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