Happy Thanksgiving

Hey this is going to be a short message.  Transfers came and I'm going back to Martinez de la Torre as a zone leader..... YAY.  That really came as a shock to me.  I didn't think I was ready to be zone leader yet but I guess my President thinks other wise. Ahhah but I'm going to do my best and be ready and humble to learn a lot.

So I'm finally leaving Poza Rica after 6 long and incredible months in my area. I have met so many people here that I have truly come to love over the last couple of months.  I will always have a special place in my heart for the people I have met here. What wonderful blessing the mission truly brings. How wonderful the Lord is for letting me have the chance to meet these people, to love them, to cry with them, and to watch the gospel change their lives.  I love being a missionary woooooo!  I hope all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving back in the states.  It's truly a wonderful time to draw closer as as a family.  Love one another and eat an extra turkey leg for me. ;) Love you guys! More to come next week!

No Pain No Gain

Hello my fellow Americans! Life is good and chugging along as usual. And well this week was a little more painful and a little bit out of the norm, but it was still full of miracles and good tidings.

First and foremost, I had another ingrown taken out and it was more or less infected.... so that was just GREAT.  Best part, in order for more toe to heal and the infection to go way I had to walk with a sandal on one foot most of the week.  Long story short there were many heads turned and finger pointing....  so that was that.

But that didn't stop me from giving my all to the Lord.  And so my companion and I went out and worked like nothing happened.  We went and visited one of our investigators that we hadn't seen in a while.  We got to the house and it didn't look like they were there, so we went to check the side of the house to see if we had any luck there because that's usually where they received us.  While looking around our investigators giant rottweiler comes out of nowhere and bit me on the finger!!!  We quickly ran to the nearest members house and they put alcohol and hydrogen peroxide and the whole deal on it.  Luckily it was tied up and could only reach my finger and not my arm or leg because that would have been super chafa.

So yeah this week was a little more painful than the rest.  We are teaching this golden investigator named Margarita who is progressing super well.  She knew a ton about the gospel before we even met her, even most of the missionary rules.  Her boyfriend is a member return-missionary and basically all of her coworkers are faithful members of the church and they help us out a lot.  She already knows the church is true but she doesn't know what day she wants to get baptized. But my companion and I are praying and fasting that she'll stay strong for her goal.

This is the last week of the transfer and I'm really nervous about leaving my area next transfer. I really love it here in Poza Rica, everyone is super nice and I've gotten to know every member in my area on a personal basis.  But I'll do what the Lord wants me to do always. Whether it be in here in Poza Rica or somewhere else. Well Christmas is in 5 weeks and that's crazy to think about. Haha it's crazy how fast time passes. I love this time of the year when we can celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior.  He is truly the reason I do what I do and Christmas is a time filled with so much love, music and gladness and most of families.  It's what the Gospel is all about, families. It's where the Gospel of Jesus Christ truly thrives.  I love you all and I consider you all my family. Until next time!

Miracles of the Work

Hello everyone! It's been a while I'm sorry, last Monday was Dia de los Muertos  (Day of the Dead) and there weren't any servers open so I couldn't send many pictures. But get ready because this email is about to be loaded.  I have a new companion and I are getting along super well!  We have been working extremely hard everyday to the point that we get home just complete exhausted at the end of the day.  Giving your all to the Lord is not an easy thing but it renders an incredible amount of blessings.  We baptized back to back these last 2 Sundays! Woooooooooaaaaaaaahhhhh!

The first was the mother of Yunuet and Jose who are the 2 kids that got baptized at the end of August.  Before Yunuet and Jose got baptized we had to get the permission of their mother, and at first she was reluctant to give her permission.  And it was a miracle that she let her kids get baptized.  But when she attended her kids baptism in August she felt the Spirit strongly and knew that this was something good.  She kept going to church with her kids and reading and praying  and slowly her heart began to change and began to desire this for herself.  We began teaching her the lessons and when we committed her to be baptized the 1st of November she burst into tears.  At first my companion and I were confused and thought we had said something wrong.  Until she told us that on the 1st she had vacations and that she had been hoping and praying it would be that day as it was the only day she could. (She normally comes to the church the first 2 hours and then goes to work.)  She asked me if I knew and I honestly had no idea.  Miracle.  She was smiling the whole day of her baptism and invited all of her friends and family to the services so they could feel the same Spirit as she did.  I guess she's a better missionary than we are hahahahah! Truly an amazing experience.

This week we had the opportunity to baptize another one of my favorite people I've met on mission, named Gloria. She's the investigator I mentioned earlier that we would teach and eat sushi at her moms sushi restaurant. Hahah.  She is super awesome and has an incredible testimony of the church. She came to all 4 sessions of general conference, reads and underlines everything we give her.  (Including the Book of Mormon), and is just golden in every definition.  However her mom is an ex-member and it was a long and extremely laborious journey to get her mom's permission and took weeks of praying and fasting. Because of our faith the Lord softened the heart of Gloria's mom and let her daughter be baptized.  Miracle.  The services were absolutely beautiful and there was not a single dry eye in the room, even in the eyes of Gloria's mother. 

God is good, all the time.  My heart has truly been filled with joy and thanks to the Lord for the opportunity he's given me to help change these peoples lives.  My testimony of this Gospel has grown tremendously these last few weeks and I truly know without a doubt that this is His work and His glory.  These events were in no way coincidence, but miracles and the Lord has truly blessed me and those around me.  I love you all and I love my Savior.  The Lord works miracles every day in your lives too.  Look for them and you will see how the Lord's blessings are round about. Until next time!

PS random pictures of every day life:

Poza Rica Skyline

$200 of Mexican Pesos

Didier!