Hi Mom,
A few weeks without a phone and the weeks start running together… so there are a few different updates below – and a TON of photos:
Update 1:
Entonces, first week into the new transfer. My area is the best in all of México. And I don’t have a phone to prove it…
So, I was transferred on the 28th of March and the day that I am writing this email is the 18th of April. I was without a phone for 2 weeks. So I haven’t had the chance to write my weekly emails. Please forgive my lack of information.
I was transferred to Mirador Guanajuato, Guanajuato, México. Literally the most magical area in the mission. Guanajuato Capital is right in the middle of a mountain range. All the main buildings are on the mountains. The price of all the beauty is that 95% of my area is made of steep, tall stepped, stairs.
I could not have had a worst two weeks without a phone. This week there was an annual rally race here in Mirador. Rally racers from all over the world came to race from here to Leon and Silao and back again. I had no photo taking device on my person but I did have some 4 x 8 note cards. So I asked one of the drivers to sign it. I am now a proud owner of a young Finnish rally racers signature. I wonder where he placed in the race.
Anyways, By way of missionary work we got in contact with a member named Moroni. He guided us through Mirador and told us all about the callejones (alleyways) that we should avoid. So that we won’t get lost.
We visited a bunch of members because this area has been closed for a really long time so we thought it would be a good idea to inform the branch that the missionaries were back. Also we had nobody in teaching plus no phone.
We met a ton of members and received a lot of love. Within this first week we set up a food calendar with the relief society president. Had a service project with the Elders Quorum president and found a really sweet old lady named Rosita. Who we taught 2 lessons with and invited to watch conference. She is literally the coolest lady ever. She never married and in her younger years she would literally travel the world. She worked as a nanny and if she felt like it and had the money she would just pick a place and move there. She visited all kinds of temples and mosques. She knows like 4 languages. And has a mountain sized faith. Only reason she wasn’t baptized right away is she has frail 70+ years and lives in a city that is pure steep stairs. She fell and broke her hip back in September and still has a few more months before she is healed enough to do the baptism thing. So we are planning on just being her grandkids and giving her some company while she gets better.
We did all of our traveling, contacting, teaching, and plain ole’ missionary work all without a cellular device that makes phone calls. It was like the good ole’ times.
Any who that’s all I can remember,
Till next time,
Elder Service
Update 2:
Hi Mom!
Week two of transfers still don’t have a phone but we still went on exchanges. Technically got a baptism this week…
My district leader got sick Sunday morning. So we had emergency transfers. It happened to be on their baptism day. Got to help organize and baptism Florentino. He is a good man. Only met him once. Anyways then we ran around my area trying to contact some people and eat lunch.
We went to Hermana Maya’s house and they made us some pretty fire hamburgers. Technically they only cooked the patties. But they prepared the most delicious table of condiments. We had guac, fired unions with bacon, salsa, jalapeños, chorizo, and every other “normal” condiment that Americans usually have. Twas very delicious. And of course I told the member that my sister has the same name.
So, like I said in my last email, these first two weeks were the worst two weeks to have without a phone. Because just like last week something really awesome happened. So here in Guanajuato there is a celebration called day of the flowers which celebrates the Virgin Mary. But basically all the guys buy flowers for their significant other and they do like a ritual at the park or public place were they hand a flower to a girl they think is cute (if they are married they just give it to their wives.) Anyways, there was a sea of people in the very narrow streets and callejones (alleyways). I would have taken photos but yall will have to wait.
Then we accomplished one of my greatest goals for coming to Mexico. Which was to collect all the ingredients for horchata and make that delicious drink! It was so good jaja. I can go home happy now 😄.
By way of missionary work not a lot got done. With all the festivities it, made it hard to talk to anyone, members included, so we just did a lot of studying and spiritual thoughts for our lunch appointments.
Our one person in teaching, Rosita, couldn’t come to church because she didn’t wake up and our member couldn’t pass by, so we ran (more like climbed) up to her house as fast as we could could see if we could help her connect to the zoom link. If you remember this is the sweet old lady that broke her hip. Basically she told us she wasn’t going to be able to connect because she hasn’t taken a shower yet. Anyways so we just talked with her and asked how general conference was. She loved it! I fact she proceeded to tell us that she wants to be baptized! Unfortunately she still physically can’t so we will have to wait a little longer.
That’s basically all I remember for that second second week so…
Till next time,
Elder Service
Update 3:
Hi Mom!
Start of week three of transfers and guess what… I now have proof of how awesome my area is. That’s right, we finally have a phone. Prepare for a major photo dump…
My area is very touristy if you haven’t already noticed from my last two emails. There are so many things to see and take photos of. There is a place called the Pipila. It’s a big ole’ statue that is dedicated to revolutionary that helped bring independence to Mexico. From what I remember he is basically the Mexican “John Revere” (red coats are coming) he ran a torch from the bottom of Guanajuato to the top of the mountain where his statue is warning the people about something (prolly that that the Spaniards are coming). Anyways so we took some photos on our way to a lunch appointment. Next thing we knew we had taken two photos with strangers, one of the strangers accused of a guy in a skeleton costume of being a demon and kept trying to get us to teach him something. The other was this lady who after taking a photo with the first stranger decided she wanted a photo with my ‘korean’ companion. Jaja my comp has zero Asian genes in fact he has ancestors from mexico. I was just happy to be apart of it all jaja.
By way of missionary work, our first day with a phone we called all the references we received from the system (Facebook) it came out to be over 40 people. Out to that only like 6 picked up, out of those 6, 3 actually were interested. Out of those 3 only 1 wanted to meet n person with us. Turns out this 1 lives with 3 other families. Which in the matter of three days we found 8 new people, had 3 lessons, and invited them all to church! They are an awesome family. With a lot of good questions and a willingness to learn. I confident that they will get baptized.
On Sunday we went to go pick up this family for church. We show up at 8:30 (church is at 10:00) and the only ones who are there and awake is the Grandma and the youngest son who is 7. Anticipating this we were a good hour and a half early. Which still wasn’t enough time. It took us two hours to finally get 6 people to the church. But personally this little group of 6 has the most potential anyways.
Now I want to talk about a particular experience we had with this family. We received the reference from a lady named Karla. We get their address and we head on over. When we showed up a young girl in her early 20’s sticks her head out of the little concrete shack and has a surprised and sour look on her face. Come to find out later her name is Judith. She is the one I want to talk about. When we first showed up she was fairly reserved and had a lot of doubts about religion and God. Our first real contact was half way through our lesson. Because when she saw us she ran and got her grandmother. Who informed us that Karla wasn’t there but she would love to talk about God. So naturally being missionaries of God we did just that.
We sat just outside and along the wall of the little shack. We could see Judith still in the door way as if she was trying to hide but clearly she was interested in what we were saying. Eventually she pokes her head out and says “Tengo una duda” (I have a doubt) to which we replied with “Venga y sientase y diganos” (come and sit down and tell us) She knew she was trapped and you could see the internal struggle. But she sat down and joined the conversation. At this point was when I knew she was why we were there. Because what happened next was awesome. Everyone started showing up. Granted it was towards the end of the lesson. But everyone was paying 100% attention. At the end Karla, the lady we were in contact with asked how they could be baptized into our church!
Long story short we came back the next two days teaching them all about the Plan of Salvation, and the Restoration of the gospel. Which all of it them took very well. However, Judith started our second lesson with the most hostile question a missionary of our Church could ever receive. Which was “We found out that you all are the ‘Mormons’ you all have your own Bible don’t you?” To which we responded very boldly with yes. Which forced a very awkward silence to fall upon everybody else. I’ll have yall know that we felt inspired to teach the Plan of Salvation. So in a desperate plea to salvage the situation I responded to this awkwardness by teaching the Restoration. I hadn’t even gotten very far into the lesson when I felt very strongly to start teaching the Plan again. Which paid off enormously. It was exactly the kind of message of hope that Judith needed. By the end of the lesson she had opened up so much. And her doubting questions became more specific and filled with more faith. I wish I could accurately describe the way her face lit up as we talked about and answered her questions. Everything seemed perfectly put into place. She opened up so much to us and revealed that her boyfriend (husband) doesn’t believe in God and it has been pretty hard on her. At the end we asked if we could have her phone number so we can call her and teach her and her boyfriend. But she said no.
Which made Sunday even cooler. She technically lives in Irapuato and only comes to Mirador every 2 weeks. Told us as we came by to pick up the rest of the family to come to church that she wanted to give us her number!
I want to end this post with my testimony, that I know the power of the spirit is real. It is the guiding force that helps everyone come unto christ. I know without a doubt that the spirit has prepared Judith and her family to receive our message. Even if at first they were skeptical. The spirit worked on them to soften their hearts. I say this in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Till next time,
Elder Service
