Monday, June 29, 2009 -- Lots of Things

I have so much to say and so little time.

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It was great to read Jonny [Palmer]’s emails you sent me. It is interesting to see how he and I are having a lot of the same experiences, but specialy tailored to our individual needs.

This last week President Mendoza taught us that we have been fororedained to come to this mission, that the Lord has sent us here because the people (our mission president, our companion, the leaders of the wards, the members, and the investigators) and experiences we will face in the mission are what we need to mold our spirit and character to what the Lord wants them to be.

He also taught that we are here because there are people waiting specifically for us. It's great to know that Jonny and my other missionary friends are being molded to what the Lord wants them to be as well. I look forward to seeing them later and rejoicing in the fact that we are still brethren in the Lord.

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Mom asked about the heat here. There’s a lot. I’m greatful for the invention of sun screen, or I’d be a baked tomato every day. But the heat is just one of the trials of being in the furnace that purifies the gold.

We have bikes here in our area, but this week we decided to ditch them. It's true they help us to get to our appointments more quickly, but they also make talking with everyone more difficult.

Speaking of talking with everyone, my companion and I are on a quest. Our quest is a quest to find families. Here in the Mexico Monterrey East Mission we have a rule that any time we see a couple in the street, young or old, we make every effort to talk to them. My companion and I are following that rule every jot and tittle. Preach My Gospel teaches the importance of finding and teaching families who can support each other in living the gospel.

I saw how wonderful it is to teach a family with my experience with Los Montoya back in Juarez. So Elder Chuc and I have been searching. We have found a lot of couples, (in fact it seems like there are a lot more young married couples here in Mexico than in the United States, excluding Utah). We are hoping that our efforts will lead to finding many families to teach and baptize and bring to the temple, which is what missionary work is all about.

Angel walked to church again yesterday. In fact, he was expecting to get baptized. Apparently he didn’t understand when we told him he had to get married first. But tonight we are going to talk to his wife about getting them married. I hope and pray that it works out.

My district is improving. I have been trying to inspire rather than scold, and the Lord has blessed me for my efforts. Our district is full of potential and we are now starting to reach it.

The other day as we were walking along, I tried to talk to a woman in the street, but I soon saw that she couldn’t hear or talk. She is sorda muda, or deaf and dumb. So I pulled out a pass-a-long card and pointed to the word Jesucristo. I hope she understood the message. Unfortuntately we talk to lots of people every day who are sordomudo spiritually. It’s a good thing that through the Atonement we can be healed of all types of blindness, deafness, and dumbness.