New Companion!

You ask about my health. I’ve had the flu.  So, as for my health, it’s still not so good. There were some problems in the District and I got really stressed out so I am now fighting to go to sleep. The oils help a bit, but they don´t stop the nightmares.  I´m really doing great other than that though.  We are working hard.

The story about the new comp?  There were emergency changes and I got a comp that I new back in Cuicatlan. He was in my district for 2 changes and now we are having a lot of fun and working like neither of us have worked before!   Appointments are falling left and right, but I feel good because we have at least one appointment every day.  Most of the time 3 or 4.  As for investigators, we got and lost 4 perfect investigators. They were in town with family for a time.  THEY WERE AWESOME!!! But they live outside the zone so there is nothing we can do about that.

The holidays went well. We spent Christmas Eve with some members and still made it home in time for curfew. That was after a day of working so it was nice to eat well and sleep better.  Christmas was spent with E. Rodriguez packing so that was a small bummer, although I was really excited to not have to deal with him and his issues that he had against me but refused to talk about it or even pray.  And I was super excited because they told me that E. Garmendia would be my new comp and he is really awesome.

City life is doing me good. It is just a lot easier to work and to contact and feel like I’m doing something. Also.... Bodega Aurrera (Mexican Walmart) is right behind the house. SCORE!!!

I am really glad that my family feels such joy at my service. There are only two powers, there are only two spirits: good and bad - creation and destruction. The only way to be sure that we are working with the riñght spirit is to be creating and to be building the Kingdom of God, whether it is in this life or the next.

I have to admit that I’ve been feeling a lil homesick, but my awesome comp is helping me by bringing a positive spirit back to the mission. I miss you all, but I know this is needed for all of us and for the salvation of souls. Till next week!!!

Elder Heath

No Idea

I had "No Idea" that we would have changes yesterday until we were eating dinner on Saturday and the District Leader called.  I had "No Idea" that my new companion would be Elder Rodriguez until President Reeves announced it over the pulpit before a Christmas devotional.  I had "No Idea" that I would become District Leader in the Zone Tlaxcala, town of San Martin, area of Lindavista (NW of Puebla).  I had "No Idea" where the house was or how to get to the area yesterday because Elder Rodriguez and I are both new to the area.  I had "No Idea" where our appointments were for today until I spent 1 hr 30 min searching the map of the area. I had “No Idea” how much I missed the city till I got to Puebla. I have "No Idea" how this change will go, but I DO know that this is a great opportunity and I plan to take it with everything I’ve got. 

We got up this morning, hoping that we could get hot water going.  It is very cold here at this time of the year. The shower doesn’t run hot water, so we got the water straight from the boiler and into a bucket. A cup then served as our stuttering shower head.  I then started preparing the first district meeting that I will be in charge of and I am kinda nervous. We had our studies and all that jazz, and we left the house at 10:00 to look for the Bishop and the Presidenta of the Relief Society. 

Sister Villegas (Presidenta) is really great and has a meteor that fell in front of her house. I’ll sent a picture later.

We then went to the Bishop’s house and he cordially welcomed us to the area.  He is big on missionary work and let us know that we have lots to do inside and outside the ward. He also said that the members would make sure that we ate well..... WOOHOO!!!

We then started the big adventure of crossing town and looking for our first appointment, Obdilon. We didn’t find him. His street apparently has 3 houses that have the same number as his address, but we still didn’t find the right house. Unfortunately, we don’t have records of the investigators so we have nothing to go off except his name and his address that we couldn’t find.

We did some contacting on the way to our food appointment, but people weren’t very receptive because the market is here Mondays and Tuesdays and it is the biggest Flea market south of the border.  I’m excited to check that out next week!  The food was amazing. We got there and the Sister had ordered food from nearby. Before the food got there, the Sister’s son walks in and demands that they order pizza for us. We ate both. We ate well. :)

Another two appointments and no one was home so here we are and there goes my time. I love you all and I hope that you all have a Merry Christmas!!!! :D

With numb fingers,

Elder Heath

Think about it

So this week went slow. Leticia once again has pushed her baptism back. Her current illness is keeping her down at the moment. We will just keep visiting her.

We weren’t able to go visit Guillermo because we had interviews with the Mission President Saturday night, but we left a message for him and the chapter of 2 Nephi 33. We will be passing by with him this week.

I have a song in my music from EFY but, I don’t have it’s name nor the year that it came out.  It is probably my favorite song and I am listening to it right now.

"Everybody used to tell me that big boys don`t cry, but I`ve been around enough to know that that was the lie that held back the tears in the eyes of a thousand Prodigal Sons...."    I love these lyrics.

Are we not all the CHILDREN of God?  We are not His adults.  The kingdom of God is full of those that will be as little children and humble themselves before the Father to do His will.  Also those that will humble themselves to depths of their sorrow, to kneel at the feet of the Savior to seek His everlasting atonement.

President Reeves (my current mission president) wrote to us this week and said,  "If you need to repent... repent."  How simple.  Do it. There is no half way.  There is no next time after true repentance.  There is change, growth, relief, blessings and happiness.  Do it. Repent.  Move forward because you know that there is nothing behind.  

Another part of that song, "Is Your love stronger than my foolish pride?"  Well yes, yes it is.  His love is stronger, so don’t try to win.  Be as a child.  Cry if needed, just return to the fold.  That is all that matters.

I love you all and I hope that you can take these words to heart.  This is not what I had thought about saying, but it’s what hit my fingers when I started typing.  Enjoy the week!

Elder Heath

"He who once was lost..."

The baptism for Leticia has to be postponed for a week because she had some health issues.  She is still very excited and showed incredible trust in us by explaining the reason why she lives alone with 2 kids and doesn´t have many friends.  That is a story that she has not felt secure enough to share even with her mother.  It was an incredible time talking to her and feeling her trust and confidence that we are the Lord´s servants on His errand.  She is an incredible woman with amazing faith.  She is praying, reading on her own and even sharing with her friends.  She is just that kind of disciple of Christ.

Well here is the reason for the headline of this blog..... WE FOUND GUILLERMO!!!  I haven´t spoken about him for awhile because we couldn´t find him.  Last night we were trying to think about what we would do for the next 30 min before we had to call the District Leader and we just thought about visiting him.  We passed, we knocked and he answered with a big grin!  He has left that house because his wife went back to their pueblo and he is living with his brothers and cousins.  He is very excited that we found him again and we have an appointment to teach this week!  He hasn´t read the Book of Mormon, but he wants to know more.  He told us he would read the chapter that we gave him the last time we were there for this next appointment so things should start progressing with him.  I AM VERY EXCITED!!!!

Well that´s the time I have today!!!  I love you all and I hope that you are able to enjoy life even if it doesn´t seem like paradise!  That comes later. :)

Elder Heath

JUST DO IT!

So here is the update! We have a new investigator! Her name is Leticia and she has two sons. One is 4 and the other is 9. She came to church on Sunday and LOVED it. She is very excited to be baptized.  We have a goal with her to be baptized on the 11th of December!  

We met her through a Sister that is not currently active who came to church as well to be with her friend.  This sister expressed deep sorrow that she had left the church for so much time. She has made a goal to be a better example of what a disciple of Christ should be and to help her friend understand what happiness in the Gospel of Jesus Christ is. We have another appointment with her tomorrow and I can’t wait to hear how her prayers and her reading have been!  She is so ready to move ahead in the example of Jesus and to know Him better.

Her family is VERY Catholic and they have vowed to reject her as blood if she continues relations with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints. Her response? "I feel peace and happiness every time I learn something new about this religion and I will follow that which brings me closer to my Savior. I won’t be leaving my family. I will become closer to my God."  What power!  If you could hear it from her very lips, you would just sit there with either a grin (like me), or an open mouth (like Elder Herrera). Both of these women are coming to understand better the atonement of Christ and are bettering their lives through that great sacrifice.

Well, I have officially past the one year mark and am now counting DOWN hill. This year will go fast if I don’t focus on the day that it ends, but instead that I end strong. I recently saw a clip of the movie Confronting the Giants where the coach blind folds a very influential player and has him do a difficult exercise until he simply can’t anymore. He made it all the way to the other 100 yard line. I just have to approach my mission like that.  "Hey Heath! When do you go home?"   "When I´ve done all that I can!"  I just got to put that work into my eyes in order to work with pure faith and the Spirit in my ear saying, "Yes you can. It hurts, I know, but you just have a little bit more. Give it your all!"  I won’t lie.  I’m thinking a little bit more about home, but I just have to remind myself each time of that goal that I made a little while ago - "If I can live the laws of the Celestial Kingdom here, I can live them after this life." 

I really hope that this short message has help some of you. That is always my goal. I love sharing this gospel and if I can do it for the rest of my life, I will.  I will put my all into this work because there is nothing greater.  I love you all and I hope that you will all find ways to share your testimony this week.  Maybe with words or maybe with actions, but the point comes down to this, JUST DO IT.

Elder Heath, signing out.