HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today I wore my USA shirt to pday. I'm not sure what else I'm going to do to celebrate today, but I woke up pretty happy!

This was another pretty average week- not a whole lot is happening these days. Just normal missionary life. I've spent a lot of time thinking this week, about how I've progressed, how I'm improving, what I still need to do to improve , stuff like that. Lot's of self-reflection.

The talk 'what lack I yet' from general conference awhile ago has given me a lot of help in my mission. I've gotten into the habit of praying every once in a while asking that the Lord will help me know what it is that I need to improve. I started in maybe January, around there, asking what I could do to improve. I got the answer that I need to take more initiative. I worked on that for a couple months and felt that I got pretty good at taking the initiative. Around March I asked again, and I received the answer that I needed to have more love, for the people, my companion, etc. Well, last week while spending all this time thinking I asked again. ''What do I need to be a more effective missionary?''  And yesterday I received the answer that I need to be more diligent. So for these next couple of months, I'm going to try to be more diligent. Wish me luck!

There's a 5-year-old kid playing gta5 here. Here's screaming at the screen, kind of distracting.

 For anyone out there who has ever wondered what alcohol is like. Or for anyone reading this who wants to try alcohol, please don't try it. Please don't. Growing up I was never really exposed to alcohol, I never really knew much about it. But here I see a lot of alcohol. I talk to people every day who have ruined their lives because of alcohol. There is a saying here: ¨Los niños y los bolos nunca son mentirosos''.  Which translates to: ¨Children and drunks are never liars¨. And it's true, for the most part.  So many drunk people stop us on the street asking us to help them, they're drunk, which means they aren't very good at listening. But I look into their eyes, and it is so so sad. There are so many people who have lost everything, everything, because of alcohol. First, they lose their jobs, then they start losing their possessions, selling them for more alcohol. Gradually they lose their self-respect, families, friends, everything. I was on interchanges this week and the other missionary told me about a man he's teaching who sold his front door, for more alcohol. Selling the front door is never a good idea, but in this country, it's a very very bad idea. The people can't control it. They buy alcohol before they buy water, before they buy anything.  Can you see how sad that is? They are slaves to a chemical. Utterly wasting their existence.  The saying ¨well you can take my _______, but you can't take my dignity¨ doesn't apply here. Satan takes away their dignity too. He leaves them passed out in the street every night after a long, dirty day of begging for money. Not to buy food, or water, but to buy more alcohol. It's infinitely more difficult to quit, then to never start. So please, don't ever start.

Hate to end on such a sad note, but yesterday I talked to a lot of bolos. (drunks) and I've been thinking about that a lot. I am so grateful for Christ, and his atonement.

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!
I love you! I'm happy here!

Have a great week!

-Elder Goodman