It has definitely been a wild week but it has made it go by fast.
It all started Tuesday with getting sick. Then Saturday rolls around and my ear was sounding very clogged. I didn't think anything of it nor did anything about it. Well 5 a.m. Sunday morning rolls around and I wake up with an ear ache. I tired to just go back to sleep but it was gradually getting worst. I finally got up and took some Aleve. So after about 40 minutes the Aleve kicked in and I was able to go back to sleep at about 6:15 to wake up at 6:30. So I was feeling fine. We went to church and did all of our meetings. The English ward and the Spanish Branch were combined because of the primary program. So lucky me. I got to translate for all of the little kids. The older kids that had their part memorized were hard because they just talked really fast. And the sunbeams were hard because I couldn't understand them very well. But it was fun. The rest spoke slowly and understandably for the most part. So anyone that gets down and about half way through Sunday school my ear starts hurting again because the Aleve was starting to wear off. So I told Elder Viera that I had to go home to get some Aleve. So we go home and I took a couple then just laid down. Well at about 11 my ear drum popped. It felt so good. It wasn't hurting that bad but it was hurting. So I lay my ear down to make sure it drained something and ended up falling asleep. Well 20 minutes later I woke up and we went on our way. I just had to make sure that there was no goop coming out of my ear all the time. So that was that. Pretty exciting.
Well I don't have to much to report because we were unable to get out and do much this week. But Wednesday we went by the Morales. We just kind of went over The Book of Mormon and what it can do for us. Then we asked if they found out that our church was true, would they get baptized and they said yes. So now we just need to help them find out the church is true then talk to them about baptism. They are awesome.
I got a call this last week from the guys in Connell. Victor, I don't know if you remember him but he is going to get baptized in the middle of November. Also the biggest news was that the Rodriquez family is going to get baptized either the 7th or the 14th of November. I am so excited. They are an awesome family. Hopefully I will be able to make it down there. But that is next transfer so we will have to see.
Also, last week we got a call that Elder Jeffery R. Holland is going to come to the mission on the 14th of November. It is going to be sweet.
Well that’s about all I can think of. There is a girl named Sister Guzman or Hermana Guzman who is currently serving in the Visitor Center there at the Mesa temple so if you guys go, you should stop by and say hello.
Well I better run. Have a great week
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
(10/20/2009)
Well the same old same old has been passing through here. It has definitely warmed up but it is still chilly in the mornings and very hard to get up since it is still dark.
Mother, I got your hats. I will hold off passing them out to people until it gets a little colder. There are definitely enough people here that need them. There is a lot of poverty here. I got the box the same day as your letter on Monday.
Well I guess since I am coming up on my year mark, my garments are getting a little raggedy. If I could get like five new bottoms. I would like the Medium short Dri Lux. There is no rush, just next time you are in Mesa if you could swing by the beehive center.
That is amazing that the fire marshal had to tell people to leave the building at the temple hearing. Sounds like it was close to not getting passed. Can they do anything to that land until it passes? I am assuming not. What about the Gilbert temple; is it done and how about the Gila Valley one? How are those coming along?
Yesterday morning I woke up with a little bit of a cough and felt kind of achy. It proceeded to get worse. I didn’t sleep very much last night. Thankfully it is p-day today; maybe I can get some rest.
Well Sunday night we had a little fireside that President Belnap puts on every once in a while. In these firesides he has recent converts come up and share their conversion story and their testimonies and we are supposed to invite our investigators and less-active members to listen. Well we didn't have any investigators nor less-active members but we did have Nick speaking. So we went up there to listen and he did awesome. He told a longer part of his story that I had never heard.
A few years ago he got divorced and to cover up the pain he turned to drinking and the "party life" as he called it. He also got into the wrong crowd and was making money "the easy way". Well he was living in Spokane and he drove down to Sunnyside to visit his grandmother and his grandmother told him that she didn't like the way he was living and she wanted him to change. He just ignored her. She told him that she didn't want him driving back that night because it was too late. Again he ignored her. So later he goes to visit his mom. She works at the casino and didn't get out of work at 11. So he visited with her and she also told him that she didn't want him to go home that night. He ignored her and went and got into his car. He tried to turn on his 4-week-old brand new Lexus and it wouldn't start. Well he had a meeting to be at in the morning so he tried and tried to get there but he couldn't. He called his best friend and told him that he couldn't make it and his friend said okay I will go by myself. So the next morning, that car starts right away. He drives to Spokane and gets home and looks for his best friend because they lived together. He couldn't find him anywhere and neither did anyone else. Well he gets a call from the police and they tell him he needs to come to the city morgue and identify a body. So he goes and he walks into this room and they roll this body out that looked like frozen meat with 6 gun shots in his chest and 1 in his head. This body was his best friend, and that "meeting" was a set up. He said that it was supposed to be him on that table. He goes on and tells how later, he met this girl and she invited them to church and the rest is history. That was a powerful story. The spirit was so strong.
Well that’s about it for this week. Sorry it is short. The Morales family is doing well. They didn't come to church but they said they tried...whatever that means. The Solis family is still stuck on the Sabbath day. And Alida, Veronica daughter is getting baptized on the 31st and her husband is having a change of heart.
I gotta run...Take care
Mother, I got your hats. I will hold off passing them out to people until it gets a little colder. There are definitely enough people here that need them. There is a lot of poverty here. I got the box the same day as your letter on Monday.
Well I guess since I am coming up on my year mark, my garments are getting a little raggedy. If I could get like five new bottoms. I would like the Medium short Dri Lux. There is no rush, just next time you are in Mesa if you could swing by the beehive center.
That is amazing that the fire marshal had to tell people to leave the building at the temple hearing. Sounds like it was close to not getting passed. Can they do anything to that land until it passes? I am assuming not. What about the Gilbert temple; is it done and how about the Gila Valley one? How are those coming along?
Yesterday morning I woke up with a little bit of a cough and felt kind of achy. It proceeded to get worse. I didn’t sleep very much last night. Thankfully it is p-day today; maybe I can get some rest.
Well Sunday night we had a little fireside that President Belnap puts on every once in a while. In these firesides he has recent converts come up and share their conversion story and their testimonies and we are supposed to invite our investigators and less-active members to listen. Well we didn't have any investigators nor less-active members but we did have Nick speaking. So we went up there to listen and he did awesome. He told a longer part of his story that I had never heard.
A few years ago he got divorced and to cover up the pain he turned to drinking and the "party life" as he called it. He also got into the wrong crowd and was making money "the easy way". Well he was living in Spokane and he drove down to Sunnyside to visit his grandmother and his grandmother told him that she didn't like the way he was living and she wanted him to change. He just ignored her. She told him that she didn't want him driving back that night because it was too late. Again he ignored her. So later he goes to visit his mom. She works at the casino and didn't get out of work at 11. So he visited with her and she also told him that she didn't want him to go home that night. He ignored her and went and got into his car. He tried to turn on his 4-week-old brand new Lexus and it wouldn't start. Well he had a meeting to be at in the morning so he tried and tried to get there but he couldn't. He called his best friend and told him that he couldn't make it and his friend said okay I will go by myself. So the next morning, that car starts right away. He drives to Spokane and gets home and looks for his best friend because they lived together. He couldn't find him anywhere and neither did anyone else. Well he gets a call from the police and they tell him he needs to come to the city morgue and identify a body. So he goes and he walks into this room and they roll this body out that looked like frozen meat with 6 gun shots in his chest and 1 in his head. This body was his best friend, and that "meeting" was a set up. He said that it was supposed to be him on that table. He goes on and tells how later, he met this girl and she invited them to church and the rest is history. That was a powerful story. The spirit was so strong.
Well that’s about it for this week. Sorry it is short. The Morales family is doing well. They didn't come to church but they said they tried...whatever that means. The Solis family is still stuck on the Sabbath day. And Alida, Veronica daughter is getting baptized on the 31st and her husband is having a change of heart.
I gotta run...Take care
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Pictures (October 2009)
A Group of Elders (from left: Elder ???, Elder Viera, Elder Searle, Elder Bair
Somebody broke into the mission car.
The Elders called the CSI: Toppenish
Officer Radke investigated
Elder Bair got his picture taken outside the Police Car.Tuesday, October 13, 2009
I saw snowflakes! (10/13/2009)
That’s right folks I saw about four snowflakes today, but mostly just rain; it is about 35° and down right chilly. It was even colder last night standing outside talking to a cop for an hour and a half.
The work is really going well here. We went by the Morales family on Wednesday and we had a really good lesson. Vaihane (16) was asking a lot of good questions. She wants to know why her family is going through so much trouble and what they can do to change it. We just talked about having that faith in the Lord and doing the things you are supposed to. At the end, we all knelt in prayer and Sergio (Dad, member) gave a beautiful prayer. It was surprisingly very Mormon-like for being out of the church for over 25 years. When we all said amen and were standing up Josania (mom) was bawling. It was awesome. We had an appointment with them last night but it got changed again to tomorrow night. We will see how that goes. We are planning on going over the restoration and watching the restoration video.
Some other good news is Maria. She was baptized while I was gone and she is doing awesome. She is reading the Book of Mormon for a second time and is memorizing The Articles of Faith. Last Sunday she gave the opening prayer in Sacrament meeting and she walks up and says “Buenos Dias, vamos a inclinar nuestras cabezas” or "good morning, we are going to bow our heads" and says the prayer. Hey, whatever works.
Today we went to the temple; that’s why this e-mail is so late. The temple was good like always. I struggled staying awake because we had the 8:15 session which meant we had to be up at 5:45 to get down there, plus we were up late talking to the cop last night.
Mom, I haven’t gotten your letter yet because yesterday was a holiday so sorry if you had any questions. But dad to answer your question about the plaque. I don't really know; I was thinking D&C 84:88 or somewhere in Alma. I don't have one set but I have a couple in my mind.
Okay....so the cop story.
Yesterday we had interviews up in Yakima so we and the Zillah Elders drove together while they just left their car in the alley behind our apartments where they always park. So that was all good. So we head home that night and pull our car into the garage and the Zillah elders go to their car and the passenger side window had been broken and their GPS was gone. So we were looking at it and calling the guy who is in charge of the vehicles when this truck shows up and rolls down his window and sticks out a gun and says get away from the car!!! Just kidding, the truck pulls up and two guys get out and told us they saw it happen and they had already called the cops that day. It had happened about 2:00 that afternoon. This guy who lives in our apartment complex (Juan) was outside on his lap top when he saw a car pull up and a guy get out with a girl driving. He didn't think much of it. Then he heard stomping noises, once again didn't think much of it until he heard the alarm go off so he kind of looks and he sees a guy walking back to the car with a GPS in tote and get in the car and they drive off. The best part is Juan, worked with that guy (Salvador) before so he tells us all of this and we get a cop there and he takes fingerprints. I got some good pictures so don't worry. But anyway, Salvador has been in jail before for stealing the jars of money for cancer kids. Not a smart guy. Juan had his number so they were going to work with that. We don't know what happened except it was exciting but very cold at the same time.
Well I better run. I have to speak AGAIN in church on Sunday. That is now number ten on the mission. Have a good one
The work is really going well here. We went by the Morales family on Wednesday and we had a really good lesson. Vaihane (16) was asking a lot of good questions. She wants to know why her family is going through so much trouble and what they can do to change it. We just talked about having that faith in the Lord and doing the things you are supposed to. At the end, we all knelt in prayer and Sergio (Dad, member) gave a beautiful prayer. It was surprisingly very Mormon-like for being out of the church for over 25 years. When we all said amen and were standing up Josania (mom) was bawling. It was awesome. We had an appointment with them last night but it got changed again to tomorrow night. We will see how that goes. We are planning on going over the restoration and watching the restoration video.
Some other good news is Maria. She was baptized while I was gone and she is doing awesome. She is reading the Book of Mormon for a second time and is memorizing The Articles of Faith. Last Sunday she gave the opening prayer in Sacrament meeting and she walks up and says “Buenos Dias, vamos a inclinar nuestras cabezas” or "good morning, we are going to bow our heads" and says the prayer. Hey, whatever works.
Today we went to the temple; that’s why this e-mail is so late. The temple was good like always. I struggled staying awake because we had the 8:15 session which meant we had to be up at 5:45 to get down there, plus we were up late talking to the cop last night.
Mom, I haven’t gotten your letter yet because yesterday was a holiday so sorry if you had any questions. But dad to answer your question about the plaque. I don't really know; I was thinking D&C 84:88 or somewhere in Alma. I don't have one set but I have a couple in my mind.
Okay....so the cop story.
Yesterday we had interviews up in Yakima so we and the Zillah Elders drove together while they just left their car in the alley behind our apartments where they always park. So that was all good. So we head home that night and pull our car into the garage and the Zillah elders go to their car and the passenger side window had been broken and their GPS was gone. So we were looking at it and calling the guy who is in charge of the vehicles when this truck shows up and rolls down his window and sticks out a gun and says get away from the car!!! Just kidding, the truck pulls up and two guys get out and told us they saw it happen and they had already called the cops that day. It had happened about 2:00 that afternoon. This guy who lives in our apartment complex (Juan) was outside on his lap top when he saw a car pull up and a guy get out with a girl driving. He didn't think much of it. Then he heard stomping noises, once again didn't think much of it until he heard the alarm go off so he kind of looks and he sees a guy walking back to the car with a GPS in tote and get in the car and they drive off. The best part is Juan, worked with that guy (Salvador) before so he tells us all of this and we get a cop there and he takes fingerprints. I got some good pictures so don't worry. But anyway, Salvador has been in jail before for stealing the jars of money for cancer kids. Not a smart guy. Juan had his number so they were going to work with that. We don't know what happened except it was exciting but very cold at the same time.
Well I better run. I have to speak AGAIN in church on Sunday. That is now number ten on the mission. Have a good one
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
I have never lived like this!! (10/06/2009)
Why hello everyone. It is getting down right chilly here. I went out to the car at 8:00 this morning to get something and the temperature read 37° and there was frost on the grass. I am excited for the cold and have been hoping that it would be really cold this winter but I may be regretting that by spring.
So, first updates on Connell. Sunday, Samuel got baptized. He was the son of the member that we found in the garage. I haven’t heard how it went but I am sure it went well. Nancy, the one that was supposed to be baptized at the end of August has said that she really wants to be baptized now so we will see how that goes. There is another man named Adolfo. Now Adolfo has worked for a member for many years and has been talking to the missionaries for over 7 years. The man he was working for is now serving a mission in Texas but I think he gets home this month. Anyway, he called up Elder Mendez and I guess he had been talking to Adolfo and he told him that he wants to get baptized. So Elder Mendez went over there and Adolfo said he and his wife want to get baptized now. So we will see how that goes. Then Veronica now wants her 8 year old daughter baptized and they are trying to see if the dad is totally okay with it. So a lot is happening in Connell right now.
Now for General Conference. Conference was great as always. I did notice that the chorister in General Priesthood meeting was not singing. I thought that was interesting. I really liked President Monson's talk about anger. That was really good. When we stood and sang Praise To that Man for halftime for the priesthood session, it made me think of the time that dad left to go to the bathroom and then came back and said "When I came out of the bathroom I noticed that I was in the girls bathroom, I figured it wouldn't matter much". I also liked Elder Ballard’s talk about Fathers and sons. You also have to love Elder Holland’s talk on the Book of Mormon amazing. All-n-all it was amazing. We watched all sessions at the church.
Now for the work here in Toppenish. It is starting to pick up. The Solis family is Seventh Day Adventist. What that means is they focus all their attention on the 10 commandments and essentially still live the Law of Moses which had the Sabbath on the last day of the week. They are doing well. We haven’t been able to make it out there. They kind of live far away so we can't just pop in.
Every Friday we do something called weekly planning where we plan for the week, easy enough. Elder Viera and I have decided that I am in charge of the Spanish work and he is in charge of the English work, we still have input on both but we are just in charge for that. So I was looking over the names on the branch roster for the Spanish and this one name just kept sticking out to me. Sergio Morales. So after a little bit I said lets put him down to go visit this week. So Saturday night we head over there. They let us in and we find out that Sergio was baptized when he was about 13 down in Monterrey and is now 40. He said he hasn't been to church in a long time. But he mentioned that he had a brother who served a mission. Anyway, we were talking and Sergio’s wife, who is not a member of the church, was saying that just that morning she was talking with her daughter about how with all the trials they are going through in their lives, they need to find God. Well look who showed up that night. Then we challenged them to have family prayer together every night and when we were talking about that, and how you can work out your trials together with our Heavenly Father, Sergio was tearing up. It was awesome. We had an appointment for last night but I guess they have horses and they got loose so she called and asked if we could change it so we are going back on Wednesday. It should be pretty good
I was thinking the other day, I have a few scriptures that I like better than the one that is on my plaque right now. I was wondering if I could change that or if that is set in stone.
Well I think we are starting to work hard and I think it is starting to pay off
P.S. Mom, or Dad, or whoever wants to. I would like those tan slip-on shoes that Lady gave me for my birthday or Christmas one year, and the belt that I bought to match it and also that brown sweater I have. Scott probably has at least one of those things if not all three. But if I could get those that would be great.
So, first updates on Connell. Sunday, Samuel got baptized. He was the son of the member that we found in the garage. I haven’t heard how it went but I am sure it went well. Nancy, the one that was supposed to be baptized at the end of August has said that she really wants to be baptized now so we will see how that goes. There is another man named Adolfo. Now Adolfo has worked for a member for many years and has been talking to the missionaries for over 7 years. The man he was working for is now serving a mission in Texas but I think he gets home this month. Anyway, he called up Elder Mendez and I guess he had been talking to Adolfo and he told him that he wants to get baptized. So Elder Mendez went over there and Adolfo said he and his wife want to get baptized now. So we will see how that goes. Then Veronica now wants her 8 year old daughter baptized and they are trying to see if the dad is totally okay with it. So a lot is happening in Connell right now.
Now for General Conference. Conference was great as always. I did notice that the chorister in General Priesthood meeting was not singing. I thought that was interesting. I really liked President Monson's talk about anger. That was really good. When we stood and sang Praise To that Man for halftime for the priesthood session, it made me think of the time that dad left to go to the bathroom and then came back and said "When I came out of the bathroom I noticed that I was in the girls bathroom, I figured it wouldn't matter much". I also liked Elder Ballard’s talk about Fathers and sons. You also have to love Elder Holland’s talk on the Book of Mormon amazing. All-n-all it was amazing. We watched all sessions at the church.
Now for the work here in Toppenish. It is starting to pick up. The Solis family is Seventh Day Adventist. What that means is they focus all their attention on the 10 commandments and essentially still live the Law of Moses which had the Sabbath on the last day of the week. They are doing well. We haven’t been able to make it out there. They kind of live far away so we can't just pop in.
Every Friday we do something called weekly planning where we plan for the week, easy enough. Elder Viera and I have decided that I am in charge of the Spanish work and he is in charge of the English work, we still have input on both but we are just in charge for that. So I was looking over the names on the branch roster for the Spanish and this one name just kept sticking out to me. Sergio Morales. So after a little bit I said lets put him down to go visit this week. So Saturday night we head over there. They let us in and we find out that Sergio was baptized when he was about 13 down in Monterrey and is now 40. He said he hasn't been to church in a long time. But he mentioned that he had a brother who served a mission. Anyway, we were talking and Sergio’s wife, who is not a member of the church, was saying that just that morning she was talking with her daughter about how with all the trials they are going through in their lives, they need to find God. Well look who showed up that night. Then we challenged them to have family prayer together every night and when we were talking about that, and how you can work out your trials together with our Heavenly Father, Sergio was tearing up. It was awesome. We had an appointment for last night but I guess they have horses and they got loose so she called and asked if we could change it so we are going back on Wednesday. It should be pretty good
I was thinking the other day, I have a few scriptures that I like better than the one that is on my plaque right now. I was wondering if I could change that or if that is set in stone.
Well I think we are starting to work hard and I think it is starting to pay off
P.S. Mom, or Dad, or whoever wants to. I would like those tan slip-on shoes that Lady gave me for my birthday or Christmas one year, and the belt that I bought to match it and also that brown sweater I have. Scott probably has at least one of those things if not all three. But if I could get those that would be great.
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