Mon, Jul 25, 2011 at 3:13 PM

So there were a lot of adventures this week with all of the family. That is cool that all of the family of Sheryl and April went camping together. How are they all doing? At least now they have learned the peskiness of those raccoons. Ah man I want to see that Captain America movie. That is exciting news that The Hobbit is finally being made. Hopefully all turns out well in that. That does sound like a really cool idea mom about the the flower collage. What color is the paint in the bathroom? Are you going to put in tile next?

Ya, no one here has even heard of beef jerky. When I let a few members try it they were all worried thinking that it wasn´t cooked, so they saved it to cook it later. I tried to tell them that it doesn´t work that way put they wouldn´t listen.

Here is a picture of a new flower I thought Mom might like that I found while we were out and about this week.

Our new house is really cool.





It isn´t that big but pretty nice. We are living with the other missionaries again. We actually have a little bit of carpet in the house too. The first night there I slept on it. Also bugs don´t get in that easily. It is really clean and we don´t have to wear sandals all of the time. The only problem is that there are a lot of bums on the corner outside of the house. We have a stereo system so we just turn on the church music really loud to compete with the neighbors. It is about one block down from our old house and 5 blocks westward and one more block agin up and we are on the corner. It is so nice to just sit in there and sometimes hard to leave, haha. But don´t worry we always get out on time.

Hahahaha, Dad when I said that you eat the bread with the drinks I meant on the side, hahaha. Of course you don´t blend it in, haha. Maybe that is good too though. Ya, the packaging here isn´t the best and the mail lady is always grumpy. I wouldn´t doubt she gave it a few punch and stomps hahaha. (Here is a picture of how Elder Ochs' package looked when it got here) Dad when I told you you look like the Seventy guy I meant in the jolly way.

Dad I am sorry that I stole your pride and joy. I won´t steal anymore of your Star Trek references.

Today we went to a soccerfield to play as a zone and it was a lot of fun. Our zone here is really united. We are all really good friends and we all enjoy each others company. Afterwards we went and ate some tasty pizza. The only down part is that they put gross words all over the knives.


Margarita is doing all right but didn´t go to church this Sunday again. We will see what we will do with her. We did have a new family come to church though and they are going to be married and baptized the 13th of August, so pray for them that everything goes well. I love it here so much and I am learning so much here. I love it so much and all of the people here. Well love you lots and lots and lots and more lots than last week.

Kolob Hearts,

Elder Ochs

Mon, Jul 18, 2011 at 3:37 PM

Hey so I am writing on time this time. Last week we didn´t get back into my area till really late and I didn´t have time to write.


I was cramped into a very small bus most of the day getting a new companion back here to La Conception for one of the Elders here.

Here is another picture of pretty flower that I found around here.

And here is just a random picture of Me and Elder Sosa at a District Meeting.

Ya Mom I would be scared to buy that haunted house, there are probably ghost. It is really close to the church though.

I keep forgetting all of the birthdays!!! The time here is just going by too quick and the only dates I think of are those when people can be baptized on. Sorry. As far as your prayers, Margarita can use them. She is the wife of Ivanio. She likes the church and everything but doesn´t like commitments. Also Amilkar. He is the husband of the daughter of Ivanio. They are all awesome people.

Dad the house is to the other left at the intersection. At the intersection to the left again and that is the house with the red roof. It doesn´t really matter though because next week we are moving again to a nicer house. It is about a block south and 3 blocks west. Around there.

So I got your package and it is the greatest ever. It has all of the things I have been craving. You nailed all of the perfect stuff. I have already gone to town on it. No one here has ever heard of nor has known of beef jerky so my comp likes it a lot haha. I am making those mashed potatoes as soon as possible. Wow it is really really great, Thank you very very much!!!!

Dad the Pinolillo is supposed to be like that. It floats and that is one that too can give you a sore throat if you are not careful. Ivanio gives us that every time we visit him with bread. Maybe you should try some bread with it haha. But ya it just floats up there and there is a clump at the bottom, always.

We went and did some more tree climbing today for Pday so that was a lot of fun. I have a bunch of ants all over me though now. They are all over.

I have been reading a lot of General Conference talks lately and it is really awesome. My goal is to read all of the conferences. Of course it won´t be possible here in the mission but afterwards. I also have a big list of books by prophets and apostles I will be buying over time. But there is a seventy that always reminds me of you Dad. His name is Jose A. Teixeira. You will have to see his picture haha.

Well I am having a lot fun here and it is so great to have this small amount of time to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the loving people of Nicaragua. It is such a great opportunity and I am loving every single minute of it. I love you all lot and lots.

Enterprise Hearts,

Elder Ochs

Tue, Jul 12, 2011 at 11:59 AM

Here are a few more pictures for this week.

So this is this house close to the church that scares me every time I walk past it because it looks haunted. I Haven´t ever seen someone enter it or leave.

This little plant is not nice. Supposedly if you touch it it will give you a fever for 2 days, yikes!





These are some exploring pictures of a part of our area. It took a really long time to get out there. There were only a few shacks and a house here and there so we won´t be going back anytime soon.

So this week sounds like it was pretty laid back. Wow so many are leaving out on missions. That is so awesome. They are going all over the world too. So we moved houses because there were too many of us living in the same house and it was too crowded. The house we live in is the corner just to the left from the other apartment. Our house is the one with the red roof also. It is really close to the other so that is cool.

The baptism went great this weekend.

Ivanio got married and baptized and they were all very happy.

His wife is next.

We had a lot of people that showed up.

Hermana Calero, The older companion of Rachel, spoke at the baptism. She is the niece of Ivanio.

The next day they celebrated and I got a picture of the whole family who are members until Ivanio. There are over a hundred Caleros that are members but they are not all there in the picture. It was really cool.

So this Monday we went to the beach again but I didn´t take any pictures because it was the same one as last time. The waves were a lot bigger this time too. Afterwards we had to go all the way to Managua to get a new comp for Elder Taylor. I didn´t have time till today to write. I don´t have much to say for this week but it is going great.

Well I love you guys lots and lots and I will talk to you next week.

Tumored Hearts,

Elder Ochs

Mon, Jul 4, 2011 at 4:28 PM

So wow Dad, I hope that you are alright and that it isn´t something too serious. My back is doing fine now. I found out the problem why I was having problems. The whole last month and a half I was sleeping on the wrong side of the mattress, the part where all of the springs are, haha. It is a lot more comfortable now. I found that out when we moved to our new house. It is just at the corner of where we lived before. It is alright of an house I guess. We moved this last Saturday but I haven´t taken pictures yet. What I can tell you is that drunks like to sleep out front and talk all night long.

The baptism of Blanca went great as you can see from the picture. We had a whole lot of people there that day. Before the baptism we had a sports activity and that was a lot of fun too. One thing I know for sure, Nicaraguans don´t know how to play volleyball, haha. But ya the baptism went great and next week Ivanio Calero is going to be married and baptized. He is doing awesome and he has already started paying his tithing before even being a member. It is crazy though because again missionaries have been visiting him and his family for over 15 years and then he decides now that he wants to be a member. Missionaries taught the exact same things as we did all of that time and he made the decision now, haha. I would guess it is just a case of good timing. We are also preparing Orlando Gevara to be baptized this 23 of July. The rest of his family is doing great. He didn´t come to church this Sunday but the rest of his family did. The daughter, Julisa, did not want to go at all but her Mom made her. When she went to the Young Women's class after Sacrament, she enjoyed it a lot and now she won´t have a problem going next time too. We have others here and there but we need to find new ones.

So I bought some foot fungus powder the other day. The other night after coming to the house, I took off my shoes and I had holes on the bottom of my big toe. That freaked me out, so I asked what was going on and I guess it was some wierd skin eating fungus. Don´t worry though because it is already going away. The powder is this chalky stuff that dries off all of the moisture on your feet. It makes me feel like those Olympic people before they do gymnastics where they put their hands in that bowl of chalk, haha.

I met Rachel's old companion, Hermana Calero, and she is crazy. She also has a really weird accent now that will be fun to hear when I talk to Rachel after the mission. Sorry Mom and Dad when we do talk in Spanish in front of you, but it may come handy in the future, haha. Watch out Dad.

Today for Pday we did service. We were cutting down branches from a big ol avocado tree. We now have sooooo many avocados, haha. I climbed really high up one and it was pretty scary. I have learned how to cut tree branches with machetes now so I will have to show you, Dad, how it is done so that the next time we trim the branches we can do it Central American style.

But wow everyone is going home slowly but surely now. That is really sad to hear what happened to Shaun. I can´t imagine going back early. That is really tough. Tell him I am praying for him that everything turns out alright. Taylor should be coming home soon too, right?

Well I put on some other crazy flowers pictures I have found here.






I seriously feel like I am in another world here because I just see the weirdest plants, bugs, and sometimes people, haha. It is seriously an adventure everyday here, I love it. It is exactly how I thought and dreamed my mission would be like. I LOVE NICARAGUA!!!!!! Don´t worry I am going to bring you guys here afterwards.

Well I love you all a ton as you know and I can´t wait to here from you next week.

Love,

Elder Ochs

Mon, Jun 27, 2011 at 4:31 PM

So we went and visited the Grandma of a really really big family of members that pretty much make up the the most part of the ward, the Family Calero. Their house is at the very end of a long windy jungle trail and when you get there it is really cool.

In their backyard they just have hills and valleys with really big trees.

So of course we had to check it out.

There is a pretty cool view of Mombacho Volcaneo too.

These trees are the best climbing trees ever.

It is just like those Tarzan trees with the branches all over and the are really strong and it remind me of the jungle Book because Mogli lived in the trees and you could lay down in a bed of branches. It is a Guayaba Tree.

I made it to the very tippy top.

I got some pretty cool pictures up there.

I even had I bird flying by at head level. The tree was on the side of a hill so ya. It was a lot of fun and no one got hurt.

Ah man I forgot that it was Braydons birthday. I will get him something from here. That sounds like the volleyball was fun. I am not surprised that Braydon and Brennan went out there to smooth it out and everything. They are hard workers when they get there minds set on something. I am guessing that they never brought the greased pig, haha.

Our Cita is good food wise. We found out that she has a few supplies from the states like Spaghetti sauce, Ranch dressing, and some canned fruit so she has been putting some of that stuff with our food now. I like eating the rice with Ranch dressing. The Hermana that washes our clothes has a washer machine so she gets it done really fast without tearing them up on rocks but with the rain it takes a while to dry out.

Missionary work wise we didn´t baptize all of this last change which is bad. This month of July though we have a few people and families lined up. This Sunday 2 Fathers came to church, one completing a family, and also a little girl that is going to be baptized this Saturday. I guess she just turned 9 and she was never baptized so now we get to do it. So that is cool. Her name is Blanca and she is very sweet. Ivanio is also getting ready for this Saturday but he just has to stop drinking his half of a cup of coffee in the mornings. We also have Orlando Navara getting ready for this 23 of July. The first week we taught him he came to church all by himself and left his member wife at the house because she wasn´t ready, haha. He is really cool.

So we made another discovery here in Hyrule (La Conception). Elder Sosa has been playing the Ocarina a lot in the mornings and he has been calling Epona.

Next thing we know we find him.

He had been tied up up in the hills hidden. So we took a picture and we had to leave him at Lon Lon Ranch.

It was really cold one morning here and it got to the point that I had to put on a jacket.
I never thought that was possible here.

This is a picture of Elder Taylor trying to convince me to hang off the balcony by my legs. My back was hurting and I remembered a chair thing that flips you upside down to stretch out your back in Big 5. It didn´t take too much thinking to know that hanging off the balcony upside down wasn´t a good idea, haha.

I am going to be here another change more and I heard from a little blue bird that I am going to be a District Leader again! I am pretty excited about that. I am having a lot of fun here and this area is great. I love you guys lots and lots.

Eternal Hearts,

Elder Ochs

Mon, Jun 20, 2011 at 3:41 PM

So I have a few pictures to send home.

One is of a miniature pineapple,

A cool looking rose,

That same fruit that Rachel had,

This is a flower that grows on a tree in this park close to my house,

and bean soup that is actually really good tasting.

So this is a Cacao pod.

This is the actual bean where chocolate comes from. We have recent converts that have like three trees of these. It is really cool. You can smell it and everything. It comes in that case like thing

and inside

it is covered in that goopy stuff that you eat off.

When you get the goopy stuff off then they look like this.

Then you let them dry out.

and then cook it. When that is done you take off the cover and the coco is inside which you crush and put in a drink to make cacao. I am still not sure how to make the actual chocolate but I want to learn. Then I can be Willy Wonka!

So wow it was a fun week there from what I hear. Man I am really excited for that new Zelda game. I dont know though if I should buy that new system though. It is really tempting but I will think about that later, haha. They are just always coming out with new stuff so it is hard to keep up with it all. And it is a very expensive hobby. That stinks to hear that those seeds I sent aren´t growing. They were pretty dried out when I got them so maybe they were fried. I am thinking of sending home one of those coco beans home though so we can have chocolate in the house. I heard that they do grow in the states but they die in the snow. But it doesn´t snow in Oakdale, haha. What do you say Mom? Man Dad I miss those campouts. That is pretty funny the prank you guys did on the kids, haha. Were those cliffs bigger than the ones down by the river? I am sure the water was pretty chilly too.

This week there wasn´t that much that happened except me working on those coco beans and what not. We haven´t had any cool Pdays yet either so I don´t have too much to write about. I am sure that next week I will have better things to write about. I will be waiting patiently for my package also.

And Dad, HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!!!! I will look for something to send that is pretty cool alright.

Well I love you guys tons and tons and I will talk to you next week. Adios

Blown Up Hearts,

Elder Ochs

Mon, Jun 13, 2011 at 2:45 PM

Hey my family and everyone, it is good to hear from you all. Congratulations in finishing the fence project. It does look really nice and sturdy. That is really really awesome about Sheryl. I am hoping that the rest of the family sees her being the example and that they can follow. Wow that is so great and it makes me so happy to hear that. Let us know how she is doing with her progress.

Dad you got it right on the spot. That is my pad. It is a pretty cool house. Like I said, we live on the top floor with other missionaries so it is a little cramped but cool. The picture was the balcony where we study every morning. We are going to come back and visit all of my areas so you will see for yourselves sometime in the future. So ya about the 18 people that came to church. It turns out that the area we were working in wasn´t actually our area so we had to turn all of them over to the missionaries that that area pertains to. What a nice gift for the other missionaries, haha. It is alright though because we already found other families we are preparing and we challenged them with baptismal dates too. One of the families came this Sunday and the others will come next week. Please pray that this all works out well.

So some of the songs were actually catchy, you think. Which ones? Did the others out at the ranch hear them too? haha. Ya they pack so many songs into those MP3s it is crazy, haha. All of that cost me less than $7 too, haha.

Ya that drink is a little strange. I want to send you guys something called Pinolillo. It is only made hear in Nicaragua. It is Crushed corn with crushed coco beans and some other stuff. It is pretty good.

Concerning your question of what I would like you to send me for my Birthday: If you can and if it isn´t too heavy, it would be cool to have some peanut butter. Other than that just good stuff none of the bad stuff.

So in the pictures I sent this week are some more cool flowers that are in front of my house. They just hang from this tree and and look really pretty. I don´t know how but two flowers grow from the same tree or something. There are some more I will send next week. Most of them you can only plant taking a branch or getting the seeds at the right time before they shoot them out. Another picture is of Elder Sosa and me on the watertower in our backyard. I like to climb it every once in a while to have fun, but not when it is windy. Also sometimes I feel like I am in Hyrule (from the Legend of Zelda Video games). I found three of the temples. I found the Fire Temple in the volcano in the distance, I am walking in the Forest Temple all of the time, and then we found the entrance to the Shadow Temple with the Bango Bango guy, the temple I was most scared of. This entrance had a direct drop off in to some abyss that I looked down just like in the game. Only to certify it is the Shadow Temple, we cross through a graveyard to get to this entrance and also a little village like Koroki Village, Ooooo. How cool is that. I am guessing that the Water Temple is in Lake Managua or Lake Nicaragua. But ya, it is pretty awesome. Elder Sosa is a Zelda fanatic also. I will keep a look out for the other Temples.

We had a Multi Zone Conference this last Tuesday and I got to see a lot of missionaries from my time in Ciudad Sandino, including my own son Elder Feliciano. I also saw Elder Montierth, Elder Young, Elder Garcia, and a lot of others. It was a lot of fun and it was probably the best one I have had here in the mission. Elder Montierth made a really cool video for his zone that you can see on the mission blog. It is Zone Granada.

Well I love you all lots and lots and lots, and I send home all my lovings.

Dinosaur Hearts,

Elder Ochs