November 27, 2000

Dearest Family,

Greetings and a Happy Holidays from Puerto Cabello, Venezuela!

Last Tuesday I got 4 letters from home :)! and lots of questions to answer, but let me first describe my week.

On Tuesday, we married Alvaro and Lilibet Prieto, a young couple with 2 kids, 8 and 6 years old. We finished the last charla (#6) last night, and they're to be baptized Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. So in CA at 2:00 p.m., think of us in the baptism service! Lilibet's brother, Douglas (who got baptized 2 months ago and who will baptize her) for weeks joked about how he'll be the guy throwing rice as they walked out of the prefecture. We all always just laughed by on Tuesday there he was with his little baggy of rice. He gave some to Juan Antonio, the 6 year old son who, instead of throwing it into the air, threw it directly at them (and anyone else within his aim.) :)

Tomorrow we're having a special Zone Conference with President Whetten of the Area Presidency and Seventies. That should be good.

The first few days this week, it poured and poured rain. I think I have a tiny cold from that but it's amazing how in 4 seconds it can go from absolutely clear sky to a drenching storm. We're also finding some cool bugs, too. We saw some weird flying thing that had 6 legs and a long tail with some sort of sharp thing (it looked sharp) at the end and it's head was a weird shape and it's last 2 legs were really long. Then one time in a charla a bug landed on one of the investigators and we trapped it, so I brought it home alive to scare the other Elders. Let me draw a picture of it (life size) [draws HUGE ugly beetle picture]

Well, I have to go, no time to answer the questions but I have the questions written down so I won't forget.

Love, Elder Onken

P.S. I heard Incubus playing on the radio when we were teaching a charla. They must be huge now!? To be heard in Venezuela!