Feliz navidad!

Hey guys! Feliz Navidad! 

Man what a week! Its been awesome! We´ve been working hard even with the holidays coming up, we still got alot of the polite rejections from caring people (not) but we still taught a lot and have had a lot more investigators because of this season! 

I had AMAZING experiences this past week, experiences where Ive only seen on movies, and they actually happened! Ok so heres how it went down : We are doing our normal ALB right, knocking and talking. And one day I told my comp, we´ve knocked these houses before, but lets do them again. So we go, and the last house that we find are an inactive family. She said we can come back another day, so we did. She recieved us and everything and said that she wants us to teach her daughters so they can get baptized. and shes been wanting to return to church, and shes been waiting for a reply from her prayers. And this specific day she prayed again, thats when we knocked the first time. She almost started crying when she told us this story. That was incredible. Now they are doing everything they can to return :) 

ok, story number Dos: 

Since we are opening the area in MiraFlores, we are meeting some members. And we met Noel, who just returned from his mission from London! (his english accent is the coolest thing ever!) and one of the first things he told us is that he wants to visit his little borther and teach him a little bit more about the church and he told us to return this certain day because he would be home. So this day comes and we had a bunch of appointments all around the same time (oops) and we had to choose which ones to postpone and which to visit now. I had a hunch to visit Eddie, his borther, and this time. So we stop by and he was super happy to see us! He told us that the hermanas used to visit and teach him but the stopped for a long time now. And that on his way home he was strolling around and he was meditating, and the church kept popping into his head, he told us that he knew it was true and that was the path he needed to take. But of course this isnt easy, so he was pondering what the next step should be. Then he went home, after a while, we show up. He told us this story and said we were an answer to his prayers! This is the sign he needed! And remember, we almost postponed this visit. And hes doing everthing he can to prepare for baptism, we have a date for next saturday! :)  MY FIRST BAPTISM :)

Next story:

 We were contacting, and we were rejexted.. alottt. But we kept going. Long story short, we found this girl, Bolep. The first time we met her we talked to her casually. She told us that she was catholic and stuff but my comp asked, Why? then Are you there because of family tradition, or have you prayed and know that is the place the Lord wants you to be? So we left her with that, and she said we can come back some day that we are around. Next time we went she recieved us and everything, we taught the Restauracion, and she liked it. I asked her how she feels, because we totally felt the Spirit there with us, and then she told us her story. After we left the first time we contacted her she was really questioning what we asked her, and she actually prayed about it. And she asked for guidance to see where she should be. We stopped by like a week later, we totally forgot abvout her lol, and that day she said a certain prayer for guidance on what she should different this year, she prayed about this because this certain day was her birthday! She said that she knew this was her sign, and that something about what we are talking about really stands out to her. She feels like this is what the Lord wants her to do, but of course we told her to pray again about to confirm. But man what an experience! 

These experiences all started just because I had a hunch about something. Something inside said Go there. or Knock this street. I learned alot this week, mostly about relying on the guidance of the Holy Ghost. I know that Lord is watching over us and is guiding us to the prepared people. 

Well tomorrow I talk to the family for Christmas! I cant wait! :)

Our Ward Building!

 Check out the ward building here!! is HUGE 3 stories!!! and only ONE ward meet here!! But they want to split it soon, make it two wards and a branch somewhere else.

Feliz Navidad from my house to yours!!

our home!!!  love it!   we are ready for Christmas  :)

Our Christmas decorations!!!

 

 Check out our Christmas decorations in our house!!! Were determined to have the best Christmas ever!!!!                
And a picture before our Christmas Ward party!! Our investigators loved it!,,,,

Being a great missionary, takes great responsibility.

Oh man what a week! The day after I wrote last week was changes. I didnt think we would get changed since its only been 4 weeks with my comp in this area that we opened! (the next 2 changes are 8 weeks) But yeah, my comp Elder Westberg got changed!! Like whattt! Right when we were getting things rolling! I didnt want another companion because we were doing so well and we were really good companions and i didnt want to deal with someone difficult or who didnt wanna work. So we went to changes meeting and met our next comps. I got Elder Carter. He is soo cool!! Like you guys have no idea! If we went to Highschool together we would definately would have been best friends! We have so many common interests. Like Music! Thats all we talk about in our free time! Its all about that Zepellin, beatles, eagles, paul mccartney, elton john stuff!lol And he plays guitar too! We have so much fun! and we are both hard workers! But heres the thing... Our ward is HUGE! about 260 assistance every week. Our area used to be zone! There were 4 missionaries total last week. They took out the hermanas, so now theres only 2 missinaries. But wait theres more! Like i said, they took out my senior companion too. Now theres only one. Me. That new guy. Only has a month in and is still learning how to be a missionary, barley knows the area because we opened it a few weeks ago. Well I was stressed to the max! Also because since the hermanas werent here, thats a whole other colonia to learn! so we had to open that area too! But once we got situated, we went to work! I tried to be as patient as possible as my comp has to learn thi huge area and all of the 200+ members, and hes getting it down fast! So were working SUPER hard! But heres my favorite part, that i didnt realize until after a couple days, i took charge! Usually Elder Westberg was that guy in charge all of the time since he had more experience and stuff, but now that hes not here... well i had to. Its wierd because im like the Senior companion already!(And i only have barely over a month) Im usually leading all of the lessons and the ALBs and correlation meetings and phone calls! My comp doesnt care at all! He actually likes it better like that because his last comp didnt do anything! Im having so much fun! But its not easy at alllll in this situation. But theres something that Elder Westberg told me which i think is true, the Lord prepared me for this hard situation in my youth, and now its time to put it to use. I took on this challenge head on this week and already seeing results! I LOVE THIS PLACE SO MUCH! Mostly for one reason: The members. They Love us sooo much! They say that we are theyre favoirtes taht theyve had in a while! They are always inviting us over, and give us delicious food, and always give us rides everywhere!! and references! They love working with us too! I never want to leave here! at least im spending Christmas here! :)

I love my Mission!!!

 Hey guys!

Man i love this! I love being out on the mission so much! Sometimes I cant believe im actually here! Dont get me wrong, its not easy. But nothing that is worth it is easy right? Im learning so much here! I lovvve it!lol i love the culture here! the people are so awesome! the ward here is soooo nice! They are so humble even though they are super rich! like...wow. lol but they have gotten to like the new missionaries that opened up the area. we are getting a bunch of references now! Something i like about this culture is that they are all soccer fanatics! lol Like the other week Barcelona and Real Madrid played against each other and that day EVERYONE wore their jerseys! And we would be in a lesson and you can here from every direction when some team makes a goal! Everyone screams its funny! It takes away the spirit sometimes so that gets annoying... but its still funny. But the other day, Honduras and Mexico played! Oh no. Everyone that meets me automatically knows im Mexican and they all asked me that day who im going for lol of course I said Honduras! (cough cough...Mexico;) But yeah the people love mexico though, especially the food!  

Any way, the missionary work is going good! We fasted this week for missionary work, and sure enough, one of our investigators showed up for church and he loved it!! And we are working with like 5 other positive investigators, and especially  with Nelson! Hes still giving us a chance :) We walk around a lot all day and try to talk to everyone but its not easy finding people. Well it kind of is, they usally say Claro, si ustedes hablan de Dios esta bien! But theyre usually super catholic or evangleical. The hard part is finding the chosen people the Lord has prepared for us, but I know theyre out there! We've found some too :)  I love all of your prayers and emails! I am having a great time doing the Lords work because I know hes watching over us! Tomorrow is changes, I hope we dont get transfered anywhere!

Last month!!!!....

Hey guys! Sorry I wont be able to write so much on the blog this time. Instead of sending all of the pictures from the first day until now, and im replying to the individual emails. i LOVE hearing from you guys thank you so much! Im sorry that i cannot always reply but i read every single one and usually cry...lol, just kidding. I usually laugh! :) Everything is going well this week! Its been a little hard with these investigators but thats part of being a missionary, i still love it though! Like one time we found this guy hes 17 and his name is Daniel, and my trainer said he wanted me to handle this one, so i taugh him the lessons and everything you can feel that the spirit was there! After a couple days I gave him the baptismal invitation and he accepted! He said he felt an assurance in his prayers and he feels like this is what he needed to do. So i was super happy but then the next visit was kinda bad... We showed up and he was so upset because his father realized he wanted to be baptized and he freaked out and ripped up everything we gave him. The dad was a Buddhist and did not want us going anymore :/ things like that happen sometimes but i know that our heavenly father will work things out! Im getting used to the spanish! I know how to use Uested now! :) it was really hard for me at first! Thanksgiving was awesome! SO much food! Because theres a lot of enlgish speakers they celebrated Thanksgiving too! Enjoy the pictures! Talk to ya next week! :)

Que Cheque!!!!

Everyone says Cheque around here! Which means awesome, alright, or good. Oh! and Massiso! Thats how you know your cool! If you say, Eso es Massiso! haha! I´m still getting used to the culture down here but i love it! Also! Instead of pointing with your finger, people just point with their lips. Like theyre kissing the air, but theyre actually pointing...it was wierd the first few times! But yeah I am having a great time and this week has been more of a missionary week. Ok, weell first ill start with a little bit about tegucigalpa and the life here. I am not gonna lie, i got LUCKY! Lucky that i got to serve in tegucigalpa my first area, everyone usually goes to the south, and the south is HOT! Everyone talks about the south being the hottest place ever, and its very poorrr, and lots of mountains to walk up. (But if you ask any missonary that has been there, they say that it was their favorite and if they can go back, they would want to) But yeah, being in the city makes life not as bad as it coulddd be. Elder Westberg and I have one of the biggest areas in the mission. It used to be a ZONE! Meaning, its so big that there used to be smaller assigned areas for missionaries. But thats alright, we love it! So yeah, our area is by far the Richest! Of course we have some poor places, but the majority of it is rich! So the cars are usually really nice and the houses are huge! For example, we have two beautiful Porches in our ward! that says alot for Honduras. And the elder and I usually have to decide whether the houses are apartments or one house, and its usually only one house! ;) Everytime I am in a vehicle, I am scared! The traffic here is worst i have EVER seen! They go wayyy to fast, stop wayyy to suddenly, and there are no driving rules around here, i have seen about 3 traffic jams in the same intersection already! (Its always funny to see them try to figure out getting out of it!lol) I would say that about 75% of the vehicles here are all Taxis! Always honking at us (I dont wave anymore!lol) The weather here is amazing! (Not as great as Guatamala though, they have AMAZING weather) But here is good too. Its always cloudy, so theres always a nice breeze so its about 75 when we walk around, but its annoying because sometimes it will SUDDENLY rain! Like, out of nowhere! Sometimes I forget my umbrella and... well yeah ill just stop there. Because this city is rich, alottt of the youth speak english. The bilingual school is fairly cheap though so the majority of the youth in general all know english, which i gotta hand to Honduras is pretty good! The food is amazing! I like the words of my companion, ´If the food doesnt ave an excessive about of sugar than it has an excessive about of fat!´Which is soo true... I think im going to get fat lol The ultimate Honduran food is what is called Baleadas. Its like a taco with a flour tortilla with beans, eggs, cheese, and big slice of butter. Yeah...you can taste the butter, like alot. But its good! And Saturday Javier fed us Mondongo! Ok, its like a soup, with cow stomach, banana, and vegestables. Its not as good as menudo because it doesnt have as much spices but its still good! Try making it sometime ;) Yesterday Hermana Fields fed us Salpicon. I think it was by far my favorite! Its like machaca con rice but with lots of lemon in it. It was sooo good! Well thats enoguh about Tegucs for now. One of my favorite experiences was at a service project we did last week. So we´re still new at that time right? So we figured by helping the ward out in the service project we will build a good realtionship. So we go and theyre completely fixing one of the members really old beat up house. Some people are painting, rebuilding, or working outside. Well being the kind of guy that i am, cough cough, i decided to work outside! Hardworking man you know ;) So i asked the guys what can i do, and they decided that I can TRY taking out the weeds. I didnt know what they meant by Try, its not that hard right? Just use a hoe to take them out. Well when i asked where the tool was, they kinda smirked and handed me a Machete! I thought it was a joke, like they just wanted to be entertained!lol but no, thats what they use! Its kind of hard how to explain how they use a machete for that but yeah they do! And i got good at it fast and we built a good relationship after they laught at me trying my first couple times!haha but yeah this ward is AMAZING! By companion is pretty cool! He is also District leader so im learning alot about that position and what is expected of missionaries. Which is a great experience for a new guy like me! We get along very well because we both like to work hard, and get things done! So with that being said, yeah, we work ALOT! even until the last 5 minutes of the day! He brought his iPod which is loaded with christmas music so thats always entertaining. He also brought P90X so we do that every morning! Kind of exhausting...but its awesome! I miss my gym and weights though!!!!! He also has a bunch of John Bytheway talks, but he also has Hank Smith talks. Which Bytheway, im sorry to say, is better than John. Look up his talks ! theyre so good! (And mom, really listen to one of his talks called Real Life, youll cry at the end;) and one called somethnig about 5 temptations killers) But yeah my companion and I are always laughing and having a good time and we´re pretty good at talking with people! As a missionary I have learned alot! I have officially had my ups and downs. We ALB alot and we usually have a lot of success with it. But for a couple days this week, we got nothing. Literally. No new lessions, no investigators, cancelled appointments,etc. That investigator i talked about last week, Nelson, was doing reallly good, but that it fell. He was so close! He was saying multiple times that this chuch is true and he KNOWS its true. He was on his way to baptism! He even argued with his parents who live en los estados that he WILL go to our church this sunday whether they like it or not, and that hes old enough to make his choices. So that takes guts and having faith. But then he talked with his abuelo, who is a evanglical pastor, he told him sooo many lies and stuff about mormons that he messed with his mind so much that now he wont even look at at the bom because of a video he watched on youtube which is false. I was so sad! But after lots of explaing it was no use, the only thing we can do is bare our tresitmony. And we felt the spirit so strong that i know he felt it! I just hope he prays again. It was a little depressing for me because it was my first experience with that. But i have a great trainer. He kept telling me not to give up. And I think it was viernes where we got 5 new lessons in, 4 new investigators, 3 desafios, and it was a good day completely! I learned that sometimes we will have bad days, but at the end of every tunnel there is always light, and lots of blessings de nuestro padre celestial. There is a LOT of experiences like this but I dont have time to write...so stay tunes for next week :) Miss you guys! literally eveyone!!!!

Loving Tegucigalpa!!!!!

Hello everyone! I bet your all worried about me because i havent been able to write much the past couple weeks...but im finally in Tegucigalpa!! I`ll do my best to as descriptive as possible on whats been going on, but just know, i am having the best time of life!

     Well leaving the MTC was excited and kind of depressing. It was like one biggg family! I loved being with the other elders and hermanas so much, and all growing together. We had the most spiritual and funniest moments ever, even some were a little too ridiculous to write!lol We ended up leaving tuesday morning (3 in the morning) and from the Guatamala airport we went to the El Salvador! After a couple hours we finally ended out to Honduras (Home-duras;) Good thing that most of elders and hermanas that we were in my zone in the ccm were also going to the same mision so we still had a good time! You guys would have been so scared if you were riding this plane because it does a couple rounds around the city to slow down and get the right angle to land, but it flies SUPER close to the city, like CLOSE. We thought something was going wrong and we were gonna crash, but we didnt :) Once we got off the plane I was sooo happy that the airport was like the ones from guatamala or el salvador, it was just like the Phoenix airport! So far Honduras was looking good, It wasnt look run down and too ghetto looking (it still doesnt btw). Presend and Mrs. President Bowler met us there and they are so nice! They knew us all by name and where we came from, President has been to Wickenburg so we kept talking about that, but I told him its not much ;) Then we went to the stake center but ill get to that later.
     Ohh and btw, you guys have no idea what the struggle is like trying to decide what category I am down here, since I know both english and spanish, I am both Latino and Gringo, and the leaders keep making me choose for different activities. For example, the President of the MTC pulled me aside one time and looked me in the eye and said (jokingly) which one I was because we were going to do a sesson in the Guatamala temple and he had to enroll me in either the gringos or latinos, but the thing with that is if i choose one side the others get angry!lol If i go with the gringos fora while, the latinos get mad, and vice versa. It was a joke around the MTC and even the teachers and everyone got involved. haha that was always fun.

     So we are at the Stake Center and the President says some introductionsand then he assigns us a temprorary companion to start working! I got assigned a gringo, like me ;) and we went to start Abriendo La Boca (talking with people in the streets) and as we were leaving the Stake Center I get one of my first real looks into the city of Tegucigalpa! So my companion is telling me the stuff about tegucs and saying how nice the people are, but then as soon as we hit the road there is a bunch of taxis honking at us, and so... I waved back! I thought that they were being nice and welcoming us in. Once two different Taxi cars stopped by us I later learned by my companion that this normal, they want business, so dont wave! haha that was so new to me! 

     The city here is HUGE! I think there is about 2 million people! The city is like a big valley, but its `overgrown`onto and past the mountains that are around us. There is (surprisingly) a lot of upper-class houses that i never expected, but ive also seen a lot of other lower class. I didnt get much of a culture shock because it really reminds me of Mexico. Like, exactly! Except for all of the mountains which are ALOT of fun to walk up...not. 

   Anyway, (there is so much to talk about sorry if i get out of topic sometimes) once me and companion start walking around knocking and stuff, one of the first guys we found is actually a guy that did read the book of Mormon and had some questions! My gringo companion didnt know much spanish so me, the new guy, the guy who BARELY arrived into the field, had to do all of the talking pretty much! So i did the best that I can and answered everything and accepted a second visit! That was my FIRST experience and i nailed it! Later on that night we stay at the President`s Assisant`s house and it was huge! The missionaryies dream house! Well, for me it was because of the gym that they have there!lol ill try to include some pictures from it. 

     The next morning we get some training and then its the ceremony where we get assigned our companions! It was awesome! My companion (trainer) is Elder Westberg and he is awesome! I got so lucky! we have a lot in common and we get along. He has about 17 months in and hes teaching me all that he can and i can tell that ive learned alot so far! AND...we are opening up a new area!! Meaning we have to start from scratch! AND... we are staying in the City! (which is a little rare, since the city is small compared to how big the mission is here). So we arrive at our house and its small but its way better then expected, we have RUNNING WATER! But no hot water... but still! When we arrived it was super dirty and we had to clean it a bunch but now it feels like home! We have a pila too, meaning we have to wash clothes! Yay! 

     So later that day we start working! Since we dont know ANYTHING about the area or the members we decided to wing it, and go outside, see what happens. We explore for a little bit then we end finding a member, Javier, we talk with him and stuff and hes inactive. But he is the BIGGEST blessing we have recieved here so far! After we got dont talking he told us that he wanted to show us around! And he did, ALL afternoon night! and still wanted to come with us the next day! He then said Òhh and if you have dirty clothes you can just bring it me and ill wash it for free! like WHAT!?¿ This guy is awesome! If it wasnt for hime we would still be aimlessly walking around. 

     Mutual night we ended up going to the church to try to learn more about the area and people. Me and my companion ended learning really quick that EVERYONE is this nice! the members here are amazing and they want to help us so much! One of the members, the Elders Quorum President looked me in the eye and told me, Do you have everything you need for your mision? If you EVER need anything you ask us, do NOT ask your parents back home, they have enough to worry about! hahah! I love it here! The ward building is HUGE! two story building and so many extra rooms and only one ward meets there! Its crazy, they have a lot of plata here ;)

     Everyday my companion and I try a different area in our HUGE area (one of the biggest in the whole mission) try a different area to learn, abrienda la boca on the way and im getting just as good as my companion talking with people. Alot of the people are catholic, but MOSTLY Evangelical. Like you have no idea how many there are here! But we still like talking with them because a lot of them dont really have a testimony like they claim to have. Ohh! We were walking in Loma Linda the other day and we saw some 25 year old playing gis guitar and walkinga round so i talk to hime and stuff, play the guitar a little then he lets us in to share a message. He said he was a hardcore Evangelical but he`ll still listen. We taught him the Restoration and he loved it! It was my first experience that Ive had where they say ``I dont know what is, but something inside of me is telling me that what you guys are teaching is true`. I was happy!! But we have had more of those expereinces, and we´re getting more investigators! 

     My time is running out, but Ill write more next week, there is still so much to write. Dont woryy about me guys :) I am having a great time doing the obra of our heavenly father :) My spanish is coming along too! The only thing i have to work on is using Uested. But ill get the hang of it after a while. 

Hey guys!! I'm at Honduras!!!!!

Hey guys! Im at Honduras! This place is amazing and ive only been here for like an hour! The city here is huge! Leaving the MTC was pretty sad because of the family and home that I made there. There are so many amazing experiences that I had that I don't have time to write. Well tomorrow I will receive my companion and start training! And we're about to start to go proselyting right now! Talk to ya next week! Im having the greatest time of my life!!

 FLYING TO HONDURAS!!!!  ONE OF THE BEST PLANE RIDES ON OUR WAY TO THE BEST PLACE IN THE WORLD!!       HONDURAS !!!!!

BEAUTIFUL HOME-DURAS!!

OUR HOME!!

OUR OWN PILA!!

I'm Here!!!!!!

Hey guys!! Im here at the Guatamala MTC and i am having the GREATEST time of my life! I dont even know where to start! But I guess I can start with the plane ride here. Once we said our goodbyes it was pretty sad of course, but I prayed for comfort, next thing you know minutes later a former missionary president sits in front of me at the airport and we start talking alot about what im about to go through. I was the only missionary in the Phoenix airport. So we board the plane and i ended up sitting towards the back with still no missionaries around. But then i can see some shuffling of seats up ahead and then some people move around and this guy sits by me, a Returned Missionary!! So i was just amazed how im already receiving answers to my prayers! We go to Salt Lake airport, then LA, along the way picking up other missionaries, and we all became a big family! Even until this day, we still look after each other, we call each other El Squadron!lol From the LA airport to Guatemala City airport was really long! and at one in the morning... but the friends i made are awesome! One even came from Arizona and wrestled! He was one of Ryan Allreds main compitetion (only Arizona wrestlers would understand) So Im teaching spanish to all of my friends the planeride here and a lot of gospel related words, and one of the elders was like, well i want to see you put the words into action, I have an extra book of Mormon in my backpack, i DARE you to place your first book to the passenger by you, who was spanish speaking only. I took on the challenge and he was SUPER interested! it was awesome, i acted like i fell asleep and he started reading it for a while! So things were looking good so far! 

     The MTC treats us soo well! Theres about half "gringos" and half other elders from all around! All learning spanish, there are 6 weekers and 2 weekers, at first i was really worried that i was put into the 2 weeks... i was with all the native speakers and it was hard to keep up... but will lots of praying and practicing on my own, ive been getting a bunch of compliments on my spanish! Around here, Im known as THAT gringo thats fluent in spanish haha I love it! I sit in the middle of the table and from both ends of both sides people keep yelling at me "Madero!! Como se dice ____," or "How do I say___". And you guys know me, I dont mind it all ;) Ive been speaking nothing but spanish and now my thoughts are in spanish too! its wierd lol writing this is actually really difficult because i forget how to spell some words in english! 

     The training here is pretty intense, every 30 minutes is planned out, but nothing i cant handle. I got sooo lucky, kinda... My districto got a teacher named Elder Hernandez, and he the hardest teacher here! and hes not afraid to say that. But i couldnt be any more happier. He is determined to make is LITERALLY the BEST missionaries possible. He is teaching so much doctrine, teaching skills, and so many inspiring experiences that he went through. Ive learned alot! We also do a lot of ACTUALY teaching with investigators and other missionaries so we keep getting better. He has alot of really good, odd points in his lessions... one of my favorites: El libro de tu mision te dice que traigas un buen par de zapatos para caminar mucho en el mission, pero yo no creo que eso es sierto, si tus zapatos esta gastados, no estas enseñando, tus pantalones deben de estar gastados por estar sentadado mucho y enseñando" haha he always say stuff like that, but its making us grow!

     The MTC in general is one big family, on top of El Squadron haha, we are always messing around and having a good time. I found out that alotttt of the gringos here all wrestlers! Ive found about 8, and mostly all state placers in arizona, utah, and idaho! So during our free time we go to the gym, and we have all of these native little guys are just blown away by what we do as a sport haha its so funny! Well show them some of moves that we do and they all have their jaws dropped, one time they were doing pullups (about 3 or 5) and it was a competition, before they knew i was "fit"... and I asked them how much i can do, they thought about it but then they decided with 6-8, so i get on the bar and rep out 18 solid pullups! it was the on the best moments ever because after that they are all like "Ayyyy Maderrro!" and then they start flexing haha 

     So my birthday just passed and I was a lttle worried because of the traditions that they do, so i kept it on the downlow, but somehow the Presidents wife found out and she made everyone sing happy birthday en espanol and the cafeteria was LOUD! it was awesome! And all of the Elders would tell me throughtout that whole day..."your lucky we dont have any eggs" hahaha (They crack eggs on the birthday persons head) theyre so loving huh? ;) Im trying to write everything that I can about the MTC but there is literally WAY to much and im limited in time... Im grown so much spiritually and emotiontly, and of course.. physically (Flexing emoji) lol 

     I miss you guys! family, friends, and just american people in gerenal! But Im adapting really fast, im helping others out alot when i should be helping myself, but it feels good. The MTC President Cox loves me because he was looking out for me after i told him i was worried about my spanish and the two weeks, but now he keeps calling me up to say or read stuff every time we have a devotional! The only thing im struggling with is using the conext of Uested instead of talking with Tu. But ill get it! I talked to some gringos that have some inside information and hes says that the people that leave to Tegucigalpa are going to be leaving on the plane next Tuesday at 3 in the morning, which is good...but bad. I may not be able to type next week because Pdays are on monday in the field, and tuesdays in the MTC.I cant upload photos here, so youll have to wait! But dont worry about me, im growing so much! I have a family here and were all helping each other grow. The teachers and trainers are amazing. The food is awesome! I miss you guys!

This is when we just got to the MTC in Guatemala.  LOTS OF GREAT TIMES!!

We went to our mission presidents house.... and this was my favorite room!!!

MTC!!!  

MY GUATEMALA FAMILY!!!

My Farewell Talk

I have attached my farewell talk for today's sacrament meeting for those who missed it.

Good Morning brothers and sisters,

   Well this is it! The moment I have been waiting for the past 10 years! I will be heading out to the Guatemala MTC in 9 days. And I cannot be anymore excited! I've prepared for this for so long and now its happening. It really hit me as I read my mission call,

 "       Dear Elder Madero, you have been called to serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints... "

    It was then when I realized that those were the words that I wanted to hear. A sense of gratitude came over me, and I knew that this is truly what I was meant to do, it felt right. I felt like no matter what the next sentence said, I will serve anywhere, in any language, with all of my heart and strength. Fortunately enough I will be speaking in Spanish in Honduras for the next two years.

   Ever since I was little I was always kind of teased by my family on how strange my Spanish was. And that of course made me a little uncomfortable speaking Spanish in front of them because they always corrected me. But I cannot wait for when I return in two years and ill be speaking better Spanish than my whole family put together!

Anyway, i just want to speak a bit to the younger generation here today, about being prepared to be a missionary.

Those who were close to me or went to school with me can tell you that most of my decisions were based on this ultimate goal. And although at times it seemed unnecessary or weird, I still held on and followed the church standards, and i can proudly say, it is worth it!

   As you go through the mission interviews and the paperwork, and they ask if you've committed any felonies, I'm sure you'll say No, and you also will look back and think of those tough times where you had to put your standards first, and you will be proud of yourself.

As most of you are going through high school, you are around a lot of negative influences, please do not give in. Don't try to fit in with the rest of the world. Remember what your standards are and who you are representing.

Some think just because you don't go out and party and do things you are not supposed to that you cannot have fun, this of course is not true! I'm a living witness! High school was incredibly fun and I'm glad to be worthy to be able to serve a mission.

As much as I would like to stand up here and thank each of the people that helped in some way or form while growing up here, I cannot. I don't think I have enough time. There are so many stages in my life where you guys have helped me so much.

Whether it be kind words of wisdom, or a lesson that really taught me a lot, or helping me with my scouting accomplishments, the list goes on and on, but you all know who you are, and thank you!

But one of the most significant ways I've learned that most has to be the examples of each of you. Especially the youth i grew up with who are now serving a mission, Audrey, Michael, and Tyler. They set a great example for me.

 I spent a lot of time with Tyler Jones as he was preparing for a mission and he gave me a lot of advice that i didn't understand at the time, but now i do! I cant wait to thank him in person!

  Watching other youth return home after their missions is just amazing. Like Taylor Roberts, or Ashley Russell. Last week we heard from Ashley talk about the many things she has learned on her mission, and that made me even more excited for mine! You learn so much out in the mission field and i cannot wait to have as strong of a testimony as they do.

A lot of people, friends and family, have no idea what an LDS mission consists of, mostly just the fact that I will be in a different country, a very poor and dangerous country actually, having to talk to random people about a pretty touchy subject.

My friends are always messing around with me saying 'Well, it was nice knowing you'... But then they ask if i am nervous, and then are surprised when I tell them not really. I am not nervous of the environment or the dangers of that country. You need to remember why i am going and for who.

I am representing Jesus Christ teaching the people as if he were here this day. I am dedicating two years of my youth years to Him to do this, i know that he will be there protecting and helping me.

I will elaborate a little more on this reading The Missionary Commission:

I am called of God.
My authority is above that of kings of the earth.
By revelation I have been selected as a personal representative of the Lord Jesus Christ.
He is my master and He has chosen me to represent Him--to stand in His place, to say and do what He Himself would say and do if He personally were ministering to the very people to whom He has sent me.
My voice is His voice, and my acts are His acts; my doctrine is His doctrine.
My Commission is to do what He wants done; To say what He wants said; to be a living modern witness in word and in deed of the divinity of his great and marvelous Latter-day work.
How great is my calling!

Another question that i get often, mostly from family is, Why? Why would i want to spend those two valuable years serving a mission when i could be getting a good job or in college getting a better education. Pretty much my only answer to that is, Love.

Love for our Savior, and what he has done for us on this earth. I love this gospel so much that i want to share it with everyone!

Remember Lehi's Dream in 1 Nephi? The angel shows Lehi the Tree of Life, he partakes of the fruit from the tree, that fruit was so delicious that he instantly desires his family to try it and be happy together.

When i think about why i want to go out on my mission so bad i think of the same way that Lehi felt after he tried the fruit. I want everyone to be happy, and partake of this fruit. This fruit representing the Love of our Heavenly Father.

 ( D&C 18:15-16).
“If it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!
“And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!
This scripture doesn't only apply to full-time missionaries. All of us members are also missionaries. Just by loving everyone, like we are commanded to, people will eventually want to feel closer to our heavenly father, and we need to be ready when that happens so we can help them.
Many members and some missionaries often think to themselves, how will I know what to say, and when to say it?
You need to rely on the Holy Ghost. As a missionary you learn that you cannot teach without seeking inspiration through the Holy Ghost, the Holy Ghost will help you with what and when to say something, and will help the receiver know that what you are saying is true.
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AP Camp Experience
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Testimony

The time is near...

     I have less than a month now until I leave now, so now there is lots of preparing to do, and this past week I accomplished alot. But what an overwhelming week! My parents and I planned a trip to Utah last week. The purpose was to get my missionary clothes at a very well known one-stop shop in Salt Lake City called Mr Mac's, as well as going to the SLC temple. We planned on going into the Phoenix Arizona Temple early Wednesday morning to get my endowements before going to Utah. What an incredible experience! Inside the temple is truly amazing and you can easily feel the spirit there, especially in the Celestrial room. I sure will not forget that morning in the temple! We headed to Utah right after lunch and ended up staying in St George for the night. Next morning we headed to Salt Lake to go to Mr Macs and get my missionary gear. Of course we ended up staying there for a couple hours due to the fact that I am very picky in what I wear lol. After many, many decesions later we finally finish and the worn out salesman tells us the price... wow, I had to decide at the moment if I really wanted to go or not. Just kidding, but it was an eye opener that I cant really back out now. Not that I would want to anyway! I am very excited. We stayed the nigtht at a nearby hotel in SLC and planned on going to the temple the next morning. Walking through temple square sure is a sight to see. There are alot of tourists walking around looking at all of the buildings, and asking a lot of questions such as what its inside the temple and why cant just anyone go in. At least some of them had a desire to go in which is good right?
     Going through the temple, especially as magnificent as this one, is truly amazing and beautiful. Sitting in the Celestrial room gives everyone a time of peace. Its a room inside the temple which is clean and peaceful compared to the world around us. You can really feel the spirit there and one of my first thoughts being there is that I wished to have more relatives and friends in the church so they can be with me there. I thought about my close friends imagining if they were there with me at that moment would have been even more amazing. To all of my friends and relatives reading this while I'm still here, please just give this gospel a chance, you will love it. Anyways, my passport is sent to the Travel Center and all of my missionary gear is bought. So now I'm just waiting to get a couple immunizations and then getting my airline tickets to Guatamala! I can't wait!

My Mission Call

Hello everyone,

   It has been about two weeks since I opened my mission call now, and it feels like time is going by very fast now. I have about two months left until I have to report to my mission. It is really hard to say on here how excited I am to have this oppurtunity to serve the Lord. For those who really know me know how hard I've worked in my youth to be able to have this oppurtinity. I've had to make wise decisions throughtout highschool. Even when they were really hard to do, regardless if people thought I was cool or not choosing these decisions. But now, it is all worth it. I could not be any more grateful for this. 

   Missionary paperwork sure does take some time. Which leads to a lot of stress and worry, worrying if I'll be accepted or not, or where I'll be sent. It is very hard for non-members to understand why someone would give up two years of their life to go some place and be a missionary, when they'll be missing out on college or working. To go on a mission takes a lot of faith and desire. Desire to serve the Lord, after all that he has done for us. Think about all that he has done for each one of us. I feel like the least I can do is serve a mission and bring people into his restored church on earth. This also takes a lot of faith knowing that my future will be blessed because I'm giving up two (important) years of my life to him. 

   The night I opened my mission call was one of the best nights of my life. I got the big envelope with the address from Utah and I was instantly panicking once I held it. I called my mom right away and made plans. We planned to have a FHE type of night since it was on a Monday night and open the letter after. I told my parents to invite some people that may be interested in coming. I was expecting about 20 people, something small. We get there and about 80 people show up, members and non-members! It was such an amazing night for me knowing that all of these people cared enough for me that they came to be with me on this very special night. We had very spiritual night, which had everyone in tears. We had a guessing board where people can guess where in the world where I'll be serving. Sure enough, my mom and the bishop were the closest guesses! I took my time reading out the letter which drove everyone nuts wanting to know where I'm going! And this is what I read: 

      "Dear Elder Madero:                                                               10/11/15

          You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the Tegucigalpa, Honduras Mission. It is anticipated that you will serve for a period of 24 months. You should report to the Guatamala Missionary Training Center on October 28th, 2015. You will prepare to preach the gospel in the Spanish language. Etc... "

Like I've said before, I am really excited for this oppurtunity and cannot wait to see what the Lord has prepared for me. This is truly a blessing for me. These past couple of weeks have been a great missionary experience for my friends and family because they cannot believe I'm taking this big step in life, and they want to learn a little more from me before I leave. Yes, I know how dangerous Honduras is, but you have to remember who makes these mission calls. It is one of the 12 apostles from the church that take the time and pray for inspiration to know where I am capable of serving. This is where they see me serving. I know that the Lord has prepared the area for me, all I have to do is go and serve with faith. And that is what I will do.