Monday, June 22, 2015

[Note: items in blue brackets have been added for clarification]

My Leg is fine! It just hurt for a week but we're all good now, don’t worry. [We heard he had injured his leg] And the photos [from last week] were of a sunrise. I can't believe Sayre is home! That leaves Ryan Bos and... well then it's me! It's hot here, but not that hot! I got lucky in that Tuxpan gets hot but not as crazy hot as the next city over. It is very humid though! We sweat nonstop all day and it gets kinda gross but that’s ok. It's starting to rain a lot, these past couple of days it rains pretty hard in the morning. Still wondering if I'll get to see a hurricane!

Elder Rodriguez is the bomb! He's from Cuernavaca, if I didn’t tell you, and now has 4 weeks left in his mission. He's teaching me a lot and we're working like crazy. Had a cool and then a kind of saddening experience this week. We were struggling quite a bit to find new investigators, and have a goal as a zone that everyone baptized the 19th, and the people who would have sufficient assistences [attendances] to be baptized that day would have to assist the first time Sunday (yesterday). We fasted on Thursday, forced the members [of the church] to do a bunch of divisions [splits] with us, and ran all over the area contacting people and looking for opportunities to teach. The people who were willing to listen weren’t really willing to do anything and by the second appointment were already losing interest and denying invitations to read and go to church. We kept our confidence in the Lord and in the fast we had done in that we would find the family we had been praying for.

Saturday came along. The goal is that every day of the week you find 2 new investigators. In the morning we contacted several people who weren’t really interested, but then in the afternoon we talked to a woman who we had an appointment with, and while we were talking in the doorway, about ten people walked into her house, from age 9 to 25 more or less. I asked her if they were friends or family, she said they were family, and then invited us inside. THEY WERE ALL FAMILY, WHAT!!!!! Several of the nieces and nephews left before we started teaching but we taught the mother and her 3 sons and their cousin who lives in the area of some other missionaries, and they accepted all of the invitations. Then we went with the neighbors of some other members and they accepted everything as well. We got home with 6 new investigators and a ton of excitement for Sunday.

Unfortunately, the only investigators who went to church were 2 people who had gone previously, and are making progress for their baptism. I was really put out, even though this is basically what happens every week. It's hard now that I'm senior companion because I really feel responsible even more for how things go for us. I was asking myself all day, what more could I have done? I was working with the members, I was putting goals and then making plans, I was praying, we were united in our purpose as companions, we practiced in the morning, what was it that I hadn't done? What was I missing?

Then I read in the Book of Mormon this morning and got my answer. Oh, also I finished the Book of Mormon again! I'm also reading 6 pages a day in English though, outside of my study time, for a goal the mission president gave us, and in English I was reading in Jacob 5 and that's where I got my answer. The reference is Jacob 5:40-41 and 47. Forgive me, my internet is in Spanish and I don’t want to use my time changing it.

40 Y el fruto silvestre del último había sobrepujado a esa parte del árbol que produjo buen fruto, de tal modo que la rama se había marchitado y secado.

 41  Y aconteció que el Señor de la viña lloró, y dijo al siervo: ¿Qué más pude haber hecho por mi viña?

47 ¿Pero qué más pude yo haber hecho en mi viña? ¿He relajado mi mano de modo que no la he nutrido? No, la he nutrido y cavado alrededor; la he podado y abonado; y heextendido la mano casi todo el día, y el fin se acerca. Y me aflige que tenga que talar todos los árboles de mi viña, y echarlos en el fuego para que sean quemados. ¿Quién es el que ha corrompido mi viña?

[40 And the wild fruit of the last had overcome that part of the tree which brought forth good fruit, even that the branch had withered away and died.

 41 And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard wept, and said unto the servant: What could I have done more for my vineyard?

47 But what could I have done more in my vineyard? Have I slackened mine hand, that I have not nourished it? Nay, I have nourished it, and I have digged about it, and I have pruned it, and I have dunged it; and I have stretched forth mine hand almost all the day long, and the end draweth nigh. And it grieveth me that I should hew down all the trees of my vineyard, and cast them into the fire that they should be burned. Who is it that has corrupted my vineyard?]

Sometimes it isn't my fault. There's still room for improvement, but sometimes it just won't work out. It's not because I'm BAD. The same thing happens to the Lord. Anyway, that was my week! Here’s Elder Rodriguez!

Love you guys!