Week 10 - Esperanza-Elder Ramirez

Feliz navidad/ prospero ano felizidad!!

Well these last two weeks have been quite crazy... but amazing!! so to start off our progressing investigator didn't come to church the week before, and all she needed was one more church attendance to get baptized! but she didn't come but another progressing investigator did! Alfonzo! So we were excited but still a little sad that Lourdez didn't come to church. but the rest of the week we kinda focused on teaching Lourdez and making sure she was going to come to church and that she knows what she needs to know! and it went great! when we were teaching her lesson 3 the gospel of Jesus Christ, by the end she asked sooo when am i getting baptized! haha we were just like well in two weeks!! but you need to come to church this week! so she agreed and then told us that before we came she was really stressed and confused and in pain but at the end she said she was happy and feeling good! its amazing what the gospel does to our lives!

And With Alfonzo we planned on teaching him Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. so one day we were looking at our agendas and said um... lets go to Jose who lives across from Alfonzo and who is a teenager that wasn't on our agenda for that hour, and quite out of the way. but we went and when we were down the road we could see Alfonzo with his hands to the sky... and we were just like Okay? so we walked up to him and he said, "I feel really bad right now and I don't have a cell phone to call you, and my neighbors aren't home so I can't use theirs! but God led you to me!"  I was just like wow.... speech less..  its like the song, "let the holy spirit guide" haha but we didn't know we were letting it... all i can say is "my testimony has been strengthened so much here!!"

Well christmas was amazing skyping... but other than that not really much. Except I did eat Stingray!!  I thought it was just chicken with a weird shape to it haha. but it was really good! but I hear it is really expensive soo I don't know when I will eat that again. But with Christmas eve and Christmas day.. I had some strange food that I just had the hardest time eating... like their pierna, and fruit salad with ranch, and hot fruit drink with orange grapefruit peels... ahh man its very rough haha but very funny looking back! I still love it here and ya I'm still trying to get used to some of the food. 

But to wrap up the email. Lourdez CAME TO CHURCH ! SHE IS GOING TO BE BAPTISED!!! THIS SATURDAY! my first baptism. and I am truly happy. and soo is she! she is practically a member already but she needs to be baptised haha but Alfonzo didnt come this week.. we dont know why yet but we are going to check up on him today. 

Well I love you all thanks for your prayers and everything you have ever done for me. have a great time in the cold haha and have a great new year 2015!! wow crazy... but in a wink of an eye it will be 2016 and i will be coming home... so i need to make the most of this time so continue to pray for me please. thanks!

Elder Horlacher

Their Christmas Tree Christmas Eve. Trevor wrapped his old camera in this cookie box

for one of the Elders that didn't have a camera. He had asked me while skyping if he could

give his old camera to Elder Cruz. He was pretty excited to give it to him.

This is the dog that Trevor says has a bubble butt.

Christmas Eve with Lourdez & her  husband

Trevor loves to send pictures of lizards, dogs, turtles, any kind of animals.

 Here they are cleaning the baptismal font.

 Trevor said that the rats are about the size of his foot.

So of course he wanted to show us.

 Doing service for Brother Martinez, from their ward. He loves the missionaries.

 He LOVES Kalamity's shirt, "WORK HARD~STAY HUMBLE"

 The Hermana's made these cupcakes for the elders

 Black teeth from eating the hat.

Skyping with Elder Horlacher

 Christmas Eve Bryan received a phone call from Trevor and he was letting us know that they can't find a webcam to use anywhere in Esperanza. None of the members have any or the Cybers don't have one. It looks like they will have to go to WalMart and buy one and try to set it up.

He was calling to see if it was OK for him to buy it with his card.  He emailed us and told us about 2 hours later that he thinks its set up and if we could skype for a little while right then.

 It worked!!! We were so excited to see him. Some of these pictures were what he took with his camera and the ones that we took with ours. 

 This was all of us talking to Elder Horlacher.

We just loved seeing his face and interacting with him.

 He was so cute and such a crack up!!!

  When we SKYPED Elder Horlacher on Christmas Eve we ended with a prayer and he offered it. To watch him kneel in front of the computer screen and bow his head and start to pray, the spirit was so strong. His prayers have changed so much from when he was at home. They were so specific in everything he was praying for. Then when he asked to BLESS his family, he broke down and then asked him to please HELP HIM BE THE BEST MISSIONARY and to help him conquer the language. 

 Him saying good bye to us, with his companion coming into the office.

All of the elders were excited that Trevor got it all set up for them to use on Christmas Day.

CHRISTMAS DAY - SKYPE

Some of the things he shared with us while we were skyping:

The coolest thing is to watch the investigators eyes light up when I'm baring my testimony or teaching a principle and they feel the spirit. There is nothing more beautiful than to feel the spirit testify to them. It's such an amazing feeling, it's pure happiness to watch the gospel light touch their lives. 

Any suggestions for us as members of the church:

Pursue people who are not members or inactives, show your friendship with them by showing Christ's love through you. Really~ the church is a pivetting point with changing people's lives. It's where you can feel God's love for us so strong in the meetings. I noticed that for me as a member that I have taken it for granted, in feeling the spirit at church, but to watch these investigators come and feel the spirit ,  that's when it hits me that I need to realize and not take it for granted, because it's so awesome. But I encourage you to get people to come to church with you. We need the members help in finding these people.

BE HAPPY, the church brings happiness, there is NO REASON why we should be sad, we have all of the answers here in the gospel. We have people hear in Mexico that ask us missionaries all of the time, "Why are you so happy, when you walk so much and it's so hot?" We LAUGH & just tell them it's the gospel of Jesus Christ and we know it's true we can be with our FAMILIES FOREVER and we can show you how to be happy. Tell my ward family that I LOVE THEM and appreciate their prayers and keep praying for us missionaries, because~we need it. 

Bummer Message

I received a picture from Trevor and his caption said, I'm not emailing on Monday, my P-day is moved to Thursday (Christmas Day). Well I was a little disappointed because we haven't put together the schedule for skyping. So I worked at Tuacahn that night and didn't take my phone with me, but when I looked at my phone, Trevor had tried to message me to get the information to skype. Soooo disappointed.

Mulitzone Conference

 Each District was asked to build a temple out of newspaper.

 Elder Horlacher sent me some pictures and the others were from the facebook page from the

mission presidents wife.

Week 9 - Esperanza-Elder Ramirez

Great!

So this week was pretty much, great. we started off by teaching our investigator that came to church (Lourdes), and her husband. it went pretty good but it went really long and i could see the husbands face get bored and zone out, kinda what I do when I don't understand Spanish.. but ya the lesson went great! and we taught and found alot of new people. 

On Wednesday we had a meeting for all the district leaders in the mission... which is only like 15, after that we had intercambios with the assistants!! haha I was kinda freaking out, not going to lie, but it went really good! Elder Orton is his name, and he is from Panguitch, and is a really active hard working elder! He taught me some good lessons! I love being taught by incredible missionaries,but we taught almost everyone we contacted haha i was really surprised! and wow did we contact people on the streets!

but after that on saturday it was time for tours and we were putting all in this time!! we got the TV at the church ready to show "He is the Gift" I love this video, we bought limes and made limonada, put on our santa hats on & made signs! so right off the bat we contacted a guy that was walking his bike and offered him some limonada, and he accepted and then we offered a tour and it took some persuading but he took it! right off the bat!! We had 3 tours in one day!! as a district we gave 7 tours!! man.. thats a record for me since I've been here haha. 

After the tours for lunch a member brought us pizza and one of the elders challenged me to eat a piece of his pieces in one bite (and I was really hungry because 4 elders, 2 pizzas i only get 4 pieces...) so of coarse I took the challenge haha. and i did it so easily!! man i was like give me another haha :) These elders have no idea that when it comes to a food challenge I don't turn it down!!! I'm pretty sure that I'm up to 220lbs now, but it's ALL GOOD WEIGHT!!! I'm lifting and walking and finally bulking up.

Sunday is game time for missionaries, to see if what you've taught has had an affect on the people you are teaching! and if they don't come to church then they can't get baptized.. And Lourdes Came Again!!!! It's her 2nd time all we need is 2 more then she can be baptized!! well we need 5 times but we are going to ask president if we can baptize her in December. and the other investigator we invited didn't show up or wasn't home. we went to his house before church to help him come but he wasn't there, we were standing in front yelling "buenas dias" for 20 minutes haha we were almost late for the sacrament, but lucky time here is a little slow, kinda like Polynesians ;) haha but yes I love this work and time is starting to take off! I have 3 weeks done with Elder Ramirez!! crazy crazy. 

Hope all is going good for christmas, but just remember for real, its not about the presents which are nice, but The most valuable present we were ever given is Jesus Christ from our heavenly father, Jesus gave us the atonement which is the only way we can return to live with our heavenly father, and be together for ever as families!! so lets use the atonement everyday!! and we can feel gods love for us! "Äccept the Gift".

Elder Horlacher

 Elder Horlacher with Elder Arroyas on Intercambios

 Elder Horlacher LOVES the Sunsets there in Mexico!!

He sent me so many pictures of sunsets and tells me to 

please NOT delete ANY of them and make a folder

of just his sunsets. haha

 This is his FIRST ride in a car since being in Mexico.

They are coming home from church with their investigator in his car.

 Elder H sent me this picture and it said, "WORST DAY EVER!" Mom, you know that we have to wash our dishes in the shower because we don't have a sink, well I dropped my ONLY spoon in the toilet while washing my dishes!!!

AND No that's my companions toothbrush!

My son, knows exactly his mama's thinking.

 I asked him to send me a picture of where he put his 

Christmas Tree, in the front room.

 Elder Horlacher loves animals so they are teaching

goats the gospel!!

 Here they are getting ready for their church tours.

 All festive and ready to give tours.

 Elder Horlacher made rice, with hot dogs and pineapple.

NOT QUITE spam and pineapple with brown sugar, but it

will do.

 More beautiful sunsets!!