugar. It’s good. I plan to bring some home for everyone to try.

Got to go. Thank you everyone for the birthday wishes and emails.

A few brief notes from Elder Eastmond:

Your son has been a comfort to us, truly!  There was the time that the lights went out and he lent us some candles.  And we've asked for his advice much more than once.  Having him and the other missionaries there has been a great help.

 Elder G. hit the jackpot with letters from home, with at least 3 this weekend.

We're enjoying having them live so close by.  A week ago we went to Ganvie, the small city on stilts about 6 miles across the lake from here.  It was memorable.  Irene took some pictures that would be fun to share.

We think that he is a pretty good guy, besides being a great missionary.  He has arranged for us all to take an excursion to Ganvie, the city on stilts on the lake nearby.  It's one of the tourist attractions nearby, and we've not yet seen it.  We played Uno on New Year's Eve, and he's quite the character (he won).

The weather here has turned cooler, and we love that.  The Harmattan wind blows off the Sahara through much of West Africa at this time of year.  Other than the dust, we enjoy having it a bit cooler.

So, thanks for having your son here and supporting him in this most important work.