Week 27 ~ Etchojoa ~ Elder Hernandez

This week has been good. We started off by getting bikes for us. Those bikes before were just bikes we borrowed. So we went and found some bikes that some members had that we could fix up and have for ourselves! And we found 1, and when we went to get it fixed at the shop... wow I was really frustrated haha I mean I knew how to fix it better then the 2 teenagers that were trying to fix it!! I was just thinking, they'll learn from their failures haha, because dang it it took them like 1 hour to replace the tire tubes! but all is well! we went to Las Guayabas again on the bikes and taught a lot of less actives! which was good. we are going to be going their a lot more because we have bikes now! 

This week Jose was really sick with the flu. So we went to teach him but he was really exhausted.. so we let him be and rest. but the good news is that he came to church! but only came for the sacrament meeting. We want him to stay for the whole time but he just is really tired he says.. so if you could pray for him, that he will be able to have the faith that he needs to receive his answer and desire! that would help so much!! but our other investigator is the husband of a member, his name is Javier and we have only taught him once but he has came to church twice!! That's really exciting for us, because his family aren't baptized so if we baptize him then 2 of his kids will be baptized too!! Really cool to see the results finally come!

We had the chance to show the, "Meet the Mormons" movie in our church building on Saturday and it went good, the first showing we had about 35 to 45 people come. I love that movie! haha its so good, but im not going to lie... I want to watch it in English! haha but the funny part is that after the movie finished, we had 2 old ladies come up to us and say thanks for everything, I think it was because the last story was the missionary's and they thought that we were soldiers or something ;) I mean we are in the armor of truth and righteousness! haha but it was cool thing for them to see and know more about us!

This week I want to encourage you all to fortify your faith. search scriptures, chapters, books of the church! Have the faith that the Savior will help you carry your load when you are in need. Always show your faith in the way you act. In everything. BE A DISCIPLE!

 Well I love you all!! really do!!

Elder Horlacher

 Trevor and  his companion. He looks so BIG on this bike.

 The things this kid takes pictures of.

 This is Trevor's bike

This is the type of bike that Trevor and his friends

would launch into a lake with, now he's riding on his mission.

 They are living in one room as they are putting

tile in their house. He is sooo excited for tile.

 That's his closet in Mexico.

 Riding their bikes to church.

Week 26 ~ Etchojoa ~ Elder Hernandez

So this week.

This week was pretty eventful.  Wednesday was the first time I rode a bike in the mission! I was so excited to ride a bike!! but like the first 5 minutes I realized that this bike wasn't one of Navy's bikes, it wasn't a nice bike nor was it a comfortable bike. The seat would move up and down, the crank was bent, the seat was broken plastic! haha fun day.By the end of the day my butt was bruised from all the pot holes in the dirt road, and i was drenched in sweat! I would just hear dad's voice telling the story of him riding bikes in his mission in Australia and how he would sweat and the members would have a towel waiting for him!! haha 

This week we taught Jose (the 80 year old man) and WOW! how he is ready for this gospel! he knows a lot already, he asked us if we believed in spirits. And we said yes, so he told us that he believes there is a place where the spirits go to rest! and we just smiled and told him that he is going to love everything we have to teach him! he is so cool! I can honestly say, for the first time, that I want to go and talk to him, I want to listen to him talk about his life. I feel a special bond with him! He is a Friend.

This week the old lady that I bore my testimony about grandpa to last week, her husband died on Thursday morning, the day after I gave him a blessing and I just blessed him with the comfort he needed to go and told him that he can protect his family from the other side.  We helped a lot with his funeral, my companion gave a talk and after we had everyone wait outside while we changed him into his temple clothes and garments. My comp, President Ticona (of the branch) , and I changed him! They do things a little different here in Mexico. They don't embalm and they change him after the services. That was quite an experience for me, I've never done anything like that before. But it was really spiritual. 

This week was good we found a lot of new investigators from families of less actives.There are many members that have people in their family that aren't members!! So that's good work for us to do! Well I LOVE YOU ALL! and I just want you all to show your love for your friends and family, people you don't know, because we never know what's going on in their lives, we could be helpful without even knowing it. Or even we don't know how long we have here in this life! Show your love, there is no better time then now! LOVE You all!

Elder Horlacher

Week 25 ~ Etchojoa ~ Elder Hernandez

sooooo~ Well, to be honest, this week was very stressful and difficult. But~ we endured and it turned out for the better. So, we made a little promise to contact 10 people in the streets everyday, like it has always been. So we went on Tuesday and we couldn't do anything until we had to fix our door, so we could lock it! So finally we got it done and we had about 30 minutes, so I said lets go and contact at the least 10 people, so we went and I'm not joking, I don't think that I have been rejected so hard by every single person that I talked to. They didn't even accept the cards we were giving. I was shocked and started to doubt myself and get very discouraged.. but the last person finally accepted and was actually interested in what we had to share and such! So it just shows to me, that we need to keep on going, don't give up early, don't quit, we aren't LDS quitters! I love that!

We still don't have very many investigators. Actually I can only think of two that we have actually taught. It's really quite sad, but we are starting to pick it up and we have found a lot more people. For instance I was fasting on Saturday to be led to more investigators and we received a reference from a member, so we went to go contact their house, and WOW this guy named Jose, 80 year old, is ready for the gospel       (I believe) he needs the gospel in his life. I asked him if he believed that he would see his son that passed away again and he said, "honestly... no". I just thought, dang that is truly sad! So I bore my testimony on how I know that I Will see my loved ones that have passed on again! I think he really took that into thought and he felt it! We challenged him to baptism and he accepted and we put the date of May 16th , he came to church the next day, so he is still in line to get baptized!! (Please pray for Jose that he will continue on this path, because Satan is strong and loves to work against me.)

After church we went to a member's home, that her husband is about to die... and when I saw him, it reminded me sooo much of how my grandpa looked the last few days of his life. I started to tear up from the memories of my grandpa.. but we gave her the sacrament and then gave her a lesson. Then she just told us how worried she is after her husband dies. And so I just told of the experience with my grandpa and grandma, in how my grandpa always took care of my grandma, until he got sick, and how after he got sick my grandma took care of him for 3 or 4 years and how I know that troubled my grandpa because he loved to take care of her, but he couldn't because of his health. Then I shared how after he passed away, I know that he could help my grandma and all of his family in ways that he couldn't before and continues helping us today. And how I have felt his presence with me personally while on my mission. I know that that really helped her! She felt the peace and was happier when we left. I felt grandpa with me in that moment! 

Well, I love this area... haha but really! It's cool great stuff here to do... Work! we still don't have bikes.. but we will this week hopefully! I love all of you!! 

Love, Elder Horlacher

 Trevor said, "The Field is White already to Harvest!"

 He said that his area is full of fields.

His New Casa

Trevor said that he is the corner part of the table, his companion is on the other side. 

 His bedroom doesn't have a closet or drawers for their clothes so he uses the clothesline that he took. His suitcases are under his bed as his drawers. Good thing we got the HARD suitcases.

 His make shift kitchen 

  Their yucky bathroom. He said that its on a cement slab and pretty gross, but this is clean.

Trevor has the greatest friends, Warner wrote this to him this week:
Dude I missed you a TON, but it was good to finally see you this weekend!

Week 24 - Etchojoa - Elder Hernandez

Hey to all!! 

WOW... this week... This General Conference was AMAZINGLY powerful!! I love you all and I really love how they focused on families on Saturday!! I miss you all so much!! But hey~ We areNOT Latter day Quiters! We are sinners that keep trying, we are DISCIPLES OF CHRIST FOREVER!

This week has been good. The members here are amazing, they are so giving to us (missionaries) they truly want their friends and family members to feel the way they do! This area is so beautiful, it has so many fields of wheat, alphaalfa, just so much. We have to walk to little towns for an hour because we don't have bikes right now, because the Elder that was here before me gave it to another area... and now he won't give it back... but all it well we are going to find some more... but our house is quite sad.... its pretty ugly.We don't have a kitchen, a toilet seat, hot water, microwave, a place to put our clothes, a sink.... just to name a few.... haha but all is well.

With investigators we are in the process of finding more and getting to work... we did a lot this week, but we didn't teach a lot of people. We had zone conference, cleaned the church building, and conference... but all is good. I feel like I have a lot of work to do here, a lot of responsibility! and I actually like it haha. After conference I feel good, I want to help as many people as I can to have a happy marriage, to be able to use the priesthood in their homes and to help them have a functional family! To feel the love of Christ and his infinite atonement!!  This is the gospel of Christ! This is his church! Do what Elder Kevin W. Pearson said, Pray, Read, and STAY BY THE Tree!! Once we have this testimony we are given so much more responsibility and the responsibility to share it with everyone! To bring them to Christ! I love my Savior, my Redeemer, my Example! And I LOVE you all!!!

Love, Elder Horlacher

 Getting ready to watch Saturday Morning Conference

 Zone Conference in Navajoa

 Watching Priesthood Meeting with the Gringos