Easter, Dinos, and Art Work

Happy Easter! or as the Hondurans say: Feliz Pascua!

(imagine a cool picture of an Easter bunny and some eggs or something here)

:) I got my [Easter] box, thanks! I was going to have my companion hide it, but I forgot and opened it (it came on Saturday). Sounds like it has been another busy and fun week! It's wonderful to hear how everyone is doing. Your bowling story provided me with quite a funny mental image. ;) I have to be careful in the library, everyone gives me mean looks >:( when I laugh AT ALL. [The kids and I went bowling with Sarah Bowerman (a lovely young lady from our ward in IL) at the Wilkinson Center (BYU). We started off the afternoon with me falling on my backside when my thumb got stuck in the ball and knocked me off balance. It was hilarious (I didn't get hurt in the least...). I knew I was going to fall and tried to steady myself with what looked like a windmill, then my right foot crossed that dreaded line and I hit the oiled floor, did a strange rendition of the splits and toppled. The kids were all staring at me until I started laughing... then we all laughed so hard, I couldn't get up! Pretty funny stuff.]

I got to watch ALL of conference. We only have three times a year that resemble a vacation: General Conference, Christmas, and General Conference :). We only had a Spanish investigator in the Priesthood session so I got to watch the rest of it in English. I jotted down a couple interesting things to write from conference. First, the conductor for the Orem Institute Choir that sang Saturday afternoon (I think) is one of the two choir directors in the MTC, so I've sung with him many times. He's HILARIOUS!!!! What else...oh! Kenneth Johnson said the opening prayer on Sunday morning :). I bet Grandpa Ken got a kick out of that. I think you were right about the whole back to basics thing because the Church has so many new/inactive members. It's much easier to bring investigators to conference that way too. :) I enjoyed the theme in just about EVERY talk: the responsibility of parents teaching their children. It made me think of my parents and the love and gratitude I have for their strength of testimony and example for me. I was impressed by the influence that parents have over their children and figured, well, I think I turned out all right, so I must have some pretty good parents. :) Thanks!

[Alec requested we send him some dino stuff...] :) Every missionary has their little quirky thing they like (some examples: my companion, Miley Cyrus; Elder Page, cows; Elder Allridge, guitars; Elder Rock, the Book of Mormon :)) and I like dinos.... There's a dino museum here but I can't convince the other missionaries in my district that it would be more fun to run around like a velociraptor and chew on fossils than play basketball on P-day...so I haven't been yet and probably won't ever make it there. :(

Thanks!

Love,

Elder Raymond

Oh, something else kind-of cool. There's an English family we've been teaching for a couple weeks. We visited them a few days ago and one of their boys came up to me and said "When I found out that you work for God, I wanted to draw you a picture, so here's a picture I drew of a truck for you." I hung it up on the fridge. :)