Ice cream, Pineapples and Oreos

Hello everyone!!! Thanks so much for your emails and everything! They give me so much strength! By the way I am typing on the stickiest keyboard I have ever seen :O This week I really realized that missions are hard! You can't just be happy all the time! But that's how life is, we go through trials and they make us stronger! Even though it has been hard, I have felt Christ's love so much! This week we committed 9 people to come to church but only 3 came which is still okay, but as a missionary you want people to progress in the gospel so bad!

Fried rice..with a chicken leg!  I miss meat!

Anyways, my biggest trial this week was homesickness, not just of people, but of food. I wanted mashed potatoes and gravy so bad, or even a PB&J! Count your many blessings Teag and Brig :) Even though it is hard, everyday i am getting more used to it!


The kids always keep my spirit alive! Teaching the gospel is such a   privilege! People hear are so accepting because almost everyone is a Christian! Everyone is so nice as well! When people don't have anything, they make sure you have enough, it's so crazy! Oh by the way i kind of dropped the accent because they can understand me if i just talk slow... So I must have sounded like a moron for the first week. (White guys talking like black guys sound like idiots.) So I'm going to keep this letter short so i can send pictures, but everything is fine, don't worry about me :)

White pineapple (celestial pineapple!)

 Every letter I send I will give you a fun fact about the culture. Fun Fact: Garbage trucks here play ice cream truck music so that people know it is coming. When I first heard it, i was like "Ice cream!" Then I looked and it was a garbage truck ;P it kinda cracked me up though :)

So when you see the picture of me holding the pineapple read 1 Nephi 8:11-12


 Thanks so much family and friends! Your emails help me so much! Hurrah for Israel! -Elder
Ballard

p.s.  This American elder showed me where I can get pancake mix and peanut butter! Yes! :D here's some answers or more info about my mission. So about the power: The power is on for like a day, then it turns off for a day. So I get to shower with a bucket when it's off which is so cold but an adventure! Haha :) New food I had: I had fried rice this week which was so good! But it's a little pricey so my companion just wants to get fufu, so i'm like "okay.." just kidding haha I sweat so much holy fetch... I know I said I didn't sweat but holy cow... I'm like soaked :O I bike everyday and I feel like I'm in shape! So my legs are gonna be buff probably! just kidding. I haven't helped with music in church yet, they already have a musician, but people aren't really good at keeping time or tone here so whatever haha.

Can you find the cream in the Oreo cookie? This is the ward I go to! It is so cool to see that the church doesn't change anywhere! Whenever i see a white person I'm like whoa! Haha, a missionary friend named Elder Akisi said "God is an artist. You know why?" I said no. then he said "Because he made you white and me black." :) God truly loves all his Children! :D the church is true family! I know it! I love you!