Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2014 12:02:38 -0600
Buenos dias familia!
This week has flown by! Tuesday evening we had a GIANT thunderstorm and it rained so much that the deep gutters here were full and there was probably about an inch of standing water on some the sidewalks and roads. I´m so glad I brought my umbrella!
Elder Hamilton and I had our last lesson with "Alejandro" on Thursday, and we committed him to baptism. Guess what!? He is now one of our teachers, Hermano (brother) Sanchez. He is so funny! He always slides across the tile floors like he is skating, and he writes in "Spanglish" (Spanish and English combined) a lot. For example, he will write on the board "estudian from PMG"! Now, both he and Hermano Aguiñiga are our investigators. We have been getting better at being able to teach from our hearts rather than reading off a script. My knowledge of the gospel vocabulary has improved dramatically! Also, I am getting better at praying in Spanish.
Last week, I had the opportunity to give a Priesthood blessing to one of the sisters in my district who was feeling sick. It was an awesome experience! A lot of people have been getting sick here in the past few days, but luckily, I´m perfectly healthy!
Sunday was amazing. We watched a devotional by Elder Bednar about how we need to look outward as Christ did, rather than being selfish and looking inward. He talked about how even after Christ had gone through the Atonement, he was worried about something as simple as healing the guard´s ear, after Peter had cut it off. Also, as he was being crucified, rather than feeling hatred for the people, he asked Heavenly Father to forgive them. Elder Bednar compared the natural man to the Cookie Monster- "I want cookie! Give me cookie now!" It was SO funny! He also said something to the effect of "When you go looking for yourself, you won¨t find it. But when you lose yourself in the work of the Lord, you will find yourself without looking for it." I love that. Later we watched "The Mountain of the Lord", which is awesome because that´s my mission! By the way, if you look at 2 Nephi (or Nefi :) 12:2, which talks about how the house of the Lord will be established in the top of the mountains, start with the u in "mountains" and you will find the word Utah vertically! I don´t know if that is a coincidence or not, but it is so cool!
So hopefully next week, we will go to the temple visitor´s center. We can´t go in the temple, because they are fixing it. Apparently, the ground underneath it is sinking. But I´m still excited to get out of this fortress and see Mexico City, I´m not kidding when I call it a fortress. We are surrounded by a huge wall topped by barbed wire. Outside are the slums of the city, and inside it is lush and well manicured. I found out this week that people here like to honk their horns a lot. We are constantly hearing horns. Also, this week is the commemoration of the Mexican revolution, so we have been hearing a lot of fireworks going off.
Each day, we have an hour for Gym time. This week, we have been playing fuzball and ping pong. Elder Brown (not my companion, but one of my roommates) have gotten into a heated fuzball competition with some other elders. We are playing again in a few hours, so wish us luck:) Elder Brown and I also went on a couple runs this week. It is really hard because I´m not completely in shape, and we are at about 7300 feet above sea level. I guess I haven´t completely acclimated yet.
I finally found another elder going to Salt Lake! We will be flying out together. Also, I think there are a few sisters going, but I think they are leaving a week or two before me.
Well, I think that´s all from me this week. I miss you all, and I hope things are going well. Can you send some pictures? I want to see all of your beautiful faces! I have enjoyed the CCM (MTC) so much, but I´m about ready to get out into the field. I know that I am exactly where I´m supposed to be, and that I was called by a prophet of God. I know that the message I am learning is true, and that it will bring happiness to anyone who willingly receives it. One more thing from Elder Bednar. Whenever he travels, he asks converts about their experience with the missionaries. They always say that it was awkward, and the missionaries couldn´t speak the language, and their message was just weird. So Elder Bednar asks them "So why did you keep inviting them?" And their response is universally "because I felt the Spirit when they were teaching". I know that I don´t need to know the language perfectly to be a good missionary, because the Holy Ghost is the real teacher, and as long as I try my best, He will do the rest. That really comforts me. I hope you all have a great week!
Sincerely,
Elder Weller
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