Okay. So the mission is totally indescribable. I wish I
could somehow show you what life here is like. I mean if I wasn't a horrible
person I would be taking and sending pictures..... :( anyway, so many incredible
things happen all the time and there is no way to properly describe it all. But of course I owe it to you all to try. So here it goes.
Monday night I got a haircut which was pretty cool. My hair
was getting super long and so it was nice to cut it back down to a professional
length. My part is a little different but it’ll get back to normal eventually.
So just so you all know parts are a big deal here. In some ways you can tell
who is new and inexperienced by their part or the lack thereof. You can also
tell at the temple and things the west missionaries because they don't have
parts. Oh snap! Then after all the p-day things we did we had a FHE with a less
active family that was bomb. We have been trying to get them to at least read
the Book of Mormon because they always flake on church so we have been starting
small. We sat down with them and together as a family, with the 3 intruder
missionaries, read 1Nephi 1 and talked about it as we went. It was a really
good discussion and everyone was involved and interested. Then in the middle of
it the punkish 14 year old son came home. In my head I was fist bumping like
crazy. We invited him to sit down with us and read along and for a second
looked like he was not going to but he sat down (intentionally secluded) and only
texted a few times and answered a few questions and talked a little bit. He
even got excited when he had an idea about the end of the chapter.
A little back story on this guy, he doesn’t like church. His
mom says she hasn’t been going recently because she doesn’t want to leave him
home alone. He is kind of at that (what I, only because I have been through
something like it, would call) confused stage where he acts like he doesn’t
care about his family or anything. But he is usually rude to his mother and siblings
and always is running around with his friends, refusing to help around the
house.
Back to the story, as we finished the chapter and talked a
little bit about it he seemed to get a little more interested. He opened up
about his doubts that there was even a God. The three of us each took turns
talking about God and how we can know that he lives and loves each of us and in
the middle of talking about prayer his brother and sister started fighting so
things got loud and crazy and we stopped talking. Then when everything calmed
down a little bit he says "can we please continue, I liked talking about
this." Boom. My heart melted to see that something we had talked about had
caught his interest and he wanted to know more. There was also a change in his
demeanor and body language as well that I had not noticed until then either. He
was more attentive and his phone was in his pocket instead of lying on his
Book of Mormon. So we said a few more
words about prayer and then invited him to pray. He said he hadn’t prayed since
he was a little kid so he would need help. I'll take that any day. It was no
King Lamoni prayer but it was humble and sincere and everyone felt something,
but more importantly he did.
I was thinking about this the other day. I have been so lucky
out here on my mission to see people do things that make them happy. And prayer
has been one of them. There is such a power in sincere communication with
deity, especially for the first time.
Anyway, they invited us to come back next Monday for another reading of
the Book of Mormon and I can’t wait :) It was so cold that night. I thought my
ears were going to fall off! But a little after 9 pm when we rolled on home we
made some hot chocolate to keep us warm while we planned.
Tuesday was interviews with President and Sister Neider. I
love them both so much. They spend so much time and energy (all of it) to help
the people of this city and the missionaries that are serving them. It is a
pleasure to meet with them and hear their guidance for how I can be a better
servant of the Savior. I hope so bad that I am making a good impression on the
both of them. I'm not like preoccupied about brownnosing or anything like that,
I just hope that they know I am here to work and not to screw around. President
talked with me for most of the time about the good things I was doing and that
he has good feelings about me. So that made me feel good. It was pretty short
which was fine. I didn’t have too many questions and he didn’t have to rebuke
me or anything so that was a good sign I guess. With Sister Neider we talked
about Christmas and consecration (sounds like a book title) and she asked me to
talk at our mission Christmas training/party. She gave me a story to animatedly
read and asked me to bare me testimony afterwards. So that was kind of
unnerving but it wasn’t a big deal. I 'm used to making a fool of myself. Oh my
gosh. Tuesday we went to go see a member that is living in a ... salon de
fiestas... a banquet hall. He can’t work because he can’t walk because he can’t
take care of his diabetes because he can’t afford it ... because he can’t walk
or work. Its sooo sad and his situation keeps getting worse and worse and he
says he will probably lose his feet soon. It is so sad to hear such horrible
stories especially because we hear and see them every day. He used to have a
wife and 4 kids but when the economy went south he lost his job and his wife
left him. Now he literally has nothing to his name except the clothes on his back
and the special 'shoes for people with no toes' on his messed up feet. It makes
me want to cry. But for every tear of sadness there are 2 of joy.! One of our
investigators (not Juana, a different one of the 6 [now 5] that are in the same
situation) called after our meeting with this man and told us she wants to get
married! It was soooo exciting. Talking to her about it on the phone she was so
giddy and excited. We set it up to have it done by the bishop on Saturday. She
said that after she gets married she wants to get baptized. So sick. Her 9
years of investigating are about to come to a close.
Wednesday was Zone Meeting which is always cool. We get lots
of training and the chance to talk and discuss the work with lots of other
missionaries. I like learning from other missionaries, young and old. Ugh. So
Wednesday I found out that a man, Frank (who I had contacted in the street a
few weeks ago) decided to stop taking the missionary lessons. He was going so
solid. He had a baptismal date for the end of the year and he was overcoming
his alcoholism and his smoking problem and he was reading the Book of Mormon
and doing everything. It was so cool to have talked to him and then talk with
the other missionaries about his progression. We even stopped to talk to him
another day to see how he was doing and he gave us a referral. He had been
going to the activities and ugh. So last week he asked his boss for a day off
on Sunday so he could go to church. And he got it so he and his whole family
walked like 2 miles to go to church. They had been praying all week to know if
they were making the right decision and they got to church and it was a
horrible experience for all of them. In gospel principles the teacher and class
members made racial comments about Frank and his wife. In Primary the kids were
made fun of and in the third hour Frank’s wife was insulted in front of the
whole Relief Society by a woman who she had never even seen before. Sunday
night Frank told the missionaries that he had gotten his answer. That broke my
heart to hear that. As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints with His restored gospel we should be nicer than anyone else. I know
that no one is perfect but there is no excuse for the way they were treated. I
don’t have time to rant as long as I'd like to explain the situation but I was
furious. .... deep breath,,,, deep breath.... everyone makes mistakes. Truly
Frank could come to realize that everyone is human and that he doesn’t need a
testimony of humanity but a testimony of the church but oh well.
Then one of the less active boys in our area asked what he
needed to do to prepare to serve a mission so we talked a lot about that. It
would change his life and his family’s life forever if he went. I pray (literally)
that he does.
Gotta move on! Thursday was the leadership training Christmas
party for the mission. It was from 9 - 4 and it was really good. Half was super
spiritual training and the other half was about the spirit of Christmas. It was
great. I think some people got suppper trunky but they have their agency right?
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| Santa (President Neider), Elder Talmage, Elder Sam, Elder Bennett, Mrs. Claus (Sister Neider) I promise I am not that fat...I was talking during the picture...like I always do. Wowzers, I look so fat. |
Friday we had a great lesson with Juana about her goals for
reading the Book of Mormon and she set some awesome, stretching goals which are
going to help her so much in her life. Then we had a dope lesson with a young
boy. Ahhh I dont ever have enough time. So we were there to teach his mom but
she was tired but he said form the background, you guys can teach me if you’d
like! He was super interested and super mature and 14. It was such a contrast
to the boy from Monday but it was cool to see them both learn and progress even
just a little at a time. Ugh. Remind me when I get home to talk about him if
you are still interested.
Saturday was Jovita's Wedding!@$!@$!@$!@!!!!! It was so
exciting to watch that and share that day with her. She was indescribably
happy. I wish I had time to say more about her. It was a great day for her and
her family. Then we met with Antonia who is bomb. She is such a great mother
and the kind of parent I want to be when I get older, such faith and such
desire to be better for her children.
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| Jovita's Wedding (She is the one in white) |
Sunday was great and fairly normal, church and lessons but
at 8 pm we had a lesson with a man named Oscar who was super nice and super
open but he always said Dioscita.... which was a little wierd. For you gringos
that means Little God. It’s super Mexican.
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| Puppies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They peed on me. |
KK I've got to email prez. Sorry!
I love you all so much!!!
byeeeSam
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