August 26, 2013

 

 Our zone had a carne asada lunch for p-day and since not a single person knew how to start a charcoal fire.... well I took over! ha was way fun and of course good food.... I cooked!

 

 

                                  well self-explanatory..... ducks and I walked with them

 

 

this is me..... getting fatter.... and my companion walking down a highway that crosses through our area 

August 26, 2013

Well sorry for the neglect on the blog letters lately... let’s get started!

The weeks have been flying by! I hate it. It seems already the mission is going by too fast and coming to an end and well it’s just begun!

I finally at a very comfortable level with my Spanish, I love that I can understand and joke and really put my heart into a lesson! Also I’ve really bonded with my zone now that I can speak and it has just been a good time! I hope and pray that I can lose track of time just so that I can forget how soon I’m going home!

The work is coming a long! The week started off slow but slowly progressed and now we have 6 dates for baptism.... however only one showed to church so boooo!  We prayed and made a list yesterday of every investigator, member and recent convert that did show to church and spent our day (walking a ton) and going around and calling all to repentance haha in a kind way of course!

Well I had a cool experience last week that I didn’t get to share so here it is! ....

I woke up one morning and had a thought of a past sin .... something way old and slightly insignificant.... something I could have forgotten about and said.. .well that is the past and I feel like I’ve been forgiven... but this morning I couldn’t focus and just felt off.... so I began to practice the 5 steps to repentance that I teach often! Instantly I felt a burden lifted.... I didnt want anything to hinder the spirit in my teaching and nothing did. I wanted to be the happiest possible and I was.... why? Because I was quick to act, I saw a problem and I fixed it. Sometimes this is a hard lesson to learn... it was for me, but gracias a la expiacion I have been able to solve problems, get on with life and receive the happiness God intends for man. I want to speak plainly and directly.....YOU WILL NOT BE HAPPIER THAN WHEN YOU ARE COMPLEATLY CLEANSED FROM SIN. There is a great plan in store for each and every one of us and it all start with the atonement. I have seen in my life and the lives of those I teach that there is no greater blessing than to find confidence in the Lord.... He suffered every pain imaginable and then more for YOU. Do not be so stupid as to waste this blessing and flush your happiness for a mere sin...... IT IS NOT WORTH IT.  Don't fix it later, fix it now... this second you turn to someone and begin to work it out and I promise the second you do so how great shall you burden be lifted... and the more cleansed we are the better we can work by the spirit.... what greater gift is there than this? none.

I know these thinks are true....I’m not sure who needs to hear this but I’m impressed to share it... so if it's you, get on it... why sacrifice another second of our lives in the burden of something that can be so simply fixed? I leave these things for you to ponder in the name of Jesus Christ amen!
Love you all and talk to you next week!

August 19,2013

August 19,2013

Tampico Temple-a picture I took while in Tampico for my visa last Monday

A new investigator's house

downtown Mante

 

Well, I had a really cool experience and a good spiritual thought prepared but I don’t have time for it today ... it’ll have to be the next week sorry!

But all is well here. It was a blazer this week .... super hot! The work started off slow but picked up and now we  have 5 more investigators, all of which have baptismal dates ... let’s hope they don’t fall through!

And it’s official.... I’m not coming home ha... .I’m already sad for the day I leave and am trying to forget how much time I have in the mission so I don’t have to think about how fast time is passing! ...

Hope all is well and have a very wonderful week!

-

August 12,2013

The area way out in the sticks

A house for a family that we contacted...pretty poor but typical for our area...very humbling

Me walking on water!!

Hola todo!

This week was a good one the weather cooled and we got some rain... kinda reminded me of Hawaii!

Anyways I proved myself as a Mexican this week as I downed one of the hotter peppers they have. It was one my Mexican comp wouldn’t eat! whoo ha!

I has been a great blessing as well that I haven’t had any stomach problems or as Dawson would say ¨travelers¨ diarrhea haha.... because there are a lot of gringos here that are constantly having problems with those sorts of things.

Our problem this week in teaching lessons was investigators who can’t read because they were never taught.  It is hard because how can you gain a testimony if you can’t read what we’re teaching?! Well, we have a way, by reading with those who want to know... it’s like story time for our investigators ha!

This week I found a lot more confidence in my Spanish. It began with the assistants.... they visited our area and stayed in our house (because we have the nicest pad of the missionaries in Mante ha) I was able to talk with them well and they were impressed with how well I can speak for my time here! The second thing that helped me realize my progression was in church. One of the talks didn’t show and we had fifteen min left. The bishop spotted me and said we will now hear from elder Stoor. Well this was a surprise to me and I began to pray! Twenty min latter the bishop is telling me to finish.haha  It was a good experience... I just hope everyone understood the message I wanted to get out. Lastly was today! We were playing sports with the zone and I was talking and making fun and really making a Mexican out of myself haha. All is well here in Mante and I’m loving it!

The work struggled this week a bit but we got to go to our area como bien lejos and visit some less actives and references.... was really out in the hills... nice and quiet and friendly!

We also got caught in some major rain and that’s the pictures I have of the area and me walking on water.

Not a whole lot of time today but know all is well and thank you for your prayers and support!

August 5, 2013

 

Me in Mante

This is my church building which is relatively new...one of the nicest spots in Mante ha! And pretty small...a little different than ours back in the states 

Using my brand new concrete weight set and our ironing table for my bench haha!

 

 

August 5, 2013

This week has  been a good one. It started out with getting rear ended in our taxi right after writing my emails! Luckily it wasn’t too bad. My comp accidently punched me in the back of the head and he got a bit of whip lash but for all the better the ride was free! ha!

 

Also this week we had two lessons that were kind of a bible bash which was interesting... however it’s funny that people are willing to tell us how Joseph Smith is of the devil and that only the bible is true and all that jazz when in reality none of them have ever investigated the church nor read in full the bible or even know it well. Because of these experiences I want to share a little this week on the power of a testimony.
In the event of someone wanting to bible bash we are supposed to hold questions for the end of the lesson. First we teach, bear testimony and hope they feel the spirit. Well, more or less this is what we did. We taught and bore testimony. It is cool to see the power and the silence a testimony can bring into a lesson. Because of this I invite you to focus on your testimony and try to find one event this week where you can share it with someone else!

 

First, however, to have a strong testimony we need to have strong faith. With faith we can accomplish nearly anything necessary. I have seen the power and miracle of my faith in the mission and can testify that with faith and if we can truly tell the Lord in prayer that ¨thy will be done¨ and give up our whole hearts unto him, we will NOT find more happiness.  An example- I fasted this week for several things one of which was for my Spanish. After my fast I almost immediately saw and reaped the blessings from this. On that day and consistently throughout the week I was picking up and saying words that I didn’t know the context... hadn’t learned.. and the organization of my sentences. What a blessing this was that I was able to bless more the lives of my investigators through Spanish. They could better understand and it was  all because of faith the sustaining  from food for a bit.

 

Because of this I want to testify to you that through our simple acts we can truly reap those blessing that the Lord has in store for us. It is a bit like a candy machine.... there is candy there waiting for us but first we have to pay... whether that pay is though a sacrifice or prayer or whatever it may be we can receive that candy. So put forth the effort... give your all and I promise with a little time you will be able to see the ease and joy we can find in life through Christ. This is what I want share with you all in the name of Jesus Christ amen..

tengan un buenisiomo semana!