So I really enjoyed this week, I'm really started to just enjoy and love my mission now. I really like the area that Im in but I could only be here for one more week, because this is the last week of the transfer, I hope I don't change because we have alot of people we are teaching, we have a young girl that we are planing to baptize this weekend, but it could get delayed till the next week, then the week after that we have 2 others that can get baptized, so I really hope that I want change areas next week! I really like the zone that I'm in, we always do fun stuff, like on Mondays we go play soccer in the morning and its weird but I really like soccer now, I think its just because I have always loved to get out and run around and play sports and that's really all there is here so Ive just learned to enjoy it! Then on Monday nights we have district meeting and after we all go out for tlyudas, there kinda like Quesadillas but taste way better! Then after we after to sleep over at some other elders house because there aren't any buses back to our area after 8pm. Then there we always play uno, I forgot how fun that game can be!
Well let me tell you about my week,
Tuesday started out very slow because all of our morning appointments fell through, so we just tracked which was pretty good we found a few new investigators. So most of the time when we go to eat lunch with the members they always give you some kinda soup first, then they bring you other food. So the sister that we were eating with brought us a bowl of soup and I ate it real fast because I wanted to get to the main course because, Im not really a big soup fan, so the sister asked if I wanted more soup and I was no like "no I'm ready for the meal" and she like looked concerned and was like that was the meal haha, I felt really bad because after that she went and made some eggs real fast haha. After that we had a few other appointments, then we had a ward counsel meeting which are always interesting because the 2nd counselor to the bishop is kinda crazy, like one time he gave us a ride to our house to grab some stuff really fast and he just walked right in and layed in my bad and called one of his friends and just layed there talking for like 15 min haha. He is kinda a bum all he does all day is sit in his room and play his guitar and watch tv. So at the meeting we were talking about plans and stuff and he always just goes way off subject or will like start arguing with the bishop haha
Wed we found a new investigator that we are hoping to be able to baptize this Saturday, she is 9 years old and her mom is already her member but her dad isnt, but he lives in another state, and said that he doesn't mind if she gets baptized, but we still dont know for sure yet what will happen there. So this area that Im in has a ton of less active members so we always teach alot of less actives but its been good because we have gotten like 10 to return back to church, so that always feels good to be able to help people make these changes in their life's. We went and taught a less active family and it went really well but the husband isn't a member and is a drunk, and I dont know why but I dont have to much patience when it comes to drunk guys who neglect their families. So I guess Im always really hard and upfront with them, my companion always tells me after lessons with drunk guys, that he thought I was going to fight them or something, haha so I guess I need to learn patience with that.
Thursday started out good because the bishops wife wanted to make us breakfast, but breakfast her is just like regular meals haha but we had enchiladas with some steak, they were good! After that we went to teach Paola, and that went really well, she is really progressing and her and her husband are both pretty interested, its really cool to see how the gospel blesses people life's! Later we had a ward activity where we went out with members to visit less actives and some of our investigators. And lucky me I got pared up with that crazy 2nd counselor to the bishop, we went and visited a investigator, and it didnt go too bad, he is just really weird and when the investigator would try and talk he would just shush her and talk over her haha. The investigator that we went to visit is pretty interested so it was okay.
Friday we had zone conference and the mission president came down from Oaxaca and both him and his wife gave very good talks and he gave a very good training, he is a great teacher and really knows alot about the gospel and has a very strong testimony, I have really learned alot from him, but I will be getting a new mission president in June, I will miss him but I think its good to be able to learn and see 2 different presidents! After the conference we went to a few appointments and the zone leaders called us and said they wanted to do divisions so we had to go back to Juchitan and I went with elder Baert in his area and My comp went with elder Monesterio in my area.
Saturday, I worked in the other area all day but it was very good. The night before when we were taking taxi towards the zone leaders house some kid that was in the taxi also, asked if we were elders, and we were like yeah and we talked for a bit but then he had to go so we asked him where he lived real fast and he gave us very vague directions how to get to his house, But Saturday, when we went to search for him we found it on the first house we knocked, and we taught him and he was very interested and said he wanted to be baptized. Its just really cool to see the lords hand in this work, like the odds of us finding his house were very low, but we were able to find him and teach him. Later we taught some other appointments and for one we had to walk like 5 miles out to the middle of nowhere, where we taught some guy who didn't speak Spanish very good, because his first language is Zapoteco, so we will have to bring a translator next time. Later we went and taught the young men in his ward some stuff out of preach my gospel. Then later I went back to my area.
Sunday was pretty good, my companion and I were able to give talks, my companion really doesn't like to give talks but I do. So he was mad about it. He just don't know how to talk to people, when he teaches he like glares at people and talks like he is very bored, and he does the same when he talks, I don't know how to help him, maybe I will get a new companion next week! Later we had a meeting with our ward mission leader then went and taught some lessons and thats it!
Well I hope taht you have a great week! tell the kids that I love them very much and to be good and be the best they cane be and to be a light to other people!
Te amo,
Elder Stradling
Friday, January 28, 2011
1-10-11 email
Well This week was pretty good, we got some good work done and the work seems to be picking up, last week was pretty hard because all the investigators that we had didn't end up coming to church and so that's always discouraging when you see the people not making good choices. I still really like this area that I'm in, I get along very good with the members, I think its because I'm at the point where I'm more fluent in Spanish and so now I can actually have a conversation about things other than the gospel, and my companion doesn't speak any English at all so I am just forced to always speak Spanish, which is good for me because it always forces me to learn. Its hard to remember that there was a time that I wasn't able to understand Spanish, because now its just so natural to speak. I can definitely see the blessings that I receive each day from my heavenly father, its really an amazing opportunity to be apart of this work, which is really just so much bigger than me, and its just so amazing to see and hear how we are effecting people life's just by being young men worthy to carry the spirit and to be able to share the message with those who don't know the truth, there are so many people out there, and they are all looking for happiness, they search in so many different things, whether it be money, drugs, boyfriends, girlfriends, alcohol, and just all those things of the world, that yes can give short term pleasure but the only way that anyone will ever find the happiness that they want, that feeling of pure love, is if they live the principles of the gospel. That's the only way that we can find happiness, its the secret of life, and its a promise that our heavenly father has given each of us, that if we will follow his commandments, we will prosper in the land.
Last week we were out knocking doors and my comp was getting tired and didn't want to tract anymore, so I was like alright how about we just knock this one last door, so we did, and so I knocked, and a 25yr old woman answered and we told her we were missionaries and that we had a message that would bless the lives of her and her family, and we asked if we could share it with her. She accepted and invited us to come in. So we went inside, and began to get to know her, her name is Paola, she is married and has a 2 year old baby, and her and her husband live with his parents, which isn't uncommon here. We shared the first lesson with her it went very well. She invited us to come back the next day so we did and As we have been teaching her over the past week of so, we have learned alot more about her and husband. We have become very good friends with them and they told us that they want to be Mormon. Yesterday, Paola and her baby went to church but her husband Cesar couldn't because he had to work, but he said that he wants to change his work schedule so that he wont work on Sundays. They tell us that they have seen such a difference in their life's since that day we knocked on their door. They are a great family and are now our good friends, and we talk almost everyday, they always want us to come over and just talk to them because they say that when we are there they just feel something different.
Not really too much really happened this week haha, which is a big understatement because each day I see and experience something new and different, but I'm getting to the point where I'm just use to the crazy and to the strange. Like the other day while I was watching some lady kill a chicken I saw a guy walking down the street with his pet armadillo. haha it was quite strange. I see things like that each day, so nothing is really that surprising to me haha.
Well I hope you have a great week!
I love you!
Elder Stradling
Last week we were out knocking doors and my comp was getting tired and didn't want to tract anymore, so I was like alright how about we just knock this one last door, so we did, and so I knocked, and a 25yr old woman answered and we told her we were missionaries and that we had a message that would bless the lives of her and her family, and we asked if we could share it with her. She accepted and invited us to come in. So we went inside, and began to get to know her, her name is Paola, she is married and has a 2 year old baby, and her and her husband live with his parents, which isn't uncommon here. We shared the first lesson with her it went very well. She invited us to come back the next day so we did and As we have been teaching her over the past week of so, we have learned alot more about her and husband. We have become very good friends with them and they told us that they want to be Mormon. Yesterday, Paola and her baby went to church but her husband Cesar couldn't because he had to work, but he said that he wants to change his work schedule so that he wont work on Sundays. They tell us that they have seen such a difference in their life's since that day we knocked on their door. They are a great family and are now our good friends, and we talk almost everyday, they always want us to come over and just talk to them because they say that when we are there they just feel something different.
Not really too much really happened this week haha, which is a big understatement because each day I see and experience something new and different, but I'm getting to the point where I'm just use to the crazy and to the strange. Like the other day while I was watching some lady kill a chicken I saw a guy walking down the street with his pet armadillo. haha it was quite strange. I see things like that each day, so nothing is really that surprising to me haha.
Well I hope you have a great week!
I love you!
Elder Stradling
12-20-10 email
So this week was pretty good, I really like the new area Im in, its very different than my last area in the city but I like it and Im excited for the next 6 weeks here. We didnt get a chance to really work to much this week because the area we are in hasnt had missionaries in it for over a year, so we have been looking for a house, and since we dont have a house in Espinal (our area) we have been living with out zone leaders in Juchitan, so we have to use buses and taxis each day to get to our area so that been hitting me in the wallet, especially since my companion doesnt have any money, so I have had to pay for him all week as well. He doesnt have money because he lost a phone in his last area so they take it out of his money he receives, I dont know why they do that because it just ends up screwing over the companion. Oh well I dont mind too much its just kinda annoying to have to pay for everything haha. My companion is kinda weird, he like has problems I dont know, he just always seems like he is in pain or something when we are teaching and just seems really angry when he is in lessons but then when we arent teaching and we are just like walking down the street he is like perfectly fine, infact he made a girl in our ward cry haha. We were at our meal on sunday and things were good and we were just talking and they dont really like him too much so they always just talk to me. Then they asked him what he wanted to study after his mission and he like got mad and wouldnt answer the question, then they were like why dont you like questions. Then he said how he hates talking to people and how thats why he is here to try and change who he is and just went off on a bunch of stuff, then the girl started crying, well she is like 20 so I dont know to call her a girl or a woman i dont know haha, but then she started crying and went off on him haha it was pretty awkward. So after we left he kept telling me how bad he felt and asked how he could be more like me haha, I just told him to choose to be happy, and even if things in your life arent perfect, just make the choose to make the best of what you have. I dont know if he will be able to change but I guess we will see. So let me tell you about my week,
Tuesday we went to Espinal with some other elders that knew the area kinda and they showed us around and we met some members and we just looked for houses most of the day then went to eat lunch and we had pig stomach, It didnt taste too bad just a nasty texture, but they love that stuff here so then at about 5 we met our ward mission leader then went on divisions I went with him and my comp went with another RM, and while we were out we saw a white girl so we figured she was from the US so he was like go contact her in english so I was like okay, so it turns out she was German haha she is here for a foreign exchange haha but she spoke spanish so we just talked to her in spanish, she was nice but when we started talking about our church she like got mad and left haha and it made me greatfull that im not serving in Europe and then we went and met some more members. There are really alot of less actives in our ward, there are about 300 members and only like 80 are active, so we have alot of work to do in this area. The area has been closed for ever because the last time there were elders here they got in trouble with some of the young women, so my mission president called me and told me to be care of that because there are tons of young women in this ward haha. Not to be rude or racist but apart from being a missionary Im just not attracted to the girls here, they all have like side burns and mustaches haha so I should be fine!
Wed pretty much all we did all day is look for a house we did teach a few lessons to less actives and picked up a few new investigators. So at night when we were headed back to Juchitan it was late and so there werent anymore buses so we had to get a taxi and it cost alot more so, while we were driving home the taxi driver started talking to us and it turned out that he was a member, he has just been inactive for the last 12 years haha, but now he has a wife and a son that is 9 years old and he said that he felt like something has been missing in his life and that he has been having problems with his wife and she wants him to change and he was telling us how he wants his family to get baptized and change their current way of life! So we set an appointment with him. Its really funny how the lord works, we were mad that we missed the buses and had to use a taxi, but if we wouldnt have used a taxi that night we may have not ever met him, Its just crazy to think about!
Thursday we had a Christmas mission conference, It was pretty fun! First we just had some training by the president and the zone leaders then we changes clothes and got to play some games and sports that was really fun! After that we had our christmas dinner, it was turkey and funeral potatoes, but kinda mexified haha it still tasted pretty good! After that we had a secret santa gift exchange, I bought an elder some candy and other junk, I got 2 ties I was pretty happy! Then our gift from the president and his wife was a stocking filled with mexican candy haha which im not too fond of but oh well haha! After that we went to our area and taught a lesson or 2 then headed back to our zone leaders house!
Friday, we were determined to find a house this day we had found a few before but they ended up falling through, but we did end up finding one and it seems pretty good its just really dirty, so we will just have to clean it up pretty good! It was kinda annoying looking for a house because my comp always has a really bad attitude about everything. He just is like dead and doenst want to be here. I can see why president put him with me though, he really needs someone to just cheer him up and help him find some faith and some energy! That night we had a family home evening with a family whose son is less active, so my comp wanted to teach a lesson where you get a piece of paper and put a picture of Jesus under it and you tell people to think about people that they dont like and to use a knife and cut a whole in the piece of paper. Then after everyone cuts a hole in the top piece of paper, he took out from under it a picture of Jesus and everyone like freaked out haha, I told him before that we shouldnt do it but he wanted to haha idk! So that didnt end up to well! Oh well
Saturday was a pretty good day we got to teach some good lessons, in the morning we went to yavanis house, the taxi driver, and we taught his family and it went really good, the really want to make changes in their lives and they were very accepting of the message, when we got to his house we noticed that he had a ton of roosters in his back yard, its not too uncommon here to have a ton of chickens and some roosters but to just have a ton of roosters in all sperate cages was out of the ordinary, it turns out he trains roosters to fight haha, there arent any laws against it here so alot of people do it i guess haha, My companion was able to relate because I guess he use to train dogs to fight haha, wow I have a wierd companion.
Sunday was good, we were able to speak in sacrament meeting, but my companion was giving his talk and like went off on weird stuff and the bishop got up and handed him a note and told him to sit down haha so I went up and spoke and after everyone told me they liked my talk and he felt bad beacuse no one said it to him, I felt bad too! After we went and ate lunch and he made that girl cry haha and I found out that another girl that lives in that house who is 18 and a member doesnt believe in god, that family have alot of problems right now, because about 6 months ago their mom got kidnapped, it happens alot here. She some how made it back alive though, she was very lucky. It was really sad to her that the girl her name is Mittzz, doesnt believe that there is a god, but I talked to her and by the end of the conversation she said that she ow believed that there was a god. Its hard to see people challenges in their lives but it feels really good to be able to bring the spirit into their home and help them.
Well that was my week, not too exciting not too boring just the life as a missionary in Mexico.
Love Elder Stradling
Tuesday we went to Espinal with some other elders that knew the area kinda and they showed us around and we met some members and we just looked for houses most of the day then went to eat lunch and we had pig stomach, It didnt taste too bad just a nasty texture, but they love that stuff here so then at about 5 we met our ward mission leader then went on divisions I went with him and my comp went with another RM, and while we were out we saw a white girl so we figured she was from the US so he was like go contact her in english so I was like okay, so it turns out she was German haha she is here for a foreign exchange haha but she spoke spanish so we just talked to her in spanish, she was nice but when we started talking about our church she like got mad and left haha and it made me greatfull that im not serving in Europe and then we went and met some more members. There are really alot of less actives in our ward, there are about 300 members and only like 80 are active, so we have alot of work to do in this area. The area has been closed for ever because the last time there were elders here they got in trouble with some of the young women, so my mission president called me and told me to be care of that because there are tons of young women in this ward haha. Not to be rude or racist but apart from being a missionary Im just not attracted to the girls here, they all have like side burns and mustaches haha so I should be fine!
Wed pretty much all we did all day is look for a house we did teach a few lessons to less actives and picked up a few new investigators. So at night when we were headed back to Juchitan it was late and so there werent anymore buses so we had to get a taxi and it cost alot more so, while we were driving home the taxi driver started talking to us and it turned out that he was a member, he has just been inactive for the last 12 years haha, but now he has a wife and a son that is 9 years old and he said that he felt like something has been missing in his life and that he has been having problems with his wife and she wants him to change and he was telling us how he wants his family to get baptized and change their current way of life! So we set an appointment with him. Its really funny how the lord works, we were mad that we missed the buses and had to use a taxi, but if we wouldnt have used a taxi that night we may have not ever met him, Its just crazy to think about!
Thursday we had a Christmas mission conference, It was pretty fun! First we just had some training by the president and the zone leaders then we changes clothes and got to play some games and sports that was really fun! After that we had our christmas dinner, it was turkey and funeral potatoes, but kinda mexified haha it still tasted pretty good! After that we had a secret santa gift exchange, I bought an elder some candy and other junk, I got 2 ties I was pretty happy! Then our gift from the president and his wife was a stocking filled with mexican candy haha which im not too fond of but oh well haha! After that we went to our area and taught a lesson or 2 then headed back to our zone leaders house!
Friday, we were determined to find a house this day we had found a few before but they ended up falling through, but we did end up finding one and it seems pretty good its just really dirty, so we will just have to clean it up pretty good! It was kinda annoying looking for a house because my comp always has a really bad attitude about everything. He just is like dead and doenst want to be here. I can see why president put him with me though, he really needs someone to just cheer him up and help him find some faith and some energy! That night we had a family home evening with a family whose son is less active, so my comp wanted to teach a lesson where you get a piece of paper and put a picture of Jesus under it and you tell people to think about people that they dont like and to use a knife and cut a whole in the piece of paper. Then after everyone cuts a hole in the top piece of paper, he took out from under it a picture of Jesus and everyone like freaked out haha, I told him before that we shouldnt do it but he wanted to haha idk! So that didnt end up to well! Oh well
Saturday was a pretty good day we got to teach some good lessons, in the morning we went to yavanis house, the taxi driver, and we taught his family and it went really good, the really want to make changes in their lives and they were very accepting of the message, when we got to his house we noticed that he had a ton of roosters in his back yard, its not too uncommon here to have a ton of chickens and some roosters but to just have a ton of roosters in all sperate cages was out of the ordinary, it turns out he trains roosters to fight haha, there arent any laws against it here so alot of people do it i guess haha, My companion was able to relate because I guess he use to train dogs to fight haha, wow I have a wierd companion.
Sunday was good, we were able to speak in sacrament meeting, but my companion was giving his talk and like went off on weird stuff and the bishop got up and handed him a note and told him to sit down haha so I went up and spoke and after everyone told me they liked my talk and he felt bad beacuse no one said it to him, I felt bad too! After we went and ate lunch and he made that girl cry haha and I found out that another girl that lives in that house who is 18 and a member doesnt believe in god, that family have alot of problems right now, because about 6 months ago their mom got kidnapped, it happens alot here. She some how made it back alive though, she was very lucky. It was really sad to her that the girl her name is Mittzz, doesnt believe that there is a god, but I talked to her and by the end of the conversation she said that she ow believed that there was a god. Its hard to see people challenges in their lives but it feels really good to be able to bring the spirit into their home and help them.
Well that was my week, not too exciting not too boring just the life as a missionary in Mexico.
Love Elder Stradling
12-13-10 email
This last week was pretty good but it ended with a bit of a twist. I found out Saturday night that I was being transferred to the Istmo, to an area called espinar! The istmo is famous for its tradition and culture. Only about 3/4ths of the people speak Spanish, the rest speak a language called zapoteco, so no I have to learn another language along with Spanish, so that will be an adventure. I was kinda sad to leave my last area in etla, because we had alot of work and like 5 baptisms that were just about to happen, but I guess its okay, I guess this is where the lord wants me to be!
Well let me tell you about my week,
Tuesday was a pretty calm day but we had to wake up early and go to choir practice, which is annoying because we have to take a tavi all the way to Oaxaca then come back to our area which is an hour both ways! When we got back we got some really good work done and taught alot of lessons. For lunch we had what I would call mexican corndogs. They were taquitos with hot dogs in them, and since it was made with a corn tortilla it kinda made me think of corn dogs! Then we had a lesson with Denise, she is the niece of the Mexico city temple president, and here when friends greet eachother they kiss eachother on the cheek and when we went into her house she tried to kiss me haha so me and my comp were like whoa sorry but we cant do that haha, it was pretty awkward and just came out of no where, but I think she understood!
Wed we didnt have to go to Oaxaca for choir practice, so I actually got to study which I really enjoy! Then we went out and worked, had a meeting with our ward mission leader and had lunch with him and he was getting mad because I was able to eat spicier food than him, I dont know why people take such pride in that haha. Then we had to go to Mata damas to teach a lesson, it went really well, then we went to Nazareth to teach Abdiel and that also went very well, except his son who is gay wanted to sit in on the lesson so that made it kinda wierd but I guess everyone needs to hear the gospel! Its getting pretty cold here, so people like wear snow clothes because they just arent use to cold weather, And me, I reallty dont mind the cold so On wed night I was juts wearing a short sleeve shirt and people kept looking at me like I was crazy haha.
Thursday we had to wake up early and go to Oaxaca for chior practice then we came back and worked, nothing too exciting really happened, just a regular day as missionaries
Friday we had to go to Oaxaca once again, then we came home and for lunch the family that we were going to eat with are having some money problems so we decided we would cook for them! So we made them some carne asada tacos, they seemed to like them pretty good! After we ate we taught some good lessons and got alot of things done that we have been needing to do!
Saturday was a good day, alot happened, I woke up made some good breakfast,then we went to the church and taught the young men and women how to teach the 1st lesson, for their mutual, then we went to Denise's house for a lesson and when we got there she asked us to help her put up her Christmas tree! So that was nice to do since we didnt really get to do that with our families, we got to put lights and decorations on the tree! So people here really arent good at guessing my age, I get some really crazy answers some say Im 16-17 and some say I look like Im 24, thats what Denise said haha but I guess its not too bad, my comp and I both guessed her age wrong too, I thought she was like 21 or so and my comp said 22 but she is only 18! I just cant tell how old people are here! So after we helped her put her tree up we taught her and her mom a lesson, and it went really well! After that we went to lunch and we had pork ribs, they were pretty good! Then we went to sams house, someone we just baptized and while we were there we found out that we were both being transferred, My comp went to the coast which is like 9-10 hours away, and I went to the Istmo which was 6 hours away! So we both went really far! We were both sad when we got the news because we loved our area! So after that we headed home to pack because, we had to leave the next day! On the way home we got attacked by some dogs but we fought them off, niether of us got bit bad which is good! While we were packing I decided to make a cake that Tiffany had sent me for my birthday! It turned out pretty good, Ill send some pictures of it! We didnt get to bed untill like 12am because we had to finish packing!
Sunday was our last day in the Etla ward, and we found out when we got to church that we were going to speaking! So I prepared a talk during the sacrament haha, I dont know how I do it but its so easy for me to give like 15-20 min talks, I just love talking about the gospel! So after church we were saying bye to people in our ward and it looked really bad because like 4 of the young women were crying, and I dont even know why, I had only talked to them like 3 times, I dk but it prob looked really bad! After church we went and ate really fast then some members picked us up and we went to the Church where the movie Nacho Libre was filmed, because it was filmed in my area! So I got some good pictures of that! Then we went to our house grabbed all of our stuff then went to the zone leaders house because I had to sleep there because my comp was leaving that night to his area. So when we go there I left with one of the zone leaders because he had to go to a dentists house because he was going to an area far away where there arent good dentists so he had to get something done really fast. So we went there and I just waited and talked to the dentists wife for 2 hours about different things, mainly about catholics because that day was the birthday of The Virgin Mary (how they know when she was born, I have no clue haha). Then we finally left at about 11pm and had to go to the bus depot. Then we took a taxi home and went to bed for a few hours and had to wake up at 4am because my bus was leaving at 7am so we woke up got ready and went to the bus Depot again then I got on the bus and took the miserable 7 hour bus ride here to my new area! My companions name is elder Espinoza he seems pretty cool!
Te amo,
Elder Stradling
Well let me tell you about my week,
Tuesday was a pretty calm day but we had to wake up early and go to choir practice, which is annoying because we have to take a tavi all the way to Oaxaca then come back to our area which is an hour both ways! When we got back we got some really good work done and taught alot of lessons. For lunch we had what I would call mexican corndogs. They were taquitos with hot dogs in them, and since it was made with a corn tortilla it kinda made me think of corn dogs! Then we had a lesson with Denise, she is the niece of the Mexico city temple president, and here when friends greet eachother they kiss eachother on the cheek and when we went into her house she tried to kiss me haha so me and my comp were like whoa sorry but we cant do that haha, it was pretty awkward and just came out of no where, but I think she understood!
Wed we didnt have to go to Oaxaca for choir practice, so I actually got to study which I really enjoy! Then we went out and worked, had a meeting with our ward mission leader and had lunch with him and he was getting mad because I was able to eat spicier food than him, I dont know why people take such pride in that haha. Then we had to go to Mata damas to teach a lesson, it went really well, then we went to Nazareth to teach Abdiel and that also went very well, except his son who is gay wanted to sit in on the lesson so that made it kinda wierd but I guess everyone needs to hear the gospel! Its getting pretty cold here, so people like wear snow clothes because they just arent use to cold weather, And me, I reallty dont mind the cold so On wed night I was juts wearing a short sleeve shirt and people kept looking at me like I was crazy haha.
Thursday we had to wake up early and go to Oaxaca for chior practice then we came back and worked, nothing too exciting really happened, just a regular day as missionaries
Friday we had to go to Oaxaca once again, then we came home and for lunch the family that we were going to eat with are having some money problems so we decided we would cook for them! So we made them some carne asada tacos, they seemed to like them pretty good! After we ate we taught some good lessons and got alot of things done that we have been needing to do!
Saturday was a good day, alot happened, I woke up made some good breakfast,then we went to the church and taught the young men and women how to teach the 1st lesson, for their mutual, then we went to Denise's house for a lesson and when we got there she asked us to help her put up her Christmas tree! So that was nice to do since we didnt really get to do that with our families, we got to put lights and decorations on the tree! So people here really arent good at guessing my age, I get some really crazy answers some say Im 16-17 and some say I look like Im 24, thats what Denise said haha but I guess its not too bad, my comp and I both guessed her age wrong too, I thought she was like 21 or so and my comp said 22 but she is only 18! I just cant tell how old people are here! So after we helped her put her tree up we taught her and her mom a lesson, and it went really well! After that we went to lunch and we had pork ribs, they were pretty good! Then we went to sams house, someone we just baptized and while we were there we found out that we were both being transferred, My comp went to the coast which is like 9-10 hours away, and I went to the Istmo which was 6 hours away! So we both went really far! We were both sad when we got the news because we loved our area! So after that we headed home to pack because, we had to leave the next day! On the way home we got attacked by some dogs but we fought them off, niether of us got bit bad which is good! While we were packing I decided to make a cake that Tiffany had sent me for my birthday! It turned out pretty good, Ill send some pictures of it! We didnt get to bed untill like 12am because we had to finish packing!
Sunday was our last day in the Etla ward, and we found out when we got to church that we were going to speaking! So I prepared a talk during the sacrament haha, I dont know how I do it but its so easy for me to give like 15-20 min talks, I just love talking about the gospel! So after church we were saying bye to people in our ward and it looked really bad because like 4 of the young women were crying, and I dont even know why, I had only talked to them like 3 times, I dk but it prob looked really bad! After church we went and ate really fast then some members picked us up and we went to the Church where the movie Nacho Libre was filmed, because it was filmed in my area! So I got some good pictures of that! Then we went to our house grabbed all of our stuff then went to the zone leaders house because I had to sleep there because my comp was leaving that night to his area. So when we go there I left with one of the zone leaders because he had to go to a dentists house because he was going to an area far away where there arent good dentists so he had to get something done really fast. So we went there and I just waited and talked to the dentists wife for 2 hours about different things, mainly about catholics because that day was the birthday of The Virgin Mary (how they know when she was born, I have no clue haha). Then we finally left at about 11pm and had to go to the bus depot. Then we took a taxi home and went to bed for a few hours and had to wake up at 4am because my bus was leaving at 7am so we woke up got ready and went to the bus Depot again then I got on the bus and took the miserable 7 hour bus ride here to my new area! My companions name is elder Espinoza he seems pretty cool!
Te amo,
Elder Stradling
12-6-10 email
This week was pretty good but very disappointing, the baptism that we had fell through, and one of the ones that we had planned for this next Sunday also fell through, because the investigator couldn't come to church and the rule is that they have to come to church 3 times in order to be baptized, so that wasn't very good. We really didnt get too much done this week because just alot of random and unexpected things just kept happening all week that hindered how much time we had to work and teach. I also really didnt have anytime to study so my Book of Mormon study and Jesus The Christ reading also got delayed so now I will have to read more than usual to get back on my reading schedule , thats okay though. So we still may be able to pull off a baptism or 2 this weekend but they are kinda far fetched, but oh well just got to keep your head up and keep working.
So Tuesday started out pretty good, at the families house that we eat lunch they have a 6yr old son and he is pretty crazy, like he has already read the book of Mormon and reads "Preach my Gospel" and you can just tell he has very good parents, the mom told us a story about him that his school teacher told her, at school one day they gave the kids milk with coffee in it ( why they would give 6yr olds coffee in unknown to me haha) BUt when the teacher gave him his cup he said to his teach nope I cant drink coffee and one of the kids asked why not, he said "because only drunks drink coffee" haha I thought that was pretty funny! So Johan (thats the name of the 6yr old boy) brought his book of mormon to school and gave it to one of his friends and told him to read it and he asked us if we could go over to his house and teach him a lesson haha so we said yea, it was the first time that ive ever gone teaching with a 6 yr old but it went very good, we ended up teaching his friends mom and she seems very interested! then at about 3pm we found out that the Bishops Mom had just died, and that there was a funeral service that night and they asked if we could come and be a part of the services. It was really sad because we knew her, she had been pretty sick for awhile and she lived at the Bishops house, so when we would go over there on Saturdays to eat, she would always ask us to come into her room and talk to her and share some scriptures and sing some hymns to her. What makes me feel really bad is that last Saturday when we got to her house after just walking for about an hour strait because the bishop lives far away and we were all out of money because it was the end of the month so we didnt have money to take a taxi, so we had to walk, so when we got to his house, he asked us if we could lift her out of bed and put her in her wheel chair because she cant move anything below the waist, so we helped her gte in her wheel chair, and after she asked us if we could sit down and talk to her and sing some hymns to her, but we were very tired and sweaty so we told her that we wanted to go out side and get some fresh air real fast. Then when we were going back in to talk to her, the bishop said the food was done and to come eat. I feel really bad about that because I wish we would have just gone in there and talked to her! So the funeral services were very good, the Oaxaca Temple president gave a talk and it was very good! My companion played the Violin and it was a pretty beautiful service. It went very late so we didnt get home till about 11 pm that night!
Wed we had to wake up an hour early because we had to go to Oaxaca for the practice for the annual missionary choir thing at the temple. So we went there for that and then had to come back home so we got back home at about 12pm then went and worked for awhile then at 2 we had to go to the Viewing of the bishops mom, thats was pretty good then after that we had a meeting with the ward mission leader then after that we taught some lessons and then had to leave again for Oaxaca because we were going to go to the temple the next morning at 6 and our house is like an hour and 20 min away from the temple so we had to go to Oaxaca and sleep at the zone leaders house, which isnt too fun because we have to sleep on their very hard and small couches! The good thing about it was that we got to eat at McDonald's that night! It tasted pretty dang good! I never thought I would miss McDonald's!
Thursday we woke up at 4 am and got ready and went to the temple! It was really good to go to the temple, the Oaxaca temple is very small and it only has one room for each thing, but its very pretty as are all temples! It was very different going through the session in Spanish, but it was still a very good and spiritual experience! After the temple we headed back to Our area in Etla, it took a very long time because for some reason when people get mad here they like to get a bunch of people together and park their cars in the middle of streets and make it so no one can come or go from the city, so we had to sit in traffic for ever! So when we finally got back to our area it was like 3pm and we had to go get some lunch, we were starving because we hadnt eatin all day! So after that we went to some lessons but 2 or them fell through, but in one of them we were able to give a baptismal date to one of our investigators but its not for 2 weeks! After that we had some extra time and I needed a hair cut so we went to a members house who cuts hair and I got a hair cut! So we got home and went straight to bed, after a pretty long day!
Friday, we had to wake up early again and go to Oaxaca again for the chior practice, its really starting to get old haha, so it took forever to get there again because the protest was still going on and we had to take side streets to get into the city! So we did the chior practice thing then headed back to our area and it took forever once again because we had to take the side streets so we didnt get back till like 3pm again so then we ate and went out to work, we taught some lessons and then came home about 930pm Another late night
Saturday we actually got to wake up at 630 which felt very good, because our sleep schedule had been crazy all week! So that morning we went to mutual, yeah they have mutual on saturday mornings here because kids school sceduals are all weird and different, so there we met a new investigator her name is Milka she is about 17 years old, she really wants to get baptized but her mom is very catholic and wont let her, so we are trying to see what we can do about that.So not too much really happened Saturday well, nothing out of the ordinary, that night we had a family home evening with a family it was pretty good they brought two investigators! After that we went home and went to sleep!
Sunday was pretty good, it was fast sunday and I fasted for Milka, so that her mom would let her get baptized. So fast sundays are always good at this ward, every single person wants to bare their testimony. The bishop if the kind of guy that is very organized and on time so even though there was like 6 more people on the stand waiting to bare their testimony's at 11:10 he will stand up and announce the closing hymn and prayer haha and the poeple get stiffed! After church we went to eat with a family and they made my companions favorite food for his birthday which is cow tongue tacos, they actually tasted pretty good! After that we went and taught some lessons and then called it a night!
So my week was pretty good, Im still very tired from the lack of sleep, but thats okay, hope fully this next week will go good!
Well I love you , and the kids!
Te amo,
Elder Stradling
So Tuesday started out pretty good, at the families house that we eat lunch they have a 6yr old son and he is pretty crazy, like he has already read the book of Mormon and reads "Preach my Gospel" and you can just tell he has very good parents, the mom told us a story about him that his school teacher told her, at school one day they gave the kids milk with coffee in it ( why they would give 6yr olds coffee in unknown to me haha) BUt when the teacher gave him his cup he said to his teach nope I cant drink coffee and one of the kids asked why not, he said "because only drunks drink coffee" haha I thought that was pretty funny! So Johan (thats the name of the 6yr old boy) brought his book of mormon to school and gave it to one of his friends and told him to read it and he asked us if we could go over to his house and teach him a lesson haha so we said yea, it was the first time that ive ever gone teaching with a 6 yr old but it went very good, we ended up teaching his friends mom and she seems very interested! then at about 3pm we found out that the Bishops Mom had just died, and that there was a funeral service that night and they asked if we could come and be a part of the services. It was really sad because we knew her, she had been pretty sick for awhile and she lived at the Bishops house, so when we would go over there on Saturdays to eat, she would always ask us to come into her room and talk to her and share some scriptures and sing some hymns to her. What makes me feel really bad is that last Saturday when we got to her house after just walking for about an hour strait because the bishop lives far away and we were all out of money because it was the end of the month so we didnt have money to take a taxi, so we had to walk, so when we got to his house, he asked us if we could lift her out of bed and put her in her wheel chair because she cant move anything below the waist, so we helped her gte in her wheel chair, and after she asked us if we could sit down and talk to her and sing some hymns to her, but we were very tired and sweaty so we told her that we wanted to go out side and get some fresh air real fast. Then when we were going back in to talk to her, the bishop said the food was done and to come eat. I feel really bad about that because I wish we would have just gone in there and talked to her! So the funeral services were very good, the Oaxaca Temple president gave a talk and it was very good! My companion played the Violin and it was a pretty beautiful service. It went very late so we didnt get home till about 11 pm that night!
Wed we had to wake up an hour early because we had to go to Oaxaca for the practice for the annual missionary choir thing at the temple. So we went there for that and then had to come back home so we got back home at about 12pm then went and worked for awhile then at 2 we had to go to the Viewing of the bishops mom, thats was pretty good then after that we had a meeting with the ward mission leader then after that we taught some lessons and then had to leave again for Oaxaca because we were going to go to the temple the next morning at 6 and our house is like an hour and 20 min away from the temple so we had to go to Oaxaca and sleep at the zone leaders house, which isnt too fun because we have to sleep on their very hard and small couches! The good thing about it was that we got to eat at McDonald's that night! It tasted pretty dang good! I never thought I would miss McDonald's!
Thursday we woke up at 4 am and got ready and went to the temple! It was really good to go to the temple, the Oaxaca temple is very small and it only has one room for each thing, but its very pretty as are all temples! It was very different going through the session in Spanish, but it was still a very good and spiritual experience! After the temple we headed back to Our area in Etla, it took a very long time because for some reason when people get mad here they like to get a bunch of people together and park their cars in the middle of streets and make it so no one can come or go from the city, so we had to sit in traffic for ever! So when we finally got back to our area it was like 3pm and we had to go get some lunch, we were starving because we hadnt eatin all day! So after that we went to some lessons but 2 or them fell through, but in one of them we were able to give a baptismal date to one of our investigators but its not for 2 weeks! After that we had some extra time and I needed a hair cut so we went to a members house who cuts hair and I got a hair cut! So we got home and went straight to bed, after a pretty long day!
Friday, we had to wake up early again and go to Oaxaca again for the chior practice, its really starting to get old haha, so it took forever to get there again because the protest was still going on and we had to take side streets to get into the city! So we did the chior practice thing then headed back to our area and it took forever once again because we had to take the side streets so we didnt get back till like 3pm again so then we ate and went out to work, we taught some lessons and then came home about 930pm Another late night
Saturday we actually got to wake up at 630 which felt very good, because our sleep schedule had been crazy all week! So that morning we went to mutual, yeah they have mutual on saturday mornings here because kids school sceduals are all weird and different, so there we met a new investigator her name is Milka she is about 17 years old, she really wants to get baptized but her mom is very catholic and wont let her, so we are trying to see what we can do about that.So not too much really happened Saturday well, nothing out of the ordinary, that night we had a family home evening with a family it was pretty good they brought two investigators! After that we went home and went to sleep!
Sunday was pretty good, it was fast sunday and I fasted for Milka, so that her mom would let her get baptized. So fast sundays are always good at this ward, every single person wants to bare their testimony. The bishop if the kind of guy that is very organized and on time so even though there was like 6 more people on the stand waiting to bare their testimony's at 11:10 he will stand up and announce the closing hymn and prayer haha and the poeple get stiffed! After church we went to eat with a family and they made my companions favorite food for his birthday which is cow tongue tacos, they actually tasted pretty good! After that we went and taught some lessons and then called it a night!
So my week was pretty good, Im still very tired from the lack of sleep, but thats okay, hope fully this next week will go good!
Well I love you , and the kids!
Te amo,
Elder Stradling
11-29-10 email
This week went pretty good, yeah it was pretty hard being away from home for thanksgiving and all, but no one celebrates it here nor does anyone really know what it mean! We had quite a bit of success this week in our area, we could have 3 baptisms this up coming weekend, which is always good then hopefully another 2-3 the next weekend! Im still pretty sick but I have just accepted the fact that Im prob just going to be sick for the 17 months that i have left! Speaking of that yesterday was my 7 month mark, it seems to be going by pretty fast but then i think hmm i still have 17 left so I decided to think of it as I have a year and 5 months left, that sounds alot less to me haha!
So Tuesday started out really good! We taught some very good lessons and picked up 2 new investigators pretty early then we had some other good things happen, but not too much really happend that day.
Wed I started reading the book of Mormon in English again, Im still reading it in Spanish also, but I read much slower in Spanish and its just not really the same because I dont understand all the words, because just like in English The scriptures are kinda written in a different wat of speaking and uses uncommon words. I really love the book of Mormon and it seems like every time i read it I just get more and more out of it! Its really just an amazing book! Also we went to a Pueblo where some of our investigators live its called "Matadamas" which translates to some thing like "lady killers" haha my companion and I though t that was pretty funny!
Thursday Thanksgiving, was different and not very great haha we stayed pretty busy so I didnt have too much time to think about what day it really was. So my thanksgiving meal consisted chorizo and black beans, oh and some tortillas of course! Then for dessert I didnt get pumpkin pie, but I got some roasted peanuts with some salsa. So no it wasnt to great but oh well its over now! So something that my companion and I do is we buy pogs, Those circular paper things haha that were popular like 8 years okay, well here its still real popular and the kids love them! So we buy pogs and give them to kids and that gets them to pay attention when we are teaching haha
Black Friday- Didnt start out too well, our first 3 appointments fell through so we just had to find stuff to do throughout the morning, but as the day went on things picked up! I got to listen to some American music on the bus but it wasnt really my ideal music to listen to haha, it was Justin Bieber, haha it made me think of Hannah and Mel, because they have beiber fever haha We also got a very good referral from the Temple President the Mexico City Temple, turns out his neice lives in our area, so we went and taught her and she seemed very interested! We ended the night by eating some Tamales, not a bad day!
Saturday Very good day, we were very busy and didnt have enough time to do all that we wanted to get done but thats okay! For lunch we ate with the bishop and he made some very good food and he always makes us eat a ton so we left very full! After that we went and taught like 5 lessons and gave 3 people a baptismal date! 2 of the people that we gave a date to want to be baptized sooner but cant because they have to get married first so hopefully they will do that this week! We are finding alot of people to teach and are at times overwhelmed with things that we are doing! Thats a good thing though!
Sunday was a good Relaxing day, we really didnt do too much, we went to a little ward party thing at a members house and I had a very good time just sitting and talking and joking with the members, I really like the area Im in and the members are all pretty cool too haha, they are all pretty proud of there ward, they always say that there isnt a better ward in all of Mexico! haha
Love
Elder Stradling
So Tuesday started out really good! We taught some very good lessons and picked up 2 new investigators pretty early then we had some other good things happen, but not too much really happend that day.
Wed I started reading the book of Mormon in English again, Im still reading it in Spanish also, but I read much slower in Spanish and its just not really the same because I dont understand all the words, because just like in English The scriptures are kinda written in a different wat of speaking and uses uncommon words. I really love the book of Mormon and it seems like every time i read it I just get more and more out of it! Its really just an amazing book! Also we went to a Pueblo where some of our investigators live its called "Matadamas" which translates to some thing like "lady killers" haha my companion and I though t that was pretty funny!
Thursday Thanksgiving, was different and not very great haha we stayed pretty busy so I didnt have too much time to think about what day it really was. So my thanksgiving meal consisted chorizo and black beans, oh and some tortillas of course! Then for dessert I didnt get pumpkin pie, but I got some roasted peanuts with some salsa. So no it wasnt to great but oh well its over now! So something that my companion and I do is we buy pogs, Those circular paper things haha that were popular like 8 years okay, well here its still real popular and the kids love them! So we buy pogs and give them to kids and that gets them to pay attention when we are teaching haha
Black Friday- Didnt start out too well, our first 3 appointments fell through so we just had to find stuff to do throughout the morning, but as the day went on things picked up! I got to listen to some American music on the bus but it wasnt really my ideal music to listen to haha, it was Justin Bieber, haha it made me think of Hannah and Mel, because they have beiber fever haha We also got a very good referral from the Temple President the Mexico City Temple, turns out his neice lives in our area, so we went and taught her and she seemed very interested! We ended the night by eating some Tamales, not a bad day!
Saturday Very good day, we were very busy and didnt have enough time to do all that we wanted to get done but thats okay! For lunch we ate with the bishop and he made some very good food and he always makes us eat a ton so we left very full! After that we went and taught like 5 lessons and gave 3 people a baptismal date! 2 of the people that we gave a date to want to be baptized sooner but cant because they have to get married first so hopefully they will do that this week! We are finding alot of people to teach and are at times overwhelmed with things that we are doing! Thats a good thing though!
Sunday was a good Relaxing day, we really didnt do too much, we went to a little ward party thing at a members house and I had a very good time just sitting and talking and joking with the members, I really like the area Im in and the members are all pretty cool too haha, they are all pretty proud of there ward, they always say that there isnt a better ward in all of Mexico! haha
Love
Elder Stradling
11-22-10 email
We dont ride bikes because people drive crazy here and we would get killed haha So we have to use taxis!
This week went by very fast, half this transfer is already over! Time really goes by fast when your days are always planned out and your busy! This week has been filled with new and interesting things as is every day here in Oaxaca. My Spanish seems to be improving because people keep telling me that it is getting better every time they see me! I have been studying Spanish alot lately along with my other studies that I am very involved in! Right now we are teaching alot of people and have lots of baptisms that are in progress, the problem here is that we are more in the city, and people here are just really busy and always have something to do or somewhere to go, and the rule to get baptized is that they have to come to church 3 times in order to be baptized, we have like 8 people right now who want to be baptized but either have to work on Sundays or they aren't married or what not! Well my week
Monday: Not too much happened it was a Pday and at night we had a zone meeting in Monte-Alban which is like an hour away so we went to that then after we had to hurry back because the bishop asked us to teach an 8yr old member some lessons because she was going to get baptized the following Saturday, so we got to there house around 850 pm and our curfew is 930pm so we had to rush through the lesson and after they made us eat some food haha, so we left at like 950pm so we got home late, that why we usually dont have appointments on Monday but oh well!
Tuesday: We had a great day planned with lots of lessons and good stuff like that, but just like that every single one of our appointments fell through, and I dont know why but nobody was home, we even tried going to members and less actives but it seemed like everyone had plans that day except for us! So we didnt really get too much done that day, it was just one of those long hard days of a mission! Also that night when I was talking to my comp he said that he has never told anyone in his whole life that he loved them except his mother! I was like what about your dad or your brothers and sisters? and he said no because in Mexico if you tell your dad or your brothers that you love them, that gay. Its kinda sad I think to have never told your dad you loved them! I guess other peoples cultures is just different!
Wed: Was a good day and a good turn around from Tuesday, in the morning we went to the market and we decided to get a Christmas Tree! haha Its only like 2 feet tall because we are poor missionaries and thats all we can afford! That night we decorated it and put lights and some ornaments! Then we put a picture of Jesus and a picture of each of our families next to the tree! I think it made both of us a little sad and homesick! Christmas is going to be very different this year! So also that day something kinda cool happened, so we went to an appointment and they werent home, which isnt very uncommon here, so as we left the pueblo for some reason we both felt like walking to our next appointment, which was about an hour walk, but as we were walking a car honked and pulled over in front of us, we werent sure who it was, we thought maybe someone wanted to harrass us haha, but it ended up being one of our investigators that we have been trying to get in contact with but we didnt have his number! He said he had been trying to get in contact with us too, and we were able to set up a time for us to come teach him! So that was a pretty cool experience!
Thursday:We left our house a little early and went to a members house because they wanted to feed us breakfast! It was good they made omelets and bacon! After that we went to a pueblo where one of our investigators lives and we found out that she almost got kidnapped. So there family has been really jumpy lately, here people get kidnapped and they sell their organs on the black market, its something really bad happening in Mexico right now! It was good that she was able to get away though! So here its really weird, people just call each other fat all the time and its like not mean. For example we were in a Taxi and in the taxis here they squeeze two people together on the front seat, and so we stopped to pick some one up and they had to get in the front seat with some one already there and the lady got in and it was hard to close the door so they laughed and teh lady that was already sitting there said "wow your really fat" and they just laughed haha, I guess its just different here
Friday: I started reading Jesus the Christ, its a very good book but very long and hard to stay focused on whats going on! My goal is to Finnish reading it by Christmas! That day we also had a very good lesson with one of our investigators named Anna, she is about 50 years old and is a school teacher, she calls us her angels because before she met us she didnt even believe in a god. She told us that she prayed and she knows that our church is true and that the book of mormon is true! She told us how her daughter is getting married and she wants us to come to like the wedding dinner and say a prayer to bless their new marriage haha!
Saturday: We went to Nazareth for lunch, thats the pueblo where the bishop lives haha, While we were walking down the street some old guy stopped us and asked us to come in so we did and he told us that he had been praying for us to come by his house and that he had been taught by misisonaries when he lived in the city but lost contact, he said he wants to be baptized, it was a cool experience! Also that night we needed to do some more contacting because we hadnt done very much that week and it was pretty crazy out of the 8 doors that we knocked 7 of them accepted to hear the message! poeple here are just very prepared to hear the gospel!
Sunday: was great as always I love going to church! So lots of our investigators went to church which is good, and one of them came that said she couldn't! But she said she felt she really needed to so she called in sick to work and came to church! Also we met a family that had walked 2 and a half hours to the chapel because they didn't have money for a taxi or a bus! It was a family of 6 and only one of them was a member, they said they wanted to be taught and join the church so they made the long walk to the chapel! Also after church we ate with a family who wanted to celebrate my birthday so they made balloons that had my name on them and they made my fav food well mexiccan food haha, Tacos al pastor and they also made my fav drink, strawberry lemonade! The people here are very nice and always try and make us happy!
Well I love you!
Elder Stradling
This week went by very fast, half this transfer is already over! Time really goes by fast when your days are always planned out and your busy! This week has been filled with new and interesting things as is every day here in Oaxaca. My Spanish seems to be improving because people keep telling me that it is getting better every time they see me! I have been studying Spanish alot lately along with my other studies that I am very involved in! Right now we are teaching alot of people and have lots of baptisms that are in progress, the problem here is that we are more in the city, and people here are just really busy and always have something to do or somewhere to go, and the rule to get baptized is that they have to come to church 3 times in order to be baptized, we have like 8 people right now who want to be baptized but either have to work on Sundays or they aren't married or what not! Well my week
Monday: Not too much happened it was a Pday and at night we had a zone meeting in Monte-Alban which is like an hour away so we went to that then after we had to hurry back because the bishop asked us to teach an 8yr old member some lessons because she was going to get baptized the following Saturday, so we got to there house around 850 pm and our curfew is 930pm so we had to rush through the lesson and after they made us eat some food haha, so we left at like 950pm so we got home late, that why we usually dont have appointments on Monday but oh well!
Tuesday: We had a great day planned with lots of lessons and good stuff like that, but just like that every single one of our appointments fell through, and I dont know why but nobody was home, we even tried going to members and less actives but it seemed like everyone had plans that day except for us! So we didnt really get too much done that day, it was just one of those long hard days of a mission! Also that night when I was talking to my comp he said that he has never told anyone in his whole life that he loved them except his mother! I was like what about your dad or your brothers and sisters? and he said no because in Mexico if you tell your dad or your brothers that you love them, that gay. Its kinda sad I think to have never told your dad you loved them! I guess other peoples cultures is just different!
Wed: Was a good day and a good turn around from Tuesday, in the morning we went to the market and we decided to get a Christmas Tree! haha Its only like 2 feet tall because we are poor missionaries and thats all we can afford! That night we decorated it and put lights and some ornaments! Then we put a picture of Jesus and a picture of each of our families next to the tree! I think it made both of us a little sad and homesick! Christmas is going to be very different this year! So also that day something kinda cool happened, so we went to an appointment and they werent home, which isnt very uncommon here, so as we left the pueblo for some reason we both felt like walking to our next appointment, which was about an hour walk, but as we were walking a car honked and pulled over in front of us, we werent sure who it was, we thought maybe someone wanted to harrass us haha, but it ended up being one of our investigators that we have been trying to get in contact with but we didnt have his number! He said he had been trying to get in contact with us too, and we were able to set up a time for us to come teach him! So that was a pretty cool experience!
Thursday:We left our house a little early and went to a members house because they wanted to feed us breakfast! It was good they made omelets and bacon! After that we went to a pueblo where one of our investigators lives and we found out that she almost got kidnapped. So there family has been really jumpy lately, here people get kidnapped and they sell their organs on the black market, its something really bad happening in Mexico right now! It was good that she was able to get away though! So here its really weird, people just call each other fat all the time and its like not mean. For example we were in a Taxi and in the taxis here they squeeze two people together on the front seat, and so we stopped to pick some one up and they had to get in the front seat with some one already there and the lady got in and it was hard to close the door so they laughed and teh lady that was already sitting there said "wow your really fat" and they just laughed haha, I guess its just different here
Friday: I started reading Jesus the Christ, its a very good book but very long and hard to stay focused on whats going on! My goal is to Finnish reading it by Christmas! That day we also had a very good lesson with one of our investigators named Anna, she is about 50 years old and is a school teacher, she calls us her angels because before she met us she didnt even believe in a god. She told us that she prayed and she knows that our church is true and that the book of mormon is true! She told us how her daughter is getting married and she wants us to come to like the wedding dinner and say a prayer to bless their new marriage haha!
Saturday: We went to Nazareth for lunch, thats the pueblo where the bishop lives haha, While we were walking down the street some old guy stopped us and asked us to come in so we did and he told us that he had been praying for us to come by his house and that he had been taught by misisonaries when he lived in the city but lost contact, he said he wants to be baptized, it was a cool experience! Also that night we needed to do some more contacting because we hadnt done very much that week and it was pretty crazy out of the 8 doors that we knocked 7 of them accepted to hear the message! poeple here are just very prepared to hear the gospel!
Sunday: was great as always I love going to church! So lots of our investigators went to church which is good, and one of them came that said she couldn't! But she said she felt she really needed to so she called in sick to work and came to church! Also we met a family that had walked 2 and a half hours to the chapel because they didn't have money for a taxi or a bus! It was a family of 6 and only one of them was a member, they said they wanted to be taught and join the church so they made the long walk to the chapel! Also after church we ate with a family who wanted to celebrate my birthday so they made balloons that had my name on them and they made my fav food well mexiccan food haha, Tacos al pastor and they also made my fav drink, strawberry lemonade! The people here are very nice and always try and make us happy!
Well I love you!
Elder Stradling
11-15-10 email
This week went by very fast! I dont know where the time goes! I just really like my new area and we are very busy with different things going on! I got sick again though! That's okay though Im feeling a little bit better today! Its kinda funny how your priorities change while you're on a mission! I remember before my mission I really didnt enjoy reading the scriptures all the time and I was dreading having to read them and talk about them all day on my mission but now its the complete opposite! I just cant get enough of them! I get an hour or so to study everyday and thats just not enough time because I have other books I want to read as well! Last week I read The book "Our Heritage" its just about the churches history! Very good book! Then just last night I finished the book "Our Search for Happiness" thats also an amazing book! If you haven't read those books I would strongly suggest it! Especially Our Search For Happiness! Oh also this week I finished reading and studying Doctrine and Covenants! Now Im starting on the Pearl Of great Price! Im pretty excited! So my week-
Monday was my birthday! It was very good I enjoyed the email I got from you and also the emails I got from my family and Friends! The members are really into birthdays here, lots of them made me cakes and what not! One family got me some presents! They werent really big things, just a little plaque thing to put on my desk and a little girl gave me a little stuffed animal and a little boy made me a hat out of paper haha! I have a picture with them I will have to send! They really did alot to help make my Birthday special! Then Monday night we had district meeting and that was pretty good! The only bad thing is we have two sister missionaries in our district and not to be rude but i really dont care much for sister missionaries! They just talk way to much and have such a stuck up attitude! I havent met a sister missionary who wasnt like that yet! haha I guess I just need to be more patient and have more charity!
Tuesday I woke up and felt really sick and was having stomach problems and didnt have much energy at all but the work must go on! We taught some good lessons and picked up some new investigators! Our area is huge so we have to use taxis alot! It was lunch time and we just took a taxi to the pueblo where the family lives that was going to feed us that day and right when we got out of the taxi we got a call saying that we they had some people that wanted to be taught but that we needed to come right then and teach them! So we got another taxi and went to another pueblo and it was three doctors and one was a member and had convinced the other two to listen to our message! It was pretty interesting! Its funny when you teach catholics who know the bible pretty well, and they think that there is nothing new that we can teach them! Then as the lesson progresses and they feel the spirit and they realize that the message that we share is totally different from anything they had ever heard before! Its really awesome to see the change in them in the beginning of the lesson from the end of the lesson!
Wed I felt even worse so I had to go to the doctor, we just went to a general doctor in Etla, he gave me some meds and I really just didnt have the best day, I was getting very impatient with the way things are operated in Mexico! I guess its just frustrating because your use to how things are in the US and here things are just so messed up and backwards, I guess i just need to be more patient! The day didnt end too bad though we taught some good lessons and picked up some new people to teach! We went to a members house and got some referrals and there sons name is Nephi and he was wrestling with a superman dummy thing, and my companion was like I never thought id see Nephi wrestle with superman! haha they all thought that was pretty funny! I did too but they laughed for like 15 min and was just like haha okay... but yeah that was wed!
Thursday we helped a family in our ward move from one house to the house down the street! I dont know why they wanted to move, it was the exact same layout of a house, because they are like town homes! It was good to do some good service! The father of the sister that we were helping move was there and he had just came from mesa az so it was nice to talk to him about back home and stuff! It was funny because he kept talking about how much more he likes the US, he was like yard sales are my favorite thing about the US haha and he talked about Home Town Buffet and he said he owns a filibertos haha, he said when i get home he will give me free food there! Later we went to our luch where we had Dominoes pizza! It tasted very good! I missed it very much! The pizza they make in the local pizza shops are very different, some are basically just a big tortilla with cheese and hot dogs on top haha and some are real bread dough but for some reason they dont put pizza sauce on their pizzas I am not sure why but they dont! The family also made a cake that tasted very good! Later that night we had a meeting with our ward mission leader and while we were waiting my companion told me about how he use to get in fights all the time growing up! I really dont get why but my companion just got picked on alot! He said that he learned self defense and knows how to kill people in 3 different ways with his hands i was just like hmm ya right haha!
Friday I felt really bad and had to go to Oaxaca to see a special doctor for my sickness! He basically said the same thing as the other doctor but he gave me some different types of drugs and they are actually helping now! We slept in the mission offices on Friday night , and president De La Cruz gave me a blessing and I really think thats why I am feeling better!
Saturday morning we woke up and president had a member drive us back to Etla our area! He said he was moving to Utah in the next week he seemed pretty excited! So he drove us home and when we got back we started working and we picked up some new investigators and we went to the bishops house from lunch and we had fish! It was relly weird! My comp and I walked in and we saw our plates! All it was, was a huge fish on our plates! It wasnt cleaned gutted or descaled or anything! It was weird eating a fish while it was staring at you! It didnt taste too bad though! I guess im just kinda use to weird food! Its really funny here people love listening to the oldies! haha we were on a bus and these two rough looking gangsters were jamming out to "Hopelessly Devoted to You" From Greese haha I couldnt help but just laugh! If they only new that the songs they were listening to were lovey dovey songs haha! The beetles are also very popular here too!
Sunday was a good day! At about 920 right as we were about to leave to church which starts at 10 we got a text message from the bishop telling us that we were going to talk during sacrament meeting! haha it went pretty good though! We both talked about missionary work, and everyone seemed to like our talks! We had 7 investigators at church, which is pretty good! We gave like 6 blessings aswell! Alot of people are sick, so we get to give lots of blessings!
te Amo,
Elder stradling
Monday was my birthday! It was very good I enjoyed the email I got from you and also the emails I got from my family and Friends! The members are really into birthdays here, lots of them made me cakes and what not! One family got me some presents! They werent really big things, just a little plaque thing to put on my desk and a little girl gave me a little stuffed animal and a little boy made me a hat out of paper haha! I have a picture with them I will have to send! They really did alot to help make my Birthday special! Then Monday night we had district meeting and that was pretty good! The only bad thing is we have two sister missionaries in our district and not to be rude but i really dont care much for sister missionaries! They just talk way to much and have such a stuck up attitude! I havent met a sister missionary who wasnt like that yet! haha I guess I just need to be more patient and have more charity!
Tuesday I woke up and felt really sick and was having stomach problems and didnt have much energy at all but the work must go on! We taught some good lessons and picked up some new investigators! Our area is huge so we have to use taxis alot! It was lunch time and we just took a taxi to the pueblo where the family lives that was going to feed us that day and right when we got out of the taxi we got a call saying that we they had some people that wanted to be taught but that we needed to come right then and teach them! So we got another taxi and went to another pueblo and it was three doctors and one was a member and had convinced the other two to listen to our message! It was pretty interesting! Its funny when you teach catholics who know the bible pretty well, and they think that there is nothing new that we can teach them! Then as the lesson progresses and they feel the spirit and they realize that the message that we share is totally different from anything they had ever heard before! Its really awesome to see the change in them in the beginning of the lesson from the end of the lesson!
Wed I felt even worse so I had to go to the doctor, we just went to a general doctor in Etla, he gave me some meds and I really just didnt have the best day, I was getting very impatient with the way things are operated in Mexico! I guess its just frustrating because your use to how things are in the US and here things are just so messed up and backwards, I guess i just need to be more patient! The day didnt end too bad though we taught some good lessons and picked up some new people to teach! We went to a members house and got some referrals and there sons name is Nephi and he was wrestling with a superman dummy thing, and my companion was like I never thought id see Nephi wrestle with superman! haha they all thought that was pretty funny! I did too but they laughed for like 15 min and was just like haha okay... but yeah that was wed!
Thursday we helped a family in our ward move from one house to the house down the street! I dont know why they wanted to move, it was the exact same layout of a house, because they are like town homes! It was good to do some good service! The father of the sister that we were helping move was there and he had just came from mesa az so it was nice to talk to him about back home and stuff! It was funny because he kept talking about how much more he likes the US, he was like yard sales are my favorite thing about the US haha and he talked about Home Town Buffet and he said he owns a filibertos haha, he said when i get home he will give me free food there! Later we went to our luch where we had Dominoes pizza! It tasted very good! I missed it very much! The pizza they make in the local pizza shops are very different, some are basically just a big tortilla with cheese and hot dogs on top haha and some are real bread dough but for some reason they dont put pizza sauce on their pizzas I am not sure why but they dont! The family also made a cake that tasted very good! Later that night we had a meeting with our ward mission leader and while we were waiting my companion told me about how he use to get in fights all the time growing up! I really dont get why but my companion just got picked on alot! He said that he learned self defense and knows how to kill people in 3 different ways with his hands i was just like hmm ya right haha!
Friday I felt really bad and had to go to Oaxaca to see a special doctor for my sickness! He basically said the same thing as the other doctor but he gave me some different types of drugs and they are actually helping now! We slept in the mission offices on Friday night , and president De La Cruz gave me a blessing and I really think thats why I am feeling better!
Saturday morning we woke up and president had a member drive us back to Etla our area! He said he was moving to Utah in the next week he seemed pretty excited! So he drove us home and when we got back we started working and we picked up some new investigators and we went to the bishops house from lunch and we had fish! It was relly weird! My comp and I walked in and we saw our plates! All it was, was a huge fish on our plates! It wasnt cleaned gutted or descaled or anything! It was weird eating a fish while it was staring at you! It didnt taste too bad though! I guess im just kinda use to weird food! Its really funny here people love listening to the oldies! haha we were on a bus and these two rough looking gangsters were jamming out to "Hopelessly Devoted to You" From Greese haha I couldnt help but just laugh! If they only new that the songs they were listening to were lovey dovey songs haha! The beetles are also very popular here too!
Sunday was a good day! At about 920 right as we were about to leave to church which starts at 10 we got a text message from the bishop telling us that we were going to talk during sacrament meeting! haha it went pretty good though! We both talked about missionary work, and everyone seemed to like our talks! We had 7 investigators at church, which is pretty good! We gave like 6 blessings aswell! Alot of people are sick, so we get to give lots of blessings!
te Amo,
Elder stradling
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