DO I NEED NEW SHOES?

Hey everyone, 

My week was fine.  We are trying to find new people to teach.  People are so busy now that they don't have one day set aside to rejuvenate and to spend learning about any gospel.  The commandment to Keep the Sabbath Day Holy doesn't really have meaning to many people.  But we are slightly swamped at this point trying to get some new people.  We may have some new ones lined up but we haven't had a lesson with them yet, they are planned for next week.

This is a random guy on the street riding on the front of a truck.  

This is the  burrito I received while walking in the street.  It was a really nice gift.   This is something that I've learned in the mission.  Even if you don't believe in something someone does, kindness is always appropriate.  In this case, this person didn't know me, didn't want to learn anything from me, didn't expect anything in return.  They were a great example and lesson to me on being like the Savior and showing love and kindness.  

I have some new pics for this week.  We did a service project painting a house for one of the sisters in the ward.  Missionaries love to do service.  If you are reading this blog and need service or know someone that needs service, call the missionaries.  We LOVE to do service!!!!!!  If you don't know a missionary, contact someone in my family or go to https://www.lds.org and find the closest church to you and call them.  We do yard work, paint, fix meals, help move furniture, clean up yards, fix houses...

We had a good week. It was relatively cool most of the week so that was nice. Yeah, my companion (guy that I live with and hang around 24/7) should be transferred tomorrow.  He has been here 4 changes which is the longest possible time in the mission to be in one area. My ups this week were the weather and the members helping us.  The downs were the investigators we had to drop. My favorite person?  Elder Dearden, my district leader.  He is helpful to me and provides me a most intellectual conversation.  And a family that has us over for dinner and are very helpful.

I got new shoes which are really boots.  They aren't that hot, truthfully I haven't even noticed yet.  I really did need new ones didn't I?  They cost about 800 pesos or $55.  They are super comfy and it feels good not to be walking lopsided again.  I bought them from a store here called Coppel.  I think its Canadian.

My mom always has random questions for me.  What is your favorite smell?  My favorite smell? probably fresh air.  Least favorite is dogs & cats.  Tell me about the music at church.  The music is the same as back home, just in Spanish. Everyone does indeed sing here. It sounds as good as I would have expected... I have only played the piano a few times.  How is the water there?  Most of the water here in Monterrey goes through a filter system so it's fairly safe to drink. I still buy bottled water but I can drink it out of the tap without being sick.

Have a great week!  Thank you to those who write me it really does make my week.  Happy Birthday to my Dad.  Thank you for your support!!!

Giant centipede!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL MOMS!

I had a good birthday.  We had some cake with one of the families so that was all I really needed.  I liked the family birthday video, especially moms "use" of the Spanish language at the end! :p  I like the videos from home, send more.  Thanks for the birthday wishes!  

WE have a lot of nice views here.

 MISSIONARY QUESTION AND ANSWER:  

1.  Are there street vendors in your area? Do they offer good food? Do you snack during the day between lessons?   Street vendors?  There are a ton of them.  Mostly it's tacos or candy but some offer garbage bags or other household products.  I try not to snack during the day, I eat enough at lunch that I don''t need the extra food, though I drink a lot of water.

2. How much do you work on retention in your area? Are there a lot of less active members?

We try and do a little work on retention but its really not something we can do much of. Retention and reactivation is really the work of the members who can be there all the time helping them. We get changed too much to do more than remind them and we can't work that hard with them since we need to be searching for new people to teach.  But we try with 2-3 families every week for about 2-3 weeks to see what happens.

3.  How often do you do your laundry?  Where do you do it at?  Do you throw everything in with your comp or separate?  How much does it cost and do you dry everything or line dry it?  Well, I do laundry every monday or every P-day, so weekly...  I do it at the house here, we have a washing machine in the house.  I throw everything in serperately from my comp and by color, I dont want to try and seperate our clothes, that takes too long.  It costs nothing and we dry everything on the line, its around 90 degrees everyday now, it all dries really fast.  

PLAYFUL DOG

4.  What do most of the people do there for work?  As for the people, they do a lot of things.  Much like at home but where I'm at now it is mostly  taxi drivers, mechanics, painters, construction, or factory workers.  

PAINTING LANTERNS FOR A CHINESE RESTAURANT

We had a full week as well, we taught around 25 lessons this week and found at least 11 new people to teach so our efforts are being blessed.  We are going to begin trying to invite everyone to baptism this week and see how that helps us but it will be a strong week I think. Transfers aren't until May 27 or so, I will very likely be staying when that happens as my companion has 4 changes here now so he will be transferred, I will have 1-2 changes here to help the new guys adjust, and then I will move on to the next area.   We are always looking to do service for the community but some parts of the community don't want to change and others don't want the help.  But we will keep trying to make it a better place.

P.S.  Happy Birthday to my twin, Justin.  (I am the better looking one.)  Happy Birthday to my Mema and Papa.  Also, to my cousins:  Denise, Alison, and Cody.  

THERE IS BEAUTY ALL AROUND!

The ward (this is what the boundary of that church is called) is nice and supportive.   The ward is small and we try not to put a lot of pressure on them but they help when they can.  There is really only 9-11 families that are really active to help us.  My companion is fine, I have the same one as the last change so that should make things go smoothly.  He is helpful, right now we are trying to work on my ability to contact people.  I will get over this language barrier and my own insecurities.  I just have to have more faith in myself. 

I have lost about 12-15 pounds but it was weight that I didn't need.  And before you ask Mom and Memaw and Aunt She-She..., I eat more here than I did at home.    I miss being home for the holidays but I am growing so much here that I know it is worth it.


It's nice to be a little connected to home out here, even if only through the pictures.  So email me some pictures. You can only send about 2-3 at a time.  I'm loving Mexico and the beauty of it!  I am working hard and hopefully it will pay off!

FRUITY DOG

The people are nice and polite.  You have the few who don't want to hear anything by any means necessary, but most are extremely well behaved and considerate.  They are slightly superstitious but are friendly. 

 I will trade you all the summers I have here for cold and snow, really, you can have them.  

We are still with the G***a and R***z families.  They are great people!

We had some tacos for Easter, so I mean, it was nice.   Hunting eggs is an American thing, it doesn't exist here.

The cinder blocks are going to be our new grill, so we can make Burgers de ´Murica!

The Mission President sends out emails every week to help us and comes to see us whenever we have a Zone conference (when all the missionaries in a certain area get together) or visit the temple.  He has a good sense of humor and a good attitude towards the mission.  

My funniest moment was when my companion threw a piece of fruit at this dog that was coming at us.  It worked and scared the dog away!  

For those of you who watched conference (twice a year our beloved prophet and his apostles talk as well as other speakers are on the BYU station and speak to all members around the world. This is available for anyone that wants to hear their messages), here are a few of my favorite speakers and why....tell me who you enjoyed listening to.

Saturday Morning Session:

Linda K Burton: 

While obviously geared towards spouses, the principles work well for any form of companionship.

Dallin H Oaks:

His talk was rich in imagery and example, and I found a large well of advice for my efforts in the field.

Saturday Evening Session:

Michael T Ringwood:

Shiblon like humility.  I found great comfort in this talk.  Its counsel to humility and service were powerful and insightful.

Dale G Renlund:

This talk was great for expressing the importance of changing ourselves and continuing to improve.

Wilford W Anderson:

I liked this one for the musical analogy.  :P

Priesthood Session:

M. Russell Ballard:

It was a personally directed talk to missionaries, its going to be a favorite.  The questions helped me focus my efforts to improve.

Dieter F Uchtdorf:

I liked many of his quotes and examples.  "Many things you can count, don´t count; and many things that you can´t count, really do count."  How can we serve, the spirit of that service, is better than any accolade or achievement.

Sunday Morning:

Rosemary Wixom:

The importance of doubting your doubts, having spiritual experiences, and holding fast to what we know to overcome our trials.

Jeffery R Holland:

A good talk on why Easter is so special, why we really worship Jesus Christ, and our indebtedness to him.

Dieter F. Uchtdorf:

Our great love for his unending Grace and love.  Also our responsibility to "do all that we can do" to receive his grace.

Sunday Evening Session:

Russel M Nelson:

A good talk on how to keep the Sabbath day holy.  "It is a perpetual covenant..."

Kevin W Pearson:

His talk was very straightforward and clear.  It had a lot of good quotes and advice.  "We struggle when caught between conflicting or competing priorities."

Have a great week.  My condolences to the James Family in the loss of their mother, grandmother, great grandmother, Aunt, Sister-in-Law...Aunt Wava will be missed but I know that she is in a wonderful place and if we could catch a glimpse of the joy in her countenance we would be very happy for her.  Families are Forever!  Happy Birthday to Beckham, Brianna, and Mallory!

JUST KEEP SWIMMING! SIX MONTH MARK!

Just keep swimming!

I am doing fine, its a little hilly in my new area but otherwise I like it. I like the members and the house is really close to the church so I don't need to take the bus or an expensive taxi to get there so that is a plus.  It looks scary and very poor.  It is poor, scary no, but poor yes. My new area is on the other side of the mountains from my last area, it took about 1.5 hours to get here in taxi with my new companion. I am the 3rd oldest in the mission.  Almost no one  in Mexico has a dryer, it gets so hot in the summer that clothes dry almost as fast as you pull them from the machine.

My comp

Language is probably about the same as last month, only around 45% on the talking and 65% on the listening.  Weekly diet consists of tortillas, potatoes, meat, tortillas, rice, tomatoes, tortillas, and also tortillas.  Everyone here always ask me if I miss eating hamburgers and hot dogs everyday.  They don't understand how we could eat the same thing everyday... yeah... we definitely eat the same thing... But its all really delicious, except for Menu-do and animal eyes, those are not delicious... 

  I still have meal with the members and nice people from the area  everyday.  I look forward to seeing the G*** Family, they are really nice and receptive.  The parents are very kind and they are always willing to stop and talk to us if they see us in the street.

Nice meal from a local family.

Weirdest thing?  Someone told me that whenever he touches someone that he sees when they are going to die if it happens within that month...  it was a little off-putting.  The kindest thing was when Hma. Gonzalez gave us some Ice Cream when it was super hot yesterday.

I am definitely glad I came, I am really enjoying my time when we have people to teach.  I only regret bringing pants that need to be dry cleaned that don't go with my suit, its almost impossible to find a dry cleaner here.

Just keep swimming part 2.