Week 45 - Changes and Challenges

So this week was pretty good. Idk. wasn't anything out of the ordinary. We had a lot of appointments with investigator that fell through, so thats always fun.

I'm begging that I'm with Elder Hernandez, he has 20 months but he is pretty darn obedient so thats a breath of fresh air. The only thing is he's new in the area and he's semi-quiet so I talk a lot in the lessons. He is from Guatemala, not Mexico, and he is also another key indicator that he's not dead or frito.

Mom you asked if I was senior comp. yes. I've been senior since, like, September or more.  Not that it really means anything.  But no I'm not training anymore either.  My child got changes and I got Elder Hernandez.

What else?  Oh, my investigator, named Roque (pronounced rocky) is a super, super cool guy he's having a lot of desafios (challenges), which sounds better in Spanish.  He is super escogido (chosen), this guy, but in this past week he got his wallet stolen.  The next day he fixed it all, re-did the paperwork to get his drivers license and all that jazz, and then he gets in a car accident.  He's a taxi driver.  Over the next day or two he got car-jacked.  Ya, tough situations! I don't really know whats going on in his family life but I think his unmarried daughter got pregnant too, we promise blessing for going to church and by beginning to live the gospel and Satan steps in and throws a bunch of trails and someone mentioned to him that everything bad is happening because he stopped praying to the virgin de Guadalupe, don't you just love catholicism.

But I have a baptism this Saturday, finally. It's been long enough.

the other day we were teaching a less active family that I've grown to love them but they are so frustrating. we teach a good lesson about the scriptures and then challenge them to keep it they all say yes. we go back in three days and no one read anything. we challenge them to go to church and they say yes. then no one goes. so we {went over there and we talked for a while about the importance of all this stuff and i finally got fed up and righteously called them out. And told them they have a lot of problems as a family and if they want to apply the gospel to change and fix their problems they can but what are we doing here teaching if you guys don't want to change. did we waste the past hour challenging you to read or whats up? i hope they can understand that the gauntlet was thrown not because i don't like them, but because i do, and i want them to change and live the blessings of the gospel.

What else can I tell you?  November blew by so fast, honestly so fast. It's already December and it feels like mid September.  It is hot in the day with a cool breeze and cold at night. Everyone is like dying from the "cold"!

Welp, I think thats all folks.

Love you guys, have a great week.
Elder Joshua Blotter

Week 40 - Better Week

Hello.

So I didn't take a picture this week to send to you, sorry my bad.

Also this week was super tranquilo.

Hahah so we went and visited a bunch of the primary children with the primary presidency one afternoon, and went to a spot in my area thats like super sketchy, and it felt super uncomfortable because the primary presidency aren't a bunch of old, ugly, fat women.  We were walking and theres like a bunch of drug addicts in the street and it was just a super strange experience.

Also, what else?  Oh, we visited a part of my ward that we hadn't visited in the entire time I've been here. While we were visiting a family that lives there the elders from the neighboring ward and stake showed up.  It was kind of an awkward situation, except that the area we visited is a disputed area.  The maps show that the area is in my ward but the stake presidents had like a verbal agreement to secede the area to another stake.  Oh how I love the church and her organization, not! Well, at least not here in Mexico. Hahaha the church is rather organized in the states -- Mexico is chaos and that is passed onto the church and it shouldn't.

We did shut-ins; we gave the sacrament to a family that couldn't come to church cause he, a member of the family, had surgery.

This week blew past honestly because were trying to get the ward to work so we've been accompanying the organizations visiting the members and the days went super fast.

I forgot our inv. Alejandra who was super excited about the church and accepted everything and was reading and praying and all that stuff, and then she disappeared from off the face of the earth for like 2 weeks. and we finally talked to her and we had a super cool lesson about the gospel of Jesus christ. and repentance and we used a ton of questions of what she learned and it was really cool. she was receiving a lot of negative pressure from her mom and family and she finally took the decision to say no, this is what i want and this is what is best for me. it was cool to hear her. and to feel the spirit so strong.

Honestly I feel like I have nothing more to share....

Love you! Thanks for your prayers and your emails, they make my day and week so much better.
Elder Blotter

Week 39 - Fixed Brad's tie...

Hey!

I'd be halfway done with the mission if I was a girl. I'm about to hit about of halfway marks in the mission, my first of two halloweens thanksgiving my only christmas that I'm going to have in the mission. It's strange. I'm almost halfway done. Hahahaha I'm not trunky I just don't like my comp.

So... this week was different. I spent practically half the time out of my area, my comp had something wrong with his back so we went to the offices to have them buy the pills, and take x rays to see what the problem was-is that was Tuesday morning. Wednesday we went to go pick up the X-rays from the clinic that took forever. Thursday we went to the temple to get the X-rays read by the doctor, Friday we went to the temple to get flu shots, I opted for not getting shot. Hahaha and Saturday we had a mission meeting that I was hoping Dallin H. Oaks was going to come too. But no, just President.  And there was lots and lots of combi riding.  A combi is like a passenger van (smaller that prison vans) that they line with seats and fill with like 17 people 18 with driver, I think.

Traveling here is stressful and when it gets hot you open the windows and breath a lot of smog.
And its crowded.

When I went to the temple I was wanting to see Bryce from BYU cause I think all the Mexico City missions were getting vaccinated. I don't think vaccinated is a word. But I didn't. Darn.

Anyway our investigator, Alejandra, was progressing super well.  She came with us to the visitors center, had a baptismal date, and was super excited.  She had a ton of problems in her personal life and she said that the gospel was helping her, that all her problems were trials because Satan doesn't want her to know the truth. Yep... and now we have had one lesson with her in the last like two weeks.

Also the guy that sells hamburgers close to our house took our message really well, but now he is like being weird.  Haha he bailed on his appointment that we had and he acts weird, idk. I saw so much potential in this guy and his family and he wont use his agency to accept Jesus in his life!

So pretty much all of our investigators buzzed out. Ramon, the guy that I'm pretty sure has received all the missionary lessons and everything in other areas and even in the states, is practically impossible to talk to and he's unreliable.  He didn't come to church.  So we went from three progressing and a baptismal date to all zeros.  The silver lining is that we have like three families that are referrals that are pending, so I could have good news in the next email.

I realized how much I hate negative speaking.  We have a couple members who we visit who are like super strong in the gospel and they know like everything, and they just want to bash the bishop for a good hour.  I understand and agree that the bishop is crap, but I just get depressed listening to it.  And instead of saying it's okay well keep working until the bishop changes or I'll do my part even though he's not doing his, they all think *I'll just go to church once every 3 months to stay active and hibernate until the bishop gets changed.*

So we had a mission meeting with all the missionaries in the mission because president is fed up with all the disobedience.  He put a row of chairs in the front of the room and said "Disobedience is equal to not having faith and if you don't want to be obedient then go home."  We sat in silence for like a good minute or two until he asked "Who wants to go home?"  I honestly hope the mission changes, but my comp hasn't changed his attitude. Ugh.  

Also president said that missions are supposed to be fun, and they can be fun. I so want for my mission to be fun, but I'm suffering here, haha, and boy can I tell you it's not fun!

I was thinking out loud while changing out of my suit on Saturday and my comp like blew up and called me a bunch of names.  Hahahahaha it was so out of nowhere, I didn't know what the heck was up.  So instead of going and visiting people we had a little chat until he got his head back on.  Boy, do I love my companion. I sure have learned a lot. But it's not the types of learning experiences you look for. I've learned to be patient and not to argue to not respond, I've learned a lot of humility. And long suffering. I guess I had to learn those attributes sometime  I just hope I can be done learning them in two weeks.

In my studies I'm reading from every book in the standard works.  In Leviticus it's talking about the ordinances in the temple and its kinda cool to read between the lines about the robes of the priesthood and the sons of Aaron.  In the B.O.M. - I finished it in Spanish about two weeks ago so I'm reading it again and reading the parts that when I first was reading I was in the mtc and I'm appreciating it a lot more. I really like Nephi he's like my hero. Also I'm reading "Jesus the Christ" again, it's such a killer book.  Talmadge nailed one home when he wrote it.  It explains so clearly everything about Jesus and his life. I'm waiting anxiously until I get the conference edition of the liahona another reason I want these two weeks to be done already.

So the photo I sent, I fixed brads tie. Hahahaha I hope that doesn't make him mad, or sad, or jealous because now it's not hideous. I washed it and then made it skinnier. Hahahaha... I didn't cut it so if brad wants it back to its original width when I get home then he can.

Ummm well I think thats all folks.

Love you bunches,
Elder Blotter

Week 38 - Serenity Now!

So pretty much the same this week.

Taught lessons, visited members and that kind of stuff. Haha I still don't really like my comp, and by say don't really like him, is just my acceptance of the mission presidents will and through him gods will. 

This week we found a lot of new less actives. This ward is in such bad shape. hahahaha there a ton of members and cool members too, but Guelatao used to be one of the biggest wards in the stake with the best membership numbers and all that jazz now we started the sacrament meeting with 17 people. and ended with 40. the thing is that we honestly cant visit all the members, we learned this week about an entire section of the ward that we hadn't visited because we didn't think it was ours. There are at least 25 names in the list that live over there.  

This past week we went to the visitors center the doctor a wedding and a baptism. so the week blew by which was really nice. my comp thought he had a problem with his kidneys but the doctor this time said it was is back, like spinal chord pain. so we´re going for an x ray tomorrow and another visit to the doctor Thursday. honestly i don't know what it is but my last couple comps had a bunch of health problems whilst we were together.  

We went to the visitors center and brought our inv. who was going to get baptized the 25 or 28th whichever is Saturday. she felt the spirit learned about Jesus and the prophets and apostles. honestly the visitors center is normally the one two punch of a convert. you have someone who is ready for baptism and is scared or doesn't get it all yet or you want them to understand the eternal nature of the family a little bit better. the temple. seriously its always a cool experience.  

The only thing that stunk about that was that she didn't come to church on Sunday so she has to wait to be baptized.  

What else we finally recontacted some people that we contacted like my first day, and talked with them for a while about missionaries and what we do and that stuff and how he took study from the JW´s for like a year and wasn't convinced, ya because they don't have the truth, so we are going to visit them today, it's a house that more that 15 people live there. and not like a dept. building, like family who i think are going to progress towards baptism. super cool.  

Idk. what else happened this week... I'm sure more.  

The pic is Friday night when it rained like crazy. And a member gave me a poncho. Pretty styling. I felt dumb but dry so it was all good.  

I'm sticking it out here. Missions are better when you have a good comp. hahahahaha I think ill be training next change, but that's like 4 weeks aways. which I hope passes as fast as this change did. Don't worry I'm knocking on wood as we speak. God wants me to learn something with this comp I'm sure of it.  

Oh, I remembered the story of the week. we decided to teach sabbath day to the people in our ward, we taught the lesson twice, and after i testify of like completing with gods commandments brings blessings. my comps says its okay if you work on Sundays god understands work is a beautiful thing... i just sat there speechless, we left the house and i was like how in the world do i tell my comp to stop teaching that. he asked me whats wrong. i said hey when we teach people about the commandments, you cant at the end tell them it's okay to break them. he like blew up and like a racist Mexican told me I've never had problems in my life and i don't understand, maybe i don't understand poverty but i do understand gods commandments.  

"Courage not compromise brings the smile of gods approval"  

- Thomas S Monson.  

Ya that got him really mad, and I had to cool off too. Idk, I'm just waiting for the changes honestly.  

Serenity now!  

Love you!

Elder Blotter

Week 37 - #LDSConf

Hello!  

How are you this week? I'm doing pretty well.  I needed to hear this general conference. It gave me extra energy or more batteries. I don't feel so drained and I feel like I have more power to teach the gospel. I love hearing the prophet’s voice. Love it. I had been waiting about a six months to hear their voices. Always it seems like everything that’s said is applicable in missionary work, which is wonderful.  

In conference, there were a lot of new things, no? People speaking other languages, three topics in a row all about sustaining the prophet, Uchtdorf forgot to fix his hair... It was really cool to hear the talks in Spanish, which were in Spanish. Of course I listen to conf in English. But we entered the room with everyone else to hear the ones in Spanish. I really liked Jorge's talk, he was super straightforward and I felt a renewed call to commit myself to perfect obedience — not that I had stopped being obedient or anything just that I can be better, I'd say the prevailing topics were the fast, testimony and the prophet. Being a missionary during conf is a super cool experience. You get to sit in the stake center in your suit on hard plastic chairs and pay attention to every session of conference, and you get specific answers to your prayers, but that isn't necessarily specific to missionaries.  

Anyway, the work here in Guelatao. I learned in conf to stop thinking "I hope the bishops listening right now to this talk", because about ten-seconds before that was said the thought ran through my head. Hahaha so I learned to focus more on me. Be more selfish in my spirituality. Hahaha but I told you we found Alejandra no? She is an investigator who is having a hard time but is super animated (he means "excited") to continue in the gospel, and with the lessons. She was sick so she couldn't go to church on Sunday which is always hard, and Ramón, who is super ready to be a member but he just needs to find time for us was gone and we couldn't see him all week.  We also found a bunch of new less actives, idk I feel less discouraged by the work and more impelled to teach and contact after conference.  

My comp, simply put my comp is paying me back for all the times I was a bad sibling. We have a family in our ward that consists of a grandma, single mom and two young men 10 years and 12 years. They are a super cool family but Oscar and Omar fight like cats and dogs and I just feel sad that I can see myself in their behavior and every admonitino (baby admonish) that I share with the two kids are the things that I'm using to not kill my companion, hahaha like being the better person being kind, not getting mad, swallowing my pride and just listening when he insults me. Hahaha teaches me right I guess.  

You know how missionaries come back from the missions and are fanatics right I was thinking about that and the people who assist general conference here. There are what 5 sessions of conference 6 if we count the women's broadcast, but 5 during conf weekend. And here in Mexico we the missionaries arrive and listen to every session. A total of ten hours of conf. and there are a couple different levels of members here. There are about 15 people in the stake who stay for every session. There are about 80-ish who stay for all the sessions on Sunday, there are like 450 or more who show up for Sunday morning and there are those who take a break from church. And as a missionary I cant but think how horrible it is to not watch every single minute of every single session. And that’s not something I feel like I want to lose when I get home — hence missionary fanatic. Hahaha there are things that I think god wants you to learn on your mish and become a fanatic about scriptures prayer conference, church attendance, going to every activity in church, etc. Idk where I was going with that thought but there it was.  

My friend Bryce who is in the Mexico City like east mission who is a secretary with 3 months in the mish, talked to the secretaries of our mission and sent a hello, that was pretty cool, hahaha.  

Other random thoughts I've been in the same stake in my whole mission but for three weeks.  

Another thing that was super cool about conference was seeing people. I got to say hi to all the people I left in Ixtla all the members the converts and everything it was really cool, I have a lot of friends in that ward. And it was cool to see the other missionaries, and since we the white people, I would say Americans but there were two Canadians, and Mexicans get offended when I call myself American, watched it in English we spoke in English the whole time. It was nice. Hahaha I've only been speaking Spanish for a while, took a little relaxing break to shake out some stress.  

What else, well my comp he's like sick in his kidneys or something and he's been taking medicine and everything for the kidneys for like the entire time we've been together, well this week his meds were three shots that he took in the butt cheek, hahaha it was pretty funny to see him get a large injection in his cheek and then walk crooked as we went back to our house.  

Sorry that I haven't been taking many pictures but the areas a little sketchy and I don't carry my camera, and my comps not really my friend and so there’s not a lot of photo taking in the house.  

I washed that dirty tie that brad gave me that has been on like ten missions, I'm sorry to whoever got their name erased, but it was time.  

Well, I feel like I ran out of things to say.  

#selfiesunday. I got soaked as we walked home in the rain on Sunday night and I took this selfie in remembrance of selfiesunday, and to have something to send home.  

Love, 

Elder Blotter

Week 36 - Much Better Week

So, this week went a lot better than the week before.

My comp is still, well, I want to say less than a jerk. Haha, but we found a bunch of less actives. Our ward mission leader actually went on visits with us, and we ended up having two people in church. We found a couple new investigators, hahaha I don’t know what it is but every Monday I wait till we go to internet so I can do email, but I never feel like writing anything hahaha.

Cool stories of this week: First Guillermo (Memo), is an inv. that I taught in Pantitlan. He is super cool. We’d teach the lessons and he’d actually understand what we were teaching. Haha, and I don’t know he was someone truly prepared to listen to the gospel who didn’t have a ton of problems that we have to try and solve, but he while we were teaching him volunteered to clean the church on Saturday nights was taking his book of mormon of his stressful trips, he’s a lawyer so he gets like flied out to different parts of Mexico speaks and returns the same exact day, but he’d pack his Book of Mormon and actually read it. He’s a super cool guy; he’s positive and happy and never gets down on anything. Well, he got baptized this Saturday so I returned to watch his baptism. It was a really cool experience.

Next Alejandra: on Friday I decided to spend a bunch of time in the same unidad, essentially it’s a giant apartment complex, looking for people. We found a bunch of less active families that we can visit now. Within this unidad, there are about 12 or more families. Wo there’s a lot of work to do and it’s simple cause theres a lot less walking. Anyway, we were looking for a less active named Lourdes or lulu. We found her building then dept. (apartment) and knocked on her door. Out came a woman and we asked if Lourdes was there, to which she replied no. That is her sister and blah, we talked about the sister for a while, then we contacted her and she accepted we went in and taught her the restoration and invited her to church. She accepted and everything, so on Sunday we pass by her house to take her to church we go to church and during Sunday school (this ward doesn’t have gospel principles class, I don’t know whats up with that) we taught her about the church and what we do, including about the sacrament and everything. Also our mission president came to our meeting to talk to our ward, so he was there we talked and she opened up a bit and told us the night before we knocked her door, she was praying to God asking for help and said that she was going to continue coming to church cause she knew that was an answer of God. BOOM!! Hahaha, it was really cool. God is preparing people I just need to find them.

Oh, a super bummer: Leonel the young man of 15 years who was going to get baptized, his mother didn’t sign the cedula, baptismal permission slip, hahah I have no idea what thats called in english. She like flipped out that he was going to get baptized and we haven’t been able to teach him for a week, cause his mother, and he said he was still going to go to church on Sunday, but he didn’t. That was sad.

Oh, Ramon, the guy who contacted us about three weeks ago and told us he wanted to come to our church. He had put a bunch of excuses and we hadn’t been able to teach him nor get him to come to church, well he came to church too! he also brought the book of mormon and principles of the gospel book, we haven’t taught him or given him anything but he’s reading those books on his own! super cool. the only problem is that he only has time on like Saturday evenings and Sundays. If he doesn’t make excuses… but he came and is reading the Book of Mormon on his own!

We also found a less active in that same unidad, complex. We knocked on his door and the smell of cigarette smoke that was oppressive and we entered and he had a bunch of porn by his television. Awesome. NOT! Supposedly the elders never taught him about the word of wisdom. Who knows but he’s been inactive for like 5 years so maybe he just forgot.

There are changes this Tuesday but not for me :( hahah oh well. haha theres a member thats 12 who went up to my mission president and asked him if he could leave the missionaries here until February…… please no! and also president asked me on Sunday, elder are you going to train this coming cycle…… well no, i replied. oh okay and then he changed the subject. uhh oh that means I’m on his list.

Have a great week, 

I love you.

Elder Blotter

Week 35 - 8 months in the mission

Holy cow I have eight months in the mish, in a couple weeks I'd be at the halfway mark - if I was a girl.

I honestly have no idea what I can write this week, haha.  Honestly, I don't feel like writing.  I love reading all the emails from everyone, but I don't know how to reply to everyone like a missionary. Hahaha I could give a summary of what happened during the week but that would bore even me. And then I could try to share all the spiritual things that happened but since I only have one inv. and a dead ward that would be a short letter.

The one ray of light in the week is our investigator, Leonel, who is a young man of 15 years.  He really wants the gospel.  It's so refreshing! We go and teach and he asks what his homework is, we give him a chapter to read in the book of mormon and he asks, "Only one?" When we go, he gives us a tight hug.  He lives with his mom and his little brother, who is insane, and his mom is really closed up, past feeling.  After Leo cleans the whole house and tends his little brother all day, his mom gets home and asks him why he's so disrespectful.  He feels like zero love in his house, and even less support, so when we come and tell him that god loves him and that his a really good kid and stuff he feels the love that's missing in his life.  We passed by unexpectedly on  Sunday, to teach the word of wisdom, really quick, and he shared with us his feelings about getting baptized.  He feels discouraged because his mom still hasn't given him permission.  I.d.k. I felt like it was a cool experience, that we could pass by in that moment to tell him to pray and read and that god will come through and to help him feel a little better.

Idk share more investigator stories, but we don't have anymore investigators, haha.

We visited our ward mission leader, who lives in the apartment above us (he owns the house), last night and ate a bunch of really good food.  After he asked us if we could share a message, because he wanted his sons to learn from the missionaries and see our example.  Before going to visit him we dropped our stuff off in our room, thinking they were just going to feed us and share mission stories or whatever.  I felt like I needed to bring my scriptures, and I did need them, haha.  So I shared a scripture that I read the other day and it like jumped off the page when it called out my attention.  It's D&C 59:3-4, and it talks about how if we're faithful we'll be crowned with glory but then it talks or mentions something I really liked.  It says something like "commandments not a few and revelations in their time."  Commandments not a few, I really liked because I'm so fed up with members not fulfilling their callings, missionaries disobeying rules, and saying God only wants to see our progress, I'm not perfect.  Ya, but if you aren't trying to be perfect by doing the things within your power, perfectly, you'll never reach the mark that Jesus has set for you.

Don't worry I didn't share this with the family, I shared the scripture and a little bit about how we need to work, but it was much softer.  The scripture talks about revelations in their time, sometimes as missionaries, or members, we wonder why I'm not hearing the constant voice of the spirit putting the words directly in my mouth or telling me to keep walking down this street and knock on this door, blah blah blah.  God never said he's going to tell us everything, every person we need to contact or everything we need to share, but if we are studying praying trying to be the best we can by following his example, my words that I'm using while waiting for the spirit to take over are the words he wants me to say, that when we pray about the book of mormon to know if its true, god doesn't answer us the first time we ask, maybe not the second or the third or the tenth, but he will answer. the revelations in their time. not before and not after, or job is to be doing the right thing at the right time so when that time comes we are ready to hear.

I've ranted enough, I wouldn't mind this area or the change too bad, but my comp is a hard comp.  He's the first one, I'd say, that wasn't my friend.  He's like rude and instead of correcting my Spanish when I say something wrong he just laughs, haha.  It's joyful to be around him.  Just a thought to be kind to one another the people that you don't think about or you only pass by, be kind.

And to close, like a missionary I know this church is true, I know that Joseph smith was a prophet of god and that  Thomas s monson is his successor and the mouth piece of Jesus christ on the earth. I know that the scripture contain gods word for us and without profound study of the scriptures we are wasting that god given opportunity to learn.

I love you all individually,

Elder Blotter

Week 34 - Special Changes

I’m like a bit discouraged, not really, but a little. As you know I had special changes, and that means after visiting a family we were teaching on Sunday, who told us that they wanted to get baptized the next Saturday, we got a phone call from president. My comp answered and then passed me the phone. President tells me that he was calling to ask if I’d be willing to go to Paraiso Stake, to the Guelatao ward. Of course I said if thats what you need me to do president thats what I’ll do. He said thanks and said he’d be coming to do the change the next day in the afternoon. So we went back to the house and I packed and cleaned my clothes and got ready to leave. I said by to the family with whom we were living and the inv. there. I wanted to cry but the inv., named Memo Guillermo, told me that all change is good and everything happens for a reason, which made me feel better. Hahaha he’s a 28 year old lawyer who we were teaching. I’m going to return to baptize him in like 2 weeks.

But, back to the story, I left the next day. We woke up, did some stuff and played soccer for a zone activity. I got back to the house and president shows up with the elder I was being changed with. The president’s wife lets the members dog escape so Elder Luna and I chased it down for like three blocks, haha. I changed the stuff and said goodbye to Pantitlan. I said by to Walmart, to a kitchen, to a dryer, to a bunch of super cool people, only to arrive to a disgustingly dirty house in Guelatao, which was in the same zone that I had just left, Paraiso. It took all day to clean and we threw away 5 black garbage bags of trash and filled like 2 full of clothes.

For three weeks I had been in Estado de Mexico, and again I’m in D.F. where the streets don’t make sense and they use a direction system that is truly dumb with a comp thats semi fried.

Yay. Oh and I got to welcome a ward that had zero investigators. Zero. And a bishop that doesn’t want to help the missionaries or be the bishop. The special changes were because one elder was escaping in the night to go hook up with an inv. that was going on for like a month. He went home, and they changed his comp for good measure.

So pretty much the situation is ideal, Hahahaha. Oh ya, I forgot to mention that I got raised from jr. to senior comp, with a comp who has 16 months and who isn’t perfectly obedient, to put it kindly. This week was just a struggle to visit members and get to know them. We only had 2 lessons with people who aren’t members. Only two! We visited 30 members this week, hahaha.

There are 3 cool things that happened:

• First: we get a referral for this 15 year old who wants the gospel and our message, I just hope we can teach his mother too.
• Second: while walking in the street some guy called out to us, I/We went back to talk to him and he said while giving us his business card I want to go to your church, call me so we can talk. ¡OKAY!
• Third: we got the opportunity to return to my old area Saturday night to baptize a family of three, Tazo, Anel and Owen. I baptized all three and it was a super special baptism and a super special feeling of the spirit. I love that I got to feel and share that with them. That experience made this week bearable, haha.

So that’s my life! How y’all doing?

Love you guys, thanks for your prayers,

Elder Blotter

And the pic is of a monument called the coyote the coyote of Nezahualcoyotl the city were I was. 

Week 33 - No Letter From Josh, but Bonus Letter From Mission Pres's Wife

Hello Sister Blotter,

    You may not hear from your son today. He was going to try and find an internet spot but we kept him pretty busy!

    We had to make an emergency transfer today. We sent an Elder home and had to transfer his companion to a new spot. We then moved Elder Blotter and Elder Lara to the apartment that was vacated.

    Elder Blotter became a Senior Companion today. He is in a new area, with a new companion. What we did is called “white washing” an area. It makes it hard on the new companionship because neither of them have knowledge of the area. But in this case, it was the only choice – the area seventy even requested it.
   
    To add even more – Elder Blotter left a perfectly straight, beautiful little apartment. When we arrived at the new home, it needed work. We handed them money for cleaning supplies and told them to put on their gym clothes. It wasn’t terribly dirty, but not especially welcoming – especially after leaving the old place!

    So that’s my story! He is a wonderful missionary and we so appreciated his willingness to be moved and clean up an apartment – and a sticky situation!

    I’ve attached a few pictures to enjoy. The old suitcase (third missionary I am told) is hanging in there – but we will hope you don’t have a fourth missionary! It may not make it that long!

Take care,
Susan Stutznegger

Week 31 - Changes

So, this week has been pretty good.

I’m in the “Pantitlan el Palmar 3” ward, in a Colonia (colony) named “el sol calle 31” if you want to look it up on google earth. My companion is Elder Luna he is from Tampico, Tamaulipas, I think I spelled that wrong. Mexico we were in the same district in ixtla. he is super cool a little disobedient, which is always hard but ill help him with that. Hahahaha theres a scripture in DyC that talks about putting the strong with the week, and he definitely strong in ways I’m not also. He is super good at speaking to people connecting he’s a people person, I definitely have things to learn from him too.
So we got to the area and dropped our stuff off in the house of the elders who are in palmar 2 where we slept for one day. the area is super organized it’s a grid with streets numbered from 1 to 40 with house numbers that start all at one and all the odds are on one side of the street and the evens are on the other side. so finding people is not difficult because you cant really mess up the directions. So looking for the less actives is easy cause the directions are actually real.

On Wednesday we moved into our house and to move into our house we had to take all of the stuff of the sister out. Practically she could have made it onto hoarders pretty much each room in the house was full of just stuff. Old newspapers broken appliances tons of pans dishes and plates and a lot more random stuff. We spent all day cleaning the house, but its super cool three stories 5 rooms I have my own closet I sleep in like a queen sized bed, I have a real desk not just a plastic table to study on.
Oh and when we were cleaning the house we left to go find cardboard boxes to pack some of the stuff. We went to like a market in the store and some lady walked up to me and said: “Hi Elders, blah blah blah.” Anyway, we thought she was a member and we got her address and her phone number to meet with her later, not a member someone super ready to hear the gospel knows a lot about the church though, she wants to get married in the temple and have a family like that, cause she’s been married 3 times and divorced twice and is only 30 years old. it is interesting that she was married three times and she didn’t just move in with some guy three times. hahaha miracle person that wants to get baptized she asked us after church when we stopped by hey when are you going to baptize me? haha so thats a family of four, that we’re going to teach baptism and prepare for the temple, in the house we live in the sister has two daughters and the boyfriend of one has been coming to church for 3 month-ish and she’s been teaching him, and reading the BoM with him. they are both lawyers so thats cool haha but it makes it hard to teach him cause he’s only at our house at like 9 at night, so i think we are going to get to bed late…. idk and i surely hope he’s not been staying the night. but who knows.

We’ve found a bunch of members and people with potential, we found the super old lady who’s been a member for like all her life and she’s 92 i think, i have no idea why if she got married in the temple her children didn’t get baptized but there is a family that lives there that almost got baptized when they lived in the US but when the returned to Mexico the fell off the map, that family has a lot of potential.

Idk I’m really excited about the work here, normally opening an area is hard but this has been easier than my previous area.

And there’s WALMART! Theres a plaza named plaza jardin that has a ton of really cool stores we went to Walmart and I splurged and spent like 500 pesos. In my old area I spent like max when I was buying food 200. Hahaha but I felt like I was practically in the US. WALMART. A real store.
Idk, what else happened this week… oh I feel like in this area they’ve never seen like a white person before I get way more people staring at me and all the women and like teenage girls like stare and me it’s actually pretty hilarious.

So this area is completely flat not a hill in the area, I surely hope I don’t gain weight, and that ill be able to sleep cause honestly I’m not tired at night when its time to go to bed, like before I walked in the apt. and nearly collapsed, here I cook an egg make a sandwich putz around take a shower cause it feels nice… and then go to bed.

Do you guys watch the mormon messages? The make a new one every month and I really like the one that came out in the last month, its called like the hope of gods light, look it up its cool.

I’m great and I hope ya’ll are doing good.

Love you guys,
Elder Blotter

I got transferred to an area named “El Palmar 3 Pantitlan”.

I’m opening this area with Elder Luna, we’re both new here he was in my district in ixtla, were I was before

Oh and a before and after pic of the study room.

Soooo the pics are of the coolest mission house I’ve ever seen. Yes, that is a real kitchen the first one I’ve seen in the mission with a functioning oven and with although not a full size fridge at least its big.

Week 30 - Change is coming

So the news: I’m leaving the area and the zone; zones are stakes here so I’m leaving my stake. The change is tomorrow at 12:00 pm.

Inv.

We had ward conference yesterday, and in Mexico that means activities every night during the week with a party and larger activity Saturday evening. We went to one of the activities during the week but I cant remember what it was. Haha, it was relatively at the same time as the ward mission leader correlation meeting. Anyway, one of the elders had a baptism at 5pm Saturday, the same time as the activity to have members be there. We invited three investigators to go to the baptism and stay for the activity and the food after. It was a cool baptism. There was a psychologist that talked about families and kids and parents and then tacos after. The three investigators that we invited came, it’s one family. They came, stayed the whole time, and enjoyed themselves and then came to church the next day and told me they really like the activity and the stuff super cool.

Also beginning this week we only had 3 inv. We now have 5 with the possibility of 4 references; super cool.

Miracle

We went like 5 or 6 weeks without a new inv. and in Mexico thats terrible. Then, on a Tuesday, we found a lady and her two daughters that accepted us and was progressing. We put a return visit to go to the church on a Saturday and explained the church and committed them to baptism with a date. Then on Thursday, during weekly planning, they called us and said they couldn’t continue in the gospel because they were moving. I wanted to cry. Haha, we said a prayer and thanked God for our trials, and then in 20 minutes we received another phone call from someone who we had taught 4 weeks prior, who like understood the restoration and accepted it 100 percent but she had some problem with her knee and we lost contact with her. She called and said why didn’t you come visit me on Saturday we replied “We didn’t have an appt on Saturday.” Haha, so we made an appt with her to go re-teach, if needed, the restoration and teach the BoM. We got there and a Book of Mormon was on her table she had already started to read it she was like halfway through 1st Nephi. It was super cool. Haha, oh and like the last of the like 17 miracles in this story was that we showed up for our appt. and the Jehovah’s witnesses had just knocked on her door. We walked up behind the JW’s and she said oh the only reason why I was down here to was to answer the door for these young men come on in-to us not the JW’s hahahahaha.

We also got a ref. this week of someone who I’m pretty sure is ready to change and accept the gospel pretty darn cool.

Thats cool about Sam!

Idk how I feel about leaving my area. I’m like super excited and at the same time like super anxious about leaving. I’m going to miss a lot of families. The family Sanchez’s 2 returned missionaries, who were powerful missionaries, one of them we reactivated them, we go visit them on Sundays and have really good discussions about deep doctrine or he like plays devils advocate and talks about the “mujerdocio” — sacerdocio (priesthood) for women — and then combat with the scriptures and doctrine and stuff hahaha. Honestly, I’m going to miss them and a bunch of other people too. I’m mainly I’m just nervous of new things. It’ll be good I’m ready to leave.

This past week I had decided to stop looking for numbers. I’m not on my mission to teach 8–10 lessons a day; I’m here to help others come unto Christ, and be converted. I didn’t do any of the dumb stuff we do here to get numbers really quick. I didn’t teach 8 lessons one day this week, but I had 42 lessons which is better than practically any of the other weeks this cycle. Idk, I thought this was a really good week.

Thats pretty much all that happened this week.

Love you!
Elder Blotter

Week 29 - Power Outage

So the prop was pretty sweet? Hahaha… So he couldn’t get up on the good ski, that’s too bad. About getting up with the rope to the side when we went boating as young mens with Bret I wanted to water ski and I brought our ski remember? Haha and then he didn’t have a ski rope with a v and I tried to ski anyway and couldn’t get up. It just pulled me to the side and down. Hahaha idk I couldn’t do it either and id rather ski than not ski haha.

So the power went out and we have like 5 mins of back up power on the computers.
Two of my converts the other day were crying as they thanked me and my comp for helping them change their lives and he asked me if he could go on a senior mission and they are already planning on getting sealed. The feeling in that room is why the mission is worth it.

Idk, I think I’m getting changed I had a semi good week, kinda hard and doing have any inv. progressing which means no baptisms which sucks but ay voy (that’s the way it goes).

We got stuck in the rain the other day that was a cool experience.

And I’m nervous that I cant write more so I’m sending this love you!

Soooo the power came back

Hahaha… Umm ya, the weeks of 60 lessons have come and gone. Since they changed the area i teach on a good week 39 lessons. which is below the goal and we get semi chewed out for that number. the mission is soooo number focused it kinda sucks. actually it really sucks, so we got we call planched — means ironed — by our district leader about our numbers and we´re doing something wrong cause god doesn’t send people to fail, if we were doing what we were supposed to our efforts over the last month would have shown. Ya, haha so in my mind I’m thinking I doing everything I need to I’m studying super hard how to be better contacting new people and trying to have inv. and to help the inv. progress but I cant supersede their agency, nor can I force them to listen to me nor to pray or come to church. AND God has a plan and maybe his plan write now is not for me to baptize but to work and work and work without results to see if I’ll keep working. Idk kind of a rant but this week was semi tough haha.

We had 0 baptisms 0 confirmations 0 inv. progressing 0 baptismal goals 0 new inv. and 0 inv. in the church on Sunday.

Ya, it was a bad week. Idk, hahaha I hate that the mission is so focused on the numbers. It’s so important to do 8 lessons and 15 contacts everyday that you cant think out of the box to find new people or give 8 lessons that are powerful or needed, if you don’t have the numbers you go visit every member you can think of to leave a scripture and share a thought and leave only for the sake of numbers. Idk, we just keep working!

Week 28 - Lunch

So... your week sounded really busy, hahaha.

The teaching is going well, we only have like one family that we’re teaching, so the week went by rather slowish and kind of tough with the numbers cause we don't have a ton of investigators. My comps feeling fine, and yes I got my haircut. Ya I got the pics.

My Week:

The only people we are teaching is the family of Juan Carlos, and his mom, dad and sister.  They are pretty cool about completing the compromisos (commitments) and everything.  We keep having problems meeting with them like we get their like 10 minutes late and then the daughter goes and gets the dad who is working, and so the lesson starts like 20 minutes late.  I say something while we’re testifying about the plan of salvation that derails the lesson for like 10 minutes while he asks about missionaries in the spirit world and why we need to try here if we can repent there. Hahahahaha ugh I realized I needed to study more deeply plan of salvation to understand what I need to teach the people and the things they don't need to know.

Also we like dropped a significant number of inv. this week. We dropped about 4 people like straight forward we aren't going to come to teach you anymore cause you're not doing anything, the first one was a little uncomfortable at first but it's a little liberating to tell people straight up why you're not coming back and our purpose as missionaries.

What else — ya, I told you that we cooked in the church.

We got 200 pesos, with is about twenty bucks, for the 6 of us to eat; that’s not a lot of money.  A good lunch with a sandwich and a water or soda costs about 50 pesos. So we decided to go and buy longaniza, which is a type of sausage, to make tacos and that we could cook it at the church and then stay at the church for a baptism of the other companionship.  We told the other elders to go for obisbo (bishop) Castillo, the old bishop, to go and buy the meat.   They came to the church with about 2 kilos of longaniza and a little more than a kilo of suadero, seasoned, for free.  Then we bought tortillas and salsa and a coke and ate in the church.  It was actually a really good lunch and was fun to do it ourselves. 

Umm, I think thats about it, hahaha.

I love you guys have a great week and ill try to do the same.

Elder Blotter

P.S. I’m Sorry that I didn't write a lot.

Week 27 - New Mission President

Hey!

My president is President Stutznegger. so ya it was his wife. Hahaha hahaha my hair is too long for a mish, pres didn't say anything about it but I've tried to get it cut for like three weeks in a row, its been like 8-9 weeks without a haircut... my bad hahahahaha send me the photo so I can see what I look like. 

how sad that the grandma actually said don't seal me to him, and how sad that he never got active. seriously. hahaha i liked the summary of all the distant relatives but it went in one ear and out the other because i have no context — have no idea who these people are.... hahaha

Girls camp, how fun. Days of 47 royalty? What’s that…? Like I can understand what it is but I've never really heard of it before.... And by the descriptions of the girls they sounded like they had like 25 or more years. 

Eagle Idaho, pretty place. The low down on the nearest lake was that it sucked? So ya I wont be living there... Haha dad pushed Darlene in the water…  Hahaha that’s something you do and then feel bad about afterwards. 

Ya I went to the seven brides for seven brothers it was cool. I just thought Sundance was cool and the stage and where the play was.... hahaha

What happened this week. oh we had interviews with pres he´s really cool. i like him a lot, i think I'm going to get my area changed and a new comp in the next transfer, but who knows. pres was really surprised that I've been in the same area my whole mish and that me and my comp have the same amount of time. but who knows...... hahaha 

He gave a talk about exact obedience and then in the interview he asked me what I thought of his talk and I said it’s been a long time coming. Like I've been waiting for that talk all my mish. 

Umm.... What more oh I was proud that I got a couple more less actives to church, and my family that I want to get baptized before I leave my area came to church I'm proud of them.  One of the menos activos (less active) that came to church is an RM and was active and stuff when i got here in Ixtlahuacan, but he just dropped off the face of the earth and didn't come to church for like 9 weeks we visited him and brought him to church and he gave the principles of the gospel class on what theme? dia de reposo (Day of Rest). hahaha god knows how to make you feel bad for your sins. hahaha so perfect. i told you about the other less active that we brought to church last week and she told us before the member that offended her and the reason she is inactive, guess who spoke in sacrament meeting? the same hermano (brother) hahahaha how perfect.

I don't know...… I'm sure more happened.

Love you guys! 

Elder Blotter

Week 26 - A Note From The Mission President's Wife

Hello Blotter Family,

                I had the opportunity to spend some time with your son yesterday.  He is doing so well!  He is a great missionary and I want to thank you for sharing him with us!

Take Care,

Susan Stutznegger

Week 25 - "you rock elder"

Sooooooo this week…

First I’ll answer moms questions and stuff:

Ya, Juan Carlos is pretty sick, I'm pretty proud of some of my converts in this ward. Reinaldo is also super sick. Juan Carlos and Reinaldo have been blessing the sacrament recently. Because the youths in the ward have been screwing up recently. hahaha like 6 young men brought weed to a ward campout.... Ya. stupid children.

Who knows about cultural differences and the new pres. in relation to his approach.  I think the new pres. is a goof ball, hahaha.  I wrote the weekly letter to him and his reply was “you rock elder” hahaha. 

So the pics - yes we walked down the alley. I'm in the middle of the alley when the picture was taken.  My shoes are wearing well, I think, hahaha.  I kinda want to buy a third pair of shoes so I can wear the brown ones less, but who knows, haha.  Yes, Elder Tebbs from Bountiful Utah, and i took a picture and sent it to you, hahaha, is the brother of Haley, i played tennis with him too.

I’m pretty sure emailing you isn't disobedient ;)

Now dads email:

Ya I don't know what summer is like here in Mexico City, because it’s like sweater weather recently.  I don't think it gets hot.  They say that the hot part of the year is spring and I didn't think it was that hot. I was confused about what represented the summer-rainy season.  I thought it was going to be hot all day and in the afternoon it would pour, but no, it supposedly is just cloudy all the time and rains all day, hahahaha.  So thats my weather. It’s difficult to dry the clothes here in the summer time, cause the suns not out. 

Kidney out is like a phrase right? I remember camp hunt really well, hahaha.  We picked up the food from like a main camp in the middle and cooked it in our camps and it was always a little sketchy looking. The classes weren't that organized and we didn't get nearly as many merit badges as we did at Steiner, and i remember getting a letter halfway through the week from mom telling me to be nice to the other kids, and Blair Wolfe camp halfway through the week with his boat and we boated and i think that bothered Clark cause you weren't supposed to leave.... but it was sick hahahaha good memories but it wasn't my favorite camp.

About “Come Follow Me” and basics to prepare for a mish it doesn't mean that they are supposed to have a knowledge of the basics, rather they are supposed to be able to talk about the basic things in depth because of their own depth, not be able to talk about the basics cause thats where they are.

I haven't eaten anything that looked like steak in about 6 months. hahaha

Stories?

Idk nothing really happened this week. 

hahahaha we found like three ish new inv. which is always really cool. one of them is a señora named sandy she has one daughter who is like two-ish to give age ish of the lady. hahaha we asked what role religion has played in her life and she started to cry and told us about an experience with prayer with members of the church who right now are on missions. super cool that we knocked on the door of someone who like already knows what missionaries are and the rules of missionaries and has like really good examples in the church.

Haha I didn't tell you about snoopy did I? 

so we were walking up the street we knocked on the door of a less active, she wasn't there. we turned around and were about to cross the area and we heard someone yell help me, there was a combi-van that drives a route like a bus-like parked in the middle of the road and the driver was calling for us, he was having like body convulsions that he was down playing to major Charlie horses. we like helped him straighten his legs a little and we got someone to help us move his car out of the road, and he like laid him down on the front bench of his van and closed the doors and like hit his head with the door. hahahaha i don't know it doesn't share very good thought typing-this story-we asked him what his name was when we went to get help and he said “me llamo essnoopy´´ hahahaha, but I am pretty sure he died like today which is super crazy.  We helped him like three weeks ago and today on a combi from the same combi base-route as him had rest in peace snoopy you´ll be remembered, so ya we told him he needed to go to a doctor that he had more than charlie horses...… so theres that.

Hahahaha idk what else. A bunch more happened it’s been raining almost everyday. 

Love you guys!

I cant believe I almost have 6 months in the mish, in like 15 days.  One quarter of my mission has gone, how freaking nuts!  And, I still don't speak Spanish.  Hahaha.  Every time my comp says they are going to have me train next change and stuff, I always said I still don't speak Spanish, which is an over-statement.  I speak Spanish relatively well, just I'm still new and mess up all the time.  Hahaha, it’s still coming. 

later!

Week 24 - Thinking of Dad

Dad happy birthday yesterday I was thinking of you.

This week was good and hard and the life of a missionary.  A member that we used to visit all the time who is like active right now in the church but is she converted?  Who knows.  Anyway, we taught her grandson who is 20, and he got baptized his name is Juan Carlos, I'm a little prideful of him, he´s been blessing the sacrament these past couple weeks and he bore his testimony on Sunday. He's the kid who took off running after his baptism.  So funny.  Anyway, back to this week, the member who is semi-frito told us that the parents of Juan Carlos would like to listen to our message, so we made an appointment. We saw Juan Carlos before the cita (appointment) and he was really surprised that his parents wanted to listen.  So we had a lesson and it was a pretty cool lesson, his first question was something that normally no one in Mexico understands for a long while he said: “Why do you guys say that this is the true church?”  Most Mexicans are happy to be content with yeah all the religions are true.  he showed real intent and I think Juan Carlos has been talking with him about all the stuff that we taught him. So yeah I'm really hoping to help this family find the same truth that their son found.

We have another investigator named Moises, a Mexican version to spell Moses, anyway I talked about him earlier he stepped on a nail like three years ago and it still hasn't healed all the way.  He’s super cool the day we contacted him he was on his way to go and spend all his money on alcohol.  We talked with him on the street and put an appointment.  We learned that he hasn't gone and gotten wasted, like he normally would’ve, in like three weeks.  We haven't taught the word of wisdom yet, but the hard part with him is he´s afraid to accept baptism because he doesn't wanted to get baptized and then stop going.  The only hard part about teaching him is that he is only at his house Saturday and Sunday. He hasn't missed a Sunday at church or our appts. but he doesn't understand a ton so we have to teach him slowly, so he has three Sundays that he has come to church but we haven't even taught the whole restoration yet. Thats kind of a trial.

So about the area split: We got told about the split on Monday.  We were told to look for and find a house by Tuesday (we found one but that fell through), the missionaries got here Thursday slept on our floor until last Monday, which is when we helped them move into their new house.  Their area is on the bottom part of the ward.  The other elders got the middle half of my area and half of their old area and we stayed in our same house but we have the hill. To get to our area we have to climb a hill for like 10 minutes.  Ya its pretty ideal.  

New Mission President:

Who knows whats different, hahaha in the meeting we had it was pretty much we love you guys and have been praying for you for about a 3 years we interested in your obedience and your own conversion rather than numbers of baptisms...... but the goal to baptize every week comes from the area presidency of Mexico. So none of the goals have been changed yet, and pretty much everything is status quo right now.  President has been pretty sick his first week here so who knows if he hasn't just had time to do anything yet.

And no it wasn't hard to say goodbye to President Morales I liked the guy but he was super distant from us missionaries, like there was no mingling with us before the meetings or anything he came in spoke for a good long hour and the bounced to the next thing he had to do. His talks were always really great, but that was the end of the relationship I had with pres. 

yeah i remembered that you guys were partying it up at bear on the 4th, and i was here. but i forgot halfway through that it was the 4th of July, it gets like colder here in the summer, and it was cloudy and rainy and there were no american flags or fireworks so working wasn't difficult. it was the first like holiday away from home though, ever. i didn't have any holidays except for halloween at BYU and I've never really counted that as a holiday cause we don't really celebrate it haha.

Oh there was this buck-naked dude on the street corner of the stake center after meeting with pres. hahahaha he was like rubbing his thighs with news paper.... It was really funny.

and the other day a combi, which is a van that they fit like 10 people in, similar to a tiny bus, was stopped in like the middle of a street as we walked by and it had the door open and the driver was calling to us amigo, amigo. hahaha we walked over to him and he was having like major leg cramps and was in a ton of pain hahahaha we like helped him change positions in his car and lay down and we accidentally hit his head as we closed the door, and his name was ‘Esnoopy' hahahaha such a strange experience.

Thats about it.

pics  a super cool alleyway we found , a dog on top of a ghetto car, and me eating sabritones (its like lays chicharones), so good hahaha 

Week 23 - Short and Sweet

So, this email is going to be a little short too, sorry.

About the area, pres called us and asked if our area was big, we said yes. he said talk to the other elders in your ward and then call me in ten minutes, hahaha we called him back he said go meet with your bishop divide your area and then find a house. hahaha so we went with the bishop when he got home from work, divided the area, and then went to look for a house for the next days. we didn't work like tuesday and thursday because of house hunting the mission sent us the beds and stuff to my apartment for the elders. blah blah blah stressful less work and lots of changes. hahahaha

So now we are even higher on the hill with all the hills and steep climbs less members and fewer investigators.  It's basically ideal. No but I'm excited I always wanted to work higher up on the hill i just didn't have a reason to before.my comp doesn't go home, my president does today. My comp has the same time as I do, we have the same return date. But because I'm white I spent 6 weeks in the MTC so he got to the mission like a month before I did. 

I'm short on time, I liked your experience at quest. 

So about the Joseph Smith quote, that’s in the guide to the scriptures in spanish, so I share that with the members frequently.

Honestly about the work this week we worked only like every other day, we went to a mission doctor for my comps back cause he fell on tuesday while house hunting, he’s being a little girl about it, but the doctors office was the weirdest thing I've ever seen.  It was a mission doctor so its like approved and stuff but he is like a Chinese style medicine and chiropractor... I spelled that wrong. Weird experience there in with the doc. he essentially cracked my comps back. And said you´ll be better in 4 days. And my comp still hasn't bought the meds the doctor gave us.... So theres that.

I lost one of my inv. in the old area he's way cool and I'm a little afraid that the other missionaries are going to stop teaching him.

All is good here in the mission, I'm trying my best and doing everything I possibly can to be exactly obedient. 

P.S - “Coka," thats what Coke (Coca Cola) is called here. Haha I actually saw diet coke this morning, its coka light here. No, it was very sudden, hahahaha the missionaries are sleeping on the floor in my apartment until they move into the house they found.

So I read DC 6 this week and I really like it. So long as we’re trading scriptures to read theres that one for you.

I tried to have a picture to send you but the internet cafe, that we normally go to, was closed and this comp doesn't have a card reader. 

Idk, Love you mommy!

Elder Blotter

Week 22 - Split up the Area

Well, this week… Idk.  Honestly time is flying and I don't know what I did last week.

So the other elders have like a running joke that they found and baptized a bunch of young women to teach.  They are all like 25 years old like four of them, and then they started finding people in wheel chairs to teach, like they are going to baptize a wheel chair guy next week, and they’re teaching another.

So we began to find people with diabetes and major infections in their legs and feet. We found a guy named Moises in the street, he is like this old guy who’s wife was a JW.  He got mad because she died cause the JW´s forbid blood transfusions or something, and her religion forbade a funeral.  Who knows, but he has diabetes and he can't feel his feet.  He also is a carpenter, so one day he stepped on a nail and didn't notice until he took his shoes off that night.  He almost had his leg amputated, but that happened two years ago and his foot still hasn't healed. Weird.  He’s cool though, and he came to church; I hope he progresses.

Also we found another guy, through a referral.  He’s the husband of a member and his foot currently is in the process of like healing like was swelling but now it's getting better but he ca’t walk or anything. He was pretty stupid earlier in his life, and almost dying cause his foot gave him some perspective. He'll get baptized when he heals enough to come to church. Or get in water.

Spiritual or something about my week:

Well, we taught a bunch of lessons, ate a bunch of rice, and tortillas, oh and one day my comp was sick and so I sat inside and read scrips and Liahonas and stuff for like 8 hours. Yeah that was fun.  Oh funny story, we were knocking doors a couple weeks ago and found a family of members that we didn't know lived there.  The parents are sealed in the temple the son almost went on a mish. but right now they are super inactive, the dads a drunk and the kid that almost went on the mish has a girlfriend she’s pregnant and they're living together he's 21 his sister thats younger who is 14 is going to get married in a couple weeks.  She's living with her boyfriend who is 21. Yuck. Haha anyway this week we were walking in his street, and we passed his house and the family is outside drinking beer, and he sees us and has like a panic attack to try and hide the beer. Triste Chango - thats like “stupid monkey” in spanish.

I guess that wasn't spiritual.

ummm this week I was thinking about the difference between a baptism here and a convert and the reason all the members are slackers and inactive.  I think that it is because hardly any of them are converts and to be converted takes faith that what every is necessary you’ll do, read the scriptures every day without fail always go to church, always pray, always go to church activities even when theres other stuff to do or responsibilities, and in time come the blessings of being converted like the 2000 stripling warriors.  Idk, just a thought, and a challenge to everyone, to think about what is conversion are we converted and how we can be better.  

Idk.  Oh yeah, Pres called this morning and asked if our area was big.  We said yeah.  He said go talk with your bishop about the division lines and start looking for a house.  Hahaha so yeah and I think this is presidents last week, maybe special changes to start these areas before the change actually ends.  That'll be tough but fun and a good opportunity for this ward to grow.

Tell sam happy birthday.

Love you guys,

Elder Blotter