October 29, 2012

Eyyy Yo Family:

¿¡Que Hay? Another week has blown by me and I find myself sitting back here in this tiny little internet cafe thinking back on another super week. So we had the first weather change since I've been here. It was actually like a really big change. In like 10 hours it went from 95 degrees to 55 degrees. Haha it happened Friday night to Saturday morning and when we headed out Saturday morning you would have thought people were preparing to take on a blizzard. I have never seen so many people so bundled up to brave the elements against 55 degree weather haha. It was really funny but I enjoyed it. It's hot again today but Saturday and Sunday were really nice, for like the first time since I got to Mexico I slept under a blanket and without a fan blasting air on me all night.

 

As for our week, it was another really solid one. I'm not at all sure what's going to happen, if I'll get another 6 weeks in Victoria or if they'll move me, but I'm really trying to enjoy my time here while I have it.  I have absolutely loved Cuidad Victoria, it is unlike any other city I have ever seen in my life. It makes me kind of sad that there are so many people who I love so much here that I will legitimately never see again once I leave this city. But that's part of the mission.

 

This past Saturday, we had the baptism for the youngest girl in the Guerrero family that we have reactivated, her name is Alexandra. She is 8 so it doesn't count for the mission, but as we reactivated them, we have gotten to know their family really well so it was still really cool to see. We directed and ordered the whole thing and one of the other Guerreros, Sean who yesterday started his mission papers #soStoked, baptized her. It was a really great experience. Also this week, as part of the Obra de Salvacion, Elder Garry and I have been teaching a ton of active families the lesson of the Restoration and at the end using them as resources to find more part member menos activo families. Well, obviously the first family we went to was President Maldonado and his fam and they told us of a ton of fams that we could try for. We did so and found a new fam who we taught this week. Ellos se llaman la Familia Cañas, and only the Dad is a member. We taught them Saturday and really tried hard to commit them to come to church with us. They wouldn't commit and I wasn't counting on them coming to church honestly, but Sunday morning I was really praying hard that they would come. Well, it turns out that when we showed up at Church they were already all there seated in the first row!   That was really awesome to see. All in all, we have seen a ton of miracles this last week. We had a bunch of investigators in church this week and also 12 menos activos! Barrio Victoria has doubled in average attendance in the last 4 months! The Lord has really blessed us as we have worked hard. Also, another cool thing this week is that in my morning prayers I have been making certain promises to Heavenly Father for things that I'm going to do in that day, for example, numbers of lessons taught, numbers of people I will contact in the street etc... In return I have been asking that he will put certain blessings in our way and it's really been working well and it's been a good way to push myself to get better and do more everyday.

 

Another thing that I've learned in the last few weeks is something that I think everyone can apply. If someone wants to be the best basketball player, what do they do? They practice and study the greats. Well, I've really been trying to do that as a missionary. The Bible and the Book of Mormon are full of examples of some of the best missionaries to ever walk the face of the Earth and I've been reading a lot of those missionary chapters with specific teaching skills in mind to see how they taught and how I can apply it to my teaching in order to improve. It's really helped, I feel like my teaching skills have gone out the window as a missionary, which they should since that is like all we do all day everyday.

 

I just seriously can't get over the enormity of the blessing of the gospel in my life, and also in the lives of others. Elder Garry and I were talking one day and I said that no matter what after the mission, the one thing that I don't ever want to fade in my life that I have learned here on the mission is the knowledge that the Gospel is the only true source of happiness. I can't get over how clear that is to me here as as missionary and how clouded that perspective is to so many others. The problem is that so many who don't have the gospel, or even those who do, let so many other thing into their lives that it distorts reality and doesn't allow them to see what is really important. THE GOSPEL BRINGS PERSPECTIVE. LIVING IN BABYLON MAKES YOU LOSE THAT PERSPECTIVE. The gift of the gospel is something that I will never be able to thank my whole family for. What a blessing it is to be born with that knowledge and to have parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts and uncles, cousins and friends who taught me to have that perspective. I've said it before and I'll say it again that if you are a nonmember and you are reading this, better talk to the missionaries, gain a testimony and get baptized quick because you are running out of time and only robbing yourself of blessings that your Father in Heaven wants to give you. Straight up.

 

I love you all so so much. I'm so blessed to know all of you and I feel your prayers lift me to be better and to press forward everyday that I am here.

#143 #GMC$ #JakeHeaps

Love,

Elder Stockard