Week 12

Well Hello! It's a great time to be alive!! Isn't that what they say?

Well this week, let’s see, this week was pretty good I would say! No complaints, here except today it’s a bit dreary and there is a lot of humidity but it’s good. Just wish it could be a nice and cool during the day instead of just at night and in the morning but it’s all good! Now Christmas here in just a week will be a completely different experience instead of the nice fluffy white stuff or nieva (or snow in English) there is lots of dirt, lots of heat, lots of walking, a bit of a difference in my Christmas. What’s funny is I found a song on my ipod that says “I'm dreaming of a White Christmas” all I can see white here are the shirts I wear and even those get a little brown because of the dust. So I will dream it and my family will tell me it is in Utah but here I won’t believe the white Christmas in Mexico.

SO this week, Tuesday I got to go to the capital of Chiapas and where the mission is named after Tuxtla! It was interesting, Elder Van De Graaff and I, so two white boys, I mean Elders, got on a bus not knowing exactly where to go- because our companions spoke so fast, and put us in a taxi to  go to the bus stop and ride it to the end and get on another bus- with the help of our Zone leaders- to Tuxtla.  All in all a 4 hour and 25 minute ride to Tuxtla and with not a lot of Spanish in our heads we ended up in the OCC terminal in downtown Tuxtla with a backpack, a phone and no idea where to go- haha it was fun. We then proceeded to call an assistant to the president who can speak English (cause he is from Texas) but he spoke Spanish to us, as I tried to decipher the language I said “OK Elder Barrow now how do I get to the mission office?” haha he then said in English “Greengo huh?” yes Elder Monson the greengo. He then told me to get in a cab and to give the driver the phone and he would tell him where to take 3 Greengos, so that’s what we did. We ended up in the Mission office where we went to bed- haha just like that we went to bed and oh -we did watch the Christmas Devotional in English and what a great devotional it was! very good!! The next morning we ran first to Wal-Mart to get pictures then to the Immigration building and got all that stuff done for our green cards then we jumped in a taxi that took us back to the OCC terminal to go back the way we came. First we go to Arriaga then to the Reforma of Deminica and then a taxi to Ixuahtan. After a long ride we got back with our companions and started out teaching the true Gospel of Christ.  Oh the cool thing was it was    12-12-12 and at 12 pm we got on a bus for Arriaga so that was cool.

The next couple days just a lot of walking and talking and walking and talking and then teaching. We are teaching a girl named Yessena we mixed her name up haha we have been calling her Jessica which sounds sort of the same but not really. We teach her everyday every night and wow she is really coming unto Christ in all things. She says she feels something that has been our mission, which is awesome!!! Saturday she is planning to be baptized so yay!!! She is an awesome young 17 year old with a 2 year old that is great! It’s awesome to see how the Gospel changes lives! wow!! Oh and its pretty great when some random person comes up to you and says “um hi my name is so and so and um I live just up there and I really don't know why i am telling you this but um could you teach me about your church maybe?” haha ya that's happened a couple times and it was weird the first time but what’s even better is when they say -um what do i need to do to have that light you have, not because I'm white or our shirts are so bright but because we have something that protects us to the fullest the light of Christ. It’s pretty great to see how people just drop everything and talk to you because they see something in you that they don't really see that often. Being a Missionary is a blast!!! Not because of just those times it’s because this gospel really changes lives and once someone gets a hold of just a part of it they are hooked. It’s just like with the opposite- around here there are a lot of bars and they are always full on Friday and Saturday nights and a lot of times every night- for example one drink might get someone hooked on beer but and it’s the same with the church they see their friends come to Christ and they see us and they go crazy! Just one part of the church or one lesson makes sense they get hooked and they come to Christ and give up their sins and they change.

Just like in Alma 5 and 7 when it talks about the people coming to Christ and being perfected in him and giving up their whole self for the church. Or in Moroni 10:32-33 when it talks about coming unto Christ and being perfected in him. This is real when we come unto the Savior and give up our whole self it brings blessings and it’s amazing. Elder Picuasi likes to listen to one talk by Elder Holland last General Conference about becoming true Disciples of Christ. This is an awesome talk and why wouldn't we want to stand in the judgment day and say, “Lord though knowest that i love thee”, now let us come unto to Christ and give up our whole selves in the service of him! wow! This church is amazing!!! 

Another week down and in 8 Days its Navidad  it’s a great time to be alive!!! Merry Christmas!!!! Feliz Navidad!!! Spanish is coming! I can almost understand the people I am trying to talk to and my companion so the lord works in miraculous ways and as it says in Alma 37:6-7 little things make a big difference!

Have a wonderful Week!!!!

Love you All!!!

Elder Jaymes A Monson

Dinner!  Yumm!