Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! : D I love you all bunches : D! And thanks for the e-card, Mom, I wish I could give you a hug, too! : )

AND CONGRATULATIONS JULIA!!! I'm so happy and proud for you! That's awesome that you got into A&M, and I hope and pray that BYU will be smart enough to accept you, too. It'd be sweet to see you around campus when I get back, but more than anything I'd like you to have a choice. Congratulations again, and good luck with school and everything! : D

How are you all? I'm doing wonderful! It's a bright and shiny day, and I'm excited to be here. Our zone has plans to make hamburgers this afternoon at the Zone Leaders' house, so that should be delish (I want to show them how we make hamburgers in Texas : D). It's also exciting because transfers are tomorrow! Elder Thomas, an elder from Lehi, Utah, goes home on Wednesday, which is super exciting. It's got all of us thinking a bit more about  life after the mission than we want : ). I'm really excited for him! I wish I could have had an opportunity to know him longer, but what can you do. Elder Muñoz and I are sticking together another transfer here in Moderna (which, I learned the other day, is the westernmost area in our mission! We have 3 colonias/areas in the city proper; I kind of wish we had more of the city, as it seems like a cool place and I'd like to be able to see more of it, but I'm glad to be in the East Mission), which will be ROCK AWESOME! We already have plans to get to work this transfer. Actually, we have baptismal dates lined up for the next 3 weeks, and E. Muñoz really wants to push for a baptism every week!! We'll see how it goes, but it would be super intense. Oh, and E. Muñoz will be the new district leader.

Sorry I didn't write a letter last week; with the longer email and everything we did (eating, shopping, laundry, cleaning), I chose not to send one. I'll try to write one this week, if I have time! I can print out the emails here, which I've been doing for the past few weeks. And it's up to you if you'd like to send me letters; I enjoy the emails, and I haven't as of 11:33 am received any letters from you yet, so it's up to you. I always love receiving them, but most of all I like to hear from you.

Well I wonder what I should write about? How about this: I'll tell you what's happened briefly, so you all know how my week's been, but I'll put more info in my letter. I don't want you all to go without knowing, but I want to have something worthwhile to write in my letter! Let me know how it works.

I hit my 6 MONTH MARK on Friday! It didn't really feel any different than any other day, actually : D. I remember E. DeBaltzo and other missionaries saying that their 6 month marks were kind of trippy, like time is going too fast and they feel they haven't accomplished much. For me, I feel both, that it's hard to believe that it's already been 6 months, but then I can look back and say, Yeah, it's been 6 months : D. E. Muñoz thinks that maybe it's because I just arrived in my mission and still getting used to things, which is probably true. I just don't want to look the other way, because 1.5 years still seems like a long time, but as you always say, Dad (and I always tell myself; it's like my mission mantra), "One Day at a Time" : D. So yeah! I'm excited that I made it this far, and I hope to keep on going strong.

I went on a trip to Immigration on Wednesday and got my for-reals VISA! It lasts one year, and looks like an ID card.
I did better on this round of cold weather that just went through (it didn't feel quite as cold!), I think. With bundles and 3 blankets, we did pretty well. It's starting to warm up, and I think I've already sunburned twice! : / I need to be more vigilant with that. I just feels weird to do it in the winter, every day.
I almost lost my voice this past week? I guess from the cold or something. As a remedy, I drank honey and lime juice (they don't seem to have lemons here, but they have lime with EVERYTHING). I'm fine now.
I didn't end up giving a talk; it might be next week. I know what I want to talk about though: Hope and Enduring to the End. I'm still on the piano, though! I'd like to try to practice more, so it's not just one note at a time, but more like real playing.
I'm getting comfortable with Moderna and Monterrey! I'm really glad about it, because it allows me to focus more on the work. I also bought a pillow last week (about 8 dollars) that I'm very excited about: my very own pillow, that I can take around with me! : D

OH!! Mom and Dad, could you please send me the balance on my debit card? It's tough to keep track of expenses when everything's in pesos, and I'd like to know how much money I have on the card. Thanks a ton!

We also had some really good lessons last week that I'll try and tell you about in my letter!

Well, I think that's about it for this week. I love you all bunches and bunches, and I hope that things are going well for you. I am wonderful! Despite the occasional toughness, tiredness, or homesickness, I'm glad to be here and serving the Lord and the people of Moderna. I'm grateful for the testimony I have, and I want it to grow every day. I really appreciated the testimony you shared, Dad, and I value yours too, Sam and Mom and Julia! I'm so grateful for you all, and blessed to know that you all have testimonies, too.

YEAH! : D I'm just so happy!! I hope you have a great week, stay safe, and TTYL!

<3, Oli