10/22/2012

Bautismos!!! And my companion and the bishop's sons. Nayeli and Jose Juan (they got baptized a week ago). Jessica Margarita and Osvaldo. They got baptized this week. God is blessing us so much right now. 

Esta semana estuvo freaking chido. This week we had one of the craziest weeks i have ever had. We ran from one place to another trying to make it to everything. We do use a lot of public transit, that's where most of our money goes. We walk a ton, but sometimes we have to travel 3 or 4 miles and only have about 5 minutes to do it. Luckily we have a freeway that splits our area and makes it really easy to cross. This week a family that hadn't come to church in more than 12 years shared their testimonies in church, and it was a really cool experience for us. They thanked us for serving a mission and talked about how they had been trying to find a way to come back, but didn`t know how. Also, we had three baptisms!!! Jessica, Margarita, and Osvaldo. They're all from the same family, and it was really cool to see how they went from believing that either all religions are the same, or that only the saints and the virgin mary can help us, to recieving a testimony of the Book of Mormon and wanting to be baptized. It was sweet. Jessica said, if i am going to change, i'm going to do it completely. She took out all of her peircings, left all of the bad influences in her life, and really seems excited to try to be the best she can be. Today we had to take the mail from the zone to the offices, and on the way back we stopped by Zocalo (the center of DF). My comp was so excited to see everything, and we decided to splurge and buy a hamburger from the mcdonalds there (american restaurants are always a highlight for everyone to visit when we're in the downtown). Les amo a todos, Elder West

Oct. 15,2012

¿Que transa? This week was crazy. Last week of the transfer always seems like a crazy one. We had interviews with president, which always rock, and i got to listen to a bit of conference that i hadn't seen. REally showed me how awesome every second of general conference is, how every part can answer a question. This week we also learned God really answers prayers. We had several days of scrambling to try to help people be ready for their baptisms, and sunday morning at seven forty it seemed like all three had fallen, we were pretty down, running to take a bus to get to one house, finding out the monster in law of Elizabeth had arrived and after a lot of problems with her, she couldn't get baptized this week, but we are hopeful for next week (she rocks, wants to pay tithing before her baptism, so awesome). We ended up walking to church and in camino we ran into Nayeli and Jose Juan. They were walking to church on their own with the clothes and towel, ready for their baptism. It really was a miracle. The boss of Jose Juan called him that morning and told him he could now take sundays off of work. We thought he wasn't going to get baptized for months because of work, but in the end they got baptized together!!! Always better for couples to get baptized togethor. They were so happy. It was sweet. And they make really really good tacos. Seis por veinte. Solo carne de gato es más barrato. Pero bien ricos. Overall a really good week. And my companion and I don´t have changes, so we'll be here together at least another six weeks. Two people in my district will be changing, so that will be interesting. It's always exciting around transfers. Love you all! ¡que les vaya bien! Elder West

10/8/2012

¡hola todos! This week was awesome. I feel like God keeps throughing things in to keep me busy and a bit out of my comfort zone, but it's been great. General conference rocks. The anouncement left thirteen missionaries that i was with with open mouths and stunned silence for almost a minute. And then a lot of celebrating and talking. (we got to watch in english!) There are definitely people who feel a bit uneasy about more immature missionaries, or problems with the girls and guys being the same age, but i doubt these will really be problems. My companion is 18 and one of the best prepared missionaries i know. It's not the age, but the effort they put in preparation. Even if they haven't lived out of the home, I think for many it can be a really really great thing. David, whatever you choose to do, pray a lot first, and trust what you feel. I know that you can be one of the best missionaries whether you leave at 18 or 19. Don't stress about it, just ask God and do it. You're better prepared than almost all of the missionaries i've known where when they left. (but that doesn't mean you don't need to really try to prepare). Love you bro. We also really liked Elder Nelson's saying "ask the missionaries". I presonally liked when President Uchtdorf said we can choose to be happy in any circumstance. And that we need to make resolutions now to not have regrets later. I also feel the same as Elder Perry when he said I hope to always be worthy of the title of the son of my parents. Can't thank them enough. Another thing you learn in the mission whether you leave at 18 or at 19 or 21. I also really liked how Elder Oaks talked about protecting the kids and how marriage really affects it. My companion and I are marriage experts here (the members are now asking us for advice on how to get married in the cheapest way), and it really shows how much it hurts a family when they start the family before getting married (or without getting married at all). During the Priesthood session we lost the signal for about ten minutes during President Monson, that was a bit rough, but finally we all got on our knees and prayed, and ten seconds later it came back on. It was a really cool thing too. I also feel the same as President Monson when he said, "I need, and I feel your prayers. Thank you." One of our investigators that came to conference told me, "you were right, it answered all of my doubts". I had asked her to come with questions and all of hers (and mine) were answered. These men really are the leaders of God's church, they really recieve revelation from him. I know this is the Church of Jesus Christ. We just have to help others know it. Love you all! Elder West 

10/1/2012

my birthday... it's better if you don't ask. 

 Andrea's baptism (she rocks), Gloria's baptsims (also great), 
 

 Elder Carrillo, Elder Reyes in middle, and me during transfers.

Our Mexico independance day celebration (it was a party, two missionaries, food, finger soccer, and a church movie (with permission)).

¡hola todos! ¿Como les va? This week has been crazy. We went to another city to marry a couple (they're awesome, going to be baptized this week), we had no money (there was an error and we didn't recieve money three weeks ago, and it ran out, but today we finally recieved it), and my district leader had special transfers (tranfers aren't for two weeks), and I am now the new district leader. That about sums the week up completely. It was cool to see that when we had no money the people seemed to randomly offer us food, rides, etc. God looks out for his missionaries. We don't really know why, but my district leader (who was great) is now in another zone, and I know get the opportunity to try to help out the missionaries in my district. That has been one thing that has humbled me a lot. I'm the youngest by a lot of the senior companions in my district, but God has his reasons to do things, and i guess it's another thing i need to learn, and that there is someone i can help. I love that every time i start to feel comfortable in the mission, like i've got a routine, God throws something in to mix it up. It's really something I love, it helps to keep us reliant on the Lord, keeps us praying constantly more than ever before. Another thing that happened this week was a really cool experience with my patriarchal blessing. They really are God's council for us, and the blessing that are promised are real. He loves us and really answers prayers. ¡Les amo! ¡que tengan buenas semanas! Elder West 

9/24/2012

"La iglesia mormona es la unica iglesia que tiene permiso de bautizar y confirmar." - Padre Catolico. A catholic priest or "father" told one of our investigators that The "Mormon" church is the only one that has permission from God to baptize and confirm people. That was a pleasant surprise. He said this in a catholic baptism to a huge group of people (accorting to her). I thought that was cool. Everyone who really wants to find the truth will recognize it, even if they don't always decide to follow it. This week we did a lot of service for the ward, we've been focusing more on members to the point where we're not contacting much. This week we helped one family tear down two walls and take out all of the debris as one of our service projects. It was actually pretty fun for one afternoon. Turns out concrete bricks aren't quite as hard as they look. One thing i've loved about these past few weeks has been teh excitement of my companion. He got here new and full of excitement for the work, and it really makes the problems pass by faster, and the rest of the day a lot of fun. It's definitely taught me a lot. Sometimes it's easy to lose the excitement for the little things, or even for the big ones. Sometimes we just need to take a step back and see how great life and where we are really is, regardless of problems, homework, or just plain work. It also has been a lot of fun because he has a pretty good sense of humor and likes to laugh. Reminds me a bit of the song "make them laugh" from singing in the rain. Make 'em laugh. Life's more fun that way. This week we had an awesome experience in the church. We brought a couple for a tour, and by the end they were crying and kept telling us they felt a peace they hadn't had before. Especially with some traumatic (no idea how to spell that now... español...) experiences. They have a baptismal date, and are really excited. It was also cool to teach an inactive family, and as we've been teaching them see them become reconverted to the gospel. Having people who haven't come to church in years is something awesome to see. Like they get baptized again or something. And it's been really cool to see one of our converts become the most active member in church. She goes to all of the activities, is early to church every week, and already has a tone of responsibilities. It's been really cool. It's cool to come to church and see a lot of people there that weren't there before. Even in a short period of time. The gospel is true. It really makes people happy if they are converted to the gospel, and not just the motions of going to church etc. ¡les amo! Elder West

9/17/2012

¡Feliz cumpleaños México! This week was crazy. the 16th is the independence day of Mexico. No one celebrates 5 de mayo, but everyone goes nuts the 15th to start celebrating the 16th. We had to be in the house early to avoid problems (lots of drunk people celebrating independence doesn't always go well with foreigners). We ended up celebrating in our house on our own. It was great, chicken necks, tortillas, empanadas, and we made mexican rice and juice (peach flavored). We were practically mexican. Except that today we made hamburgers... We also had a lot of fun with a finger soccer game (thanks mom!). The day after the streets were carpeted with millions of fireworks (mostly bottle rocket like things). We also had a cool experience with Brenda, Yael, and Viridiana. We finally were able to talk to her husband, and for a while i thought he was going to get baptized too. But in the end, Brenda and Yael got baptized Sunday. Great way to end the independance day celebrations. We also had a really cool experience with a couple we took to the church to give a tour and teach the Sabbath day. We finished in front of the baptismal font, sang a hymn, and in the end they were crying, and almost couldn't pray. It was really cool, and we're hoping they can get baptized in a few weeks. They were really excited about the idea of having the gift of the Holy Ghost. ¡Les amo! Elder West

9/10/2012

THis week i don't have a lot of time, we are very behind, we had a meeting with the zone in the morning that killed most of our day, so we're running to get things done. My new companion is Elder Reyes. He is great. He's from Guatemala, came really prepared, and seems like a really nice guy with his head and more importantly his heart in the right place. We had a really great, and really crazy week. This week we had the baptism of Gloria!!!! We spent the week scrambling, running, and judge hopping to get them married, and finally we managed to track down all the papers that are legally required, and find a judge who doesn't charge us as much, and we finally managed to get her married in saturday. It was really hectic, but it was a great way to spend my birthday. Really mixed things up, which was nice. And what better way to celebrate a birthday than with a wedding? We ended up eating a lot of sweets that day too... Turns out people here haven't ever seen chocolate chip cookies, and most of them haven't seen brownies. But i think another american elder and i have made addicts out of our companions.... It's been a great week, and it's been kind of funny to see how having a "son" in the mission really makes you feel like he's your son sometimes. You really want to do the best for him, and make everything perfect. It was so great, i asked Gloria if he could baptize her, and she was excited for it, and so my companion was able to baptize someone his first week in the field. I was really excited, and he was almost skipping. It was great. But out of time, ¡les amo a todos! ¡Gracias por todo!