I learned a ton this week. I really learned how to receive revelation. It's awesome when your just sitting in bed or studying or in a lesson and God is telling you something directly. I now carry a notebook on me wherever I go so that kids can draw with me and keep themselves busy, and so that I never miss a opportunity to write down what God wants me to hear. Seriously though I have one half of the notebook for words or cool frases and the other half for what God tells me. My testimony is so strong now in the gospel and how it can chagne people if they let God into their lives.
Me and Elder Mathis have filtered out all of the chosen chosen chosen people and are now working hard with those that need to get married and drop beer or cafe or stuff like that. Every single person here without fail has family problems and needs the gospel, just the traditions of the fathers is what keeps them from getting baptized and making covenents with God. We only have 2 more weeks of the cambio (transfers) untill one of us goes. maybe we will stay but normally you don't stay with your trainer for 4 cambios (transfers). I learned the hard way that planning in the mornings is too important to just forget about, however badly you don't want to do it. If you want the spirit with you bright the day, you need your studies and planning session.
I also heard and I might have already told you guys but they are going to open 8 more missions here in Mexico that's more than any other country in the world. 7 in brazil and 58 new missions total. I seriously feel like a boss that I am in the mission when I am, because when everyone arrives that are 18 and they open all the new missions I'm goign to have 10 months and it really touches me that the Lord is accelereating his work, before the second coming and all. We have been working really hard and it feels good to drop dead on my bed at 10 and be fast asleep till 6:30 the next day. I've never ever been tired at 9 before, but we hike and walk and run way too much here. I feel exhausted every day, but I feel good that I'm serving the Lord with all my strength, might, mind, heart, or however that goes. I'll admit it too, I'm scared to find out that some of my investigators are prepared to receive the gospel. They just want us at their house to be with the missionaries because everyone loves the missionaries once you get to talkin to them for a couple minutes.
Speaking of running. Me and Elder Mathis were booking it down the mountain of ocotal, when I stepped on a rock and twisted my ankle. It hurt like no other but we had to continue running to get the appointment. For 4 days it's been hurting but I don't have time or the patience to baby my foot. Sometimes in the nights it's really painful, but now it's almsot healed. I also had a really awesome experience with fast offerings: in church I only had 200 peso bill and didn't want to give all of that away, so I put 100 on the slip and wrote change on the envelope, after church, they normally go around giving people back their proper change. Well during fast and testimony meeting I heard a testimony on how when we trust in the Lord and give him temporal things we can be promised a recompensation. I felt impressed to scrible out the change and give all the money to the fast offerings. I turned it in and at the end of church the 2nd counsler gave me back change anyways. I didn't understand at first, but then I realized that I already wrote 100 on the fast offereing slip. although it's a little experience I learned that when God asks us to sacrifice a lot, and we trust in him to do it, well, he just wants to see that we were willing to sacrifice. I got my change back, but yet I was still willing to pay it. I thought at least it was a cool experience.
Also a menos activo (some what less active) sitting next to me felt the spirit super strong during fast and testimony meeting ( or just testimony meeting because not everyone fasts here, in fact hardly anyone. He ripped off his lip ring in sacrememnt meeting and said that he wanted to turn his life around and serve a mission. I was nearly crying, being able to see the spirit work miracles in people. I don't have fotos (photos) this week becasue I forgot to bring my card reader and usb drive, but I receive everyones letters and I got the two packages which was awesome. Sadly I have to much desire to give away all my stuff to people. I love butterfingers but I can't resist see the smile on someone's face when I say that I brought them american candy, but I've been craving some war heads and skittles. I am now a champ at making butterfinger peanut butter pancakes, literally the most delicios thing I've ever eaten. The language is still coming along nicely, but slowly. People really don't have troubles understaning me now and I now don't have fear to call people and try to understand them through all the terrible reception here. It's soo cold here that our gas tank doesn't work. All the gas goes to the bottom and so we have to warm up a bucket of water with a little water heating thing, I don't know how to explain it, but it's the worst. It doesn't matter how hot you can get it, because the instant that your not pouring water on you, the cold hair reacts with the water on your body and your freezing again. I never thought it would be cold here in southern mexico, but we are so high up and it's so dry here that you walk around and feel like it should be snowing. Also if it's too cold, people just decide to not go to church, becasue the church isn't heated so it's even colder than outside. It's as sunny as a summer day, so you get burnt while freezing, it really is the worst of two worlds put together. naw jk I love it here.
People are so cool and people aren't so afraid to give me spicy food. There is also a toy here called a trompo that they don't have in the United States. Me and Elder Mathis have been practicing and now we're really good we can catch it in our hands and do a couple of tricks. Maybe i'll video it or something. I'm sure you can find it on youtube. I feel like I have so much to learn and so little time, really the gospel of Jesus Christ doesn't end on how much you can learn and apply to your life, but like Eric Robinson said; the mission changes a man for the better, he adapts all characteristics of Christ and loses all the bad ones but keeps his personality. God doesn't send missionaries to their proper missions so that they can change their personality, and sorry for all my bad typing today, my fingers are soo cold and I don't want to waste any time trying to fix thigns that you guys would understand anyways. I've learned a really awesome way to eat an orange becasue you eat like an orange a day here and you need to be skilled to eat it with out a knife. Also there have been less drunks and people passes out lately. Only like 4 times a week now when it was every day before. I think it's because the holdiays are over, but not for the catholics. Uggg when I think of catholics I think of Satan, I'm sorry if anyone catholic is reading this, but really apostacy on steroids. They have a holiday every week, day of the virgen, day of the shoe day of the mule ( that one is real) day of the day, day of the day again. also every saturday is party day, where everyone comes out and parties and no one has school or work so everyone is drunk.
It really is the best mission in the world. We should have 3 baptisms this week but they didn't come to church and so me and Elder Mathis had to make the tough decision to push back there date a week, even though they pass all of the needs to be baptized. I can't think of the word in English. if they dont dar frutos de su arrepentimiento (they don't repent) , then they really shouldn't be baptized, we have to think of the Lord's will than ours.
Really I love you all and I'm sorry that I'm not personal, now that I have stamps though I'm going to start writting more to you all. Keep up the good work and one day we will all walk through the temple together.
Love MIchael!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment