CHANGE!!!

  We worked this week - like.... a lot.  We have 10 nuevo investigatores,  30 referenias,  3 fechas de bautismo, 10 invitaciones por bautismo y 10 dijieron "Si". WOOHOO!!!   And not a one came to church.  Woopy.... But hey, I am doing all that I can here and I am seeing success.

Sadly this letter will be very short but it´s for a good reason. We have our entire night booked with appointments. That has been every night this week. Once we leave our comida appointment at 3 or 3:30, we don´t have time to do anything but walk and talk about what we are teaching for the next hour or so.  It has been GREAT!!!!   Our numbers for the week were the best they have every been for me in this area.  I know that it is in no small part because of my companion.  He is so great!  He works like a horse!  He whines like a mule but at least that makes him more horse than donkey.  Wow... that was funny.... I gotta remember that one.  Yes everyone, I am still proud of myself when I make a funny.  I don´t know if THAT will ever change.

Speaking of changes, I am only a little pink this Preperation Day. My face always goes pick because we aren´t in houses.  We are playing futbol real.  My hair is a LOT lighter.  My skin is pretty dark.  It will be darker after I serve in areas with more heat.  It´s pretty cool here but the days are getting a little bit hotter.  The climate won´t change much though.

 My Spanish has changed but the climate won´t.  My vocab is growing and my understanding is increasing poco en poco.  Everyone tells me that I speak like a native with my accent and that is GREAT to hear.  In time I will be able to blend in..... until they look up and see my face...... That won´t be changing either.

So on friday, we had divisions with the Lideres de Zona and I was with the junior companion Elder Stone.  We have 24 hour divisions because of the distance of our areas.  That was a lot of fun.  But what I want to talk about is my personal study saturday morning.  

I studied in the beginning of Jacob where he is really cracking down on the people for their disobedience and their whoredoms.  I learned that we are never instructed to do better with gladness in the heart of him who tells us.  It is always with deepest sorrow that they cannot lift us up with words of joy and congrats.  The Lord is the same.  Allow Him to lift you up with his love and his joy in your actions rather than cause Him to teach you what you already know.  

At the same time, my companion read.... I forget where, but it was about the prophet doing just the opposite of Jacob.  He beamed with joy that the people lived the laws of God and Showed their love and faith in every aspect of their lives.  General Conference is coming up.  The Prophet and the Apostles will be speaking to both the righteous and the wicked of the whole earth.  Be one that is lifted up instead of one that is broken into humility.  There is an EFY song that says, "My God loves broken things".  This is true.  He loves us to be humble and to turn to Him with all that we are so He can fix us and make us better.  But He loves more when we come to him in joy because we did not need to be broken, but because we love him so much that we do all we can to be just like Him.  We can´t be perfect, but we CAN be righteous.

Having already put my funny into this letter and not being able to get over myself because of it for the moment,

Elder Heath

BUSY

This was a good week. We have been VERY hard at work. We have more contacts than I care to add up right now, we have references golor and 3 dates for baptism. WOOT!!! although we do have a small problem with 2 of them. Erika and Memo are a great couple and they love the gospel. She has 2 kids and is married to another guy but they are separated. Culture is very different here in Mexico. Divorce is just too much hassle. Maybe it´s like that in the States but I don´t know about it. Anyway, She has to divorce her husband and marry Memo in 3 weeks. I think they can do it. The third is Alana who is the 9 year old niña that I spoke about in another letter. Problems came up with us coordinating and getting things done so she now has a date for the 3 of April. That´s right. General Conference.

I AM SO EXCITED FOR GENERAL CONFERENCE!!!! We can get it in English here. Mwahaha!!! My comp said last night that he deffinitely feels a difference when he hears the Prophet or any of the authorities in their voice rather than with the Spanish translator. I thought that was way cool. Haha.

As far as my language goes, it´s going GREAT!!!!  I´m still a bit on the slow side of understanding but I can actually hold a conversation with people.  It´s easiest with my companion since he knows my language limits but I can still hold my own fairly well.  I LOVE IT!!!   This will probably surprise you but it IS true.... I don´t talk much anymore.  I can. I just don’t find a need to.   E. Montero talks FAR more than I do. Most of what he says is, "Yo tambien" "¿En verdad?" "Si, claro." which translates to "Me too" "Really?" "Yeah, of course."   This language rocks.  Just sayin.  I can´t wait to be fluent for the rest of my life. WOO HOO!!!!

Sadly, I don´t have time to say anything else because I need to write Presidente Rex and then shoot off to an appointment so I will end with this. Look in the Bible dictionary for Repentance and really go through each sentence and apply it to your life. It´s so great! I gave a talk on that ayer. 15 min of Spanish. WOOT!!!

You have just enjoyed a short ride in the mind of Elder Heath. You will now lose interest in 3... 2... 1....

EW......What a week.

Hahaha!!! Nice try at translating. Nope! It means "I am exciteda for this change." Or rather literally, "I have a lot of excitement for this change." But "animo" just doesnt exactly translate to english at all. It is simply a spanish word.

Well I can honestly say that I hope to NEVER miss you more than I did this week. I was SOOOOOO sick!! I still AM!!!!! 6 DAYS NOW!!!!!! I´ll ago into that a bit more in my letter. Love you mom!!!

This is going to be short for 3 reasons. 1. I don’t have much time left after personal letters. 2. There isn´t much to say about this week. 3. I am still sick and need to rest. So with those three things in mind, let’s do this.....

Note: The followings is representation of our emotions on each day. E. Montero did not actually get after me any way. That part is simply for comic relief. Enjoy.... Because I sure didn´t.

Monday:

E. Heath: "WOOHOO!!!! Life sure is grand isn´t it companion?"

E. Montero: "It sure is companion! Lets be the best missionaries EVER!!!"

E. Heath: "OK! We can do it!!"

Tuesday:

E. Heath: "Lets work!!!!"

E. Montero: "Hey you spoke first yesterday! And that’s what I was going to say! But that´s ok since you                     are just such a swell guy.  Let´s work!"´

Wednesday:

E. Heath: "Companion..... I don't feel so good and seem to have the Nile river flowing down my spine and

                leaving my body and dangerously close intervals."

E. Montero: "Are you going to speak first EVERY DAY!?!?.......... So what ails you my awesome                

                    companion?"

E. Heath: "I´m not sure companion. This smells like..... A MYSTERY!!!" (que Scooby Doo theme)

Thursday:

E. Montero: "How ya feeling there companion? HA!!! I SPOKE FIRST!!! WHAT NOW!?!?!"

E. Heath: "Uuuuuuugh......"

Friday:

E. Montero: "So how you feeling?"

Elder Heath: "UUUUUUGH"

Saturday:

E. Heath: "OH MY GOSH WHY AM I STILL ALIVE!?!?!?!?! AAAAHHHHGGGG!!!!!"

E. Montero: "..... I can fix that....."

Sunday and Monday were bearable. I feel a LOT better. But it’s still going. I´ll get the tests back from the clinic soon. I´ll keep you posted. Love you all!!!

Elder Heath

CHANGE!!!!

This past week was very... lax. Elder García was not very interested in doing much work with such a limited amount of time left on his mission. We spent saturday in Cholula which is the area that he was in before here. Which by the way our area is Loreto in the zone Oriente. Just an FYI.  Anyway... That area is way cool and that is where the picture that is the background for this blog came from. There are some FANTASTIC people there!!! We went there because there is a girl of 9 yrs that wanted Elder García to baptize her. That was fun. I got this one girl´s number while I was there. She wrote it on my hand. SHE IS SO CUTE!!!! And I got a couple pictures of her. Of course she is 7yrs old and she pretty much likes any Elder that is near Elder García..... But yeah. I like telling that story like that. It´s fun to to see people in surprise that I would possibly get a girl´s number on my mission. Hahaha. Sorry if any of you think it´s inappropriate. You can write me and tell me so if that´s the case....... :) Hahaha.

The rest of the week was eating with the secretaries and Elder García got 600 peso shoes from Capa del Ozono which actually has some really nice shoes. But mine are better because they are missionary shoes. So yeah! By the way gringas are now my absolute favorite food in the world. But this week should be a LOT better. I got a new comp!!!! Elder Montero. He is pretty dern great so far and he loves Enya. He is now my favorite comp of this change. (That was a bad joke but just so you get it... He is my ONLY comp of this change.....) He is much more gungho about the work so I am excited to see the changes in the area and in me. TANGO ANIMO PARA ESTE CAMBIO!!!!!

So for the spiritual thought that I´d like to share is about studying the scriptures. Too many people worry about how many times they have read the Book of Mormon at this point in their lives. My answer to sooth your worries? IT DOESN´T MATTER!!!!! You can draw a circle as fast as you want but that doesn´t mean that it will be as round as it could be if you took your time. The scriptures aren´t a race. In my study, there are times that I have only read 10 verses in a hour. No it´s not because the scripture was in Spanish and it took me that long to understand them. It´s because I took the rest of the time to actually ponder the words of those scriptures. I wrote down all my thoughts in my study journal (which I would advise ALL people to have) and I looked for the application of those scriptures in my life and in the lives of people around me. The invitation in the introduction to the Book of Mormon is to "Ponder in your heart" and pray to receive an answer if those things are true. How can you know something is true if you don´t know what it contains. If you run through an art gallery as fast as you can only catching glimpses of the art and then you are asked afterward if the art was pretty, what can you say? "Well I´m not really sure but it sure did blur into some interesting colors."....... No. Take your time. Find the purpose of each scripture in YOUR life and in your familys life. All things of the Lord are eternal, so don´t worry about running aout of time to read them.

I love you all and I thank you for the support!!! Find joy in all aspects of life and you will find it difficult to frown.

From the ever curious mind of Elder Heath, Peace out.

Life: Joy and Sorrow

Braulio´s family is in another area so I don´t know what happened to them. Carlos didn´t answer when my comp called him ONCE and has been deemed "not interested in the gospel". I will have to re-contact him when Elder García leaves.

We have a couple kids that we are teaching and I will start with my favorite. Her name is Alana and she has a little stuffed duck that she calls "Patito". This is because "pato" is duck and adding "-ito/-ita" to anything makes it small of enduring. Just like "cute" in english. Anyway... She is 9 and loves to mess with me using her Patito. Unfortunately for her... she doesn´t understand the fact that I and am in fact messing with HER!   MWAHAHA!!! She is supposed to baptized this sunday but we will have to see how that goes since she wasn´t there yesterday. When she is baptized, and she WILL be baptized, Elder García says that she will probably ask me to baptize her since her dad is not a member. I agree with him. She is awesome and she just straight up loves me. Kids rock.

The other two are boys. Angel and Rodrigoyan. That last one has the coolest name I have ever heard. Rodrigoyan..... yeah.  That´s awesome. He is 8 and his family is somewhat inactive and just needs the "ok" by missionaries. We will probably take care of that this week.

The third kid is Angel as I said before and he is an interesting case. He is 9 and living with his tios(Aunt and Uncle). His parents live in Chahuahua I believe and are very catholic. His tios are not members but love the church and want him baptized. They are trying to convince his parents but since he is living with his tios we only need their consent. We can only teach on saturdays and that means that the going is slow. I just hope his parents don’t come down to jump in the way.

We are also teaching a couple that live with a member that gives us lots of references. Erica and Memo(which is short for something that I can´t comprehend) are great and, I think, golden. They love our lessons, they have read and prayed and are still asking for more. We have dates for them on the 21st. I only hope they are married. (People rarely wear wedding rings here and that makes it VERY difficult to tell because they still consider themselves "married")

We are looking for our old investigator Gabriel and that is proving somewhat difficult and I don´t understand why. Elder García has strange ways of doing things sometimes.

So now to what I really want to say to you all. There is an elder that is still in the MTC that always came to me with problems with the gospel or the language.  I wish I could train him because he is AWESOME!!! He will be coming down here in a week granted his visa goes smoothly and I wanted to share with him some things that I have realized while being here. And here is what I wrote:

I am very excited for yall to come down here!!! But be warned, The field is NOT what I expected it to be. It may be the hardest time of your life. There will be terrible temptations from all sides including your trainer and leaders. DO NOT FALL TO TEMPTATION!!!!!  Keep those small commandments and great blessings will come. Many Elders here do NOT wake up on time or study. Make a commitment NOW to do so. Write it down. Keep it in your scriptures AND in your white handbook. Be an example whether you are given the title or not. It is vital for success and feeling the Spirit. I will probably have more to say next week but for now please do these things and share is with other elders.  It´s hard out here.  But faith is an action and a lifestyle.  Through faith all things are possible.

I have been realizing more and more how much a mission is like the rest of my life. I thought the other day that my assigned mission of service is now my home. and how everything I do either improves or messes up my home. The people here are my family and my children. "Invite the Spirit into your home everyday and it will abound in joy and peace. Strengthen the gospel in your home and family with everything you have and you will never die." There is a phrase that missionaries use for elders that are going home soon. I have been told many times that I will "Kill my companion" and he is "Dying" in a week. First I would like to say that we are told NOT to use that terminology as it is not in line with the Spirit. But it does serve a purpose for some missionaries and it fits in this thought. This may be different in other missions but here, "Dying" is used to describe a missionary that is tired of working and gets lazy for the last part of his mission. I have seen this many times in my companion and in stories of many other elders. It is a very sad case and a terrible way to end the mission. I promise now to NOT be that way. I will live in faith. I will be apart of the work of Lord always from here on out. My mission call in the city of Puebla is 2 years. My call to serve in the work of the Lord in all that I do is eternal. I will not "die".

Do NOT give into those things that you know to wrong. It is not worth. Be a leader whether you have the title or not simply because YOU know it´s right. Invite the Spirit into every day of your live and strengthen the foundation that the gospel has in your life with every thought in your mind and every action in your body. Do not die, but have eternal life. Write down your goals and all thoughts that are of the Lord. It has always been a commandment to write and record sacred things. If you write something down, you are showing faith in that thing by the action of taking the time and caring enough to do even a little thing. My father taught me that all my life and I ignored him everytime. I wish I hadn´t. Be better. Be obedient in all things. Be a loving child of a loving Heavenly Father. He will never lead you astray.

Elder Heath