Week 38: CHRISTMAS!!!!

Well Christmas was yesterday! It was good to talk with my family! And fun to see that they are doing well!

Ok, so the pictures

3 are of the dinner we had on Christmas eve! Tacos durados YUMMM! And CAKE!
One is of me with a moto taxi that an investigator has, and the other is part of the package that my family sent! This big blog of gummi used to be little bicycles

XD

But this week was rough. We were not able to have a lot of lessons because everyone was gone for the holidays and well the people that were home, didn't want to listen to us because they were 1) drunk, 2)with their families or friends 3) 1 and 2

But that is ok, because we were able to find some people home! And also we had a multi-zone activity, with all the missionaries in the city!!! THERE WERE LIKE 75 MISSIONARIES!!! I HAVEN'T SEEN THAT MANY MISSIONARIES SINCE I STARTED MY MISSION ALMOST!!! But it was super fun! We did the 12 days of christmas Oaxaca style! And I got to be part of it with my trainer Elder Seañez! That was really fun!

Anyways, about out of time, so I hope that you all know that I am having a great time out here and I hope the best for all of you! I know that we can all finish the year great and start it even better! Have a great new year!

Week 37: Well, it is cold... Well relatively...

Wow! It gets like in the 40's at night sometimes! I actually have to use a blanket! Well if we leave the windows open, which is what we normally do. But this last week has been really fun!

But before everything else.... PHOTOS!!!

Well, one of them is my new comp and I! Elder Lopez and Elder Loosle! Ready to take on all challenges that the Yagul area will bring!

MILK IN JUGS!!! NOT BOXED MILK!!! HOW AWESOME!!!! I LOVE THE CITY ALREADY!

Lol, my companion fell asleep on the floor XD

Idk if you can read the sign on the back of the bus but it is the mormon ad but also it is in spanish... But it is a mormon ad for CHRISTMAS!

This is part of my area from one of the higher parts of my area (My area goes from the bottom to the top of the hill)

During the meeting with Neil L. Anderson, I found two people from my first area Rio Grande!

And the last one is the meeting with Paul B. Piper from the quorum of the 70.

Ok, well this week has been full of fun, spiritual, and really difficult experiences. It was hard to leave my old area to two sister missionaries that I don't know, but I know they are supposed to be there and they are doing great things!

But anyway, now, I am in the CITY!!! There are about 3 million people in the city of Oaxaca, and I have a reasonably small area. Not that small but smaller then I have had before, like I actually have limits in every direction that I can walk to! But I need a lot of time. Because our ward is the side of a mountain!!! After Thursday, my legs were aching a lot for all of the climbing up and going down, but I am starting to get accustomed to it! We have a baptism for the 31 of december and we were able to put 2 more baptismal dates down for this January, so that makes 3 baptismal dates that we have right now... They told me that in the city you don't have a lot of baptisms... But I have faith that the Lord will help me to help every person that I am here to help, and I know that even though it may be a bit harder to help people progress, I am willing to work harder.

Anyways, this week I have to wash my clothes by hand again... :( I miss my washing machine... But that is ok, because I have......

AGUA CALIENTE!!! (HOT WATER!!!!!)

Man, I forgot how nice it is to have hot water. I really apreciate it with the cooler mornings here!

Also, Merry Christmas! Because I will not be online to send another email till the 26th XD But, Christmas will be fun here in the city! I'll even get to video chat my family! Even with one of them with a broken collar-bone XD (Adam... -.-)

But I hope y'all have a great Christmas and always remember to put MAS (more) CHRIST in CHRISTMAS!

Week 36: Well, I got moved....

So.... Transfers were today and both my companion and I left!!!

There was a problem with an area that had sister missionaries so they are moving sisters into Guiengola, because it is more relaxed, less problems and other elders are going to an area in Salina Cruz.

But I am in the city of Oaxaca! My area is called Yagul. Lots of hills. Which is not great because I don't have a toenail right now... I had an ingrown toenail and 3 days ago the doctor ripped it off! So I am without a toenail but the pictures will wait till later, and the response to all the emails, sorry not enough time right now only like 10 minutes.

But I got to meet Elder Neil L. Anderson, and have 2 meetings with him, as well as find some of my friends (Members and converts) from Rio Grande! So again, pictures will come later. Also someone in my family tell Aunt Diane that Elder Anderson says Hi.

Oh speaking of meeting up with people, I got to see Hermana Aden and catch up with her a little bit when I got here, and that was fun because we were in the same district in the CCM.

But yeah with that I gtg, because well it is time to do the Lord's work so I might have a bit more time tomorrow or maybe not... IDK So don't expect another email but don't be surprised if it happens.

Week 35: Baptisms, exchanges, and ingrown toenails OH MY!

Well this last week was one of the longer weeks and harder weeks. My companion and I have helped with more baptisms this transfer than I can count but we haven't had any this transfer and the investigators that were going to be baptized this next week, are going to be gone until the middle of January and so we had to change their baptismal date to January. It has been really rough seeing the other missionaries with a lot of baptisms and while it was a bit of a downer, we are working really hard to keep up the excitement for the work because I know that even if we have to wait a bit longer to see success, we will see it.

Because we are 3 missionaries right now working in 2 areas that are about 45 minutes apart (walking, 15 minutes in public transportation, and like 15 pesos each one) we have been trying to do exchanges with members and leaders, youth and whatever person was willing almost, because in Elder Castro's area, he had 2 baptisms last week. But they went well and after all of that we were able to see them baptized on Friday and confirmed on Sunday. And we helped with two other baptisms this last week and still two others the week before. Actually I've baptized 2 people in the last 2 weeks that I didn't even know until I baptized them! It was different and interesting but cool.

Also fun things this week is I found out I got another ingrown toenail! :D I have pics but I'll spare y'all the view, I am doing some stuff that should help but if it isn't helping in the next few days I'll go to the doctor. It isn't too bad there was a lot of blood one night but it was all show.

But I tell y'all this because well today I have learned about some specific blessings that my family has found while I am here and it made me think of how blessed I am to be able to be out here and serve my mission! I know that there will always be problems and things to put us down but if we count our blessing we will always find the exitement and joy that Heavenly Father wants for us.

Sorry no photos this week, even though a lot happened, I'm in the process of backing up my photos and videos right now so I don't have a lot of new photos and am trying to make sure that I'll be ok, if another virus decides to attack my sd card, but I've got multiple precautions now so I think I'll be good!

But anyway, I hope that y'all can count your blessings, and find the good in all the things that are happening. This last week I have learned that while I have patience for other people who are not my companions, I can learn to have a lot more for them. But I know that if I keep trusting in the Lord, He will help me and help y'all too if y'all trust Him.

And well last thought of the week, it is weird knowing it is Christmas but it is hot. I don't like it. I want a white Christmas but that won't happen until 2018. So for now, the only white I'll get at Christmas is some clouds, and there are a lot of white busses that we use! Lol, have a great week!

Week 34: Tristes viruses

That is spanish, and it means like sad sad viruses. I don't like them. But we are getting rid of it again from my camera and I'll be more careful with the computers I use. But for that there are no photos this week. So if you are mad, find my a computer that isn't public that I can use XD Jk

And well, this week was fun, but hard. We were in a trio with Elder Castro because his companion had special transfers, and so we had a lot if divisions with members. And because of the fact we are 3 missionaries working two areas that are very separated, we cannot have a bunch of lessons, ok well it is really hard, because nothing is impossible. But, we have had some really rough times with our investigators because the ones who were progressing just all of the sudden something weird happened and stopped going to church, and are acting really weird during the lessons, and even though they received an answer that the message we share is true, I think they are doubting, but this week we are going to see what is up.

Also, being in a trio again, is really helping me to understand that I need more patience with my companions. I have never really had a problem having patience with people that I am only with a few hours of the day at most, but when I am with someone for a long time... Well I have some stuff to improve let's just leave it at that XD But we did a fun activity in our district meeting last week to help us have unity within our companionship and district. We wrote one good thing about everyone one one side of the paper and on the back one thing that this person can improve. And well mine said more patience with your companion so I think I know who wrote that even though it was supposed to be secret XD. But it really helped me learn that even though we are all trying to be better and we should always keep trying, we also need to remember the good things we have and not be self critical. We should acknowledge that we are trying to do our best and God will help us be exactly who He wants us to become, if we trust in him. But we should also look at the wonderful gifts He has given to us to use to help all the people around us! And when we do that we can be thankful for what we have and know that we can get everything done that he wants us to do!

One thing I have learned this week is that there are, and will always be people fighting to get rid of the correct things, as long as Satan still has the ability to tempt people. He will try to tear the people doing right apart but something that I have learned is that the people in this earth will always have power over him if we try to remember where we can find all of our strength. In Jesus Christ. I know that He really did pay for every one of our sins and He really will help you to get back to our Heavenly Father because they both love you and want you back. So to everyone who is trying to do the right stuff, KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!! :D

And yeah, I promise, as long as there are no viruses, to have some photos next week XD And with that I'm out, talk to y'all later and have a very merry Christmas!

Week 33: Well... Special transfers

Well first of, sorry for no photos last week, I got a trojan horse virus on my sd card when I connected it to the computer last week, but with the help of my companion, we got rid of it and kept my photos! :)

And so on with the photos! (I don't remember the order but I think you can figure it out if I get it wrong)
1 - We went shopping for the sister missionaries last week because one of the dislocated her foot, and so we went shopping for them
2 - Cool spanish sign language paper I got from a deaf guy, but my little sign language I know is a different language for him so I just spelled out a couple of things saying thanks with this paper
3 - Rattlesnake! One of our investigators caught a rattlesnake and is going to sell it for like $80 bucks! (To be honest I don't know how much rattlesnakes go for... But it is about 6 feet long!)
4 - DOMINO'S!!!!!! We ate domino's pizza this morning for breakfast! It is actually basically the same price as in the states... more or less, and just as good as well :)

Ohh, the reason why I called this email special transfers is because even though today is not transfers, when the missionaries change their location, there are some changing, and I'll still be here in Tehuantepec, area Guiengola, I dare you all to try and pronounce that, but I will be in a trio with my companion right now and Elder Castro, starting tomorrow. Well I think anyway, because my companion doesn't know all the details but I think that will happen.

Also, this week we have been able to set up another baptismal date and we are really trying to help people receive their answers from God so that they can know for themselves that the gospel is true and that the message that we bring really is the word of God.

But, one thing that has really helped me this week is the scripture in Matthew 17:20.
(only part of the verse) "If ye have as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, remove hence to yonder place, and it shall be removed, and nothing shall be impossible to you" (Emphasis added)

I have been trying to help people work through some problems that they have, because I am a missionary, and so I have been able to see that when we have faith and use it, really nothing is impossible. Even moving mountains. But the mountains that we have to move are not giant rocks in the ground, they are much harder, in my personal opinion to move because they are everything from addictions, to mental and emotional wounds, to whatever it may be that is blocking the way from where we are to where we want to be. But these problems, once we move them, can come back, which is for me personally why I think it is more difficult to move. But, Jesus Christ said that NOTHING would be impossible for us if we have a tiny bit of faith and start to use it. But I want to put another scripture to help emphasize my point, because even if we feel like we don't have that tiny bit of faith or we have lost it, in Alma, we can read that even if we have a desire to believe, it is enough to get started, whether it is for the first time, or the seven hundred and fifty first time. It is not to late, and it is not impossible.

And yeah, that is my .... well it turned into more of a general conference talk that anything with the length of the paragraph... Oh well! Have a good week!

Week 32: Well... Trump won...

Yeah I know that has little to do with my missionary work in Mexico, but it is something!

Anyways, I say that because many people here have asked me who I would have voted for.... I always tell them that that decision is like choosing which leg I want to cut off... XD Sorry to offend any hardcore Trump or Hilary Fans, but it looks like we cut off my left leg!

Pictures aren't working so waiting till next week.

Anyways, back to Mexico! This week was a bit rough... We weren't able to have a lot of lessons, but we did get 3 baptismal dates set!

Anyways, we also had interviews with Mission President and that was good!

But with the three dates that we have scheduled for baptism, they are family members of the first members in my area! Her cousins are and nephew are really open and receiving the gospel with open hearts! But the people here are really great! I can't wait until I can see them get baptized and start on the road to return to their Heavenly Father!

This week, even though I know there will be challenges, I know that I will be able to become the missionary that the Lord would have me be. And I would like to challenge you all to do the same! I think we should all focus on trying to be exactly who God would have us be right now, because we can always be better and He will always help us!

And for anyone who doesn't know where to find out how to get better, I suggest start by praying. And then listen. Listen to your thoughts and feelings and let the good ones lead the way, because all good things come from God. He will help you if you let him, I have seen that happen in my life so I know it will happen in yours too.

So, with that I will be off, until next week! Have a great time in the real world!

Week 31: Well 7 months and running

So yesterday was 7 months and wow, these past 7 months have been absolutely amazing. I can't wait to see what the other 17 months are going to have for me!

Anyways, there are only 4 photos. And they are almost the same...

2 of some candy that one sister in our district bought for our district(Hermana Perdue)

And 2 of the view from a cool cave in my area! But you can't enter into the cave... But there is apparently another entrance on the other side of the mountain, so next Pday maybe! 

But anyway.... This week was really good, we have been really trying to work on helping people start to progress and they are progressing! We were able to help multiple of our investigators make it to church! 

Also, this week we were able to find a lot of new investigators who are starting to change their lives for the better! We had a really good lesson with a member that was one of the first members in Tehuantepec like 50 years ago! She went with us to visit her friend and then her cousin! And with her cousin she testified of eternal families and there is nothing more amazing that to be able to know that you can have a family, FOREVER! And help others come to that knowledge as well!

Anyways... yeah a bit short... but, I hope that you all had a great week and can have another!

Week 30: HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!

HALLOWEEN!!!!  Well actually it is almost the same as ever other day here.... A bit sad, but that is ok!

Photos! Well most of them are from the baptism! Oh yeah we had another :) But some are from our last district meeting where we combined with another district to eat PIZZA! It was good. But yeah you can almost see the pizza in the selfie with the other missionaries. ALMOST.

Anyways, the baptism this week was really good again, but also stressful. My companion told me that baptisms for him hardly work out really well but at least the investigator gets baptized. But the next baptism, I don't know when it will be, but I know that I will do everything in my power so it runs smoothly. It has been a bit difficult this last transfer because the ward doesn't have a lot of leadership in the ward level so we are going to focus on fixing that in the next few weeks.

Also, today were transfers but my companion and I are staying here! Not a lot changed. Only one sister missionary left and one arrived. And everything else is the same.

Hmm... well I want to share a little thought that my companion taught me, but I think someone else showed me before. It comes from the Book of Mormon in 3rd Nephi 11.

 17 Hosanna! Blessed be the name of the Most High God! And they did fall down at the feet of Jesus, and did worship him.

This is when Jesus Christ visited the Americas after his ascension into heaven and when He proclaimed Himself to be the Christ, the shouted Hosanna! If you look up what that word means, it translated means "Save us" (look it up in the Topical Guide) And so if we think about it, the first thing that the Nephites recognized when they saw Jesus, is that through Him we are all saved. And they pleaded for thier salvacion from Him.

We also should always remember that it is only "through the atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel" (Articles of Faith 1:3) If we remember Him and always try to do what He would have us do, we will never make a huge mistake in our lives. Sometimes we might have a rough time, but He didn't have an easy time either.

So, with that I hope you all have a wonderful week and always remember Him!

Week 29: No time!!!!

AHHH! Almost out of time! So short and sweet. Hope these photos attach. Anyway, Photos are of BAPTISMS!!! 3 of them! Ok 2, but one of them 2 got baptized. Also zone meeting, and my district! My zone is the selfie.

And well first I want to talk about the baptisms. We had 3 people get baptized on Saturday, 1 in the morning and 2 in the evening.

First, in the morning my companion baptized Arelette. She is 19 years old and awesome. She has been receiving

lessons for the past like 3 months and we just learned her dad is REALLY REALLY inactive, but still a member!
In the evening we baptized Reyna, an 8 year old girl and her mom Maria Guadalupe! They have recently had a lot of problems, with her spouse (now ex-spouse) a heavy drinker but their baptism also had problems with the font.... so we didn't baptize her until like 8 o'clock at night but they both we baptized and I got to baptize Maria Guadalupe! It was a really neat baptism!
Nothing more this week cuz there is no more time, but with that have a good week!

Week 28: Wow... I was right....

This week was SUPER FAST! I feel like yesterday was PDAY! But today was a good PDay. But...

That is OK! Seguimos con las FOTOS! (Let's continue with the PHOTOS!)

Well one is a cat and me, the cat belongs to a recent convert, well more like a kitten, I like animals, and the kitten well I don't think it likes pictures...

Also, a nice view of my area, Guiengola. I dare you to try to pronounce that.  Also, we found a friend! We didn't name him, but he is a scorpion. He also might be a she, who knows, but it is dead because my companion REALLY doesn't like scorpions. Actually my companion says it is not a scorpion, because it has a different name in Spanish but I think the name is still scorpion in English. There are 3 photos of the scorpion we found in our house.

And the last photo is of me sleeping with a ukulele on my face... Missionaries do weird things when other missionaries fall asleep.

Anyways, this week was awesome! We found a lot of people to teach, even though a lot of other people we found are not interested... But, we also almost had the cops called on us, because we were trying to talk to someone that we had set up an appointment, and then her neighbor came out, she is REALLY OLD, and asked us what we are doing.

When we said we were missionaries, she didn't hear us so we moved closer because we were like 20 feet away. She FREAKED OUT. And was like, AHH WHAT DO YOU WANT?!?! Like we were going to rob her... But we told her we are only here to share a message about Jesus Christ, and then she told us we can't go around to people's houses and do things like that, that is why people get killed... I don't know what was happening with her that day, but we left because she said she was going to look for her phone to call the cops. So even though we didn't do anything, we had an interesting experience at least. And then... Well we talked with some other people that are actually interested!

But... this week we are going to have 3 baptisms! And so that will be great! 2 are part of a family that has been to church a lot and has been investigating the church for a while, but because the husband has a drinking problem, his wife has a hard time making it to church every Sunday. And the other is a really awesome young woman, who will be the first baptized in her family but her brother and mom are going to follow in her footsteps hopefully in a few weeks! The other family has a lot of friends who are members but they will also be the first baptized in their family!

Ok, that is about it for this week, I hope to hear from y'all next week and don't forget to always ask the Lord for direction!

Week 27: And he rounds the first corner!

Well, I have completed 6 months in my mission and I am wondering what happened to the time... If anyone knows a guy that can slow down the time just a little bit I'd like his number.... Actually his email, cuz I can't call him XD

But really, these past 6 months have been incredible, tiring, awesome, incredibly spiritual and amazing. I'm so glad that I have another 18 to go to finish. And I will enjoy every second of that time that I can. Even if I'm fasting in the hot sun, or trudging through hard rain, because even though I am not perfect, my Heavenly Father will always help me through all of my trials if I keep trying with all of my strength.

Ok, now that we finished the mushy part of the letter, PHOTOS! Sorry only 2 this week, not a lot of new things happened... But it was fun! I got to eat a whole fish, so I took a picture of that.
And I got hungry so I bought ICE CREAM! This was the first time I bought ice cream so I had to take a picture. Well first time in my mission. And the first time in Mexico I bought ice cream. Mn'M's ice cream too! It was good and I'll finish it probably tonight.

But, back to the important stuff. This week we tried really hard to get in lots of lessons! And we did! Almost 30, which is good for this area. But, the rough news is that 3 people who had baptismal dates, we haven't been able to find them in their house :O So sadly their dates we had to drop. And it is also REALLY hard to get the investigators to come to church out here, even if they have come like 15 times before and have a baptismal date for next Saturday. So, we are going to work with them especially hard this week, because we all need to go to church.
That means you too. Everyone is going to church this sunday! WOOHOO! HOORAH!

Ok, continuing. I know I probably misspelled that. This week was really good because we were able to find a new family who is interested a little and has a nephew in the mission! How cool! And also we are trying to get the help of the members, and they are really starting to want to help! I realized that I was kind of lazy with helping the missionaries back home... So tell them I said sorry if you get the chance. Because if every member went out with the missionaries one time a month or gave a referral to the missionaries one time a month the missionaries would be SOOOOOOOO GRATEFUL. So there is some advice if you want to help the missionaries out but don't know how.

And so I think I'll end this letter with a mandate to everyone reading this to go and look back over general conference. I listened to the talk 4th floor, last door, by Dieter F. Uchtdorf, given in the Women's conference, the Hermanas in my district told me I had to listen to it because it was good. And it is really good. But you don't have to listen to it. You just have to listen to one of the talks again. And you get to  pick! How great is that homework!

So until next week, (which with the way time is flying for me, it will probably be tomorrow XD)

Week 26: I have a small problem......

TEAM GRINGO!

my district at the BEACH!

Well, anyone who is wondering what my problem is for the subject line, you'll have to wait a second. BECAUSE FIRST IS PHOTOS!

One picture is of my district at the BEACH! We are underneath an umbrella and it is 4 Sister missionaries and 2 Elders and one of them is me. The other is my companion, Elder Velazquez. The Hermanas are Hermana Perdue(above the other Sisters), and (from left to right) Hermana Paz, Hermana Salgado, and Hermana Ascencion. The companions are Hermana Paz/Hermana Salgado and Hermana Perdue with Hermana Ascencion.

picture of me with a bunch of elders,

One picture of the beach from the zone activity.

One picture of me with a bunch of elders, (from left to right) Elder Velazquez(my companion) Elder Robbins(above and American), Elder Seañez(my trainer, and zone Leader right now, with his backpack) and Elder Castro.

"Education is the way on the right"
and the scripture that says,
"I am the way, the light, and the truth.
No one cometh to the Father, but through me." 

One photo of 2 signs right next to each other in Spanish, well 2 things painted on the wall. Translated it says, "Education is the way on the right" and the scripture that says, "I am the way, the light, and the truth. No one cometh to the Father, but through me." I am sorry if that is not how the scripture in John 14:6 is in English because I literally just did a rough translation. But I thought it was funny because there are only 2 ways, Jesus and the way of the world.... Just kidding! Education is GREAT!

desert

Also, there is one photo of some insects that were a desert to one of my lunches! YUM! Thanks to Brother Brady, I fear no insects going into my stomach!

picture of me with a really weird tie

Ok, this picture of me with a really weird tie is what I found in a package that my family sent me. I used that tie for General Conference! I am very glad to have my family, exactly how they are in every weird way that they are. :) (But the question that is haunting me is what strange thing will come in my next package...) (And where in the world do you find that tie?)



















Ok, the other photo is of a party we had for Elder Castro for his BIRTHDAY! We got CAKE! And it was fun.

And the last photo is TEAM GRINGO! Or team American! Because we got to watch conference all by ourselves in ENGLISH! I didn't know  that is a rule of the mission you need to watch conference in your language.


And that last photo leads into my problem. No, it doesn't have to do with the girls there, it is the fact that we tried to speak English AND OUR ENGLISH WAS REALLY BAD.... Thanks to the fact that I haven't spoken much English I have a hard time speaking it. I understand it perfectly but I was trying to speak English with my companion to help his English and it is really hard for me to only speak English. So I'm apologizing in advance for the phone calls my family will have to suffer through....
But this week was really good, but I don't have much more time so I gtg! I was reading Mormon 1 and it is really interesting to see all the things that Mormon went through at such a young age....
But until next week and to all of you, look back on General Conference because it was REALLY AWESOME!

Week 25: Well.... New area is interesting

So no photos this week because well it is a new area so it was more getting accustomed to everything and I am sure I misspelled that... But that is the problem with only using Spanish. But good news!

There are 2 other Americans in my district. And besides my companion and I, the rest of the missionaries in my district are Sister missionaries! It is different because in my old area, in the entire zone there is not 1 sister missionary.

Ok, actually there is 1 that is here with her husband because they both are old and so are their kids so they were like let's serve a mission in Mexico! I want to do that.  But at first it was really weird but then after like 5 minutes it was fun. Also tomorrow we will have a zone activity! On the beach again! How cool!

Ok, so I am learning how to relearn an area because I just got here and my area is big, so I hope I can get it quickly, but I might need a bit of prayer from yáll too because it is a bit difficult right now. I am starting to understand where a few people live.

So this week we focused on setting people up with baptismal dates to help them prepare because in the district we didn't have many, between my companion and myself we only had 2 when I got here, but now we have 6! And 3 for October! We had one for this week but we had to push it so that we could finish teaching her, but now her daughter will be baptized with her!

Other investigators are also really cool and progressing, well more or less. We only had 1 in Sacrament meeting but we are working really hard to get at least 6 to General conference! That will be good! I'm glad I know Spanish sufficient enough to understand the Liahona, so that means I can understand conference too!

Also... Well, actually that is about it. I'll send more pics next week of people and stuff and yeah.
But before I get off, just know that I know I am serving the Lord out here in Mexico, and I have seen miracles. When we trust in our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ they will never let us down. And I know that we will always be able to see the hand of God in our lives if we look.

Also, it is good to remember our baptismal covenants in Mosiah 18 we can find them and if you aren't a member of the church, well it is a really cool chapter to read and see what people a long time ago promised and how people today still promise to do the same!

So until then! Or in Spanish, ¡Hasta entonces!

Week 24: New Area! And Mexican Independance Day!

Well, right now I'm in my 2ND AREA! Almost have 6 months in my mission and I just barely got to my second area, but that is ok. I'll talk more about that later in this email.

PHOTOS! INDEPENDENCE DAY!
That means PARTY with the branch! Well for one night. Also, it meant we had to stay inside the house for a couple of hours because once it gets late, it is a bit dangerous to be out that night. But there are 2 photos of the branch activity. There were singing and dancing and me wearing a mustache... Oh wait, that is not part of the activity, but it happened during the party. It was fun. As missionaries, we just watched the dances that the members performed but it was fun.

me wearing a mustache

There were singing and dancing

new area means a new house

Also, PUPPIES! Yeah, I know I sent a photo of these puppies but who doesn't want more puppies ion their life? Really sad people is the answer to that question.

PUPPIES

And my new area means a new house, so here is a photo of the new house. It is small but nice. Well, it is inside the house. But I like it.

And so.... Well, Monday and Tuesday were good, normal, lots of visits to lots of people.

Wednesday I had a feeling that I would not have another transfer in Rio Grande, so I really tried to help everyone that I could and Wednesday was really good!

Thursday and Friday were independence days so we didn't have a lot to do because everyone was partying and we had to be in the house earlier than usual.

And Friday in the afternoon I got the information that I would be leaving Monday, but I didn't know where  I was going, so I started to get all my stuff ready to go.

Saturday I found out I would be going to Tehuantepec, in the zone of Salina Cruz, which is in the part of Oaxaca called Istmo. I have heard a lot of cool things about stuff in Istmo so I can't wait to experience it! Saturday was also the party for the branch and it was sad because I had to tell everyone that I was leaving but it was still fun.

Sunday was my last day in Rio Grande, and it was a lot of emotions that I was feeling. Sad because I was leaving, excited to get to my new area, happy to get to know more people and places, really sad to see some people for the last time, but I'll keep in contact with them after my mission so it is all good. Sunday night we went to Puerto to spend the night with other missionaries.

And today I left early and got to my new area Tehuantepec at about 1 in the afternoon. My zone leaders are Elder Flores, who is the old companion of Elder Zavala, my old companion, and Elder Seañez! (My old companion, and trainer)

And this week I have been reading in 3rd Nephi, and 3rd Nephi 8 through 10 are really good to read, but chapter 11 is wonderful because that is when Jesus Christ visited the Americas, and that is the best part of the Book of Mormon.

So with that, until next week! Or in Spanish, ¡Hasta la proxima semana!