Thursday 10 September 2015
September 4, 2015 -- Home
This is a hard post to have to write, but Derik was sent home for health reasons last Friday. After everything he's been through, he's in relatively good spirits, but we're already starting the procession of doctors' visits to get him healthy again. He even had surgery on one of his toes this morning. He laughingly says that he only got sick once on his mission--it just lasted 13 months. He is hopeful and looking forward to being healthy enough to get the green light to return to the field in time. Keep him in your prayers, please! Signing off for now... Michele
Monday 31 August 2015
August 31, 2015 -- Short and Sweet
I'm not doing too well. I do not want to be here right now.
Saludos, Amor, y Todo que te puedo ofrecer
Salutations, Love, and all that I can offer
Elder Scott
Salutations, Love, and all that I can offer
Elder Scott
Monday 24 August 2015
August 24 -- One More Time
Many things happened this week. It
would be inappropriate to tell you about them by email, though. Sorry. Suffice
it to say, I am alive. And still here.
Tania´s baptism is this week, and
Juana´s is next week. But the assistants want us to bump her up to this week.
:( She finished Alma, but we do not know where she is anymore in the Book of
Mormon. She asked us what she should do with her idols (her Virgin Guadalupe
and her nativity). We explained that nativities are fine, and that the
difference between worshipping idols and remembering Jesus is very large.
Gloria is moving to Matamoros for during the week, but is here on weekends, so
she will be here for her baptism on the 19th and can attend church.
We met a woman named Amelia who
already knows we are different. But I cannot tell you why.
We met a woman named Nelly who also
knows this but for different reasons.
We had a bunch of confrontations
this week with people who wanted to know what we think about mental issues,
homosexuality, gifts of the spirit, and similar concepts that are supremely
difficult to explain when the person who asks the question has their mind set
on one answer, and it is not the correct one.
We are doing fine.
Saludos, Amor, y Todo
que te puedo ofrecer
Salutations, Love, and all that I can offer
Elder Scott
Salutations, Love, and all that I can offer
Elder Scott
Wednesday 19 August 2015
August 17, 2015
So, Sister Maqueda told my zone leader and me that Said and Carlos are going to go to her sister´s church and refused to hear any other options. We are not sure if we can continue visiting. Said promised to be baptized when he turns 18. I hope he remembers that promise.
Our Zone Leaders had interchanges with us so that they could explain the new way we are going to contact now. We have a whole bunch of cards left over from Christmas (ÉlEsLaDádiva), so we have to start every conversation by offering the contact a card. If they say no, we leave. If they say yes, we talk to them. (The idea is, if they will not accept a card, there is no way short of a miracle of getting them to accept any other invitation; we do not have time for that, plus faith based on miracles is worth nothing.) The next thing we do is invite them to baptism if they arrive at a knowledge that the things we teach are true. If they say yes, we teach them immediately and set a baptismal date with them. If they say no, we change the question to "Ok, I guess what we really wanted to ask was if god told you to, would you be baptized?" If they say yes, we set a lesson plan with them. If they say no, we leave. This is a plan given to us to help us figure out who is wheat and who is chaff. It works pretty well. You do not waste time with people who do not want anything to do with you but are too polite to tell you so.
Juana is now our best investigator. When we visited her Thursday, she was in Alma 43. She started reading from the first page, and we have like a month teaching her. She told us she knows she is going to be baptized, dropped coffee, is changing her work schedule so that she doesn't work on Sunday, and is basically just an awesome person. Her goal right now is the 28th.
Thania also said she is going to be baptized (the 28th). The only problem is her work schedule, and we are trying to figure that one out. Did I mention she is a math teacher? We had a great discussion in which we were talking about calculus (we still remember it) and Elder Robertshaw got out a piece of paper and drew a graph which was an infinite integral from which, through some strange machination or magic of math, you can receive a finite volume. I said something very profound about that, which we do not remember, relating to how god, being infinite, is able to give us a finite answer when we pray with faith. It was awesome.
We found a drunk catholic who was super interested in the message we share. He doesn´t live in our area, but he has lots of questions and likes us because we answer him every time he asks.
Changes were supposed to be Saturday, but only 8 missionaries in the entire mission had transfers, which is strange--2 sisters and 6 elders, and they just traded spots. With that being 5.25% (more or less) of the number of total missionaries, we are expecting special transfers about halfway through this transfer.
More than that, I want you to know that the message we bring is true. As a missionary, I represent the only true and authorized church of God here on Earth. I testify that Joseph Smith was a prophet, through whom God restored the fullness of the gospel and the Priesthood to the earth. And that the only way we humans will return to be with him is if we first take upon ourselves baptism, by an authorized Priesthood holder, in the way that God has defined. So, if there is, on the off chance, someone reading this who has not yet listened to the missionaries, I invite you to do so. The message is true, and God loves you. If you do not act upon this message, you will never understand just how much.
Have a great week.
Saludos, Amor, y Todo que te puedo ofrecer
Salutations, Love, and all that I can offer
Elder Scott
Our Zone Leaders had interchanges with us so that they could explain the new way we are going to contact now. We have a whole bunch of cards left over from Christmas (ÉlEsLaDádiva), so we have to start every conversation by offering the contact a card. If they say no, we leave. If they say yes, we talk to them. (The idea is, if they will not accept a card, there is no way short of a miracle of getting them to accept any other invitation; we do not have time for that, plus faith based on miracles is worth nothing.) The next thing we do is invite them to baptism if they arrive at a knowledge that the things we teach are true. If they say yes, we teach them immediately and set a baptismal date with them. If they say no, we change the question to "Ok, I guess what we really wanted to ask was if god told you to, would you be baptized?" If they say yes, we set a lesson plan with them. If they say no, we leave. This is a plan given to us to help us figure out who is wheat and who is chaff. It works pretty well. You do not waste time with people who do not want anything to do with you but are too polite to tell you so.
Juana is now our best investigator. When we visited her Thursday, she was in Alma 43. She started reading from the first page, and we have like a month teaching her. She told us she knows she is going to be baptized, dropped coffee, is changing her work schedule so that she doesn't work on Sunday, and is basically just an awesome person. Her goal right now is the 28th.
Thania also said she is going to be baptized (the 28th). The only problem is her work schedule, and we are trying to figure that one out. Did I mention she is a math teacher? We had a great discussion in which we were talking about calculus (we still remember it) and Elder Robertshaw got out a piece of paper and drew a graph which was an infinite integral from which, through some strange machination or magic of math, you can receive a finite volume. I said something very profound about that, which we do not remember, relating to how god, being infinite, is able to give us a finite answer when we pray with faith. It was awesome.
We found a drunk catholic who was super interested in the message we share. He doesn´t live in our area, but he has lots of questions and likes us because we answer him every time he asks.
Changes were supposed to be Saturday, but only 8 missionaries in the entire mission had transfers, which is strange--2 sisters and 6 elders, and they just traded spots. With that being 5.25% (more or less) of the number of total missionaries, we are expecting special transfers about halfway through this transfer.
More than that, I want you to know that the message we bring is true. As a missionary, I represent the only true and authorized church of God here on Earth. I testify that Joseph Smith was a prophet, through whom God restored the fullness of the gospel and the Priesthood to the earth. And that the only way we humans will return to be with him is if we first take upon ourselves baptism, by an authorized Priesthood holder, in the way that God has defined. So, if there is, on the off chance, someone reading this who has not yet listened to the missionaries, I invite you to do so. The message is true, and God loves you. If you do not act upon this message, you will never understand just how much.
Have a great week.
Saludos, Amor, y Todo que te puedo ofrecer
Salutations, Love, and all that I can offer
Elder Scott
Sunday 16 August 2015
August 10, 2015
Well, so having one year feels a lot like having 0 years. Nothing really changed.
Big news--it´s a boy! Rosa had her son this week. He is really really small. He weighs like 5 lbs I think. His name is Naithan. He doesn´t talk much, hardly at all actually. Basically he just sits there with his eyes closed and doesn´t move. It's kind of creepy. But, now that his mother successfully gave birth (it wasn´t a C-section, which is basically the normal for everyone here), she is going to school in Matamoros, which means she is not here in Reynosa. And her mother (Gloria) is accompanying her due to her weakened condition. So she didn´t come to church.
To celebrate our one-year mark, we told a sister that we had one year in the mission and she hopped next door to the pastelería, which is a store that only sells cake, and bought us some. Mom, you asked about Mexicans and eating cake all of the time and why they aren't all fat. The reason not all Mexicans are horribly fat due to eating cake all the time is generally (not always, but generally) because 1) they are in fact horribly fat, 2) they do not have sufficient means to buy other food, so they remain skinny, 3) they are rich and their trainer keeps them fit, and 4) those are basically the reasons, actually.
Dania is actually Thania. Th sounds like d here. That baptism is still on for the 28th.
The 2 large families we contacted, two of the young men of one of those families went to church yesterday. When we came to visit them, they asked us the following--What do I have to do to get the priesthood?
What do I have to do to pass the sacrament? Can I bless it? If I talk to the bishop (which they did) can he work things out?
Can I be baptized right now?
At what age can I leave on my mission? Will I get sent out of the country?
What do I have to do to be called as Quorum President? Can I give a talk?
--and a bunch of similair questions that every missionary dreams of being asked. The problem is that we had no idea how to answer all of them. Each answer just brought up more questions. These two young men are named Saíd and Carlos. And they are the best.
What do I have to do to pass the sacrament? Can I bless it? If I talk to the bishop (which they did) can he work things out? Can I be baptized right now? At what age can I leave on my mission? Will I get sent out of the country? What do I have to do to be called as Quorum President? Can I give a talk?--and a bunch of similair questions that every missionary dreams of being asked. The problem is that we had no idea how to answer all of them. Each answer just brought up more questions. These two young men are named Saíd and Carlos. And they are the best.
They bought a board game this week. It surprised us a lot because, I have never met anyone, not in all my life, who has had the actual board game of Othello. Elder Robertshaw and I know how to play (his father taught him), so we explained it to him. As of now, I am beating Carlos 2-0, Elder Robertshaw is beating me 1-0, and Carlos is beating Elder Robertshaw 1-0. Every time we come and visit them they bring us food. Their mother Fransisca makes us chamoyadas every time we come (which is a sweet and spicy icee they fill with bitter flavoring and then stick gummies and fruit on). I used to think they were nasty. Now that I have one almost every day, I am starting to like the flavor. We come visit them almost every day of the week now, because we asked when they would like us to come back and teach them more, and Saíd said; ¨A mi me gustaría si venían cada día a visitarnos¨, which means "I would like it if you came and visited us every day."
The mom is super nice but she is conflicted because she isn´t sure what to believe. She is unwilling to pray and ask god. We are working with her.
We helped the ward clerk move Saturday. While we were unloading his stuff at his new home, out hopped a mouse, which began to run. Everyone was just standing yelling, so I chased it. And kicked the mouse out of the garage. (It was trying to go hide.) After the 3rd time I kicked it, it stopped moving. Then Elder Brogan hit it with a broomstick until it died.
The mom is super nice but she is conflicted because she isn´t sure what to believe. She is unwilling to pray and ask god. We are working with her. We helped the ward clerk move Saturday. While we were unloading his stuff at his new home, out hopped a mouse, which began to run. Everyone was just standing yelling, so I chased it. And kicked the mouse out of the garage. (It was trying to go hide.) After the 3rd time I kicked it, it stopped moving. Then Elder Brogan hit it with a broomstick until it died.
It was the continuation of a very strange day. I started the day of with lots of stomach issues, and that happened. Then, we ate twice. Following which we went and visited Saíd and Carlos, had a conversation where an old investigator we had dropped explained to us that the JWs are wrong and believe in science (you can imagine that conversation, we were just standing there thinking, wow--that is a cohesive argument.) She wanted us to give her an answer to confuse them the next time they came and prove them wrong about the 144000 people who get to be saved thing. As a rule, we do not spend time tearing other churches down. I would much rather have my investigators gain a testimony of the book of mormon than give an investigator the tools to bible bash. But we could not get her to stop raving about the JWs. We eventually just left.
And then the next thing happened. We figured out that this group of 4 teenage girls always takes the same route every day to go do something. We do not know what, but they do not wear modest clothing, so we figure it can´t be a good thing. But, the point of that random comment is that we were late getting home one night, so we ended up passing them walking really quickly. And they started doing catcalls at us and making kissing noises. They made comments about my rear. And said some things that would make you blush to hear. Basically something good missionaries do not want to hear. But they follow us home every night on their way to whatever it is they go to do. We have taken to walking much faster close to home due to them.
But, basically another crazy week here in Mexico. It really is great to be here.
Love you all.
Saludos, Amor, y Todo que te puedo ofrecer
Salutations, Love, and all that I can offer
Elder Scott
But, basically another crazy week here in Mexico. It really is great to be here.
Love you all.
Saludos, Amor, y Todo que te puedo ofrecer
Salutations, Love, and all that I can offer
Elder Scott
Here's my new visa picture:
Monday 3 August 2015
August 3, 2015 -- more cake
On Thursday, I will be out one year; that is quite something! And I am here with two of the elders I was with a year ago--very strange.
I´d like everyone to know I am fine. We are having an excellent time and excellent lessons.
We had a lesson with Dania (part member family, 25 year old that likes anime). That was really great. She accepted a baptismal date (apparently a first), and everyone was super happy. At the end, the assistants showed up and brought a cake. It turns out that the family had scheduled a birthday party for one of the assistants immediately after our lesson, so we got cake. It almost made us late for the baptism that was scheduled that night, and it was also on fast Sunday, so it complicated things a little bit.
On Sunday we contacted two large families (one that has 8 people over the age of eight and one with 9), and they accepted what we shared. We are going to see if they want to progress. The family of eight wants to go to church and is pretty excited. To top that one off, the older son who does not live with them already goes to this church. Also, we met a guy from California that is here. He does not know how long he will be visiting family. He speaks English perfectly, and he wants us to teach him in English. That will be interesting because we have never done that before.
Barbara tried to return the Book of Mormon to us. It seems like she does not want us to visit anymore. :(
We visit lots of other people, and basically everyone else is cool.
Oh! Gloria's daughter Rosa? We think she gave birth yesterday. We will know for sure by next week.
But, basically, that's what I have to say for this week. All of this is worth it!
Love you all.
Saludos, Amor, y Todo que te puedo ofrecer
I´d like everyone to know I am fine. We are having an excellent time and excellent lessons.
We had a lesson with Dania (part member family, 25 year old that likes anime). That was really great. She accepted a baptismal date (apparently a first), and everyone was super happy. At the end, the assistants showed up and brought a cake. It turns out that the family had scheduled a birthday party for one of the assistants immediately after our lesson, so we got cake. It almost made us late for the baptism that was scheduled that night, and it was also on fast Sunday, so it complicated things a little bit.
On Sunday we contacted two large families (one that has 8 people over the age of eight and one with 9), and they accepted what we shared. We are going to see if they want to progress. The family of eight wants to go to church and is pretty excited. To top that one off, the older son who does not live with them already goes to this church. Also, we met a guy from California that is here. He does not know how long he will be visiting family. He speaks English perfectly, and he wants us to teach him in English. That will be interesting because we have never done that before.
Barbara tried to return the Book of Mormon to us. It seems like she does not want us to visit anymore. :(
We visit lots of other people, and basically everyone else is cool.
Oh! Gloria's daughter Rosa? We think she gave birth yesterday. We will know for sure by next week.
But, basically, that's what I have to say for this week. All of this is worth it!
Love you all.
Saludos, Amor, y Todo que te puedo ofrecer
Salutations, Love, and all that I can offer
Elder Scott
Elder Scott
Monday 27 July 2015
July 27, 2015 -- A Bible, a Bible, I have the Bible...
Hey guys!
Gloria's fine. But, unfortunately she is not legally married :´(
-Where is this written in the Bible?-
Gloria's fine. But, unfortunately she is not legally married :´(
We met a woman named Barbara who is really awesome. She listened to us and let us do service for her. We cut her grass, which consisted of us pulling grass to the right length with our hands. it took about 4 hours. Afterward she gave us eggs, which were pretty good.
In case someone was unaware, it is HOT. All the time.
We found a part-member family where the nonmember loves something called anime. I found that great, and she came to church without us teaching her a single lesson. :) We shall see what happens with that one, but it looks promising.
A family brought their extended family to church so that they could meet us. They want us to teach them, and the brother apologized for not being married but assured us that they wanted to change that and are working toward doing so. That is all right by me!
The guy I talked about last week only comes to church if he is drunk so that he can disrupt the meeting. Personally I think that makes little to no sense, but hey. Also something very important: he knows this is the true church of god. He will not be baptized, however, because he refuses to get married, and he absolutely loves to drink. That makes me think of a certain bible reference found in Matthew 7. I hope someday he overcomes himself. And, to clarify, his son came home from his mission, baptized his own girlfriend, and then moved in with her.
On Sunday we helped some Jehovah´s Witnesses unload their new refridgerator and install it in their house. That kind of put us off, because generally they are tight about the whole day of rest thing. Afterward they bought us Coke (which I am starting to like, unfortunately, because that is what everyone drinks here), and we talked about our messages. One of them promised to pray and ask God. We have no idea if he will, but I sure hope so.
Elder Brogan tried to make no-bake cookies at the bishops house; they did not work, but they do taste heavenly.
A 7th Day Adventist wanted to argue with us about the whole Saturday vs. Sunday thing. Usually we just talk to Catholics or Nondoms, so that was interesting.
Elder Urias gave me his watch, so I now know what time it is.
We were rejected many, many, many times this week. The litany is always the same (feel free to add in emotions if you wish--it might make it more interesting):
We found a part-member family where the nonmember loves something called anime. I found that great, and she came to church without us teaching her a single lesson. :) We shall see what happens with that one, but it looks promising.
A family brought their extended family to church so that they could meet us. They want us to teach them, and the brother apologized for not being married but assured us that they wanted to change that and are working toward doing so. That is all right by me!
The guy I talked about last week only comes to church if he is drunk so that he can disrupt the meeting. Personally I think that makes little to no sense, but hey. Also something very important: he knows this is the true church of god. He will not be baptized, however, because he refuses to get married, and he absolutely loves to drink. That makes me think of a certain bible reference found in Matthew 7. I hope someday he overcomes himself. And, to clarify, his son came home from his mission, baptized his own girlfriend, and then moved in with her.
On Sunday we helped some Jehovah´s Witnesses unload their new refridgerator and install it in their house. That kind of put us off, because generally they are tight about the whole day of rest thing. Afterward they bought us Coke (which I am starting to like, unfortunately, because that is what everyone drinks here), and we talked about our messages. One of them promised to pray and ask God. We have no idea if he will, but I sure hope so.
Elder Brogan tried to make no-bake cookies at the bishops house; they did not work, but they do taste heavenly.
A 7th Day Adventist wanted to argue with us about the whole Saturday vs. Sunday thing. Usually we just talk to Catholics or Nondoms, so that was interesting.
Elder Urias gave me his watch, so I now know what time it is.
We were rejected many, many, many times this week. The litany is always the same (feel free to add in emotions if you wish--it might make it more interesting):
-Where is this written in the Bible?-
- It is not written in the Bible. It is written in the Book of Mormon, a second, powerful witness of Jesus Christ. That is why we asked you to pray about it to know if it is true.
- Repeat of prior statement
- Yeah, us too. Now if you pray they will tell you these things are true.
- Do you believe that god put all of his wisdom and knowledge into the Bible?
- Why?
- Have you read the Bible?
- Have you read any part of the Bible?
- How do you know the Bible is true?
- Ok. Great. So would you oppose to God giving us more of his word?
- Sister, do you read the Bible?
- Ok. Well God is talking to us in our times through prophets, just like in the days of old. If you pray about these things, you can know for yourself whether or not they are true. Could you pray please sister?
- What?
- Great, well if you ask him if these things are true, he will tell you they are!
- Huh? Why not?
- Right sister, that is why we asked you to pray, so that God can tell you they are true.
- Repeat above statement.
- What? Why?
- Do you believe that God put all of his wisdom and knowledge into the Bible?
- So would you please explain to us how the internet came into being?
- Man created the internet, and I know of no place in the Bible where it even remotely mentions this particular invention. Is man, then, wiser than God?
- Great! So basically, God revealed to someone something that doesn´t come in the Bible, right? That means he shared more of his wisdom with mankind, which means the Bible does not hold all the truth that God knows, right?
- Excellent Sister, so would you please pray about these things so that you can know for yourself?
- Right, which is why you should ask god, and he will tell you they are true. You do not have to rely on us, or any other person. You can ask God, and He cannot lie to you! So, how about offering a prayer sister?
SIGH! Now, I could go on, but you get the basic idea. Usually the person is dumbfounded and the missionaries are tired. The conversation finally ends when we just leave.
So, until next time. Love you guys.
Saludos, Amor, y Todo que te puedo ofrecer
Salutations, Love, and all that I can offer
Elder Scott
So, until next time. Love you guys.
Saludos, Amor, y Todo que te puedo ofrecer
Salutations, Love, and all that I can offer
Elder Scott
Saturday 25 July 2015
July 20, 2015 -- To Clarify
To clarify what I sent last week, Elder Robertshaw is my companion. He is an awesome guy. We spend all day singing and talking to people. It is hot. We have people we teach. The end.
Did you like my clarification? :)
Did you like my clarification? :)
So I would like to inform everyone that I am really happy!
I fasted Friday, which was an excellent day to fast because not only was it very hot, but we got to clean out the baptismal font! The drainage equipment does not work, and the water tanks are full in our chapel; so we got to empty all the water out with buckets. It was about 2 feet deep, green, with lots of cockroaches (dead) and mosquitoes (alive). It only took 4 hours out of our day to empty, clean, fill, empty again (the water came out yellow) clean again, and then fill the font. After that we ate, and we were exhausted when we finally had the baptism. But we appreciated it a lot more, let me tell you.
We had an excellent week! The number of investigators who came to church doubled, we still had 25 lessons, and we got 6 references, 3 of which we contacted. They didn't want anything to do with us, but we managed to get a ton of work done in spite of spending so much time not teaching. (We spent like a day and a half doing other chores such as cleaning fonts.)
I had interchanges with the zone leaders, which was all right. They do not really have anyone they're teaching, unfortunately, so we contacted a lot. There is an elder in training over there, too, so he got to practice talking.
In other (bad) news, there is a man in priesthood who is a nonmember living in free union (not married) with a ward member. (His son is a returned missionary who baptized his girlfriend and then moved in with her.) He explodes whenever someone bears their testimony in church, refuses to lower his voice (he talks at a nice outside-voice yell level), and basically attempts to ruin the meeting for everyone else. He also takes offense whenever the topic is any type of sin (especially sexual sin) and takes all of the class time whining. We asked him to try to be more reverent and he told us to take a hike in very strong language. We are going to eat in his home on Thursday alone because the other elders´ investigator invited them to eat that day and would not let them say no. :(
We found a woman named Gloria this week who came to church, wants to be baptized, and already believes in what we say. She is already reading the book of Mormon, and basically, she is an awesome person.
Have an excellent week!
Saludos, Amor, y Todo que te puedo ofrecer
Salutations, Love, and all that I can offer
Elder Scott
Saludos, Amor, y Todo que te puedo ofrecer
Salutations, Love, and all that I can offer
Elder Scott
Monday 13 July 2015
July 13, 2015 -- Mine
Well, the area (Reynosa) is officially mine now, which is good because we worked hard this week. We had 30 lessons (the weekly average is 12-18 lessons), and we have a ton of people that want to feed us, go to church, and get baptized. Unfortunately, only two of them went to church.
I had no idea I would enjoy being with someone from the MTC this much. Elder Robertshaw knows a lot of music, too, and we amuse ourselves when we are walking by singing. Also, we get to sing in lessons (a luxury, because generally no one can sing and it drives away the spirit when they try), and he is good.
In other news, I got the stuff that my old companion did not initially send me, and my shoes and my razor were both covered in mold! I am going to figure out how to clean that so that I can use them.
Some less actives picked us up in the middle of the street and tried to rent a house to us when we were going to a lesson appointment we had. It was incredibly strange, and the lesson fell through when we finally got there.
We now know the area, so we have no problems arriving anywhere.
Elder Robertshaw opens the bible to a random page to find a spiritual thought to share with one of his friends who is currently serving her mission. He opened to Isaiah 62:5, which we thought was hilarious. I do not believe he will send her that scripture.
The doctor cleared me, so apparently I am healed. It sure is nice to be able to preach again. Unfortunately, we are entering something called the Kanicula, which means it does not rain, the temperature is always at least 40 degrees C, and the sun is very strong. But I am enjoying it.
I have nothing else to talk about really, so here are some people I met here:
Tomi is a nine-year-old boy we will baptize next week because we just reactivated his parents. He is an awesome kid.
Eloi is a 10 year old boy whose family was recently baptized, but he was unable to be in the lessons because he was with his father (divorced parents). He will be baptized in two weeks.
Baltazar is a seventy-year-old blind man, grandfather of Eloi, and he will receive the priesthood this week. It would be amazing if he could baptize his grandson.
Guadalupe is a Jehovah´s Witness we talked to twice. She warmed up to us after the first lesson, then when we came the second time she refused to talk to us and acted like we were not even there. It made us sad. She accepted a baptismal date in the first lesson, but I do not know what happened the morning of the next day, and she was super cold when we came back the next night. :(
The Gutierrez Mata family are creentes (catholics who do not attend church) that accepted us and a baptismal date for the 7th. The trick is getting them to church.
José Angel and Argelio are a brother and sister (51 and ?? [because you do not ask a woman her age]) who are also creentes but who asked all the really good questions missionaries want to hear about baptism, authority, why there are so many churches, the works.
Enrique is a sixteen-year-old kid that works in a bakery. He knows the Book of Mormon is true but doesn't want to go to church. His mother also believes in the Book of Mormon and told us that we would probably conquer her with that book, which is super awkward for a missionary, given that conquering has many meanings and the only common use is sexual. It is correct to say, but it was a little surprising. Unfortunately, they are moving back to their home in Colima, :( , which is like 16 hours from here. In car.
I had no idea I would enjoy being with someone from the MTC this much. Elder Robertshaw knows a lot of music, too, and we amuse ourselves when we are walking by singing. Also, we get to sing in lessons (a luxury, because generally no one can sing and it drives away the spirit when they try), and he is good.
In other news, I got the stuff that my old companion did not initially send me, and my shoes and my razor were both covered in mold! I am going to figure out how to clean that so that I can use them.
Some less actives picked us up in the middle of the street and tried to rent a house to us when we were going to a lesson appointment we had. It was incredibly strange, and the lesson fell through when we finally got there.
We now know the area, so we have no problems arriving anywhere.
Elder Robertshaw opens the bible to a random page to find a spiritual thought to share with one of his friends who is currently serving her mission. He opened to Isaiah 62:5, which we thought was hilarious. I do not believe he will send her that scripture.
The doctor cleared me, so apparently I am healed. It sure is nice to be able to preach again. Unfortunately, we are entering something called the Kanicula, which means it does not rain, the temperature is always at least 40 degrees C, and the sun is very strong. But I am enjoying it.
I have nothing else to talk about really, so here are some people I met here:
Tomi is a nine-year-old boy we will baptize next week because we just reactivated his parents. He is an awesome kid.
Eloi is a 10 year old boy whose family was recently baptized, but he was unable to be in the lessons because he was with his father (divorced parents). He will be baptized in two weeks.
Baltazar is a seventy-year-old blind man, grandfather of Eloi, and he will receive the priesthood this week. It would be amazing if he could baptize his grandson.
Guadalupe is a Jehovah´s Witness we talked to twice. She warmed up to us after the first lesson, then when we came the second time she refused to talk to us and acted like we were not even there. It made us sad. She accepted a baptismal date in the first lesson, but I do not know what happened the morning of the next day, and she was super cold when we came back the next night. :(
The Gutierrez Mata family are creentes (catholics who do not attend church) that accepted us and a baptismal date for the 7th. The trick is getting them to church.
José Angel and Argelio are a brother and sister (51 and ?? [because you do not ask a woman her age]) who are also creentes but who asked all the really good questions missionaries want to hear about baptism, authority, why there are so many churches, the works.
Enrique is a sixteen-year-old kid that works in a bakery. He knows the Book of Mormon is true but doesn't want to go to church. His mother also believes in the Book of Mormon and told us that we would probably conquer her with that book, which is super awkward for a missionary, given that conquering has many meanings and the only common use is sexual. It is correct to say, but it was a little surprising. Unfortunately, they are moving back to their home in Colima, :( , which is like 16 hours from here. In car.
We also lost another family because they moved, Emma and her kids. They are great people; they just had to leave. They are moving right outside the limits of our area. :(
I met a bunch of other people, but these are few couple that I found interesting. So, there you have them.
That is about it. Love you guys. Have an excellent week.
Saludos, Amor, y Todo que te puedo ofrecer
Salutations, Love, and all that I can offer
Elder Scott
I met a bunch of other people, but these are few couple that I found interesting. So, there you have them.
That is about it. Love you guys. Have an excellent week.
Saludos, Amor, y Todo que te puedo ofrecer
Salutations, Love, and all that I can offer
Elder Scott
Monday 6 July 2015
July 6, 2015 -- Emeritus
Hiya! So I am able to work again now!
And, I got sent on a special interchange with an elder from my district in the MTC named Elder Robertshaw. I also live with Elder Brogan, who was my companion in the MTC. This area has not been assigned to me, however. Elder Robertshaw´s companion hurt himself kicking a ball against a wall and can´t walk for a couple of weeks as a result.
My last (hopefully) doctor´s appointment is today.
Some of my stuff was lost when my companion sent it with President (don´t worry, I will get it eventually). Among these things were my shoes. I thought those would be one of the things my companion was sure to send. I guess it is a good thing that in the mission home there are black trash bags full of things that missionaries who have gone home did not want to take with them. So I have a newish pair of shoes that are ok.
I had a beard! I will not send pictures, but I was unable to shave or do any other self care for a month, so I had lots of hair. I bought a razor (another thing my companion forgot and I will get eventually) and shaved, which is happy. I also found a suit jacket that actually fits me in the mission home, and president asked me whose clothing I was wearing (I told him) and then informed me I looked like a model ;) My waist is now a 31, which I am very happy about. Lets see how I end up :)
One of the suits I brought with me molded. My companion packed it wet in a plastic bag. Oh well. IT doesn´t matter, since I got a replacement.
I am currently an emeritus missionary just like Elder Scott is an emeritus apostle. But I should be returning to duties. I hope everyone has a wonderful week! Love you guys.
Saludos, Amor, y Todo que puedo ofrecer a tí,
Salutations, Love, and All that I have to offer you,
Elder Scott
And, I got sent on a special interchange with an elder from my district in the MTC named Elder Robertshaw. I also live with Elder Brogan, who was my companion in the MTC. This area has not been assigned to me, however. Elder Robertshaw´s companion hurt himself kicking a ball against a wall and can´t walk for a couple of weeks as a result.
My last (hopefully) doctor´s appointment is today.
Some of my stuff was lost when my companion sent it with President (don´t worry, I will get it eventually). Among these things were my shoes. I thought those would be one of the things my companion was sure to send. I guess it is a good thing that in the mission home there are black trash bags full of things that missionaries who have gone home did not want to take with them. So I have a newish pair of shoes that are ok.
I had a beard! I will not send pictures, but I was unable to shave or do any other self care for a month, so I had lots of hair. I bought a razor (another thing my companion forgot and I will get eventually) and shaved, which is happy. I also found a suit jacket that actually fits me in the mission home, and president asked me whose clothing I was wearing (I told him) and then informed me I looked like a model ;) My waist is now a 31, which I am very happy about. Lets see how I end up :)
One of the suits I brought with me molded. My companion packed it wet in a plastic bag. Oh well. IT doesn´t matter, since I got a replacement.
I am currently an emeritus missionary just like Elder Scott is an emeritus apostle. But I should be returning to duties. I hope everyone has a wonderful week! Love you guys.
Saludos, Amor, y Todo que puedo ofrecer a tí,
Salutations, Love, and All that I have to offer you,
Elder Scott
Wednesday 1 July 2015
June 29, 2015 -- out of the hospital
Hey! I am alive. I have another week of down time. The internal bleeding stopped, which is a good bonus. I have read 3 of the church manuals. I learned many interesting things about the new testament, the old testament, the book of mormon, I finished the bible, the book of mormon, all of the liahonas that are in the house. Basically I get to start over the book of mormon again and then I have nothing else to do. But, that is what 4 weeks of down time means.
Love you guys!
Monday 29 June 2015
June 22, 2015 -- hospital
The mission office called to tell us that Derik is still in the hospital and would be calling us because he could "use a little cheering up." He still has a very serious infection, and when we talked to him Friday, he said he would be in the hospital for several more days (at least four) and then the plan is for him to be in the mission home in bed for two weeks. He sounds relatively fine, but he also seems discouraged but is trying to keep his head up. We're going to be holding a family fast on Monday if you'd like to participate. We're pretty concerned about him but know that he is in the Lord's hands, so he'll be fine. Prayers sure would be appreciated!
Thursday 18 June 2015
June 15, 2015 -- Useless
So I spent the entire week in the hospital. I had a urinary tract infection, which is really very fun, because if you do not want to operate that means they just keep you under observation (very close observation), stick an IV into you, and then give you a bunch of drugs. I did nothing. I read Alma, which is a plus, but overall the experience was not a good one.
The Castillo family came to visit me, which was a surprise because no one even knew I was in the hospital. It was a very boring week. I was fasting for five days. Now they let me leave, but I take a bunch of pills. And I am supposed to rest for 2-3 days in house. Grr.
Saludos, Amor, y Todo que puedo ofrecer a tí,
Salutations, Love, and All that I have to offer you,
Elder Scott
The Castillo family came to visit me, which was a surprise because no one even knew I was in the hospital. It was a very boring week. I was fasting for five days. Now they let me leave, but I take a bunch of pills. And I am supposed to rest for 2-3 days in house. Grr.
Saludos, Amor, y Todo que puedo ofrecer a tí,
Salutations, Love, and All that I have to offer you,
Elder Scott
June 8, 2015 -- Weird Things
A man offered us water during one of our lessons. We accepted and drank (we are always thirsty), and then I found a large wriggling black worm in my glass. That was gross.
But, I will now explain why this is not such a big deal after all.
We went and had a lesson with the Castillo family. They all cried. A lot. The spirit was very powerful. Elder Smith was jumping out of his seat because he was so excited about it. This family is amazing. They know. We are just waiting to see when they get baptized.
And the man that gave me the worm? We prayed for him. I got to be mouth, and we prayed for direction. To know where we should go to find the people that are ready for the message. At the end of the prayer, I looked at my companion and said (in Spanish), "we are going to go to the Sauteña, and we are going to Portales, then we are going to enter the first street we see and knock doors--there is someone waiting for us on this street, and the first person who answers will invite us in and will receive the message." And that was exactly what happened. He came to church, he loved it, and he has a batismal date that he is excited about. In his prayer during our lesson (investigators almost never pray the first time), he started to ask if what we shared was true, stopped and said he already knew it is true. The guy is really, really awesome. His name is Javier.
Also, Elizabeth, who is an investigator we have who is very aged and sick came to church and enjoyed it. It is great here.
We have a couple of investigators that my companion calls dimepieces. He explained to me what that is; apparently using the ranking system 1-10, you can explain to other people how cute you think someone is. 1 is low, 10 is high. Evidently, we are teaching some 10's according to him. I thought this funny so I wanted to include it.
I guess I will go back to work now. Love you guys.
Saludos, Amor, y Todo que puedo ofrecer a tí,
Salutations, Love, and All that I have to offer you,
Elder Scott
But, I will now explain why this is not such a big deal after all.
We went and had a lesson with the Castillo family. They all cried. A lot. The spirit was very powerful. Elder Smith was jumping out of his seat because he was so excited about it. This family is amazing. They know. We are just waiting to see when they get baptized.
And the man that gave me the worm? We prayed for him. I got to be mouth, and we prayed for direction. To know where we should go to find the people that are ready for the message. At the end of the prayer, I looked at my companion and said (in Spanish), "we are going to go to the Sauteña, and we are going to Portales, then we are going to enter the first street we see and knock doors--there is someone waiting for us on this street, and the first person who answers will invite us in and will receive the message." And that was exactly what happened. He came to church, he loved it, and he has a batismal date that he is excited about. In his prayer during our lesson (investigators almost never pray the first time), he started to ask if what we shared was true, stopped and said he already knew it is true. The guy is really, really awesome. His name is Javier.
Also, Elizabeth, who is an investigator we have who is very aged and sick came to church and enjoyed it. It is great here.
We have a couple of investigators that my companion calls dimepieces. He explained to me what that is; apparently using the ranking system 1-10, you can explain to other people how cute you think someone is. 1 is low, 10 is high. Evidently, we are teaching some 10's according to him. I thought this funny so I wanted to include it.
I guess I will go back to work now. Love you guys.
Saludos, Amor, y Todo que puedo ofrecer a tí,
Salutations, Love, and All that I have to offer you,
Elder Scott
Tuesday 2 June 2015
June 1, 2015 -- Rio Bravo
There are a ton of bugs. A ton. The gnats make it darker than it is, and I am always itching. BUT, I am really really happy here. This place is awesome. The main reason why this place is so great is because we already found some of the people we got sent here together for.
I am currently serving here with Elder Smith, born in Utah, raised in California. He is a surfer dude during the summer and a skier dude during the winter. He is a very, very friendly person. He was having zero success here with his last companion due to this elder´s unfortunate lack of wanting to be in the mission. So, we had no one when I arrived.
Then we got to contacting and contacted the Castillo family. There are six of them. Their names are Irma, Juan, Juliet, Lizbeth, Lissete, and Juan Jr. They invited us in because the mom (Irma) had seen a post in facebook that talked about the missionaries! It said that we walk around all day in the heat, without water, trying to help people learn about God, and that many people turn us away. So she decided that the next time the missionaries tried to talk to her, they would enter her home regardless of what she was doing at the time. ;)- We found her washing clothing. We got invited in, we shared the message, and then we got invited back. That first lesson, only Irma and Juliet were present; the rest were doing homework and getting ready to play soccer. In the second lesson, they were all seated on the couches waiting for us when we arrived, and they listened. And they accepted. Juliet actually told us this is what God has been preparing them to hear their entire lives. All of the kids went through catacysm, so they had a basic knowledge of the bible. They decided they would be baptized the 13th of this month. Then, they came to church. They arrived at 8:40. The meeting started at 9:00. Most of the members arrived at 9:20. And they absolutely loved it. ;)
Also, people are more willing to talk to us here, even though it is because most of the time they are drunk. We prayed to know where God wanted us to go, and he sent us to Sauteña. There, we met a man who is possessed. He investigated the church, and on the day of his baptism for some reason the bishop could not attend, so he decided he did not want to do it. And he stopped going. He went to another church. He explained to us about his Espíritu Santo, or holy spirit. He remembers how the spirit felt from when he went to church with us. But he has a different spirit now--one that appears to him in a cloud and tells him to do things, makes him feel really good, and started taking control of his body while we were talking to him. It changed his voice and started yelling things that were incomprehensible at us. We did all that we could. But he let the demon win in the end. We are trying to find him again so that we can exorcise him.
So we prayed again to know where God wanted us to go. We got the answer: everywhere. Every part of the city [with the exception of one where we got a distinct "NO--do not go there"], we got an affirmative. This place is great. :)
There is a lot of mud, though. It floods mud here, not water. The flooding basically ended, but when it rains we get pretty dirty.
And that was the week.
Love you guys!
Saludos, Amor, y Todo que puedo ofrecer a tí,
Salutations, Love, and All that I have to offer you,
Elder Scott
I am currently serving here with Elder Smith, born in Utah, raised in California. He is a surfer dude during the summer and a skier dude during the winter. He is a very, very friendly person. He was having zero success here with his last companion due to this elder´s unfortunate lack of wanting to be in the mission. So, we had no one when I arrived.
Then we got to contacting and contacted the Castillo family. There are six of them. Their names are Irma, Juan, Juliet, Lizbeth, Lissete, and Juan Jr. They invited us in because the mom (Irma) had seen a post in facebook that talked about the missionaries! It said that we walk around all day in the heat, without water, trying to help people learn about God, and that many people turn us away. So she decided that the next time the missionaries tried to talk to her, they would enter her home regardless of what she was doing at the time. ;)- We found her washing clothing. We got invited in, we shared the message, and then we got invited back. That first lesson, only Irma and Juliet were present; the rest were doing homework and getting ready to play soccer. In the second lesson, they were all seated on the couches waiting for us when we arrived, and they listened. And they accepted. Juliet actually told us this is what God has been preparing them to hear their entire lives. All of the kids went through catacysm, so they had a basic knowledge of the bible. They decided they would be baptized the 13th of this month. Then, they came to church. They arrived at 8:40. The meeting started at 9:00. Most of the members arrived at 9:20. And they absolutely loved it. ;)
Also, people are more willing to talk to us here, even though it is because most of the time they are drunk. We prayed to know where God wanted us to go, and he sent us to Sauteña. There, we met a man who is possessed. He investigated the church, and on the day of his baptism for some reason the bishop could not attend, so he decided he did not want to do it. And he stopped going. He went to another church. He explained to us about his Espíritu Santo, or holy spirit. He remembers how the spirit felt from when he went to church with us. But he has a different spirit now--one that appears to him in a cloud and tells him to do things, makes him feel really good, and started taking control of his body while we were talking to him. It changed his voice and started yelling things that were incomprehensible at us. We did all that we could. But he let the demon win in the end. We are trying to find him again so that we can exorcise him.
So we prayed again to know where God wanted us to go. We got the answer: everywhere. Every part of the city [with the exception of one where we got a distinct "NO--do not go there"], we got an affirmative. This place is great. :)
There is a lot of mud, though. It floods mud here, not water. The flooding basically ended, but when it rains we get pretty dirty.
And that was the week.
Love you guys!
Saludos, Amor, y Todo que puedo ofrecer a tí,
Salutations, Love, and All that I have to offer you,
Elder Scott
Monday 1 June 2015
May 25, 2015 -- One Day More
It continues to amaze me how ignorant people can be of their own `beliefs`. Emmanuel, an investigator with a lot of questions, explained this to us. Lots of missionaries have tried to preach to him. We have been the only ones he has not sucked dry of information in 1 hour, basically because the gospel has substance and all the answers are there. He explained to us that he has managed to turn people away from their church by showing them evidence of what exactly their leaders are doing wrong, based in the bible and teachings of their church. He tried the masons thing with us, so we went to Matthew 22:11-14 and he didn't ask any more questions.
Also I had exchanges with Elder Uribe. We talked with a man named Mario who asked us many questions that we answered very easily. The spirit was very powerful. He wanted to cry but did not understand why. I get frustrated a lot that people teach apostasy about how the spirit feels and for this people do not understand it when it testifie. He asked us specifically not to tell him to pray but to give him concrete answers. So we did. But in the end, it comes down to prayer. We started with "How can I arrive at a knowledge of whether or not god exists" and ended with dinosaurs. It was really, really awesome. Afterward we were drained.
My companion, Elder Palma, received his Patriarchal Blessing, which was really cool. I got to sit in on it because I am the closest thing he has to family right now. :)
The Medina family invited us to a party. One of the little girls had a birthday. It was incredibly uncomfortable, but I did an awesome Elsa balloon.
It rained (a lot) and flooded for the first time I know of here. We had to climb gates and fences to get out of the street we live in. It was very comical in our suits. We ended up getting wet anyway.
I am going to Rió Bravo tomorrow. That means I do not get to know what happens with the people we are teaching right now. But it is all right.
Until next week and I have things to say,
Saludos, Amor, y Todo que puedo ofrecer a tí,
Salutations, Love, and All that I have to offer you,
Elder Scott
Also I had exchanges with Elder Uribe. We talked with a man named Mario who asked us many questions that we answered very easily. The spirit was very powerful. He wanted to cry but did not understand why. I get frustrated a lot that people teach apostasy about how the spirit feels and for this people do not understand it when it testifie. He asked us specifically not to tell him to pray but to give him concrete answers. So we did. But in the end, it comes down to prayer. We started with "How can I arrive at a knowledge of whether or not god exists" and ended with dinosaurs. It was really, really awesome. Afterward we were drained.
My companion, Elder Palma, received his Patriarchal Blessing, which was really cool. I got to sit in on it because I am the closest thing he has to family right now. :)
The Medina family invited us to a party. One of the little girls had a birthday. It was incredibly uncomfortable, but I did an awesome Elsa balloon.
It rained (a lot) and flooded for the first time I know of here. We had to climb gates and fences to get out of the street we live in. It was very comical in our suits. We ended up getting wet anyway.
I am going to Rió Bravo tomorrow. That means I do not get to know what happens with the people we are teaching right now. But it is all right.
Until next week and I have things to say,
Saludos, Amor, y Todo que puedo ofrecer a tí,
Salutations, Love, and All that I have to offer you,
Elder Scott
Friday 22 May 2015
May 18, 2015 -- Stinky
Everything went wrong this week. But, whatever; we are still alive. None of our investigators want to go to church. They want to do everything but go to church. And the people that we have who went, for difficult situations with the members, have quit going also. We went we went to pick up investigators, and they were not at home. They almost never do anything if we are not there forcing them to act and learn.
:( We also got kicked out of a mall where we were preaching. The
guard was a Jehovah's Witness and didn´t want the Mormons preaching.
My head hurts all the time.
On the bright side, people have started accepting when we offer help. We cut grass and trees with blunt machetes for three hours Sunday, cleared a lot (as in the area, no `lot`), cleared ground where part of a house burned down (it turns out that it will be reconstructed as a church--interesting, and various other jobs.
We have started teaching a psychiatrist, and it is really interesting because he actually knows religious information and history--the Council of Nycea, how churches began, founders, and back stories--and he is actually reading the book of Mormon! That's awesome, man!
But really, other than this I have nothing to say. This week will be better.
Saludos, Amor, y Todo que puedo ofrecer a tí,
Salutations, Love, and All that I have to offer you,
Elder Scott
My head hurts all the time.
On the bright side, people have started accepting when we offer help. We cut grass and trees with blunt machetes for three hours Sunday, cleared a lot (as in the area, no `lot`), cleared ground where part of a house burned down (it turns out that it will be reconstructed as a church--interesting, and various other jobs.
We have started teaching a psychiatrist, and it is really interesting because he actually knows religious information and history--the Council of Nycea, how churches began, founders, and back stories--and he is actually reading the book of Mormon! That's awesome, man!
But really, other than this I have nothing to say. This week will be better.
Saludos, Amor, y Todo que puedo ofrecer a tí,
Salutations, Love, and All that I have to offer you,
Elder Scott
Wednesday 13 May 2015
May 11, 2015 -- I have nothing to say.
Talking with you all yesterday was great, and I have almost nothing that I need to say.
So, basically this week nothing interesting happened. I received cake from four different sources, and we had the baptism of the husband of my Relief Society president.
He was baptized and confirmed by people who had absolutely no part in the process, which kind of made me mad, but apparently that is due to a power struggle that is happening between the mission president and the stake president here. All the missionaries might get pulled out of Matamoros due to this. It is because the bishops have started taking control of converts, and they do not have that authority (one even tried to prevent a baptism of the elders in that ward). Basically these wards have begun to reject the missionaries. So President is going to pull out his elders. It is strange to think about that. I guess I have to remember that everyone has free will, and sometimes they use it to hurt themselves, or the people around them, for no more reason than because they do not want to change their perspective. Oh well. All of that is part of the plan god gave us, so I can deal with it.
Still alive and kicking,
Saludos, Amor, y Todo que puedo ofrecer a tí,
Salutations, Love, and All that I have to offer you,
Elder Scott
So, basically this week nothing interesting happened. I received cake from four different sources, and we had the baptism of the husband of my Relief Society president.
He was baptized and confirmed by people who had absolutely no part in the process, which kind of made me mad, but apparently that is due to a power struggle that is happening between the mission president and the stake president here. All the missionaries might get pulled out of Matamoros due to this. It is because the bishops have started taking control of converts, and they do not have that authority (one even tried to prevent a baptism of the elders in that ward). Basically these wards have begun to reject the missionaries. So President is going to pull out his elders. It is strange to think about that. I guess I have to remember that everyone has free will, and sometimes they use it to hurt themselves, or the people around them, for no more reason than because they do not want to change their perspective. Oh well. All of that is part of the plan god gave us, so I can deal with it.
Still alive and kicking,
Saludos, Amor, y Todo que puedo ofrecer a tí,
Salutations, Love, and All that I have to offer you,
Elder Scott
Tuesday 5 May 2015
May 4, 2015 -- My Throat
is really sore. I spent the week blowing up balloons, and then I fasted. I guess I should have figured that would happen. On the bright side, I can now do three different types of minions, and depending on how many eyes I give them, that means 6 different minions. I didn't need more because those were enough. I also did many other balloons--many--because I did two children's activities in the chapel in addition to the kids in the street and the Medina family.
In other news, with elder Phelps we reactivated a guy who went to church three times, went to the temple, went to church one more time, and then was in a car accident in which he ended up in the hospital in a coma. He had a vision in his coma. He had forgotten the things that happened during his life, and Moroni showed him things. He was very interested in everything. The angel kept asking, "Ok, you ready to move on?" And he would said yes. But at one point one of the sisters in the ward started yelling at him that he had to come back. He was super confused because he remembered nothing of his life. Three times she implored him to return for his family, and finally he said he wanted to stay. Moroni let him go. He went back, talked to the sister and found out about himself--about his life, his family, etc.--and he decided he would go back because they needed him. Then he woke up from his coma. This man remembered that he was a worthy priesthood holder. He has forgotten almost everything; the only things he can remember are the ordinances he has done, the covenants made, the temple, us, the missionaries, and church--basically all the important stuff. He does not even remember being inactive. I believe this to be a tender mercy. He literally has a clean start and doesn't have a memory of any of the things he didn't do so well. And he is Super grateful for his blessings.
We were doing service (making posters) for an investigator one day when, wouldn't you know it, the house in front of where we were got set on fire. The house we were in was made of wood (normally they are made of cement here), so the fact that we were there was helpful, because we feel that the house was protected because we were there. We had not known why we needed to go with this specific person, but we were on a bus headed to visit someone else and felt we should visit her instead. Then we could not leave and didn't know why. Then that happened, and afterward we could leave. I think they were safe because we were over there. Maybe I am just crazy, but when bad things happen around elders, generally they do not get affected and neither do the people they are with.
That's what I have right now. See you all next week.
Saludos, Amor, y Todo que puedo ofrecer a tí,
Salutations, Love, and All that I have to offer you,
Elder Scott
In other news, with elder Phelps we reactivated a guy who went to church three times, went to the temple, went to church one more time, and then was in a car accident in which he ended up in the hospital in a coma. He had a vision in his coma. He had forgotten the things that happened during his life, and Moroni showed him things. He was very interested in everything. The angel kept asking, "Ok, you ready to move on?" And he would said yes. But at one point one of the sisters in the ward started yelling at him that he had to come back. He was super confused because he remembered nothing of his life. Three times she implored him to return for his family, and finally he said he wanted to stay. Moroni let him go. He went back, talked to the sister and found out about himself--about his life, his family, etc.--and he decided he would go back because they needed him. Then he woke up from his coma. This man remembered that he was a worthy priesthood holder. He has forgotten almost everything; the only things he can remember are the ordinances he has done, the covenants made, the temple, us, the missionaries, and church--basically all the important stuff. He does not even remember being inactive. I believe this to be a tender mercy. He literally has a clean start and doesn't have a memory of any of the things he didn't do so well. And he is Super grateful for his blessings.
We were doing service (making posters) for an investigator one day when, wouldn't you know it, the house in front of where we were got set on fire. The house we were in was made of wood (normally they are made of cement here), so the fact that we were there was helpful, because we feel that the house was protected because we were there. We had not known why we needed to go with this specific person, but we were on a bus headed to visit someone else and felt we should visit her instead. Then we could not leave and didn't know why. Then that happened, and afterward we could leave. I think they were safe because we were over there. Maybe I am just crazy, but when bad things happen around elders, generally they do not get affected and neither do the people they are with.
That's what I have right now. See you all next week.
Saludos, Amor, y Todo que puedo ofrecer a tí,
Salutations, Love, and All that I have to offer you,
Elder Scott
Monday 27 April 2015
April 27, 2015 -- Take A Look At Me Now
I heard that song this week, the one by Phil Collins. I had no idea I missed music so much! Also the mission released a video that all the missionaries had to watch that had an acoustic version of Sail in it, which means I could not concentrate because I was dying of music deprivation of that kind. Part of the problem is that my usb got a virus when I shared a song with one of my friends here, so I lost half of my music. BUT, I still have Josh, Andrea, and Inside Out, as well as some piano, so I will probably survive.
Sarahi (that is how you spell it apparently) did get baptized, but José didn't because he is going to be baptized on his wife´s birthday (the 6th of May). And Rosalio, the other man who we were going to baptize, told us he had gone suicidal, and then he dropped off the face of the earth. We do not know where he went and neither do any of his friends and acquaintances.
In other, more sunny, news, this week contains día del niño, which is children´s day, which means the members booked me for the week to do balloon animals for them. I have to figure out how to do minions--all I remember is that they are squat fat yellow things with goggles in coveralls. That shouldn't be too hard to figure out, right? The ward also did an orchestra, which was really really neat, although practically all of the nonmembers who went didn't want to fill out the reference cards we handed out. But, people started talking to us when we were just standing in the road and have continued inviting us to their houses. Less actives in a subdivision that I have never before seen gave us more cake and also fed us the day after when the members fell through on us. So, we're altogether cool. They also are tracking down the aunts of my companion who live here but we have been unable to contact. The family of thirty surprised us and made us dinner two times this week. People give us fruits when they see us.
I received an innocent looking cake from other missionaries that ended up being 3 weeks old. Given that Mexicans use a lot of milk in their cakes, this means it was rancid. I ate it and suffered for two days. But I am in the clear once again.
A little kid whistled to us, so we went to his house. There we were confronted by his father who had a lot of questions. He has studied a lot and has a lot of Bible knowledge. But given controversial topics, he asked pointed questions that are impossible for people to answer using only the Bible. When we answered them and bore testimony, he asked us to baptize him right away in a large container of water he had ready for this purpose behind his house. We told him we could not do so if he was not willing to do a couple of things: first, take the lessons because he had a lot more questions we did not have time sufficient to answer, second, go to church to know if its real, and, third, decide for himself by reading the Book of Mormon. We want him to get baptized for himself, not just because I could explain profound doctrine to him. We'll see what happens this week.
I had a night of pure insomnia this week when I ate the cake. That also happened to be a day of exchanges, where we swap companions for one day. So I spent the night reading and worked two days straight. I still do not feel tired, but I can sleep now, so that is much better.
That's all I have to report this week.
Love ya.
Saludos, Amor, y Todo que puedo ofrecer a tí,
Salutations, Love, and All that I have to offer you,
Elder Scott
Sarahi (that is how you spell it apparently) did get baptized, but José didn't because he is going to be baptized on his wife´s birthday (the 6th of May). And Rosalio, the other man who we were going to baptize, told us he had gone suicidal, and then he dropped off the face of the earth. We do not know where he went and neither do any of his friends and acquaintances.
In other, more sunny, news, this week contains día del niño, which is children´s day, which means the members booked me for the week to do balloon animals for them. I have to figure out how to do minions--all I remember is that they are squat fat yellow things with goggles in coveralls. That shouldn't be too hard to figure out, right? The ward also did an orchestra, which was really really neat, although practically all of the nonmembers who went didn't want to fill out the reference cards we handed out. But, people started talking to us when we were just standing in the road and have continued inviting us to their houses. Less actives in a subdivision that I have never before seen gave us more cake and also fed us the day after when the members fell through on us. So, we're altogether cool. They also are tracking down the aunts of my companion who live here but we have been unable to contact. The family of thirty surprised us and made us dinner two times this week. People give us fruits when they see us.
I received an innocent looking cake from other missionaries that ended up being 3 weeks old. Given that Mexicans use a lot of milk in their cakes, this means it was rancid. I ate it and suffered for two days. But I am in the clear once again.
A little kid whistled to us, so we went to his house. There we were confronted by his father who had a lot of questions. He has studied a lot and has a lot of Bible knowledge. But given controversial topics, he asked pointed questions that are impossible for people to answer using only the Bible. When we answered them and bore testimony, he asked us to baptize him right away in a large container of water he had ready for this purpose behind his house. We told him we could not do so if he was not willing to do a couple of things: first, take the lessons because he had a lot more questions we did not have time sufficient to answer, second, go to church to know if its real, and, third, decide for himself by reading the Book of Mormon. We want him to get baptized for himself, not just because I could explain profound doctrine to him. We'll see what happens this week.
I had a night of pure insomnia this week when I ate the cake. That also happened to be a day of exchanges, where we swap companions for one day. So I spent the night reading and worked two days straight. I still do not feel tired, but I can sleep now, so that is much better.
That's all I have to report this week.
Love ya.
Saludos, Amor, y Todo que puedo ofrecer a tí,
Salutations, Love, and All that I have to offer you,
Elder Scott
Wednesday 22 April 2015
April 20, 2015 -- Elder Palma
Hello fambly.
This week lots of things happened.
1: Sugey got baptized. She is the woman with the excommunicated husband. I got to confirm her, and my companion baptized her. She is super happy about everything.
2: Brother Joseph (José), the husband of my Relief Society president will be baptized this week. He didn´t feel ready, but this week he will be. Also Sarai, the friend of his daughter, will be baptized the same day, same time. José told me I have to baptize him.
3: Rosalio, the man who was suicidal, has not talked to us and is not answering his phone. But we should see him tomorrow, so we're hoping for the best.
4: Juana and Leslie had their baptismal dates moved because Juana has to work this Saturday and is going to be absolutely dead. I taught them using an avengers sticker we found on the ground on the way to their house. I explained that they are sometimes unable to fight due to problems with the substances we do not use (Hawkeye gets coffee jitters and cannot aim his bow, Hulk is using a suppressant drug that prevents him from getting angry and so cannot become the hulk, Iron man cannot breathe because his lungs shut down from tobacco, and so on). Basically, everyone dies if someone messes up. That is how these substances are for our bodies. They understood perfectly. It was really cool.
5: The Medina Family: These are the 30 people. All of the men drink and all of them live in free union, but the young women are super animated about learning. They also give us food when we visit. It is really very strange but cool. So far like four of them go to church, and all the women want to change.
6: Brother Richard (Ricardo) is a man who has refused to hear the missionaries for a long time. All of the members of his family are members of the church. We convinced him to pray, and it was the first time he has prayed since he was like 20. Then he gave us cake. It was super sweet, and we could not finish it, so we gave it to the other elders.
7: Elder Palma is my new companion. He is from Tampico, which is another part of Tamaulipas, which is the state of Mexico we are in. Some of his nonmember aunts live in the area. Apparently they will be feeding us often :) He knows a tiny bit about anime because each and every single one of the girlfriends he has had has watched it. Many of his dates were going to conventions. I find this great because he has fun stories about them, and the girls set things up so that their life was like a really tacky boy meets girl and boy is oblivious right up until the girl tackles him so that he will take her out on a date type of movie or tv show. Apparently this is very common for anime people.
8: Little kids: Have I ever mentioned that little kids are the best? They don't make excuses; they either do what you ask them or they don't. They do not lie. They accept what you say and are open to listen. They pay attention. They are in all ways better than adults for learning. We are teaching some kids now, and they want us to come all the time to talk to them. The parents are not as excited, but the kids are awesome. They also invited all their friends to receive us. The parents are the hard part because they do not understand doctrine. They cannot see change viable in what they believe, and that makes it extremely difficult to convince them of the traditions of their fathers vs. the covenants of the lord.
9: I am completely all right now--no health problems. :)
10: I am happy.
Saludos, Amor, y Todo que puedo ofrecer a tí,
Salutations, Love, and All that I have to offer you,
Elder Scott
This week lots of things happened.
1: Sugey got baptized. She is the woman with the excommunicated husband. I got to confirm her, and my companion baptized her. She is super happy about everything.
2: Brother Joseph (José), the husband of my Relief Society president will be baptized this week. He didn´t feel ready, but this week he will be. Also Sarai, the friend of his daughter, will be baptized the same day, same time. José told me I have to baptize him.
3: Rosalio, the man who was suicidal, has not talked to us and is not answering his phone. But we should see him tomorrow, so we're hoping for the best.
4: Juana and Leslie had their baptismal dates moved because Juana has to work this Saturday and is going to be absolutely dead. I taught them using an avengers sticker we found on the ground on the way to their house. I explained that they are sometimes unable to fight due to problems with the substances we do not use (Hawkeye gets coffee jitters and cannot aim his bow, Hulk is using a suppressant drug that prevents him from getting angry and so cannot become the hulk, Iron man cannot breathe because his lungs shut down from tobacco, and so on). Basically, everyone dies if someone messes up. That is how these substances are for our bodies. They understood perfectly. It was really cool.
5: The Medina Family: These are the 30 people. All of the men drink and all of them live in free union, but the young women are super animated about learning. They also give us food when we visit. It is really very strange but cool. So far like four of them go to church, and all the women want to change.
6: Brother Richard (Ricardo) is a man who has refused to hear the missionaries for a long time. All of the members of his family are members of the church. We convinced him to pray, and it was the first time he has prayed since he was like 20. Then he gave us cake. It was super sweet, and we could not finish it, so we gave it to the other elders.
7: Elder Palma is my new companion. He is from Tampico, which is another part of Tamaulipas, which is the state of Mexico we are in. Some of his nonmember aunts live in the area. Apparently they will be feeding us often :) He knows a tiny bit about anime because each and every single one of the girlfriends he has had has watched it. Many of his dates were going to conventions. I find this great because he has fun stories about them, and the girls set things up so that their life was like a really tacky boy meets girl and boy is oblivious right up until the girl tackles him so that he will take her out on a date type of movie or tv show. Apparently this is very common for anime people.
8: Little kids: Have I ever mentioned that little kids are the best? They don't make excuses; they either do what you ask them or they don't. They do not lie. They accept what you say and are open to listen. They pay attention. They are in all ways better than adults for learning. We are teaching some kids now, and they want us to come all the time to talk to them. The parents are not as excited, but the kids are awesome. They also invited all their friends to receive us. The parents are the hard part because they do not understand doctrine. They cannot see change viable in what they believe, and that makes it extremely difficult to convince them of the traditions of their fathers vs. the covenants of the lord.
9: I am completely all right now--no health problems. :)
10: I am happy.
Saludos, Amor, y Todo que puedo ofrecer a tí,
Salutations, Love, and All that I have to offer you,
Elder Scott
Tuesday 14 April 2015
April 13, 2015 -- Teaching 25+ Families!
Cesar´s friend is not baptized (yet) but will do this in the coming weeks. He has a lot of problems right now due to the situation with his family, but apparently our visits as missionaries are preventing him from committing suicide.
The spouse (nonmember) of my relief society president wants me to baptize him this Saturday! That means we have to teach all of the lessons before Thursday.
Also, the excommunicated member whose non-wife I was teaching went on vacation, and it turns out that they got married civilly! That means she will be baptized also Saturday.
The story of the hour: the family that gave us cake. We went back. It is a family of 30 people. They do not know exactly how many of them there are. They can´t count them successfully. :) Every time we visit they give us food. Some of them went to church this week, and everything would be really great if it wasn't for the fact that almost without exception they are living in union libre--or free union. They consider themselves married, but they are not actually married. They believe what we tell them. I hope they have sufficient faith to marry civilly. The last time we visited them, they gave us a really strange vegetable. You put it in flour tortillas, and you eat it. It tastes exactly like pizza, but it looks like spinach. It was incredibly strange.
So, I went to the hospital this week. I started to have a lot of nausea, my stomach hurt, and I got dizzy--the works. They pumped me full of antibiotics and suero (which is like Gatorade, apparently) and sent me out. They also told me I shouldn't be outside in the heat (fat chance I stay inside) and gave me a prescription for meds. I'm feeling better now, although not 100%. The nausea won't go away for some reason.
My companion is getting transferred. Again. I will be going to Rio Bravo to collect my new companion Elder Palmas and returning here.
In other news, the mission president´s wife has stated that the missionaries are not allowed to eat Chinese food. Apparently that is a common cause of stomach issues for missionaries.
Romans is super deceptive. This is why so many people believe works are not important, if you read the JST faith is followed by works as a show that you really care, and these justify belief. James says the same thing.
We currently have 25 families in teaching. We are going to boot some of the less serious ones because there really isn't time to visit them all, and some are going to get baptized. So that'll open things up. The Medina Family (family of 30) are a handful all by themselves.
We shall see what the Lord sends my way this week. Until next week,
Saludos, Amor, y Todo que puedo ofrecer a tí,
Salutations, Love, and All that I have to offer you,
Elder Scott
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The spouse (nonmember) of my relief society president wants me to baptize him this Saturday! That means we have to teach all of the lessons before Thursday.
Also, the excommunicated member whose non-wife I was teaching went on vacation, and it turns out that they got married civilly! That means she will be baptized also Saturday.
The story of the hour: the family that gave us cake. We went back. It is a family of 30 people. They do not know exactly how many of them there are. They can´t count them successfully. :) Every time we visit they give us food. Some of them went to church this week, and everything would be really great if it wasn't for the fact that almost without exception they are living in union libre--or free union. They consider themselves married, but they are not actually married. They believe what we tell them. I hope they have sufficient faith to marry civilly. The last time we visited them, they gave us a really strange vegetable. You put it in flour tortillas, and you eat it. It tastes exactly like pizza, but it looks like spinach. It was incredibly strange.
So, I went to the hospital this week. I started to have a lot of nausea, my stomach hurt, and I got dizzy--the works. They pumped me full of antibiotics and suero (which is like Gatorade, apparently) and sent me out. They also told me I shouldn't be outside in the heat (fat chance I stay inside) and gave me a prescription for meds. I'm feeling better now, although not 100%. The nausea won't go away for some reason.
My companion is getting transferred. Again. I will be going to Rio Bravo to collect my new companion Elder Palmas and returning here.
In other news, the mission president´s wife has stated that the missionaries are not allowed to eat Chinese food. Apparently that is a common cause of stomach issues for missionaries.
Romans is super deceptive. This is why so many people believe works are not important, if you read the JST faith is followed by works as a show that you really care, and these justify belief. James says the same thing.
We currently have 25 families in teaching. We are going to boot some of the less serious ones because there really isn't time to visit them all, and some are going to get baptized. So that'll open things up. The Medina Family (family of 30) are a handful all by themselves.
We shall see what the Lord sends my way this week. Until next week,
Saludos, Amor, y Todo que puedo ofrecer a tí,
Salutations, Love, and All that I have to offer you,
Elder Scott
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