Hmmmmmmm

1) Great strength comes from within.  This has nothing to do with a question but is important enough to have its own number.

Thanks Dad, I'm not feeling real strong lately. Maybe it's my insides. I'm sure mom will share her email with you, or just make her share so I don't have to waste my time and write all that again haha

2) Your family sure loves you.  I hope you had the chance to write a letter to Great-Grandma.

I love my family too, I started a letter to GG but I haven't been able to finish it yet. I will probably get it out next Monday though. It should be there by Christmas unless something goes wrong. 

3) Everyone at church asks about you still.  You made quite an impression on several families here at home.  Should I tell them you are great or that they need to send cookies?

Tell them I am good, just really sweaty haha and I would love some cookies but if they made it here they would be nasty by then. Maybe jerky haha 

4) Mom probably covered a lot of the question thing in her letter.  Are you eating well enough that if Mom saw what you were eating she would be happy?

Probably, I eat eggs a lot. I am eating pretty well though. No real problems there.

Another thing I wanted to tell you about comes from an email a little while ago, when you asked if you had taught me enough life skills or something like that. I realized a couple days ago that although I never really learned how to not say things, like when is a good time to shut up, I learned how to talk to people really well.  Luckily you also passed down some really thick skin to me so that's not too much of an issue with me. But thank you so much for teaching me how to talk to people. I love you!

Oh and PS tell mom she can sleep in when you're dead haha go do fun stuff. All I said was it would be nice to sleep in some day.

How are you feeling?

I won't lie to you mom, I've been having a pretty rough time of things lately. I keep trying to just fall farther and farther into mission life so I can focus more and start getting better at this language and it isn't working. Then to top it off this week yesterday four appointments fell through. Four! That’s out of six in case you were wondering. And that was after church and a CEP (ward council) meeting. I just get so discouraged sometimes. I see from Conner's email he is feeling kind of the same way. We email him some of Conner’s email so he can stay in touch with him.  I think it was a hard week to be a missionary. At least I'm not the only one right? I don't know, I just try to keep my chin up and ears open. I do a lot more goofy stuff lately throughout the day to keep from getting too stuck in the depressing stuff. Nothing ridiculous, just like random dancing for little kids and jumping over stuff on the street. I skipped from one appointment to the other one time also. That was interesting. But yeah, I think I just have a hard time relying on other people or the spirit because I feel like I can do things myself. That kind of attitude kept me from praying for a while back home too, and that was stupid. I just need to take the missionary lessons about faith and our Heavenly Fathers love maybe haha but I am doing ok. Staying alive. Always tired, almost always dirty, often discouraged, but I never quit. Quitting is for quitters, because quitters quit. I'm not a quitter. I am a Galbreath. Yes he is and we are pleased with him.

Are you wearing your retainers?  Do you remember you have them?

Yes mother. haha but seriously I have been wearing them every night, and that is no exaggeration. 

How is your belt holding out?  Can you get belts there if you need them?

My belt is holding out great, and there are belts everywhere here if I need another one. Seriously, from where I sit I see three people selling them. 

So did you like your new Captain America?  You have not said anything about him.  

He is way cool! I punch people with him all the time, it's dope. He is way bigger than the last one haha but he stands on my desk so it's all good.

Did you get all the batteries?

Yes I did, thank you very much my way is "tena mazavaha" thanks to those. That just means understood very well. I don't know why the malagasies don't just say they can see but whatever. 

Did the soy sauce make it without exploding?  I thought fried rice could be something you could make easy, rice, eggs, vegie and meat if you have it.

It did, thank you for that I plan on making fried rice pretty soon. However, in the future you don't need to bother with the soy sauce, they have it up the wazzoo and also on the shelves here everywhere you go. 

How are your investigators doing?  Any new ones.  Are they coming to church?

Investigators are pretty good, I already told you a bunch of them bailed on us yesterday. We got a new family we are teaching too. So that is cool, we are teaching them tonight again. We only had four investigators come to church though, so that was a bummer. I hope it gets better. 

Wow crazy rain all right.  That is almost scary.  

I know right! Nutso.

So who drinks all the pop? 

We all drink pop a lot. It is significantly better tasting here than in America. They use real sugar in it, and it is way cheap. Like 2000 for a liter. That's roughly a buck.

Walker sounded more like Jimmy Stewart. 

Yes! I knew he sounded like someone else haha I'll let him know. 

So glad your raincoat works.  Are you using your drybag also?

I haven't needed to, my jacket covers my bag all the way. It's way big too, the drybag is. So I don't know if I will use it often but if I need it I definitely will.

Friday after work we went to BBQ depot 

I'm jealous. 

I really only added those last things so I could respond to them easier. Yay for being lazy haha

One more thing, in my package did you send me Christmas music? Oops did not think of that. If not I am going to download some onto an exta sd card for Christmas morning so just let me know.

I love you mom. Miss you. 

Elder Galbreath