March 23 In Carlos A. Carillo

So this week was strange. First off my new companion is a gringo, second off... well I’ll just go from one and then the rest.

Elder J. is without doubt one of my favorite comps so far. We get along super well. He’s super chill. He wants to work, so that’s nice. Also he plays piano, so that’s very cool too. He’s also got a really good singing voice and I found out that I don’t actually sound that bad either. Together we sound AMAZING. I mean, we’re not talking Michael Jackson or anything, but we harmonize well. I’m also super excited because it appears that we will be together 2 transfers, so 3 months. That’s just awesome. 

Also, we had a baptism this week! Her name is A, and she’s the mom of a recent convert named G. She saw the changes that happened in her son’s life and in the life of his family. He was an alcoholic before, and they had no money, and now they’re this awesome family that’s stable financially, which is sometimes a miracle in Mexico, and they are all happy, and G. hasn’t drunk alcohol in a long time. Because of that, along with lots of fasting and prayer, she has decided that this is the true church of Jesus Christ. So she got baptized this Friday.

Gross Missionary Foot for my sister:

March 13 in Carlos A. Carillo

First off sorry for not sending a group last week. I was gonna come back to send it, but I never got the chance. It’s not something normal so don’t worry. Anyway these last two weeks have been very rough. We’ve been working very hard but we haven’t had any success. Well, hardly any. But it’s okay. I came to the realization in Baxcax that no matter how hard it ever gets, I’ll get up and go to work and give it my all every day, because I know that the things I’m preaching are true. You come out here and the things you see and feel make it impossible to not know it. Sometimes Heavenly Father sends us through trials just because he wants to see how many times we’ll stand back up. And if we pass, we are very blessed. So I’m going to pass. 

Anyways, we’ve been working a lot with an investigator named Vicky. (I’ve met a LOT of Vickies out here:) She’s not married, but has two kids. She has read the Book of Mormon a lot and knows that it’s true. She’s just afraid to be baptized for a bunch of irrational reasons. While we were thinking about what to teach her, I started to think a lot about fear and faith. Also around this time a letter arrived from my mom that more or less talked about this topic. I’ve realized that fear is the enemy to faith. Faith means we act without seeing, because we believe that it’s real. But we don’t know. When we act, our actions are rewarded with signs, signs that strengthen our faith and help us know that these things are true. Ether 12:6. But when we have fear, and our fear overwhelms our faith, we don’t act because we’re afraid of what might happen. Then we don’t receive the signs and miracles that guide us to strengthen our faith, and if our faith isn’t getting stronger, it’s weakening. Fear is the killer of faith. If we let it. And who doesn’t want us to have faith? Hhhmmmmmm..... Satan? Yep that’s right. So if we’re afraid to act on our faith, that’s where it comes from. If we want to have faith then just throw the fear aside, and trust that God is all-powerful, and can save us and bless us if we act in accordance with His will.

Okay and now on to this week.... well as they always do, changes came again. This time it’s Elder Garcia who will be leaving, headed to Orizaba, the northern area of the mission with very high mountains. Guess who his companion is gonna be? Elder Kerr!!! My comp from the MTC! So that’s super awesome. And my new companion....... for the first time since the MTC he will be American. My companion will be Elder Johnson! I actually already know him. He was in Tuxtlas for awhile while I was there. I’m really excited to speak English a little again. Anyways that’s basically what’s up with me... see yall next week!

March 2 in Carlos A. Carillo

So I can’t say everything that happened this week but it was wild. First off I’ll talk about the work. 

Well, this last week I’ve never had so many investigators in my life. We’ve worked our butts off and we’re finally seeing results! Like I say, we’ve never had so much to do before. We baptized F. this week so his family is complete now! They’re all members and all very happy. He doesn’t live with his wife anymore because they’re not legally married, because he’s not divorced from another woman. Divorce laws are SUPER hard and expensive here, and he’s just a taxi driver, so right now we’re waiting to see what we can do. You cannot be baptized if you’re living together and not married. That’s against the principles of the Bible. That’s the thing about this area. EVERY SINGLE INVESTIGATOR that we have IS NOT MARRIED. And we have a bunch of investigators. Over 15. So yeah lots of legal work that I don’t understand. 

Anyways, cool experience this week. We found a family last week. They might actually be an exception to this “not married” thing that happens here. We don’t know if they’re married or not. (But hey, guilty until proven innocent here on that one... ;p) The dad is an inactive member, but his family aren’t baptized. We started talking to the mom and the son and taught a lesson. We haven’t been able to see them again, until Saturday night. Saturday, we saw the mom. We talked with her, and found out that she believed in God but didn’t want to go to any church. She’s really confused about why are there so many churches and doctrines. She’s also really worried about her son, who’s got about 16 years. She’s not happy about the choices she’s making and she wants to change, so that he can change.

We taught her about how Jesus came and taught the gospel for families, and how the gospel was revealed by prophets, and how necessary they are to us. Then we told her to pray and ask Heavenly Father if our message was true. She said she would. Then we invited her to say the closing prayer. Right then and there she asked. Her prayer reminded me of the prayer of King Lamoni’s father after Aaron taught him in the Book of Mormon. I don’t remember what verse it is but I believe that it’s in Alma 22. Where he says he’ll give all his sins. She asked for God to guide her and to show her and that it was her strongest desire to know, and she would follow the answer if He would just help her with her family. She finished the prayer in tears and said she felt warmth embrace her during the prayer, and that she’d never felt so comforted in her life. She came to church the next day with her whole family and we are just so excited for them. I know this is all true about what she felt, because I’ve felt it. Anyone who wants to know can ask. And if they have this sincere desire, they will know of a surety, just like her.

“Oh God, Aaron hath told me that there is a God; and if there is a God, and if thou art God, wilt thou make thyself known unto me, and I will give away all my sins to know thee, and that I may be raised from the dead, and be saved at the last day.” From Alma 22:18