Week 83

Me, getting creative with my food again....it's the Jicama I was talking about, but
I made a Sun and decorated it with Tajin (the lime salt powder). Delicious and attractive!!

I am being transferred!!!! It's been a long journey here in the Pastora Ward and I'm very sad to leave my family here that I have come to love, but I know it's the Lord calling me to serve in another ward, where I can continue to help build the kingdom of God. I don't have much time to write since actually Saturday was my preparation day...sort of. What happened is the Assistants called us on Friday and asked us if we could change our p-day to Saturday so we can work with new missionaries on Monday. We said we could, but we had appointments in the afternoon already planned. What we ended up doing is dividing the two days and worked the afternoon Saturday as normal, and we're writing Monday before we have to go work with the new missionaries.

We had our Zone Conference on Friday, which was incredible! President Maucotel decided to focus it on personal consecration and invited all of the mission to become more consecrated while explaining how we are to do it and promising blessings. There have been some changes in the mission to help us become even more focused on the work. The one that threw me off guard was that we can no longer have instruments in our apartments...which meant I had to return my keyboard that I have loved so dear. It turns out it was never supposed to be allowed since it's a rule in general for all missionaries and actually it says in the packet they give before we come out that instruments aren't allowed. But here in this mission that had been forgotten and many have been practicing piano, guitar, and other instruments. It was hard to let go of the keyboard, but I am grateful for the opportunity and great blessing it has been in my mission and will be in my life to have been able to learn so much in such a short time. I have my investigator Ismael from my first area to thank, and will forever be indebted to him for such a blessing. :D By the way his family still hasn't been baptized...but they finally got married which is a start!

Other than that this week flew by and we had many great lessons, my favorite of which was with Juan Uribe because he asked us "when is my baptism again?" So we explained to him that he still needs a little more preparation, but can be baptized as soon as 2 weeks. Although I won't be here to see it, I have faith he will prepare himself and be baptized soon, as well as his wife soon after since she's told us she want's to follow her husband:)

Anyways I am so happy to be on the mission serving and wherever I go I will serve the Lord and work hard because I love him and want to share that love with all those I am able!! Have a wonderful week everyone! Love you!

Gelatina de Limon con chamoy y tajin, delicioso!!!
(A lime freeze pop with sweet pepper, lime and salt. Delicious!!)

Week 82

Let me introduce you to JICAMA (a weird root fruit that tastes like water in
fruit form, but i love it with chile/limon powder:)

cada vez que escribo no puedo creer que ya haya pasado otra semana en el campo misional. Wow that was written on autopilot...man it`s hard to adjust to English sometimes! As I say each time I write home, I can`t believe another week`s over. September is already coming to a close and that means....GENERAL CONFERENCE  time!!! And my last one in the mission field for that matter....:,( It`s going too fast!

Anyway, this week improved a little, although it was pretty tough working with all the festivities and parties this weekend for Independence Day. The whole town came together in the center where the Catholic church and park are at and did what`s called a "grito" which is a big chant they do in the town centers, state centers, and in the country's center in Mexico city. They do the town one at 10, state at 11 and country at 12, with fireworks and loud music and chanting. Some members warned me it would be dangerous and others tried to convince my companion to take me so I can see what it`s like, but he refused and I wouldn't do it anyways, at least not as a missionary...

This weekend a bunch of members including the Bishop went to Cancun, since the fist counselor had his wedding there, so this Sunday was interesting...I gave a talk on the importance of each member of a team, talking about a comparison of a sports team, a mission, and a ward. The point I wanted to get across is that the ward success in both retention of it`s members and growth of new members depends on each member's faithfulness in keeping their covenants. I used an article called, "Keeping Covenants: A Message for Those Who Will Serve a Mission" by Elder Holland in the January 2012 Liahona. He explains how miracles in a mission, or in my talks case a ward, when he said

"if we really want to succeed in our callings, if we want to have access to every help and every advantage and every blessing from the Father, if we want to have the door of heaven thrown open to us that we might receive the powers of godliness, we must keep our covenants!"

"It is when an entire (ward) is united by the strength of every (member's) integrity, every (member's) personal covenant keeping, that we move mountains. "

I leave my testimony along with Elder Holland that when we start to truly do all we can to keep our covenants and magnify our callings, we can move mountains in the mission, the ward, or even our own families and I share this in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!

P.S. Shout out to Devin Taylor who got his mission call to Guatemala! You`ll love it there. I have met several missionaries who lived there :). Congrats! Do all you can to prepare yourself physically, economically, emotionally, and most important spiritually (not just knowledge of the gospel, although it is important, but more important is to live the gospel!) 

JICAMA, yum!

Weeks 80 and 81

Almost Mexican Independence Day!!

Week 80

This week I had a wonderful experience with my fast, which I based on two investigators specifically, Yhoana and Juan Uribe. Turns out my prayers and fast were answered because both Yhoana and Juan Uribe made it to church yesterday and they hadn't gone in weeks!

It was Juan´s third time attending and he went up to bear his testimony again, and this time he explained how he has felt God´s hand in his life guiding him to this church, but he worries he´ll flake out since he´s had a lot of other opportunities that were missed. It was interesting, but very humbling to see him speak so honestly in front of everyone and the Ward was able to encourage him quite a bit. We are hoping he can be baptized soon, even before transfers, but if not as long as he makes it to baptism prepared, I´m happy as can be:)

Yhoana now has been to church four times and this week finally accepted a baptism date!!! She chose the 15th of October, which was a little further than we had hoped, but she had never felt ready to choose a date before so it´s progress! And if she ends up feeling ready before that date, we can always adjust it:)

This week was SUPER packed with meetings and things to do. First of all, our 3rd companion left us on Tuesday to go to another area:,( but he did manage to make us hot dogs, which were delicious yet simple (that´s all we had:P). Next, on Wednesday we had a Gira de la Mision which is a big meeting where an authority comes to train us. Elder Valenzuela and his wife came and gave a wonderful meeting focused on how to work with members and obedience to the mission rules overall. Something I took from it was that we don´t come on missions to receive help from the members, we come to help and serve the members and strengthen the Ward we are in. The goal is to always leave the ward in a better state than it was when we arrived (I learned that in Boy Scouts, thanks Scout leaders!). Obviously, we hope that the members will actively seek to help us, but that doesn't mean if they aren't willing, we can justify not working with members in our missionary work. We need to actively serve, invite, and teach members so that they can participate and we can fulfill President Monson's goal that the missionaries and members can come together in purpose and action.

On Friday we had our Mission Leadership Council, which Elder Valenzuela also attended. (That doesn't happen every day!) It was an amazing experience and we learned a lot about our responsibilities, like how we are to care for our sheep, which as Zone Leaders means starting with our District Leaders, and other missionaries in the zone where possible. Also the mission is focusing everything on working with members and obedience, which we all came unto an agreement to implement in our zones. I can´t even begin to explain how wonderful these experiences were with Elder Valenzuela, but the Spirit felt is not something I will soon forget. Also I played the piano at both events. I can´t believe how far I've come:D 

Week 81

Listening to uplifting music with my bowling tie I found in a market:P

I`m still trying to accept the fact that it`s September already...and I just realized it's almost half through, yikes! I try not to think about it though, because I still have SO much to do in these next few months. It got hot again this week, REALLY HOT. Or at least it felt that way, but I hear it`s supposed to rain this week again, so that`s good, I love the rain! It reminds me of Oregon:)

Speaking of Oregon, this week I had exchanges with a fellow Oregonian named Elder Rosenbalm, a giant red-head with just as big of a personality as he is tall. It was cool to be able to talk about places in Oregon and experiences we've had. He lives in a small town north of Corvallis, which I always forget the name of since it`s a little strange...but he worked as a firefighter before his mission and plans to continue with it as his career, my respects! He made me toaster waffles in the morning, which was the first time I've eaten those on the mission:P

We faced many challenges this week with our investigators, but hey, not every week can be as wonderful as they have been or else it would all seem plain and normal. Our investigator closest to baptism is struggling to rid himself of his coffee habit and his family doesn't help him since they all drink it, even his little grandson, Axel, who`s just 5 years old. That bugs me a little...but who am I to judge. He also told us he still has doubts about Joseph Smith, which was a big blow to us because he had been telling us that he believed him to be a prophet of God before. Also he slept in and didn't make it to church, despite calling him, knocking on his door, and having reminded him the day before. We just need to be patient, I know he`s making a lot of adjustments in his life which isn't easy.

Fidel Martini, our recent convert, received the Aaronic Priesthood yesterday!! He was super happy and all the brethren came up to hug him and congratulate him:) He`s excited to bless the sacrament next week. Love this man!

This week on Friday it`s Mexican Independence Day, so there will be a lot of parties and noise and fireworks, so that should be interesting. On Thursday there is a ward activity to celebrate and we are hoping to bring some investigators with us to have fun with them. Also the Ward`s 1st counselor to the Bishop is getting married in Cancun on the 16th, so half the ward is going to be out of town this weekend. That should be fun this Sunday with an empty chapel!

Anyways I am so grateful for the experiences I have and will continue having as a missionary, it truly is a blessing. And thanks to each and every one of you for all your support and prayers, I love you guys!

Flashback to my first district at the Temple!!! Good ol`days :,)

Jenga isn't only good for making a plain old tower:)

Week 79

New companion from Argentina, Elder Romero!

The weeks just keep getting better to be honest. This time it's because we had the baptism of Fidel Martini on Wednesday and his confirmation was yesterday :D! The program went amazingly! The Bishop was able to leave early from work, even with very important things to do, and he directed, President Maucotel attended, which was great since he´s already good friends with Fidel. Also us missionaries did a special music number of "I´m trying to be like Jesus" in "spanglish" (we sang both Spanish and English verses). It was super good even with little time to prepare...but the most amazing part was when I had the opportunity to enter the font with my great friend Fidel, to perform his ordinance of Baptism. I've never been so close to an investigator before since we truly opened up to him and visited him as much as possible as well as get members and President involved, which resulted in a very special bond. He gave me a hug and President greeted him as we left the font. After the program, all the members came up to congratulate him and his wife even gave him a hug! (She's a less-active member and they have some major marriage issues.) Then we all ate tacos and cake since it was also the birthday of the wife of the Ward´s mission leader. Finally, yesterday he was confirmed by my companion Elder Gayosso at the Bishop´s request, during which Elder Gayosso´s hands started trembling. Later, when I asked him about it, he said he didn't know why that happened because it never has happened before and he wasn't nervous or anything. All we know is that the spirit was super strong in that moment and I´m glad I got to be in the circle for the confirmation.

Also behind such amazing experiences was the help and effort of many members and missionaries. The day before the baptism we left with the assistants in their new area, which is far away, so we had to finalize our plans by telephone. The mission leader had trouble getting keys to empty the old water in the font and refill it and when we came back the morning of the baptism it was still full of dirty water...I called another missionary for the other ward who assists there and he knew how to get the pump working to suck out the water, but it still wouldn't get emptied in time, so once again we went in with buckets to empty it faster. It was tedious, but I must admit, it made the baptism that much more fulfilling for our efforts as well as the members :).

Pre-baptism photo. Aww his wife came to support him :)

Post-baptism photo with the ward!! What a great event:D

Finally, yesterday we received a new companion, temporarily, so I am in my first trio! His name is Elder Romero from Argentina who I already met in Cadereyta, but he will be with us for a few days since there were a few problems in his last companionship. President should tell us soon where he´ll end up. He´s a wonderful missionary, but he slipped up and fell into things he shouldn't and now wants to repent and serve his other half of the mission with dedication. I´m happy to see that he hasn't given up and has the desire to press forward. We are trying to motivate him and keep him on track during the time he´s here with us. Oh and he´s a chef! Looking forward to his cooking the next few days :D!

My pancakes didn't turn out too bad, giving the welcome to our new companion:)

Week 78

Flash back to the CCM. GO DUCKS! :D

I know I say this every week....but this week was AMAZING! :D First of all, it rained almost all week, but not much during the day so we didn't get too wet, although it was enough to cool the temperature for a while. I had missed the rain a lot! It's so weird that it`s been cool because we are still in the "canicula" (supposed 40 days of pure hot sun), which ends this Wednesday, but it was only super hot about a week or two this time out of the 6 or so weeks. What luck! I probably shouldn't say anymore because who knows what will happen in the coming months. Maybe it just came late this year. :O

Anyway, that isn't the main reason this week was so amazing, only a side note. My favorite part of the week was when President Maucotel came to our area to visit Fidel Martini!! Since Fidel had a past problem with one of the questions in the baptismal interview, President Maucotel had to give his approval before we could proceed. He agreed to come visit him on Friday and met us at the church to go see Fidel. Fidel was super happy to see the couple again, since he met both Pres. and Sis. Maucotel at the Stake Conference, and we all sat down first to chat. Fidel has the coolest personality and Pres. and Sis. Maucotel loved talking with him (even though Sis Maucotel is still learning Spanish, but she`s learning fast). Then President asked for a moment alone with Fidel so we left outside for a few minutes. Afterwards President told us that Fidel is "sooo ready, he`s just so ready for baptism" and upon taking us home he told us Fidel`s story of how his prayers were answered.

The story goes like this, Fidel had a surgery on his throat to take out an abscess. There ended up being some complications and water got in his right lung, forcing them to operate on his lung too in order to take out the water. He was conscious at first, but the pain of poking in his lung made him pass out and he was unconscious for 4 complete days. He soon woke up and recovered enough to go back home and rest. During the next few months of slow recovery, he began to meditate about his existence and converse with God more than he`d ever done before in his life. He plead with the Lord that he would help him make it back to him after this life and to have more time to live in order to do so. After a while he received an answer in a dream. He was instructed on what he needed to do in order to reach Paradise, some of which were to repent of his past sins, find the Lord`s true church, and be baptized by an authorized servant.

Three days following his prayers we arrived and knocked on his door. He was already familiar with the Mormon church and actually desired and prayed specifically that Mormon missionaries would visit him because he felt if any church was of God, it must be this one because of how much respect he has for it. I knocked on his door, looking for his wife, who`s a member, but to my surprise an older man slowly descended down the stairs with a wooden cane and bandaged throat and side. He told us something like "hey, you guys made it, where do we begin?" and we got to know him and invited him to be baptized which he accepted without a hesitation.

Now here we are, five weeks later with his baptism planned for this Wednesday! He asked me to perform the ordinance, despite our attempts to incite him to choose one of the members that had been visiting him. I will be honored to fulfill such a call and can`t describe how thankful I am to the Lord for using me as an instrument in his hands in blessing the lives of others. There is no place I`d rather be in the world right now than on my mission.

On top of all that, I found out today that my Mom had been praying for months that I`d have a baptism in the last part of my mission (I still have tons of time left Mom...:P) since I went several months without even one investigator attending church and she was afraid I would get discouraged. She really wanted me to once again experience the joy of seeing someone truly accept the gospel before I left my mission. Well Mom, your prayers have been answered, and in the most marvelous way imaginable! I too, like my Mom, know that our Heavenly Father hears and answers our prayers because he loves us:) Thanks Mom and all the rest of you for your fervent prayers and support. Love you all, have a wonderful week!!!

Dad sent me a picture of the Olympic final scores,
congrats USA!!! (Thanks Dad:)

Rice and bananas, you have to try it!!

Week 77

My new Pumas Soccer Jersey:D (Corazon Ligero means Lightheart in Spanish:D)

This has been another amazing week on the mission field. First of all, tomorrow are transfers, and last night I was informed that I`m staying here in the Pastora Ward with Elder Gayosso for another transfer!!!:D I`m super happy to be honest and I really wasn't expecting to be given any more time here since I already have 6 months here, but I LOVE it here and we should be having some baptisms soon so I`m excited to be blessed to be here for that. :)

On Sunday, we had our Stake Conference here in Paradise (the name of our stake) and I was very impressed and would like to share a little of the best parts:

First of all the Stake Patriarch gave a talk on (what else) patriarchal blessings, which I loved. He started out talking about how many other religions hold a patriarch as the most high up who leads and gives the commands, but our church is the only who holds this position in such a humble, yet powerful way. He then explained how a patriarchal blessing is a road map for this life and into the eternities and that if we live worthily and follow it`s counsel, we will receive every blessing mentioned and more, even beyond our imagination. He also warned that we shouldn't wait for our blessings to arrive, but rather start striving now to obtain them, because that is what God`s purpose is in the blessings - not to show us all that will magically fall upon us, yet show us who we can become and how to get there, leaving it up to us to follow that counsel. He gave the example of the Liahona that led Lehi and his family in the wilderness and compared it to our patriarchal blessings (1 Nephi 16:10). We must be worthy in order for our blessing to guide us, just as that family of old.

I learned a lot from that talk and it brought back memories of when I received my own patriarchal blessing. That event is something I will never forget and is one of my strongest sources of my testimony that I have a Father in Heaven, that knows and loves me more than I will ever be able to comprehend. I have seen some of those promises be fulfilled both in part and completely and I have a strong testimony that all will be given one day (whether in this life or the next), if I will just keep the commandments and endure to the end. :) I highly recommend that, for those you who haven't received your blessing, you talk with your bishop and start the process now because I promise you, it'll change your life and become one of your most cherished treasures. 

I testify that God lives and loves each and every one of us and that he speaks to us through his called servants here on Earth. I am so grateful for all the church leaders that have guided me in my life and especially for the Patriarch Bullock who represented the Lord when he gave me my blessing. I love you all and hope you can strive to obtain your own special guide or for those of you who have it, that you`ll appreciate it more and study it as often as possible. Have a wonderful week!

Last time being with my papa...:,( He leaves Wednesday morning back to Morelos close to Mexico City.
 It has been wonderful to have him here in the Zone while he finished his mission!!!
Love him so much and I owe everything to him for all he has done for me. Best of luck Elder Toledano! :D

Elder Gayosso and I with our Jerseys (Gallo means rooster so he put Gayo
since it`s pronounced the same and is the beginning of his last name:P)

We ordered personalized jerseys for the whole zone, they turned out great!

Week 76

Solved my first Rubix Cube!

It`s been over a week since I've written so there is so much to say with so little time. I am SO happy right now. First of all, because we had 4 investigators in church on Sunday, three of which are progressing and two are on track for their baptismal dates in late August!!! The three are Fidel, which I've mentioned before, Juan Uribe, who used to be a baptist pastor, but now doesn't attend any church until now, and Yhoana, a young college student who has a Mormon boyfriend who`s a return missionary. She has been to church three times now, but still doesn't feel ready or comfortable with baptism.

Actually, now that I remember, in a lesson with her she explained how she doesn't feel support from her family or friends and they all say she just wants to be a member to be with her boyfriend Jorge. We explained how she shouldn't worry what other people say because we know that isn't the case because of her dedication to learn, pray, and attend church, even without him pushing her to do so. In that moment, I also was impressed upon to tell her the story of my mom`s conversion since it has a similar context. I explained how Mom was dating a Mormon boy (Dad) and that just as her my mom didn't have any family that were members or support from them in her becoming one and that I imagine many people judged her as only becoming Mormon to be with my Dad. (Clarification from Mom: "Actually, my family was supportive or at least not against me joining the church, but I'm sure some people thought I was only interested in the church because of my boyfriend, which was definitely not the case.") I explained how that wasn't the case because my mom had a true desire to know if the Church was true and even asked my Dad if she could accompany him to church, accepted the missionary lessons,and made her own decision to be baptized. The thing that I feel impacted her the most was when I expressed my gratitude for the valiant act of my mom to join the church and how now she is one of the strongest members I know with her very own testimony. Most of all, I`m grateful to have been raised in the gospel because, if it weren't for that, I wouldn't have had the chance to be here and testify to her of the happiness this great message of the restored gospel has brought me in my life.

In that moment I felt the spirit super strong and I could see she did too and I hope my mom`s story can help her to do what`s right despite any trial or opposition. I was so thrilled to see her at church on Sunday and hope she can make her decision soon to come unto Christ and be baptized in his name:D

Today I went to the temple, which was AMAZING!!! I honestly prepared more than I ever have, before entering because I had questions in mind that I had studied, conversed about, and taken a side, which resulted in an experience inequivalent to any other trip to the temple. I received answers (and-or confirmations) and an even greater feeling of peace and closeness to my Father in Heaven. Also President Maucotel came with us and he entered the celestial room first and so I entered to have my mission president standing there waiting to embrace me. What a loving gesture! Also a member from our ward came with us, named Carlos. He`s a convert of 10 years but is still single at age 33 so we are trying to encourage him to get married:P

Temple with President Maucotel and Elder Gayosso!!!

Zone Picture!!

Me and Elder Gayosso!!!

Oh and I had my interview with President Maucotel last week, which was also incredible! He is such a sweet and spiritual man that inspires everyone who`s near him it seems:) He left me a assignment to read "Repentance" in the Bible Dictionary, which I did and loved what I found. It explains that repentance is " a change of mind, a fresh view about God, about oneself, and about the world." And how true is that! I strove this week to truly repent of my wrongs, to prepare myself to enter the temple clean, and have been able to see how repentance brings about that type of mindset.

On Friday, we had our Mission Leadership Council, which was the best one I have been to thus far! President made it more of a spiritual experience and focused on meeting our needs as missionaries, in order to help us to meet the needs of our mission. One such thing was referring to the mission goals. He decided to have us, as Zone leaders, choose one spiritual goal and make plans for a mission goal. This was in order to have us, as leaders, search our own revelation for our zone and also help take away the pressure and stress that having several high mission goals, which are almost always much higher than what the average companionship attains. We explained all this to our Zone yesterday and they were thrilled about it as well. It`s time to focus on how to help the missionaries progress and stop mounting stress and more pressure upon their heads. I feel President's love for us very strongly and am so blessed to have him here serving:D

Although it`s been super hot and still is today, it rained SUPER
hard last night as we were walking home and I found a little toad:D

Took the picture I promised :)