Week 55

Elder Ollis and I with our campechanas in exchanges:D
 (Sorry I forgot to take pictures with the other Elders in exchanges,
 I'll try to remember it this week!)

I can't believe another week has passed by, it just goes faster and faster! So to explain a few of my responsibilities as Zone Leader:

-Attend Leadership Council Meeting every first Thursday of the month

-Hold a zone training the Tuesday after the Council to explain the new goals and rules to the Zone

-Direct Zone Conference every other transfer (We have one coming up on March 22)

-Make calls to all 3 District Leaders every night and take down their results and talk about how their District is doing and what we can do to help

-Have exchanges with at least all District Leaders (but we are having them with every companionship this transfer) so we basically have exchanges every Tuesday and Friday

-Report how are zone is doing and give the results to the Assistants Monday mornings

-Organize Zone activities for Mondays and also special Missionary Activities like the one we are planning this Friday in a market to get out the word about the new Easter video "Hallelujah"

-Answer all the questions and resolve any problems that occur in the Zone

-Always be the best example we can to the rest of the Zone

That's all I can remember, for now, it seems like a lot, but I'm starting to get used to it and my companion helps me get through it :) Anyway, this week was a little frustrating because we worked hard, but weren't able to see the results we would have liked. We had our first exchanges this week and I got to know Elder Cerezo from Vera Cruz and Elder Ollis from Utah. Elder Cerezo is a new convert from about 3 years ago. He started his mission in Mexico City, but had to return home for 8 months and got called to finish here in Monterrey and he's only been here since January. He knows a lot about the Bible and actually studied with Jehovah's Witness's for 2 years before he found the church and they generally know the scriptures really well. I went with him to his area which is up super high on the hill called "La Silla" and all the streets are super steep. I was super exhausted after that day! Then, I was super impressed with Elder Ollis and how much he knows and how hard he works, especially since he was inactive from age 13-18, just coming back in time to start his papers...he felt super unprepared coming into the mission, which we all feel that way, but he has truly worked hard and is a wonderful missionary.

On Saturday night, my companion and I went up super high on the hill "La Silla", in a neighborhood called "Country Sol", which is filled with huge mansions. It was rough finding people since no one is ever home and when they are they say they don't have time. The highlight of the day was that we saw an amazing view of the whole city of Monterrey!!! We could see both the missions. Since our area is actually on the border, we pass by it all the time. It's a lot different than Cadereyta, which was the farthest area almost from the mission border.

An amazing spiritual experience this week was our Zone Training we had on Tuesday, to explain to the Zone what our new goals and rules for the mission. We also gave a short instruction that we prepared beforehand. We started preparing it Monday morning and finished it a little late Monday night. I was a little frustrated with how long it took to prepare it and had never planned something out so well. At the end, I still felt nervous to have to teach the whole Zone, especially since I still don't know them too well. When it came time to lead the Zone Training, I was amazed to feel the spirit talking through me! We talked about being constant in diligence and used the story in 1 Nephi 3, where Nephi and his brothers go to get the plates. They try 2 times without success and the whole time Nephi kept a positive attitude and at the end he was the only one to finish the task, which was because he was constant in his diligence, despite the difficulties he faced. Also, we used a scripture in the Bible (don't remember where it's at, sorry) which explains how we are only limited by our lack of faith and explained how Laman and Lemuel could have succeeded if they had had the faith sufficient, like Nephi. And by faith, I don't mean to just believe they can do it, but to act upon that belief like Nephi and go and do :)

Love you all:)

My companion and I satisfying our constant hunger!

Chocolate milk and a Conche (type of sweet bread) with PB!! Yum!