Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Milagros.

Hi everyone!

Although I have so much to say, this will probably be a short email. I don't have much time left! BUT I want to share with guys what a great week this has been! It was a 100% different change to my last 18 weeks that I have had in Mexico. My companion is incredible and loving. She is so funny as well. We have been reading the Book of Mormon every night in voz alto, or aloud. She reads in Englisha dn I read in Spanish. I have really seen a difference with my spanish and her english, even in the short time we have been doing it. 

We had so many MIRACLES this week. Literally everyday. We were able to reach almost all of the goals that we made this week. We even had a couple people come up to us to talk about the gospel. AND in a good way :) We have two girls who are taking the lessons now. They are really sweet and we are looking forward to meeting their family this week. 

On Wednesday we were walking to an appointment. We passed by a man who was selling tacos. We talked to him for a while and he ended up giving us a ton of tacos for free and we were also able to set an appointment to see him. About an hour or two later, an appointment fell so we went to visit a family that is less active. We read the Book of Mormon with them and it was really great and spiritual. We started walking to our lunch appointment at about 2:45 and we passed by an less active members house. We realized something was going and realized that woman's husband (who is American) was suffering from something. He had a fever of about 107 and was cunvulsing. He could hear but couldn't talk or control his body. It was very scary. As we waited for help the missionaries in our ward were able to come and give him a blessing. I was also able to talk to him in English to calm him down. You could really see the difference in his convuslions when I wa tlaking to him. He could understand better. Then when the ambulance came you could tell he was very scared because everyone was talking in Spanish and he is very old so I know ti must have been difficult. I know though that had we not passed it might have been worse had I not been able to be there to talk to him to calm him down. I also got permission to call and send a text to his famiyl in english to let them know what was going on. We ended up being there later waiting for the grand mother of the daughters of this wife and husband to come. We missed eating for the rest of the day BUT since we got to eat a ton of free tacos we didn't need it. Literally, that was just ONE day of many miracles we saw this week. We met two more people who are deaf and I was able to talk to them about the gospel. I have picked up the differences a little bit from American sign language to spanish sign language. 

It has been great in the mission and I am so grateful to be here.. I have been here for almost 6 months! It seems like one week! We are working diligently to make the best of the time that we have. 

Well my time is up! I love you guys so much and miss you guys always! 

Con todo my carzon,
Hermanaut
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Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Busy Week!

Please meet my new companion, Hermana Lopez!
Hi Family!

You guys, as always are so great! I am so grateful to have each and every one of you!

This has been a crazy week! <<we have had a bunch of activities at church that we had to assist and whatnot. A lot of our appointments fell. I have a new companion. Her name is Hermana Lopez from Spain. She is so incredibly sweet so far and I am really looking forward to these next 6 weeks with her!

I really don't have much to say. I have had quite a few people "throw stones" at me/us (in the mission and outside) for The Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith, and our belief that there is a prophet on earth today. I simply want to share a video with you by a church leader that we have and my testimony. 


I KNOW that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. It was written by prophets that lived in the Americas during the 600 years before Christ until the 421 years after Christ. I know that Jospeh Smith TRANSLATED the Book of Mormon from it's original language to English. I know that Jospeh Smith was inspired by God to translate these book because no man of his age or education could have done it. I know the the Book of Mormon testifies of three things: Jesus Christ, God, and their unconquering love for us. I know that the Bible and the Book of Mormon were inspired by God. I am grateful for both of them daily. I can find peace in my heart and answers to my questions through the use of both of them. I know that the Book of Mormon helps us understand the doctrine that is taught in the Bible better, not because the Book of Mormon is better but because the Bible has been translated so many times that things have been left out, taken out, or motified to fit the desires of man rather than God. I know that the Book of Mormon is the most correct of any book on earth. I KNOW these things because I have asked God, in an honest prayer if it is His word. I have prayed over and over again with the intent that whatever answer that He may give me, that I will follow it. I know these things to be true because I have recieved an answer from God. 

Thank you all so very much for your love and support. These are the only things that I need.

I love you all so much.

Hermanaut
These are some members that we love so dearly!


The only thing Hermana Arroyo could say
this morning when I made her put
on this tattoo was "I literally have
 a companion who has not grown
 up since she was 8... and 8 because
she has been baptized..." hahaha



ACAPULCO!


Mexico!

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Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Buenos Dias de Costa Azul!

Me and my companion Hermana Arroyo...
this is probably our last transfer together! :(
Hi everyone, thanks as always for showing me so much love and interest in my life here in Mexico! It has been an interesting and challenging week! For one, it has been unbbelievably hot and humid this week! We also had to do a number of things that are just mission business things that really kind of interfered with some of plans! But all is well! We had inteviews with our mission president on Thursday! He is a really great guy. He asked us to pick three things that we can be better at to share with him. It ended up being very spiritual and I am grateful for the things that I was able to learn.


The last time we would meet as a zone! These Elders are crazy!

At the eginning of this week we were searching for a house of a man that we had contacted the week before. We had an appointment with him and just couldn't find his house. This happens quite a bit here. The houses don't have numbers, the streets don't have names and even if they do the people legitimately don't know their address. It can be a bit frustrating sometimes. BUT as we were looking for them we saw a woman hanging up her clothes to dry afuera of her house. We began to ask her what number her house was, she signaled to us to wait and went inside to get someone. I immediately realized that she was deaf... my heart stopped with excitement! She came back with her brother-in-law and I explained that I know American Sign Language... I told him I wasn't sure if I would still be able to communicate with her but we tried and I actually understood a large portion of what she was telling me!! Although, she doesn't really use American Sign Language or Mexican Sign Language, it's a 
The American is Elder Neilsen of Californa, USA.
He is/was our zone leader! He is probably the
best missionary ever! He is finishing his mission
 this week and it is the tradition that everyone
in the zone cuts up the missionary's tie
 until the very top and then finally his last
companion cuts it all off!
mixture of Mexican sign language and her own signs that she has created with her family! It was so incredibly cool! We are actually teaching her family and when she had time she allows me to TRY and express the gospel to her! It was so awesome! 
Elder Morales of Vera Cruz, Mexico.
He was our district leader and is also terminating
his mission this week! Also, Elder Morales is jealous of my
height so we pretended that he was taller than me! haha
 Anna and Mattew came to church this Sunday with their two sons! They really loved it. We are having a Family Home Evening with them tomorrow! It's funny because at first, Anna was more set about everything and really motivated but Matthew has really stepped up and wants to know for himself if the things that we are teaching are true! they are reading and praying diligently! I am so excited for them!

I don't really have much to say this week. My spiritual thought though for the week is really more of a reminder. Family and friends, please remember that you are children of God. Your souls are more than just life that you recieved when you were born. Your souls come from a Heavenly Father. Your worth is very great and you have a divine potential that can not be described. He loves you so very much and He will not leave you in your struggles. As we give up our will to His, I promise that your lives will have more meaning that just waking up, eating, working, eating, and sleeping again. Your lives have so much worth and we can truly feel an infinit happiness when we allow our will to be in line with our Heavenly Father's.

I love you all so very much! thank you for your love and support always!
We have transfers next Monday so we will see if i get transferred or not!

Con todo mi corazon,
Hermanaut

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Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Cuernavaca and Back!

You all are so wonderful for including me in your 4th of July adventures by sending me some really fun pictures! I am really so grateful for each and every one of you! :)
MMMM TACOS! Please ignore the posters
 in the background, they are a work in progress 
that we dont use enough haha
This week we had to go to the mission home again to get my temporary residency card. On wednesday afternoon at about 3, we took the drive there and stayed the night in Cuernavaca. We came back Thursday afternoon and got back to Acapulco at about 6:30 that night. It is hard to reach some of our goals when we are out of our area for so long but we are working very hard to get back on track!
We have been working with a woman here name Anna! She is the sweetest thing! She had a really tough childhood which included being sold off to be married at 13. She had 3 children with her first husband but more bad luck came her way and had to escape that marriage and is now married to another wonderful man named Matthew. They live together with her 2 youngest boys and they call Matthew their dad. Through these times she has struggled to find the correct church. We were referred to her by another family of investigators that we have and she has really embraced the gospel. At first her husband was really against "the Mormons" but after we had talked to him and has seen how much more hope and happiness she has he is willing to see what the church and this gospel

Los Tarascos, the best tacos in the whole world!
have to offer. She has read in the Book of Mormon quite a bit but admitted to us that she wasn't praying until a couple nights ago. She even bought a new dress to attend church yesterday but has had some really bad health issues and has been unable to walk for a couple days and they could not attend. BUT yesterday after church we visited her and talked with her and she told us that she knows that she will be able to attend next week. She was willing to recieve a priesthood blessing yesterday and afterward she expressed to us that she feels as if this is what she has been waiting for and other very wonderful things. She has a son that is 10 years old and has been very welcoming to us and he also looks forward to church. Her other youngest son is 6 and is a huge goofball! Please pray for Anna and her family that they can find the ways to become even closer to our Heavenly Father!!

Yesterday the ward Relief Society president (the part of church where all the woman are together) gave the lesson. She said some things that I would like to share :) I am not sure if she made this up or had heard it before but it really made me do some deep thinking.
"Faith is an action word. The action is obedience."
I have really been pondering this and it has given me such a new perspective. When we are obedient and follow all of the commandments that God has given us we are truly showing our faith. Faith is believing in things that we can't touch or see. We can't physically touch or see the blessing that come from obedience but we can feel them. We can know the truth of them by the guidance of the Holy Ghost. As we choose to be obedient, we are aligning ourselves with Heavenly Father and with His plan. We recieve difts through this obedience and our faith is no longer faith but knowledge because we have endured in faith. We see the blessing of obedience which increases our faith.
We were stoked when the water finally came back!

I am so grateful to be here. Although things have been very tough with my companion I am trying to understand what she is going through and love her even when it's hard, just as all of you have understood and loved me even when I didn't deserve it. I am learning so much about the plan that God has for us, about this Gospel and about myself. I am being tried every single day and I am grateful for it. I know that through our trials we recieve answers to prayers and can become a new person. I know that when we change it isn't to better only ourselve but to help others. As I have truly realized, you never know how much your faith and being close to God can truly save another person. Many of you were there for me when I was investigating in this gospel and it is because of you that I am here serving and trying to give back all that you gave me. Thank you for your love and support always.

I love you guys with all that I have.
Hermanaut
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Thursday, July 3, 2014

Happy Birthday America!

Hi there!

I know that you are all doing fun stuff this week for 4th of July! Please bask in it for me! It's one of my favorite holidays! Also, shout out to my homeboy Elder Halverson whose birthday is this coming 4th of July as well! Feliz Cumpleanos Elder Halverson! Also, I am not sure why I said homeboy, I never say homeboy... hahaha

Anyyyyway! This last week was quite up and down again! I have been focusing my efforts more on helping my companion. She is really a great girl and I want her to be happy. Please continue to keep her in your prayers!

This last Thursday around 7 pm we decided to search for a kid that we had contacted on the street the week before. We really had planned for him because we felt that he was really interested. We asked one of the members in our ward, Daniel, to come with us and everything. We got to the apartment, I knocked and a woman answered. I was terrified because she seemed very angry. I asked if this kid lived there and she said no, that she was in the middle of something and was very frustrated. I, for some reason, was stumped on what to say... I finally introduced myself, my companion, and Daniel. I told her we were missionaries and asked if we could share a short message with her. She stared at me for a little while and finally agreed. When we entered her house and finally sat down , we prayed and I decided to share a message about the sacrifice that Christ made with her. She expressed feelings that she feels like she is doing everything alone. We expressed to her that she isn't. She began to cry. She told us that she never opens the door or let's strangers into her house but she did with us. She was so grateful that we were mistaken and didn't find the person we wre looking for. It was a really spiritual experience that we had. I really feel as if God sent us her way because she really needed help. She will not be with us here much longer, she is moving to Cancun on Saturday but Friday afternoon we are visiting her to help her pack!

Something that I wish to express to you all is how perfectly Christ knows each of us individually. Before He was crusified, we prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane for help in enduring what He would have to endure. As he did, he suffered all of the sins, pains, trials, and saddness of everyone that ever lived, all that are living now, and all that will live. He suffered so much, that the scriptures say that His sweat were as drops of blood. I imagine that every drop of blood was each and every single one of us. He literally felt all that we have felt and will felt. We are not alone in any trial that we may face. He has suffered all of these things in order to help us personally. If we have faith in Christ, we will never be alone. I promise you all that the things that are hard in your lives willnot last. I promise that if you pray for strength that you will recieve it. Christ knows all of your pains and afflictions personally and He can help you in all your times of need. 
Please meet Marco and Nacho! These two kids are THE CRAZIEST pair of twins I have
 ever met! LITERALLY, they are like two HUGE tornadoes! Last week we saw
them in Wal Mart and someone asked me if they were my kids because
they are guerritos (little white kids) like me! hahaha Also, a man asked me if
 I was from Brazil last week hahaha I love this place! 

I have also been thinking a lot on the subject of repentance. This word sometimes seems to be a harsh word. Often times we think that it is something bad. What I have learned through studying the scriptures lately is that repentance is the most liberating this we have in this world. If we choose to, we can repent of our sins and be completely clean through the blood and sacrifice of Jesus Christ. As we repent, we draw closer to Him and to God and allow ourselves to live in gratitude. I have realized that repentance is a gift. If we didn't have it, we could not progress. The Gift of Repentance is something that Christ asks us to do so that we may drawy closer to Him and live in much more happiness. Family, we all make mistakes. We are not perfect and that's ok. We have this gift though, and we must have faith in Christ and his sacrifice if we truly want to live in peace and harmony with what God has planned for us. 

I love you all so very much. Thank you for supporting me through these last FIVE months! Yikes! On Saturday will be the five month mark of being in a mission! How crazy! I miss you all, enjoy your 4th of July weekend and be safe! Also, pray that the water comes back, we haven't had water for a week and although camping is fun, it's much faster to shower without a bucket!! hahaha

Love you guys! You are always in my prayers!
Hermanaut
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