Transferred to Campestre in Alamedas and Training Elder Hernandez

Hola Mamá! Wow this week was crazy and I was nervous at first to be a trainer but things are going really good! Elder Hernandez is an awesome Elder! This will be a great cambio! There was some craziness the beginning of the week but things are going good now and calming down a bit. This cambio we are supposedly going to have a few activities for Christmas so that’s another reason this cambio will be super awesome! 

About last week though, on Monday we deep cleaned the casa then after emailing everyone we went to visit Izabel and Gilberto and their family. We still didn’t know what was happening with cambios but I wanted to take a picture with them in case I was the one who ended up leaving (so it was a good thing he did). Our Zone Leaders told us we would definitely know about cambios by 7:45 the next morning. I felt good about whatever change was coming though.

Tuesday we got a call at 7:45 telling us that Elder Herrera is going to be training and that I am going to Campestre in Alamedas to finish training Elder Hernandez. We needed to be in the offices at 11 a.m. but it was 8 when Elder Stenquist told us this and I didn’t have anything packed. So we took a little over an hour to pack up my 3 suitcases, took a bus part way then we took a taxi to get to the offices. I met Elder Hernandez, we dropped of my things at the casa and then we learned that part of our mission that is in the state of Mexico is being reorganized. All the stake and ward limits are all different and the Area of Campestre is being divided into 2 parts. My companion and I are in part B which was the area of La Colmena before. So we slept in the casa of Campestre A then were told we had to go to the other house in the new divided Campestre. We are basically opening our area which we know nothing about but all will turn out Okay! My companion is from Puebla Mexico, is 18 years old and has 7 brothers and sisters.

Wednesday we had a district meeting and Elder Farmer, who is the new district leader, told me that he and his companion baptized a family that Elder Rojas and I found! How awesome that he got to harvest the seeds that we planted!! Elder Farmer is from Kamas and has 6 months in the mission, was called to be the DL and is also training a new missionary Elder Ivie who is from Saratoga Springs, UT. After the district meeting we had to change casas so thankfully I had barely unpacked when I got here. We had to change casas because of all the boundary changes so while things are still getting sorted out, we are in the casa of the zone leaders for a while. The Area of Campestre is bigger now so there’s 4 missionaries working in it but in different parts, A and B. It’s still kind of crazy and will be for a few weeks.

In the house we are staying in there are 3 mattresses and only one of them has the bed frames. So while one person sleeps on the bed with the frames, the other 3 sleep on the other 2 mattresses on the ground, turned sideways. This is how we have to sleep for the next week or so. It’s really not that bad but we barely have enough blankets. Because it gets colder in the night we have to wear extra clothes while we sleep. Anywho, later in the afternoon we were able to find a few contacts and went to an appointment we had with Linda and Angel (our only 2 progressing investigators). Linda’s husband, Alfredo, is a member but she and their son Angel are not. Alfredo and Linda aren’t married and to be baptized they need to get married. My companion told me they were originally planning to do it in January, but after the lesson, they told us they are planning now to get married the 14th of December and then want to be baptized the next day! They are a super awesome family!

Friday we were told that the district changed that day so we aren’t in the same district as Elders Farmer, Ivie, Juarez or Romero. I’m pretty sad about that, but it’s okay though I suppose. We didn’t have any appointments that day so we went to look for a couple of former investigators and contact new people. We were able to contact 14 people! It was super awesome. We walked a ton and were super tired at the end of the day.

Saturday we had a few appointments with some contacts and we able to find one new investigator and then later in the day we were able to find 13 more new contacts! The new investigator is Edith and although she likes to talk a lot and has some interesting ideas, she believes in Jesus and likes to read the Bible and is very interested in learning about the church. We invited her to be baptized on the 19th of January and she accepted. She told us right then that she had received a message from God that this is the right path for her. She is very receptive to the spirit!

Wow that’s super awesome that you guys got to have a great Thanksgiving and spend time with gramps. We didn’t do anything exciting here for Thanksgiving but we did eat some ramen hahaha! Oh! I want you to see if you can look up a talk from Brad Wilcox called Red lights, Green lights, and Personal Revelation and listen to it! It is incredible and just super amazing!

I love you so much mamá!!! have a great week!

With Izabel and Gilberto and their family before cambios

My companion got bit by something so this member was
helping him clean out his wound.

Our sleeping arrangements for a few weeks :)

A Casa with Concrete and no Insulation Makes for Cold Mornings

Hola Mamá! How are you? First off I wanted to ask if you liked the things I sent home :). I saw the pictures! As far as cambios, we don’t know what’s going on yet. Our Zone Leaders are going to tell us in the night. 

Last Monday was a pretty great day. After our p-day ended we went to an appointment with a man named Juan who actually contacted us last week in the street. He told us he wanted to talk with us because he is looking for peace and tranquility in his life. It was a very good lesson and I was able to feel a very strong, calm and peaceful feeling while we were there with him. He has a chronic sickness and is a very skinny man because there are times he can’t eat with this sickness he has. He is a very smart guy and very interesting too. He knows a lot about the bible and religions and knows how to play a lot of different instruments and also likes to sing opera. We had a good lesson talking with him to get to know him and what we can do to help him.

Tuesday we had our last district meeting for the cambio and what made it sad was it was Elder Donkersgoed’s last meeting before he goes home. Because it was his last meeting the Hermanas brought him a pie and a poster that we all signed and my companion and I also brought dobladas that the family Avendaño Cruz were kind enough to make for us. We had a really good last district meeting and then luckily for my companion and I we were able to go after the meeting to eat lunch with the Familia Avendaño Cruz. The mom, Adriana, is basically the other mom here in Tula and she calls us her sons. After we ate lunch Adriana and her daughter Yarit asked us to give them both blessing of comfort and strength for some hard things they are going through. It was a really awesome experience. I know I didn’t say everything correctly because in blessings and prayers you talk in a different form that as missionaries is not normal, but I gave it my best. Later we had a lesson with Marcos. He told us he was hopefully going to be able to rest from work Sunday so he could come to church. To help him we fasted and prayed a lot. Oh it also rained a lot in the afternoon and evening and it was super cold. 

Wednesday was a really cold day. Our casa is made of concrete and has no insulation and it was about 48 degrees. I was freezing in the morning. I bought a jacket though that is fantastic! I wore it throughout the day along with Nike spandex and sweatpants under my suit pants, two pairs of socks, a scarf and my Bronco’s beanie, that is oh so comfortable :). I was able to stay pretty warm throughout the day. We visited the girl Tania who is from Idaho to try and help her keep reading the scriptures and start coming to church again. Her two little daughters are so adorable too! 

Thursday was another super cold day. I heated up my clothes on the radiator looking heater we have and was able to have warm clothes. One of the lessons we had was with a little boy who is a recent convert, and his family, about the Restoration of the Gospel. We used a picture book my companion has that is actually really awesome and made it super helpful to teach him. Later in the day we found a part of the colony we have never been to and were able to find a few good contacts but ran out of time as the night and darkness came. I think we will have lots of luck in this area so we were going to go back another day.

Friday was a lot warmer and it was fantastic! We went and had a lesson with Marcos about the Word of Wisdom. He told us that he only drinks alcohol every now and then and drinks coffee in the mornings for breakfast; but after we explained what the commandment is, why we have it and the blessings that come from keeping it, he understood it all completely. He told us because it made sense to him he is going to do his best to give up drinking alcohol and coffee so he can receive the blessings and promises that we told him. Because we have cambios coming up and don’t know what will happen, I brought my camera so we could take a picture with him. I want to remember Marcos and stay in contact with him.

Saturday we went back to the area we were in on Thursday. We found a bunch of teaching records from previous missionaries in that area so we took those records and went to search for those people and contact as well. While we were searching, we found a few of those former investigators and scheduled appointments for this next week to go back and visit them. We were also able to contact some new people as well and make appointments to go back next week. We have quite a few appointments this next week and I feel really great about that. Who knows what will happen with cambios but whoever is here will have a lot of people to visit.

Thank you so much mamá! I love you so much! have a fantastic week! Please tell grandpa I love him and oh! Happy Thanksgiving!

Brrrr. It was cold in our casa.

Elder Herrera, Marcos and me

Me and my companion (far right) with the Familia Avendańo Cruz
(Andross, Yarit, Adriana, Hector and Mamá de Adriana)

Overall Good Week of Lessons, Making Alfredo and a Multi-Stake Conference

Hola Mamá! This past week it didn’t rain but I have been using my rain jacket that we got from missionary mall as a sweater. It’s hot in the day and cool and at times cold in the night. Sometimes I don’t have that jacket so I just rely on walking and going into people’s houses to stay warm. I’m not dying though so don’t worry, all is well! :)

After our time for p-day ended last week we were supposed to have a lesson with a recent convert but she forgot so we had to reschedule for another day, so we went to look for some contacts and references we received from members. We were able to find a woman who is a member but is inactive and has been for a few years now because of a situation that happened with her ex-husband. She has their 3 daughters and is living with her mom doing her best to take care of the girls. She doesn’t really want to go to church but she cares a lot about her daughters and gave us permission to teach them. Well to teach her two older girls, who are 12 and 9 years old, and if they want to be baptized she is okay with it. 

Tuesday we had a district meeting where we talked about dropping our investigators if they are not completing the commitments we give them, or if they aren’t willing to be baptized. We don’t want to be wasting their time or the time of the Lord when we can be using that time to find and teach other people who really want to change and improve their lives. We had a lesson with Marcos where we taught him about keeping the Sabbath day holy. This man is incredible. He understood everything we talked about and explained and came up with his own examples of what it means to keep the Sabbath day. He really wants to come to church now and continue to read the scriptures and pray.

Wednesday we went to a lesson, which didn’t really end up being a lesson but more of just talking with this family. They told us that there have been some things going on with their work and they are going to be laid off towards the end of the month. We did talk a bit about trials and paying tithing and fast offerings and blessings that come from keeping the commandments that help us overcome our trials, as well as being faithful. My companion has no sense of time really so I have to be the one to motion or bump him when we need to go. This time I had to hit him with the Book of Mormon when the family wasn’t looking to make him realize we were super late and needed to go. :) We went to an appointment with Izabel and Gilberto but didn’t have a lot of time so just quickly checked in to see how they were doing and invite them to church.

Thursday we went to the stake center for interviews with President. The interviews I had with President and Hermana Urrea went great! Then Elder Donkersgoed and President were very encouraging with advice to help me feel better and know what I need to do to be better. Then I found out later when we got back to the casa that Elder Donkersgoed had a package from you guys that Hermana Urrea had for me at the interviews but forgot to tell me about. Good thing we had intercambios on Friday so I could get it then.

Friday we had intercambios and this time I was with Elder Donkersgoed. He gave me a training to help know what we need to do to have more investigators progressing in our area. We are doing okay here in our area but we really need to step it up to progress more and find those people who are ready and willing now to change and improve their lives. That is something super crucial but of course it starts with us finding those people. Other than that we were able to contact a little bit but were only able to find one solid contact. Luckily the other Elders were able to find some other contacts and investigators. 

Saturday we went to eat with a family and they gave us both a huge bag of candy and treats. A bit later we passed by the house of the Elders Quorum President to see if him and his wife would come visit a few contacts and investigators with us. One of the people we visited was an older lady named Alicia who has many members of her family who are members and even a couple of grandkids who served missions. She loves Christ and her family very much but as far as joining the church goes, she is hesitant and doesn’t want to change religions. 

Sunday we had a multi-stake conference which was broadcast to about 229 stakes throughout Mexico. Everyone was thinking something crazy big was going to happen like reorganizing our mission and the areas/wards therein but nothing like that happened. We heard messages from some General Authorities, Elder Ronald A. Rasband was the last one who spoke. It was a great and amazing conference!

Wow that’s good you’ve made some progress on the shop but good luck with the rest haha! and yes, I will pray for grandpa with his surgery and for his recovery. Thank you for giving me a heads up!

Oh also I made spaghetti with alfredo sauce with polish dogs on Friday because well why not! haha. My comp helped me cook the food but yeah it was really good! I love you too Mamá!

The Weather's Changing but Overall Good Week

Hola Mamá! Things are going pretty good with a few of our investigators! This past week we only found 4 new investigators but its good! It’s rained every day this week in the afternoon and evening and is changing to the cold season here so every night and morning it’s cold!! Everyone keeps saying it’s only going to get worse too. I don’t remember it being so cold like this last year. 

Monday we had to go to the Zone Leaders to pick up some things so we took advantage of being up by the center of Tula to go to a supermarket that’s a lot better than the one we have in our area. After emailing you and doing our wash, one of the appointments we had planned fell through but it was still a pretty good day.

Tuesday we had a district meeting and talked a lot about baptism and the importance of really helping our investigators prepare, how we can know if we have an investigator who is really interested, if they are going to progress and if they have a testimony of the Restoration. It was a really great meeting and great motivation. Later in the day we went to try and find two brothers who live far away. We moved them into the Former Investigators section of the area book during our first transfer here because we weren’t able to get ahold of them or find them in their houses. But one of the missionaries who was in this area before explained to us during zone conference what we needed to do to find them. We were finally able to find them and set an appointment to come back and teach them. How awesome!

Wednesday was a great and wet day. In the afternoon we had a lesson with Marcos, but when we were on our way to where he lives, which is pretty far to walk, it started raining. I had my rain jacket but my companion didn’t have a jacket or umbrella and it rained harder and harder as we were walking. We ended up running in the end to get to Marcos’ house because my companion was getting drenched and my pants were as well. We made it there though and had a super awesome lesson. He is such an awesome guy and participates in the lessons, is reading the Book of Mormon and the pamphlets we gave him little by little. He is busy with work and other things but is interested and wants to learn more so he is making time to read, pray and move things around with his work so he can come to church. I love this guy a lot. He makes me think of Victor from my last area in Villa del Carbón. 

Thursday we had a lesson with Izabel and Gilberto. This time we mainly asked questions to get to know their needs so we can help resolve them and help them feel more sure that this is the right and only true church. Later we had a lesson with Jonathan and Lesli and we talked with them about The Family: A Proclamation to the World and really emphasized the importance of marriage. This time we were able to lead the discussion and include Lesli more. It was a really great lesson. I feel like we were able to help Jonathan realize why he has the doubts and fears he does about marriage and about the church. We still have to keep working with them both but in time, they will change. After that we had a lesson with a recent convert named Antonio and his family. They are a super great family, and not just because they gave us candy for Dia de los Muertos 😀, but because they have great faith and are working hard to prepare to go to the temple. 

Friday was a really rainy and cold day which made it interesting but fun when we went to look for former investigators in La Romera where Marcos lives. Because we were close we decided to pass by his house to see how he is doing. He has been praying and mentioned to us that he feels like he is on the right path and wants to keep learning and progressing! How awesome! Right now he can’t come to church because he works on Sundays from 8 to 12 or 1 p.m, but he is trying to figure out a solution. When we got home we got a call from our D.L. announcing some new rules we have in the mission. Supposedly in all of Mexico we are not allowed to instant message with our families through Google Hangouts on Mondays any more. Another rule we have, just for our mission, is that our time to write President, check referrals and write our families has been cut down to 1 hour. I don’t know why it’s changed but I had a special calm feeling and prompting that I need not worry or get angry but that everything will be okay and I just need to be obedient. This was a very powerful feeling so I will do my best to be obedient to these new rules. - D&C 76: 5-10

Saturday we went to visit with Izabel about how we can help her prepare for her baptism that is scheduled for the 24th of November. They are a super awesome family and have been changing since their son Gilberto was baptized and has been serving a mission. In fact, he will get home this month on the 20th. Later we decided to visit Joel, Maria de Lourdes and the kids to see how they were doing and invite them to church. The kids told us they are super excited and want to go to church!!

That’s good that you got back from your trip in time to have the bonfire at the Zamoras! That is crazy though that there weren’t that many kids who went by for candy. Oh well, it’s their loss! Haha. I love that talk! (Try, Try, Try by President Eyring). Thank you for sharing it with me! I’m going to go back and listen to it! I love you so much! Have a great week!