PAPANTLA

OK so first I am SUPER BUMMED to have forgotten my camera! GAAAAAAHHHH cuz I took a lot of pictures and was super excited to show you guys!  But youll just have to wait to next week.

So I am here with Elder Villa in Papantla, he is sooo sick, and Papantla is so cool we are up here in the mountains and so it is really tough like walking up all the hills and finding people but I LOVE IT AND I DONT EVEN KNOW WHY?!?! 

We are working really hard and finding some people, last night after fasting to find a family we talked with a member and he took us with just the best little family of three and we had such a spiritual lesson from start to finish.  

So the missionaries from Papantla are super bummed out cuz they havent been having a lot of success and so President called me and told me that I have to get everyone out of their slump of not finding and baptizing.  So I am really trying to stay super excited around everybody and keep them motivated and towards the end of the week everybody was getting super excited....or maybe just acting super excited around me so I wouldnt say anything.. who knows.

I am really happy, our house is big WE HAVE AIR CONDITiONING WHAT IS UP WITH THAT?!?!?! 

The mission is just going good right now.

Well I gotta go we are leaving here for zone leader conference so I dont have really any time this week but.. I love you guys be happy

Thanks for all your emails.

Pics

Hey guys I dont have really any time this week cuz I am getting transferred.  But here are some pics.  I am going with Elder Villa in the Zone Papantla still as a zone leader, so we will fill you all in next week.

Had some good Helado (Ice cream)

Upside down, but one of my last days with my DL E. Herrera, he's a carnal (bro)

We all went and ate at a brazilian restaurant today because Elder Neilsen and I are getting transferred to Papantla.... 

Hangin in the heat

A LAAWWWNG old week

So the week was just like the title laaaawwwwnguh, but it wasnt a bad week just long.  So we have been working pretty hard but here in our area it is super hard to find people to teach-- go figure for mexico-- like generally we have a new investigator like once every week or two.  And we have baptized a lot so we are running out of investigators so we have been working really hard to find new people.

We walk around contacting as many families as possible and the keep "mandandonos a la goma"  We is just being very abrupt or rude and denying us like crazy.  BUT WE MUST PRESS ON!

We are doing good tho and are going to baptize a couple this sunday, they are so cool.  Jorge and Luisa.  

Well, it is crazy weather too, Hurricane Daniella has hit as far inland as here in Poza so it is super rainy and wet.  We couldnt even wash our clothes today for lack of a place to dry them.  

So I am rewearing all my clothes... Just kidding I have extra.. for now.

Not a lot new, just hanging tryna find teach and baptize.  I cant write a lot today cuz I dont have a lot of time.  

But I love you all.  Happy Fathersday to any of you Dads out there!

Happy Fathers day home dog

And to Father Domingo too

Love you Dad!

How it looks here in the afternoon

 See if you spot the fish in this crystal clear water here in Mexico

Elder Firth when home today, we ran him over to the bus station at 4am

The burning in the buzzom you get when you cross this bridge is undeniable

Mission

So this week was super long.  We went to leadership conference where we as zone leaders were basically booby trapped by the asistants for not doing our job and being good examples and baptizing.  

Well, that kindof was harsh and so I wasnt to happy about it.  They do have a point though because almost none of the zone leaders baptize these days.  My companions and I have been very blessed to be baptizing frequently and so I guess it didnt affect me as much as the others but still it was kindof strange.  

And then to make matters worse President was going over those who baptize the most in the mission and he was admonishing the other zls for not baptizing, then he said.

"Elder Basile thank you for being the only one who baptizes every week in the mission"

And that was the moment everyone decided I was the most prideful worste guy on the planet. 

In that very moment everyone looked at me, with eyes red full of hatred.  

I DIDNT EVEN GET TO ENJOY THAT MOMENT HAHAHA 

So I felt pretty garbage.  But then I realized that it was ok.  It doesnt matter if people hate me or not.  If I am doing my job and doing it good and completeing I dont need to worry. 

But it would have been better if he would have wanted to congradulate me over the phone or email or something. 

I think everyone is over it now though.  Some of them have started talking to me again. HAHAHA

We did have another baptism this week and it was pretty fun because we had one from us and the other elders in the ward aswell.

Well thats about it.  We had some good weather this last week so that was good too.  

Well thats it hope you all had a great week.  

 

Cool week

So this week was perhaps the longest week of the mission for me.  But it wasnt that bad.  We were just all over the zone doing interviews and just the normal zone leader stuff.  So my assignment is literally to "train" E. Dominguez how to be a zone leader.  And it is a lot harder than I thought.  We have been companions for almost a month and I am working really hard with him and he like knows everything to do...just is scared to death to make decisions for the zone.  So at times you have to encourage him to go with his gut.

The upside to Elder Dominguez is on the work and proselyting side of things, he is VERY GOOD and supportive and we gel quite well in teaching and contacting people.  

So we have just been all over the place out of our area and so every day we have been SUPER rushed to get some good solid work done.  

One thing however I have learned is.  The only number that really is important is the number of people that your truly help be converted.  You can have a hundred lessons and nobody in church and it serves you nothing.  But if you have only 10 lessons and 8 in church one confirmed and another baptized, you are doing well with what you have.  

It gives me a lot of peace of mind to have finally realized that, especially being in one of the hardest areas in the mission.  I actually am blessed to have been put here because it teaches me to be diligent and to truly VALUE the time we have to preach the gospel.  

Doing divisions this week E. Neilsen and I had a very wonderful experience with a member who has a very sick three week old baby boy. 

From the lack of sleep they both have because he cant breathe very well and she cant rest knowing her baby is in pain she began to cry just thinking about the suffering of her little boy and the painful medicines they have to inject into him to help him.  

We gave them both blessings, and never have I seen the spirit work so powerfully in my life.  

The priesthood is a very real thing.  It is true power to heal with faith.

In that moment I dont know if I would have known that God was any more real had he stood in front of us.  

The church is very true, you just have to exercise faith and you will see the literal miracles of the spirit and the priesthood.

Wow is all I can say about the beauty of this gospel.

Thanks for all the emails I love you all sorry I wont be able to respond this week we are going to leadership council in Xalapa. 

So it was raining so hard one morning water started leaking.

 Pretty skies.

Mission correlation meeting.

 When you have a baptism after church and this is what happens from all the rain.

 Yadira got baptized and her daughter is going to get baptized next week so we are pretty excited.

 

 

 

 

Planched by a General Authority

So Im not going to lie, this week was probable one of the best weeks I have had in a while.

I was pretty frustrated from the lack of lessons and success that we had had the week before and that we ended up getting denied by like 9,000 people (no thats not an exaggeration) when you dont have lessons you talk to a lot of people. 

But things turned around, we had done divisions with Elder Herrera from Mexico city a very good missionary ex-zone leader so he knows the deal pretty well, and he was pretty frustrated aswell, but through all the conversations we had had we decided we needed to fast to get things truned around.  

So we did, anddddddd it worked, like always.  :/

Every monday I download like 5 or 6 general conference talks and listen to them a lot throughout the week and I had ended up downloading from only President Uchtdorf and Elder Holland for some reason, AND OUT OF THE 7 TALKS I DOWNLOADED ALL OF THEM WERE ON THE SAME TOPIC.  Being grateful, for the blessings and challenges of life.  

I could have sworn President Uchtdorf was talking directly to me for 45 minutes straight, I even think he said Andrew a time or two.

I did A LOT of repenting, and I am not ashamed to say that.  A LOT.  And now I am really happy.

We have investigators now, and a family that came to church for the first time that is so cool.  My companion is really cool now and not so shy, and I have realized that all the sweat helps me to detoxicate my body.  ITS ALL A BLESSING.

I am like so happy now, who would have thought that a general authority could planch I guy 3 years later through a little speaker while I guy was getting ready in the morning.  HAHA

But yeah that was about it for the week, we worked hard and had some fun.

Divisions w/ E. Fernandez de Panama

and then with his companion E. Herrera de D.F.

 After the members serve you Eagle Eggs

 This tree is cool upside-down

Going to interviews with E. Neilsen in a hot bus=chido

Petromex

 The coolest chapel in Poza Rica

 E. Garcia gave me his old Book of Mormon case made of Llama hyde.

Burgers

More burgers

Transfers and 9 months

So we got transfers all over with and I did pass the 9 month mark and so thats fun.  Elder Dominguez is a very nice guy, but Idk there is just something funny about him, he is a little different.  But is a very hard worker and I appreciate the help.

I just realized after this transfer I will have spent almost half my mission as a zone leader.. here in Poza Rica.

I am not going to lie, this week was very hard, and very hot.  It is really weird how it is like something that you dont get over hahahah.  

I got a little frustrated because of all the walking we have been doing and then the secrataries "accidentaly" turned off our phones and so all the traveling and communicating with the DLs really beat me up without a phone, and then the assistants were wanting us to waste the last of our money to go to a little town way out of the way to get the totalsfor the week because their phone got turned off too.  

And so it just felt like everything was falling apart this week, we even had a baptism and I dont even feel good about the week.  

Im sorry for complaining, this wasnt that awesome of an email.  Just being a Zone Leader without a phone isnt easy. 

We baptized Raymundo he is cool.

Elder Neilsen and E. Bernal Baptized as well. P.s thats not E. Neilsen with us.

 Saying goodbye in the bus station.

Goodbye dinner with some members.

I love you guys you are all awesome, just be happy for me :D

Another Transfer... Still in Poza Ric(heck)a

So there isnt a lot to write about so I will keep it super short.

Transfers came again, and I am still in the hottest zone in the mission, whoop!

I am still zone leader and my companion Elder Hernandez is going to Papantla a really cool zone about an hour away, but he doesnt want to stop whining about that.  But its ok, Elder Dominguez is coming and this is gonna be his first time as a zone leader so we will have some fun learning together.  

We didnt baptize this week but we are goingto the next couple of weeks so I am still happy to be here.  

ONE THING I AM SO GLAD I HAVE LEARNED.

Is to be honest, you dont have to be the best in everything, just let the other person feel good if people are talking good about them, and dont brag.  It gets old... After EVERY. DAY.  

With that said Elder Hernandez was pretty fun to be around, and we got along well, but that is honestly because I learned to hold my tongue.  A. Lot.

He is a prodegy but didnt know humility so he taught me how it looks to be "better than eveyone in everything"

I am sorry I am venting, it just all kinda piled up on me till today and I am just kindof letting out a lot of hot air.  

We really did do a lot of good work together.

Another lesson that I love and that I learned is if the gospel isnt helping you or you dont feel like it is... STOP and simplify the way you are using it.  

Stop with the extravegance.  Pray sincerely and honestly.  Read 1 chapter of the book of mormon once a day. Go to church, 3 hours once a week.  LIVE ALL of the commandments.  Repent to feel good again and especialy to FEEL the effects of the atonement. And think about Jesus as often as possible.  

Those are pretty broad subjects with short titles but if we stop and simplify the gospel in our lives... THATS WHEN we feel the real love of the savior, and from that we can begin to build upon that base.  But always return to that base when necessary and stay there for AS LONG AS YOU NEED!

I love you all and hope you guys are having a great day

thanks for the emails!

Reunited with Elder Rojas

Big huge bug

Pizza with E. Neilsen

Last week of the transfer

So we are starting off the last week of the transfer here and I... kinda wanna go but I dont believe I will, It would be pretty cool to escape the heat a little bit.

But in light that my companion has had one more transfer in the city of Poza Rica than I have we have been trying to build up the area as best we can because Im not feeling like getting hung up hi and dry.  

So we had another baptism this week and it was super good, the lady was in another ward and then moved and we kept teaching her, and when she was asked who she wanted to baptize her she said one of the missionaries from that first ward of a few weeks ago, so that was fun to have them there.  

I dont really know what to type about....hmmm... I really like being a missionary.

I think one of the coolest parts about dedicating onesself to the gospel 24/7 is the spiritual developement, and learning how the spirit speaks to us... I have been very sweetly suprised to realize that, he talks A LOT.  And very specifically if needs be.  BUT, that comes from our willingness to listen to him.

Listening to the spirit and ACTING on his impressions are probably one of the most important lessons we should learn in this life.  Learning this and acting on it takes the title "Constant Companion" to a whole new level really.  And it helps us understand that God intends for us to never be alone.  

I honestly feel like my eyes have been opened just a little bit more on the wide picture of the gospel that we have the privalege of viewing.

Well thats it.

Listen to the spirit

And when it comes to drugs

Just say no.

My life has just ended

so in an atempt to email more pictures to all of my adoring fans... the computer had some glitch, and all of my photos have been erased.

I only have pictures from half of my time on the mission saved on a backup usb

I am too sad to cry.

Ancient Ruins

 So we went to Tajin today!  They are ancient mayan ruins! So that was pretty fun it was kinda nice to get out of the noisy poza rica and into a little bit more of nature!

So I am not going to write a long letter this week, because we are about out of time butttt, we did have a baptism.  I cant even describe to you the happiness that all the ward felt in that tiny room for their baptism, even her non member family came, everyone was so happy it was just the best!

Its really funny, I apply myself to this being a missionary a lot and as a zone leader I really work hard to be able to help everyone and its just a real crack up when I give someone a suggestion and they dont even do anything about it.  I feel like how Mom and Dad must have felt with about half the things they always told be to do and I never did.

  But its always hilarious to hear them say, Oh wow Elder Basile you were right!  

And Im not trying to be prideful, that just happened a lot this week haha.

One thing I will say like many church leaders have always said is, not to just hop up right after asking a question in a prayer, wait a little bit, like 5 minutes if you have to, and if you still havent found out, go to the scriptures.  It doesnt make sense why we would turn away from the spirit super fast after asking for impressions and inspiration.  Anyway Im sure the majority of you all know that.  

Im gonna send pictures 

I love you all and thank yhou so much for the emails I LOVE hearing about everybody!

Basically machu pichu

Dont know if I already sent these ones but it was super cool.