Ahh love hearing about adventures with the boiz!
I have one of my own to share:
I don't know if you heard about what's happening in Mexico right now in the news but I guess gas went up like a lot a lot and the people are really mad about it so they've been like breaking into stores and vandalizing a lot, more in Mexico City, but also a bit here, like every store in San Martin (15 minutes away from our area) was closed and all of my district was told to stay home for 2 days. We were only like 2 half days but ye still pretty crazy. Everyone says nothing was actually happening but President isn't gonna take risks.
We also forgot to pay the light bill with some very inconvenient timing so they cut the light and we were in the house for like 8 hours on Thursday without light. SO GRATEFUL that you sent us flashlights mom! We were drinking a lot of milk so it wouldn't go bad. Pretty funny honestly. We have light again.
The son of that family I told you about like 2 or 3 weeks ago is really progressing nicely. He says he still doesn't have his answer, but he reads the Book of Mormon lots every day and prays every day and goes to church, so I think he will get his answer real soon/ he probably already has it but he just doesn't know. It was pretty rough though on Sunday, we were expecting 11 people at church and 2 showed up :(( everyone's sick ugh.
My companion is doing good, really into object lessons which is cool, getting better at asking questions, now were just working on teaching faster because we always arrive late everywhere and I feel v bad about it.
We had a very interesting week, finding lots of new investigators but honestly a lot of them are really weird, like they accept a baptismal date and the next time we look for them they hide in trees and stuff like that. It was a bit rough because in the first few days we were finding lots and lots of new investigators who all seemed really excited but then they gave us false directions or didn't go to church. We have gotten a lot better at getting the members motivated though, we shared with them in the Book of Mormon in Alma 4 how the church started to stop progressing and what Alma did after was share pure testimony against them. We taught that if they have faith they should not be afraid to be direct and blunt but still loving when giving correction. We shared this lesson with our recent convert, the bishop and the family of the patriarch. The bishop went with us to lessons the next day and went really early in the morning to bring our blind investigator to church, the patriarch gave us a referral, and the next day when we went to visit our recent convert he brought his son in law to hear us and he accepted a baptismal date. These three experiences all came from reading and searching for Book of Mormon stories specifically of missionaries who baptized a lot. In the zone conference they asked if we had prayed to know if the Book of Mormon is true as a missionary and I honestly hadn't, but as I see it working miracles in this area I can't deny the power of it. The ward is getting more excited to work and so are we!
Your email with all the boiz got me hyped! Idk why but I don't think I understood they were all actually on missions with lots of the same experiences as I have.
Other cool thing I want people to know is that my companion comes from a town where there aren't mirrors, like probably in cars but it's really frowned upon to look at yourself (considered shameful) but now he's getting really into it, sometimes he stops in the street to look at himself in the mirror, very eye opening for me.
Good week, feeling good.
Elder Lethaby
Questions Answered:
Do you have cockroaches? As big as Tim’s (in the Philippines)? They’re inches across!!
Nahhhh I've seen like 2 and they're small.
Do you get invited to speak at church much? Or give lessons?Mmm we teach gospel principles every week, we're gonna start teaching a missionary class once a month and one time I was asked to speak 5 minutes before sacrament meeting, classic.
Are there interesting nativity sets there? Hand made?
Interesting yes, like super, bloody Catholic baby Jesus ones. Yes handmade
Do you have companionship goals?Yeee we wanna baptize 4 every month
Who helped you this week…either spiritually or physically?The bishop honestly got really hyped after the message we shared with him this week and went and showed us how missionary work is done. He brought our blind investigator "J" to church and is really stepping it up.
Found any Mexican candy you love?I'm getting into the weird chili candy that I hated before, these mango chili lolipops are pretty good, Sam probably knows the ones.
Favourite scripture this week?Alma 4
1 Now it came to pass in the sixth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, there were no contentions nor wars in the land of Zarahemla;
2 But the people were afflicted, yea, greatly afflicted for the loss of their brethren, and also for the loss of their flocks and herds, and also for the loss of their fields of grain, which were trodden under foot and destroyed by the Lamanites.
3 And so great were their afflictions that every soul had cause to mourn; and they believed that it was the judgments of God sent upon them because of their wickedness and their abominations; therefore they were awakened to a remembrance of their duty.
4 And they began to establish the church more fully; yea, and many were baptized in the waters of Sidon and were joined to the church of God; yea, they were baptized by the hand of Alma, who had been consecrated the high priestover the people of the church, by the hand of his father Alma.
5 And it came to pass in the seventh year of the reign of the judges there were about three thousand five hundred souls that united themselves to the church of God and were baptized. And thus ended the seventh year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi; and there was continual peace in all that time.
6 And it came to pass in the eighth year of the reign of the judges, that the people of the church began to wax proud, because of their exceeding riches, and their fine silks, and their fine-twined linen, and because of their many flocks and herds, and their gold and their silver, and all manner of precious things, which they had obtained by their industry; and in all these things were they lifted up in the pride of their eyes, for they began to wear very costly apparel.
7 Now this was the cause of much affliction to Alma, yea, and to many of the people whom Alma had consecrated to be teachers, and priests, and elders over the church; yea, many of them were sorely grieved for the wickedness which they saw had begun to be among their people.
8 For they saw and beheld with great sorrow that the people of the church began to be lifted up in the pride of their eyes, and to set their hearts upon riches and upon the vain things of the world, that they began to be scornful, one towards another, and they began to persecute those that did not believe according to their own will and pleasure.
9 And thus, in this eighth year of the reign of the judges, there began to be great contentions among the people of the church; yea, there were envyings, and strife, and malice, and persecutions, and pride, even to exceed the pride of those who did not belong to the church of God.
10 And thus ended the eighth year of the reign of the judges; and the wickedness of the church was a great stumbling-block to those who did not belong to the church; and thus the church began to fail in its progress.
11 And it came to pass in the commencement of the ninth year, Alma saw the wickedness of the church, and he saw also that the example of the church began to lead those who were unbelievers on from one piece of iniquity to another, thus bringing on the destruction of the people.
12 Yea, he saw great inequality among the people, some lifting themselves up with their pride, despising others, turning their backs upon the needy and the naked and those who were hungry, and those who were athirst, and those who were sick and afflicted.
13 Now this was a great cause for lamentations among the people, while others were abasing themselves, succoring those who stood in need of their succor, such as imparting their substance to the poor and the needy, feeding the hungry, and suffering all manner of afflictions, for Christ’s sake, who should come according to the spirit of prophecy;
14 Looking forward to that day, thus retaining a remissionof their sins; being filled with great joy because of the resurrection of the dead, according to the will and power and deliverance of Jesus Christ from the bands of death.
15 And now it came to pass that Alma, having seen the afflictions of the humble followers of God, and the persecutions which were heaped upon them by the remainder of his people, and seeing all their inequality, began to be very sorrowful; nevertheless the Spirit of the Lord did not fail him.
16 And he selected a wise man who was among the eldersof the church, and gave him power according to the voiceof the people, that he might have power to enact lawsaccording to the laws which had been given, and to put them in force according to the wickedness and the crimes of the people.
17 Now this man’s name was Nephihah, and he was appointed chief judge; and he sat in the judgment-seat to judge and to govern the people.
18 Now Alma did not grant unto him the office of being high priest over the church, but he retained the office of high priest unto himself; but he delivered the judgment-seat unto Nephihah.
19 And this he did that he himself might go forth among his people, or among the people of Nephi, that he might preach the word of God unto them, to stir them up in remembrance of their duty, and that he might pull down, by the word of God, all the pride and craftiness and all the contentions which were among his people, seeing no way that he might reclaim them save it were in bearing down in pure testimony against them.
20 And thus in the commencement of the ninth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, Alma delivered up the judgment-seat to Nephihah, and confined himself wholly to the high priesthood of the holy order of God, to the testimony of the word, according to the spirit of revelation and prophecy.
Tlaxcala Zone
