23 Mayo 2016

23 Mayo 2016

Well...that's it. I just got out of my last interview with the president and it was pretty nice. Didn't have anything to confess to him. Except I did forget to confess that Zulema hugged me...but oh well.

We told Zulema that I was leaving and she cried. And then she wanted to hug me and I thought "NO! I can't!" And then I realized that she's an old lady and they can't send me home anymore...my last disobedience. I'm gonna miss that old lady.

This last week went by really fast. Which was good.

President Rodriguez and I had a good interview. He asked me what I was planning on studying and I told him that I was going to study Psychology, Social Work and ASL and he said that he had the impression in that moment that that was EXACTLY what I should do with my life. He said that it seems to fit perfectly with my personality. I'm really excited.

He also told me to get married. But he DIDN'T say within a certain amount of time. He said that I should get married when I felt it was right.

I can't promise I'm going to bring many things back. We just weighed the bags and I was a little overweight. I'm going to leave quite a few more things, but as far as Mexican cookies, I can't promise anything.

Well....I'll see you all this week. I'll share a spiritual thought then. In sacrament meeting. And part will be in Spanish. Actually, I'm thinking it'll be really hard to speak in English, so I think I'll speak in Spanish. I would feel more a gusto.

Los quiero a todos!

Elder Taylor

16 Mayo 2016

16 Mayo 2016

Well....actually, another uneventful week.

Something funny that happened last week that I forgot to mention: My companion, Elder Del Angel, is really innocent. SUPER innocent. So it was really funny when he decided to stop by an ice cream shop one day. We went in and the lady at the counter (who was dressed rather scantily) asked us who we were and what we were doing. She said "I've seen you around, and I just always wondered who you were." So my companion started talking to her about the church and everything, just like he should. She said she was interested. "But," she said, "I don't have any time. I work here in the day and also work at night." But she said it really pointedly, indicating just what kind of work it was that she did at night. But my companion didn't understand. He started asking some questions about where she worked or if she had a day off. "Look," she said, "I WORK AT NIGHT. Do you understand?" "Uh...I don't think so." She sighed and explained how she broke up with the dad of her kids and so now she had a "Padrote" (which means "Big Daddy") that was basically her pimp. She explained it a lot more explicitly than that, though. My poor companion just about turned bright red, which is funny because he's really moreno. We left her an invitation to go to church and the pamphlet of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and left.

Other funny experience that really demostrates the culture of Frontera really well (besides the fact that the whole colonia basically took the week to get drunk; "happy mothers' day!"): One morning as we left we noticed a man that had been painting a really long wall but had left a small part unpainted. He was lying up against the wall and resting, even though we could see he had enough paint to finish it. I turned to my companion and said "Looks like he just left that little patch to be able to lean up against it. I'll bet that as soon as the rest of the wall dries, he'll paint over here and then go and rest on some other part." Sure enough, as we came back that night, even though he wasn't lying up against the wall anymore, the part that he'd left unpainted was painted. Monclovenses: working just hard enough to rest up before finishing the job.

We finally got Monica to go to church! She's the daughter-in-law of a super-active member and we were just about to drop her because she wasn't coming to church or reading the commitments. But then her mother-in-law told us that Monica got up before she did and told her to get up so they could go to church. But the mother-in-law was feeling bad, so she said no. But then she decided that maybe that was Satan making her feel bad so that Monica wouldn't go to church. So she said, "Let's go." And they came.

Also Angelica came again with her husband, Jose Luis. They look happy in church.

We're still working with Zulema, but she didn't come to church again, and we don't know why. She told us this last time that she feels like she's in the right path listening to us and coming to church. So we gave her 2 Nephi 31 to read and pray about if she should be baptized and she said she would.

We're also working with a lady named Alejandra. She's really awesome. She's got a little daughter named Kathryn of about one year old and SUPER cute. She and her husband are Christians (but less-active), but Alejandra says that when she hears us talk she feels it in her heart that it's true. She's just SO willing to accept the gospel, it's awesome. I haven't really seen someone like this since Gilberto in Piedras Negras.

We also found a GREAT couple last night. We got a reference from an hermana in Frontera (she found out I was here so started looking for references in our area. I LOVE that lady!), but she said that the husband wanted to listen to us but that he thought that the wife wouldn't want anything. We went with that in mind, thinking that if the wife came out when we knocked the door, we would treat her like any old contact, but if the husband came out we would treat him like we were contacting a referral. How great was our surprise when the wife came out, took one look at us and said "come on in!" We met them and they're really nice but are going through a really trying time. The husband had a relationship a while back with another woman and contracted an STD. But now he's repentant and just wants to be forgiven of God and by himself. The wife seems to already have forgiven him, but they want another child so that their only daughter of six years isn't alone. So that's what the problem is. There were a few tears shed, and we felt the Spirit and they accepted baptism. It was a really sweet experience. And FAR from rejecting us, the wife practically threw her home open to us as if she had been a member her whole life.

Well, that's just about it...

Say hi to everybody and invite everyone you know to my homecoming talk!

Love you!

Elder Taylor

Translation of passage from 9 Mayo 2016

"I will share a thought in Spanish, since I did not speak Spanish in the video call. I dispense those who do not understand me.

"I've been thinking a lot lately about covenants. What use would a covenant be and anyway couldn’t we keep the commandments without it? I have concluded it is to have a stronger commitment to God. For example, anyone has the responsibility not to get high, but a dad has a moral obligation to do so because of the damage they will do to his children, not only to himself. Similarly, any person has the expectation to obey the commandments, but he that makes covenants with God is saying that we understand His word and we are ready to obey it. We covenant, and therefore we are under obligation to obey. It doesn't really do much for God; He knows us perfectly and blesses those who keep His commandments, whether we make covenants or not. It serves us to have and feel this obligation.

"So that if we make and we keep sacred covenants made by ordinances performed under proper authority, He is bound to bless us. The good news is that He doesn’t resent the obligation. In this way too, we give ourselves the obligation to follow what what He commands us, that is, to become converted to Him. Ezekiel 36: 25-30 says: " Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. I will also save you from all your uncleannesses: and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you. And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that ye shall receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen.

"I love this scripture. And I share this in the name of Jesus Christ, amen."

9 Mayo 2016

9 Mayo 2016

Well....what to tell you all...

What we've seen this transfer is maybe that we're pretty good at getting people to come for a first time to church, but getting them here a second time is pretty hard.

We saw Angelica, the wife of a less-active member, and Guadalupe, as well, wife of a less-active member, in church. And Juanito came by himself again, so that's good. The only problem is that his mom won't let him get baptized. But he can keep coming and we can visit as well. We'll see what happens.

Grecia was baptized, that was a good experience. My companion baptized her and many of her less-active cousins and aunts came. And then she was confirmed on Sunday and her brother was given the priesthood. Yessica is now almost a fully-active member. Maybe that's a good trick to get someone active again: tell them they can get baptized because their record was lost, and then the Sunday before the baptism "accidentally" find the record.

Today I bought some things to bring home with me. I also stopped by the floreria where Irma and Hector from Aeropuerto work. Funny enough, Hector seemed happier to see me than Irma, but I hope it was just becuase they were busy. 

What else happened...We got sick. The same sickness as before. And I mentioned to the doctor that I'd had Montezuma's revenge. She laughed and said "what's that?" It was kind of funny.

This week was rather uneventful. This next week will also be uneventful, it seems like. Not until the next one will it get exciting. I told the president that because I was obedient my whole mission, I'd have to do all that I never did in the last six weeks, but I think it would be better in the last week. Usually it takes about a week for bad things to get to the ears of President Rodriguez. One week to make up for a lack of deliquency of two years. What can I do...? (Just kidding, I'm not going to do anything dumb.) 

Well, that's about it...

Voy a compartir un pensamiento en español, puesto que no hablé el español en la videollamada. Que me dispensen los que no me lo entienden.

He estado pensando mucho en convenios últimamente. ¿Para qué serviría un convenio y de todos modos podríamos guardar los mandamientos sin el? He llegado a la conclusión que es para tener un compromiso más fuerte con Dios. Por ejemplo, cualquier persona tiene la responsabilidad de no drogarse, pero un papá tiene la obligación moral de no hacerlo por el daño que les va a hacer a sus hijos, no solamente a si mismo. De igual manera, cualquier persona tiene la expectativa de obedecer los mandamientos, pero el hacer convenios con Dios es decirle que entendemos su palabra y que estamos prestos a obedecerlo. Hacemos el convenio, y por lo tanto nos hallamos bajo la obligación de obedecer. No de mucho le sirve a Dios; el nos conocer perfectamente y bendice a todos aquellos que guardemos sus mandamientos, independientemente de que hagamos los convenios o no. Nos sirve a nosotros para que tengamos y sintamos esta obligación. 

De modo que si hacemos y cumplimos con convenios sagrados realizados mediante ordenanzas efectuadas bajo la debida autoridad, El es obligado a bendecirnos. Lo bueno es que no resiente la obligación. De esta manera también, nos damos nosotros mismos la obligación de seguir lo que el nos manda, eso es, convertirnos a El. Ezequiel 36:25-30 dice: "Y esparciré sobro vosotros agua limpia, y seréis purificados de todas vuestras impurezas; y de todos vuestros ídolos os limpiaré. Y os daré un corazón nuevo y pondré un espíritu nuevo dentro de vosotros; y quitaré de vuestra carne el corazón de piedra y os daré un corazón de carne. Y pondré dentro de vosotros mi espíritu, y haré que andéis en mis estatutos y que guardéis mis juicios y los pongáis por obra. Y habitaréis en la tierra que di a vuestros padres; y vosotros seréis mi pueblo, y yo seré vuestro Dios. Y os salvaré de todas vuestras impurezas, y llamaré al trigo y lo multiplicaré, y no os traeré el hambre. Multiplicaré asimismo el fruto de los árboles y el fruto de los campos, para que nunca más recibáis el oprobio del hambre entre las naciones."

Me encanta esta escritura. Y se los comparto en el nombre de Jesucristo, amén.

Love you all!

Elder Taylor

2 Mayo 2016

What a week. Time is FLYING so fast.

This week, who went to church:

ZULEMA! She's our rockstar investigator who FINALLY went to church. She owns a little tiendita right by the church about two blocks away, so all the members already knew her. We had to help her into the ward mission leader's car (I felt like I was helping gramma again, especially since it was a Kia Spectra) and dump her walker in the back. Then we carted her the block and a half to the church. She LOVED it, even though after the three hours she looked really tired. Tired but happy.

Maybe it was a situation where you'd have to be there, but this is how it went: we were explaining the Book of Mormon and so I drew a basic map of the world on the little white board that we carry around with us, but because I drew it upside-down, America turned out looking a little like something...well...actually it turned out looking like nothing in particular. She gave me that look only a little old lady with a great sense of humor can give and I told her "Well, we'll use our imagination" and she said "Muy apenas" (which means "Very much just barely"). So we all laughed. But then later than night we went back to buy some milk for the next day, and every time that we buy from her, she tells us the price in English to show off her not-so-great English skills. This time she tells us the number and asks us if she got it right. So I tell her that, yep, sure did get it right and that next time we teach her, we'll teach her in just English. So then she says "I don't think so, my English skills is about as good as your drawing skills." We laugh and then leave again. The next time we're with her, we're teaching her about the Plan of Salvation. I tell her "before we were born, we lived with our Father in Heaven." She gives me a dangerous, challenging look. "Let's see you draw it." Well that put a hold on things. I get busy trying to please the client, but while I'm looking down, I hear her and my companion having communication. So I look up. She has a face on that's just too innocent. I look down again. Again, hushed communications. I look up. Too innocent. I look down again and I finish the drawing, in spite of the snickering that I'm hearing from them. Finally I look up to explain what I drew and I can tell she's not listening to a single word I'm saying. So I finally burst out: "Will you please cut it out, both of you!" And they just couldn't take it anymore and bust up laughing. It was funny. But then on Sunday when our ward mission leader was taking her to church and we were sitting behind them, she told him all about how we were sent her to this earth to learn how to be more like God and repent of our sins, and it was great.

ALONDRA! A seventeen year old girl that we're teaching. She reminds me a LOT of Katrina. She even kind of looks like her. She came to church and it turned out her best friend from middle school is a member of the ward and so they had fun. It was nice. This last week we told her to read Moroni 10 and 3 Nephi 11 (she loves reading: we've found her reading The Host by Stephanie Meyer). When we came back and asked her what she had learned from the reading, she said "the men were killing each other and cut each other up and gave the meat to the wives and children to eat." ....WHAT?! So then she showed us where is says it in Moroni 9. Obviously, without the historical context, that makes no sense. We asked her if she'd also read the assignment. She said no; she'd just opened the page where we left the bookmark and read the first thing that popped up. Good grief.

Juanito also came to church again! And we're in the newspaper with him!

We went to where he was working and found him and went to set an appointment with him. He was with his mom and another lady. We set the appointment and when we had our agendas out we noticed that the other lady was taking a picture of us. We thought it was weird, but not much about it. His mom later explained to us that she was a reporter, asking Juanito about himself because he was going to be featured in an article about Children's Day. They mentioned to her that he was taking "lessons" from the "mormon brothers," and we happened to walk up in that moment. Then on Sunday, an hermano from Frontera came up to us and told us that he saw us in the newspaper and that he was going to give us a copy.

I also just bumped into an Hermana that really liked me from Frontera and Dora's old Friendshipper. It was cool.
Well, I guess I'll see you lot on Sunday. 6 more days. I took my suit to the drycleaner and I'm going to go get my hair cut so I'm all pretty for when you see me on Sunday. And in two weeks after that...

I really liked a lot of scriptures from this week, but I can't think of any right now, and my hour and a half is already over. So...see you all later!

Elder Taylor

25 Abril 2016

Hijole...se me va volando el tiempo...It's gotten to the point that when I do something that miffs another missionary, they ask me "hey, how much time do you have left?" Good grief.

Some highlights from this week.

We checked everything with the records and everything for Yessica and her daughter. According to the records, she was never baptized. We asked President Rodriguez what to do in the situation, and he said to have her write a letter to somewhere (he said the bishop should know where) explaining the situation with her baptismal date, place, who did it and all that necessary information. We told her that and she said "Nope, I don't got nada." Then she smiled and said "I guess I'll just have to get baptized again. Oh darn." And well, okay, I'm not going to complain. So we called up the president again to ask him and he said "Well...shoot. I guess you're going to have another convert before you go home." So we're going to baptize both of them next week. Grecia (the daughter) and her mom are both very excited.

We've been teaching this kid who lives in front of the church whose name is Juanito (well, Juan Mauricio) and he's nine and a little slow at times, but he's really sweet and wants to get baptized. And he came to church this week! Yay!

This other lady named Beatriz also came to church. She's recently gotten married to the dad of a recent convert who was kinda starting to wander a little, so she decided this last Sunday that they were going to church. She came and participated in Gospel Principles and LOVED it. We have an appointment on Wednesday with them.

And a few other people came to church but they belong to other wards.

We've been teaching this sweet, spunky old lady named Zulema in her little store by the church and every time we go she's more and more interested. This last time we went, I recognized one of her workers. It was Rocio Ibarra, a less-active lady that I knew in Frontera. So we got on Rocio and committed her to tell Zulema to go to church. And then Zulema didn't go, but this morning we went to go buy the groceries and Zulema said that she talked with her kids and they said "do whatever you want, mom." So she's decided to come to church this next week.

We had a really sweet experience yesterday while working. We were sitting on a park bench in a plazita while I was asking for and passing the numbers for the week and a young woman with a baby in a stroller sat down on a bench across the plaza from us. We went over and started talking to her and it turned out that she was pregnant and that her husband wanted to separate, so she was in a bad shape. She looked like she was about 16, but she said she was 23. We taught her a small lesson, invited her to be baptized and she said yes, but then it turns out that she just barely lives outside of our area by about one block. We stood up to leave and she thanked us, telling us that we left her feeling in peace. We thanked her and went to go finish asking for and passing the all-important numbers. We're going to pass the reference to the other missionaries and hopefully they go and teach her well.

My companion has been teaching me a little Portuguese. Actually, all my last companions from Ninataype onward have been studying Portuguese. I'm starting to think that God is telling me something, but I'm feeling "let me get a good handle on Spanish first, then we can worry about other things."

Mayela just walked into the cyber. Had to say hi. Also bumped into Rodrigo, Carlos Moreno's son a few seconds before walking in. He said they're still going to church, but that he didn't know anything about going to the temple. We'll have to see what strings I can pull in the next couple weeks...

Interesting thing that happened this week:

I was on splits in Tecnológico with Elder Espinoza from Puebla. In the morning we visited a lady that said that she'd basically been traumatized by a Christian church around the corner, something about too much dancing and screaming and shouting. And, she mentioned, they had a menorah out front. We walked past later and I saw a pile of meat cooking on what looked like an altar in the patio of the church and some men wearing skull-caps and shawls. Then a young man in a skull-cap and a shawl with a beard stepped out of the church and saw us and said something about "Sons of Israel" and something something something and then blew a horn that was obviously made from the horn of a goat or sheep. We just kept walking and I asked Elder Espinoza about it. He said that the day before he and his companion saw a goat tied up outside the church and that it looked like they were going to sacrifice it. And that one time they were contacted by some of the members of the church that refused to recognize the name "Jesucristo." "No," they say, "We have the celestial language, and His name is Yeshua." Good grief. I've bumped into these people before but had never seen them sacrifice a goat before. Welcome to Monclova, it told me.

I think that was it...well, I'm reading in 2 Corinthians now. It's making a whole lot more sense that the first few times that I'd read it, even though I'm reading it in Spanish. I REALLY liked 2 Corintios 4:7-10:

"Pero tenemos este tesoro en vasos de barro, para que la excelencia del poder sea de Dios, y no de nosotros; estamos atribulados en todo, pero no angustiados; en apuros, pero no desesperados; perseguidos, pero no desamparados; abatidos, pero no destruidos; siempre llevamos en el cuerpo por todas partes la muerte de Jesús, para que también la vida de Jesús se manifieste en nuestros cuerpos."

Yep, I liked it a lot.

Well, see you all around!

Oh! About talking on Mothers' Day: is it fine May 8th after 5 o’clock Monclova time?

Elder Taylor

18 Abril 2016

I'm not gonna lie, it's been a weird week.

My companion is really great. His name is Elder Del Angel from Tampico. He's got a really goofy grin and just a way of doing and saying things that keeps me laughing all day long. He's got a lot of heart, he just hasn't had very good companions and not a lot of success on his mission. Well, we're determined to change that.

People we have right now:

Victoria: she's a wife of a less-active. I've only met her once, but she's really pretty excited about the church and wants to get baptized. But she's never been.

Yessica Zuñiga and Grecia: Yessica is a cousin of some members from Frontera that I knew really well. She's already been baptized twice, but the record was never processed correctly. And now Grecia is about to turn 8. The mom doesn't necessarily have to be baptized again, but we'll have to see the situation a little more. They came to church on Sunday.

Guillermo and his wife: A middle-aged couple. Sounds like his parents are active members that just got sealed. So they invited him to church and he and his wife went. They seemed to like it a lot and we have an appointment to go back on Thursday, but we didn't have a lot of time to talk because they had to leave right after sacrament meeting.

Angelica: We found her while looking for an old investigator named Angelica (who sounds like she may have lived in the same house but moved a while ago). She just wants to get her life in order and from the very first moment has accepted everything. She reads the pamphlets and prays about what they contain (which is REALLY weird; nobody here reads and NOBODY prays about it). The only thing is that she didn't go to church and doesn't answer her phone, but we tentatively have a date for the 14 of this month. She just has to get married first.

That's really all we have right now...

We bumped into Mayela and her kids on Friday. We were on our way to an appointment (by way of a bakery...) when we heard someone shout "ELDER!" which isn't too weird: everyone here knows who the elderes are. So we turned to see who it was and because of the lighting, I couldn't recognize them very well. Until we started crossing the street. Oh, it was SO exciting to see them! Pedro and Rocio were both MUCH taller and Mayela seemed just ECSTATIC to see me. She said that they'd written me letters but then found out that I was coming up here, so they decided to just hold on to them and give them to me on Sunday. She says she's excited to go to the temple in August and to meet Mom, because I told her that at least Mom would probably come with me. Pedro received the Aaronic Priesthood last Sunday and is now passing the sacrament and Mayela's dad blesses the sacrament. WOW! it feels great to see them.

I saw Lucy just a few minutes ago as well. There wasn't water in our colonia this morning so we ran over to the house of the elders from Frontera 2 to shower. It's right by where she works so we stopped in to see her. She looked really happy and gave us flavored water for free (doesn't sound like much, but it really is kinda a big deal). The members told me that she hasn't been going because of her job, but the meeting schedule is about to change (why it changes in May, nobody's been able to tell me). So now she'll be able to get away to go to church.

I haven't seen Blanca yet, but I know it's just a matter of time before i bump into her.

Some things have changed in this ward since I was here. A missionary that wasn't even assigned to this ward but was with me in Frontera for three transfers ended his mission early and came back for the bishop's niece and now the family is inactive. Also her brother eloped with another girl who isn't a member. We're going to meet her this week, supposedly. Also, the ward got a new bishop (quote from Sunday in his talk: "Sometimes, the first thing you wanna do when you get back from church is take off your tie. Is your eternal salvation really worth such a little thing?") and the old bishop got even fatter. He has to use a walker now. Several other families that were active are now inactive, and not a whole lot the other way around. There are a TON of people here in this ward that were born in the church but were never baptized. So we're working mostly with them.

But yeah. It's super hot. Right now it's fine, but we've been up to 40 degrees Celsius this week.

Spiritual thought: Isaiah 29:16: "vuestra obra de trastornar las cosas de arriba abajo ciertamente será considerada como barro de alfarero. ¿Acaso la obra dirá de su hacedor: No me hizo? ¿O dirá la vasija de aquel que la ha formado: No entiende?" We should recognize that it's God who is guiding our lives. We can't live his commandments and deserve his blessings and then say "What a great job I've done." We can get personal satisfaction out of life, but as long as it doesn't interfere with our gratitude towards God. First, we should elevate our life to His standards. Whatever little thing that is out of line, we should make an honest effort to correct it. Second, we can expect and hope for His blessings in faith. And third, we should accept His will. Not everything is going to turn out like we want it. But if we do the first two steps correctly, everything will turn out for the best.

Well, have a great week!

Elder Taylor