HELLO, IS IT ME YOU'RE LOOKING FOR?

Hello everyone! It's been awhile.  We have insects but nothing too different from home, larger bees and beetles but almost nothing harmful. I wrote and said I was going to try and not have my face planted in cake for my birthday.  That is a huge tradition here in Mexico.  I didn't succeed.  I got my face smashed in several cakes.  A wonderful family made me a Gumby cake!!!!  I have to say that I had the best birthday.  I received many, many cakes and more food than I could possibly eat.  Monterrey people are the best!!!!

This is my cousin's friend.  Small world.

My Gumby cake with fireworks!!

Soccer day!

SUBWAY!

I am glad for where I am and what I am doing, it has helped me understand where my weaknesses are and also where I am strong.  It has helped my beliefs and my ability to relate to others and get to know them.

We found 6 new people to teach and have 2 baptismal dates lined up.  I unfortunately will not be here to see the baptisms as I will be moving to a new area and a new companion.  I will be going with Elder Ng in San Nicolas as the other Zone Leader.  I am nervous about this responsibility but President Swapp must have felt inspired that I could do this or learn from it.  I will try to be a great Zone Leader.  For those that don't know what a zone leader is, this is what the President wrote my mom, ".He supervises, teaches, and inspires the missionaries during zone meetings, companionship exchanges, and visits to district meetings.  He demonstrates effective planning and teaches how to work with local priesthood leaders and members."  There is more to it than this but it is a great opportunity to push myself.  Have a great week!

PHOTO OPP'S AND MEXICO SCENERY!

It has been a long time since I posted pictures of me and my companions and other Elder's that I am serving with.  If you have any questions for me, email me at jason.bandy@myldsmail.net.  My new companion is fine, we work hard and have fun, though we do speak a bit too much English outside of the house.  He is from Utah, and is 19 and has about 7 months in the mission. I am still the DL (District Leader) and trying to think about what I am going to teach later this week to the district, probably about baptism invitation and how to do it better and more often. We had a good week, we found a few new people to teach which was fun and they are very nice but we will see if they progress.  They went to church with us a few years ago but I don't have any registros of them going with us. Coolest moment would be when we went to talk to a guy that didn't look like he would be interested in the message, and after talking a bit he showed some small interest, then invited us in to see his family and we ended up teaching all of them about the gospel and inviting them to baptism.  We will be going back with them tomorrow. It was great.  It has been one of the most eye-opening experiences in my life to see how hard and how fulfilling it is to serve the Lord.  It isn't a cake walk, but every baptism or progress that someone takes helps a lot and is worth all the effort.  Weirdest moment would be when we were walking down the street and I said hi to a group of kids and they all started yelling random words in English.  It was silly more than anything but they just kept yelling colors and hi at me.

BE A LIGHT TO THE WORLD

LIGHT OF CHRIST - English Version

LIGHT OF CHRIST - Spanish Version

Please click on one of the above links.  Share with everyone! Email me at jason.bandy@myldsmail.net

NEW AREA, NEW JOB, NEW ADDRESS!

After 6 months in San Nicolas, Mexico, I am being sent to Valle Verde.  My new partner will be Elder 

Cruz.  I am going to miss the people in San Nicolas.  They are the kindest and most humble people.  

I am leaving Elder Montero but he will do great.  I hope that I was a good trainer and he can pass on my 

mad skills someday.  I will also be a District Leader.  I am honored and happy that my Heavenly Father 

thinks that I can fill this new job.  I will just follow the example of those that I respected and did a great 

job before me.

My Spanish is now at about 80% but the people of Mexico still say that I have an accent.  

What was your most spiritual experience this week? We went with Jose Luis, my convert, to talk to some 

people in the street and he knew them for years. We were talking to them and he just straight out said, 

"hey, these two missionaries have blessed my life and I want you guys to have them too.  Get baptized like

I was and come with me to church Sunday."  And they accepted both.

What was the kindest thing you did this week? I made food for a family that is really poor.  They normally 

only eat once a day and send their kids to a relatives house to eat.  So I made some simple tuna pasta 

and gave it to them.

What was the kindest thing that happened to you? Many of the families helped us with rides to and from 

different parts of our area this week which was super nice since they are almost always super busy.

What is something the people do there that you wish we did here and why?    They are really good at reusing 

things rather than throwing them out.  Most containers here if they are plastic they hold onto them as 

Tupperware and if they are glass they clean them and they turn into cups.  A little janky at times but it works 

really well here

Also, we have Nuevo Loredo as part of the mission now.  The President just gave us a new mailing address

so that you don't have to send packages to Mexico through the mail.  You can send it to Texas and he will

go pick it up from there once a month.  So no more expensive international stamps or mailing.  You all can 

send me a letter now.  

The Church of Jesus Christ

Of Latter-Day Saints

Elder Jason Riley Bandy

1211 San Dario Ave. 1357

Laredo, TX  78040

We had a missionary activity yesterday.  We invited the members to bring their friends and enemies to

the activity to try and help them see that it isn't hard to share the gospel with people.  So we started 

with a song and then some games. One was a really weird version of rock paper scissors that I wouldn't

ever play again.  Then there was my game where the people would go up and write 2 truths about

their life and 1 lie and we would then have to guess what was the lie.  It was fun but for a few people 

that had trouble thinking up good lies.  Then we played a game where we pumped air into a balloon 

with confetti inside over the head of someone as they answered questions about the gospel.  If they 

got it right, then the balloon passed on the next person but if not then they had to answer another question 

while aired continued to fill the balloon.  It was okay for us since our recent convert Jose Luis brought 2 of his

friends with him to the activity and we now have 2 new appointments for Friday.  Although I won't be in 

the area any longer it is still great news.

 

CAPTAIN MORONI

Moroni was the captain of the army at the age of 25.  He was very strong and admired by his army. Moroni was feared by his enemies.  He fortified cities with ideas that are still being used today.  He only went to war to defend his family and faith.  In Alma it talks about the rules of war.  We can apply these rules to the war that Moroni was fighting or perhaps to the wars that we fight in our own lives.

Rule #1:  Have a Plan.  (Alma 43:7-9) Whether in the business world, school, home...it is always a great idea to have a plan.

Rule #2:  Be active and supportive, not inactive and critical. (Alma 43:13:36).  This can apply to our home life, business life, or school life.  You can be critical without being overbearing and rude. Constructive criticism is key to camaraderie.

CAPTAIN MORONI

Rule #3:  Become a leader.  (Alma 43:16-17) There are many followers out in the world.  We need more righteous, good leaders.  Be bold not overbearing.

Rule #4:  Be prepared with armor, weaponry, and fortifications.  (Alma 43:19-21; 48:7-10). Many of you may be thinking of actual weapons or armor.  This symbolism can also refer to knowledge.  The more we know spiritually and educationally, the better we can make great decisions.  Knowledge is power.

Rule #5:  Believe in your cause and understand your duty.  (Alma 43:43-54) Why get involved in something if you don't believe in it?  Gain your own testimony.

Rule #6: Fight to defend and preserve, never to terrorize.  (Alma 43:54, 48:14) Be bold in your beliefs but not a bully.  Study so that you can defend your beliefs.  Listen to the promptings that you receive.

Rule #7:  Command enemies to depart and never return.  (Alma 44:6)  If someone does not respect you or continues to degrade you, then move on.  If this is happening in your own home, protect your home and those within your walls.

Rule #8:  Never compromise your standards.  (Alma 44:6-11).  Temptations will always be around you.  Know your responses to different situations before it happens.  Never lower yourself but lift others up.

Rule #9:  Make and keep covenants; inspire others to do the same. (Alma 46:12-13, 20-21)  Make your joy spread to others.  Be excited about your life and what you stand for and your happiness will spread and your light will shine so much that others will want the same happiness.

If you want to read more about Moroni, order this free book.  https://www.mormon.org/free-book-of-mormon.  Moroni had so many great ideas.  He was a valiant warrior.

SAME PLACE, SAME BAT STATION

Working on my skills.

 We had an activity today where all of the missionaries in the mission met at the mission offices to play soccer and eat hot dogs.  It was a lot of fun but we did have to wake up at 5:30 today so that part not so much.  We are also going to be doing a lot more activities with the ward to try and get the members animated to work and to help the youth start coming to more activities.  The majority of the ward are over 50 so they sometimes forget that the activities have to be fun for the younger members as well.

E***a is fine but a little hard to get a hold of these last two weeks with the holidays.  She should be baptized this month so that will be nice.  We are helping her understand right now how the gospel helps increase the unity in the family.

I am fine, a little tired but fine. I am going to start exercising again.  I have put on weight since October in my last area and I want to get rid of it.  I also may or may not feel really sluggish all day and want to get rid of that also, maybe...

Ice cream.  Great treat!

Banana Popcorn

My good friend.

Refried bean sandwich

Well, the Christmas dinner was really good.  A lot of missionaries came over.  For Christmas we had the ham, which I glazed with butter, syrup, and honey. yum!  We also had scalloped potatoes, stuffing balls, tuna pasta, rice krispies, and a triple chocolate cheesecake.  So it was delicious and very unhealthy, perfect for the Navidad. 

Many are so stuck in their ways that it is an uphill battle at times to help them see why they aren't happy.  It is odd when you can see how much their own disobedience is hurting them but they cannot seem to see it.    We have received a few references and we will be going back to see some of them tomorrow.  Pray for opportunities to help others and also pray so that I can find people to help.  Thanks for all of your prayers.