Half Time Desire

Dawn Patrol Managua,

Elder Jake only in crowded, sweaty buses and taxis again this week. All over managua tues and weds. Thurs, fri, sat Hirschi and I went with prez to all of his meetings with leadership in chinandega and leon. We came back sunday afternoon to get back for our boy Aaron's wedding and baptism. Aaron is so freaking sick. He's 23 and got a great wife named karla who is already a member. They are both so sleezy and are some of the greatest people i know. Aaron anounced his May 14, 2016 date during his baptism to go get sealed in the temple in either salt lake or san diego. 

Aaron and Karla's Wedding

Never thought that I would be in charge of planning a 10 year olds car pool schedule but that is my life now. I also broke that same 10 year olds trampoline last week so i guess thats what i get. Speaking of breaking things and ten year olds i accidently shattered a childs ripstik in the street the other day. We walked slowly back to his house as he cried and angrilly told his mother how the stupid white guy had broken his skateboard on his birthday. (This stupid white guy replaced the skateboard right away!)

One year down. Its crazy how fast the time has gone. I really feel like it was just yesterday that i waved good bye to suzette two times in the airport haha. I have been thinking a lot lately how my life has changed completely in such a short period of time. What have i done and what can I do better. I have gained a greater appreciation for all of you in my time away. 

Every good thing in this life requires sacrifice. If i have learned anything over the last year it is that. Effort is always required. The struggle is essential. Work. Sweat, blood, frustration. Patience and dedication are learned by those who want it. And the feeling after a win, after doing something hard, is indescribable. 

The game is half over. Many of you can relate to sitting in a locker room at halftime. Exhausted, frustrated, hating the enemy and overwhelmed with anticipation and desire to get back out and drop 30 knowing that all the sacrifice and time you have put in before will have been worth it. 

A man once said

Strength and struggle go together. The supreme reward of struggle is strength. Life is a battle and the greatest joy is to overcome. The pursuit of easy things makes men weak. Do not equip yourselves with superior power and hope to escape the responsibility and work. It cannot be done. It is following the lines of least resistance that makes rivers and men crooked. 

Doing hard things and sacrifice makes everything in this life worth it. Rededicated. Knowing that putting in work for God now will allow me to love and apprieciate all of you and this life even more.

Sleezy always. Love you guys. 

Humble - Hungry

Solid Semana. We are finishing up interviews throughout the mission. This week we visited the zones here in Managua and in tipitapa. This next week we will be in Esteli and in Matagalpa. After we finish in Esteli, i will be staying there with the ZLs until sunday. Three and a half hour bus ride back to managua and straight to the office to do numbers and Skype the fam. Should be pretty sleezy.

Did have a great experience in my own interview this week. President Collado has played a huge role in my life in the mission. We are very different people. But is a man i very much look up to. Even though he doesnt know who steph curry is or what grabbin the wall means or that sleezy is a worldwide enterprise he is someone that has changed my life. Being able to work close to him has been such a great opportunity. He is a great example to me of what kind of man i want to be after the mission.

Now, even though i am with president almost every day of the week, i had the longest interview with him. We sat in his office for about an hour and talked about a lot of things. It was an hour that i will not forget for a long time. After answering several of my questions, he asked me several things that changed my life. One of the things he asked me was how my prayers have changed since i started my mission. I really thought about it and realized that things had changed. after about 30 seconds of silence I responded. At the start of the mission, when all i wanted was to be able to learn how to be successful, i put it all on the line every night. I remember asking god to help me to be able to have success and that i was willing to do anything that he asked me in ortder to accomplish that. I realized that it is like that so much anymore. He explained to me that sometimes after we are blessed with talent-ability-knowledge we stray away from trusting in our god and giving thanks to him that gives us everything we have. 

Trials and circumstances change. Our attitudes and humility should never. As a year is coming around i have been taking time to think about life in an out of the mission. Every good thing i have, i have because my god has given it to me. I have recomitted myself to returning to that state of humility and appreciation that every human being has experienced. This does not mean that the hard work ends. The hunger to be successful in this life and the nature i have been given to never fail is something that i will never get away from. It is something that my father, leaders, sports, and this gospel have taught me. Always humble. Always hungry. Always trusting in the God that has given me everything. 

I love you. Stay sleezy.

This is Gonzalo. He got baptized on Saturday. I wasnt there but he is super sleezy

The Shark Tank off duty