Training

Hey everybody,

So being a trainer is alright, the parts that you have got to love is the drive and enthusiasm of a new missionary and their desire to be obedient and gain a stronger testimony.  

The parts you dont love is the fact that brand new missionaries are scared half to death when it comes to talking to people out on the street or when we are contacting someone in their home or things like that.  

I have been really disappointed in my self lately because I have been so focused on being obedient and working as hard as possible and being a good trainer that the days are flying by and we are haveing so much success in finding people it is ridiculous.  At times I have to tell my companion to be grateful for the people we are finding because usually it is 1 maybe 2 people every other day instead of a family of 3 or 4 every single day. haha

So for thanksgiving I was like jealous to the max of all of you guys but it was such a tender mercy we ate at the relief society presidents house and she was like so I heard about dia de gracias so I made a lot of food for you... but I dont understand why you guys just eat to celebrate.  So I explained it to her and oh wow was the food good! I was really happy.  

Being the district leader is not really what it is all cracked up to be... It was basically like being the zone leader in the MTC all you free time is filled with telephone calls, traveling all over the district and between the two cities and going to be late.  But I have had some special experiencias and have definitely recieved special blessings and help being the District Leader. 

Like I said we have been having a lot of success as of late and I just pray that it continues because the last couple of days have FLOWN by and being a missionary is always so much easier when the time flies and you are busy.  

Anyway hope everybody had a good thanksgiving I miss you all, hope you are all living it up in St. George... Thanks for all the emails.

 

LOOK AT THIS TREE! AND ITS FRUIT I DONT EVEN KNOW WHAT ITS CALLED BUT ITS COOL

 Family home evening at the chapel, All these pics are upside down sorry.

We ate at an Hermanas house and she went and picked flowers in her garden to be on the table and was just so excited to feed us. 

For all you Turkey lovers happy thanksgiving, he was trying to attack us. 

A lot of people cover their vehicles with LEDs here Idk why

 Walking next to the highway.

Smoke signals... sike an hermana getting the banana leaves ready to make tamales.

Alamos orange juice factory.

 

HEYYYY HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Hey everybodyyyyyyy!

SO WHAT A PIECE OF CRAP WEEK I HAD LAST WEEK :D

I got a sickness that here is called chicuncuya I dont know how to spell it, and when I called the Zone leaders because the president nor his wife would answer Elder Roberts informed me that I had been bitten by a mosquito and contracted everybody's 2007 fear.

West Nile Virus

I cannot describe to you the flood of emotions lack of sleep and pain that I felt last week.  What it is though mas o menos is a pain in all of you joints and all you bones are sore.  And you cant sleep because you are in so much pain and every vertibrate your back or however you spell it, hurts and you cant get comfortable and you cant walk because your legs lock up and you just wanna die.  And dont let the enthusiasm of this letter distract from the Living Hell that I experienced. 

It all started last monday but I didnt say anything cuz I didnt want mom to worry.  After a couple days of violent puking and limping from bed to bathroom just to vomit I finally overcame the sickness, with a priesthood blessing from my companion.  But I still have lingering pains in my neck shoulders and wrists.  I am so glad that I am basically healthy again!!! So happy I can walk, can eat without puking, its just the best to feel normal.

Anyway so that all went away I got a call from the mission office and was told that........Im gonna be a trainer!! I just finished my own training! So I hope I dont mess this up!

Haha I wont, so monday I said goodbye to elder Aguirre and left for Xalapa, we arrived and stayed for a couple hours in the mission home until we ate little cesars and then café rio that night.  Man how I have deserved a little bit of american food. 

So then we got our new companions.  I knew as soon as he walked in the door... I was gonna end up with the kindof chubby nerdy kid with glasses that walks kindof funny. 

But to be perfectly honest he is an awesome guy and is really smart and already learning how to teach effectively. 

So things are going good here in Alamo, oh elder Aguirre is now a secretary the president wanted him close by.. pobrecito. 

Ya having fun, hope you guys dont get west nile virus.  Oh yeah you can get it multiple times in you life. 

Love you all.

 

OK sorry ELDER ADAN is my new companion he is fresh out of the MTC he is from mexico!

Oh and I am now the District Leader over all of Alamo and another city called Tihuatlan. so thats kinda cool but now I am even more busy that usual.

 

 

Hanging In Poza with the ZLs and Elder Ruiz I wasnt smiling cuz westnile sucks

 This made me laugh my head off cuz you know those arent real!

That face you make when you have chicuncuya

 

My four planners so far...

 So they had a big parade for independence day and we watched it cuz nobody was in their houses

 What the Bible REALLY teaches... Jehovas witnesses

A member who hopped in the parade cuz he bought a new motorcycle! I didnt have my camera the other time when I DROVE IT YEAHHHH

 Eating some good corn from a street vender

 The Poza Rica zone

Me and mijo Elder Adan

The Flood of 2015

Hey everybody!!! Well to be brutally honest the first couple of days this week was complete garbage... Monday was the start of it all with the whole Hermanas fiasco and then we had P-Day Tuesday so we got nothing done those two days.

So real quick before I forget we have been having baptisms I don't know why I don't write about them. My personal count is now 10.

Anyway wednesday my comp wanted to continue doing nothing for the rest of the week so dragging him around didnt really help and we only taught like one person.  And I do all the teaching.  But its ok... i guess.

THURSDAY things started looking up, the zone leaders surprise showed up at our house so you can only imagine the look on my companion's face when he saw us three all dressed up and him still in bed.  I tried to warn him but he only listens so much when he is asleep.  

We went on divisions and Elder Rojas and I went into the center of Poza Rica.  Elder Rojas is an excellent missionary and we had a lot of fun and found some new people.  

We taught this one investigator and she was a pentecostal woman who believes everything that the Zone leaders had taught her but didnt want to be baptized because she believes as long as she goes to a church she will be ok. 

I felt the impression to planch her a really uncommon prompting but I turned to matt 7 and told her that not everyone who believes and goes to just any church will be saved, and then to 2 Nephi 30-31 and planched her about being baptized.  

And she was like.  "Sabes que necesito que bautizarme" 

(You know what I need to get baptized) 

And so that was just a good little lesson.  

So It rained and rained and rained and then rained some more.  Like monsoon season in Vietnam, I know I go on about Vietnam but Im still not convinced that I am only in Mexico.  It rained to points where we were wading in water above my knees.  On the flat plane of Alamo, Almost half of the entire city was flooded.  WE GOT TO WORK IN SHORTS HOW COOL RIGHT!?!?!?!?!?

I took a LOT of pictures but never did dare ti take them when it was two deep but I will send them all.

Thanks everyone for you emails I hope you are all doing good.  I love and miss you all! 

Elder Andrew Basile

Riding on a members motorcycle to the other side of the town was really fun.

 Dont let the gangster look fool you the pizza here in Mexico is terrible.

This little chaparin is hilarious just cuz he is tiny and his voice sounds so funny. 

 Pancakes at the zone leaders house

Elder Rojas y yo

The whole gang

 We found these emoji pillows in a store and had to take pictures

 And this was only in the morning.

 Wasnt too bad in this street. 

 Yes we were walking through that... We dont get days off as missionaries haha

 Enjoying the empty streets to ourselves

  The mexicans were all freezing to death... it was like 70 degrees...

 This picture doesnt do this pig justice it is bigger than me.

And its face is way scary.

 There are a lot of strange statues here in Mexico.

 Nothing like a little candlight study when the lights go out. 

This house is super cool.  It is in the Hermanas area but we have all of alamo cuz they are gone now. 

Spot the Martian.  HAHAHA

Finally finished all the ink in this pen since the MTC. WHOOP!