Transfer 6 Week 2 September 15, 2014

We had a really good week this week. I am really getting along with my new companion, and we work well together. I like it a lot because he olny has like 4 months more than I do. So he doesn´t think that he knows everything like some other missionaries that I know.

One of the most exciting things that happened this week is that one of our investigators decided that she wants to be baptised! Her name is Yolanda. She is an old investigator. So she took the missionary lessons a while ago with other missionaries but was never baptised. But now she decided that she is ready. She runs a store in her house. Something really common in Mexico. 

Yesterday was a pretty good day in the church. Enrique blessed the Sacrament for the first time! and he asked me to do it with him. It went really well! It was my first time blessing the Sacrament in this ward as well. 

The weather was really weird this week. All week it was super hot! but then it would rain everyday as well for a couple hours. But then on Saturday and Sunday it rained for two days straight and a lot of the streets were partially flooded. There was also a whole bunch of fog! And it was super cold! Aparently it gets really cold here in Saltillo. Like down into the 30´s. And it will get to the point where there is so much fog that you cant see something right in front of you! So that will be super cool!

Yesterday we contacted a Clown. Clowns are super popular here in Mexico. All of the kids love them! And a lot of people perform on the street as clowns. It is cool. Actually the clown contacted us! He basically asked us what it is that we teach. So we told him a very short version of the Restoration. And he seems really interested! He juggles while he rides a really tall unicycle. It is cool. And he has all of the nesesities as well! Big shoes, red nose, big flower, makeup. 

So ya

Elder Earl

Transfer 6 Week 1 September 8 2014

This week was pretty sweet and all. But I dont have much time. I met my new companion. Elder Porras. He is from Hidalgo Mexico, and he seems pretty cool. I definitely think that we are going to get along. We had a good week this week. We had the confirmation of Enrique yesterday. And both him and Darío were ordained in the Arronic Priesthood. That was super cool. And both of them bore their testimonies in Sacrament meeting yesterday as well.

I was a little worried about leading my comp around in our area. Because I have only been here for one transfer and our area is one of the biggest in the mission. But it has actually gone by really smoothly. I know a lot more than I think I know. And that can apply to a lot of things. 

One thing that I am kind of bummed about is that I am the only gringo in my district now. Which is fine because I know that I will be able to learn a lot with of these Spanish speakers. But it is nice to have at least one English speaker with me. There are two brand new missionaries in my district though. So at least I am not the newest missionary in my district anymore!

Elder Earl

Transfer 5 Week 6 September 1 2014

Well another week and another change has ended! This week was super great as well. A great way to end a change!

The main reason why this week was so great was because we had two baptisms! Dario and Enrique. They are both super cool guys, they have both become really great friend of me. 

I also did divisions this week. It was my first time being companions with someone from the United States. He is super cool. His name is Elder Townsend and is from Utah. He has been in the mission for about 14 months so his Spanish is a lot better than mine. But not perfect. So it was a little bit harder. It was super cool though, because I could feel myself using Spanish that I have never used before. I difinitely have have faith that the Gift of Tongues is real, and that The Lord really does help us. There is no way I could do this without Him.

We finished the week with the baptism of Dario on Saturday. It was really cool because his wife and her mom came to the baptism! They are inactive members, and he was kind of worried about telling them that he decided to be baptized. But they were very supportive of him, and the baptism went really well!

Sunday was also really sweet! We had the confirmation of Dario, and then he gave his talk afterwards! He gave it on Faith, and it was really good!

We thought that we were going to have the baptism of Enrique on Sunday, but it turns out that his Dad who is not a member wanted to come. So we had it this morning actually! It also went really well! After the baptism, after we changed out of our wet clothes, Enrique told me that he decided that he wants to serve a mission! That was some pretty good news! I told him that after about a year of preparation he could difinitely be ready to serve! 

We also recieved the changes today. I am staying here in Obregon, but my companion is going to a different area here in Saltillo. My new companion is going to be Elder Porras. I dont know him. But i am gonna meet him tomorrow. The worst part is that both of the other missionaries in my ward are going to leave as well. So I have to teach the area to my companion, and the other missionaries will have a lot of questions about their area as well. And I just barely got comfortable with my own area! Hopefully I can at least show them where their house is...

The missionaries from Obregon. Yo, Elder Townsend, Garcia, and Brown

 Elder Sierra from Honduras

 our zone

Transfer 5 Week 5 August 25 2014

Well I dont have much time to write this week. One of our investigators invited us over to eat, and we were there for longer than we thought!

This week was super good! I did splits this week with a missionary from Honduras! he is super swee! Already one of my best friends in the mission. I learned a lot. He is a Greenie still, and I am a Gringo, so it was ineresing, but I had a great time, and I really did feel the Spirit really strong the whole day.

This weekend was Stake Conference. The Mission President, The Temple President and The Stake Presidency all spoke! As well as 3 recently returned missionaries. It was super good! And we had 5 investigators come as well! So that made it even better! 

I am getting super excited for this weekend. Dario and Enrique are going to be baptized. And Dario asked me to baptize him! And after his confirmation on Sunday he is going to give a talk in Sacrament meeting! 

Well that is all of the important stuff I guess. I am doing great!

Elder Earl

Transfer 5 Week 4 August 18 2014

This week was a little bit tougher for me than usual. I just had a lot of expectations that ended up not working out.

Luckily our investigators Dario and Enrique are both progressing very well! both of them came to church, and we had great lessons with both of them this week as well! We have a date set for Dario on the 30th for his baptism, and for Enrique on the 31st! So I am getting really excited for them! I can really see the Gospel helping them change for the better, and it makes me happy just to see them happy!

Other than that we had a lot of appointments this week that didnt work out. We showed up and nobody was home. The thing about Mexico is that NOBODY wants to say no. We ask if we can come to share a message with them , they say yes, but they actually aren't interested at all. I actually don't mind when people tell me that they arent interested. That way I can focus my time on the people who really want to listen.

Another thing that kind of sucks is that my companion is having problems with his back. We actually had to go to the doctor everyday in the morning for the first two weeks of the transfer. But it didnt help him at all. So it is getting hard for him. We are gonna have to go to the doctor again sometime this week I think so he can get another analysis or somtething.

 
But overall this week was a good week. Someone told me before my mission that "In the mission more dissapointments happen than good things, but the good things make all of the dissapointments worth it". This week I could definitely see that that is true. And I am trully about all of the wonderful things that are happening here!

Elder Earl
 

 

A little bit of Washington I found in Mexico!!

 

 

 

A little bit of Mexico I found in Mexico!!!  Ya it's a Donkey!

Transfer 5 Week 3 August 11 2014

I can´t believe that this change is already half over! I am pretty sure that my companion is leaving in like 3 weeks, and I still get lost all the time here! I better learn it soon or who knows what is going to happen!

This week was good. We still have a lot of work, and if everything goes like I hope it will, we could have up to 6 baptisms in the next 3 weeks! so that is super exciting! 

There were a few day that I was just super hot though! But I know that I shouldn´t complain, because if it is hot in Saltillo I dont want to know how hot it is in all of the other towns around here. I definitely feel bad for all of the missionaries in Monclova, Piedras Negras, and Torreón. We did have one day where it rained, but we were in a lesson for the whole time. 

We got a new investigator this week. His name is Mario. He is super cool! His wife is also taking the lessons, but their work scheduldes are so rough, we almost never find them together. The lesson that we had with him was super great! The Spirit was super strong! We were talking about the blessing of having families, and I asked him how important his family is to him. He told us that he quit drugs and he quit drinking so he could better take care of his son who is about 1 year old. I could really feel just how much he cared for his family. He is really prepared to receive the gospel, but he has some problems because his work schedule is so rough.

Church was really good this week again, we had 2 non-members in the church with us. And there was also a ward baptism. An 8 year old named Daniel was baptized by Elder Brown. I am doing great!

Elder Earl

 

Moths should never be as big as my hand. Almost peed my pants!

These are the 3 other missionaries in Obregon in Saltillo. My comp elder Garcia. Elder Brown from California and Elder Townsend from Utah! That building is a gigantic catholic church!

SMURFS!...and graffiti.

Transfer 5 Week 2 August 4 2014

This week was super sweet! I will let you know why later. But I have some crazy news! Tomorrow I am going to compete 6 months in the mission! that means that I am already a quaarter of the way done! It went by so fast!

This week we had our zone conference. It was really cool because it was the first time that I got to meet all of the missionaries in my zone. I had met a few of them before, but most of them were brand new to me. Also it is always super sweet to hear our Mission President speak to us. Especially now that I can understand almost everything he says! He really is an amazing guy. He teaches with the Spirit, and I can tell that he really follows the Spirit when he is teaching. I can really learn a lot from him in the next 18 months!

Something really cool that my stake is doing is that the visiting teachers and home teachers are teaching the missionary lessons to the less active members. And we go along to help them out. It is really great for the less active members, as well as the members teaching, because they are studying the missionary lessons and strengthening their faith!

This Friday was one of the best days we have had so far! We had a lesson with a new investigator named Enrique. He is 18 and has family members in our ward. He has already commited to be baptized and went to Church with us and his family members yesterday! He is a really spiritual person, and has an amazing amount of Faith in Jesus Christ! Later on Friday we had another lesson with Dario. I talked a little about him last week. He too commited to a baptism date and came to church with us again! 

Church this week went really well. There were many really beautiful testimonies. Near the end of the meeting Dario leaned over to me and asked ¨Only members can share their testimonies right?¨ I said ¨No everyone can¨. ¨Can I?¨. ¨If you want to¨. ¨Is there enough time?¨ Yes. And he got up and bore a wonderful testimony of the Book of Mormon. And told of his first experience reading the Book of Mormon. I don´t think that I could have felt happier!

So just know that I am doing great! And there is no need to worry about anything at al!

Elder Earl