Monterrey HIdalgo week16

Good week.
So we were in a bike shop the other day, well not a bike shop, but a little bike repair hole-in-the-wall, and we're just waiting for the guy to fix my bike. so we're waiting and waiting and all of a sudden i hear something random. On the radio, in the middle of the day in Mexico, "Come on Eileen" starts playing. I start freaking out haha! IT was so awesome! but it was a little hard to focus after, so I had to start singing hymns haha.
A lady named Karla came to church with us. We had like 4 people who said they would come and only she did. Well it was good. she felt comfortable and is going to get baptized this sunday.
We had Zone conference this week. It was the last of our President of the Mission, and e get a new one the 30th. I hope he's awesome. I'm sure he will be.
Well everything is good here. Its been pretty hot but I sweat no matter what so I don't even care anymore haha. Thank heavens for handkerchiefs!!!!! they make me look like i'm at least not deep frying haha.

Elder Hawken Monterrey, Hidalgo, week 15

Better week this week. 5 people said they were going to go to church. Guess how many showed up? zero. Yup, thats how it is here. They tell you "God first" when we ask them to go, and they assure us theyll go. Then when we go to visit them, they have their 3 year old tell us no ones home. Well, you're either home or a negligent parent for leaving a 3 year old at home!!! Haha My wonderful people..
Well we started using bikes this week. Because our area is pretty big, we thought it necessary. My comp is using the bishops till his comes from another area, and im using the one gear "mountain bike" thats been in the house for like a year. Its wonderful. But it really is a lot easier getting from one side of our area to another.
So here's a story for ya: we were out contacting lie usual, at around 6 or 7. We start talking to this lady and everything's going fine when all of a sudden a swat looking police van pulls up with 3 fully armored cops on the back. Some guy was walking by us with a bottle of beer in a plastic bag, and the cops basically attacked him. One grabbed the bottle and threw it; the other two threw him on the side of the van and asked him "¿andas borracho?" or Are you Drunk? Well it was more of just a statement because they didn't give him a chance to answer. They opened the back and literally threw him in. This all happened 3 feet away from us, in about 10 seconds. The funny part is that after when the three cops hopped back on the van, one looked at me and nodded like saying hi. i nodded back and they drove off. I'm pretty sure they weren't doing that as an assignment. I think they just didn't have anything else to do so they got 5 friends together and went drunk-hunting haha. It was great. After that like 10 seconds later a group of people gathered and watched the van pull away. I just said "Its okay, the Gringo is legal!" My comp laughed haha.
While we were teaching a lady, I learned something about humility. At the end of the lesson my comp told her to ask God specifically if these things are true and that Gods not going to help us if we just ask Him to give us what we need and end the prayer. We have to be humble and realize that we are imperfect and that we cannot do anything without the help of God. That is why we have to ask specifically for things we need, specifically for things to better ourselves. This shows God that we are aware of our imperfections and want to do better. God's not going to help us with things that we haven't realized we need help with. I thought of Ether 12:27. We have weaknesses to make us stronger, and only by God's help can we be made stronger, if we realize we are weak.
Anyway, thats about all here. Tomorrow we have our last zone conference with Pres. Toris, then we get the Gringo. haha but ya all is good here. :)

Much Love
JAmes

Monterrey, Hildalgo, Week 14

Good week. our 2 baptisms fell out, straight up told us they didnt want to get baptized. Wonderful! Well thats the mission life. Never stop trying though.

I recieved the package!!!!!! It was like opening a Christmas present. Ugly ties, hymns, other awesome music, RSVP fine point pens, tiny PMG and 600 packages of airheads. I love you guys!!!!!!!!!!!!
We went to the temple again this week. I cant tell you how amazing those places are. They are truly the House of God. There is no other place like them on earth. The abundance of the Holy Ghost thats there is overwhelmingly peaceful. Even as soon as you walk in the doors, everything is just an intense silence. I noticed that today. I walked in, and its a literal sensation in the body, as if weve been transfigured into beings more tuned to the Holy Ghost. Somehow the noise of the cars right outside abut 10 feet is completely blocked out. Absolutely incredible.

I had a cool experience this week. Weve been teaching a 45 year old lady who wanted to know if there were prophets still on th earth. How perfect! anyway we taught her about Joseph Smith, and about Thomas S. Monson. she`d read and stuff, but would not pray to know if its true. She thinks all she has to do is read the bible to get the answer. Yes, it is good to read the bible, but which will be more effective: a self-interpreted answer from the bible, or a revelation from God, the Creator, who knows our souls? Each man interprets the scriptures differently, and that's why we need a prophet to iterpret them the way they are meant to be interperted; However, an answer from God can only be interpreted one way. What she doesn't grasp yet, is that she has to HUMBLE herself, realize that she needs an answer, and that only through God can she receive her answer. Then it popped into my head. If this is a 45 year old woman with so much wisdom, why can she not realize she needs an answer directly from God? That, my friends, is why God appeared to Joseph Smith at 14. He was not corrupted by his own ideas. He was in a spiritual confusion, and he knew it. So, what does he do? Asks God directly. He then saw God the Father and His son, Jesus Christ, who directed him in what he should do. He did not become a prophet at 14, but received the knowledge to be prepared to be. He was humble, and trusted in his Heavenly Father. It makes perfect sense. If only she would pray, she would receive the answer. Like Moses and the staff of the bronze serpent, the people were too proud to think that by looking at a staff that they could be saved, and they died. But those who trusted in the prophet Moses, and in God, looked, and were saved. It's not difficult, and doens't even appear difficult. But for some reason we make it so.

Anyways, DJ is in the MTC. Hes gonna love it! The Rat, Matrix pictures, listening firsthand to Apostles of God, man I miss it!

I love you all and am becoming more and more Mexican native every day. :)

Much Love
JAmes

p.s. write me : )

Monterrey, Hidalgo, week 13

Good week. We had transfers and yes, i got a new companion. Elder Sabaleta, and hes from Torreòn, which is just outside mission boundaries. Hes awesome. We actually planned and I feel like Im a part of the companionship now, not just trailing along. Were definately going to get work done here in Topo.
This week was the first week of the ward Hidalgo. We had about 120 assisting, which was way more than what it used to be. some of the members from Topo chico ward were mad that the name didnt stay as the ward Tpop Chico, because the Topo ward is older. Wow people. Its a flipping name. The church building is in the Hidalgo colony, so its only logical. But everyones fine now, and we got a lot of new cool members.

An interesting event happened in sacrament yesterday. The passers finished giving the sacrament and walked back up to the table, but there was only one cup left, and 3 of them. So one of the blessers pulls out 2 more little cups, puts them in the tray, takes out a glass of water and pours it right in. The Bishop looked over at the Stake Pres but he didn't say anything so apparently it was okay haha. I just thought of my ward at home...

One of the members took us to a Carls Jr for lunch one day, and as we were getting ready to leave, I heard above me a familiar voice, looking up, I see Billy Joe Armstrong in front of a column of fire or something. It was the new Green Day song. Thankfully it was the very end and I didnt catch any of it, but for the next like hour I was just wondering what the song could possibly be, but then I made myself forget abuot it haha. It was way funny.

Well DJ is heading to the MTC. "Own" at four-square, DJ, take tons of notes at the Devotionals, and Sundays at 930 before the church meetings they have in the Gym "Music in the Spoken Word" Where MoTab sings some awesome songs. I was fortunate enough to be there to see a bunch of white folks singing (well, trying to sing) gospel tunes, like African American slave tunes. When your singing something like that, you dont perfectly pronounce every word!! It was way way funny seeing MoTab get down haha!!!!!

Much Love
JAmes

Monterrey, Topo Chico (which next week will be Hidalgo) week 12

My ward, Topo Chico, is joining with another ward called Hidalgo, because Hidalgo ward doesnt have too strong of an attendance, but the name is being changed to Hidalgo, because thats the colony where the building is. Also my area boundaries are combining with that of the Hidalgo missionaries area, also being called Hidalgo. As of next week (if im still here) Ill be in the Hidalgo area, and the Hidalgo ward. Sorry to those non-Mormons reading this. The area Im assigned got bigger, in normal terms, haha.
This week was a little hard. Good, but hard. We had 5 people with a baptismal date goal of the 24th, but 0 made it. 4 wanted more time, and 1 was "sick". But, they've told us they want to so we just have to keep teaching and encouraging them.
The 3 sisters we are teaching got interviewed by the Zone Leaders on Friday. Me and my comp went on divisions with the ZLs, so they could interview the 2 others we had. The mom of the 3 other young kids we baptized was one of the ones who was going to get interviewed, but when the Zone Leader went to their house the one time before, to interview the 3 kids, he was very pushy and made a really bad impression, so she didn't want him to come. Well, she actually said He will never again step foot in her house. Hes a very fast talker, impatient, and thinks he knows it all. So ya, not a very good impression on people who have only known me, haha. So I went with this Elder to interview the 3 sisters. Well, he made the exact same impression with them. At the end of the interview, 2 accepted baptism, but one didnt, for one reason or another, but I could tell they were'nt secure. The next day they told us that they didnt feel ready and that 2 weeks was too short a time to just change everything, especially when they have to focus on their mom who has cancer. They told us this Elder was very pushy and everytime they said they didnt feel ready he just kept repeating the same thing over and over, that they need to just have faith and do it. We told them not to worry, and that we're not mad by any means and that were going to talk to him. What makes me mad is Im sure that if there was a compassionate missionary who interviewed them they probably would have accepted. But whats done is done, and they said they want to keep learning, so we're going to keep talking to them and helping them along.

Anyways thats about it here in Topo Chico/Hidalgo.

Amèrica (not the US, but the Mexican team, azul y crema) isnt in the finals for fùt (or what you white people call soccer), so Im not too interested in it. Okay, I am. Im pretty sure the Pumas are gonna take it. Fútbol totally and completely owns every other sport. And for anyone who calls them "field fairies," like Ive heard, lets see you take off your pads, and play, or extend the court about 4 times, or run for about 2 hours straight. Ya, that's what I thought. ¡El Juego de los Hombres Compa!

Much Love
JAmes

Monterrey, Topo Chico week 11

This week has been tons better. My companion and I talked about all our differences, and everything is going along smoothly. Our last interviews with Pres.Toris were this week. I asked him what's one thing that he's seen in his 3 years as a Mission President that missionaries fail at that would be easy to avoid or easy to do. He told me that was a very good question haha. Then, he said, Never confide in your own knowledge, and remember that two years pass very quickly. He went into a little more detail but that was the jist of it. I promised him I would always be aware of these things and be the best missionary I could. After that he gave me a blessing, as he did with all of us. While he gave it, the Spirit manifested once more that this man is called of God, and has the authority to be a Mission President. I'm going to miss him, but the new Pres will be awesome, I'm sure. We had our first bible bash session this week!!!! Some guy, who seemed interested, began talking to us, but eventually, the situation got heated and odd tangents began to come up. The base question was, "How do you know your church is the true church of God?". After about 45 minutes, he began saying that all Masons were homosexuals, and that the governors of Mexico and Barak Obama were in a Mafia. Congratulations, you just proved the Mormon religion wrong with that one. Then I remembered what they told us in the MTC: Always bear testimony of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ through Joseph Smith. So I asked him if I could speak, because he wouldn't stop talking, and I began. I said,"Hermano, yo se que la Iglesia-" the he cut me off saying stuff like "you dont know anything" or, "prove it!" If he would have listened, we gave him clear instruction on how to know, but he cut me off and so I said, "okay,gracias" and walked away. My comp was having a great time with it and all the dates and Popes and everything else he was throwing out, and stayed. I went to the corner and just started reading in the Book of Mormon, and eventually my comp came. The Spirit was not there, nor was it a little bit after. These situations are spiritual murderers. There's no way in situations like this that we could have changed his mind. Even if there was a scripture in the bible that said "The Mormon religion is totally right, join it, thus saith the Lord thy God" The guy would have had some other point or date or something that he thought proved that its a different Mormon religion or something. It takes no faith to read the bible, but faith to understand it. Faith comes BEFORE the miracles, and those who seek signs will never know the truth. Anyway, it was a good learning experience :) We went to the temple again this week. I got to do a session, and its a lot harder to understand everything in Spanish haha, but I made it through. One of the members here, Hermano Pablo, is a temple worker and was there. Even though I've only been here 2 times, this is the temple I want to get married in. The Celestial Room is the most beautiful I've ever seen. The whole temple is beautiful. While I was in there, a thought came to my mind while looking at 20-30 other missionaries. "God is putting the growth of His one true church in the hands of 19 year-old boys. What is He thinking!?" Haha then I thought, we are here to do only Gods will, and learn for ourselves why God has put the growth of His church in the hands of 19 year old boys. When we are set apart to become official missionaries, we become 19 year old men, angels, soldiers, fighting in the one battle that's going on around the world. Its become apparent to me that this battle is very real. Satan is grabbing the hearts of man and is not letting go. But, with the authority of God, working in the name of His son, his grasp is loosened and the hearts of the lost are reclaimed. Only His True Word, turns the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers. Anyway that's that. We have transfers Monday and I'm positive I'm getting another companion. Im ready to learn more from a different companion. So ya. I love you all!!!Much LoveJAmes

Monterrey- Topo Chico week 10

This week was good, and pretty hectic. We had zone conference Friday because it was cancelled the week before because of the flu thing. But we had it and it was awesome, as usual. We contacted a kid who's 17, married, and has a kid. We've been giving him the lessons and hes seeming to understand pretty well, and were hoping to baptize him. Were also teaching the mother of the 3 kids we baptized, and she seems pretty secure about getting baptized too. We contacted a lady who's 26 and got a return visit the next day. When we went back, her sister of 16 joined us. After the lesson, they informed us that their mother had cancer, and we asked if we could give her a blessing the next day. We returned the next day and their sister of 23 joined the lesson. They all seem pretty interested and remembered a lot perfectly that what we had taught them the day before. Its pretty interesting how that the past 2-3 weeks we haven't had much success with lessons, and I got really discouraged, with my comp and everything. But, I didn't lose faith in my God. I knew that's what Satan wanted of me, to think that there's no one out there. But, I kept on going. I kept on walking, talking, sweating, and believing, and now, we have 5 people we're teaching. Now that doesn't mean were going to baptize them all, but it shows they are out there, and that the hardest times come right before the miracles. We got to talk to our families on the phone yesterday. DJ and Chris were there, and haven't changed a bit!!! HAha Chris still loves dinosaurs and has no life haha, and Dj´s.. still DJ..haha.They haven't changed, and I wouldn't want it any other way. The family is doing good, and we just shot the breeze for an hour which was fun. It just proves that nothing changes in Pueblo. The only cool thing that happened was when that building blew up, which was in like November haha. Since then, not much... If anyone wants to send me a letter or something, you can, but put a picture of the virgin Mary on it. that way when it goes through Mexican customs, they will think its "holy" and wont open it.... it works, trust me.
I love you all!Much Love