Sat December 6, 2014

Uhm...

Alright, so this week was super busy guys. We had a leadership council meeting on Tuesday, then a District Leader meeting on Thursday, and in between we had a bunch of other little things that did not allow us to have a whole lot of time in our area this week but with the time we did have, we had some really great lessons!

 We are teaching a family of four. Its a daughter, her parents, and the grandma and they are awesome! They have been investigators for quite awhile I guess and the missionaries had stopped visiting them because they were not  progressing much, but on Thursday we went and taught them about faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. It was a really awesome lesson, everyone felt the Spirit and they were amazed. We invited them to be baptized and they committed themselves to start preparing themselves to be baptized! 

Anyway, sorry I don't have a lot of stuff to write this week you guys but I love you! 

I will write you all again Next week!

Sat November 29, 2014 I did it!

So I mean, I don't know if anyone remembers but at the beginning of my mission I discovered that my last name (Rios) should have an accent (Ríos). I mean, that's just how it is, English robbed me of my birthright. But after quite a time, I was able to get a name tag with the accent in my name. I feel accomplished.

 Anyway, this week has been really awesome. We have been working with a new video that the church just released called He Is The Gift (http://www.mormon.org/christmas) and it has been pretty cool. We have a little portable dvd player and we use it to teach people. You guys should all go watch the video, its really cool. President had me make another video with it and we are going to start showing it in some of the Churches to try to find more investigators. I had never made a video before really but it turned out really good. Well, I mean, I think so at least, I am going to show it to President Morales tomorrow so we will see how it goes! 

This week was really awesome! Monday and Tuesday we were super busy with the new missionaries that got here to the mission so I didn't actually change companions until Wednesday and out of the few lessons that we have been able to teach together they have been really great! I am really excited for the rest of this transfer I know it will be a successful one! I know that this is the Lord´s work, and that its necessary that we look to Him to know how to do the things He has asked of us. Without revelation, we would be lost. Revelation has always been fundamental in God´s plan and its marvelous to know that He communicates with His children and tells us the things we must do. I know He is my Father, and I love Him. I love serving Him, and even though I may not understand all things, I know that all that He does is for my benefit, and all that He has me do is to help me learn and grow. 

I love you guys and I hope all is well! 

Here's a picture of my name tag and my companion and I took a quick picture... so there ya go!

I did it! Sat November 29, 2014

I did it! 

So I mean, I don't know if anyone remembers but at the beginning of my mission I discovered that my last name (Rios) should have an accent (Ríos). I mean, that's just how it is, English robbed me of my birthright. But after quite a time, I was able to get a name tag with the accent in my name. I feel accomplished. 

Anyway, this week has been really awesome. We have been working with a new video that the church just released called He Is The Gift (http://www.mormon.org/christmas) and it has been pretty cool. We have a little portable dvd player and we use it to teach people. You guys should all go watch the video, its really cool. President had me make another video with it and we are going to start showing it in some of the Churches to try to find more investigators. I had never made a video before really but it turned out really good. Well, I mean, I think so at least, I am going to show it to President Morales tomorrow so we will see how it goes! 

This week was really awesome! Monday and Tuesday we were super busy with the new missionaries that got here to the mission so I didn't actually change companions until Wednesday and out of the few lessons that we have been able to teach together they have been really great! I am really excited for the rest of this transfer I know it will be a successful one! I know that this is the Lord´s work, and that its necessary that we look to Him to know how to do the things He has asked of us. Without revelation, we would be lost. Revelation has always been fundamental in God´s plan and its marvelous to know that He communicates with His children and tells us the things we must do. I know He is my Father, and I love Him. I love serving Him, and even though I may not understand all things, I know that all that He does is for my benefit, and all that He has me do is to help me learn and grow. 

I love you guys and I hope all is well! 

Here's a picture of my name tag and my companion and I took a quick picture... so there ya go!

So, new transfer coming Nov 22, 2014

And a zoo visit

Sat November 22, 2014

Hey guys, so I got transferred, but I kind of didn't at the same time, so that's pretty cool and stuff. I am still going to be here in the offices, but with one of the other secretaries, Elder Angeles, in a different ward. Strange stuff, but I am pretty excited for it!

So sorry I wasn't able to write last week, we didn't really have time.... my bad. But I am going to send you guys some pictures!

Last week it started to rain pretty hard so the temperature dropped just enough to make the hot chocolate my mom sent me, and later on Saturday we went to a Zoo place that's called the Venta. 

I mean, I´m normally not a zoo-going type of guy but it was really pretty cool... except for the part where I think the Jaguar was sick or something it really just made a weird sound.... ha-ha

Anyway, so this week has gone pretty well, we´ve been pretty busy and we are getting ready for some pretty exciting missionary stuff. 

So this week I started reading the Book of Mormon in English again... which is really awesome! I have read both the Book of Mormon and the Bible more in Spanish than I have in English and so I decided that it was time to break away from my Latin roots and get to reading in my native tongue. Its really cool to read the same thing from a different perspective and learn a whole bunch more stuff. I mean, I´m just saying that I have had a really good study sesh, or two. This week I tried to take a lot of time to study more on the life of Jesus Christ and the example that he left. Its a Christlike attribute that I would like to develop more of, because from charity springs a whole bunch of other things. 

Oh and in the museum, they aren't very good at translating their signs into English.. 

 Anyway, sorry this letter was kind of short and all over the place but I love you guys and hope you are all doing well!

Love, Elder Rios

Well, Life's good and so is this fish dinner, bones and all!

Hey guys, so I mean this week was pretty busy.. It was pretty good. We had the mission leadership council with all of the zone leaders and we had like one day to get everything organized and so it was kind of stressful, but everything turned out really well, and it looked like we were super organized even though we really were not. 

This week went pretty well though, we were able to find some new good investigators and learned a lot from President Morales. As a mission we are working on learning how to teach lessons that are shorter and more powerful. The day of the leadership council, President talked about teaching the message of the Restoration in five minutes to contact people. So I got  to put it into practice with the Taxi driver that night and it went really well. I even got the first vision in there and everything. It was the most interested I have ever seen one of the taxi drivers. A lot of them just brush us off and turn up the music, and later the other ones don't progress, but this guy seemed really interested. So yeah I took down his name and number and now the missionaries are going to go visit him. 

I´m just saying, I can definitely testify about the fact that the church is lead by revelation from God, on all levels. President Morales has really taught us a lot of important things that have helped moved the work along here and I know that he always takes the time to listen to what the Lord would have us do, whether he receives that answer through the leaders of the church or directly, he does what he can to follow it. Its been really cool to work closely with President, there is a lot to learn from him. 

This whole mission thing is awesome, and I´m so grateful to be here. 

Love you guys

Here's some pictures of my house... well part of it.. and a fishy I ate bones and all! 

Dinner time bones and all,,,that's how it's done!

Kind of fishy I know! 

Home sweet home

One bed one Hammock. No AC no problem.

I'm a bald person. October 18, 2014

I'm a bald person! 

So I mean, in Spanish when people tell you that you are bald, they say that you are 'pelon' (pay-loan), and I have heard that a lot this week. So I mean, it’s either because my companion cut my hair to short, or all of Mexico is trying to remind me of some unpaid debt.. Okay bad joke, I know, but it just kind of came to my mind when I wrote how to pronounce 'pelon'. I should do improve.. or maybe not. I wouldn't be very funny. ANYWAY, getting on to why I am bald.. So my companion kind of knows how to cut hair, and so like a month ago, I asked him to cut my hair and he did a pretty good job, but last Saturday night I asked him to cut it, and his hand slipped at one point. And he was using the little buzzer machine thing, so the damage was done, and the consequences followed. It’s really weird, because I forget that my hair is super short but then I walk by a mirror or see my reflection and something and I am reminded. But it’s getting better now.

Actually when president saw my hair, instead of shaking my hand like he usually does, he saluted me, called me lieutenant and walked away haha. 

Anyway, that's my weird beginning paragraph for this letter. This week went pretty well with all of the new missionaries getting to the mission and stuff. I got to be official translator, and so it was fun. We have one of the new missionaries living with us now. He and his trainer were assigned to work in the same ward as us. Hopefully we will see more progress as far as missionary work goes in the ward. It’s fun living with more missionaries though. 

This week we have started working with a newer investigator and when we went to see him, at first it was really weird. Like he was kind of trying to brush us off and didn't want to listen to us anymore, but we just started teaching him anyway, and during the lesson as we read in the Book of Mormon, he stopped us and told us that as we read, we had answered one of the questions that he has always had that no one has answered for him. He recognized that we were guided to be able to do so because he didn't tell us that he had doubts or anything and it ended up being a really great lesson.

 It’s interesting to see how the Spirit works with all of us. How it works in such a way that we may not understand that we are being led. I am not very good at explaining these kinds of things, but I know that we definitely would not be able to do this work without the Lord´s help. He is guiding us to people that have been prepared to receive the gospel, and He helps us to know how to help them. It’s truly a remarkable experience to be here as a missionary. I know the church is true, and that we are led by living prophets of God. The Book of Mormon is proof of it all, and the Holy Ghost bears witness of it. 

I love you guys and hope you are all doing well. I´ll talk to you next week!

Here is a picture of bald Elder Rios with one of the missionaries who just ended his mission. The picture was the day after my companion cut my hair. Its a bit longer now.  

Birthday Cake... Turned 21 in Mexico! =}

Sat Oct 11, 2014 Birthday Cake...Turned 21 in Mexico! =}

So, its transfer weekend guys! Which means that on Monday they are going to start moving around missionaries to different areas, some missionaries go home, and some new missionaries arrive to the mission! I am really excited for this one because I get to see the new missionaries get here. I really like seeing how nervous/excited all the new missionaries are. I mean, I am pretty sure I already mentioned it but it makes me think of when I just barely got here to the mission. So yeah, its pretty great. Monday and Tuesday will be pretty busy for us, cause we run around doing all the behind the scenes stuff to make sure the meetings go as planned and stuff. Oh and I get to spend Tuesday as the 'official translator' for the american missionaries that arrive and that's fun.

So this week has been a pretty good one. I turned 21 on Monday and President and Sister Morales bought me a birthday cake and everyone in the office sang happy birthday to me. It was a funny cake it said "Felicidades Elder 'ah bueno' ". I always answer 'ah bueno' whenever someone asks me to do something and so one of the Elders put it on the cake, and since then, all of the people in the office have started saying 'ah bueno' to everything. I´m pretty much a hipster. But not really. 

And something else that was kind of funny this week was that we have a Puerto Rican flag in our mission office now... So heres the story, my friend and zone leader, Elder Urbina, and I are the only two missionaries of Puerto Rican descent here in the mission. In the mission office we have a flag of each country of the missionaries that are here in the mission. So we have some of Nicaragua, Columbia, Mexico, England, and different places. Anyways, Elder Urbina started telling president that we needed a flag from Puerto Rico, to which president initially said no. But after some talking back and forth, he said that we could have a Puerto Rican flag but it had to be a little one because Puerto Rico isn´t its own country, and neither Elder Urbina or myself are fully Puerto Rican... So attached is the picture of the flag we won.. I´m pretty proud of it. 

We have been working to find some new investigators here in our area and its been going pretty well. We have a new one named Miguel. His brother is a member of the church in the United States and invited him to meet the missionaries. We have been teaching him for like two weeks now, and he is way cool. We weren't able to see him this week, so he called me the other day while we were in a meeting and he says ¨hey, when can I see you guys again?" So we set a date and time and he told me "okay, and I already read the part of the Book of Mormon that you left me, is there another part I can read?" I mean, not all of the investigators are like that. He is way cool. Right now we are going to focus on the day of rest with him. He has definitely been prepared to receive the gospel though and I am really excited to keep teaching him. I know that the Lord is going to put more people in our path and I hope that we can find some families that are looking for the gospel. I love you guys and I know I haven´t written as much but I mean, I think you´re all great. and stuff. 

Love you, hope to write you all next week. 

I´m going to send a picture of me and my companion, of my birthday cake, and the little Puerto Rican flag. 

Sept 27, 2014 Almost General Conference time!

Hey guys, so I´m pretty excited for General Conference. I mean, I just want to make sure  you guys know that. 

This week has been pretty alright. I ate little ceasers for the first time in almost nineteen months. I don´t really know how to say this but... I´m pretty sure my pizzas came out better than the one we ate... I mean, I´m just sayin´. It was a good little flashback moment. This week we have focused a bit more on contacting. My companion is really good at it. Like really good. No one tells him no, haha. I don´t know how he does it, so I am trying to learn more from him in that aspect. I mean, I´m not bad at contacting but I haven´t quite learned to do it as natural as he does. So yeah, I´m working on that so that the people don´t give me the "what do you want?" stare when we randomly start talking to them haha. 

Anyway, this week went pretty good. We are teaching two people, they are father and daughter. They are pretty cool investigators. The daughter accepted the invitation to be baptized this week, and we are working with the dad also so that he can be baptized. We are hoping that in October we can have their baptism. They really are awesome though. They both have understood really well what we have taught them and have the desire to keep learning. I am certain that they are two of the many people that the Lord has prepared to receive the gospel. 

During my personal study this week I just had another one of those "the gospel is true" moments. I was reading in Ezekiel, and as I was reading I just found a scripture that I really needed. Later in the same chapter I was awestruck when I found that the Lord talked about how the gospel would be preached and how many people would respond to his call. The scriptures contain the word of God. They are powerful and true. The moment that we start applying the teaching that are taught therein is when we recognize the divine guidance that is received through the sacred writings of God´s chosen servants. He has always called prophets, and He continues to call prophets. I have no doubt of that fact, and I know that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet of the Lord. The Holy Ghost has testified it to me, and I testify the same to all of you. 

I love you guys and I hope you are well.

Love, Elder Kyle Andrew Rios

Ezekiel 34:11-16

Transfers Sept 6, 2014 working in the Mission office

Hey guys, so I hope all is going well! Sorry I wasn´t able to write on Monday, I was a bit busy but for the next little while I will be writing on Saturdays. That's pretty sweet right? Anyway, so I will try to give you a quick recap of whats going on but I don´t really know what I am going to say. So Monday I got transferred, I am in Villahermosa now, which is one of the hottest parts of the mission. I have liked it though. There's also a lot more stuff here in Villahermosa, its the only real city that I have been in during my mission. Well, I guess Acayucan was kind of a city. A very little baby city, but a city nonetheless. 

My last week with Elder Narvaez was pretty fun. I mean, we spent the week trying to do some paperwork to get some people married, but we didn´t get it in time. Hopefully this week they will be married and be able to get baptized. I´m gonna miss working with Elder Narvaez though, he was really good to work with. Here in Villahermosa I am with Elder Becerra, he is my new companion. This week has been pretty fun, and its been super busy. I have been trying to learn some new stuff, but now it looks like I have it all figured out. On Monday all the new missionaries got to the mission so we were helping them out with getting acquainted with the mission and all its rules and such. When the American missionaries got here they slept in our house and they just looked super nervous... I am pretty sure I was exactly the same when I got here ha-ha. Everything is just so new and the people seem to talk super fast and stuff. I remember just being confused when I got here. I just didn´t even know what to think. 

Hey, playing translator isn't as easy as it sounds. Well it doesn't sound easy. But, anyway, on Tuesday we had another meeting for the new missionaries and I spent the meeting translating everything into English. You really have to think about some of the stuff because you can´t just translate it all word for word, you have to do it in a way that makes sense. Anyway, when the president got up to talk he was like "thank you Elder Rios for the official translation" and yeah then the same thing happened in a different meeting. Its just pretty funny. Its been fun to get to work closer to the president, its really been cool to get to know him better and stuff to. 

Anyway, love you guys, talk to you next week. 

August 25th

So, weird thought, the sister missionaries that started their missions at the same time as me are pretty much done with their missions now.... Tha'ts really strange. I mean it doesn't seem like that long ago that I was in the MTC. And, yeah, time is just flying by. Its weirding me out. I only have like four transfers left. Just strange stuff. Anyway, this week has been good, Elder Narvaez and I have been super busy here. We have a huge area as it is and on top of our area we are still teaching the investigators from my first area, the one that got closed. So yeah, its been pretty great. We have a few investigators that are pretty close to getting baptized but.... we got to get some people married. That means we are going to spend the week trying to get legal documents and stuff so that the couple can get baptized on Saturday. Its pretty awesome though. Its been way fun with my new companion, he is really funny, so there's not many boring moments here. 

Anyway, in other news I, uhm, bought  a king sized hammock. Its in the process of getting made, but I am pretty excited about that. I like hammocks, even though some elders and I nearly broke one last week... theres a video and everything but its too long to send in an email. Its hilarious though. We were kind of using it as a swing and then the thing holding it up just snapped...  I fell onto the mattress that was conveniently placed under the hammock and yeah, I'll show the video sometime. 

Getting onto the more spiritual note, I have been thinking a lot this week about the Book of Mormon and the restoration of the gospel this week. I've been analyzing how easy it was for me to accept these truths because I have learned them since I was young and its been easy for me, but for our investigators its not like that. They are learning new things and changing life long traditions but its truly worth it to follow Christ. Once the Spirit touches their heart, the desire to change and repent is made manifest. I know that the Church was restored by the prophet Joseph Smith and I know that Christ lives and leads His church today. It is a blessing to be a missionary. 

Love you guys. 

Love Elder Rios

Transfer? August 11th & August 18th letter.

Aug 11, 2014
Hey guys, so remember how I told you I was going to get transferred? Well it didn't happen. So I am still here with the other two elders, Elder Roman and Elder Martinez. Its been pretty fun to be here in a trio. The other two elders have the same amount of time in the mission as I do. I mean, its been a good time. This is the third time in my mission that I have been in a trio.

Anyway, this week has been pretty awesome. Last week I was kind of bummed because I didn't want to leave behind all of the investigators that I had before that were progressing, but since I am still here close, we have been able to keep working with them. Actually one of them has a baptismal date so I´m really excited about that! Its awesome because in his family, everyone else are members, and his son just turned 8 and so now he is trying even harder to get baptized so he can baptize his son! His work schedule makes it difficult but he is doing all he can. 

On Thursday we had a sweet activity with president Morales. We had a short conference then it was Volleyball, Soccer, and food. It was awesome. In volleyball I was on the same team as president and a couple of my other little missionary friends here, and we rocked that. I mean, we won again and again, and lost a couple of times.. but we were the overall winners. It was nice..

And then there was soccer... We lost, a lot. But we did win one haha. It was way fun.

 

During the conference part we taught an active member about The First Vision and the Spirit was incredibly strong during the lesson. I know that God the Father and Jesus Christ truly appeared to Joseph Smith that spring morning, and I know that the gospel has been restored over the earth. God's plan is remarkable, and I trust completely in Him. 

I love you guys, I hope all is well! 

Love, Elder Rios

 

Aug 18, 2014

So guys, I am still in Acayucan, BUT, I am in a different area. I am now in Zapata, which is another ward here. I am working with Elder Narvaez. It was pretty cool, I really didn't have to repack my stuff since Elder Narvaez lived right below where I was already at with the other Elders. Anyway, its looking like we are going to have a baptism this week so I am pretty excited! And then the week after also, we just gotta get some people married! Man, lets just all follow God's commandments and get legally married instead of just living together. Can I get an amen? That's one of the biggest problems we run into down here but I mean, when the people come to understand that its a commandment, they usually end up getting married.

Anyway, I really don't have a whole lot to write about today so I will just share with you guys the scripture that really kind of impacted me this week:

 

 35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question,tempting him, and saying,

36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

 38 This is the first and great commandment.

 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

I copied and pasted that and that's the format so I promise the letters aren't bigger because I was yelling them at you. But I really liked this scripture because I was trying to analyze where I am at in Loving the Lord with all my heart, soul, and mind. I know that I have changed a lot being here on the mission, and I want nothing more

than to dedicate my time here to the Lord. To me, loving the Lord is as it says in John 14:15, is by keeping the Commandments. All of them. I mean, us as people tend to have a selective obedience. Something's we keep, others we don't, even if we know its wrong. At some point we even give up hope and just say "that's just how I am" or "God made me this way" but that's not true. God didn't make us exempt to His divine laws. They are for our temporal and eternal happiness, and the faster we choose to obey ALL his commandments, the faster we will gain a true testimony of His doctrine, we will repent, change things we've done wrong and begin to understand the potential that we really have as God's beloved children. 

 

 

There's a few more things that I have going through my mind about the scripture, but for now I think I will just keep it simple. I love God. I'm happy to be where I am, and I don't ever want to grow comfortable with the relatively little work that I have done during my time as a missionary.

 I love you guys!

 

 

 

 

Short two months August 4, 2014

Well, guys, its been a short two month run here in Acayucan. That's the least amount of time that I have had in any of my areas. But, they are transferring me. I have emergency transfers due to some unexpected occurrences, but I mean, everything is fine. I have spent the last three days with Elder Roman and Elder Martinez who are in the neighboring area. Its been pretty fun with them. I am going to miss my area though. But, I mean, I gave it my all here, so I feel good about it. I am going to a city called Minatitlan. Its not too far away from Acayucan, its still in the state of Veracruz. I will be taking an hour long bus ride at four o clock to get there. My companions name will be Elder Rivera, I don't know where he is from but I will be cool.

I am sorry I don't have a lot to write guys, but my week has been hectic and its just been one of those things that cant be fully described in an email. so just add it on to the list of things I need to one day tell in person. Well, I love you guys. I am going to throw a few pictures on here!

 

 These are  the two Elders I was with

 and me with the cool cane of the coolest member in the ward. He´s blind. He´s awesome.

 

Love you guys!

New Transfer July 21, 2014

Hey guys, so I am just hitting up here from Villahermosa, Tabasco. I mean, I am nowhere near my area and I am in companion-limbo. I am sitting here with Elder Urbina and Elder Nixon, they are babysitting me until my new companion arrives to the mission tomorrow. Well, actually he will get here tonight, but I don't get to know who until tomorrow. I am pretty excited to train again, its a cool experience. Now we just have to see who it is.... dun dun dun.

Anyway, so not too much new here in my life. We ate this food called Memela. Its super good. Acayucan (where my area is at) is known for them. Its like a thin tortilla covered with cheese, some veggies, a bunch of meat, and some other good stuff... like fried banana. I will throw a picture up on this email. It was probably one of the best things I have eaten here in Mexico.

 

Anyway, this week we went to go see a less active member named Alvino. He is just really awesome. I first visited him with one of the zone leaders and it was just kind of depressing because he didn't really want anything to do with us... but then we went back with one of the members and since then it has just been good. He is a good guy and I am pretty sure he will start coming to church again. I mean, I just like being a missionary. Its a great experience and there are so many people that we have the opportunity to meet each day.

 

I really have respect for two of the youth in our ward, Carlos and Luis that go out visiting with us every week to prepare to be missionaries. They still have like two weeks to go and they are just awesome. I never left with the missionaries, and now that I´m here I kind of wish I would have. I know that when they are missionaries they will be prepared and will be able to bless the lives of many other people. 

 

Anyway, I love you guys. Talk to you next week!

Cake & A baptisim July 14, 2014

Alright family so, I unfortunately will not be writing much this week. I know I say that all of the time. Its great. So long story short, this week we passed through Apostasy Week. (Apostasy, Gospel Term, When individuals or groups of people turn away from the principles of the gospel). so, that was fun or something. We had some very serious lessons with quite a few people and it was truly just difficult. Anyway, story of the week. So we had that happen and then on Saturday, all of our plans fell threw and Elder George and I sat on a curb for a time and we were just like "well, now what?" And so I decided that we would just start walking down a street, even though we didn't really know where we were going, and so we start walking and My comp says, "lets go see Mario" (who has a cake shop.) Anyway, so we keep on the same road and we  get to the cake shop and a lady stops me. My companion didn't hear so I whistled him down but anyway the lady starts telling us about her husband who wants to get baptized that already was going to church a few months back and is practically just waiting for the missionaries to go over. And so we got their info and such, and while we were saying good bye, the lady reaches in her bag and gives me and elder George each a little slice of cake. It was the best cake I´ve had in a long long time. I enjoyed it.

It was just a real cool experience because we were really just down in the dumps and the Lord picked us right back up. Afterwards we got back to work with renewed enthusiasm and we were just catching fire, it was so nice. It made me think a lot about the scripture in alma 26:27. 

This is without a doubt God´s work. I love my Heavenly Father, and I know that He is watching over me. 

 

Thought I would share some photos of our really short hair cuts &  tire swing!

 

 

Elder George

 



Elder Rios Rope Swing

I love you guys. 

Talk to you next week! 



 

Welcome to the good life July &, 2014

So, I mean, this letter will be pretty short. But it will be good and stuff. Right? Right. We had a good week here in Acayucan. I mean, there was some clogged drain problems you don´t want to know the specifics about, I went to do divisions with an elder from Peru, I got a little sick (not a lot, so don´t freak out.) and threw up in the street like a drunk, and celebrated a nice 4th of July. So, sounds pretty good right? It really was. Well, I wont continue too much with the clogged drain thing, but let it be said that Elder George is brave, and what happened there need not be written. However, if one day you would like me to tell you guys in person I will do it. I will tell it vividly, using hand gestures, facial expressions and e´rrythin. But the divisions were pretty fun, I went with Elder Carmen to his area this last week. He is an an Area called Paraíso, which is a solid two hours away from our area but its a pretty cool place. While we were together we walked on some train tracks, preached the gospel, and all that good stuff. I mean, it was also with him where we threw up. We were on a little side street though so no one saw. Later we passed by the puke place and there was a lady walking up and so as I passed I made sure to talk in a really loud voice and express my disgust at the fact that somebody would puke in the street. So ya know, I didnt make it obvious at all. Elder Carmen got a kick out of it. 

I am proud to be an American. I don´t know if you guys know that, but uh, I am. So to show it, I sang the national anthem periodically throughout the fourth of July, my companion and I ate bacon for breakfast,

I made sure to tell people it was independence day, and we went to eat hamburgers with the some more American Elders. I mean, scale of one to ten, I would put it at a solid 8.7, we lacked fireworks, but hey, that will be saved for next year. Oh and I just remembered, I am now sixteen months into this whole mission deal, crazy right? Not very long ago people were telling me that I still had a lot to go and now all of the members tell me that I am almost done. I am not sure when the transition got made but yeah. and time keeps going by faster. its weird. 

This last week we had the opportunity to go teach one of the members that hasn´t been to church for awhile and it was a cool experience. All of our plans had fell through and Elder George felt like we should go visit her even though she lives kind of far, and so we did. It was the first time I had ever met her, so at first we were just talking and then she said something and a scripture came into my head, so I mean, Missionary Mode got kicked in and I just started teaching about Lehi´s dream. Anyway, after a time we ended up talking about why she hadn´t been going to church. She just opened up and told us everything and Elder George and I just started sharing scriptures and talking to her and it definitely was not us that was teaching. The Spirit took control of the lesson and it was just incredibly powerful. During this time it really just made me think of how God had put us in the right place. We had absolutely no intention of going near the part of the area where she lives that day. We had pretty  good plans and everything that I honestly didnt expect to fall through. Truly God had something else planned. I continue to learn of the truthfulness of this work. I do not doubt the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. I love the Lord and I am grateful to be here as His servant. 

I love you guys, I hope you´re all doing well!

Love, Elder Rivers. (Rios)

 

June 30, 2014 Independence week

 

So, Friday is really just getting close guys. I mean, my companion and I already found an american flag to go take a picture by and we decided that we are going to go eat hamburgers with some of the other elders. Its gonna be sweet. I gotta admit, I have become more patriotic here in Mexico. I just love the United States. On Saturday we had a Zone Conference with President Morales, and so he was looking through all of our planners to see if we are using them effectively and so he started leafing through mine and after like two seconds he says "Graffiti" and just hands me my planner back, so I looked through to see what he was talking about and he had looked on the page for July 4th which I had written on just a bit. I will throw a picture in for you guys to see.

 

This week has gone pretty well. I learned something incredibly obvious: that  you can make toast on a frying pan. I mean, its really simple but I hadn´t ever thought about it. Anyway, I am a little wiser now. On Tuesday we did divisions and I was with Elder Nisbet for the day. That was pretty fun. I really am just down with having American companions. I speak a whole lot of English, and Spanish too. And then there's some spanglish that always gets thrown in but its just all great. Anyway, I feel bad because I have hardly taken any pictures in this area.

 

I gotta get some of the house to send you guys and my companion and I havent taken a picture on my camera yet so I dont have one to send you guys.. Well I will try to acquire one right here in the little computer place though. 

 

 

Yesterday we had a really cool experience. We went to teach an investigator named Miriam who has a baptism date for the 19th of July. We taught her about the plan of salvation and she really liked it. Anyway, she had not yet prayed to know if the Book of Mormon is true so we did something I had never done before. I got the impression to invite her to pray and ask right in front of us, and while she said the prayer I was kind of doing my own little mini prayer and pleading the Lord to help her feel the truthfulness through the Holy Ghost, and after a few seconds the Lord just told me pretty much that I need to calm down and trust that He would do His part. So after the prayer I looked up and Miriams face was just beaming. She had a huge smile on her face and I asked her how she had felt during her prayer and she told us that she had received her answer and that an overwhelming feeling of peace just came over her and she just knew. It was a remarkable experience and I know that its not anything that we could have taught, its only something that is made known through the Holy Ghost. I know that the Book of Mormon contains the Word of God, and that Joseph Smith was the prophet of the Lord called to restore the Gospel over the earth. I used to think that was just a cliché mormon saying when they passed to give their testimonies, but now I know with a certainty that it is true, and that that knowledge is to be shared. I am grateful for the oportunity to be here as a missionary. Its fun, its hard, its a definite learning experience,  and I know that its where the Lord would have me be. 

Love you guys, hope all is well. Love, Elder Rios

2 Nephi 2:5-8

I love America you guys! June 23, 2014

I love America you guys!

 My companion and I are already planning to go American on July 4th. We are going to buy Root Beer and probably eat hamburgers and stuff. It´ll be great. 

All American Burger! Yum! 

& lots of Root Beer!!! 

Anyway, things have been going good up here in Acayucan. Although blazing hot. This last week was crazy busy. I spent three days outside of my area with different companions due to a chain of reunions and sorts that just came up out of nowhere,but I am glad to finally be back in my area. 

 We have really been focusing on contacting here in the mission. We have had some fun experiences with that. There have been a few people that have accepted us, but there are other people who tell us that their name is Hernan Cortes (who was one of the conquistadors that came to mexico shortly after Christopher Columbus) and then yesterday somebody told us that he personally knew Joseph Smith loved the teaching of David Smith (whoever that is) When we told him that there is not David Smith he yelled at my companion that we needed to go ask our pastor about David Smith because he is a real person. It was really kind of funny/sketchy. 

 Things have been awesome here, The time is just flying by and I am hoping that we can get the area jump started here because not too much is happening. I feel that we are doing something right though because the Lord has blessed us and has really started introducing us to new people. 

Anyway, I love you guys. Talk to you next week! 

Elder Rios