This week

So Im just gonna send pics this week cuz it was really hard and I dont feel like writing sob stories HAHA.

It was so good to talk to the family on Skype!!!

This door actually must take you to Hogwarts... Because other than that it is completely useless next to those huge open archways haha

Just driving the bus you know me always like to be in control.

This peacock is way cooool!

So I got an Apron that says elder basile on it... And Im pretty much an apron model.

 This is Nery a ward missionary who is getting ready to serve his own mission.. He went all way to the temple in Mexico City with the ward and was sure to finally buy a ward missionary nametag.. you guys will never understand how much being a missionary means to him it is so crazy and wonderful.

 "Yeah it took me like a whole hour to get the shading on the upper lip right" -Napoleon Dynamite

Everyone is drunk here this time of year... Even the scarecrows.

Elder Adan bought me some SW action figures for Xmas.  Yes I was excited haha

The Zone christmas activity

Elder Campos in the "dad" of us three in the middle and "grandpa" of the bookends he goes home the 6th!!! It was so good to see him.

Feliz Christmas

So hello Everyone... This week has been really... like crazy emotionally exhausting and uplifting all at the same time... Im just going to share some certain experiences with you guys.

So to start off we met this guy in the park a couple weeks ago and he said he wants to hear the missionaries and be mormon and believe it or not we get that alot.  Anyway he lives like 20 minutes out of town where we cant afford to go two to three times a week, but we got his number and said we would call.  So we forgot about him kindof... I know how aweful, and we went to the Tijuana Temple dedication at the stake center about an hour away and he sent me a message saying that he and his friend were at the chaple in alamo but there didnt seem to be anybody around. I cannot even begin to describe the pain and sadness I have felt.  We have had little to NO new investigators that were even slightly interested and so we have done so much searching it is just ridiculous and Im dead.  So yeah we felt really bad.  But..........

HE HAS BEEN THE BIGGEST BLESSING.  He comes to the chapel during the week to take the discussions and brings FRIENDS AND FAMILY to the church and to lessons.  He has just really been an answer to our prayers.  His name is German... (Hermaan) 

Another thing cool was later that night after teaching german we were really tired and we werent having a lot of success and we were starving and it was late and we were like ok lets go get tacos we dont have time for a lesson.  Well we passed this blue house with a huge dirt lot in front of it so it was kindof far away and this little thought... like almost not even a thought told me to contact them.  Well it wasnt really a crazy impressions so I kindof just kept walking and we were around the corner when the same tiny touch of a though came again to talk to them.  So I was just like... Maybe this is the spirit talking, but I dont think so.  But we went and contacted them and the result was marvelous, and I use marvelous because we dont use that word a TON in english.  The man at first was like I dont really go to church or want to neither does my family, and I was like

Oh you live with a lot of family

Yes... But none of us get along my wife or my daughters and it is really tough for me.  But anyway yeah we dont go to church because as long as you believe GOD will save us.  

Ok pues sepa esto hermano que realmente eso no es cierto JesuCristo estableció una iglesia en la tierra muy especifica con doctrinas y mandamientos en los cuales bendicen nuestras vidas y en torno nos ayudan ser salvos. Pero lo que pasa es que tenemos que seguir estos mandamientos como guardar el dia de roposo y intonses podemos recibir estas bendiciones. 

shoot hahhaha I just realized I started writing in spanish, haha

We basically I wrote about how the gospel blesses families if we apply ourselves to the gospel and go to church and obey the commandments. 

He let us in and we taugh all their family and they were all attentive and all expressed their desires to change and be more united as a family and we had just a wonderful lesson completely guided by the spirit wow It still blows my mind, Its like I didnt ever have to think the words just came out.  And they came to church this week and are going to progress just amazing. 

To be honest I have changed so much.  Im not lazy anymore, I am not irresponsible anymore, Im actually kindof a go getter and It makes me really happy because I feel like I am developing habits that are really going to affect me for the better for the rest of my life.  

Im really enjoying teaching too, like... Knock on wood... lately I have been so intune with the spirit that the lessons have been so dynamic and I find and alleviate people's questions and doubts so fast that Im just loving it right now... now watch I say that and this week is gonna kick my butt.  

But yeah I think Im pretty different from when I left which is a good thing, like Im still me but Idk I just feel different.  

Anyway I love you all and hope you have had a great week thanks for all the emails! 

 

The ward Christmas party was fun!!

 We did divisions last week this is a giant well.

Just headed to visit some investigators.  

 Nanas package!!!

The Family´s package!!!

Yes look at those chickens.

I held them in my hands 

The baptismal font in Tihuatlan where there is only a house of prayer for that branch of 40 members.

Elder Brooks in the "Chapel" haha

When you are out proselyting and you walk passed the tree of life.........

 

Four months this week

Wow so is anyone else like ¨Wow Andrew has already been out four months this saturday¨  Cuz I know I have said the exact same thing on several occasions.  (Only speaking of myself in the third person just a few times)

So I just love speaking spanish, I dont know why, Its just fun.  

So this week was really tough, like I feel like Im back in basketball season where we woke up everyday at 5 and practice in the mornings and are physically drained all day everyday.  We do a lot of walking... Like a lot we have a city about the size... well probably a little bit bigger that hurricane that is our area and we walk from one end to the other just about everyday. And to travel to the stake center is about an hour away in bus so we blow a bunch of money on that and we went to our Christmas conference there so we didnt have any money to take taxis this last week so yeah what Im trying to say is I AM TIRED OF WALKING.  And I am in a mission without cars and have 20 months left of this. 

And the worst part is, is the dang West Nile Virus that is still in my system started acting up again in my feet and so it has been just a joy as of lately.  But to be honest the hardest part is that nobody wanted nothing this week... Like I was really struggling trying to wrap my mind around this mission thing and why we go and look for people, and what I was doing wrong.  

I did a lot of praying and I received the answer that I wasnt talking to enough people, and of course I was like claro que si Im talking to enough people but still that kept coming to my mind so this week we changed from talking to like 300 people to like 800 and you know what we found three new people that I really think are going to be really good.  The craziest part was those people were the ones that I was like nah we dont need to talk to them, but then something was like bruh claro que si you need to talk to them, and we did.. and it was good.  

One thing that has really been on my mind a lot is the frase in the Book of Mormon ¨Oh how quick are men to forget the LORD their God.¨  And that is so true even us missionaries, I will pray for something and receive it and be all prideful like Im the one who made that happen and then later I will remember my prayer and be like wow how terrible of me to literally FORGET of the help, the LITERAL HELP that God gave me.  

Anyway Im tired of writing.. I really am doing good dont let me make you think otherwise Im having fun and time is flying.  

I have some birthday shoutouts that I would like to Send out 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA REDDD!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDPA DONNNN!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA MARCIAAAA!!! 

I love you all and wish for the best for everyone.

Yeah Its upside down I dont know how to rotate it, but this was dinner at the Christmas Conference! It was pretty fun.

 YESSSSS! I love boxes of candy... Especially American candy.

2 Mas Bautismos WHOOP

Hey everybody so this week isnt going to be crazy long.

So being district leader is like this, you get to do some really cool things and travel all over the place and talk with all the missionaries and their investigators and have some very special experiences, but the tradeoff is you spend a bunch of money traveling and you are constantly having to fix people's problems and every two seconds you are on the phone.  

But to be honest wow the spiritual experiences have literally at times BLOWN MY MIND. 

Speaking of spiritual experiences this whole week has just been full of them, and I am at the point where I have 100% confidence that my prayers will be answered as long as I am praying for what I need, I cant explain to you guys the trust that I have in the LORD right now.  We can get on our knees to pray and what we ask for will literally come to pass, and that makes me so happy ugh, I just wish I had the words to explain it.  And to be honest if everyone just exercises their faith it can be like that for everyone.  Yeah, Im sure you guys are like, no missionaries get extra help but to be honest, I think he just helps us as missionaries in different and sometimes more direct ways.  I really want to encourage everyone to have complete confidence in their prayers.

So this week we were out contacting and we met this woman who was really bagging on us because all we talk about it our god Joseph Smith, and how we don't believe in God or Jesus, and how she has talked with many many missionaries because she isn't mean enough to turn them away, and that she has gone to church a couple times and was disgusted because of our lack of faith in Jesus Christ and only believe in our god Joseph Smith.  

I had to laugh and tell her that she in fact lied to me and had never talked to the missionaries or gone to church and how we DON'T worship Joseph Smith, but HEAVENLY FATHER and his son JESUS CHRIST.  

At first she was taken aback at that I called her out but then she admitted it but likes to much to got to a church just down the street from her house because she can worship whatever day she wants.

Anyway, that just made me laugh, thought I would share it with you.  

We baptized two ladies this week, Eva Vasquez and Veronica and her sister and WOW their testimonies just blow me away and they only have been taking the discussions for like a month.  

Anyway hope everyone is doing good.  I Mom and Dad and Nana and the girls are, Im pretty jealous not to have gone to the NFR but I guess it's alright.  

Speaking of which Happy Birthday Nana! 

Love you all and miss you thanks for all the emails they make my mondays so much fun.

 So I let my hair grow out a little bit Im gonna cut it soon I think.

We got this free cuz we reactivated a guy who works at a smoothie place.  

Elder Ruiz from peru and I just hangin at Zone Conference

Just look at the sign

Just the uglies cartoons I have ever seen hahaha

Ward night with all the homies

BAPTIZZZZZZMMMMMMZZ