Dec 30, 2013 Well, here's to the end of 2013

Alright, well, I mean, another Monday and another Letter. I even thought about what I was going to throw into this letter, so that’s pretty nice. Anyway, I will start out with Christmas Eve. That was just kind of a headache, but it turned out worthwhile. It rained like crazy on Christmas Eve, and so that made transport and everything difficult. The streets get flooded here and it’s not uncommon to not be able to get to someone’s house because all of their land in front is flooded, or in the city the streets can have up to a foot and a half of water. But that’s just life. Anyway, Christmas Eve was the day I had scheduled to call my family, but due to the rain, I couldn't call them from my area. So we had to travel to the area of the other Elders, and look for a place where they had Webcams. I mean, the quality was kind of horrible, but I was happy to see everybody. Later that night we stayed with the other Elders and played a few games. The best one was Jenga, because the loser had to eat a spoonful of hot sauce ha-ha. But don´t worry, I came out victorious! And after that we went to bed... and I slept on the floor... It was kind of nice though ha-ha. 

Christmas morning, Elder Snow made everyone pancakes and bacon. It’s been a long time since I have had bacon and it was top notch. From there we went to talk with the family again, and this time I actually got to talk to them and see them because the internet actually worked, so it compensated for the night before. The Bishop later took us out to eat and we spent the majority of the day with him and his family. Anyway, that’s how my holiday goes. I would say it was pretty good. I hope that it went well for all you guys! 

Anyway, the last part of our week here was purely dedicated to inviting people to church. We taught about the importance of church attendance and the importance of the Sabbath day to almost everybody, if we felt like we should teach someone else something different, that’s what we did. But anyway, we were doing that because we now have a branch in our area. We split the ward and had to invite everyone to the house where we are having the church services now. It turned out awesome, we had 68 people show up, and we were still short a few members. We had only expected like 50, and we thought the bread and water from the sacrament wouldn´t be enough, but all turned out great. 

And to finish this off, I will tell you guys about José. We have just started teaching him this week and he is awesome. His wife is a member of the church and he decided to start listening to us. So we went and we started teaching him and at the end of the lesson he wanted us to keep going and tell him more. He let us know that as we were teaching him, everything just started to make sense, he started to see more clearly the importance of the gospel and the restoration. When we returned the next day we were talking about the book of Mormon, we had left a part for him to read and we asked him how he went. He told us that as he read what we left for him that he was hit hard by what he read. He said that what we teach has already impacted his life and that he wants to be baptized. He told us how at first he started listening to us just for his wife, but that now he knows that it’s true and that he has felt the spirit as we have taught him. 

I mean, it was just remarkable to hear everything he told us. Not because it’s what we as missionaries want to hear, but because as he told us, the Spirit testified to us as well of his sincerity. You could see that the spirit had touched his heart, and I have no doubt that the Lord will keep helping him during this time. I love it here, I really do. It’s something I could have never imagined back at home, I thought this whole missionary thing was more about knocking on doors ha-ha, but it’s truly the Lord´s work, and I am grateful to be a part of it. 

So, that’s the letter I have for you guys, I love you all, and I hope all is well. Here’s some scriptures: Mormon 7:9-10, 1 Thes. 3:7-13

A few pictures of Mi Casa =]

Love you guys!

Elder Rios

Dec 23. 2013 So I ate an iguana!

So I ate an iguana! 

Alright, so I guess its letter writing time. I am a bit short on time, but I will see if I can recount the comings and goings of my week here with the time given. So anyway, first things first, merry Christmas! I hope it goes great for you guys, and that you get snowed on. There, I said it. I never thought I´d be jealous about this whole snow thing, but it’s just not right without it. The closest thing we´ve got is an Elder Snow in our district, and it just isn't a suitable substitute. 

Alright, well, first of all. I ate Iguana. It wasn´t a gourmet meal or anything, like that, but it wasn´t the worst thing I´ve ever eaten. I mean, you kind of have to be careful with the bones and what not, and it’s definitely a finger food. But, you just kind of pick it apart, put it on a tortilla, throw some hot sauce up on there and there’s a taco for ya. I am pretty sure that I have said this before, but I have definitely learned on my mission that you can make a taco out of anything. Call it racist, or call it a Mexican cliche, but either way, you´d be wrong. It’s just a fact, and a great part of life. Anyway, I will send you a picture of the iguanas while they were alive.. .I didn´t give them names so I wouldn´t get attached. Or feel guilty like I did with the turtle...

The next order of business is that we had our mission Christmas dinner. Well, it wasn’t the whole mission, and it wasn´t dinner, it was more of a luncheon that we had with a good amount of missionaries. We had turkey, I think, and mashed potatoes, and leaving from there we might have also bought McDonalds. It was good to see some of my friends again. I got to see Elder Segovia, my first companion here in Mexico. He goes home in ten days. That was weird to say good bye, but I hope to be able to see him again. I mean, I have this idea of taking a tour of Mexico to see some of my Mexican friends, after the mission but it is looking like it might be expensive... *Donations accepted* (I mean, I was joking with the donations thing, but if you want to, that’s cool too.) 

Anyway, really, it was a joke. This last week has gone really well, we have two people that are preparing to get baptized in January and the both have been progressing so much. One of them is named Guadalupe and she’s awesome. She is just working on getting some things in her life in order, but she has already told us that she is willing to do whatever it takes to be good with God. She already has such a strong testimony and an understanding of the gospel that blows me away. I know that the Lord has prepared her and is guiding her at this time. Hearing some of the things she has passed through is crazy. I don´t think I could have handled all that she has handled. She really is a great example to me. 

Anyway, that’s the time I´ve got, but I love you guys and I hope all is well! Merry Christmas!

December 16, 2013

It started raining here in Chichicapa. Well, this week was a week of Catholic celebrations. I mean, they celebrated the appearance of the Virgin Guadalupe here, who is the same as the virgin Maria, and so that’s been kind of what’s been going on here.

At the beginning of the week one of the members told us that every year when the people start celebrating, it starts to rain, and that’s exactly what happened. Wednesday we actually had to go to our house at 6 and that was weird.

 I didn’t even know what to do with so much time at the end of the day. So we ate chicharrón con salsa and called it good. 

Also we went to go see some ruins that are here in our district. That was pretty sweet.  I will put in some pictures. Unfortunately we couldn’t really climb up to many of the pyramids. One of the elders that had already been told us that he had already tried and he got caught by the 5-0. It was still awesome though.

 

This letter is going to be kind of short so sorry about that, anyway I will keep this going.

Anyway, this week we taught a lot of lessons about missionary work. I am not really sure why but it just kind of felt right with some of the members and with our investigators. As we taught the lessons, I started to understand a little more of the importance of Missionary work. Even being here as a missionary I still don’t fully understand it, but here is what I felt like I understood more.

 The truth is that the Lord Doesn´t need my help to do missionary work. He could do it all by himself. He could help people as He did with Alma, or with Paul, but instead of that, He allows each one of us to participate in the work that He has on this earth. He allows me to be an instrument in His hands and help others to accept the gospel. He knows the experiences and the things that I need in my life to help me learn, and grow here on the earth and to help me live with Him again after all is said and done.

 I love you guys and I hope that all is well! Sorry it’s a short letter! 

Love, Elder Rios

Sometimes, I buy food from the street vendors.

So another week has gone by, it kind of just went by really fast. All of my days are just being blurred together. It’s weird. But it’s great. My companion and I are doing great here in our area, here in Chichicapa. It’s just a little place, but we´ve been having a lot of success here. We found out on Sunday that we have enough people to open up a branch closer to our area, which should help us a lot. Because right now, all the members in our area have to pay 14 pesos per person to go to church and with the larger families it’s a bit difficult for them. But, that will change soon. The stake president is more excited about it then we are and we already have plans to have all of the furniture and stuff we need. So all is going well. 

Anyway, so like I said in the subject line, sometimes, I buy food from the street vendors. And it always tastes good. The other day we bought something that I think are called huaraches or something like that, because apparently it’s a food that isn't’t really common in the state where I´m at, but its common where my companion is from, and so we did that, and we´ve also bought tacos, and all of the great stuff. And, they are all delicious ha-ha, I am pretty sure my stomach is accustomed by now to almost all of the stuff here which is top notch. I don’t have to have any fear lingering over me as I eat. And also it’s helped me to be less of a germophobe, or however you spell that. I mean, I wasn´t really all that bad with it at home, but I´m getting better and what not with that. 

This week we found a new investigator. His name is Jonas, and my companion has explained to him like two or three times about Jonas and the whale, even though Jonas (the investigator) already knew who Jonas (the prophet) was. Anyway, Jonas got into a motorcycle accident about a month ago. He and his friend ran into a bus on the motorcycle. His friend almost lost the ability to walk but Jonas just received a few scratches somehow. Anyway, since then, Jonas decided that he was going to change his life. He stopped hanging out with some of his friends that were bad influences on him and went to church with Hernan (the kid I talked about last time) and his family. Anyway, he is really intelligent and wants to learn more about the gospel. It kind of just made me think about the different things people have to go through to be prepared to learn more about the gospel, and come to know their Father in Heaven. 

The last thing that happened this week was that we went to the temple in Villahermosa.

 That was awesome. I had forgotten about how peaceful it is in there, and even just being there I felt the Lord telling me something’s that I had needed to hear. I know that the temple is the house of the Lord, and I want nothing more than to be sealed with my family there one day. And for those who haven’t had the opportunity to go, I encourage you guys to do all you can to prepare yourself to one day enter there. 

Anyway, that’s about it. But here is a scripture for you guys Romans 8:31-39

Love you guys! 

Love, Elder Rios

December 2, 2013

December 2, 2013

Turtle Soup =] 

Okay, so I made up more of a list of what I am going to write to you guys today, so maybe it won’t be incredibly out of order and kind of random or what not. But I mean, then again maybe it will be. I just don´t really know exactly how the email will turn out.

 By the way, December is weird without snow. It’s almost not natural, it doesn't feel entirely like Christmas is coming up, but there are some people who have their Christmas lights up and everything. Not me though, I don’t want to spend 70 pesos to buy my lights ha-ha.

Anyway, I mean I guess the first thing I will put in here is that I ate a turtle. Someone cooked it up, put it in a stew of some sort, and I ate it. It didn't taste bad, but I just felt wrong eating it. There was just kind of a weight on my conscience and I swear I could hear my brother Dax's voice letting me know that what I was doing was wrong ha-ha, but even with the feeling of guilt weighing me down, I kept eating. 

So that’s one thing that happened this week. Later we had a zone conference with our Mission President. That went really well. He explained to us the importance of making sure we take the time to get to know our investigators and that we aren't just looking to baptize someone. The whole point of sharing the gospel is to help people to come to know their Father in Heaven and the things that they need to do in order to return to live with Him. If you just baptize someone to baptize someone, then they never have the opportunity to truly learn of the Gospel and of the love the Lord has for each of His children. 

Next up, so there is a kid here name Hernán and he is preparing to get baptized. He is 8 years old and he is helping everyone in his family to accept the gospel. Every time we go over to his house, his mom tells us about the different things that Hernán says that show how much he trusts in the Lord and it’s just awesome to see this little guy helping all of his family along. Yesterday all of his family went to church and he was really happy. His mom has also told us about how since they have started helping Hernán to prepare to be baptized they have seen so many blessings in their lives and that she looks forward to being able to follow her son’s example one day.

 Yesterday when we went to visit him his mom was telling us about how they had went to visit her sister and they started talking about Hernáns baptism and then asked Hernán what his plans were for after his baptism and he told them that he was going to go to school and go to church and then later he was going to be a missionary. 

It’s really great seeing how the Lord starts working among His children. Sometimes it’s the example of someone younger than us that we need to help us have the desire to continue forward and that help us to build our faith. I love you guys and hope that all is well! And Christmas is coming up so, you know that’s a good thing! 

Well, heres the scripture I´ve got for you: Isaiah 25:8-9 

Love you guys. 

Love, Elder Rios

November 25, 2013

            I feel out of place when I am not dressed as a Missionary.

I mean, just sayin', I get attached to the missionary attire. It’s weird. I remember being uncomfortable because of my tie during church and now its natural. But, don’t get me wrong, I like wearing normal clothes. But yeah, that’s part of the missionary life.

 Anyway, I don´t really have a whole lot to write... But I mean, maybe the letter will end up being longer than I anticipate with my ramblings and what not. 

So, here in the state of tabasco, they have a different way of speaking Spanish. They speak "choco". It’s Spanish, but it’s like the English equivalent of how a redneck would talk. I don´t say that in any kind of degrading way, I´m just trying to tell you guys how it is. Sometimes I don´t understand bits and pieces of what they say for the accent, but I mean, it’s not too bad. One thing they do is that they cut off the ´s´ at the end of some of their words. So instead of saying vamos, they say vamo´. It’s different, but there are sometimes where the accent makes words sound cool haha. So that’s my life. 

Anyway, getting to the next topic, Pictionary is probably one of the greatest teaching tools. We had a few different family home evenings planned this week and for a couple of them we played Pictionary. We would give the members a story from the scriptures and they had to draw it out for their team, and their team had to guess it in less than a minute. The losing team had to dance a dance that is called the ´pelusa´. It’s a simple but embarrassing type dance, kind of like I´m a little tea cup or something. I don’t lose so I didn’t have to dance, even when everybody teamed up against me haha, but it’s really great. So, play it with your friends or your families, because it’s great. Well, if you don’t want to play, then I won’t force you, but you´re missing out. 

The next item of business and the last one is that we went to Hawaii this week. We had an activity in our ward where we all went to Hawaii. One of the members made a video of a plane and we all "traveled" from Mexico to Hawaii. When everyone left from the plane and we walked out the door, one of the members was giving out the necklaces with flowers that we always associate with Hawaii.

 From there, there were a series of activities that the people could participate in. Everything from throwing darts to pop balloons to a club. Then later, when we returned to Mexico in the plane, it crashed and everyone "died" and went to the spirit world. From there, based on the games or activities they participated in, they were judged and we explained the plan of salvation and what we need to do to be able to return to live with God. It was a really good activity, and our investigators told us that they understood a lot better the plan of salvation and everything. 

So yeah, that’s my short letter for the week. Love you guys! 

Love, Elder Rios