What do I name this email 7-31-2018

 IMG_0674.JPG

Un saludo cordial a todos

This week was fun, we are finally pulling this place together towards my vision of how I wanted it when we first got here. We baptized Giovanny this week! It was a great time and he was super happy and his mom said she was gonna give him a blessing but it was actually just a prayer 😁(thank goodness). Pics below of the stud Giovanny. He leaves his mom and comes and sits by me every week. He is a big example to me because during the sacrament, he bowed his head and prayed while they passed the Bread and Water. I think we can all learn something from Giovanny. And he's only 10! 😇

Adriana will finally get baptized this week as well! She is so dang ready and I am super happy to see her get baptized. I think she is more converted than I am! She shares the Gospel at her work, she is a cashier/manager and often shares her testimony of Joseph Smith with others as they check out. I think we can all learn something from Adriana! 😇

Miguel is doing great. Wow. He is such a good guy. He keeps telling us "I really am a good guy, I don't drink or smoke, I don't have friends and I'm really disciplined." He wants to be baptized so bad. We are gonna fix his roof soon too. Stay tuned in the next few weeks for manly pictures of me holding a hammer. 😏💪

Last week I contacted this older lady outside of a bread shop that also sells Gorditas. she invited us over and holy cow is she ready! She said she really wants to find God and is really sad that she hadn't done it before. We asked her to pray after explaining how powerful it was and she just started to cry. #escogido 😁

Carmina failed her exams and now she is really sad. I told her so. But we will keep visiting her. 🙃

Irma the chosen was going to come to church this week but Satan was smart and killed the power to her house so she had to move to another house temporarily until they can bring the light back. Dang it. She is so ready too. She can also spin her cat on the ground like a disco ball. 😁 

I contacted this dude named Juan and his little sister Alondra. We showed up and taught the first lesson, sang songs on my ukulele, the whole shi-bang. They were very attent and listened. At the end, Juan says (in English) "I have never heard that story before, but I believe that what you have told me is true and I will read the Book of Mormon"

okay sounds good you do that juan 😁. He is AWESOME. 

Kike, Maribel's son accepted a baptismal date, which we are excited for. Also, random note, her dad was a professional Lucha Libre fighter. The things you find in Mexico haha 󾓩

Brandon is doing AWESOME and he is a great friend of mine now. buttt his mom is saying that he is too young and cant get baptized. You could add a prayer in for him, asking that his mom's heart will be softened! He wants it so bad! 🙏

Today we went to some museum in Ciudad Universitaria. it was pretty cool, it had this wierd part of the museum labeled "Sexuality" and trust me you do NOT want to go in there. #scarred. But the rest was cool. it made me really miss seeing the stars at night. Whoever you are reading this, don't take the stars for granted!!! 💫

We went to eat with this family of investigators that Iztacalco 2 is teaching and some dude comes in and asks to see our nametags and leaves. The other Elders come in and play a prank on us saying "Oh no, he will never give them back, he is inactive for a reason, you just lost your special nametag!" and stuff like that. Well I got really pissed off cause my nametag means a TON to me, it's really special and I just lost it? Turns out to be a joke. I wasn't happy. So I got them back by giving them their lunch money (120 pesos) in 50cent pieces. hehe. So worth it. 😈

I was offered chicken feet this week. I couldn't do it. I couldn't eat them. I TRIED SO HARD but ew ew it just wasn't possible. It's the only thing I've not been able to eat out here. 😷😖😲😵😨

Oh I also saw another Audi R8 but this time it was a sparkly blue and driving really fast and I loved it. 😍

I ate pizza for dinner on Saturday. for breakfast on Sunday. for dinner on Sunday. For lunch on Monday and dinner on Monday too. I love my life. It was bean, avacado, and jalapeño pizza. #blessings🍕

"Our choice in this life is not whether we will or will not be subject to any power. Our choice is to which authority we will yield obedience: God's or Satan's"

-D. Todd Christofferson

We aren't "free". Our true freedom is whether we will follow God's rule over us, or Satan's. 2 Nephi 2:27. 

pics

1. MLC with the beloved Pres. Casillas!

2. Pizza

3. Chicken feet

4. Giovanny's Baptism! 

5. the 50 cents strike back

6. a pic of me takinga pic

7. missionary work

8. cats

Have a great week everyone!

Terremoto 7-24-18

The last major earthquake was almost a year ago in September. The earth stopped shaking about 8 months ago. But the hard part is that Satan is now sending spiritual earthquakes to the Ermita stake. We lost Nativitas💀, both Elders had to go home, one for treatment, and the other one for surgery. We have tons of people who just keep getting wrecked by satans power. He seems to be really focusing on this zone right now. But, its all good cause we are still happy cause he is the Diablo and he sucks.

The trick is to stay happy. How do I stay so happy, you might ask? it's easy. I just annoy my companion like I used to annoy my brothers. It is super fun. We also try and record all the wierd sounds we hear out on the mexico streets and we also buy chocolatemilk. Take that, satan. 😈

Hmm... nothing super crazy happened this week. Well, there were some things but I'm not allowed to say anything so yeah nothing happened this week. haha. ha. ha. 

So, I'll just tell you guys about some cool miracles that we have been seeing in Iztacalco. 

-Iztacalco 2 contacted some guy 3 weeks ago named Jesus. They just said hi, and invited him to church. That's it. Well, he showed up. And the thing is, he was homeless. The Bishop in Escuadron helped him find a house, and that means he is in our area and we are going to visit him this week. Oh, and he wants to be baptized. 🏊

- Miguel, the guy we contacted like a month ago? I felt like we should go check and see if he was home. We went and knocked on the door, and he was there! He was so happy to see us! We sang a couple of hymns and invited him to church. He showed up! At the end of the Sunday services, he asked us "So, how do I do this baptism thing?" 🏊

- Irma Garcia was a reference from the Temple. I'm not really sure why she let us come over but she is AWESOME. Oh, and she cries every time we go over. She really likes the church and her daughters are listening too. 🏊🏊🏊

-Brandon is a 10 year old boy who we randomly found one day when we made scones. His grandma is a member and he lives close by, so we walk with him to his Gmas house and sing hymns with him. He loves it! LOVES it! He reallly likes going to church too. We just gotta talk to his mom to see if she will let him get baptized 🏊

- Kike is Maribel's son, he is super cool too and also ironically loves hymns. His family is getting reactivated and we are hoping that he will be baptized soon. lol the only word he knows in English is the F word.... 🏊

- Zuleyma, the miracle mujer just needs to get married. We aren't sure how much time it will take to get all of her legal work done, but she is super freaking ready. 🏊 

There is also juanita, who is great but her knees hurt. Daniel Gonzalez is great and awesome, Carmina failed her tests so she is mad, Brenda is fine, and all is well in Zion. lol. 

- Giovanny is getting baptized this week!!!! 🏊

- Adriana is getting baptized next week!!! 🏊

I heard a great quote from Uchtdorf this week. "All of tomorrow's tragedies can be avoided by following Jesus today!" 

I heard an even better quote from Lemuel (dont ask me why his parents named him that), our Gospel Principles teacher. "Before marraige, you've got to open your eyes! After marraige, you've got to close your eyes a little bit." 

I hope everyone has a great week, please read Alma 34.38-39.

Real Tacos 7-10-18

Pics

1. What a REAL taco is. When I get home, talk to me and I'll make you a nice CDMX style Taco al Pastor. 

2. Saying bye to the best mission president in the whole world 

3. Baptismmmm

"Los rios no beben su propia agua; los arboles no comen sus propios frutos. El Sol no brilla para si mismo, y las flores no esparcen su fragancia para si mismas. Vivir para los otros es una regla de la naturaleza. 

La vida es buena cuando tu estas feliz. Pero la vida es mucho mejor cuando los otros son felices por causa tuya" -unknown

This week was great, we baptized Mariana! I still laugh and remember when the first time I met her, I asked her if we were friends. She just stared at me. I tried to give her a high five and she wouldn't raise her hand. She was very distrusting and probably didn't like me. Now we sit by each other at church every week and play games until we get too rowdy and the members behind us get annoyed. I am proud to say that now, Mariana and I are BEST friends! Her baptism was great, the spirit was strong and everyone had a great time. 

Maribel and Beto came to church, and they brought Kike and Hannah with them! I love that family, they are AWESOME. They are super fun and I can see how the Lord has been preparing them for a long time now. 

Giovanny came to church too, but this time his mom was in a dress! I've never seen his mom in anything but a tank top and leggings since I got to Iztacalco. Look at how the Spirit works on people :)

Carmina couldn't go to church this week but she has a baptismal date and is super happy. 

We haven't seen Juanita or Erik in forever but it's okay, the Lord knows when. The Lord's timing is always perfect. 

A few weeks ago I was on companion exchanges with Elder Anderson and a guy drove by on a motor scooter and slapped his butt going like 30 miles an hour hahahahahahahahah

We are happy and working, idk what more to say! I'll write again next week. Byeeee! 

Zuleyma 7-5-18

HEY! HAPPY 4TH OF JULY! I hope you did very american things yesterday. I hung up my American flag tie and we sung the national anthem. Thats pretty much it cause we couldnt find any fireworks to light off. 󾓦󾓦󾓦󾓦󾓦󾓦󾓦󾓦

Well this week was fun, it feels like it's been a month and I can't remember what did and didn't happen. I don't know if I already talked about Zuleyma, but she is definitely a miracle that fell from the sky. We had a long, hard day of contacts and looking for EVERYONE on earth hahaha, literally everyone. We were walking home at like, 8:58pm close to the house when Elder Vincent's phone rung. It was a missionary from the Mexico City Southeast mission! He explained that he had been teaching Zuleyma the past 5 months because she worked outside of their house. She accepted the Gospel and wanted to be baptized on Saturday! 😱💀💀 DID A BAPTISM JUST FALL FROM THE SKY? Yes. Yes it did. She just needs to get divorced but there are free lawyers who can do that for her in a week. She will be baptized soon 🙂

Then we went with Carmina, who I think I talked about last week? Maybe not. She lives right next to like 40 members haha and we have never seen her before. She was going through some hard times and felt like she needed to go to the giant white mormon building (lol) and they sent us right to her door. She is so prepared! She asked us in the middle of the lesson 

"What do I need to do to deserve a baptism?" 

"Is baptism something you want to do, Carmina?" said my companion

"Yes, and soon."

She will be baptized soon 🙂

Giovanny will be baptized at the end of this month, and Adriana too. Mariana is getting baptized this Saturday! 🙂🎊🎉🎈🎆

We are still visiting Juanita and Erik and Maribel and Beto and lots of other awesome people who will probably get baptized soon 🙂

Fun story: We have been visiting Brenda, a golden 19 year old contact that I made last month. We have been teaching little by little and gained her confidence, so she invited us inside to teach her finally! During the first lesson, my companion was saying the First Vision of Joseph Smith when Brenda's baby, Valentina, got fussy. I really didn't want her baby to interfere with the spirit so I gave her my finger to play with. And she bit down.Hard. 😓😰The spirit was so strong for Brenda, she was listening so intently to the First Vision that I couldn't scream in pain and it hurt so bad! But the good news is that Brenda didn't even notice and the spirit could testify to her that Joseph Smith was a prophet, at the cost of my finger. 

Carlos, a guy that some other missionaries contacted like 8 months ago was visiting with us yesterday. He is super good, he reads the Book of Mormon every day! My companion was trying to make conversation and said "Hey, what plant is that over there? It looks just like a Marijuana plant lol" 

"It is a marijuana plant, I have years smoking marijuana"

OH YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN MY COMPANIONS FACE 😂😂😂😂😂

it really was a marijuana plant haha

We got to meet Presidente Casillas this week! HE IS AWESOME. He is from Tijuana and has blue eyes. Super awesome and loving. We met him on Sunday in a special Stake Presidency meeting, on Monday in MLC and on Tuesday in his first Zone Conference. He really is the best! We had Zone conference on Tuesday, that is why I am writing today and not tuesday haha. It was a great Zone Conference! 

Well, I hope everyone has a great week and enjoy your summer! 

pics

1. 4th of July! 

2-3. Cool pics of my comp and friend with a color filter

4-5. me "reading" the Book of Mormon in TzoTzil, a spoken dialect in Mexico

Chihuahuenchona June 26, 2018

"Chihuahuenchona" means: "Que rico, estoy descansando" according to our ward mission leader. He said that it's English. I'm pretty sure that it's not english. 

This week was fun. Mexico is doing well in the World Cup. I wish I could watch! They beat North Korea, and well, I don't look like a Korean so no one said anything to me. That was nice. They are playing Sweden this week, so either way, if they lose or win, they'll be throwing things and yelling at me, since I look more Swedish than German. Oh well. 

The Jehovah's Witnesses knocked on our door. We didn't know what to do. So we just sat there awkwardly until they left

"Did she just power-clean that kid?!" - Quote of the week. and yes, she actually did power clean her little baby boy. 

We found this awesome family, the Nava Velaz family. We were walking down the street last week and the mom said hi to us. So we contacted them! She is a super less active member and her entire family is nonmember and they want to be baptized. Yes! 

There is this lady who lives in our area named Juanita. She just showed up to church. She is awesome. Her entire family is member and she wants to be baptized too. Yes! 

Erik is a crazy story. He never knew his dad, but when he grew up he started a detailed search for his family. Turns out, that at his work, one of his cousins worked at the same place! She met him and he got to meet his Dad's family. Then she taught him about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and he loved it. he is great, we couldn't see him cause of a business trip he went on but he also wants to get baptized. Yes! 

Mariana and Giovanny are going to be baptized next week. Yes! 

We saw Bryan, my year old contact. He asked us "How can I get closer to God?" "You need to listen to our message". "Okay, come back next saturday and teach me." Long story short I think Bryan will get baptized. Yes! 

Cool experience: We were planning for an appointment with Margarita. She has the saddest story ever. She is a grandma with 3 kids, and 3 grandkids. One of her kids is in jail. The other, just walked away one day and left her mom with her 2 young daughters, Britany and Britzy (who are the cutest little girls on earth 😍). She has a tough life. So while we were planning, all I could think about was the talk by David A. Bednar, on how we can support our burdens with ease (the one with the truck stuck in the snow). we arrived at the house and the first thing she said was "I just don't know why God has sent me all of these trials." It was perfect. I knew exactly what to do. We watched the mormon message and she felt the Spirit so strong! She understood why things were happening to her. It was amazing. She can't get baptized cause on Sundays she goes to see her son and attend court cases with him but once everything gets cleared up, she will be baptized too. Yes! 

I went to the other side of my area, to Iztacalco 2 to work with them this week. That stunk haha, we didn't teach anyone all day and I was so tired I almost died. But it was cool cause I contacted this lady and she asked us to teach her the first lesson right there in the street. So we did! super cool. While I was in the other area, my companion in my area found a full family ready to listen to us and a young girl who wants to get baptized. The good stuff always happens without me haha

There are some dope Tianguis every thursday that they set up like 30 feet away from my house. pics to come. 

Mosiah 19:13-14

Read the Book of Mormon. 1 Nephi 1:12

pics

1-4 cool pics

5- pizza night, that pizza was freaking huge (p.s. mexico is doing great in the world cup!!)

"diarrea cerebral" June 19, 2018

"cuando la leche se sube al cerebro, y tu mente esta asi de un lado al otro y nada tiene sentido, es como diarrea cerebral" -My dear friend and ward Mission Leader, Brother Adrian Aranda. I love him so much. He accompanies us EVERY single day. And talks the WHOLE time. and I never understand anything he says. ever. He starts with a story, and I understand the story, kind of, and the he just randomly starts talking about something else. He has a kind of jaw disability and can't talk 100% right, so that confuses me too. Then he uses as much slang from the 80's as he can and it leaves me laughing every. single. day. I love him so much.

Random fact:

I know every single delegacion in Mexico City. 

• Iztapalapa
• Iztacalco (that's where I am now)
• Azcatpozalco
• Venustiano Carranza
• Cuajimalpan
• Alvaro Obregon
• Gustavo A Madero
• Tlalpan (ive been there)
• Benito Juarez (ive been there too)
• Coyoacan
• Tlahuac
• Xochimilco (wooo!)
• Milpa Alta
• Magdalena Contreras
• Cuauhtemoc
• Miguel Hidalgo 

This week was fun, but tough because we didn't have too much success. It's still there, the progress but you know how it is, I just want everyone in my area to get baptized RIGHT NOW and some dumb-brains just don't want to listen to the ultimate message of happiness but it's okay. I'm happy. 

It was tough because the World Cup in soccer is going on right now. Mexico played Germany at 10am on Sunday, so NO ONE came to church. So faithful. Then when Mexico won, I guess everyone assumed we were Germany and wow I've never had so many people yell at me and throw things at me and taunt me for pleasure. But it was cool cause it is a perfect time to be patient. I'd have liked to take off my nametag and punch some short hispanics but I didn't. Patience is a virtue that will never hurt you. 

We met this guy named Erik yesterday, he was an alcoholic his whole life and then learned about Christ and it changed his life. Now he feels like something is missing, that he needs to pertain to a religion, but not any religion. Christ's religion. He's gold. Super awesome guy. We will see him again on Saturday. 

Mariana and Giovanny are getting baptized next week so that's good! 

This week we will be training with a professional soccer player from the team "Club America". I assume the equivalence would be like training with an NFL player from the New England Patriots, or the Eagles or something. I can't play soccer to save my lifebut hopefully I get some tips from him. He's a member in our ward. No big deal. 

"Would you like a bag for that butter" -first thing that a new investigator said to my companion when we stepped inside his home. What a lovely start to a lesson

"When the sol hits the church" -dont ask me what Elder Anderson was trying to say cause he was talking about t shirts.

I went to Xochimilco on Thursday with Elder May and Elder Hansen. It was like going home again cause Chinampas is right next to them and I even lived in that same house in Xochimilco after the Earthquake in September. Cool stuff. 

"Should there be a difference inbetween the things we know we should do, and what we actually do?" -President Mecham

pics

1. they cut my hot dog bun in half wrong

2 i ate it anyway

3. my weekly food supply

Pollitos June 12, 2018

Miles de pollitos invaden Georgia.

That was the headline this week. Everyone is talking about it. I guess someone dumped a bunch of eggs in a landfill and they all hatched and invaded hahahahah 

This week was fast. Every week is fast now. Time is running away from me now. We worked really hard but didn't see a ton of fruits but I'm still happy. i think I kinda hit my groove. This week we contacted this dude named Miguel, he was so happy to see us and explained that like 6 months ago some missionary gave him a little card and that ever since then he has wanted a visit from the missionaries. We are gonna visit him today

 

Adriana and Yered and Yelitza and Mariana and Giovanny are all good. They had a good time at our Ward Conference last week. I think all of them are super prepared and just great. They're the bomb. 

As part of being in Iztacalco, we also have assigned the ward Escuadron, which was a nightmare for me over a year ago when I was there. I haven't really wanted to work there but on Sunday we were over there so we swung by and looked for Bryan, a 17 year old kid that I contacted outside at 9pm on a rainy day. He remembered me and invited us in. Holy chosen. I am so so happy that I haven't forgotten him, that he hasn't forgotten me, and that we could find him that Sunday afternoon. We will be seeing him again soon. Stay tuned for more details. 

I went to Del Valle after a year or so on companion exchanges again, I went with Elder Pizzi! We taught this 45 year old lady who had law of Chastity problems. I guess I was a little to firm for her personality because I told her she either kept the commandmentsor she didn't, she was either with God or she wasn't (because it's the truth) and didn't want anything to do with the Church but got up on Sunday and decided to go to church and got her answer that its all true haha, I'm not sure if I helped or not but either way it worked out like it needed to. God never abandons His children. 

I had my last interview with President Mecham. It wasn't really a goodbye cause I'll see him when I get home haha he lives like an hour away

I ate BBQ chicken this week. America 󾓦

This family a few days ago were eating pizza outside and offered us a slice. I could never say no to pizza, so we ate with them and contacted them and they rejected us. Turns out they're the Mafia. no big deal. 

"The great thing about the Gospel is that we get credit for trying, even if we don't always succeed." -Jeffrey R. Holland

I saw a Shelby Cobra GT500. Sorry if you don't know what that means. 

"Burn the tares, baptize the wheat." 

I'm sorry that I never have pictures I promise that I will take pictures this week. 

Have a good one family and friends!