23 Noviembre 2015

23 Noviembre 2015

Oh my GOSH it's been hard not to get trunky. I've got exactly 6 MONTHS left from today and seeing all the thanksgiving and christmas decorations (those have been up since right after dia de los muertos), let's just say it sometimes would be a REAL temptation to miss you guys too much. But we keep working.

Miracles this week:

YOCELIN ACCEPTED THE BAPTISMAL DATE FOR THIS SATURDAY! WOOH! Unfortunately, her mom had appendicitis and is now in the hospital, so we're really hoping that she can get out in time to be there. They said that she should be out today or tomorrow, but one way or another is going to be pretty weak for a while. So let's hope. But, we got a HUGE surprise when Yocelin came ALONE to church because Maria Esther was in the hospital. We thought that she wasn't going to come because she was watching Mayte's and Brando's sons while Mayte was with her mom, but at 11:30, there she came with Mark (Brando's 2-year-old son) in tow. Who knows what may have happened with Isaac (Mayte's 2-year-old son) but at least she came.

Mayte also accepted the date for the 26 of December, so we're pretty excited. Unfortunately, she didn't come to church this week, but at least she was with her mom. We took them the Santa Cena last night and it was pretty neat.

GILBERTO IS GOING TO BE BAPTIZED THIS SATURDAY AS WELL! He's got three days now that he hasn't smoked, so now we're just waiting on the interview from the president which should be done Friday at 9 in the morning. He's SO ready, just about ready to do a belly flop into the font. It's so gratifying to see him, how he started our teaching with "I can't promise I'll be baptized, but I'll go to church" and now he's at "I have to be baptized so I can see my wife again after this life." He had a dream about her this week where they were walking together along the beach hand in hand and then at one point she vaporized and left him alone, but he didn't feel alone because he knew he would see her again. And then the guy that works with him (his name is Juan "sin miedo") interrupted and told us about the dream he had of Noah's ark flying through the sky and a giant snake that attacked him. But oh well. So please pray for Gilberto to be strong to be able to withstand the temptation to smoke so he can be baptized this Saturday!

Leopoldo keeps coming to church. He's the same as always, but he seems a little happier and at least he's not praying to Joseph Smith anymore.

This week we went looking for a house and couldn't find it, so we started knocking doors and nobody wanted anything. That when we saw an old man walking along the street who looked really lonely so we went and talked to him. The first thing he said: "I'm alcoholic. I can't get off of it. Can you help me?" Of course we can. That's what we're here for. "Okay. Come into my house, please." So we sat down and listened to him talk. He told us that he was about ready to get divorced because he keeps stealing money from his wife to buy beer and that his kids had given up on him. He also hinted that he was contemplating ending his life. He was already intoxicated and speaking Spanglish so it was a little hard to understand him sometimes (Elder Hernandez says he understood everything with the little English that he speaks), but we explained priesthood blessings to him and gave him one, then handed him a pamphlet of the Word of Wisdom and one of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and invited him to church. He said he was willing to do whatever it took to get him out of his addiction and get his life in order. I've never seen anyone who was just so desperate for the affects of the atonement in their life. His name is Oscar Rios. I hope to be able to report more on him later.

We're in a trio now! Elder Franco from Villa de Fuente Branch got sent to Saltillo to be trained to be the new Executive Secretary of the mission, so they assigned us to finish the training of his companion, Elder Goeckeritz. It's been pretty fun. Elder Hernandez speaks a little English and Elder Goeckeritz a little Spanish and anyways the Sports Language words are generally the same or similar so they've been having a good time. I told them I'm the only one that actually speaks both languages but I have no idea what they're saying. Unfortunately for Elder Goeckeritz, I said it in Spanish so only Elder Hernandez laughed. But it's been fun. The lucky duck came in just in time for Yocelin's and Gilberto's baptisms to "count" for him, so when she goes to the temple to get ready for her mission and when Gilberto goes to seal himself with his family, he'll be able to go with them. Elder Hernandez just barely won't make it because he's just a little less than a year left.

We put up our tree and an hermana gave us tree ornaments, so now it's all decorated. We just need lights.

We went with Juan Valentin. I don't know if I'd mentioned him before, but he's a young guy who we've been with off and on for the past 3 months because he's never come to church(so that's why off and on), but he's super golden (and that's why for 3 months). Anyway, he told us he didn't come to church this week because he was busy studying for a college entrance test that he's going to take this week. We read Doctrine and Covenants 93:(?) where it says that the spirit will illuminate our understanding according to our obedience. We committed him to come to church and to read the pamphlets and book of mormon before studying and he interrupted us and said that he'd had a dream this week when he was super worried about how to study and cram for the test. In the dream, he heard a voice telling him several times "study my books." He didn't understand what that meant until our lesson with him, but now he's determined to read and come to church.

This week is going to be the mission christmas party. We're getting together with the zones Acuña/Zaragoza and Nueva Rosita, which means that I'm going to see Elder Briggs again (Yay!) and that we have to plan EVERYTHING for 40 missionaries (Ugh...). But oh well. It looks like it's all going to work out. Delegation and follow-up. That's how to do this leadership/planning thing. Give out the things you don't want to do, but make sure that the other people actually do them.

That's awesome that the package I sent actually got there! And that's good that you liked the cookies. Seriously, packaged cookies here in Mexico are SO much better than American cookies. Even Oreos and Chips a'Hoy are better here.

Well, have a good Dia del Pavo (here in Piedras, that's what it's called. In Saltillo and Monclova, it's Dia de Accion de Gracias.) Que disfruten la pachanga, pay y huajalote!

Ooh, really fast: I read the book of Haggai (Hageo in Spanish) today in study time. SUPER awesome stuff about the temple and being prepared for it and how we should prepare to enter even before they lay the stones to build it. Also, Jehovah promises the sealing keys of the priesthood to Zerubabel at the end of the book.

Elder Taylor

Gilberto and "la llorona" for Halloween

Elder Shipley, Elder Hernandez, Elder Vielma, Elder Taylor in front of a monument to Benito Juarez (supposedly he met Joseph Smith). There were some pretty interesting Masonic symbols all around the monument and we were joking that if we put a certain rock in a certain spot, the whole thing would open up and we would find the national treasure of Mexico.