First Pair of Shoes Worn Through

I just received your packages! We ate the Tuna Helper last night to break our fast, and had some potatoes and gravy on the side. For dessert, we enjoyed a valentines cake from Grandma. It was wonderful. Thank you SO MUCH. The pasta helpers are genius. You don't need to send anymore gum though. I can't chew it in public, and when I'm not in public, I'm usually eating/sleeping. So, I can't keep pace. Tell Hil thanks for the tie. A definite need. The deodorant was extremely timely, as I had just run out the day earlier. Feel free to send more of that. Oh, and if you need more ideas on stuff to send, you could send new shoes. My first pair of shoes spoiled (the soles are worn through. I can patch it a little, but they're pretty much finished). Thanks for everything you send! You couldn't possibly imagine how wonderful that stuff is out here.

So, Dad you asked about the incident where I intervened when the man was beating his son. Unfortunately this type of thing is far too common. It's about the tenth time I've stopped someone, it was just the first time I had swiped the cane from them. Its a huge part of that dragon we face out here: Tradition. All of their traditions fight the church, and tradition is all that these people have. So, beating kids is a part of life here. We're trying to change it, but it's so ingrained in these people that it's difficult to fight.

Mom, it's funny you mention a long bus ride with chickens... We took a bus to Freetown, and a woman's chicken got loose. It's pretty normal. I enjoyed the ride because I got to chat with Elder Laneri. I really admire him. You can just tell he's absolutely genuine and kind. I want to be more like that. He'll be going to USU this fall (he returns in July), so Josh and Hil will have to hunt him down. He's also looking into business, which means we'll be attending the same college! That'll be way sweet. I love that Elder so much.

Conference was nice, not too much to report. Elder Dickson was awesome. We had fun.

Time's up. So sorry. Net is crap here today (more so than usual). I'll be mailing a camera card with pics/vids home soon. I copied the files to my thumb drive, so no worries if they get lost.

Love you so much!

Elder Vaughan