Sick Again, Crazy Taxi Driver, My First Baptism!!

Hola Mama!!! This past week, especially Saturday was nuts! (but more on that later). On Tuesday we had a great district meeting where we talked about how we can involve members more in the mission work, which we really need help from our ward. We also had a really good lesson with Anaid!

Wednesday we had an appointment with an elderly less-active member who lives with her disabled son. He had a job with a construction company and had an accident where he fell and hit his head, he had his right leg amputated as well and has some other disabilities. He isn’t a member; but he, and his mom, want to come to church. His mom stays with him and watches him every day. She continues to read her scriptures and pray daily and do what she can to keep her faith. What a good example! Later we had to walk through pouring rain to get to another lesson with Alisson. Unfortunately, we didn’t have jackets so we were pretty wet when they got there.

Thursday we had lunch with the Bishop and he gave us a bunch of names of inactives to go see. We tried visiting a few other people (investigators and members) with not much luck though at finding and teaching, except with Anaid. The lesson we had with her and her mom was of us telling them stories of our lives and the things we have been through and experienced. It was good.

Friday I had another talk with Elder Rojas, I understand him a lot more now. We talked about how to be focused on the work and be connected with God we need to remove all the “worldly distractions.” We need to forget them while we are here. We also had intercambios and I went to Colinas with Elder Bernabe. It was a good day.

Saturday started off with Elder Bernabe and I feeling sick. We think it was from the lunch we ate the day before which was Spinach soup, beans, rice and chicken with a mole sauce. I am sick of getting sick! As the day progressed I felt worse and worse and was worried that we would have to cancel the baptism for Alisson. I didn’t want to do that though so I pressed on. After we switched back companions, Elder Rojas and I went to church to clean the baptismal font, turn on the boiler, clean the room and set up chairs. We had to go back to the casa so I could get my baptism clothes and camera. This is the crazy part.

Because we were running late we decided to take a taxi. The taxi driver was driving like a maniac though. He swerved around a car that was stopped in front of us and hit an elderly woman crossing the street. He hit her so hard. When we went back to see her she was conscious and breathing but not moving. When the police showed up they arrested the taxi driver. We waited for a bit til an ambulance came and took the lady away. We also talked to the police to see if we needed to stay to give our statements as witnesses and they said no so we headed to the church with a member that stopped by to help. We were a lot late getting to the church and I was thinking that we would have to postpone Alisson’s baptism. Luckily that didn’t happen. When it was time for me to baptize Alisson, there was just enough water to baptize her.

I realized after all the crazy things that happened today, that it was a result of Satan not wanting us to baptize her. Satan didn’t want me to have the opportunity and privilege to baptize Alisson. He is sneaky and cunning but God is all powerful and will help us overcome our challenges. I didn’t think Alisson was ready for baptism before but I’m so glad she was baptized. I could see a difference in her after. I know it’s not important who baptizes as long as they get baptized but I’m so happy she chose me to do it.

That’s cool the subject was on that for you guys in church: "Why God allows suffering." There are lots of scriptures that talk about why as well in the Book of Mormon! We can always find answers in the Book of Mormon! but thank you for your thoughts on that too!

One more thing! my pants and my shirts are all pretty big on me now! I don’t know how much I weigh now but we have interviews tomorrow with President and Hermana Urrea and they usually bring a scale for us to check our weight. Hermana Urrea asks us questions about our health and if we need any supplies for the casa while President talks to us about the work and what not. It’s nice to have support for anything we need. I gotta go now! Thanks for everything mama! I love you so much!

Alisson's Baptism

District Meeting

District Meeting

Rest of the pictures are from Alisson's Baptism!

Look for Miracles In Your Life

Hola mama! Como estas? So, Tuesday was a fantastic day! We got to go to the temple! I had some family names that Elder Coltrin, my companion and I were able to do. It was awesome to be able to do that work for 3 members of our family, to help them progress in the spirit world! Also, while I was there I tried to focus on the feelings I had and focus on the spirit. I prayed for many things, specifically for help to understand promptings and revelation from God through the spirit. The temple is a wonderful place to learn and hear from God. I definitely took temples for granted and didn’t appreciate them as much as I should have before my mission. I love the temples!

Wednesday we had our district meeting and it was really good. After that, we had a couple of other lessons and were on our way to visit another investigator when a woman in a car stopped us and was super excited to see/talk to us. She and her family used to live in Utah where they were in Herriman for about 10 years! Only one person in their family is LDS but she invited us to come teach her and her family on Sunday. Holy smokes did that really happen? Yes it did, because God works miracles and we had faith in Him. God truly is all powerful and blesses his children.

Thursday was a day of milagros (miracles). After lunch we found 2 solid contacts and had a good lesson with a new investigator. Then we went and stopped by a house of some members to see how they are doing and share a little lesson with them. They told us how one time they went to the USA, to Utah, to visit the Salt Lake Temple and other church sites. How awesome that they got to go do that? Today was a good day thanks to my Heavenly Father. There are miracles that happen every day and we don’t realize it.

So I guess there were two earthquakes here on Friday. We saw people standing in the streets and heard people talking about how there were two earthquakes that happened within a few hours of each other, but the crazy thing is, my companion and I didn’t feel it at all! But I know that Heavenly Father protected us during that time. He will protect you if you are keeping the commandments and following the rules!

Saturday was the worst day ever, but not really 😃. We went to Pizza Hut for dinner. I have been dying for pizza lately, well pizza and cinnamon rolls. The pizza was great but the cinnamon rolls were practically burnt to a crisp. What the heck Pizza Hut?!?!?!... Today was a good day though! We had a lesson with the Familia Tapia. They are just like sponges absorbing everything we teach them in their casa and what they learn at church too. They understand and learn super quick. It’s funny because they wait for us to tell them if they can read certain books, chapters or the pamphlets we give them because they think that there's books that are restricted or for certain people. They also like to ask us so they don’t read anything that will confuse them. They are progressing super fast! It’s awesome! A true miracle and gift from God.

Sunday started out great with 7 of our investigators coming to church. 7! How awesome! And my talk I gave was super awesome too! It was titled “Through God’s Eyes” by Elder Renlund. It’s about how we should learn to look at people through God’s eyes so we can understand them and help them. “Mourn with those that mourn and comfort those that stand in need of comfort.” It’s a really amazing and encouraging talk. After church we had 2 lessons with 2 different families. After we got back to the casa though my companion basically lectured me for 30 minutes. We talked about all of the things he mentioned before and I have improved a lot! I know I have. One good piece of advice he gave me is that I need to get out of my head that I need to speak perfect Spanish to be able to talk. I will only learn by making mistakes when I speak. We both have things we need to work on, especially me, I know I can do and be better with the help of my Heavenly Father.

Okay next is my spiritual thought. Every day for one week, at the end of each day I want you to write down or record somewhere one miracle that happened. If you are able to find more miracles all the better! When you do this, you will show God that you are able to recognize him helping you each day and it will help grow your faith in Him as well!

Make it a good week! God is on your side and with him anything and everything is possible! We just need to have faith and act on that faith! Remember to look for miracles this week! Tell other people to do it too!

I love you so much Mama!
#SpencerFuerte!
#ParkFuerte!

 (Fuerte means Strong - I love this!!!)

I want to be an Extraordinary Missionary!!

Hola Mama! Megan had a boy?? AAHHHH que bueno!!! (That's awesome!) So, after we emailed last week the rest of p-day was super good. We had our first lesson with Alexa and then another lesson with Alisson. The lesson with Alexa went great and I talked a lot doing the lesson! Our lesson with Alisson went good. We talked with her and her mom and they, unfortunately, are still having problems with respect and anger and not doing the things we invite them to do. We had a member brother with us helping to teach them the importance of praying, reading scriptures as a family, being obedient and going to church. I’m still worried about them doing those things though. I really don’t know how to help them besides for praying to ask God to help change their hearts.

Tuesday we had our zone conference with another zone and it was very inspiring. It really was a great conference. It was great to learn from President and Hermana Urrea and see other missionaries and talk with them. It was also especially nice that I got the packages you sent full of candy and other useful supplies. My family is the best in the world! PS feel free to send Reeses any time, especially fast breaks! They have Snickers and Twix and Hershey’s chocolate here but no Reeses!!!! What kind of place is this?!?!?!?!?!?! hahahaha jkjkjk.

Wednesday was a great day. Elder Rojas is teaching me how to study and plan our days more effectively, and how to teach more effectively as well. I love it because I’m learning so much, teaching better lessons, growing and becoming a better missionary. We had a lesson with a member family that I was super nervous for because I knew I would have to start teaching the lesson without help from Elder Rojas, but I had faith that God would help me and he did! We taught a great lesson! I followed the spirit and asked inspired questions, shared scriptures, talked about how to apply the principles in their lives and shared personal experiences too! It was an awesome day and it is because our Heavenly Father helped us.

Thursday I’m pretty sure we walked around all of Mexico looking for people from our book of references. It takes a lot of time walking from reference to reference, but for most of the people we planned to visit, we were able to find out if they actually lived there or if they moved. We were also able to have a lesson with a less active family too. The morning was good with our studies too. Elder Rojas is really helping me understand how important it is to ask inspired questions from heaven, listen carefully to their answers, discern (with the help of the spirit) and then teach them the doctrine they need to hear with scriptures, experiences, questions, testimonies. Then inviting them to commit to do something with what we teach. It’s an uphill challenge, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. “The key to know God is to struggle.”

Friday was a busy day with crazy weather. It was sunny, cloudy and rainy, sunny again, pouring rain, cloudy, pouring rain again (while we had to walk to our casa) and then just cloudy again. The weather here is more bi-polar than it is in Utah! We also had 3 more lessons. First with Anaid who thinks she needs to know everything before she is baptized. Then the family Tapia (that had an evil spirit living in their house, but they don’t anymore). They feel so much more peace and tranquility in their lives and want to keep investigating and learning. Then Alisson. We found out that she gets bullied at school and as a result of her getting bullied, she argues, fights with and doesn’t respect her family. I don’t know how to help them…

Saturday was a busy day looking for references and walking a lot, but we also decided to go back to the casa a couple of hours early so we could plan and have a talk. Elder Rojas was complaining about me not walking fast enough, not doing this right, not doing this fast enough, etc. I’m not a perfect missionary but thanks to the Lord I am really patient. Rather than blowing up at him I decided to listen to what he had to say, apologized for the things I’m not doing and explained the reasons behind the things he said and told him I’m learning. I do need to try harder with pretty much everything. After I explained my side, he apologized and admitted that he needs to be more patient. We have things we need to work on but we are helping each other learn and be better.

Sunday was a good day, we had 5 of our investigators at church! Among the 5 was the Tapia family who keep saying that our church is so interesting and different than other churches. They feel so much more peace and calmness in their lives and their kids love going to Young Women’s and Primary. It’s so awesome to see them learning and changing their lives. Later in the day we had a lesson with Alisson and decided to review the restoration with her and her mom. We taught from the pamphlet and drew pictures on a whiteboard they had to try and help her understand and I really think it helped! We also went to visit a family of less actives.

We ended the day talking about the differences between a normal missionary and an extraordinary missionary. An extraordinary missionary asks inspired questions to get to know the investigators, listens to the promptings of the spirit and teaches lessons according to these promptings. They listen to what investigators are saying to discern their needs. They don’t just come up with a lesson plan, teach it and then leave. They treat other people kindly and don’t talk bad about their companions or leaders. All those things and so much more. I want to be an extraordinary missionary. I want to be able to hear and teach according to the inspiring question I’m prompted to ask from the Spirit. I have a lot to learn, but with the help of God and the spirit, I know possibly one day I will be an extraordinary missionary.

I love you so much Mama! I hope you have a great week! PS in the pic of my zone, my comp is the one on the very left.

They are cookies and cream Oreos -- Oreos
are already cookies and cream?!?!?! :)

Strange, Stressful Week That Ended With Peace and Comfort

Hola Mama! Como Estas? Last Monday was my last full day with Elder Anastacio. He is a super awesome missionary and we have grown really close. He is a brother to me and always will be. He taught me to talk and teach with confidence and also to breathe and relax if ever I was stressed or worried with anything. Also, how important it is to listen to the spirit and follow it’s promptings. I’m not gonna lie, I’m super bummed that he is leaving and that I’m getting another companion. I am trying though to have a positive outlook on this upcoming cambio and trust in God because he knows what’s best for me and how to help me become a better missionary.

Tuesday we went to the offices for cambios. My new companion Elder Rojas is from Chile and he is changing things up for our area. I think it will be tough but also a great learning experience for me to be with him. We had one visit with an investigator who we haven’t been able to visit for a couple weeks due to various reasons and she was mad at Elder Anastacio and I because we didn’t send her any messages or call either. I apologized to her and we eventually were able to talk about some questions she had and scheduled Saturday to come back for another lesson.

Wednesday we had district meetings and besides us there are 2 other new missionaries. Both are Hermanas and one of them is from Draper Utah! I think her name is Hermana Dahl and she’s only been in the field 2 days. I also had a check-up with my doctor and dijo que estoy libre de mi dieta! Necesito ser cuidadoso con algunos comidas pero puedo comer muchas otras comidas! (Google translated: he said I am free of the diet! I need to be careful with some meals but I can eat many other foods!) Oh how happy I am that I can at least eat cereal again!

Thursday I worked on learning new study skills from Elder Rojas. He does things a lot differently than my other companions. They put their own twist on the missionary work and I absolutely think that that is a good thing. He also doesn’t know a whole lot of English, but it is helping me understand and speak the language better. We stopped by the Juarez family to visit with them as well. They were sad Elder Anastacio got transferred but super glad I’m still here. Eventually I extended to them an invitation to be baptized the 24^th of this month. They are going to talk about it as a family, but I know they are excited about it.

Friday was a strange day. We had an appointment with a member at his friend’s house who he told us has a spirit living in his house that keeps making strange noises in a certain part of his house and keeps bothering his two kids. He wanted us to come help get rid of the spirit because we have the proper authority to do so. I had no idea what to do but luckily Elder Rojas did. When we went into their house I didn’t feel anything super crazy, but it did feel strange. When we entered the kids bedroom it felt like a different pressure was around us. We said a prayer there but we need to go back to try and help them more.

Saturday was super rough. One of our investigators called and cancelled her lesson and other investigators we had planned to visit weren’t home. So we went back to the casa to have some practices; and during them, I felt like I didn’t know anything. I honestly felt like a horrible missionary and that I didn’t learn anything these past few months. But the truth is that I have actually learned a lot. I am progressing. Elder Rojas is helping me a lot. It’s rough but through my companion and being here in this area, God is helping me learn, grow and become better. I know if I keep trying, keep practicing, keep talking, studying, press forward, have faith and be diligent, I can become better. Be a better missionary, companion, leader, man and example to those around me.

Sunday was another day full of learning but thanks to the help of my gracious, kind and loving Heavenly Father, I was able to feel peace and comfort. I know that God loves me and that He is always here to help me. The trials I go through help me to grow and become closer to God. Our new family of investigators came to church today, the ones that have a spirit living in their house, and they told us they could feel a difference in their house. It feels better than before but we still need to help them more with their situation. While they were at church they said they felt a peace and a sense that they have never felt before. How awesome that they were able to feel the Holy Ghost and feel welcomed by the members of the ward! It was a better day because they attended church and because God gave me peace, comfort and strength to be able to learn.

It's hard but I know it will all be worth it. I love you so much! Have a great week mama! PS, I don’t have a pic with my new companion, but I will get you one next week!