Zarahemla Week 11

The snow makes everything look cleaner and prettier!

This week has been pretty great, but also super cold and snowy! I don't think I'm ready for the Canadian winter, but here it goes!

Wednesday was a pretty average day, not super busy. Went to district meeting, which was super fun. We are starting the Christmas "Light the World" initiative, and we had a huge role play activity where we set up the chairs in the same format as in the busses, and we all started contacting each other using the initiative. It was fun! We stopped by to see an elderly member, Hermana Gregoria, to see how she is doing (she's had health problems recently), and she invited us over for dinner on Friday to teach her son Javier who is investigating. He doesn't have a phone, so the only way of contact we have is through Hermana Gregoria, which is interesting. Later on that night, we went back to see Oscar and Jenny, the family that we did service for last week, for a lesson. It went super well, and they really are interested! They're awesome.

The apple pie we attempted

Thursday was Thanksgiving! We didn't celebrate, obviously, but last P-day Elder Colunga and I made (tried to) an apple pie that did NOT turn out very well, ha ha. But we heated it up that night, and it wasn't too bad! We headed over to the mission office to start an exchange with the zone leaders. Elder Jimenez came with me to my area, and it was a ton of fun! We ended up walking (and running) over 27 kilometers that day, as the majority of it was spent passing by referrals and contacts. But it was awesome! We also were able to teach Nicole that night, which went super well. She's progressing consistently, and it's been so humbling to watch her conversion process.

Me and Elder Jimenez

Friday was pretty great. We passed by one of Elder Jimenez's converts (he started his mission in Zarahemla), and we were able to visit with his family a bit. We passed by Mauricio and a referral, and then waited at a metro station to meet up with the other Elders. Then Elder Colunga and I went back home to do weekly planning. We did that until late, and then went to Hermana Gregoria's house. The food she made us was amazing as always (she's Peruvian), and we had a great lesson with Javier. He shared an experience of one of his prayers being answered immediately, which was so cool. He is committed to improving his life, which was wonderful to see.

Saturday was very busy, which is always great. We went to Victor’s again right away, and had a great lesson with him. We then went all the way to the west side of the island for a baptism with the other Elders in our district. It's always super cool to be able to see success in the mission. Then we went up to see Fransisco again, who we had had trouble getting in contact with. That lesson went as usual, he visited a lot, but we were able to teach him some things. We then were able to see Jesus and Yeni again, who had been sick earlier, which stopped us from seeing them, but we had a wonderful lesson with them. They're so awesome; we love them so much! That night we spent a long time trying to find a ride for Nicole to church the next day. Her mom would take her, but had work and couldn't, and we called basically every member who had a car. Sadly, not many members have cars, and the members that did said they couldn't or didn't respond. Nicole was dying to know if she could go to church, but we had to go to bed not knowing if she could!

On Sunday morning, we got a call from one of the members saying that a meeting had been cancelled, and they were able to take her. It was such a miracle! It's sad when investigators don't go to church, but it's even sadder when they really want to go but can't because of transportation troubles. But miraculously, she was able to come! Church was great as always, and Nicole loved it. She went to Young Women's and learned the Word of Wisdom. We made her teach it to us, which she did perfectly! She's so awesome, I hope I'll still be here for her baptism! After church, on the way home, we passed by a few contacts and referrals. It was super windy and cold, and we thought we would about die! But we obviously didn't. We then went home, had some lunch/dinner, and then did contacting for the rest of the night. It was a pretty great Sunday!

Monday was fairly decent, and not very busy. We were able to pass by Hermano Mendoza again, which was great, as always. He has such a positive attitude, and a lot of faith, which is so humbling to see. We might not be able to control our circumstances, but we sure can choose to be happy or not! We then went to Fransisco again and had another great lesson with him. He's funny, and super nice. He always gives us bananas to take after each lesson. After that, we went home for a little pit stop, ate some lunch/dinner, then went on the bus to contact the rest of the night. It was crazy, there were a ton of Hispanics out that night! I was talking to someone in Spanish almost the whole time we were riding a bus! That doesn't always happen! On the way home, the bus broke down, which apparently had never happened to Elder Colunga in the year that he's been here. So, we got home a bit late. But, it was a great day!

Things are going super well here in Zarahemla, and I'm loving every minute of it. Transfer calls are this Saturday, we we're anxious to hear if we get transferred! I'll most likely stay and get a new companion, but honestly anything could happen. Regardless of if I stay or go though, I know it's for a reason! Love you all so much; hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving!

Elder James

Zarahemla week 10

Me with Elder Drysdale

This week was awesome, and super busy. It's slowly getting colder and colder, and on Sunday it finally snowed! I'm now going to see nothing but white outside for the next 6 or 7 months!

Last Tuesday, after all the P-day stuff, we got to see the Garcia family again. We had an amazing lesson, and gave Nicole a baptismal date for the 9th! We're super excited for her! She's been progressing a ton, and really wants to be baptized. She came to church on Sunday, and absolutely loved it. Our members are so awesome, and were beyond helpful in fellowshipping her. She already has a few friends in the church! It's so awesome to see her progress.

Wednesday was pretty decent, and fairly typical. We had District meeting, which was great as always, and we had the opportunity to get a bit prepared for Saturday, which I will explain why later. We also had the chance to see Mauricio again, and he's doing awesome! Apparently, he used to make pizzas for a living in a pretty fancy Italian restaurant nearby! He's such a funny guy, and we love seeing him. We then had the chance to go eat at an elderly member couple's house for dinner, which was super good. We got to share a little message with them and did some service for them as well. I love the members of our ward!

The Montreal Oratory

Thursday was fairly slow. Got weekly planning done, which as always took a long time. Then we went and passed by a referral, and then met the other Elders in our district to start an exchange. I went with Elder Drysdale again, and we went right away to visit Javier and Christine. It was a great lesson, and we were able to give Christine a baptismal date for the 23rd! Hopefully she'll be ready by then, but we know she can be if she tries. We then headed down to Elder Drysdale's apartment, ate some food, did some studies, and went to bed.

Friday was interesting, as exchanges always are. Woke up, did our studies, and then made a pretty good lunch. Elder Drysdale really likes cooking, so he made some really cool but easy meatballs that were super good. We then left to pass by a less active family, then had a lesson with one of his new investigators which went well. We then went back to his apartment after contacting on the metro a little bit, then we headed back to meet with the Elders. Then Elder Colunga and I went and passed by Luis and Yanet, who I had yet to see since they haven't been available. We shared a short message with them, followed up on how everything was going, then went home.

Saturday was such an amazing day. We woke up at 5:00 and left right away to get to the other end of the island for a special meeting with Elder Renlund from the Quorum of the 12 Apostles! All of the missionaries in the mission, about 145, were there, which very rarely happens. He came, we were able to each shake his hand and talk to him a little bit, and then he talked to us from about 9:00 until noon. It was so amazing! The spirit was so strong and he had such amazing insights on how our mission can specifically improve. It was such an amazing experience that I will never forget. We then went all the way back home which took a while, ate a bit, then left to a member’s house for some service. Then we went and visited Francisco, which went as it usually does; he talked a LOT. But it was so much fun. We then headed over to a family who was referred to us, and we were able to do a bit of service for them and teach them a bit. They're really interested! We are going to be seeing them a couple times this week, and they want to come to church already! Super cool experience.

Sunday was awesome; it started snowing early in the morning and got pretty bad! But church was great. We had a couple of investigators there, and we were able to help them understand a few things and meet a bunch of members. Our members really are amazing, it's such a help! We then went home, ate some food, then had to do a mini exchange with the other Elders for a baptismal interview that Elder Colunga had to do. I went with Elder Torres, who just got into the mission this transfer. I was able to go contacting on the metro with him and pass by a potential investigator, and I got to know him a bit. It was cool to be with him for a little bit! Then we met back up and Elder Colunga and I headed over to the Lemus family's house (who I absolutely love, they're so nice) to watch a broadcast for YSA from Elder Oaks and Elder Ballard. That was super cool (although I had to watch it in Spanish so didn't understand everything).

Monday was also pretty decent. Elder Colunga had to call a few people in the morning, so we left a little late, but were able to pass by Hermano Mendoza and share a bit with him. We read out of the Book of Mormon, and watched a Mormon Messages video by Elder Bednar, which really applied to him in his position. We then went and contacted a little bit, met with a potential from Columbia who was super nice but not really interested. Then we went to the Garcia family's house again, but they had apparently forgotten that we had an appointment, and Nicole wasn't there, but we got to still give a little message and visited a bit. We'll see them soon though!

Well, it's been an amazing week, and it's been great to see so many miracles as always. I hope everyone is doing well! Love you all so much!

Elder James

Zarahemla Week 9

I'm a missionary ninja!

This week has been awesome! Very busy, we were running around a ton, which is always a good thing of course.

It's finally getting cold, and it was a miracle that I decided to buy some miscellaneous winter stuff last P-Day. I got a hat, gloves, and a scarf, which absolutely saved my life, because on Friday, it went down to -6 degrees, with constant 25-30 km h wind. It was so cold! and it's only going to get colder! But we get to look like ninjas while proselytizing, which is really funny.

On Tuesday we had Zone Conference, which was awesome. Elder Clayton from the Quorum of the Seventy came, and it was super cool to have him teach us. He told us a lot of things that we can improve on, and we came out of it with a lot of goals to work on. He was so in tune with the Spirit and just took the meeting where he was prompted to take it. It was super inspiring. Later that night we made our way to that less active family, the Garcia family, I mentioned last week. We were able to teach the daughter and she committed to be baptized! We will be working with her a lot this week to make that happen. They're such an awesome family, and it's great to see them coming back!

Wednesday was pretty average, and we got a bit done. We had district meeting and talked a lot about zone conference. We made a lot more goals and were able to share insights with each other. We then headed over to Francisco, who is still doing well. He's having a semi difficult time understanding the doctrine, but he really loves learning which is awesome. We were then going to go visit Jesus and Yeni, but sadly Jesus got sick and we haven't been able to see them at all this week. So instead we went to go visit Hermano Mendoza in the hospital again, who is having a hard time. They don't know if he will be able to walk again, but he has such a positive attitude about everything which is so humbling.

My brothers will know why his hand is swollen

Thursday was a fairly different day. We left our apartment right away to go do service for an elderly member in our ward. We raked leaves and cleaned up her back yard a bit, and then she fed us super good Peruvian food. It took a pretty long time, especially since she lives really far away, but it was a wonderful service opportunity (and a wonderful eating opportunity!). Members are so important in missionary work, so it's integral that we have a good relationship with them. After that, we went home, got dressed out of our service clothes, and planned for our lessons. Then we left for Javier, a less active who wants to come back to Church. He also has a girlfriend that we were able to teach, who wants to be baptized! We're going to work with them a lot more in the coming weeks.

Friday was insanely cold, and I can't even believe that it's going to get 30 degrees colder! It was too hot for my winter coat still, but luckily, I had my hat, gloves, and scarf which kept me decently covered. We went to see Hermano Mendoza with the bishop, but he couldn't make it so we just stopped by for a bit to see how he was going. then went home, ate a quick lunch and went to Francisco’s. Had a pretty decent lesson, He's really nice, and always likes giving us snacks when we leave. We then headed over to the Garcia family again, and had an amazing lesson. They couldn't come to Church this past Sunday, but they will try to come next week! We're working closely with the young women in our ward in order to give her some friends at church. MEMBER FRIENDS ARE SO IMPORTANT!

Saturday wasn't super busy, a lot of our appointments fell through and didn't get to see a lot of people, but it was fine. We did get the chance to see Victor, and we read a little bit with him and followed up on how he was doing. Also got to see Raf, a recent convert, and read the Book of Mormon a bit with him too. That night we did a bit of contacting while trying to pass by some potential investigators, and were able to get some done. Slow day, but that happens every once in a while, so it's not bad!

On Sunday, we had Stake Conference which was cool, since it was the first French church meeting that I have been to! I was surprised at what I understood, and it was awesome to visit with so many members. We were able to coordinate with many members to help us with our investigators, particularly Nicole. They're all super excited to work with us! We also had another lesson with Francisco, and he's continuing to improve little by little. He probably won't be able to be baptized this transfer, but we're fairly confident that he will be next transfer!

I look like the big chess piece on Harry Potter

Monday wasn't very busy either, but we had the opportunity to do interviews with President Phillips. He is so awesome and is an amazing mission president. We discussed our investigators, he asked to see how I was doing, and it was great. He's such an amazing president. We then stayed at the office for a bit so Elder Colunga could finish calling all the teams in the district, and then we then got a chance to pass by Hermano Mendoza again (he really gets lonely and loves when missionaries come, so we try to go frequently since he doesn't get many visitors). After that we had some lunch, and then went all the way on the other side of the island to have a baptismal interview for the other Elders in our district. It's awesome to be able to be the district leaders companion, since I don't really have any more responsibilities but get to see all the people about to get baptized which is awesome!

Anyway, I'm doing great and had a wonderful week. I hope everything is going well at home, love you all so much! Have a good week!

Elder James 

Zarahemla Week 8

I've really wanted to wear this every day, but it's
WAY too hot to wear right now!

This week has been pretty great! We got a lot done, and got to see so many miracles.

On Tuesday, after writing emails, we moved into our new apartment with the other Elders' help. Then we left and had a dinner with a family in the ward who are absolutely awesome. We ate homemade tostadas, which were amazing. We passed by Francisco, who is preparing for baptism soon, and visited with him for a bit. After that, we went home, and our apartment was somehow flooded in the bedroom and bathroom! Luckily, we hadn't put many things in there yet, so not much got wet, but we still have no idea how it happened! We spent the rest of that night, until pretty late (past bedtime, oops), getting stuff out and drying it out a bit. Then we just slept in the main study room/kitchen that night while we had fans and a heater trying to dry it out. We got it all figured out though. It was an interesting experience!

My new desk, which is pretty much exactly the same as it was before.

Wednesday morning was spent finishing cleaning up the bedroom and bathroom, and then getting settled in to the apartment. It's a lot quieter than it was in the 4-man apartment, but it's sure easier to focus! We then went to district meeting, and got to meet our new Zone Leaders and Sister Training Leaders. They're awesome: I'm excited to get to know them better. We then did some logistical things at the mission office, and went contacting on the metro for a while on our way to a dinner appointment with Hermana Gregoria. Her son, Javier, is not a member, so we've been working with him a little bit. We got to visit with him, and it went well. Not the busiest day, but fairly productive.

Thursday was alright, we spent a large chunk of it doing weekly planning which at times gets boring, but it's super important to talk about each of our investigators and their needs. We then passed by a part-member family who we contacted on the bus the other day, and they want to come back to church which is awesome! They also have a 12-year-old daughter who hasn't been baptized, so we will be working with them. Then we did a bit of street and bus contacting, and then went to see Mauricio. He was super happy to see us, since we hadn't been able to see him for a while. He talked about how he always feels good when we visit him. He now calls us his "Hijitos" which is funny. We will be working with him more!

Getting directions the old fashioned way.
We didn't even have light to look at the map!

Friday was pretty good; we were running around a lot which was great. We had lunch with a member family from Honduras, and I got to talk to them a bit about Miles and Chris' mission which was cool. After that, we did a lot of bus contacting, and then went super far to the north end of the island to meet with a potential named Alex. We got pretty lost, and had took almost an hour and a half to get to him. But we got there only a few minutes late, and taught him. He's pretty cool, and he wants to learn more! We then took the long ride home and went to bed.

Saturday was pretty busy, and super awesome. It was very cold, windy, and rainy, and we got pretty soaked. But we went right away in the morning to Victor's house, taught and visited for a bit, and went back home for our studies. After lunch, we went to go see Mauricio, and had an awesome and spiritual lesson with him, which was great. We then went on pretty far down south to meet with a less active member from Chile. We were able to have a long, but amazing, discussion with him, and were able to resolve a lot of his concerns about the church. We are bringing the Bishop with us our next visit, who is also from Chile (It works wonders to have investigators/less active members meet with someone from their home country), who is awesome and will really be able to help.

We've been trying to find the coolest leaves while proselyting. 

Sunday was wonderful. It started out with an extra hour of sleep because of daylight savings, which was extremely needed. We then went down to the church building and had a ward coordination meeting, except this time my trainer (without my knowing beforehand) had me talk about everything. I was actually surprised about how much I could say! I'm so happy that I have been able to notice improvement in my languages; it really helps motivate me. It's been awesome to see how the Spirit can help with learning new languages; I could not do it on my own. During the third hour of church, the Primary was having a lesson about missionary work, and they asked us to come and share our experiences and testimonies about missionary work, and also answer a few questions. It was really fun to talk with all the kids! Some of their questions were pretty silly and funny, as you would expect from kids that age, but some were actually really good. It was fun to get them pumped about missionary work! Then, after church, we got bags of food from 3 different members (they didn't know that other people were already giving us food), since it was fast Sunday. We went home and unpacked it, and there was A TON! We were so hungry though that we ate almost all of it in the 30 minutes we had to eat. I absolutely adore Hispanic wards. We then went out to pass by a family who was referred to us from the zone leaders, but sadly they weren't there. So, we went on the metro to do some contacting, and we talked to a family from Argentina! I was able to talk to them about my dad serving his mission there, and they thought that was really cool.

The mission has been absolutely incredible so far, and it's been amazing to take a small part in this work. I hope everyone is doing well back home! Love you all!

Elder James