Oh well!
So this week has been good, everything going smoothly. We had a zone conference that I liked a lot and I'll probably mention more of that in this email a little bit later, but we were able to learn quite a bit and hear from our still relatively new Mission Pres. Him and his wife are still getting used to everything, and they have two kids, one that just turned 12 and another that has... 15 years I think? (She's fifteen years old... There comes the Spanish messing with how my English sounds again^^)
So they're both still getting used to having full time missionary parents and all that stuff, it must be interesting, I can't imagine how it'd be. I mean, just with mom in Relief Society and Dad on the High Council I thought we almost never saw our parents home and not working on something. But for full time missionary parents that are constantly traveling around to conferences and dealing with missionaries, problems, finances, weekly letters, etc., must be crazy! But they seem like a great family and they're doing well.
Anyway, this last week we had surprise splits with our DL, Elder Camacho, and the Peruvian, Elder Flores. My companion was a little annoyed because we had just finished planning really well our lessons for the day and practiced them out when our DL called and told us they'd be over for 48 hour splits in an hour and a half. Also because his kidneys are messed up, so he can only eat a specific diet, which he's told to our members in the ward the cook for us, but of course not to the members in the other area he had to go to. But he just packed his stuff and had patience with it all, which was good. Well, then Elder Camacho came and we had our 48 hour splits. We spent the first day taking out a member with us as well, which was fun. It almost seemed like Elder Camacho was a bad luck charm or something though, because a lot of people that have always been home when we drop by were not home for the first time with Elder Camacho, but we were able to search out some good people, make some good contacts, and teach the member boy some good things. He's 16 years old, a really good kid, and has a strong testimony. The young men in Mexico can leave on their missions at 18 years old, so he's already starting to prepare to leave, and he's really excited and solid about his decision to go.
So anyway, it went well with Elder Camacho, and we worked hard in our area as usual. Sweating and getting even more tan as we've been working more in a little colony called Vergel in our area, it's on the very far end of our area, and not really close to anything, so we did a lot of walking around in the sun. Anyway though, so then on Saturday... We had a great baptism! I believe that last week I mentioned Carmela, the mother of Omar and Dalia, our other recent converts of July. Well, Carmela was finally baptized and confirmed this last week. She was very very happy to do so, and their home is becoming a really nice feeling place to be in.
The actual ordinance of the baptism was kind of funny though, because I explained outside how it would go, and showed her where to put her hand to plug her nose after I say the prayer, but then in the water, she kind of panicked and plugged it with the other hand, but every bit still went under the water, and she came up almost slipping all over, but smiling as well. Then I congratulated her, we changed, ended the service, and went to her house for a little chat about the baptism and EMPANADAS! I loooove empanadas. I believe I've mentioned them before, and they really aren't that hard to make. I just have to hope and pray that the Mexican stores in Utah have the dough and the cheese to make them.
But yeah, so that was a good night. Then yesterday, I had to apply something that I learned at zone conference, which I'll mention now.
So, at the Zone Conference, we all got reanimated by our President, because apparently some people were getting down about baptisms falling through and things like that. So he told us this story of when he was working on his house, and things just kept going wrong, over and over, he prayed really hard for things to work out right, but they just wouldn't do it. Then one day he was reading in the bible the story about Shadrack Neeshack and Abednago (no idea how their names are spelled, but sound it out, okay?^^). How they were told by the king that if they didn't agree to worship his idols, they'd be thrown into a fire. They then told him that they would not obey, and that the TRUE God would deliver them. But here comes the key part, then they said, after testifying that God would deliver them out of the king's hands, ''but if not, we will still follow our God, until the end.'' Or something along those lines. But if not, we will follow. That is something our President lacked when he was working on his house, he prayed to God and told him that he was working hard, that he always had been strong in the church, that he deserved the problem to be resolved with his house, but he'd never promised to follow and persevere if things didn't work out. So he did, and guess what, things worked out.
Sometimes, our President said, the baptisms fall through. Sometimes people don't accept. Sometimes you're working as hard as you possibly can, praying constantly, teaching with the Spirit, contacting every person, teaching every possible person that you can and things just don't work out. We get discouraged, and we start to flounder. We figure we'll stop trying so hard, and things go even worse. The key is to ask God for success, but tell him that no matter what the outcome, you will follow through. You will keep doing your best, keep contacting and teaching, keep praying, and try to better yourself wherever you can, and that's when things turn around. With your patience to submit to the will of God.
Well, anyway, so I loved that. So I've been applying it this week, and especially on Sunday. Since we worked so hard this week and taught so many people, we had a LOT of possibilities for people coming to church. Almost too many to keep track of. We did splits in the morning to run by everyone and house by house, we found that people weren't home, or couldn't go for some reason or another. We got to church and as it turned out only one person of our many possibilities came, and we didn't even know who he was. We found out later, that he was a friend of a member, but that he lived in the other two missionary's area, so we couldn't even teach him. Well, I felt a little discouraged, but I knew we had our other ward and more possibilities at 1. So, I prayed for success, but added that no matter what, I'd keep working hard. 12 came around and we set out to pass by the investigators. Again, not one single person was able to come. I just kept on my smile, kept working hard, and followed. Later on, somebody showed up that it had seemed like wouldn't be able to, and I felt the comfort that even with this one person at the church, we'd have enough to continue working and helping people throughout the next week. I dunno, it was just a bit of hope for me, and I know this week will be good.
So, that was that experience, I hope you can all apply it. Sometimes things don't get exactly or even close to the way we want, but with patience, it all turns out alright.
The food continues to be delicious here, and Elder Porter and I have had some fun experiences already. We caught a lizard and put it in a box the other day, with food in the box. Not for the lizard, but for the ants which infest our house to find, and then the lizard could eat the ants. Buuut, the lizard escaped by the time we got back home at night. Oh well!
Also, the other day with Elder Camacho, we ran into a drunk guy in the street that told me I have a light in my eyes (I'm guessing that'd be the fact that they're colored^^), and that I am a blessed man. He then told Elder Camacho that ''This great white man knows the bible better than you! You have many temptations, and need to strengthen yourself to be like this man!'' As I shook his hand to leave, he gripped it tight, looked up into the sky, and started to pray in the strangest babbling way I've ever heard, and blessed me with lots of strange blessings. I... Thanked him... And we turned to leave, when he gripped Elder Camacho and did the same thing. The whole thing was really weird, but pretty hilarious to think about now. He told Camacho to watch out for a girl named Matilde, so we'll see how that goes. Haha
What else, what else...
Well I think that's about it for interesting experiences this week. I haven't seen that giant spider since my second week here in the house. Something makes me think it has already snuck on a boat headed for Europe or something. France... Spain... Germany maybe? Huh, interesting thought^^
Oh! But I will have to start taking pictures of the other weird bugs we see around. There are cockroaches all over in our house, I'm proud to say I kill a good two or three almost daily, but I'm thinking mom will never want to visit my mission field with me after hearing that^^
Anyway, loving life, disfrutando la misiòn y todo.
I guess I'll attach some pictures now and see you all latah!
Looooove you much.
Elder DeFreese
(never mind, internet is being buggy, I'll send the pictures in a seperate email)
Okay, so I guess one picture actually did send to you all, but that was of my son (for a couple days), Elder Bauman and I.
2. Myself and a member that we took with us to teach. His name is Moroni.
3. Carmela, in the middle, our most recent convert. We took this picture with them sitting down because Omar still has trouble standing up with his leg. They aren't smiling, because that's how they just usually take pictures in Mexico, don't know why.
Aaand yeah! That's all!
Love, Elder D.!
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