Week 20

A few new things this week.  To start off I pulled the Baby Jesus out of the Rosca at a members house and will now have to make tamales for Feb 2.  Gas hit 1.99 for unleaded here in Colorado and that is super insane to me.  Makes me consider moving here after my mission but then I think, "Of course not you fool".  Maybe Denver but I don't serve there so I wouldn't know all that well what its like.  I had an interesting exchange with one of our investigators.  He was telling us how he has to go to Mexico for two weeks and will drive down to El Paso to cross the border.  I told him I was born in the EP and he said he loves El Paso and wants to move there one day. He is probably talking about the East side but hey, its still El Paso.  The best part of the week would have to be when we went to Loveland for the day and Elder Bednar visited our mission and talked to us for a little bit and then had a discussion with us and finally let us ask him questions.  It was great but I wish some people didn't get called on to ask him a question, most of the questions were great and very personal but one, and I will always remember it, was just plain dumb.  I say dumb because the kid that asked it doesn't have any special needs and wasn't trying to be cool and ask a stupid question.  His question was, "do you ever get a revelation and tell Monson and Monson says wow that was really cool".  I turned to the guy next to me and said, "is he serious?"  Other than that it was wonderful and I learned a lot.  I wanted to thank you for your prayers and letters!  I love you guys and encourage you to have a great rest of your week.

Colorado sunset

These are lollipops that are made by the Special Ed class at the school. Mt. Dew flavored for the extra mile but I almost got the "fuzzy navel" flavor but then I remembered who made them…...

Week 19

Hello people.  This week was interesting.  A few days ago while we were getting gas I saw a movie that was coming to red box was one that I saw previews to before I left.  Its a weird feeling to think I have been out for that long.  On Saturday while driving to Yuma there was from 5 to 20 feet of visibility on the roads.  Eventually it got better but it was really bad weather.  This next week we are going to have the opportunity to hear from Elder Bednar who will be coming to our mission.  I'm super excited to hear from him on Friday in Loveland.  It starts at 8:30 so we are going to have to wake up at 4:00 to make it on time.  That part I am not looking forward to.  Keep it real guys.  And have a great week.

down a half of a foot in the snow

The snow is coming

the temperature a few days ago

I don't want to get out of the car

I'm not the biggest fan of the snow

Christmas week

Christmas week was interesting.  We got a gift from a member family and when we opened it the excitement left even though we should have know what it was all along.  Toilet Paper.  We ate at Members house for dinner and didn't have a repeat of thanksgiving.  They actually made our favorite meals and it was super nice of them.  The weather is frigid and there is ALWAYS snow on the ground.  Not too much excitement this week, but I do miss my family which I didn't think I could this much.  (I didn't, however, cry.  An attribute father has given me.)  After all the chaos we did manage to visit an investigator we have been meaning to see for a few weeks and made huge progress with her and her family.  We sadly though dropped two investigators just yesterday.  Hopefully, we planted enough seeds for some future missionary work.  It is a strange thing to drop an investigator.  They really have to be no progressing for some time because as missionaries we are desperate to cling on to these guys.  (we don't have any other friends).  In a more spiritual sense this week I wanted to share how to obtain peace.  Its something I learned because we had the chance to be lazy for a day.  In reference to the song "where can I turn for peace" the turning implies an action.  just believing that God exists will get us nowhere.  Happiness comes from our desire to be like our Heavenly Father.  If we are to achieve peace in this life it will have to be worked for like everything else.  I hope I don't sound like a prophet, but it is true.  "A smart man learns from others mistakes" so learn from mine.  Becoming better is essential, its the only thing that separates us from the savages.  That's it for this week, have a great day everyone!

On Christmas Day!

An actual white Christmas!

An old sign for all the churches in town. It only has half of them.

My little branch President and his little family OR I'm just HUGE!

Twas the week before Christmas....

Things are well here in the Yuma/Wray area.  The mission Christmas devotional was great.  We sang lots of Christmas songs that were the ones nobody sings on Christmas.  We didn't even approach silent night or hark the herald angels sing.  People are so weird when they want to do the not-so-popular songs.  It snowed a ton last night and I have adapted to the cold and am now a native by all standards.  AS far as food, some weeks we have to provide for ourselves when dinner comes around and we usually just have Pb and J's or ramen or a can of soup.  Difference is nice even if it’s not too much better.  The Spanish is coming along.  I speak it quite often.  It’s about half and half.  I could always learn more though.  I feel like because I speak it so often things are starting to become natural.  I will say things without thinking about it, and pleasantries are way more normal.  I am always getting compliments on my Spanish even though sometimes its like a backhanded compliment because they will say, "your Spanish is good for a white person" little do they know I am Hispanic.  Its okay, it gives me confidence because I’m never sure if my Spanish is good or bad.  Not much new on insights in the mission life.  Just living in the cold and trying to survive.  The members are sweet here too but there are less of them and so it’s not as fun.  My comp and I bless sacrament almost every week because they have only two young men, yet they seem to have almost 12 young women.  Quite the difference if you ask me.  I heard their latest activity was eating taquitos and watching GI Joe.  Fun for them I guess.  In better news I made my first snowman in over 10 years.  I think we attempted one in Ruidoso once but it wasn't even that impressive.  I built it with a little girl after dinner at a member’s house.  She took the picture so don't blame the photography skills on me.  I am very proud of that snowman.  Almost like a father’s kind of pride.  This week we invited three people to be baptized, they all said yes but they need to sort some things first.  The work is progressing and all is well. Have a good week.

That was yesterday, it was snowing so hard it blocked out the sun.

My first snowman in 10 years! 

My hair is frozen that way

Week 15

The work is great. I was honored when I was asked to go to this area because I worked hard and they needed help bringing this area back to life. We have been doing well, we taught 14 investigators this week and four of those are progressing. Also ten of those investigators don't speak English. We are doing better with the language as well.  Hopefully Kristina is safe and preaching the gospel. When we help others it makes us more comfortable in troubling situations. My advice for the week would be a lesson I learned. If you are having trouble with someone else, change what you can to do even just a little better. They will follow your example eventually and we could always use some fixing in ourselves.  Also the Atonement works.  I have seen it in my life and know of its healing powers.  If we are having problems or troubles the first thing we should do is get on our knees.  God gives us trials to help us grow, but if we aren't focused on God during those trials it just causes problems.  We wont become better from them and sometimes it leads to worse and worse issues.  We are here to progress, we have a way to do it and a loving God who is there to help us every step of the way.  We know the outcome of the world and what will happen when we pass on from this earthly life.  Yet we still seem to find ourselves trying to decide wither we want to follow Christ's example or listen to the enticing's of the devil.  Focusing on the Lord has helped me in my difficult times, so I know it can help everyone.

My comp

Colorado Sunset

A literal green egg. Fresh eggs are good but some of these chickens are weird.

Public Urination! could have gotten in trouble for that. Which remind me….My comp was driving last night and we got pulled over for speeding. The cop let him off with a warning but I would have smacked him so hard if he had gotten a ticket!! Did you know that if one guy gets a ticket he splits it with his comp? Horribly unfair.

My Indulgence. I sacrificed my soup and had ramen instead for the week.

my only missionary indulgence

This FREAKING huge egg! I call him Eggzilla Jr.

Saratoga Wy, Weeks 11-13

Nov 10th

I am teaching three lessons a week in Spanish and My Spanish still needs a little improvement. The people who speak Spanish here are all the Nicaraguans who work at the local saw mill. Yeah lets just say their Spanish is probably worse than mine because they put all their words together and drop off letters at the end. I barely know what they are saying half of the time. We have been doing great with the work here. We teach over twenty lessons a week and visit so many members, also we get at least one new investigator a week. Our ward mission leader texted the mission president about how hard we have been working and president was very impressed. He gave me and my companion a hand shake and commended our labors. We had a guy who said he wants to be baptized but doesn’t feel he is fully ready, he is one of the Nica's here so only I talk to him. I believe he has been taught the first lesson by some past missionaries but I’m going through and teaching him the lessons over again. We talked to a woman last night who has family in salt lake ut and she wants to see us again sometime soon, the rest of our investigators don’t seem to be progressing all that much but we are keeping up with them still. In church the gospel principles teacher has been gone and so my companion and I have been teaching for the last two weeks. The people in that class said we do a good job so that was comforting. The weather is getting pretty bad, I couldn’t even open the car door this morning and I almost gave my life for a cup of cocoa when I slipped outside. I started to listen to the Christmas music and the companion doesn’t like the ones about being with loved ones because he starts missing his girlfriend. He is such a big softy.  We had dinner with a newish family to the area and they gave us all this food and told us that if we ever need anything to come to them. They have a daughter on the mission so they (I guess) are living through us. Mother I know you do that. This week has been great but I know I will soon freeze. It is already in the 20s so that’s good fun. 1 Nephi 10:6 fall onto the lord because we always need it, use the atonement and have faith in Jesus Christ.

 

Nov 17th

Mother I must sadly report that I am dead.  I froze and didn’t make it. When people hear that I’m from Las Vegas they crack up and then tell me all about how I’m going to freeze here, its discomforting.  This week on Friday we went down to Cheyenne, we had a mission tour and Elder Baxter of the seventy came down to talk to us.  He is a funny guy, and he is Scottish so that was a plus.  When we had our little break I asked if he knew Grandpa and he said he did and told me all about how Grandpa is a great, very loving, gentle man.  I’m sure he tells that to all the past GA's grandsons.  The week has been good but very cold.  We got a jeep, we had been driving a Chevy cruise and that stupid car wouldn’t go anywhere once the snow hit.  

 

Nov 24^th

I sent you a picture of a sign I noticed in one of the trailer parks.  When we drove by the guy was just staring at us through his door.  It was very creepy.  This week went alright.  Nothing too exciting until transfers came up.  We figured neither of us would leave because I was still being trained but the lord had something else in mind.  I received a call from the mission president asking if I was ready for a challenge. He told me that I would be going down to the Greely zone in the Yuma area.  Also I am going to be training, so that’s great. It feels good to know that since I’m not even done being trained I am going to have to make it up half the time. We do get a car so I will still be driving, no bike yet and lets keep it that way until the summer.  I was just getting used to the area in Saratoga and now I have to move.  Packing is awful, I got so invested in this place and we stalked up on everything.  We have about 20 lbs. of steaks and ground beef that we got yesterday from a member and I have to sadly say goodbye. I got to speak in sacrament meeting and I shared some scriptures on the atonement.  Namely Mosiah 3:19 and 24:15 and talked on what the atonement really is and what it can do for us when we use it.  I bore my testimony on how it is a change in ourselves to become more Christ like and not just a way of repenting for past transgressions. I closed in Spanish and the three people that served on Spanish speaking mission might have been able to understand me.  It wasn’t that sad to say goodbye to all the awesome people here but I will miss them.  There was one guy whose family was just like uncle Bert’s. Going over there was a blast. He was in the same line of work and is the one who gives us eggs and beef and sausage. He doesn’t have quite as much kids but he does have five, and three of them are right next to each other and are boys.  They are rowdy and hilarious.  I was sitting next to the dad in Sunday school and the teacher said something about not cussing and he turned to me and said "I think he's picking on me" with a grin.  The people are probably the best part of this place because it sure ain’t the weather.  As uncle pat would say "Lots of love" and talk to you next week.