April 29, 2013

Hello,

     So this week we have had so much happening and going on. We’re changing houses and so we have been really busy looking for another house.  I still don’t know if we have a new house to live in. We’re giving the keys to the Senior tomorrow morning. He doesn’t want us talking to his wife or anything but they obviously have to be together when we give them the keys. He has problems with his wife and he is a little crazy and so it’s a good thing we’re leaving….especially because there’s like an invasion of the cockroaches in our house haha. We found some new apartment buildings and were trying to rent those but we don’t know if we will be able to or not. So lets hope all works out:)

     So on top of looking for a new house and all of that we have been teaching so many menos activos!! And none showed up to church again. But there is a time for everyone. We’re pretty dang patient here so it’s not a problem.  One day they will be ready and realize what’s up and what they need to be doing.

    Telmah, who we have been teaching and has all the lessons, actually doesn’t even live in my area we found out. So she wont be my baptism, the other area missionaries will baptize her, but I taught her every lesson:) I’m so happy!! So president Jordan visited Jesus, (remember Jesus the brother to Leonardo my first baptism) So president visited him and told him he could be baptized… he got special permission! Jesus was so happy with tears of joy everyone said. So I am so happy for him!!

     My companion gave me a hair cut and he actually did a pretty good job haha!! My cheeks are getting really really brown, I’m wondering if I should probably buy sunblock? Oh and my ears haha.

    So at Hma Rita’s house she taught us how to make piñatas. Hma Rita is a menos activo family that we have been reading the Book of Mormon with. They love us so much…she is always feeding us food too:) so that’s good.

    So I’m really excited to talk to you guys on Skype! That should be pretty dang great haha:) That’s crazy that school is pretty much over… I cant believe that.. wow!!! Good to here that Ethan’s team is tearing it up and is undefeated… that is awesome.

    We taught these little kids in the street the other day because they steal  stuff,  we taught them the 10 commandments in the street haha:) That was pretty great! So we have been trying to come in contact with Edgar for like 2 weeks with no success. We were walking home the other night when I heard a Mexican voice say what’s up dude and it was Edgar!!!  We were able to teach him that night and the next day also!! We taught him some really spiritual lessons where he was getting teary eyed. This is Gods work and he really does have everything set up and planed for us. It just depends on our obedience… we need to always choose the right!! It is so important. Well I love everyone so much thanks for everything and all of your support:)

  

Elder Lawrence

Making Pinatas

April 22, 2013

Hola bebe que tal!! What’s up what’s up?

     Dang, sounds like a pretty crazy week with all that baseball going on haha. That’s no good that Ethan chipped his tooth… everyone has now. Hopefully I don’t chip my tooth.  I don’t think I will because I take vitamins that make my bones and teeth stronger haha:) I have fallen down in the street a couple times… I guess I’m lucky I didn’t chip my tooth.  

     Well things here in Valles are going really great…I really love Valles. This City is pretty sweet even though it can be hot at times. But for real, I like the hot way more than the cold. So when it’s just a little cold now I feel super cold. It gets up to about 126 degrees here. The sun is super strong and can suck the energy right out of ya. So we have to drink sooo much water, if we don’t drink water we will shrivel up and get crusty dry… haha;)

    So this Sunday all of our recent conversos went to church, so that was really good!  Rigoberto, Victor, Vanessa, Anelli, Nestor…. but none of our menos activos showed up and none of our investigators…. but what do ya do? We do all we can to try to get them to progress but everyone has there albedrio.  Thelma, one of our investigators, doesn’t even live in our area and so we are passing her on to the other Elders. She is a way good reference. Especially because I’ve taught her all of the lecciones and she is ready for baptism and she has a baptism date and everything. Good thing I don’t care about the number of baptisms… some Elders just count numbers and care about numbers... but I really care about the people and what they have learned and how they have progressed.

     Oh yeah, Blake’s beard and mustache is sweet!! Haha Ethan’s mullet is really cool too!! Sometimes I just want to grow my beard out haha jk:) I can’t believe that prom is already!! Dang time flies! Who is Blake asking or who did he ask? That’s tight that Adam didn’t ask anyone..;) Ya so I guess that means that in about 5 months I will have about a year wow!!! But who’s counting right??

     So how are Grandma and Grandpa doing, from both sides? Tell everyone hi for me ok;) So Justin Post is doing really good, he says he talks like a black man haha and Joe is doing really good too. I try writing everyone, I think sometimes the emails don’t send or something, because I thought I wrote Adam. Have you heard from Tyler Purcell??

     So this week we didn’t teach as many lessons as the week before but that’s alright we visited a lot of families! We always pass by and see how everyone is doing. So I ran out of money already. I don’t know what’s up, but the money goes really fast here. So I might have to use my card for lunch this week.

     Here is one spiritual experience that we had this week… So we waited about an hour for this Sister to get home from work. Elder Martinez wanted to leave and go walk around in the sun or something, but we ended up waiting and she gave us cookies and water and we taught the whole family and the spirit was really strong. We taught about blessings from the Book of Mormon. To end the lesson all 5 of her kids said their prayer and it was really special then the mom said her prayer. The spirit and everything was so beautiful, we felt so good. So I was really glad we had the patience and waited for her to get home.

      Every week and day I learn something new or different I am always learning and trying to progress in all that I do. I made a diagram of the gospel of Jesus Christ that I use to teach… it is really smooth to teach with and everyone really understands the gospel after I teach with it. I’ll take a picture of it. I’ve made pictures for all the lessons, it’s really fun to find your own special way to teach. I try to use ideas and stuff that I have learned from every Elder. So if you have any good ideas you should tell me them haha;)

    Well, I hope that you have a great week and that nobody chips their tooth this week. Thanks for everything! I love everybody so much!  CTR all day erryday... rise to the occasion.

 With love,  

   Elder Lawrence;)

April 15, 2013

Hey what’s up!!

      I’m doing really great!! My companion is freakin awesome!  He is really funny and we get along really good. We also work really hard together. So we have been teaching so many Menos Activos. We had like the leading number of lessons this week. But guess what?… yeah none of them showed up to church. So that was pretty much a downer. We had a Bauptismal date with Telmah but we had to cancel it because she didn’t show up to church 2 times in a row. It’s too bad because she had 4 straight weeks attending church. So that’s no good!  Esteben didn’t attend church either. I don’t know what’s up with those guys…haha but everyone has albedrio right..:)

     The weather is pretty crazy… it’s hot then its cold… it’s up and it’s down… it’s in and it’s out. That’s awesome that both the baseball teams have been doing good I like hearing about all the baseball.

     My companion is from the same generation as me and so we have the same time in the mission. I think that it’s pretty awesome that President has the confidence in us. So this week we focused our lessons in the Book of Mormon and fe in Jesus Christo. My testimony gets strengthed every week. The more I understand about Jesus Christ and the envangelio the more I grow.  It seems like the more I know about the envangelio the older I start to look. People here say I look 21 now haha:)

     Well, I’ve got to go… sorry the letter is short this week. I love you all so much and pray for you all everyday. Thanks for everything.

Love,

 Elder Lawrence

This foto is at the Bauptismal of Vanessa

Just out there doin our thingJ

April 8, 2013

Well hello there family!

      Another week come and gone!! This week was pretty awesome with the changes and the General Conference.  I was so excited for General Conference haha:) We watched it at the church with everyone. There were so many good talks and I took some good notes.  I know that when we are obedient that is when God blesses us the most. Obedience brings blessings. There are 3 things that we always need to do to receive the blessings that God has prepared for us… read our scriptures every day, pray every day, and attend church. When we do these things and have faith in Jesus Christ that’s when we're blessed and that’s when we’re happy and have peace and joy in our lives.

     That’s awesome that Ethan’s team won Richard Hirschi’s haha! Sounds like you have a good baseball team…keep tearin it up, that’s great!!! I’m glad that the High School Baseball team beat Kanab…they got lucky haha jk. How is the team? Are they good or what??

      Yes, I love my Mission President, he is really good! He always helps out and gives comforting words to all the missionaries. When I lived in Madero I was able to see him a lot. We would have meetings and stuff with the missionaries around the area. Now that I live in Valles, I only have seen him once or twice.  Yes, I always saw the temple when I lived in Madero.

     It’s not really humid at all in Valles, it’s actually a pretty dry heat. It gets up to

 120 f. So it’s really hot some days and I sweat a lot. I used to never sweat and now I sweat a little…but I sweat the littlest compared to all the other missionaries haha.

     My new companion is from Tijuana and doesn’t speak English.  I thought he was going to be American but I guess that was a different Elder Martinez.  He has the same time in the mission as me and so we both have 7 months in the mission.  We’re just two young dudes doing work, the work of the Lord.  Since I know the area and everything I have been taking the lead, but we are both senior companions haha.

     We have sooooooooooooo much progress, I’m not gonna lie!  I have been doin work with Elder Martinez. We have so many new menos activos who we are working with and investigators. We have two that are really progressing, they are gold! Telmah…she has a baptismal date for 20 of April.  The other is Esteben.  We have so many inactives to work with and so our schedule is always packed full now.

      I have a question…what is something I can do to gain more weight back? I look a lot bigger in those photos you emailed.  I have definitely lost some muscle here in Mexico:)

Well, I love you…love everyone so much and thanks for everything bye.

Love,

Elder Lawrence

New Companion...Elder Martinez

April 1, 2013

Hola hola,

     I really didn’t even know that it was Easter Sunday yesterday.  I forgot… haha that is pretty crazy. Well, I got your package that you sent me! Thank you for all the candy and the letters:) Ethan’s hair is getting pretty dang long… haha it looks good!! Well sounds like you guys have been playing a lot of baseball so that’s way good!!

     So I can’t believe another week just went by… wow time is just flyin by these days!! So we have another baptismal date… her name is Telmah. She works at the shirt store where we were teaching Vanessa. She listened in on our lessons with Vanessa.  We started teaching her, and now she has a baptismal date in 2 weeks. So that is some pretty great news!!! The area is progressing of Real Campastre 2.  Real Campastre 2 is the name of my area by the way…just so ya know haha! We have so many new investigators. It’s the work of the Lord!!  Because some of our other investigators were not progressing Elder Rodas and I had to drop them. So we were pretty discouraged about that. But the next day we got like 3 or more new investigators that are really ready to live the gospel.

      So I get my new companion tonight and I guess he is Americano… his name is Elder Martinez and he looks Mexican so that is good… more security right;) haha.  I will miss Elder Rodas and his energy… that dude really knew how to work!! So did you know my papa in the mission Elder Rodriguez was a Zone Leader after me... yeah, he was awesome too!! I have been so blessed with my companions and I hope or have faith that I will keep getting blessed:)

     So it was pretty sad for all of the families to say goodbye to Elder Rodas.

He really touched the hearts of many people in Real Campastre 2. All the Elders are pretty excited for General Conference. I think because we get to sit in front of a tv all day haha,;) Well I’ve got to go right now to pick my companion up. I will write again later tonight. Love you all!!!   

Elder Lawrence

(A little later on that night…)

  

Hola…

    So I have my new companion now.  He seems like he is a really happy guy. I’m pretty sure I have been blessed again haha.  He is from my generation, so we have the same time in the mission.  That’s pretty awesome huh?? haha I will send you a picture in the next letter of us ok.  I’m really excited for this change… we should have a lot of success… I hope:) I have fe haha!!!

Love you all so much, bye

 Goodbye my friend