Monday, October 29, 2012

October 9, 2012

Alright so guess what! Im being sent to the Mexico Puebla Mission for my last change! haha nah just kidding. I will be staying here for my last transfer here in Cerro with Elder Navarro. Yes Mom, Please send my umbrella...Susana, convert in Rivera made me promise I would send her a US umbrella (the ones here are all imported from China and break super easily) So I will probably just send it to her. She even paid me months ago for it. Thanks for the last package! ahead of time...haha dont let any empty space in there! If theres boxes, take the stuff out of the boxes to fill it up more! =D I am just going to copy my letter this week from my daily journal entries if thats cool...

Monday October 1st 2012
At our zone activity today I felt like there was some contention going on. A missionary from a different zone came over and just poisened everybody. The rebelious missionaries were all heated with all the obedient missionaries and when we made teams for soccer some how the teams turned out rebels vs. obedients.I will let you guess which team I was on ;) So this little rivaly started. For the rest of the day there was dirty looks and contention. Im just worried about the work.I dont want us to be unworthy of any blessings! Today, honestly I was so ready to go home. Im starting to enjoy the teaching and proselyting time on pdays a lot more than the free-time part of p-day. We had another lesson with Pablo. It was such a fulfilling feeling to see himunderstand the atonement of Christ. As he nodded his head and vocally agreed as we watcheda video from the Old Testament DVD collection "Sacrifice and the Sacrament" his wife came to tears of joy. HE UNDERSTANDS! I love these kinds of lessons. We also taught Mirtha´s neighbor, Brian. His mom was really worried about his behavior and Mirtha told her about the missionaries. We read through the 10 commandments and Brian (13) cried as we read "Honor thy Father and thy Mother that thy days may be long upon the Earth" I was expecting a little more of a behavior-improvement baby-sitting time opportunity, but he is a really humble, good kid. Hes marking up his scriptures like crazy!

Tuesday October 2 2012
Tuesdays can get pretty busy with all the errands and responsibilities of a ZL. The last district meeting of the transfer went really well. A missionary in the zone lost his mission VISA card, so we had to go downtown to the offices and deliver that to him. The best part of the day was our lessons. We visited a referral of Hna. Suarez. She was basically ran over by a huge cargo truck. Its amazing how little damage was done (just broke her pelvis and fractured her femur) no big deal right? She had been way humbled by that and wants the gospel for her children. We also unintentionally ran into Shirley and decided to drop by again later. We met her brother and had an incredible lesson. The message REALLY seemed to touch Victor. We were 50 minutes late to our next lesson though. I hate that! Its so hard to help EVERYONE and be on time. You just cant do it. There are so many people who want our visits and there is just no time. 

Wednesday October 3 2012
CONCILIO!! I love first Wednesdays! We talked a lot today about retention, working with Less Actives and Converts. Lunch was AMAZING. LASAÑA!!! but the real kind! here they just kind of make these crepes and layer them with ham, cheese, and sauce. Not the same. Our lesson tonight with Brian was awesome. (for me at least) we watched Finding Faith in Christ. I cried the whole way through thinking about Juan Diego (my blind buddy we met on the city bus (July 14) I knew I had the priesthood, I knew I had the power and authority of Christ to heal, but would my faith be enough to heal a blind man?? I would sure hope so! There is also God´s will...but anyways. The other day I studied the Atonement like crazy and the video hit me a little harder today. Volleyball with the ward was WAY fun tonight!

Thursday October 4 2012
Im sitting on my bed right now listening to Elder de Hoyos playing an incredible song on the guitar. He plays so good! Today was just great. My companion and I are getting a long really great. Elder Navarro is actually a really fun guy. We visited a referal today from Hna. Suarez.(She is the best ward missionary in the WORLD!) It was really cool. We just knocked on the door and in the most sincere way possible we just asked how she was doing. She said "good" then we asked without saying any words "are you sure" and she said "mas o menos" She then said "do you guys want to come in?" =D yes please!!! we talked about being a missionary, showed us pictures of our family, then asked about hers. She brought us to the kitchen table and gave us some yogurt and sandwhiches. SCORE! and poured her soul out to us. Turns out her son is in drugs and has gone insane. He tipped the fridge over on top of her. She doesnt want to tell his Dad the truth because she is scared he´ll beat him up real bad. Sad stuff. Modern day secret combinations...definately drug cartels..its messing up stuff so bad!

Friday October 5 2012
One more day till conference! I ate cow tongue today! my comp is in a bad mood because we had a bad lesson. These two 20yr olds were more flirting than listening..but i respect him for fasting today for a companionship in the zone. 

Saturday October 6 2012
CONFERNENCE! YES! RAIN! we went to the feria to get stuff to make torta de puero. It was my first time making it. I like it a lot! I think I did good. I hate getting late to conference! Especially the opening session because the announce cool stuff. today president Monson announced that young men can serve at age 18 and women at 19. WOAH! Also a temple in Tuscon! During the two sessions I did a baptismal Interview and had to tell her no. Ive been praying for the spirit to help me decide becasue the Elders had told me a couple days before that she smoked on Wednesday. She came into the interview with her stomach hanging out and a peircing in her eyebrow, and Elder X was sure that she was ready. After the interview I think Elder X was a little upset with me but we talked it out. During Elder Oaks talk, at the closing of the afternoon sesson we a had a fun problem. We couldn´t find Elder X for a while. His companion didnt know where he was. I missed all of Oaks talk going around with 4 other Elders looking for him. We finally found him in a dark storage closet with a young woman. We don´t know what happened dont need to know but I had to call President and make him take time from his confernece afternoon and interrupt all his transfer preparations to come do an emergency interview for an Elder in my zone. He was NOT happy.. Never a dull day in the mission!

Sunday October 7 2012
After the crazy situation last night, we were super stressed out today, yet conference was still awesome. We were super strict about staying together with companions and conversating (I think thats a word Pres. Bush made up) with SNAKES! Its a bad habit here in our mission. 90% of the time before/after church meetings ALL the missionaries are "talking" to all the young women 15-25. I was running around trying to break it up but the snakes were faster that I was so I called for an evacuation. "All missionaries come with me!" We hung out in the nursery room until a couple minutes before the afternoon session started. Like always, Elder Holland literally shook every soul within the sound of his voice. I thought a lot about the investigators, put myself in their shoes as we listened. After every confernece I feel my conviction of this church and its organization flame like loco.

Monday October 8 2012
IM STAYING WITH NAVARRO IN CERRO FOR MY LAST CHANGE! I figured it would happen but was a little worried President would send me as a rescue comp for Elder X. I made him a chocolate cake saturday night. Sunday morning I guess he was pretty discouraged and still in bed around noon. I called him and got him excited about conference and Cake. Im glad I could help him get up and moving. He must be real messed up. Anyways, presdient had mentioned to me he was going to put an Elder with him that was finishing the mission this transfer. We got to watch priesthood session this morning.I liked it a lot. Check out this poem I wrote to Shirley in a hymn book I gave her.

Nos gusta la música a usted y a mi,
El Creador la hizo con mucho amor.
Muchas veces el Espíritu mas fuerte sentí
mientras cantando del Salvador.
Está tocando con una nueva orquesta
mas queda el gran director.
Yo se que no hay mejor que esta
porque es la elegida del Señor.

The gospel makes me so happy! The zone had some fun changes this transfer. Im super excited. We had a couple rough hours today in the rain when everything was falling through. We just kept going and the rest of the night was awesome. We had a sweet lesson with Pablo tonight. He is finally understanding the simple pure doctorine. I even learn so much in our lessons with him. His heart has softened so much its the coolest thing.

Tuesday October 9 2012
Im sitting in the Montevideo Temple right now very grateful for the house of the Lord. Its beautiful and peaceful. We got up early this morning and got on the 5am bus to Carrasco fot the 8am session. It was full of missionaries! I learned a lot about the covenants we make and who advances to each kingdom after making and keeping certain covenants. After the session, I was the last to leave the Celestial Room. I love it in there. I went over some scriptures that I remembered from Conference. Later we did 175 baptisms in the baptistry. I baptized so much my arm was DEAD! I did quite a few in Spanish and luckily the Temple President was working at the desk, so I asked if I could do a couple in english. It was really special. The couselor of the temple presidency gave a little devotional for the 5 of us before starting. (desk worker, 2 witnesses, my comp and I) He read in Doctorine and Covenants how the faithful Elders after leaving this Earth are sent to work in the Spirit World. He reminded us how excited we get when we have baptisms and asked if we had ever thought how excited and happy the missionaires on the other side are today for what was about to happen. I felt their joy, and imagined Grandpa Kellis and Moore all young, with white shirts and ties and nametags standing there super excited. It was just awesome!! haha I decided one of my new date ideas is go do baptisms.

I love you guys a whole BUNCH!! 

No comments:

Post a Comment