Zarahemla Week 12

Exchange with Elder Torres

This week has been awesome! Tons of miracles and lots of wonderful experiences.

Wednesday was pretty much the usual. Went to district meeting which was great. It was the last district meeting of the transfer, so we had a little testimony meeting which was cool. Hermana Jex is "dying" (going home), so we took funeral pictures which were pretty funny. After district meeting and doing some things in the mission office,

we went to see Fransisco. It was such a funny lesson, Fransisco is awesome. He fed us sandwiches and we showed him how to watch the church's bible videos online, and he loves them (he really loves the bible). We also shared with him the Restoration video, mainly because we hardly get a word in during some of the lessons, and he has some trouble understanding things, so we thought the video would be nice to simplify things a bit. He really liked it!

Thursday was pretty good, fairly different which is always fun. We did a bit of weekly planning, which was great, and then went to meet the other Elders in our district for our next exchange. I went with Elder Torres, and it was awesome! He was fairly stressed about it since this is his first transfer, but he did awesome! We got to do a little bit of contacting together, then went to dinner with a member family. The dad is Québec-coi, but he speaks perfect Spanish! You could easily mistake him for a native! It was crazy. We then made our way to a less active family's house, who had an adorable little boy that kept showing us his toys. We shared a bit with them, and it was super fun.

Elder Colunga and I were COMPLETELY alone in one of the
new metro trains during contacting time

Friday was, of course, the first day in December, which means the Light the World initiative has officially begun! It makes contacting SO much easier, and I encourage all of you to watch the video on Mormon.org. It's super inspiring! Elder Torres and I were able to do studies together which were fun, and then went right away to meet back up with the other Elders. Elder Colunga and I then finished our weekly planning, and went out contacting for the night. We're spending a lot more time contacting, since we've been highly encouraged to share the Christmas initiative. It's been super awesome!

We are so sad that Elder Colunga is leaving!

Saturday was pretty good, we went to visit Victor again early in the morning, and then went back home to do studies and have lunch. We got to visit with Mauricio, who we haven't been able to see for a while, and that was awesome. Went to see Fransisco again, and it was great as usual. Contacted a little bit more, then got McDonald's as a transfer call day feast and pre-fast Sunday feast. We then went to a homecoming party for the Lemus family's son who just got back from serving in the LA mission. Hermana Lemus wanted Elder Colunga to play the piano for a little meeting they had, and wanted us to meet her son since he really wants to help out with missionary work. We'll work with him a lot probably! We then went home and got transfer calls. I'm staying in Zarahemla! I'm super happy about that, since I absolutely love this area. Sadly though, Elder Colunga is leaving and going to LaValle, which is a French speaking area just north of Montréal. He's been such a great trainer, and I'm sad to see him go! I'm also getting Elder Durgante as my new companion. He is from Brazil, and I'm excited to meet him this Thursday!

Sunday was great, pretty normal. Sadly, Nicole couldn't come to church this week due to some miscommunication with her ride. Elder Colunga and I were sad about that, but hopefully she'll be able to come next week! After church, we spent a good chunk of time coordinating with members and saying goodbyes. We got a TON of food from the members, since it was fast Sunday, and also got invited over to a member's house for dinner. We went home for a little pit stop, and to drop off the food, and then went to the family's house for dinner, contacting on the bus on the way. It was super awesome; the members in Zarahemla are so great. We then left and contacted for a little bit before going home.

Elder Colunga & I were both craving Buffalo chicken wings,
so we made them last P-Day.

Monday was pretty decent, Elder Colunga and I are trying to get in all the fun we can before he gets sent away. We visited Hermano Mendoza for Elder Colunga to say goodbye and get a picture with him, and he was super sad to see Elder Colunga go. Went to also say goodbye to a recent convert who we have been working with, and then spent a long time contacting. It was a pretty successful day!

Anyway, this week has been awesome and I hope everyone is doing well. Again, I invite all of you to look into and start working on the Light the World initiative; it's such a meaningful opportunity to improve this Christmas season! Love you all so much!

Elder James

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