"Still pretty white"

This week was kinda rough in some ways, and really spiritual in many others! 

On Monday night, we had planned to stop by a family's house and teach a lesson, but when we arrived, there were tons of people there. We soon found out that a member of the family, the dad's dad, had passed away the night before. We stayed for the Mormon funeral service, and I soon realized that they weren't gonna open up the floor for others to speak. I feel like it's very important that missionaries speak in funeral services to let people know who we are and what we do. It's the perfect opportunity to open the door for someone to hear our message about eternal families and the Plan of Salvation. I leaned over before it was over and asked the bishop's counselor who was conducting the service if I could say a few words. He paused, thought about it, and then nodded his head. Since my first week here (maybe it was my second) when I spoke at a funeral, my Spanish has grown to the point where I am now able to convey my ideas, generally. It was by no means perfect, far from it, but I felt the Spirit, and I think so did the others in the room. I feel so blessed to have been able to be God's mouthpiece on that night. 

On Tuesday, we were walking home for the night and this guy stopped us in the street. He asked us if we were the missionaries for the LDS Church and we told him we were. He then proceeded to tell us his name is Robert, that he is a member, and that he had moved here a month ago from California, where he'd lived his entire life, so he needed to transfer his records. When he found out I'm from the states (I mean, it's not that hard, I'm still pretty white...), he wouldn't stop speaking English to me haha. We told him we'd come pick him up for church that Sunday and left. A couple days later, he saw us again in the street and totally remembered my name! We got his records transferred, and he came to church for the first time in about 3 years. He stopped attending when he was 13 (9 years ago) except for random Sundays throughout the years. It appears he really wants to make a much better, more spiritual life for himself down here, which is awesome to see. 

Thursday, I went on splits with a YSA, Rafael, who's 20 years old. He was baptized in January, without his parents' knowledge, and when they found out, they shoved tons of anti mormon literature in his direction. He remembered he'd felt right about joining, and when he prayed again, he felt the same way. He knew the church was true, and when he wouldn't back down, his family completely rejected him. In these past few months, they've allowed him to come back, but they will not hear anything about the church and get very upset whenever he attends. Through all this, he still wants to serve a mission. He knows it's true and he wants to share it. It was a wonderful experience to serve those few hours with him, I learned a lot. 

Friday was Halloween here, but it's not seriously celebrated. The real party came on the 1st and 2nd, saturday and sunday, Los Días de los Muertos. Saturday is Día de los Niños, when they celebrate the lives of the children that have passed on. Everyone dressed up, and went asking for candy, like on Halloween. It was really cool to see, there were some crazy costumes. I wanted to take pictures, but I'd really rather not have my camera get stolen. Sunday, they celebrated the lives of the older people who had died. Almost everyone has an altar to their family members who've passed on with their favorite foods. As a result of the festivities, work was kinda slow and not super productive, which was a bummer. 

Another bummer was that we stopped by Maribel and Angel's place on Sunday to go to church, only to find out that they no longer live there. This hit hard for me. I had really loved teaching them, I really thought they were going to accept the message, and now I can't teach them anymore. I've been praying for the missionaries to find them again, wherever they may be. 

I want to share a scripture in Mosiah 5:13; 'For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served,and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?'

God knows us and we knew him, but when we came here to live on this Earth, we forgot our premortal life. The purpose of this life is to repent of our sins and do the will of the Father. But how can we do that if we do not serve Him? How can we know what He wants for us if we do not work to build His Kingdom on this earth, if we do not work to bring others unto Him? The truth is, without doing what He commands us to do, we cannot truly come to know Him ourselves. So go to work! 

I love you all! 

Elder Connor

I didn't take any fun pictures this week, so here's my apartment! Sorry I'm lame...

1. Entryway/kitchen from the door
2. our little study room
3. bedroom

Week 1 in the Field!

Hello everyone! Here's the address to send me things!

Elder Connor

Mexico City Chalco Mission

Calle Porvenir No. 8

Colonia Centro

C.P. 56600 Chalco

Estado de Mexico

I'm alive! First, final MTC days. We sang on Sunday and it sounded great! I was really pleased with how it went and the Spirit was very strong! Funny story, one of the other Elders I roomed with, Elder Solano, didn't have enough room in his bags for all his things (I don't know how he got them out here), so he gave me a whole bunch of stuff, since I had more than enough space. Christmas came early, I got a few shirts, some shampoo, and an entire suit. And it fits. I almost cried. 

2 AM on Monday morning, I woke up and left the MTC. Any tears that may have been shed were because I was so tired. The flights were fine, we had a layover in Dallas for a couple hours, and then flew out to Mexico. When we arrived, we (there were two other Elders that came with) met with President and Sister Crickmore and their assistants. I love the President and his wife! They are so nice and funny! 

One thing I learned about Mexico when we left the airport is that I never want to drive here. Ever. I have never seen such unorganized, crazy driving in my life. It was insane. We made it to the Mission Office (by the Grace of God) and had interviews with President. The first thing he asked was how I would feel having a native companion who didn't speak much English...I said It'd be quite the learning experience and I would most certainly be happy with it (I wonder if he knows how terrifying that idea sounded). We then ate some food and went to a little house to sleep for the night with the other greenies. 

Tuesday, I met my trainer! His name is Eldr Jimenez, he's from El Salvador, converted when he was 13 (8 years ago), and he doesn't speak much English...it's actually a lot of fun though, we play lots of vocab games while walking to appointments, so I'm learning lots! He's super patient and has a great sense of humor, so I consider myself pretty lucky to have him! 

There are two other Elders in my district, Elder Rauro and Elder Brewer. Elder Rauro is hilarious, speaks even less English than my trainer, and he loves my ties. he offered to pay 500 pesos for one of them (about $40, but I declined). Elder Brewer is from Utah, and he's only been out here for 7 months, so he still speaks English (phew). He's a lot of fun too, we sing together a lot and he is really helpful with giving me tips to help me adjust. 

We've had lots of good lessons this past week, a lot of times people aren't home, but when they are, the lessons are (in general) great! I've discovered that little kids speaking spanish is one of the cutest things ever. It reminds of the little turtles in Finding Nemo; they're super cute, and I can hardly understand them at all haha. 

On Thursday, we went to visit this woman named Nina, only to learn that she had passed away just the day before. We went in and talked with the family for a bit, and then told them we'd come back later. That night, there was a funeral for her, and a few people were asked to say some words. When they opened it up for anyone to talk, I felt impressed to do so. Super nervous, I stepped forward and stumbled through the language, hoping that what I was saying would help these people feel the Spirit. I don't remember what I said, but I do remember a feeling of peace in the room and it seemed to have touched the hearts of those present. It was an incredible experience. 

Oftentimes while walking to lessons, we'll see people doing some sort of work in the streets like moving dirt or whatever. We stop as often as we can to help and people are so thankful! I love service!

Oh, one thing about Mexico; there are dogs everywhere. Like, so many dogs, they just walk around streets, on rooftops, in houses (!!), doing whatever they want. It's so weird. 

I've already tried a whole bunch of weird new foods, here's a list:

-Nopales (cactus)

-Tuna (it's a fruit that tastes like watermelon, but is actually good)

-Guayaba (another fruit that tastes delicious)

-Higos (Ee-gos, it's a fruit)

-Jamaica (a really good drink)

-Chinchuron (pig skin. yup. I wanted to throw up all day.)

Things are really different down here, but I like it. Not enough to live here again, but I really just like being here, spreading the Gospel. It's such a joyous work! I love you all, write me letters and things, I don't have a ton of time to respond to emails! 

Elder Connor