Week 75- 17 Months in the Mission 7 months to go

   Well, I have a new camera. So I'm busy taking foots (photos) of everything. We had changes and I'm now with Elder Hernandez. He's from the coast Coatzacoalcos Veracruz. He has a change more than I do in the mission, and honestly he's a really good missionary. He works harder than any other missionary I know. He's always trying to find ways to squeeze out more success from the area. We are working really well together and well he's not perfect. Everyone has a little pride in them. But if there is anything I have learned in the mission, it's a lot of patience.

   Tomorrow I complete 17 months in the mission. I also started parting my hair from the other side of my head... something I  have never done before. We are contacting a lot in the street and preparing the area to start baptizing once a week. We have some pretty high goals as a mission and I  love the pressure of being an example to the rest of the mission.

  We've been taking a lot of cumveys this week which are hippy vans that they use as busses to haul 14 - 15 people across the city. We had to haul books of mormon to the stake center so we were jammed in a cumvey with 14 of us all smashed against the other. Luckily no one complained that we had a couple of boxes of books of mormon.

  Today we cleaned the house and took about 100 liahonas magazines and gave them away free to the people in the street. We still haven't figured out why we are not allowed into the forbiden part of our area, but soon we will solve the mystery. We have a lot of people with baptismal dates and we are working really hard. I love my mission right now. I feel like I'm serving with everything I've got. I'm sorry that my letters aren't that interesting anymore, but I'll have plenty of stories to tell when I get back home. Hopefully that point doesn't come soon. 

Loves, Elder Ordway

Week 74- Changes and Another Knife Danger

     So this week, another knife got pulled on us. We were walking through a really ugly part of our area at night..... and some guys walked up to us with their knife pointed right at me....Elder Seañez didn't see the knife se he kept walking and left me there...hahah...I thought I was done for real....but the Lord really came through. They let me go, without robbing me or anything.....I only had like 12 pesos on me and my camera was already stolen so they wouldn't have walked away with much. But we were protected.

      Besides from that we had some more interchanges this week. I went with Elder Cerros from Nicaragua to  his area it was a very slow day and we almost didn't do anything. He's a funny elder and he taught me some of his nicaragua slang... His companion elder Castillejos is 25 and he was sent on the mission without being able to read and write....he's a way humble elder, but he literally can't use the scriptures.

   Elder Albrechson, the Elder who replaced me in Culhuacan baptized my two investigators that I was teaching. Saul and Abel. It makes me really happy that they got baptized, that's what matters most is that they made a covenant with God. 

    In the changes, I'm staying here and I'm going to receive a new companion. Elder Hernandez. who has like one change more than I do in the mission. He's a way awesome elder from what I've heard and it was him that I replaced in culhuacan, when I got there, he left. Elder Seañez is going to be the new Assistant!!! there are a lot of old zone leaders in the mission and so the president is giving them a break and he called 4 new Zone leaders.

   The Districts that were disobedient literally got scatterd throughtout the whole mission. Each elder got sent to each zone..haha I dont think there should be a problem now... the funny part is each one got sent with an elder either super super obedient or a little gay, or weird. There all great elders don't get me wrong, but it was a sort of punishment

    Things are pretty dang good here in mexico, I'm really enjoying my mission. The pressure is on now with the baptism every week, but I'm feeling good about this new and improved zone. 

        Elder Ordway

Week 73- My Camera got Stolen

   So we went to a district meeting of the district in the zone that is most disobedient. It wasn't a pleasant sight. but hópefully the changes will get the district some new excitment. We had a good week, Elder Mcewan and  I had interchanges and some kid literally pulled a knife on me. We were walking and a kid about 12 years old comes up behind me and puts a knife in my back, and says  "camine y no te poncho" which means keep walking and I won't stab you. I wanted to break this kids arm, I have no idea what he wanted but once we arrived at the corner he ran off down the street. that was pretty exciting, but not so exciting as being able to listen to Elder Oaks!!

    Saturday morning we woke up at 5 and left the the temple to have a mission conference with Elder Oaks, the Metro was full of missionaries, because it was our mission and the mission chalco that was taken from our mission. I got to see a lot of my good friends that went to that mission and it was cool to see them all as district leaders. Zone leaders and secretaries. We talked for a while, and then they led us into the chapel/conference center place. We all got to shake his hand wich was really awesome. Never had I touched an apostle before nor ever had I been soo close to one. He spoke about how we must baptize weekly and teach the missionary lessons very deep, to make sure that everyone understands every single point of the doctrine, he spoke about how we need to contact and talk with people in the street and the the busses and metro, untill the members get the hold of things. that we had to show them with our own efforts that the work has been accelerated. It was really ediffying and I could feel the power of the spirit really strong in me. He really is a special witness of Jesus  Christ. We then had a special leadership meeting on this subject as well our Presidente. President Valadez....his mom died yesterday so he was hit pretty hard, he was crying in the leadership meeting......if you can pray for him., he needs it.

 Elder Seañez and I are working good. The area is getting a lot stronger, we found another cool family this week and we even gave them a tour of the church. We are still fighting to get some investigators married so that they can be baptized but I think that it is outside our hands right now. The Zone is doing well. I don't know if I ever told you guys but our Stake/ Zone is the single most oldest stake in the whole country of mexico, and so there are some members really old here, it's like San Pedro, members since the restauration. I think elder Seañez is gonzo this change because he now has 6 months in this area. and ....( I can tell he's getting a little sick of working here)

My camera was also stolen last tuesday. I was writing and I had to change computers, I left my camera in the other one. We left the cyber and when I realized that I had left my camera, we returned and it was already gone. the owner doesn't remember anything....luckily it wasn't the nicest of cameras, but this week I will buy a new one. }

Things are really good here in Iztacalco. I'm really happy being a missionary here. Sorry that I don't have pictures for this week. 

                                 Love Elder Ordway