Monday, March 16, 2015

This week was awesome and we have some really good things going.  First of all I am going to tell you about ____.  He is our investigator that has a baptismal date.  So he still has a lot of pain in his head and all that but he is doing so well!  And I take back my words from the past week about him being a mommas boy.  Well most of them.  We had another lesson with him this past week and we asked him again if he would be baptized the 28 to make it a solid date.  And then his mom again said no, he isn't ready.  He needs to be more healthy.  And he needs to know more and all this stuff.  And I got kinda down like whyyyy??  Then he put his hand up and cut off his mom and looks at us and says, yes, I would like to be baptized on the 28 of March.  I wanted to jump up from my seat and just run around like crazy!!  And then afterwards he said and I want this to be my church for the rest of my life.  I got so excited.  And also in this lesson we didn't have anyone to go with us but then the relief society president said she  could and we were explaining his situation to her.  And I asked if her husband likes computers because he knows a lot and she said yes and so I said oh, ____ also, we want your husband to come with us to visit him one time.   And after that randomly she just goes, my husband knows how to play guitar if anyone wants to learn.  And at the end of lesson, out of nowhere, ____ says, and I really want to learn how to play the guitar and me my companion and the president we all just looked at each other like what in the world??  It was meant to be.  

So he is going to get baptized the 28 and we have a white night.  In the zone we have a bunch of baptisms so we are going to do them together and president Borg is going to come.  That will be awesome.  

Another experience from this week is from Friday.  We went to visit a less active and he has never let us in his house because he always says that he is super busy.  So I was kind of expecting the same thing this time with him.  But we got there, he opened his door and he said, you have 10 minutes.  So we went in and he just started talking.  Opening up to us and telling us everything that was going on.  We obviously ditched our lesson plan since we didn't have time and it was awesome.  He said the he felt more peace in his life after that.  And he also said that he didn't even remember that we had an appointment but that it was much needed.  

Also, a couple funny stories from this week.  So first we had breakfast one day with the mom of the missionaries here.  Her husband who doesn't like us was there and he was like ( not sure if he was joking or not haha )  why are they here?  Why do they have to come?  Then we ate and left and then that night she invited us back because she had made a cake.  So we came in and he goes, again?  They are back again?  So we ate the cake and we started joking around with him.  First he was playing chess online.  He is really good and my companion goes, if I beat you, you have to read the Book of Mormon and we all laughed and then her husband says, if I win you can't ever come back!  So we laughed and I was like yaaaa, don't play him haha.  Then later while i was finishing eating.  My companion was talking to him and I snagged a picture of the priceless moment :)

I hope that you all have a wonderful week watching March Madness without me.  Remember me while you are watching.  I am putting my bet in that I called before the season started that Kentucky is going to win it all.  Thank you very much.  I love you.

Monday, March 9, 2015

The mission is so awesome and this week was such a great week!  We just had so many good experiences.  First of all, the investigator that I told you all about the last week came to church again this week.  He said he felt good again.  Also, the pain that he had for months, he said that after the blessing, about 60 percent of the pain that he had went away.  The priesthood power is real.  Next, in a lesson this week we invited him to be baptized for the 28 de March.  He was about to accept but then his mom came in and he is somewhat, ( I am saying this in the nicest way possible ) of a mommas boy.  He is 40 and lives with his mom and she was like ehhh, when your health is better.  It is really soon.  And he said ya, that is better.  ahhhh so close.  But then in church he told us that if he receives his answer then he will get baptized.  So that was awesome.  We are going to help him receive his answer so he can be baptized.  

Second of all, we are working with new less actives.  They are family of the patriarch and bishop in our ward.  We went over there and at first they were really hard.  They didn't really look at us and they didn't have much interest.  We had a lesson plan but I ditched it and we started talking about the Book of Mormon.  At the start of the lesson they said they didn't really feel a need to go back to church.  And in the lesson I remember just smiling and feeling so much love for these people.,  At the end of the lesson their hearts completely changed!  They said that they know the church and the Book of Mormon are true.  and that sooner than later they will come back to the church.  That was such a good experience.  

So in total this week we found 5 new people to teach.  And in 4 out of the 5 lessons my companion started the lesson!  We have goals for every week and this was one of the goals for this week.  It was cool because each time he got a little bit better.  He has already learned a bunch and is a better teacher in the short time that he has.  The one thing I told him is that he should smile more.  He smiles with me but in a lesson and with people he is really serious.  So I told him he should smile more.  Maybe less than me, I feel like I smile so much my cheeks start to hurt sometimes haha.  

Also, mini message from this week.  I was reading in Moses and it was really cool.  In the first chapter it starts where God is talking to Moses and the glory of God covered him.  Then afterwards Satan came to tempt him.  And Moses said something cool.  He basically said, (translating) who are you Satan?  Because I am a child of God.  And this part just smacked me.  Because in the life we will all have problems and temptations.  But we can all remember who we are.  WE ARE CHILDREN OF GOD.  After Moses said this, he received strength from the lord and he could defeat the temptations.  So whenever we have a trial we just need to remember who we are.  Children of God.  And we will have the help of the Lord.  

This is what happened this week that was really good.  I love you all and hope you have a great week!!

Monday, March 2, 2015

This past week was definitely interesting.  I learned so much!!  it is so awesome being a trainer.  My son is named Elder Aroni and he is from Cusco Perú.  He is 18 years old.  He speaks Quechua a little bit and I told him the name of the Book of Mormon in Quechua that I thought I was saying right the whole time and he said that it wasn't Quechua what I was saying so that was a bummer haha.  But ya, he is awesome!  He is shy just like I was at the start of the mission but I love talking so it is nice.  

This first week was really interesting.  I felt bad, the second day that he had here in the field was one of the most unsuccessful days that I have had here haha.  We went around the whole day and all of our appointments fell through everyone we talked to said no so it was a bummer.  But the day after that we got to go to the temple.  And it was awesome because we took 5 converts with us!!  And they all went in the temple and did baptisms.  It was such a blessing to see that.  And we also took one less active that we reactivated and he went in a session for the first time in a long time and it was awesome.  And they all took names of the ancestors to do the work for them!!!  So ya, you can say that it was a good day.  Then the day after was probably one of the more successful days that I have had in the mission.  We found new people we taught a bunch of people and it was just sweet.  

Then in church on sunday the guy that I talked about last week came to church.  He stayed for all three hours and he said he liked it a lot.  He said that he wants more time to know the church and wants more time so he can call the church his home.  Also we had one of the weirdest lessons that I have ever had.  A guy contacted us in the streets and he knew about our church already and so we went to his house and he started to tell us a story and it was weird and he asked me questions that nobody has ever asked me before here in the mission and hahaha it was just funny and weird.  But we will see in the next visits we have with him how that goes.  

It was just a really good week.  Also we found some other new people.  This girl brought a friend to church and she wants to listen to us and she is interested and we have lessons with her this week so we will see how all of that goes.  But we are super excited to teach her.  

If I have seen anything else this week in myself it is that I am bolder.  In all moments.  I am not scared to talk in any situation now.  it is nice and it makes you feel good.  Before it was kind of like oh no, I am the junior companion and they can answer but now I am the senior companion and trainer and it is so cool.  I can feel the Lord's hand in my life more than ever now.  He is blessing us as we continue to work hard.  

I hope that you all have a wonderful week!!  Keep doing good things and choosing the right.  Also, when the march madness brackets come out, send me one!  haha I love you all!!

Monday, February 23, 2015

I AM TRAINING!!!  So last night we were sitting there and we got a call from the zone leaders and he told me, "Are you ready to be a dad?"  It is crazy.  I am excited though, it will definitely be a challenge but I hope that I can just be a good example to him and start him out good.  Tomorrow I will receive my comp.  I think it is going to be a Latino but we will see.  

So this week was a good one!  The highlight obviously being the baptism from this week.  Thursday was the baptism.  All went well, she only had to be baptized once, I played the piano (with just a few mistakes)  but people were singing so hopefully it covered the mistakes up.  But it was awesome.  She looked so happy that day so that was cool.  

Now here is the story about the baptismal font.  We had problems this day.  We got there and it seems like nobody has used the font since our last baptism.  There were three big spiders in the font.  Blake won't think they are anything compared to spiders that he had in Mexico.  But for me they were big and I made my comp kill them.  A broom we found in the church was his weapon of choice.  Then after that, we cleaned the font, put the plug in and filled it up.  Had the baptism.  Then after, to get the water out, you have to pull the plug in the font.  My comp was like I am not going in.  And I said, I am not going in. finally I won the battle and he went in the font.  First I tried to push out the plug with a broom but couldn't get it.  Then he went and rollled his pants up starts to go in but it was too deep.  So he decides that it doesn't matter and goes into the font and tries to get it out with his foot, he couldn't but by that time his pants were already wet.  He comes out, rolls up his sleeves bends down his arm keeps going going going, then his shoulder, then his head.  He came out of it soaked and I was sitting there laughing so hard.  I told him that I respect him a little bit more now.  

Also on Sunday we were sitting in sacrament meeting and someone called us out of the chapel and there was a guy standing in the doorway.  We went and talked to him and he told us about a pain that he has had in his head for months.  He has gone to a bunch of doctors and everything and nobody has been able to help him.  Also he told us that he has gone to a bunch of different churches and they haven't been able to help him.  He started asking a bunch of questions and we were answering them and at the end we asked where he lived and...  He lives in our sector!!  We have an appointment with him this Wednesday.  Some of the questions he was asking were like we were playing volleyball.  For example, why are there so many churches in the world?  That is just setting it up to spike it down so I am really excited for this lesson this Wednesday and I hope that we can help him.  

I got the package today.  And I have already eaten a good amount of the candy.   Love you :)  and thank you so much for the package!   I love you all and hope you all have a fantastic week!!

Monday, February 16, 2015

I have very exciting news!!  We have a baptism this Thursday!!  Her name is _____ and she is 15 years old.  She is the cousin of Alexis that we just baptized.  We went and talked to her the other day and she is going to be baptized.  The only reason she hasn't is for her fear of water.  but At Alexis`s baptism she saw that it was quick and fast.  And so she will be baptized Thursday.  And mom, I am going to play the baptism song on the piano for the baptism.  The I like to look for rainbows one.  

This week was pretty much the same as the other weeks.  This week we have been contacting  A LOT.  We have been knocking on doors and going to the parks that we have in our sector.  Out of all of those people we found about one girl that was interested.  We told her that Jesus Christ visited America and she wants to hear more.  The only problem is that she works every single day.  She was really interested and wants us to come back so hopefully it all works out.

We had stake conference this past week so our investigators couldn't come because it was at a different time and in a church farther away.  So that was a bummer.  

Other than that it was a pretty normal week.  We are starting a new thing as missionaries.  We are going to every single members house and sharing about, la invitacion dispuesta y breve.  Put that into google translate or call Blake if you want.  This is just where the member selects a gospel principle they like.  Then they go to another person they know and say how this principle has helped them.  Then they invite the people to listen to us.  We are going around and teaching all the members in our ward about this so hopefully they all get excited and help us out!

Good Luck this week and I hope you all have a great time!  Work hard in all that you do and talk to you next week!!  Love you all!!!

Monday, February 9, 2015

I seriously can't believe how fast the time flies by!!  It has been over one year since I opened up my mission call.  Two days ago we were just walking down the street and I looked at my watch which has the date and it just hit me, wow, 1 year ago I opened my mission call!      Then I though about how we went to Cafe Rio that night, too, and I miss Cafe Rio.  A pork burrito would be so good right now.  haha and then I also thought of Sydney and how it was two years since she passed away.  That was sad but I have learned in the mission so much about the plan of salvation and how much love the Lord has for us.  Also about the Atonement of Jesus Christ how He felt every single feeling we have and every single sin that we have.  And that we can be clean from all of our sins.  And we can be forgiven for our sins and we don't have to remember them anymore.  It really is a beautiful thing.  There is nothing greater because without it we couldn't return to our Heavenly Father.  

This week, I don't have a lot to report.  On Thursday we had intercambio.  I went to another sector with Elder Hulet from Texas.  I have more time than him but it was awesome.  We taught some awesome lessons.  One, about the Word of Wisdom and another about the 10 commandments.  When we taught the 10 commandments the spirit was so strong.  We were teaching a couple and normally with the 10 commandments It is pretty brief just because it is what it is.  I always felt like there wasn't a ton of explanation needed just because it is pretty simple.  But when we were teaching more and more things just came to my mind and the mind of my comp and it was great.  That was this day and in this sector I swear like everybody spoke English.  There was so many people that just wanted to speak English with us and we even had to teach a recent convert in English.  I have officially decided that it is easier to teach in Spanish.  I think I talk smoother in Spanish in a lesson than in English.  

So we have 3 people with a baptismal date.  One is this lady that is about 50 and in the first lesson she told us that she wants to change her life and be reborn spiritually and in our heads we were just like oh wow, perfect!  And she accepted baptism the first lesson!  We have another lesson with her tonight.  It is tough for her to come to church because she works but we are praying that she will be able to get work off so that she can come but we will see.  

Then the other people that have a baptismal date are _____and _____.  They are a young couple, 28 years old mas o menos and they are excited.  They love listening to us.  Anyway in the morning we went by and _____ was really excited and saying he can't wait to go to church.  In the afternoon we went to pick them up and NOBODY was home.  I thought he would be in the church, nope.  We were calling and  calling and no answer.  It was a bummer, we saw them in the night and they had a family reunion come up and went to that.  Hopefully this next week we can get them to church.

One more thing, the first vision is so powerful.  When it is quiet and you say the first vision in a lesson the spirit just fills up the room.  We were teaching a new investigator and at first it was funny.  She likes to talk and we asked her what she has heard about Mormons and she said, "that you brain wash people"  we all started laughing and explained that we aren't trying to convince them.  So anyway we started teaching and the spirit was so strong.  Especially when I said the first vision.  The fact that Joseph Smith saw God The Father and Jesus Christ is so powerful.  This really is the church of Jesus Christ.  The same church he established on the earth when he lived here.

That is my report for this week.  I hope that you all have a great week!!  I love you all.  

Monday, February 2, 2015

Hola familia,  yesterday I didn't remember it was the super bowl and then we were about to go home and we knocked on the door of a member's house and the girl answered and said, "hi, my dad is watching the super bowl right now."   I about lost it haha.  I just said my family is eating so good right now.  Ahhh the super bowl.  I lost my bearings for a little bit but I got it together haha.  

This week was mas o menos.  We had some ups and downs.  The first up is that Alexis, the recent convert received the priesthood yesterday!  And we now have plans to go to the temple with him on 27 of February (for baptisms).  Another up was that the family that I told you all about accepted a baptismal date for March 7!  They love it when we come over.  The dad said that before these people from a different church tried to teach him and he didn't like it because he felt like they were just teaching him just to teach.  But he said that he feels like we actually care!  Which is true.  All this missionary work that we do is because we care about these people.  If we didn't care, we wouldn't be doing this for two years or 18 months!  It is so rewarding when you can see that someone feels the spirit in their life.  We taught them with examples and they said it all makes sense.  The only hard part about teaching this lesson was that the little girl just wanted me to play with her the whole time haha.  We were in there and she just started calling me her uncle!  Uncle uncle uncle!  I don't know why but she kept it up for a long time haha.  And she would just hand me her toys.  It was such a good lesson.  They couldn't come to church yesterday but they are coming next week!

Another cool thing was that we received a reference of a girl that wants to get baptized!  She is the cousin of Alexis that got baptized two Saturdays ago.  She has gone to church for years and years now but she is scared of drowning and for this reason she hasn't wanted to get baptized.  She went to a baptism and the girl had to get baptized 5 times so she is scared of drowning.  But she came to Alexis's baptism and it was quick and easy so she decided that she wants to overcome her fear.  We are going to go to her house today to talk to her!  Hopefully all goes well!

The bad, we just had a couple people drop us this week.  They said they weren't really that interested.  And our investigator who doesn't have permission to get baptized, we were at her house and talking to her mom and she told us how she is sick and it might be fatal.  She has to wait for the results to come back.  But she said if we pray for her every day during the week then she will come to church.  We prayed every day and she came to church.  It was testimony meeting so I was like oh sweet, this is perfect.  Then afterwards it was just the opposite.  She said that nobody respects the speaker.  That it was irreverent.  The kids she was fine with but she said that adults were playing on their tablets, phones and those things and that they were talking and that there was no respect.  She said these things and then she left.  We are going to go back to her house to talk to her today or tomorrow so hopefully we can get things figured out and get her to come back.  Hopefully that one experience didn't destroy any desire she had.  The examples of the members of the church for other people are so important.  There are always people watching.  And sometimes people won't like our examples, like this Sunday, but other times maybe they will.  And that could be the difference so we always have to be good examples, in every place and in every moment. 

                              MORE PICTURES IF YOU SCROLL DOWN PAST ALL THE POSTS.