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 

Week 21

So, you're exactly right.  The entire week feels like it was only one day. I don't even remember much.  We found like 6 new investigators, so that was cool. Two of the six is a family that I bet can turn into a family of like four that we could teach, and baptize.  

So who knows about the world cup interfering with the work.  I haven't really noticed people that like wont let us in to teach cause of soccer, but who knows it'll get crazier with more time.  While we were getting our hair cut the Portugal v Germany game was on.  That was pretty sick.

So like I told Dad, I haven't really noticed a huge difference in the work because of the World Cup; yeah I know who Messi is. hahahaha I'm jealous that you guys get to watch, i really like the world cup. haha don't get discouraged about quest your job is just to sew what they tell you to do, you don't have responsibility for anything more. yeah i knew you guys were like eating different and working out and stuff, but are you guys in like a class to work out or how was that working? cause you and dad both have talked about your work outs, but it's not just you guys going to the rec. center or is it?

Theres a scripture that talks about when alma gives a priesthood blessing to Zeezrom, and I thought it was really insightful into the power to heal; Just a thought.

Ummmm, we taught a ton of lessons found a bunch of new people. We are teaching a ton more of the members than we were before. This week oh yesterday was fathers day right? Well, we had a church party again that was pretty cool. We ate pozole, which is like a party food. Idk its like fancy food. And I don't know how to describe it, its like I think garbanzo beans in like soup with meat. Hahaha and we put lettuce hot sauce oregano and lime in it and you eat it with a tostada with cream. Its pretty good.

This week we taught a couple lessons to Roberto Mendez, one of Brad’s converts. He is also an apostate. He has zero testimony. His wife Blanca, I think has a testimony, doesn't have the moral courage to stand up and go to church and be active. A bunch of crap happened and that’s why their inactive, but the real reason is that Roberto never asked god about the B.O.M - he doesn't have faith — we had two lessons with him, the first i shared dc 136:31 talks about enduring gods chastening well and being worthy for his glory, and he got kind of defensive because the wicked taketh the truth to be hard, and tried to argue with us about god doesn't castigar, like to punish or to chasten, so we bore our testimony of the scriptures, in this lesson we found out they didn't understand the restoration, so we set a return appt. to watch the restoration movie, and then we taught about again the restoration, haha they don't get it. and the deeper part is that he doesn't want to know the truth (you can’t handle the truth! - Jack Nicholson). He said something to the effect of “We follow the gospel of Jesus and we don't need a church.” He said that right after we explained very clearly and explicitly that this is the church that Jesus established. Idk you know when you're teaching an inv. and you drop them cause they aren't progressing? I'm not really sure you can drop a less active, but he’s not getting more of our valuable time.

I also have been working on listening to the spirit more this past week and have felt his influence and promptings, in finding the houses of contacts and with what to say during lessons and scriptures coming to mind. When scriptures come to mind they don't come in english anymore which is cool… hahaha.

Oh last story, we have like this lady named Juana that we teach super frito. She's the mom of three members who are all inactive. However, Juana wants to get baptized, but we just cant baptize her cause she’s going to be a MA (menos activo — less active) all her life. Firstly cause she doesn't understand anything. She tried to kill herself once like 6 years ago by taking all the pills in her house and I'm nearly positive she fried her brain, anyway when we make appts. She’s not there so we just drop by and teach her sometimes when i feel like we should,on saturday we were walking, i think by the spirit, and we ended up near her house and i felt like we should visit and we got there the same time that she was coming back to her house, we taught her and invited her to the activity that night, and she always says she´ll come to stuff and never does. and church on sunday. SHE CAME TO BOTH! Hahaha she is super frito so who knows but I promised her she´ll understand more and more of what we teach as she shows god she wants to learn by coming to church and reading and praying. So maybe she´ll progress.

Oh also we found a new inv. kind if put a baptismal date and the spirit told us to drop him and not go and teach him anymore. So theres that...…

I think I shared a bunch of stories and I don't really remember more.

This week was good. I'm working hard and trying to do everything exactly obedient and I'm seeing the blessings. Especially since my comp wasn't waking up on time and he was going to bed early as he has changed those things we've literally been finding new people and the people we find are progressing and is pretty cool.

Love you guys,

Elder Blotter

Pics having a little too much find hanging the clothes to dry

My pumas shirt and my comp who is a Chivas fan

Week 20 - World Cup? What is that?

Soooo this week:

I don't have too much to tell about this week honestly…

Who knows about the World Cup; I honestly have no idea. We normally don't have problems with people not answering doors cause of fútbol but I don't know; the World Cup is a whole different level.

Haha and yeah the second week was good, a little difficult this week we are having a hard time finding new people to teach, and no one came to church which sucked cause that means a baptism fell through. In my email from president this week was like help your companion out, hahaha if I was down to be disobedient he’d be such a dead missionary. The good thing is that I don't really let their be time to mess around, and we walk all over the area and I exhaust him everyday.

We had a hard couple of days this weekend, of days completely full of appointments and nobody was home, and when I mean nobody I mean nobody.... We only taught 46 lessons but thats still about the goal of 45. So friday, we had a couple of appointments about halfway up the hill pretty far away, so we went taught some people found a new inv. all was going good then we went to the comida, and she wasn't there.... we waited for like ten minutes and she showed up, angry she started to chew us out cause she said she made food for us on tuesday. yeah she messed us she was responsible for friday so she gave us some money to go and buy food, thats fine and all but it was raining and we were up the hill where we had appts. after the food, so we went down the hill ate, climbed back up the hill and then the next appt. was like at the bottom other side of the area, so we practically ran their, yeah she wasn't home, and the next appt. was back to where we were but even higher. haha so we climb all the way up to the very top of the hill to get a reference and talk with a member of the bishopric yeah he wasn't home, and there are like only 4 families that high on the hill, and only one was home, oh yeah i forgot to mention that during lunch i had dried and it had stopped raining, then as we climbed the hill it started raining only even harder. anyway so the one family that was home we taught a lesson on sacrifice, like what are we sacrificing for the faith and is it enough, at the end of the lesson that is meant to like point out all there is that the members need to work on, they justified it all. and aren't going to change anything, how great.

We baptized three people — the daughters of the baptism we had last Sunday. It was pretty cool, but practically no one in the ward showed up. The only people that came to the baptism were in the church because it was our turn to clean the building.

And then on sunday morning we went by like three inv. to bring them to church and they weren't there so we went to church a lone without any inv.

It's all good. I'm working hard, having fun, and eating lots of food.

Oh yeah we only had 2-3 lessons with a member present this week, so I'm going to get planched in the email from president. To planche is to iron like iron a shirt, so when you get ironed by a leader about something you messed up on. It’s mission lingo for getting chewed out. I just hope he planches with love.

Sorry it wasn't more eventful this week.

Oh, I forgot that we went to the temple because my comp had a doctors appt. for his knees (this area is killing him). It’s just that he is lacking in leg muscle. Anyway, we ran into a zone leader meeting for the East Mission, and the president is from my comps ward, anyway we went in and the president put his arm around me and said for the whole room: “Elder Blotter I found your brother”. Hahahaha it was the same Elder Blotter that I met at the consulate, what a small world. We talked a tiny bit about Robby's wedding.

Love You!

Elder Blotter

Week 19 - Set the Record!

Mom and Dad,

So I guess I shouldn't have mentioned getting stabbed-jabbed. Haha, it was in the middle of the day in the normal part of the area.  No, he was just trying to hurt me, and No, it didn't cut anything. I just had like a bruise after.

Soooo yeah, Elder Zubietta is the district leader in our district right now.  My new comp is Elder Granados, from Guadalajara Mexico.  I like him, but his kind of a frito.  He doesn’t wake up on time, doesn't study english, and instead he goes and lays in bed.   When we were putting appointments with people he said: “We work on sunday?”  Hahaha I replied: “We work everyday.” He asked “On mondays too?” I said: “Yes, in the evening.”  Hahahaha triste (sad) frito. haha its cool I'm working him to death even though I'm junior comp, he only has 5 months on the mish I have 4 and he doesn't know the area or the teaching pool, so he’s senior but I'm really senior right now because he doesn't know the area.  It’s super stressful because I don't speak Spanish completely.  We did 60 lessons this past week which is more than I did with Elder Zubietta.  The highest I did with Zubi was 59, so I set the record.

I don't know, my brains not really working right now because I'm kinda sick.  I don't really have any stories of this week.  Our baptism fell through because she left the house like ten minutes before we came to pick her up for her interview, and she is getting kicked out of the house.  That sounds harsh; the daughter and the son of the member that lives there are boyfriend-girlfriend, and she was possessed (evil spirit) a while ago. The bishop came and cast out the demon.  Right now he is possessed and the member that owns the house is kind of wanted that crap to end, so she says that Amira, the daughter, brought the problem into the house and he doesn't want them there anymore.  So our investigator is leaving our area sometime soon.  She got a job recently and she works friday and saturday, all days both days, so she can come to church on Sunday, which is super sick, but that meant we couldn't really meet with her after she escaped her interview.  We went by on sunday morning to see if she could come to church and she said no. I was like “I want you to know how important it is to come to church and we want to invite you”.  Then we left and she showed up to church.  My DL interviewed her, set the baptism for 6 o'clock the same day, and when we went by to pick her up to take her to the baptism she asked if her daughters could all get baptized right then too.  Unfortunately, the answer was no cause they don't have the lessons, but we’re gonna try and do that all this week so they can get baptized before they leave the area.  We don't baptize people that aren't completely ready, if it sounds like I'm focusing to much on baptism.

Well, I love you.  

Elder Blotter

Week 18

So, I finished JTC like three four days ago great book I Yeah, I baptized Valentin; He is Maria Luna’s spouse - yes I The kitchen is huge and on Tuesday our like hot pad thing broke, so we couldn’t eat anything... I haha my comp took it apart but we´re getting a new burner hopefully soon. Yup strong as every, I get an hour less study time this change because I’m not being trained anymore, I have like 4 months in the mish, and if you count back wards from the day I’m l gonna leave I have like 5 months. haha don’t worry I’m not counting down. I’ve got mission on the mind and like nothing more. haha

So my comp is leaving this change we think, he got the phone call that said he was being changed but within the zone, but as we thought about it more, they might just take him to the change meeting to make him a DL which would be dumb to make him pack all his stuff, but its very likely I’m getting a new comp and yeah I don’t think I’m dreaming in spanish.... haven’t really been remembering my dreams. I bet I use spanish words though, its actually pretty difficult to speak in spanish all week have things happen in spanish and then later try and talk about them in english.

Soooo this week. I don’t really remember.

Love you bye.

Haha, but honestly who knows what happened on Monday. We taught a ton of lessons I can tell you that. haha so this Renaldo I might have talked about earlier, husband to a baptism like a months ago so last week, I was in divisions and we had a lesson with him, Elder Zubi told me to put a baptismal date with him, so we go and we talk about all the answers he´s received that the BoM is true and then what the BoM means if its true, all me teaching this cause my comp, Elder Tepoz, doesn't know the family or what we´re going to teach, and I didn’t really want him to teach cause who knows what he was going to say, anyways I ask him if he´ll get baptized by the correct authority or however I said it and he kind of hesitated and tried to escape the direct question and so I asked again directly, and he said I’ll answer next time. so this week we go and meet with him and my comp challenges him to get baptized and he said he´d been thinking about it and stuff like that and that yes he´d get baptized this saturday, super cool. haha and yeah we baptized him oh and did I say he went to the visitors center at the temple with his daughter in between my lesson and the lesson with me and my comp when he accepted and he said he wants and eternal family. and after I baptized him when I pulled him up out of the water he just looked and me and said thanks. It was a cool moment.

I got like jabbed with a knife in my back as we were walking in the street, jabbed kinda hard, I'm sure if I wasn’t a missionary- had garments, I would've had a knife in my back haha. we just kept walking and this guy didn't know what to do he just stood there looking at me.....haha don't freak out. god protects and provides and have testimonies of both of these things already.

Umm what more. idk. My comps leaving I love him, I think we´re kind of similar we both don't really speak if we don't feel like speaking. idk. but we have a great time chatting and laughing while walking in the streets. idk I'm going to miss him if he leaves and I really don't want a dead companion someone leaving soon or who doesn't want to work or is a frito.

I've grown to love the ward and I know a lot of the people I was thinking that I would be sad to leave this area too, idk.

I kind of lost the will to keep writing....

Javier, our inv. that is only 18 but he´s pretty darn cool, a little awkward, but pretty golden, finally came to church its going to be weird having appt.'s with him cause he has all the lessons he just needs church before he can get baptized, and we have to keep meeting with him to teach him more but the lessons are up. idk theres definitely things we can teach him but who knows.

My favorite catholic lady is hard to find now, Virginia, idk I really like her she is idk 55-60 so like a mother-grandmother figure she´s way cool and I just really want her to be teachable so we can bring her the happiness of the gospel. and teach her daughter and her granddaughter. this area has a ton of potential still, if I get a half decent comp we can continue to baptize every week here which is cool.

The pic after the other elders baptism, it was his birthday so some members bought him some cake and made hime that card and if you look closely you can see they spelled his name wrong. haha

Love you.

Elder Blotter

Week 16 - I.D.K ... a lot.

Haha about keeping the commandments -  I literally told someone yesterday that it was a sin to go and buy stuff on sunday and then she handed her daughter some money to go buy soda for us. Haha less actives for the win.  They just justify everything in their lives by saying “when I got baptized I changed all of this stuff....... and I made a big change didn’t I?”  “Well, yes you did, but a half change of heart isn’t what the Savior asked for.”   Maybe your’e just programmed to be zealous on the mission and you see and hear everyones problems so you know all the crap. 

Its all a little funny -  we hold leadership to a high standard pretty much ward counsel (consejo de barrio) idk the meeting with all the leaders, that meeting just includes all the members who are like active/converted.  Converted because I’ve realized converted means a lot more that convert. idk Converted is something that every member needs and I think it’s why a bunch of missionaries go on missions cause the lord needs to convert them. The members here who have gone on missions - you can tell that they just understand everything about the gospel way more.

I.d.k. what more to tell you that happened this week.  Hopefully we’ve found a couple of cool people to teach. oh the mother of a member whose wife isn’t a member nor his daughters have gotten baptized, we’ve tried to teach his brother and we tried to baptize his wife, she’ll get baptized she just needs some time, but his mom and his sister came to the activity and his mom told him that she wants to have a big family dinner and that she wants to invite the elders. hopefully we can teach her. that would be so cool to teach the whole family.

I Love You - 

Elder Blotter

María Luna and her husband Valentin

Everything that my kitchen entails. a blender a mini fridge and a hot plate.