Man, After so Many Weeks...‏

Haha! After so many weeks of writing general mails, I can´t think of ANY subject headings... someone send me a bunch of ideas so I can just start using them! This week went really well, we had two baptisms, two of the daughters of a family we found, we´re still working on the rest of them but these two daughters progressed really quickly and they had baptismal dates from the start so we were able to have their baptisms this last Saturday. My companion baptized one of them, he was super nervous for his first baptism and he had to repeat it, I felt a little bad for him but it´s not that big of a deal really, her knee came up out of the water. Then afterwards Diego baptized the other daughter and she didn't want to have to repeat it haha so she made absolutely sure she went all under, I think she was underwater like 20-30 seconds, it was crazy. But it was really good, their family came to church Sunday and enjoyed it again! 

Something I have realized lately is that really, as missionaries, if we want to baptize we can, it all depends on how much we talk to people. If we have the faith and we talk to everyone we´ll have the success. Something else I was told from a recently returned missionary hit me pretty hard, he gave us 5 references and it was like woah, you´re still contacting people on the street? And he told me that that´s how it should be, the members are really those who are supposed to find, to give people to the missionaries to teach, he also said that if they don´t do it, it´s like their own condemnation, I´m not sure exactly how true that is, but really the members are the ones who should do most of the finding! Definitely going to work harder when I get back from the mission to be a better member as well haha. Thanks for everything, hope you have an excellent week filled with all your wildest dreams and wonders coming true. 

Elder Aaron Lohberg

Gots to go, but I love you guys a lot, i´m thankful for all that you´ve done for me!!! I love you guys with everything I am. =)=)=)

 From Dad typing back and forth with Aaron:  Dad: how expensive is rice there?

Aaron: It´s cheap. But i´m like sick of rice haha, and pizza, and burgers. The cheese I buy here is american, super fake but it´s not as expensive. It´s like 12 bucks for 50 slices in cosco. Or 40 slices, I'm not sure. Yeah. If you want to live in Costa Rica you have to eat like them. Lots of rice, but as missionaries we don't, because we don't have a rice cooker, we almost don´t have a bean cooker, so we buy hamburgers in cosco!!!!! clothes are pretty cheap, food is expensive, houses are cheap, they charge extra on cars and everything it´s weird, fruit is dirt cheap. 

 (mom note: pretty sure this is Moises) Moises, our ward mission leader, he´s leaving for his mission April 1st to El Salvador.. he´s really cool haha

one month check up for Aaron's kid
Elder Contreras

 Costa Rica San Jose Mission March 20, 2015

Hmmm, I don´t think I will ever look forward to choosing the subject heading.‏

Everything is good! My companion and I are working really hard, we haven´t seen the fruit yet, but we´re right on the edge haha. We´ve been working with a family of 5, and they´ve been progressing really quickly, on their first Sunday in church all the members were passing by normally, they thought they were members already. Only a few setbacks with the mom and dad have been slowing us down but it´s okay, they have a lot of questions so we just keep answering them one by one and telling them how important it is that they know that the church of Jesus Christ has been restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith. So we´re going to keep working with them and hopefully prepare them all for their baptism here soon.
Not sure how many of your heard but a volcano erupted here, not really any lava just the ash that reached pretty far. I was working with a member the first day it erupted because my companion was sick, and when we were walking all of sudden we started getting hit in the eyes by something, and it liked burned haha, he was like ¨This isn´t normal.. this isn´t normal..¨ and then we learned about the volcano and everything, it was cool seeing the view of San Jose in the distance, the ash looked like fog, lots and lots of fog. So, that was the first ash I´ve felt from a volcano, pretty awesome. =) 

Can´t really think of much to tell you guys haha, everythings good. Also the fruit of Costa Rica is the best. That about sums it up. Lots of delicious fruit. Be jealous. Also some Americans came to visit from Texas and it was really hard to talk to them in English... really hard. 

Love, Elder Lohberg

This fruit is called caimito, it´s pretty good, it has like a white juice and you eat it with a spoon, it´s weird but really good, I have eaten a lot of fruits where you´re like, woah.. this looks like alien, but it´s good haha.

Mt. Turrialba March 12, 2015

Aaron with President Wilkinson & his companion Elder Contreras

Jonathan & Aaron

When asked if they had transfers -
Aaron: No, something different-weird this week, changes will be Friday not yesterday. Some areas heard of their changes (not sure how) but I´m not sure how it will work, we just got an email today with money we have to leave in the area if we have changes, but not who has them, and the form said changes 3-20-2015, which is weird, this Friday the 20th is a multi zone meeting with ALL the missionaries in the mission.. but i don't know where they´re going to put ALL The missionaries and all the suitcases of those who have changes... So we´ll see, won´t know until Thursday I don't think... it´s super weird and it´ll be a HUGE pain in the butt. to have to take suitcases to a place in San Jose called Los Yoses instead of just to Parque Central de San Jose.. but we´ll see, I don´t know who has changes or not, only those who are going home know for sure, and I heard, not sure, but i heard, that Elder Dale is going to come here to be the second Zone Leader. So we´ll see.

Sister Wilkinson posted on our facebook page the following regarding the meeting Friday:
Elder Maynes & Duncan are here in CR - they asked if they could come and teach the missionaries from 10-12. So entire mission is coming into San Jose. 
President didn't do changes as normal on Monday - they will be Friday because this way everyone only comes 1 time to San Jose. (Some travel up to 8 hrs). 
So no big news or exciting events. We are just really lucky that we get to have Elder Maynes & Duncan here in CR. 
We also will be taking a mission picture!

Upe buenas!‏

Hello everyone. This week went really well, I´m running out of things to tell you week by week haha. We´re working with a family now, A, R, and they have 3 kids. They´ve been progressing really quickly, we met the wife on the street walking like 3 weeks ago, and they´ve come to church every week since! Two of their kids have baptismal dates for the 21st of March. Hopefully everything goes well these weeks, we´re going to be working really hard to help them. The wife the husband will take a little bit longer, because they need to get married, but she won´t marry him until he stops going out to drink. So... with the gospel everything will work out well haha, when she told us that we were like awwww yeeaaahhhh haha. Everything will go well I believe! 

Heredia Zone SINGING for Multi Zone Conference

We bought food at PriceSmart (Cosco) like 2 weeks ago, and it´s ALL from the states, like some burgers, poptarts, some super expensive granola, etc. It´s been taking a huge toll on my companion haha, he told me Americans are weak of stomach because we can´t handle their spicy foods, so far I have been putting more chili more spices on my food then he has haha, he also has been dying from American food hahahaha. It makes me laugh all the time. Changes are coming up, but i´m not really thinking about them, I´m okay with going wherever the Lord needs me. Les quiero mucho, gracias por sus cartas, que les vaya bien esta semana y cuídense mucho. A cachete!

**from emails back and forth:

Mom: Happy that you are doing well - that your gators are progressing - you probably will get transferred - isn't transfers next week?

Aaron & his comp (right) Elder Contraras

Aaron: yeah transfers is next week, but i talked to president at the multizona this last week haha, all the lunch tables filled up minus the one where he was sitting with the elder from the area presidency, so i asked if we could sit there haha, he knows a lot he told me ¨Elder Lohberg, congratulations that you  brought 6 people to the church, when will they be baptized?¨ hahaha so i answered him with everything I had, but i think he might test what i´ve said, wait to change me until my district does well, we´re 2 weeks into this month with 0 baptisms right now.. so we´ll see, he might test meh

Mom: What does Upe mean? and then what does the last part of your letter mean? tried google translate but it doesn't translate well / :

Aaron: Upe is from the word Disculpe, out in the country here they say that when they knock on doors, so we say it too, that´s the only way i learned, it´s like this, knock on the door and then yell Upe Buenas, it´s like, excuse me, hello! and A cachete here is slang for like, awesome, or like cool

Mom: interesting - they don't translate over - but good to know what they mean - cachete in translate was cheek!

Aaron: yeah, it´s because its slang haha, A cachete = cheek but they say like, you have a full cheek of food, like rich or wealthy, it´s like saying oooo that´s wealthy. 

Mom: tell me again what Pure Vida means again? We found a site that says you pronounce it: POO-DAH BEE-tha is that how you'd pronounce it there?

Aaron:  Pura Vida.. it means pure life, it´s like.. Hakuna Matata hahahhahaha IT MEANS NO WORRIES FOR THE REST OF YOUR DAYSSSS, IT¨S OUR PROBLEM FREEE, PHILOSOPHY, IT¨S PURA VIDAAAA. Hahaha, it´s like, everythings good.  (mom note - can totally hear Aaron singing this!)

Multi Zone conference with Elder Alonso of the Seventy

¨Gentleman, this is a football.¨‏

Hello everyone, yeah, the subject title is a little weird, but I´ll try and explain why I chose it. This week went pretty well. It wasn´t our best week, but we´re trying to learn, like we learned in the MTC their is no growth in a comfort zone and no comfort in a growth zone. When we´re really trying to become the best we can we won´t have comfort, we´ll be giving all we have. I´ve been thinking a lot lately on how to teach my new companion, how to train him to start his mission off well. I´ve also been thinking a lot about my district, how I can help them rekindle their fire to work and their desire to have success. In my search I found myself listening to a lot of talks, many by Elder Holland and Elder Uchtdorf, and I was listening to one my Elder Uchtdorf when he talked about a football coach. This football coach at the start of every season would take his professional players and start as such; ¨Gentleman, this is a football, this is a football field, these are the rules, these lines on the field mean this...¨ and as such. Even though these players had played football for years and years he always taught them the basics, the simplest parts of the game. He believed that mastery comes from learning and relearning the most basic principles. I too believe that this principle applies to missionary work, indeed even to just being a member. Everything starts with our faith, our belief in the Savior and in His restored gospel. We act according to our faith, doing simple things, like reading the scriptures and praying, when we fall it´s usually because we failed in doing these simple foundational actions. In our district meetings I have tried to teach the principles, finding new investigators who want to learn the gospel, teaching with members, putting goals like baptismal dates. Everything in this world that is strong is built from the ground up. That includes our testimonies. I encourage you to review the foundations of your testimonies, make sure that they´re still as strong if not stronger than when you first joined the restored gospel and church of Jesus Christ! If you find they´re not as they once were, start with the basics; read your scriptures, go to church, pray, and fast. I love the four words from Elder Holland: ¨Hope On, Journey On.¨

With all my love, 

Elder Lohberg