Week 67- Bonus Letter

Hola Querida familia!! ( Hello Dear Family)

   We've been having a wonderful week, just nice and relax. There really isn't very much demand to have lessons like there always is, The President has given us these two weeks to relax a bit and take our foot off the pedal. But starting the new year we've all got to get back to work. The President just asked for all the less actives that have return to the area in the last year and the exact date that they came back to church. I'll be having to calling and researching papers all week, and calling elders from like a year ago. 

    We have changes this week and I think I'm leaving the area, I now have 4 and a half months here and I think my time has come to an end. If I do leave I'm really going to miss culhuacan. I've been the only one staying  when missionaries have been coming and going in and out of the district. Seriously now that I'm thinking about it. 8 Elderes/hermanas (sisters) have left the district and 10 Elderes have come into the district. Where I've just stayed the same...hahaha..I'm almot positive that Elder Johnson is going to be training this change, or at least he will be secretary or something. I don't take credit for how much he's been progressing, but he's a way good elder.

  I'm still a bit trunky after skyping with the Fam and Friends. I think my mission is going by way too fast now. I only have one call home left and one general conference in spanish left. We've been working really hard with Brenda, who has been reading and going to church every week, she probably will get baptised though in the next change, so I might now be here anymore. We have also been working really hard with some less actives and yesterday there was like 3 less active families.

   One of our investigators got chicken pox and he couldn't be around his wife all Christms, because his wife is pregnant right now and her baby has been having some troubles growing. We gave her a blessing though and from what I've heard, the next time she went to the doctor the baby had grown immensely. We literally gave like 8 blessings this week, and one little kid was completely healed, 2 minutes after the blesing. it was a miracle. 

   My prayers are alot more calmer and more important, I feel like I've learned how to understand my father in heaven, my will is being changed to be more like his.

   Happy New Year everybody. I'll make sure I let you guys know how man drunks there are passed out on the 1st. 

            Elder Ordway

Week 67

Hola Amigos. Feliz Navidad ( Hi Friends. Merry Christmas)

    Wow what an awesome week we had. I haven't been able to write in a while because so much has been happening, but really that's not that new in the mission. We've had some good weeks lately. The area is really strong, and we will be baptising 3 here very soon.  Today I completed 15 months... and it doesn't feel like it at all. By the look of my clothes though, they've taking a beating from all the walking... my jansport backpack has ripped, holes in my pants and so much sun is starting to turn the pants red. But there still holding strong, and they all last  till the end of the mission.

    I've been getting pretty good at giving District meetings. It took me a while to learn how to look at each area of the district and teach something applying to their need. I love my whole district. There is an elder in my district with a serious "alma" past life. He's got tattoos and what not on his body, but he turned his life around so much that he's now on a mission, but sadly because of his tattoos, he can only wear long sleeves. I love all the elders in my district and sadly one went home to his house this last week. Elder Salazar was sick ever since he left iztapala and regretably he had to go home for good, so he spent christmas in the hosptial in his house....

   Our Christmas was sooo ballin!!!! first off, on christmas eve eve, the zone leaders came to my district meeting and they told me that it was awesome. I felt really good, and on christmas eve, we woke up and went straight to painting this less actives house. I helped reactive a less active and we went to go paint her house, ALL Day we were there painting and painting. We kept taking brakes to eat, because every 10 minutes she would make us something to eat. We got our food that day stuffed to the gut. We went to go sing that day, because no one wanted us to come over haha. So all 8 elders went to this huge mall and after singing 1 verse of joy to the world, the police kicked us out. We went shopping and the best part of the year was skyping with my family and friends. I've got to say that skype is so much better than calling, being able to talk to everyone and see your faces makes it so much more special. Although it went by 8 times faster than normal.....we went to got brake piñatas that day, we went to a fairly poor family, but one of my favorites who only put sugar cane in the piñatas. Sugar cane is like a bamboo type of wood, that you chew and suck the sugar water out of. if you eat too much, supposedly it turns your teeth black. but it tastes like your eating just "sugar in water".....

   On christmas we went straight to Culhuacan's house. We brought our little burner and a bunch of food. We listened to music and danced and made food all morning. I ate like 9 oranges and french toast (which I haven't eating since 16 months ago) all morning. We then went to the church and played Volleyball, which is now a new possibility. Before we weren't allowed to play anything, but volleyball is the only sport, so for a good 4 hours we played 4 on 4. then for about 2 minutes we played missionary style rugby....but we stopped...haha...

   Today we got to go the visitors center here in Mexico City's temple.. It was soooo cool and really high tech, they have the first book of mormon in spanish and books of mormon in so many different languages. They trained us in how to give tours to our investigators. Elder Johnson and I have been putting the peddle down in looking for less actives and Old investigators. We have changes in 2 sundays, 

Loves all around Elder Ordway

Week 64

   While there is Snow in Oregon, there is Sunshine here. Mexico City has a really interesting wheather system. Right now it's decent temperature outside, nothing like how cold it was in Contreras a year ago. Here in the heart of the City it's alot more warm and only in the mornings in our aparment it's cold. We actually have to study with blankets rapped around us, but the moment we leave the house its warm again.

   Elder Johnson is sick again, I feel bad for the guy because I went through that same thing when I got here in Mexico, for example, we just got our Little one burner stove top thing, and we made Tacos de Chorizo, I really don't know what kind of meat it is but it's good. I ate three tacos and with the one taco that Elder Johnson ate, we had to call the doctor hahah....

   We had a straight miracle happen to us this week: on a day without success a week ago, we were looking for old investigators from years ago that looked decent. We knocked on a door and no one was home, a lady came from behind us and said that her husband wasn't home, we put a return date with her, having no idea who she was and who her "husband" was. This week when we came to visit them, turns out that they are less actives that moved into our ward from another state, they became less active 5 years ago, and they have a son now that wants to get baptised who is 9 years old!!. They are by far, the coolest family I have know here in Mexico, 

   I eat every time I go write you guys a cup of pineapple with salt and chili and lime, as they like it here in Mexico, Turns out too, that the whole week of Christmas, we will be able to sing as a district in big public parks, because no one was really home last year, the President has given us permission to take Christmas week slowly. or in other words, we barely have to work. There are no standards of excellence.!! I'll also be able to call home, whatever day during Christmas week.

   Elder Johnson just got his Christmas package and it came with a bunch of Christmas lights. We put them all up in the house and we played music while eating tacos. It felt like I was in Eugene Oregon.......just eating tacos.......We also had our Ward Christmas activity. Where it was a talent show by all the members, it was pretty dang awesome, as a lot of people here know how to dance salsa, mamba, bachata, and a bunch of other mexican/south american dances.

  We have a ton of work to do here in this area, and I'm so glad I'm a Missionary During Christmas, I'll be spending Christmas making french toast and hanging out with my dear District Elders that I love so much. Being a District Leader is the best ever. The only bad about it, is having to get on missionaries backs all the time for disobedience, or not working hard.

        Loves all around. Feliz Navidad 

                                                    Elder Ordway