Well, let's get things straight here. Presidente wants my new hijo [Junior] to be a leader in the future. He just barely got here from the states haha. And is my second hijo in the mission. He has 2 weeks in the mission. Fresh greenie. haha. Poor kid. He's so frustrated. hahahaha. (I'm dying of laughter because I keep hitting the ñ and not the n hahahaha.) He's a good kid. Still in Narnia, but a good little 19 year old with white shirts. His name is Elder Winsor and he's fresh from Arizona. He speaks alright for his short time here, but conversation wise its not too fluent haha. It's been difficult for me to communicate myself, because I can't speak English to him. Which makes it even funnier for me, because I understand whatever nonsense or Spanglish he says hahaha.
Other than that, I said bye, and got packed, and got on yet another ADO bus to good ol' Tuxtepec. It's the stake center for the Estaca Tuxtepec, I came here when I was in Carlos A. Carrillo, so I was somewhat familiar with it. Doesn't mean that it hasn't required a lot of work to familiarize myself with the huge area haha, but it's been a great test for me. Get to an area with white wash and an hijo. It's been a challenge. I'm pretty happy. We got here, and went with every little "seed" that bonilla [previous Elder??] left. I say "seed" because he hardly focused on baptizing (seeing that this change he's on his way out) and just focused on seeding. Great. haha. So we went to work, started teaching real lessons and inviting everyone we could to get baptized and putting dates. It was a great week for us and I know the Lord is happy with me for my work. That's really the trick to being happy. Gordon B. Hinckley said it thousands of times. If we wanna be happy, we should serve the Lord. Man, these last few months have been the happiest because I have hardly ever worried about me. I've literally forgotten about myself, and been 100% obediente, and now, I'm seeing blessings. I'm not tired, I still have more energy than before, and I'm really magnifying my calling. Presidente put an analogy out there about pure bred horses who give their last breath in the end. And that's me. I'm givin it my all. The weeks are few, the days are short, but I've gotta keep on goin. I know the Lord put me here for a reason, and I know I'm gonna be able to help a lot of his children reach baptism before the Lord sends me home.
We were studying in preach my gospel about finding people to teach, and the underlying message of predicad [preach] is that there are people that the Lord has prepared, and He wants us to find them. He will guide us to them or them to us, but we have to be spiritually prepared to see them, and the spirit so that they can "see us", if that makes sense. They can see me as a missionary of the Lord, or they can hear and see the Lord through me. There is a BIG difference.
But especially there is a little story about a taxista [cabbie] in chapter 9 about how two missionaries contacted him, and he got converted etc. (President is good friends with him actually and he recorded a small video for us to see his testimony. Pretty cool.) But anyways, we took off Saturday morning to go see a taxista we contacted. He wasn't there, but his mom was waiting for us and let us in very quickly. She then started to explain her story. The house they are living in is abandoned. She and her 2 kids and daughter in law live in one room of the house with rats, and they don't have anything to eat. Water one day, and a roll of bread the next. Etc. Wow. Ok. She explained she is at rock bottom, and there is a wall between her and God she just can't climb over. She looks and tries and goes to a Christian church, but she just can't find her way out of the darkness. If that wasn't the coolest chance I've EVER had to testify about the gospel and the light of the truth I've ever had... I don't know what would be. Because the spirit was so strong. Through her tears she just said I've given up. We told her to never give up, and that the truth had been restored and the gospel was once again over the earth and the light had come once again, and we invited her to church. She accepted to come, get baptized, and to serve the Lord all her life. That's all. If the lord gives her the chance to serve, she will take it. I read in Mosiah 18 about the covenant of baptism and she said yes I'll do it. WOW.
If that didn't perfect my faith in that the Lord has been preparing people for me to teach I don't know what will. Because like Alma 32 says, my knowledge is perfect.
She came to church. and when she saw the other elders taking fotos of the person to be baptized, she said: when I get baptized I want fotos too.
CLARO QUE SI!!! wow. (of course)
That was a really, really cool experience. And to share the fun, the second counselor had given me the assignment to speak on Sunday about the theme: Do we know what we have? After that experience my testimony was pretty dang strong. I was able to tell the congregation about the darkness of the world and how our brothers and sisters still have no clue how to find their way out of the darkness... it was a really good discourse. I enjoyed it.
Man. what else... Inviting everyone to be baptized, workin hard...
Oh yeah. I'm gonna buy a hammock here from the local murderers and robbers in the prison... hahaha. They have nothing else to do so they make hammocks, and sell 'em for dirt cheap, and they are huuuge. All you gotta do is knock the prison gate, say you're here for a hamaka, and the officers come out with all the ones they have hahaha. I love Mexico.
The tacos here are $2.50 pesos here. Dirt cheap too. Needless to say, I've been eating a few.
Love you all, time is short. Gotta go. Pray for me. Much love.
Elder Mortensen, el Oaxakeño.
(I'm no longer jarocho...)
Oaxakeño (people that live in Oaxaca)
Jarocho (Veracruzanos. o sea, the people that live in Veracruz)
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