Monday, April 11, 2016

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Hey guys!!!

Sorry I cant get any pictures to you, for some reason this computer can't detect my camera. I think it's too new. My new companion is names Elder Cáceres. He's from Peru, and honestly, looks kind of like you dad, just that he's 23 and from Peru. He got baptized at 14 but he was inactive until last year. He´s kind of different but a good guy, we get along pretty well.

I loved the conference, and last Sunday was super crazy!  We downloaded some talks and brought them to the house of prayer in Vega and put them up at 7 pm. 38 people came. 19 of them weren't members!!! 

This Sunday, unfortunately, not many of them got to church. We did have a baptism though, an older gentleman named Angel. We have another young man who is going to get baptized next Sunday, if all goes well.

What I've really felt that I´m starting to learn is humility. I know that all of this has very little to do with the work I'm doing, and everything to do with the Lord. I'm grateful that I have the chance to be here in Vega and help the work go forward. I'm doing by best to not worry too much about my 4 month deadline.

Glad to know things are going well at work. That poor sister! [serving in your Tucson ward] 8 months in one area!! That´s like half of her mission! I guess the Lord really wants her to learn something or meet someone there.

Anyway, Love you guys, and hope things start calming down over there!

Elder Wadman

2 Weeks in and a Baby!

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Hey Guys!

I'm writing today instead of Monday because the Assistants [to the Mission President] called me today and told me I'm headed back to Xalapa on Monday to pick up a new missionary to train here in Vega!!! Now that I've been in my area for a grand total of 19 days or something like that...

Anyway I'm excited to make the most of it! But it means my P-day [preparation-day] is today, between [sessions of church general] conference, while I'm here in a different city. So we'll see when on earth I manage to get my clothes washed and buy food.

I didn't really know this was going to happen, so I'm not ready and armed with pictures, but I'll try and give you guys a rundown of the week.

This week I only got to work 2 and a half days in my area. Sunday we were occupied with the details of bringing 40 people to the beach and baptizing a bunch of them, and eating at 7 pm for the first meal of the day. Monday we worked from 6 to 9 like normal, and then Tuesday we went to Martinez de la Torre so I could teach my district class. From there I went to the area of some of the missionaries in my district to do their baptismal interviews for a family. They live between Martinez and Vega. The people weren't in their house for the first time ever, so I ended up staying with [the missionaries from that area] that day. I went to work with one of them and sent my companion with the other to give them a hand.  I did the interviews on Wednesday morning. We got to Vega to take a quick shower and work from Wednesday afternoon until Friday when we came BACK to Martinez to go to [general] conference today in the morning. Then about four hours ago they informed me that Monday I need to be in Xalapa to pick up my new companion. So.. it´s been kind of hard getting a good amount of traction in my area. 

I'm listening to general conference with 2 questions in mind, because honestly with 20 months in the mission, for whatever reason it's not as easy as it was before to give EVERYTHING, all day, all the time, and I'm remembering last time I trained and the struggles we had to find success when I know that I really did give everything. My first question is how I can learn to serve the Lord with all of my heart, might, mind, and strength, and the second is one that the Assistants asked me to write down, how can I be a better trainer for my new companion? 

Any thoughts you guys have are also welcome. (That goes for the people that read the blog too!)

I'm excited and humbled by the work the Lord has left me. Vega is a place that is ready for the gospel. Before I came people were flocking to the church. I hope I can live worthy to keep up the good fight!

I love you guys and I'm excited to hear from you on Monday the 11th, when I've got a chance to read my email again!

Lots of Love,

Elder Wadman

Monday, March 28, 2016

Hola Familia!

Its been a great week! My rash is gone, so you can stop asking about it and worrying!

I failed to mention that two weeks ago, my first day in my new area, President Greer called me in the morning. He thanked me for the organization and dedication I had put forth in the offices. It was just a little detail, but I really felt like I had fulfilled a great goal that I had put for myself to make a mark in the offices and fix some of the problems. It means a lot when the Presidente of 160 missionaries, in charge of all the missionary efforts in 6 stakes takes the time to give you a call and thank you.

I also told President that I didn't want to leave this area before it becomes a ward. He promised me he would only pull me out if the Lord needed to put me in a leadership position. I guess now I will just hope that someone else can go be a zone leader so I can stick around here till they send me home!

So this is what happened on Sunday!!

Tavo, me, Elder Paredes, Lupe, Elder Howell (The missionary who got sick), Christina, Edith, Enrique, Lorena, Eva, Y Faustino. I didn't think things through, because to be a witness I had to get in the water too.. so after this I got soaked...

 One daughter couldn't come, so she is going to get baptized later and confirmed with the family the week after general conference. Did I mention that both of these couples just got married on Tuesday???

THE WEDDING!!! The second from the left is Tania, the other daughter who is going to get baptized. Also Lupe, the first guy on the left, and Lorena, the third from the left, are going to get married in August! (And sealed in April? Hoping so!)

It was kind of wavy... haha we got soaked even before the baptisms.

Monday, March 21, 2016

Saludos desde Vega de Alatorre!

I'm in my new rancho!!!

I'll have to take some pictures of everything, I've just been trying to get my bearings. We spent 3 days with my zone leader here in Vega because he had to do 10 Baptismal Interviews! We've got two families who are getting ready to get baptized on the 27th. Vega is super tiny. Actually this week, my first Sunday, it officially became a branch of the church and the Branch President got set apart. Before it was the extension of another branch. About a year ago, there were 6 or 7 members, but things have started to take off. This week 15 members went to church and we had 8 investigators who attended as well. I'll have to send you some pictures of our little two room house of prayer!

The second picture is the tailless cat that decided to attend church with us this Sunday!

The church is so new in Vega that everybody is pretty much OK with listening to us! The only hard part is getting them to really commit to going to church and looking more for God in their lives. 

Also its kind of rough because going to district class and back to my area is 100 pesos.

Oh also, my companion has a month in the mission, so I'm training and I'm the District leader. It´s a handful, but I'm super excited!

Oh and the peacock is my Ward mission leaders. He has like 20 peacocks on his ranch. So that's cool..

The Peacock Ranch

Tailless cat at church

Monday, March 14, 2016

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Here's Elder Grundvig, Elder Aguirre, and me with some pies we made with a sister and her inactive son! He´s having some problems with depression because he doesn't have anything to do all day but work on his thesis, so we got him to make pineapple and apple pies with us and then took him to make some visits. He´s a cool guy, and gave me some tips for when I go to school.

Hey Guys!

We had a good week this week, we found lots of people with Alejandra, she's great for visiting with single moms!! They didn't make it to church, but it was a good week because they´re definitely interested and just had some health problems.

President Greer told me he is probably going to change me tomorrow and send me to a place called Vega de la Atorre/ Vega de la Torre [Vega de Alatorre is a municipality located in the central zone in the State of Veracruz, about 60 km from the state capital, Xalapa]. Its a smaller branch that meets in a house of prayer, and tons of people are accepting the gospel! The missionary who was there is going to have some sort of surgery and won't be able to work for two or three weeks.  His companion has 4 weeks in the field, so I may be there by tomorrow night!

I'm going to miss this ward a ton! But I also know that there are a lot of things I learned here and a lot of things that I need to be in another place to be able to learn. I´m thinking/hoping that the area they send me to will be my last area, and I can really help the branch progress.

Monday, March 7. 2016

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HI GUYS!!!

This week we had stake conference so we aren't going to fast until next week, but it was pretty cool! A [member of the quorum of] seventy came to visit Xalapa, and he stopped by and visited my convert, Alejandra, Saturday morning. They were very impressed with how excited she was and that she was already sharing the gospel with her friends. The Seventy told her that she would bring hundreds of people into the church. In fact we've already taught about 5 people with her! we´re going to teach her dad in about an hour, and her brother is the father of the boy Aquiles that we baptized like 4 weeks ago, and he´s decided to get all the paperwork for his marriage done and then start going to church!

The sad part is that I won´t be around to see most of it...

My replacement gets here tomorrow. Ill be here for a few weeks to show him the ropes, and then its on to new territory... Sad moments!

Xalapa Conference de Zona

Monday, February 29, 2016

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Hey!!

In other news, I talked to the President's Wife, and am now taking some medication [for a rash]. Don't know if it is really curing me but at least the itch is a lot less so that's nice. It's so exciting to see the [Tucson] temple going up!

My convert in Alamo and his wife wanted me to go to the temple with them because they are getting sealed on the 12th of March, but since they live on the north end of the mission, they go to the temple that is in Tampico, and I only have permission to leave the mission to go to the temple with my converts if I can get there in 2 hours, which would only be in the temple in Veracruz since I'm here in Xalapa. So... looks like I won´t be able to go, and I'm pretty super bummed about it. Anyway, outside of that, Saturday the Ward here celebrated it´s birthday too! Barrio Natura just turned one! There was a big celebration and I got some investigators to go, so we got a chance to eat some food. It made me super happy that I got phone calls all day from missionaries and some of my converts wishing me a happy birthday. I think a heck of a lot more people know about it here than they did back home!

The office Senior couple bought me a new leather bag and are going to take us out to eat today! Yay!!

This week was a lot of fun, and we have been working a lot on talking to EVERYONE! A new convert's boyfriend finally started coming to church! We invite him pretty much every day when we stop by her little candy stand in front of one of the major colonies we work in, and he went to the ward activity and to church. He´s a christian, but a lot of churches have been pretty bad with him, they baptized him while he was drunk, stuff like that.

Love you guys and hope everything stays calm there in Tucson!

Elder Wadman