Christmas with the Catholics

  December 30, 2024

    Hey hey everybody how are we feeling? I can't decide if this was the shortest or longest week of my life, and I think the correct answer is just yes. It was a great week filled with lots of great memories. The Coca-Cola addiction is in full swing this week but isn't that when the fun begins?

          Christmas with the Catholics

     We got permission to go to midnight mass this year, so like good missionaries, we went! The benches were just barely too small for all 8 of us to sit together, so 4 took one bench, and 4 took another. Well the Catholic priests didn't seem to like that when they came in, so we got moved to the row just in front of the others. We were told we could stay as long as we promised to speak to no one and not participate in the communion. Lit. We definitely lived rent-free in that priest's head because he brought up "the Mormons in the congregation" a good 4 times, but we didn't get kicked out. Score! But he refused to take a picture with us. Less score.

           P-Day shenanigans

     This P-Day, after a gas station run, we were unsure of how to spend the time, and someone had the idea to play chair soccer. Give a bunch of missionaries a coke bottle and a couple chairs and we will be entertained for hours. I don't think anyone was prepared for the level of intensity that came in that game of chair soccer. Note to everyone. A Coke bottle makes a great soccer ball

          Christmas shenanigans

     Christmas Eve consisted of a lot of canceled appointments, leaving us open to ideas of things to do, and we decided on caroling to a few recent converts and members between our area and the other elder's area. There's a video of it out there, so that exists. Their poor ears! Christmas morning was spent with the senior Missionary couple playing games and eating breakfast with all of the Aruba missionaries. I'm a weapon at cover your assets. Then it was off to a recent converts house for a meal, and immediately off to the next member for a meal with the island missionaries and the district councilor. He had a campfire going to cook the food, a few of us just stood there at the campfire. Before last week with the toaster, I hadn't seen an open flame in months!

     This week was filled with miracles and tender mercies, but one of my favorites had to be sharing the message of the birth of Jesus Christ with so many people. His birth was one of the most important moments in the history of everything. His birth and his death are some of the most key aspects of us as Christians. I love my savior and I love that I get to share this message with the world. Have a great week, I love you all!

Ayó, 

Elder Aldrich

Old catholic churches don't have AC

This one's for my momma

Christmas in June

December 23, 2024

 Bon tardi mi rumannan stimá! This week was insane and I did a double take thinking about the fact that Zone Conference was this week! It was a blast of a week so let's chat:

             Preparation for Christmas

      Honestly being a missionary in Aruba for Christmas is crazy cause out here it's still got the heat of mid-July, but I'm hearing Michael Bublé through the store radio. But one of the things I have loved is sharing Christmas messages with people. Thinking about the nativity and the birth of Jesus Christ, our savior, and older brother, just brings me so much joy! And I love sharing that joy with others! I also love coming home at night and turning on our string of lights over the couch, it makes it all a little more festive!

            Zone Christmas! 

      So zone conference was on Tuesday, and President and his wife made it a Christmas-themed Zone Conference, complete with a talent show and a white elephant exchange. Here are some highlights!

     Our talent show consisted of sisters playing Christmas songs on recorders, singing, and a hot dog eating contest. I was challenged to a hot dog eating contest by Elder Larson, where each of us would have 90 seconds to eat as many hot dogs as we possibly could. It was perhaps the most chaotic minute and a half of my life. Yelling and screaming, hot dogs, cameras, I'm pretty sure most people thought one of us would choke and die, it was a good time! 

     White elephant gift exchange I received a swimsuit for a 2-year-old, and there's a video of my reaction to that out there somewhere, but I think I laughed for a solid minute. 

     I saw my son again! Elder Day has been in Bonaire, but I got to see him for ZC, and it was so cool to see how much he has progressed. *sniffle sniffle* I'm so proud of my son :) 

          I need a new toaster

     OK listen up. About 15 minutes before this email was gonna get sent, we had a toaster mishap. Our toaster doesn't have a timer, so you have to time it yourself. My companion, bless his heart, has a love-hate relationship with this toaster. Sometimes his alert that his toast has finished is the smoke alarm. But today we learned that pop tarts are flammable. Elder Winfield and I are in the kitchen and start to smell smoke... THE TOASTER! As soon as I look over, the pop tart has CATCHES FIRE. That one was new for me. We couldn't get the fire out immediately, so I grabbed the toaster, ran outside, and Chuck the toaster into the dirt road. I love making mission memories! 

          More highlights

   - I had an exchange with Elder Magee the new greenie. It went incredibly well, but unfortunately, we could not find a living snake.

   - We have a new friend on a date! He has been taught for a while, but we were able to show him that baptism is a first step, not a last and he asked to be baptized in January!

   - I translated the first chunk of sacrament meeting, and can confirm that translating to more than 2 people is kinda terrifying, and really really fun!

       It was a great week out here in San Nic! So many blessings and so many little miracles! I studied Ether this week and Ether 12 is a powerhouse of a chapter. Go read it. But I'll share my favorite verse:

     "4 Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God"

     Faith is the foundation of all things. When we have faith, God gives us the power to accomplish anything he asks. It's a really special promise, and I love thinking about the things God is willing to help us do when we believe in his power and his love.

     I love you all! I hope you all have a very merry and bright Christmas, and I hope it snows everywhere!

Bon Pasku/Feliz Navidad/Merry Christmas,

Elder Aldrich

I am Lightning McQueen

December 16, 2024

 Ladies and Gentlemen, I am Lightning McQueen. Or better, San Nicolás is Lightning McQueen. Think of the finish line in the first cars movie. All 4 of McQueen's tires are popped. That was San Nic this week. We have 1/4 functioning bikes. I enjoyed the walk though!

     One of the recent converts in San Nic is a sweet old lady named Loes. She is from Suriname but has lived in Aruba for a long time, and speaks papiamento. She is perhaps one of the sweetest ladies in the world. Everyone just calls her "Wela" or Grandma including the missionaries. She claims everyone as her own! 

     Honestly, this week has been crazy, not all of it fun, but that is how you grow. I have seen the lord comfort me in countless ways throughout the day, and counting my blessings at the end of the day is a good reminder of just how great life is! "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest." Joshua 1:9. The lord is involved in everything, and all things are for thy good. I love you all, have a great week, Stay Great! 

-Elder Aldrich

Wela

Don't mind the shoes

I'm in Arizona now? Or maybe California

December 9, 2024    

  Ok guys. Listen up. I don't know who labeled these islands as "desert islands" but they've clearly never visited Las Vegas, Arizona, or the entire west half of the US. I don't think I've ever seen so much rain in my whole life! 

           And now I live in Arizona! 

     But on another note, I am no longer in Curaçao! I've been transferred to a place in Aruba called San Nicolás, what a place to spend Christmas! So far this place is just straight-up America. Paved roads, fast food, and the occasional white person. I live next to a Wendys and I had a frosty for the first time in months... And it was a beautiful experience.

           I have officially become old! 

    On another other note, I turned 20 like 2 days ago, and birthdays on the mission are the most unreal thing I have ever experienced. I got so many emails from so many people, and I love you all for it. But it's been so weird to experience my birthday in August, and now I understand how my dad feels about August birthdays. A birthday frosty was had, and I have a feeling I will be finding so many excuses to be eating frostys.  Ice cream here is expensive, as is anything that comes from a cow. Fun fact, I'm pretty sure the nearest cow is almost 1000 miles away from me.

                          M'a hari hopi

     I flew into Aruba on Tuesday, and one of the other elders was waiting for his greenie. So for 3 days or so we got to be in a trio and split 2 areas. It gave me some time to get used to a new area and a new island, while also getting to experience the chaos of working in 2 areas. Every free moment was filled with laughs. I'm frequently reminded of how simple Missionary humor is because we found ourselves laughing at things as simple as my horribly timed hiccups! 

Highlights!

- I got to call my family for my birthday, and once again got to experience the chaos and love of my big family

- My brother posted about my birthday and I even received emails from a few people I didn't know haha!

     I know that our heavenly father loves us. I know that he puts things in our path for our growth and our good. I have seen how much my life has changed because of my mission, and my life is forever changed by my heavenly father.

      I love you all! You're all the best!

Ayó

-Elder Aldrich

I love the rain

The 3 day trio

3 in 1!

 November 25, 2024  

Good Morning/Afternoon/something my beautiful people! 

It has been a wonderful week out in the ABC islands! Zone Conference was this week and I'm stoked to tell you all about it!

     This transfer we ended up going to Bonaire for our zone conference. It's almost always in Aruba because of all the immigration things going on, but President was able to make it work to get us all to Bonaire for this one! First impression: A lot of Donkeys. Like a LOT. You have to be careful because the donkeys will just step right out into the road and in front of your car. Bonaire is also significantly smaller than the other two, and I absolutely love Bonaire already. Zone conference weekend was spirit-filled and fun.

     To start the weekend we did a proselyting activity where we were making videos for the Light the World campaign and we ended up running into 3 couples who were all on one of the Largest cruise ships I have ever seen. We also got some Gelato, and if you know me, you know that I am a Gelato man, so I was living my best life. From there we had our zone conference and it was incredibly spiritual and overall just a great experience.

     Saturday was incredible as well. We started by doing a sunrise hike to the tallest point in Bonaire, telling stories the whole way through. Next up was Sinter Klaus. My understanding of Sinter Klaus is that it is the original Santa Claus. He comes from Spain with his minions who have been painted black with chimney soot, and if you are a bad kid, they throw you in a potato sack and bring you back to Spain with them. They came in on a ship and ported, then paraded into the town center, where they held somewhat of a concert, but we were off to the fields to play games and eat some lunch.  The end of the day meant a plane with all of the Aruba and Curaçao missionaries on one 16-seater plane, and then we were back! All in about 36 hours! 

     I left this weekend very sunburnt, and very excited for everything to come in this mission. President Van Gils and I have been out for the same amount of time, so it was very fun to talk with him about our adjustment to the mission! This mission has brought so much growth and so many experiences. I have learned so much and it's only been a few months! This week brings transfers, so I'll let yall know what happens next week! I love you all, read the Book of Mormon, I promise it will change your life!

-Elder Aldrich

August 110th

 November 18, 2024

Bon Día mi Amigunan Stimá! Kon ta bai?

     I hope everyone is enjoying their August, cause I certainly am! Out here it's still 85°-90° and about 95% humidity, and so my brain hasn't left August, but that is the way of the Missionary on the ABC islands. I have a feeling it will never not be August in my brain for the next 18 months. This week was a warwarú (tornado) of things happening, woooo!

          Vroom Vroom 🛻

     This week the Zone leaders left for Aruba to do some exchanges, and so that left us with the truck for the day. Guys. I MISS driving. I got to drive for the first time in 5 months and it was glorious!

     The guy that Elder Seals and I baptized in my first transfer left for Holland to go to school to be an engineer. We had gotten him all set up with the missionaries in Holland and things were looking up. But then a few unfortunate things happened. About a month ago, his Curaslanian number was deactivated, and we lost contact with him, but it was okay because the Holland Elders got him. Problem number two: The Holland Elders didn't get him. Something happened where they accidentally wiped their phone, losing the area book and the WhatsApp, and then a week or so later the area got whitewashed. But our plan this week worked. I remembered where his parents lived, but it was out of our area. So this week with the truck we got permission and headed out to find our friend's parents. And we got back into contact with him! He is doing well, college is busy, and he will be going to church on Sunday! Miracles all around!

          Aldrich at the Aldrich's

     Yep, it's here again. My favorite member in the world had us over for dinner on Thursday night. At this point, he just feels like family, and we got to meet his Florida Family that night. They were all amazing people and the wife was from Honduras so I got to talk to them about where my brother served in his mission (shout out Caleb). I don't think I've ever heard so many Dad jokes. Speaking of which: what's the difference between a clown and an athletic rabbit?...  One is a bit-funny and the other is a fit-bunny. Also, I think I ate my weight in food, it was beautiful.

          Aldrich and Seals back at it

     Let's goo, another exchange with my trainer! I went to the Brievengat area Saturday for the exchange, leaving our two Greenies to take on Buena Vista, which they crushed it. But it was a solid exchange, it's fun to get to go back and work with your trainer again, especially now that I can actually say what I want to people in papiamento. We ended up at the edge of the area down some unlit dirt roads at some point... I gotta get out of murder scenes. The night ended with throwing chances at a cockroach about the size of two quarters sitting side by side. I learned a new thing: cockroaches fly.

     Highlights

-Elder Day and I had to ride our bikes to the church for game night on Friday and we lived, but it was a journey through backroads and highways. It was a good time!

-I get more culture shocked by American culture than I did the first time with Curaçao culture. I didn't think that would ever happen

     There were many tender mercies this week that helped a ton. Lots of moments that started with frustration or chaos and ended with seeing Heavenly Father place a miracle in front of me. I know that God loves each and every one of his children and that he is always there to guide and direct you. 1 Nephi 4:6 tells us "And I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do." sometimes we don't know where we are going, but God will put us where he needs us if we have faith. I love you all, keep being amazing

Chao Chao

-Elder Aldrich

The car addiction will never end

Dogs, Dawgs, and Dogs

 November 11, 2024

Another week has passed as a Missionary dad out here in Buena Vista, Curaçao. This week has been a week full of dogs, of all different kinds. Many good, and some strange. But if I had one word to describe the week... It would be Dog. Let's get started!

          Dogs

     Every. Single. Day. This week. We have had some of the wildest interactions with dogs. Picture this. You're riding your bikes down a perfect horror movie street, and you stop to talk to the only person on this side of the Mississippi, only to have them go inside and hide the second they see the Dutch boys (we are not Dutch). Now, you're alone (with your companion), and all you hear is a dog in the distance. Take a deep breath. That dog in the distance? Not in the distance. Not A dog, but several... In a full sprint, coming at you. 2 rocks (I don't like to hurt the dogs), 7 dogs. Elder Day is now a hater of dogs, bonbini na Kòrsou. Another moment, we are casually on a street with over 20 dogs around the houses, all barking simultaneously, every single one of them tone deaf. A horrible harmony, terribly off pitch.

          Dogs

     Chilean Hot Dogs. I did not know that this was a thing until two days ago. People in the Caribbean, Guyana, and apparently Chile absolutely LOVE their hot dogs. Us and the zone leaders did service or a less active family this week, and so as a thank you they had us over for dinner. There's a technical name for it, but we had Chilean hot dogs. Chilean hot dogs were pretty much a hot dog in a bun with tomato, avocado, sauerkraut, and fry sauce. Honestly probably some of the best hot dogs that I've ever had, and now I will never be able to eat a hot dog the same way.

          Dawgs

     This segment is for the people who are Dawgs. For clarification, a Dawg is a good thing. As a mission for the month of November, we are doing a gratitude ice bucket challenge. Our district was nominated, so on friday we did our ice bucket challenge. We decided to nominate Sister Van Gils, our sister mission president. Not even a full day later our mission group chat received a video. Sister Van Gils was such a great sport, another reminder that our mission president and his wife are epic. The other Dawg of the week is Elder Day. He's learning really fast and takes the busy days well. He may have told someone that everyone in the world is "hot sauce" but his papiamento has come along very well.

      Overall it's been a good week! Lots of weird moments and much laughter. Something that has been very cool this week is just how much I've felt guided by the spirit throughout the week. Lots of small promptings of people to go visit and turns to take. The spirit guides us in many different ways. But I've found most consistently spiritual promptings come in the form of little thoughts. I know that God loves and looks out for everyone. Just keep your eyes open, cause if you count your blessings, you won't be able to count them all!

I love you all! Have a great week! And send me an email if you get bored! 

-Elder Aldrich

I just realized... I missed shark week

 November 4, 2024

 Bon dia! I have just had the terrible realization that I missed Shark Week. I don't think I've ever felt this lost... Did they finally find the Megaladon this year?! And I am also realizing that Shark Week was about 3 months ago. But that is the fever dream of Missionary work!  But welcome to another week and another episode of storytime with your favorite Elder Aldrich!

          Rubiks Cube Master

     That's right. Ya, boi can solve a Rubik's cube now. Be impressed, be proud. My greenie, Elder Day, brought a Rubik's cube with him and told me that no companion of his would not know how to solve one. So our trade was simple... I teach him papiamento, and he teaches me to solve the Satan box. For the last week the Rubics cube has been the bane of my existence, but now I can solve it and I feel accomplished. Am I smarter? Probably not, but it's a fun experience!

           The Lady Who Speaks in Tongues

     This week as we were going through a neighborhood, we found a lady, probably 60's, sitting outside of her house. So why not? Let's talk to her. She started by telling us that she had no time to talk to us and then talked to us for about 45 minutes about all of her beliefs. After about 15 minutes of her spitting Spanish at us, we tried to tell her we needed to leave, but we couldn't get any words in cause she was GOING. I probably should've just left, but I don't like being rude. But I learned a few really good things! 1. When someone is convinced that everything you believe is wrong, they will ask you trap questions. You can answer them correctly, then they will tell you that you are wrong and talk themselves into a circle of exactly what you believe. Or 2. They go off about something that contradicts itself a lot. She told us that the church is a scam and that the church of Christ is simply your heart. She then told us about how she was speaking in tongues in church with her pastor, but she had no idea what she was saying. But also that you can't speak tongues and you can't receive revelation? I don't know either. But hey, I understood a lot of the conversation, so that's a WIN

          Curaçao Culture Moment

     There are so many different cultures here on the island. Surinamese, Guyanese, Dominican, Columbian, etc. So there is a lot of variety in the type of food I have tried. On Saturday we went to a members house for a member meal with all of the other missionaries. She's a very sweet, and loves to feed the missionaries. Usually, we get the same thing, rice, a strange part of the chicken, and some pickled vegetables. Nothing super crazy. But this time, we had pig tail and shrimp, weird combo, a little too raw, but we didn't get sick so we got a double win!

      This week was so strangely fast and eternally slow, and I don't remember a lot of it so I'll cut it there!

      Ether 12:4 

Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God.

     Faith is such a powerful thing. Faith allows us to do anything that God needs us to do. Have faith in God's plan, his timing, and his love for you. If you can do that, you can do anything. I love you all, go have a wonderful week!

-Elder Aldrich

New Greenie, Same Area

October 28, 2024 

Buenos dias/Bon Siman my beautiful people! This week has been somewhat of a fever dream as per usual, and now I've got a greenie, and I'm a trainer!

           Part of what has made this week such a fever dream was that I wasn't in my area for about 4 days this week. From Tuesday morning to Friday evening I was living in Otro Banda with the Zone Leaders while we waited for my greenie to arrive in the beautiful island of Kòrsou. It felt oddly reminiscent, kinda like getting to live with brothers for a couple of days. The Zone Leaders are absolute studs, so I had a blast getting to a trio with them for a couple of days.

     On Friday at about 5:00, my greenie, Elder Day, arrived at the Curaçao airport from Guyana. I can easily remember the insanity of the day I first arrived in Curaçao, including the feeling of hearing everyone speak a language you don't know, and it's not the one you studied for the last 6 weeks. He shared the same sentiment, as we immediately got home, dropped his bags, and went and got to work before game night. One new thing I learned about Elder Day: this man is a DAWG on the soccer court/field/thingamajiger. He came out and scored on everyone, and that was the moment I became a proud father.

      Elder Day is an incredibly hard worker. Even though he can't speak much papiamento yet, he is using all of it he can speak and has had me translate a lot so that he can be involved in our lessons. It's fun to watch him be willing to just throw himself in, and he's super eager to learn.

     I love you all. Know that God loves you and that he will always be there for you. Have an incredible week, and go hug your loved ones when you get the chance! 

-Elder Aldrich

Elder Day

New comp, who dis?

The way of the missionary

I Have an 18 Year Old Son Now

 October 21, 2024

 Heyo friends and family! I didn't get an email out last week because we had an incredible pday meeting I'll touch on in a bit. But that means yall get 2 weeks of adventures... Kinda. I don't remember much of last week, but that is the life!

          Father-son Duo

      We had an exchange last week, and with Elder seals as our district leader, I got to go out to his area and work with him for the day! It felt just like old times (8 weeks ago). We taught a few people, including someone who's entire mantle above their fireplace was covered in fireball shots. Two thoughts here: 1. That is a LOT of alcohol. 2. Who in their right mind puts a fireplace in a house in Curaçao?! It is 85 degrees and 95% humidity year round! Anyway, it was a fire exchange, and I once again learned a ton from him!

          Pday Festivities 🏈⚽⚾🇨🇼

     Pday the last two weeks have been a blast. Both weeks we found a huge soccer stadium and then played on about 1/8 of it. But we played mini soccer, kickball, and wiffle ball. Then on Monday we did pretty much the same thing again, but President rolled up and kicked everybody's trash. President Van Gils is one of the nicest men on the planet, but put him on a soccer field... Merciless. Our team still lost but President was carrying us through the game.

           Wise Words from President Stanfill

     On Monday, we had a Missionary training with Elder Stanfill, an area 70 over our area. President and Sister Van Gils flew out to Curaçao with them, and we had a 3-hour meeting and then dinner with them. It was an incredible experience to be able to talk with them. He talked a lot about the importance of planning ahead and letting God help you achieve your goals and how important it is to love the people of the place you're in. I also got to hear Sister Stanfill's conversion story; it was a great experience having them in Curaçao with us. 

           T-Doc Curveball

     This Saturday was Transfer Document. In the mission it almost gets treated like an NFL draft in the way it gets talked about. Just think of each island as a team, and you're halfway there. "Dude, I wonder who Aruba's getting!" "Oh, I bet Corbridge has got ZL!" It makes it a lot of fun because everyone is so stoked to see who's going where. This TDoc I figured that I would either stay here for another transfer with my current comp, or I'd be off to Aruba with another elder. But coming home from lessons that night, we saw a text on our phone from President. Ahhh, scary, one of the two of us is leaving. I'll set the scene for you really quick: Tdoc drops in about 15 minutes and anything we thought was happening is out the window. President talks to Elder Schiffman first, and tells him he will be heading back to Bonaire.

President: "Elder Aldrich! Is your papiamento as good as everyone says?" Me: "I hope so, sir!"

President: "Perfect. Well, Elder Aldrich, how would you feel about training a brand new greenie?"

Guys. I am slightly terrified and pumped out of my mind. So come Friday, ya boy here will have a brand new greenie out here in Buena Vista with him.

Highlight Reel

-Gamenight Glory: last week, I destroyed people at Dominoes (they can't guess your strategy when you don't have one), and this week, I missed the soccer goal countless times. In my defense! The goal is about 3ft by 2ft, and I can't aim a ball to save my life. But we still won 😎

-We had a day this week that was so strange I was confident I was going to get mauled by a car or a donkey or something crazy. It was too weird of a day for me to have been surprised.

     Remember that you are a child of God and that he loves you deeply and dearly. He's not going to let you go through life alone, so don't push him away. I love you all!

-Elder Aldrich

Baptism day pictures

Exchange with pops

T-doc sunset

Contemplating Conference in Curaçao

October 7, 2024

  HAPPY MONDAY MY BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE! Another week has passed out here in the beautiful middle of nowhere. I absolutely love it here and it's been a crazy week so let's get started! I apologize if it's long, but I'm not really... I love you all

          Greenies gettin' jiggy widdit

     Echanges rolled around this week, which means that Elder Smalley, the absolute stud, came to my area for 24 hours. To say it was a blast would be an understatement. For Reference, Elder Smalley Reminds me pretty heavily of my brother, Ethan. And similarly, we had a blast. I got to lead him through some of the craziness of the people and introduce him to the toothless population of Curaçao. My favorite of them all is a guy we are teaching named Gubert. He has been accepting the gospel wonderfully, but unfortunately, he cannot hold his bladder long enough to get him to church. But we will work on it I promise, mark my words this man's getting baptized. Many stories were told, much laughing was had, much coke was drunk, and some bomb carbonara was made. I may be a poor Missionary, but you can still catch us cheffin' it up out here sometimes.

          Mountains of Fun

     For P-Day last week, we hiked one of the like 3 mountains that exist on the island. For my Vegas people, think Lone Mountain but jungly. And for my non-Vegas people... Sucks, haha. The hike was all of about 10 minutes but it had to be one of the steepest hikes I've ever been on. It was a good opportunity to talk with friends and explore my new home for the foreseeable future! The top had a really cool flat spot where the 8 of us missionaries looked out over the country we are responsible for. It still shocks me that the growth of the church is in the hands of 8 18-20 year Olds. Especially since men top out at 14.

           What the heck bro

     Speaking of Ethan, MY BROTHER GOT FLIPPIN ENGAGED THIS LAST WEEK! And I'm so pumped for them! I'm really glad I got to know Sidney before I left on my mission because she was able to win my approval before I even left, so when it came around that they were planning on getting engaged, I was Flippin stoked for them. Just know 2 things. 1: I won my bet and Sydney owes me a trip to Disneyland. 2: I called this from the literal beginning. Welcome to the chaos, Sydney!

          General Conference

     I won't tell you all of my thoughts about General Conference because I took about 8 front and back pages of notes, but let's just say it was one for the books. I'll share with you my top 3 moments. (Elder Weise if you're reading this look away) 

     Elder Stevenson talk left me a little terrified if I'm being completely honest. He pretty much told us to buckle up because the next decade is going to be as insane and as amazing as the first decade of the church was. I believe he used the words, "The coming days are those that will never be forgotten." And so, buckle up cause life's comin. He also told us to live, care, invite, and unite. This is a great lesson for life. Paired with President Nelson's talk, we know that the time is now and that the savior is coming soon. Buckle up, and hold on tight to that Rod of Iron.

     Elder Hales gave a good reminder of the importance of the Atonement—something my dad always says, and I was reminded of frequently this weekend: "God doesn't expect perfection; he only expects your best." This statement pairs very well with Hales' talk. We were not sent here on earth to fail. Everything we have going on is for our own good. God expects the best we can do, and Jesus fills in those gaps.

     Elder Wilcox drove home the importance of standing in the light of the gospel and how sometimes that means we stand out. But I'd much rather stand out if it means that I'm standing with Jesus.

     I could talk to you for hours about how much I loved conference this weekend, and the general insanity of my weeks here, but y'all already stopped reading so I'll cut it there. This gospel is a gospel of Joy. Jesus Christ understands us perfectly and if we are standing next to Jesus, we are standing on good ground. I love you all! Mi ta stimá boso hopi!

Also congrats pops for the new temple in Italy!

This place is not a desert, 

Elder Aldrich

This feels like a necessary add in haha. Over the last 3 months in Curaçao, I have not tried Curaslanian food. It's Dominican, Columbian, Suranamese, you name it. But most people here are not from Curaçao, or their parents are not. But today, we had lunch with the branch between sessions, and it was straight Curaslanian food. I don't think I have ever been more confused eating food in my entire life. One of the things is called "Funchi," and I kid you not, it's just a brick of corn meal. And I mean a brick. 6 by 3 by 3 inch hunk of meal. It doesn't taste like much, so you just eat whatever with it and it takes on that flavor. It was wonderful for filling my bottomless stomach. Other than that it's a lot of sauce less pasta with meat, beans and rice, and weird parts of the chicken. 4/10 most likely will eat again

The Earth is a Snow Globe

September 30. 2024

 Ahhhh good morning beautiful people! It's so great to see your smiling faces! This week has been absolutely crazy, so let's get into it.

          Zone conference

       *plane sounds* *more plane sounds*

     Welcome to Aruba! We just got off of a 20-man propeller plane, in which half of the passengers are the missionaries. I love zone conferences, it gives us an opportunity to fly to Aruba and see the rest of the zone for a few days. Zone conference is always filled with shenanigans, so here are a few:

     President Van Gils and I decided we wanted the taco shop past the airport to cater for our next zone conference. And what's the best way to ensure that? Baptize him. Soooooo Carlos is now taking the missionary discussions. I'll let you know how it goes!

     We didn't have a full 14 elders in one apartment this time, but we had a full 6, which is plenty for our own stupidity. These included heated games of Texas Hold em', black jack, and belting out Spanish music. We, the elders of islands, truly are built differently.

     A lot of the elders get along incredibly well—well, to the point where now we need to get ahold of a 10-man apartment for college in a couple of years. Someone get started on that and let me know how it's going. Other than that, zone conference was a great reminder of many sides of the missionary work.

          The Earth is Flat Everybody

      I'm quitting missionary work and joining the Flat Earth Society. We were talking to an old man the other day with completely white hair (which becomes important in a moment). When we asked him about his relationship with Jesus, he said, "I tell you WHAT, you all think the earth is round. But explain to me, how could God flood a round earth? He can't. But that's because the earth is flat." So, for those of you wondering, yes the Earth is flat, and the earth from the flood all those years back is on the other side of our flat earth. Oh, the other planets don't exist, but don't tell him that you can see Mars, *whispers* he doesn't like that very much.  He also explained to us that knowledge is a sin but also doesn't exist because blind faith is the key to the universe(the one that doesn't exist). And about 30 seconds later says, "look at my hair, see this white hair? That means wisdom." Soooo does that mean your hair is a sin? Or does your hair not exist... Deep doctrinal questions. 

          Book of Mormon

     Okay this story might not be too important to most people but it's incredible for me :). I don't know if I've explained this before, but the islands don't have a full papiamento Book of Mormon. But this last week, a man named Todd Harris from Salt Lake came to Curaçao in hopes of fixing that. They are running a trial on their new translation methods, and they picked papiamento to be the language! So come a year from now, we will have a fully translated Book of Mormon that we can begin giving to people. We spent several hours over the course of the week talking with him about the translation methods, timeliness, and his overall time with languages. He speaks 7 fluently and has the basics of 65.

     But a full Book of Mormon would be incredible for the people here. Not everyone can read Spanish, so it's a miracle that soon, the amazing people here will be able to read the complete Book of Mormon in their native language.

     On another side note, both of my languages made a pretty solid leap this week. We are teaching a man who we found in my first week when I knew five words. When we went and saw him a few days ago, he almost started crying, talking about how far I've come and how happy he is that we can talk to each other. 

       "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose" Romans 8:28. Just a quick little reminder that everything in this life is meant to make us better and help us progress. I love you all. We're all children of God, and he loves us more than we could ever imagine. Make sure to watch conference this weekend!

-Elder Aldrich (the Flat Earther)

(please email me haha) 

Meeting my predecessor

September 23,2024

 Good morning my lovely people! Another week has passed, which means another email from your favorite Luke John Aldrich. I can feel your applause... Thank you. It's been a crazy week in Curaçao once again, and boy, do I have stories. So, let's hop into it.

                     Papiamento ta poppin off

     My previous trainer, Elder Seals, set me up really well with my papiamento. I'm so grateful for his training because my Papiamento has gotten pretty strong. Most people we talk to are shocked to hear I've only been learning it for 7-8 weeks, and a few even told me I speak like a native. Score. As for my Spanish, it's picking up a lot, but definitely not as much as my MTC homies, who all sound like they're rocking it. But that's to be expected with 70% of people here speaking papiamento. I have found a pretty deep love for learning languages, and I love the smiles on people's faces when they see you trying to learn their language. It's a lot of fun!

          Meeting my predecessor

     In church yesterday, there was a visitor that I went to speak to. After about 2 minutes of introduction, I learned that he was one of the first missionaries in Curaçao 38 years ago. He asked me all about how missionary work is here now because when he came, it was only him and his companion taking on the island. It was incredible to hear from someone still so in love with the island and the people after 38 years. He gave me tons of advice and we ended up talking for 30 minutes or so. It was a big Sunday booster!

          Honorable mentions

     Limpi Kòrsou

Saturday was a nationwide service project cleaning up the beaches, roads, and general areas. I got to speak to a lot of people and explain our purpose as missionaries.

     Egon

We had Egon on a date and then lost contact for the last month or so. We finally got back into contact with him again, and he wants to continue to progress! It's pretty rad, and he's an incredible man, so I am stoked!

     This is just a reminder that God measures effort, not success. If you are trying your hardest, that's what matters. Do your best, work hard, and God will fill the gaps. Heavenly Father loves us deeply, and he's got us every step of the way. I love you all! Have an incredible week!

-Elder Aldrich