Hola! Hola!

This is me on one year,

  and with the fruit of the cactus, called tuna,

that is super popular and super good this time of year

Hello Everybody!

Well another week has flown by and it was another busy one! We didn't quite reach 60 again, only 52 but I'm fine with it, if they are effective lessons, I'm not complaining. We should have some baptisms coming up, the next 6 weeks actually if everything goes as planned. I'm pretty excited for that. This Sunday we will baptize Hector, who is the nephew of the Hermana Lety. He has been pretty tough, considering he is Christian. But after he went to Cuernavaca for 2 months he came back (which is a miracle in of itself) and said he wants to be baptized and has received a testimony and knows all these things are true. The next week will be Elvira,  who's life has been changed with this gospel. It makes me so happy to see so many great converts to this gospel based on the work we are doing.

It feels good to have the one year mark behind me now. The countdown has begun. haha If this year goes by as fast as the last one did I will be home before I know it. For my one year mark I was in divisions with Elder Murphy all day and we worked in his area. It was fun. The next morning we went and ate breakfast and had our studies in a restaurant called Toks.

We had some good teaching experiences. We taught a rasta which was a first. Their beliefs are kinda crazy. They have some crazy Ethiopian god, and their dredlocks are like their most prized possession. He likes the weed, so it will be quite the process to get him baptized. I really like having new experiencias like that,  I learn lots of new things. We really have to rely on the spirit that it will let us know how we need to apply the lessons and teachings to them personally to help them progress in the gospel. 

Sunday was a super difficult day. The first part was good with church and all but after for some reason all of our plans and appointments fell through. It was raining and it was wet. Our investigator Fransisco told us he doesn't want to hear us anymore, and considering all we have been through with him that hurt, the people I contacted just wanted my money, and what else. . . haha ya it was rough but after those days are over, I am grateful for them.

Today was a fun day. We got up, cleaned the house, then went to our zone activity. We had a mission olympics which was pretty fun then after we played volleyball and grilled hamburgers. After we went to Walmart then came here to write. Pdays always go by so fast. But then again everything goes by fast here in the mission. FYI mother I used my debit card in Walmart today with the intention to get cash back, but they wouldn't let me. I'll have to get it from an atm again and hope they don't rob me. 

Sounds like everything is going great at home, and that fall is arriving. Everything seems to be back to normal now with school and all that. That's awesome you got to go to the Ogden Temple open house, I miss the temple. Ahh Kayla I want to be in those races with you, but they probably won't let me in now with all my fatness haha.

Well I love you all tons, have a super great week!

With lots of love,

Elder Elgan

60 LESSONS!

Hello everybody!

Well can you believe it?? It has been a whole year. Crazy. I don't know how to feel about it. It has gone by fast, but it seems like so long since I have seen you guys. Its crazy how much I have learned and the person I have become in just 1 year. This next year is gonna fly by, I'm sure of it!

This week was crazy. But GUESS WHAT??. . we did it. 60 Lessons! We worked so hard all week to be able to accomplish it. Tuesday in our district class Elder Silverio and I committed ourselves to achieve it. And I learned that when we are committed and determined to do something, the Lord will prepare the way. There were some really difficult days this week when none of the plans came through, we had to contact lots in the street and really follow the spirit to be able to find those 60 people/families to teach. But I'm happy we finally reached it. Its hard because every single lesson needs to be effective, because 60 lessons doesn't mean anything if they don't help those who we are teaching progress in the gospel.

I learned that as missionaries we are just little chess pieces in Gods big game. Sometimes we don't know why some things happen, or why appointments fall through, but then he puts someone right in our way who needs what we have so much more in that moment than that person did. God is in control, and everything that happens here has its purpose.

We had house inspections this week and Pres and Hna Anaya said that ours was perfect. Ya I know. haha jk He said the only thing we could improve was some paint touch ups. Whoops so sorry Pres forgot to go by the paint store on Monday. haha

Everything took a big u turn Saturday night when Elder Rodriguez called me crying crying saying that his mom was in the hospital. She was having heart complications and other things due to her lack of care with her diabetes. She was here in the city and so Elder Rodriguez went and saw her and his family there. It was so hard on him. And me being his best friend here in the mission was involved in all of it. He has passed through so many hard things lately its crazy. Today I went to visit him because he was doing divisions with my ZL because their area is really close to the hospital. I was with him all day, and he wasn't doing so good. We went to the hospital and he saw her again and was scared, nervous, sad, about what was gonna happen, and that he couldn't do anything about it being here in the mission. I took him to eat to Panda at Buenavista, the big mall close by here. But just 2 min ago he called me and his family just called him and said she is going to be fine, and her surgeries went great, and he doesn't need to worry, so that was much needed. But the rest of the day after was crazy trying to get everything done. And now I don't even have more time to write, I have to go work. I wish I had more time, but what do ya do.

Loved hearing from you all this week, sounds like things should get back to normal this week with school starting and all that fun stuff. Keep me updated!

Love you all tons, have a super great week.

Elder Elgan :D

These weeks be flying by...

I think I'm gonna need a new suit. . hahah

Me and my comp. .

Jorges baptism. Our bishop baptized him.

Querida Familia,

Well this week sure went by fast! They all are just flying by now. We are keeping really busy here, which is probably why its going by so fast. There were a few days I didn't have time to write in my journal which is usually where all my info for the email comes from so hopefully I'll remember everything that happened.

Most of the days this week it seems like we were just running the whole day trying to get all of our appointments in. We have lots of work which is really good! We are still having about 50 lessons a week average. We're trying to reach the goal of baptizing every week but its not a very easy thing to do, but I know we are gonna get there. We have lots of investigators which is the easy part, but trying to get them all to progress and get baptized is a bit more tricky. We had quite a few go to church this Sunday which I always love to see.

Sunday we baptized our investigator Jorge! So that's exciting. haha He is a pretty cool guy, he has assisted just about every church in the book and has had lots of crazy ideas from the beginning but it was great to see him come to realize that this church is true and that he needed to be baptized. He wanted to bring his own bap. clothes and they were kinda funny. They looked like some weird clothing but its all good whatever floats his boat. I'll send the pics. The only bad thing is that his wife and daughter don't want anything to do with us, so we are trying to work with them and teach them so they can be baptized too.

We had some more good food this week. One lady made us good Italian food. She made us a meatball and mushroom spaghetti, bread with a cherry balsamic and pesto and the whole 9 yards. I like when people know how to cook more that just Mexican. haha Its a nice change. One of my other new favorite foods here are called chilaquiles. They are like tortilla chips in a green salsa with cream and cheese and a whole bunch of goodness.

Today has been another chill pday. I think we have house inspections this week, so I had to clean it extra good today. :) Then we went to the mission offices to take some stuff in, went to Walmart, and everyone was going crazy cuz there are these big machines that you can take a coke can in and have your name put on it. I don't know if that is a thing in Utah but the line was about as long as the whole Walmart. Crazy! Then we came back and are now writing! Bayler leaves tomorrow for his mission to Chile so that's so exciting! Seems like I was just doing that.

Sounds like you have been pretty busy at home! Dad, good luck with your last weeks training for lotoja, if you think you are just a bit out of shape, you should see me, I get pretty winded going up to my 2nd floor apartment. haha And now your reorganizing the garden? That's cool, but remember you are supposed to either have the house remodel done or the bear lake cabin built before I come home, so don't get too ahead of yourself :) Well Kayla, look at you heading off to Jamaica for the week, and you call that work? haha.

Well that about does it. I hope you all have a great week!

Love Elder Elgan