Piedras Negras, Coahuila week 12

Great last week of the transfer. It was freezing the beginnig of the week , but then Mexico realized again that it was Mexico and today its soooooper hot. :)

Last week we had a great district meeting. The Zone Leaders asked all the senior comps that if they didnt baptise this week if we were willing to be lowered to junior comp. We all said yes. That freaked me out a bit haha. But thankfully we had a baptism lined up and baptised the son of a family that was inactive. But some of the other elders didnt baptise so Im interested to see what really happens there. But Im really glad we baptised haha.
Im sorry i dont have much time but thank you family for my birthday package!!!! The ties are hideous! I love them! But maybe in the next package you could send me some pretty ones? that would be great. I need some more professional ones for meetings and such haha.

Anyway we had interviews and they were awesome and the mission president really knows me and wants to help me. My comp got bit on his foot the other night but dot worry hes okay. Today we made tortillas and ate chorizo. One of the zone leaders fell and scraped his knee the other day. The bishops family gave me a real nice card about how i was a great missionary! Yesterday we didnt have anything to eat because the sister we were going to eat with wasnt home and we had literally nothing in the house so we had to break the sabbath and bought hamburgers and coke. I love coke and hamburgers. Today we have transfers and I dont want to leave but im sure my next trasfer will be great if I go, and my son is great and learning fast!

Much Love
JAmes

Piedras Negras, Coahuila week 11

This week was great! We had 2 baptisms. We worked hard, and got some great results.

This week, we found an inactive family named Guzmán. Well, everyone in our ward is named Guzmán, (kinda like the Hepworths and Shifflets) so we found one of the lost sheep. His wife and children aren't members. We went to their house and explained about a baptism in the Lord's Church, and what the scriptures say is a baptism. Here its a bautiso, and bautismo. We explained it and she seemed to understand well. She said that they needed to go to church. We were like, "ya, that's what I said" haha. Inside joke. But... she really did say that and they went this week. All their family was there and welcomed them. We're hoping to baptize... no were GOING to baptize them this week.
Mexican Independence Day was the 16th. the 15th in the night they all gathered together in different places and did whats called "el grito" or the scream. They yelled "¡Viva México..." and then all the names of national heroes. Upon hearing the names I realized they were almost all the street names here, and in my last area haha. How original, But...you gringos do the same.

I bought a jersey of my favorite team this week, América, for 20 pesos which is like 2 bucks. New originals are like 5-700 pesos. Not in my budget. When I go home maybe, but or right now I can handle a knock of haha.

CONGRATS TO CHRIS!!! Mister Elder now. Get them papers in as quick as you can. Get out here! ¡Ven por acá!
Anyway, my testimony continues to be strengthened of Joseph Smith and the Restoration of the Gospel. I love how people find it so hard to believe. But God does not see things the way we see them. Our minds cannot comprehend the things of God, UNLESS we ask him. That's why we have to obtain a testimony of the Book of Mormon, because if we try to comprehend it with our mortal minds, we will quickly be dumbfounded and reject it. Ask God. What better witness can we receive than one from the Creator, Our Father in Heaven? So simple, yet so many get lost in the doctrines of man that they don't even know who God is. We ask people all the time who God is and 99 percent of the time thy have no idea. NO idea. Its so sad. But for that exact reason we are here as missionaries to bring the world His truth. Going forth to all nations we preach the gospel of repentance and baptism unto the lost sheep of the Father. If a man have a hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray. That's what we are doing. How great is our Call!

I thought up a quick poem the other day while riding my bike at sunset:

Only a Being with Infinite Wisdom,
Senses Perfected, a glorious state,
Could create such a beautiful Telestial Kingdom,
There never could be such a perfect "mistake."

I hope all is well and expect everyone who reads this to write me a letter :)

Love you all and take care!

Much Love
JAmes

Piedras NEgras, Coahuila week 10

Good week. Actually a pretty hard week. My comp is new so he doesnt really do a whole lot so I have to do it all. Bu this week Im gonna put him to work.
I have a great experience for you. We were looking for a house this week, and we stopped and asked a guy sitting in his house, which also appeared to be an electrician shop. It turns out that at 4 in the afternoon hes drunk. No offense haha. So were talking to him, and while were asking him hes playing with a current measurer. He grabs one end, then puts his hand on my shoulder and tells me to grab the other end. I do, and the meter barely goes up. So he grabs it alone. Still barely goes up. Then my comp, and barely still. Then I grab it, and it goes up almost al the way. I look at the man, and see an idea pop in his head. Silly drunkard. haha I lterally saw the grin come on his face, then chuckle to himself, sit up straight and compose himself as if nothinghad happened and states, "Oh, thats because this measures GAYS!" We all died laughing. I can officially say Ive been called gay by a drunk person in Mexico. My life is complete.
We had a surprise in the stake center this week that our leaders told us to go to. We had no Idea what it was. We arrived, and it was a homecoming of a missionary. My first thought was oh great, This is great motivation for someone who still has 16 months left. So we sat down in the crowd of people and watched a slideshow of photos. I started thinking abut how long I still had left, when all of a sudden I got the feeling that the time is so amazingly short, and that before I know it, Ill be there. IT was such a great feeling, knowing that for these last 16 months I have to work harder than ever and make my homecoming day, a great one where I have no regrets.
Anyway, Thats about all. I love you all and want you all to send me letters. Mason, Chris, Amy, Becca, Ashley B, Brooke B, Sarah G, burgermills, Dustin, Drew, Chris S, Riles, all my buddies. Just write something quick if you dont have much time but i really want to hear from you.
Love you all and have a great week!!!
Much Love
JAmes

Piedras Negras, Coahuila Week 9

This week was pretty good. Well, pretty hard actually. I went one day with the Zone Leaders to learn how to teach better, but I didnt get a whole lot out of it. but i did get a few things that are useful.

We had a baptism of a 14 year old girl yesterday. Her name is Argelia. It was a good baptism. Her mom was there too, and shes a little... well animated. I think ive wrIveen about her before. Haha sHa hand one of the zone leaders get along really well because they're both loud and dont sdinttalking haha bha haver all it was good.
Oh yeah, i almost forgot... Im 20. It was just another day at work haha. A few time I checked my watch to see the date and realized ti was my birthday. IT just suprised me haha. But ya, 20, I dont really have anymore freedom than when I was 19 so its pretty much the same.
I read the life stories of Pres. Uchtdorf and Pres. Bednar yesterday. What a contrast. It goes from Pres. Uchtdorf and his living in post war Germany, to being a pro pilot and taking over a hijacked plane and stuff, To Elder Bednar, who was president of BYU and has always been a quiet loving Dad. HAHA I kinda lost interest when I went from President Uchdorfs bio to his, but there were also many intersting things about him too.
Not a whole lot happened this week. Sorry for being a boring person haha. Ill try to make this week super exhilarating..

Much Love
JAmes