Week 18

As my good friend Woody says, Well Howdie partner! haha

Well this week was a pretty good week not to bad at all, a baptism! Well
i read a great talk that my good friend Mike Kimball gave me before i left
for this adventure of a lifetime. It is a 20 page talk on faith. To
start the picture is of Daniel a stripling young man of 18 years who has
what some would say "Faith in every Foot step". His Faith in our Lord Jesus
Christ and through prayer became a young man of truth. He is just
awesome!!!! I feel better just being in his presence. The picture was
last night cause well a person in the ward deleted my picture of us before
the baptism. (I have had to convert my camera into Spanish so that i
don't lose things haha.) So speaking of Faith I read the talk which says in

it, "When we have total faith we have no doubt" this is true when we
have total faith and we pray with all our might we have no doubt that
what we ask for will come true. This has come true many times as I have
seen peoples life's been changed because of their faith. Like Daniel he had
a lot of faith to go against his Parents and join the church. He had faith
in Christ to soften the hearts of his parents and well it happened. When we
have faith is something we can not doubt.  Doubting only lessens your
faith. We need to have total faith in what we believe. Elder Holland
explained this in a talk given in the priesthood session of conference
October 2011. he says; "you cannot play for the adversary whenever
temptation comes along and then expect to suit up for the Savior at temple
and mission time as if nothing has happened. That, my young friends, you
cannot do. God will not be mocked. " When we have total Faith in Christ we
need not play for the Adversary we play with full might mind and
strength for the lord at all times. We are not to go against the laws of
god. that talk by the way is an awesome talk!! man! so anyways. Faith is
needed to do all things. I have Faith that I Can have a baptism every week
left in my mision. 86 weeks left and i can have one for every single week.
This work is changing it is getting better just in the last two months,
since last Saturday was my 4 month mark, been here for 2 months already!!!,
anyways since entering the Field the lord has softened the hearts of the
people. more people which a month ago said no to us have excepted us. and
this is happening all over this mission and others. the lord is preparing
people for us to teach and we can have a baptism every week. What a great
opportunity to be a missionary! I have faith this will happen and we will
see. Faith is a great thing it has helped me to come closer to Christ. by
having faith in what the Holy Ghost tells me then it will happen.

Another thing I learned this week was from my wonderful President,
President Cardinas, We had meetings and interviews with him on Wednesday
and he taught us that if we have 5 families in the ward and teach them and
love them then they will refer us to 5 more families and then we can do
that over and over and over again and will bring people to the arms of
Christ. I love this work The arms of Christ are open to all people at
anytime. We have investigators and Members who feel good when we come and
teach them and feel Christ more when we come. I am telling you as i have
told them the arms of god are always extended, Always. when we kneel in
prayer are we just saying things to just say things or are we getting down
on our knees talking with the Father who loves us. He is our father he is our
dad. he is just like our loving parents he cares for us and whats the best
for everyone of us. When was the last time you had a good talk with your
Father in Heaven? I know that's one thing I need to work on at times.
sometimes I am just ready for bed or still a bit sleepy coming out of bed
or rushed or whatever it is, and i just say a quick prayer. I have seen the
difference in a prayer that is just a quick thank you and please bless my
family prayer, to really earnestly finding out what i need and to talk to a
person who loves me more than anything else. there is a difference from
being rushed to forgetting the world for a minute and thanking my father
for his helping hand in my day. Its helped me and well it will help
everyone. He is our loving father he loves us and will help us through
Faith and through Earnest prayer.

Anyways this week was good. Tuesday I taught Family Home Evening with the
branch in a persons home. My companion and I taught about being true
disciples of god. from Elder Johnsons Talk from this last Conference. What a
great Talk. I taught about how every person is a missionary in their own
way we all have a light in our eyes that people long for. we all have the
savior to look to. Now let us be the true disciples of Christ and be the
very best we can be. I am a disciple and so are you except its a bit
different i wear a badge and you don't so its not the badge that makes us
disciples its whats inside of all of us. Spanish is coming and everything
is good here I love serving the lord!!!

Love you all!!! Have a great Week!!!

Elder Jaymes Monson

Elder Hollands Talk We are all enlisted
http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2011/10/we-are-all-enlisted?lang=eng
Elder Johnsons talk on Becoming true Disciples
http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/10/becoming-a-true-disciple?lang=eng

Week 17

Well hello from way down in Mexico!

Well to start off its been a bit chilly lately. so Monday through mid-day Wednesday was pretty good warm hot and all other things dealing with living closer to the equator. But then Wednesday afternoon hit and the wind started to whip down the dirt streets and this is sometimes usual but this time it came whipping down from the ocean. Now if you know anything about a wind coming from the ocean at least in Ixhuatan Mexico you would know that HOLY COW that's a cold wind. So that came and well the temperature dropped people brought out their winter coats like winter coats for Utah's winter and didn't really come out of their houses. But two missionaries (me and my comp) put on Sweaters and took the city by storm and well I "caught" a cold in this storm and well it made Thursday night through yesterday pretty "stuffed" days haha. But now i am doing better i feel better and well i hope it completely goes away so that i can stop sneezing and stop sounding like a bass singer haha. Its hard being a bass when you want to be a tenor haha. Well anyways this week was a good week. so much was done and so many people have said no- so ya its been hard- but its been good too. Thursday I went with Jared Alvarez a 16 year old and went on splits with him and taught three young men, 21 20 and 15 year old, about the restoration and that was good. good to see them try to change their life's for what they want for the future. Saturday I was stuffed up but went on splits again and this time with Eric a 17 year old who plans to serve, like his older brother, in June. his brother got home last June, anyway a good week. 

this is my thought for today. While I have been out here I have seen people change their lives for what they believe is true and they sometimes take a total turn around. But the significance of ONE CHOICE is all that makes the decision. One Decision to except the missionaries, One Decision to follow Christ for their whole lives, One Decision to serve a mission. Our lives are full of decisions but some of them, if we make them before hand, would be a lot easier in the long run. for example, I made a decision at age 12 to serve a mission at age 19 or as soon as possible. then when that time came I didn't have to decide to serve or not I had already decided. There are many of these decisions that if made earlier are a lot better when the time comes. but for these people Like Yeseina, my first convert, I helped all the way through the process. We were talking on Tuesday (After you baptize someone you are supposed to go back through all the lessons) now this was a great opportunity last Tuesday to go through lesson one the Restoration. This was an awesome lesson probably my favorite one since entering the Mission Field. We sat down and went through the lesson and all of a sudden we started talking about how great this gospel really is and how it blesses our lives!!! it was awesome. But then we started talking about decisions and how she made one decision to come and sit down and listen to these two young men and to hear what they have to say. She made a decision that know changed her life. Elder Picuasi Joined in and said that two and a half years ago he decided to except two missionaries in and now his life has changed and he is here in Ixhuatan serving a mission for that same church that came to his door. I have made many of these decisions that have shaped my life. Decisions shape who we are. one decision comes to mind when I was playing a soccer game and decided to go for a header and ended up on the ground with a broken wrist. or a positive decision was when I decided to not fight against my dad and got up on skis and now can see why he constantly didn't give up on me in trying to make me see, what today i love to do. Sometimes decisions start off super hard but since we decided to do them lets finish them. I decided to serve a mission which in the beginning was tough but right now and forever it will bless my life. somethings are rough to start but we can do  anything if we just keep going through- there is light at the end of the tunnel. The significance of one decision is absolutely the one that makes it. The hardest step is always the first one, but after that it just gets easier. The Greatest step is the first so make the first one and everything else will fall into place. But if you make the decision you need to stick to it. If you decide to follow Christ then you follow Christ in all thing 100% of the time not 98% of the time. President Monson's talk in October 2010 the 3 R's of choice is a great talk all about choices and that just came to my head haha. Well lets make some good choices maybe if its cold you might want to but a coat on! haha or if your car needs gas maybe go fill it up. We make choices every second so What choice are you going to make next? you already chose to read this Email! haha

Anyways!!! I hope you have had a great week!!! its actually really nice here 70s and 80s are pretty nice!!! Its nice to not sweat all the time. well anyways just have a great week and make some good choices!  Well where ever you are and whatever weather you have just remember sometimes taking a break for a moment and remember the things that matter most like- if its cold wear a jacket or spending time with people you love. That's all that makes the difference. One decision Keeps you from getting "greepa" or a cold and the other keeps you close to the ones  you love.

What a great Work this is. My mom told me that If I just said in my Letters "The Church is true" then there might be a punishment. haha But I know this Church is true. The Whole reason I left and the whole reason why people like Paden Mecham, who becomes Elder Mecham on Wednesday. The whole reason we serve is because we know its true and we want to share it with the world. to Paden Welcome to the front lines of the Army of the Lord. To everyone else, Don't worry we will protect and fortify the army!!  This Church is true. God does really help and protect his own!!! I have felt and seen his hand in my life and in my Mission especially. What a great Call to serve the king of kings!!! I love this Call!!! true its hard at times but it is the best experience ever!!! 

Can you tell i can speak Spanish more and can understand it even more!!! wahoo!!! oh one more thing I  talked with a good brother last night named Christoffer and well he went to BYU for two years and knows a little bit of English so  we just talked English last night. so kind of fun. Its sort of weird how people think down here. They say You go on a mission and then straight to BYU but i just tell them I wont be joining that plan haha.

Well Love you ALL!!! Have a wonderful Week!!! by next week i will have been out four months!!! wow! it goes fast once you get fully thrown in haha. 

Well as always! Its a Great Day to be a Mormon!!!

Elder Jaymes A. Monson

Laundry Day!

Cool weather attire

lunch... enchiladas

Week 16

Hello from the place where the last three days has been hot!

Well this week was good the weeks seem to speed up just a little at a time this week went by super quick and well its already half way through January. Now that's seems weird to me cause if feels just like yesterday that 2013 started and yet we are half way through the first month of 2013 wow!!! well anyways its been quick for me and it just gets faster the days fly by sometimes and sometimes they are absolutely the slowest days of my life. I am not having too many of those thank goodness but the Fast ones are coming and they are coming quickly.

This week I read in Alma, which is my favorite book in the Book of Mormon, if you can have a favorite book in the Book of Mormon. I especially like the man in this book whose picture hangs in my room at home and I have here with me in my mission-thanks to my mom. (For just a moment I want to tell you that Moms think of everything. you might think a picture of your favorite person in the Book of Mormon is just another thing when you start but when I read about him I was thankful my mom remembered to have him tag along. Moms know everything!!!! and well they are just amazing!!) So Friday I read the big part of my Favorite person in the greatest book to ever be printed. I read about Moroni!!! Man he is awesome!!! It says in Alma 48:17 "If all men had been and were and ever would be like unto Moroni, Behold the very powers of Hell would be shaken forever ye the devil would never have control over the hearts of the children of men" Now that's a great guy!!! not to say he is almost as strong as me haha. that was a joke man i wish i could be just like him. Can we all be a little more like the figure of Moroni to shake the very powers of Hell forever!!!! well that's what Missionaries do in a way! they shake the powers of hell and loose the bands of wickedness of people and change the hearts of men to do good. Its sort of like a story i know oh wait!!! the Book of Mormon!!! the very thing I teach and the very thing I know and read daily happens everyday!!! a person becomes converted and runs to the opportunity to share the gospel. that's like my companion who two and a half years ago was Baptized and is now on his sixth month in the mission Field cause he felt so good about the gospel he couldn't keep it in. Its like the people in the Book of Mormon like Alma who heard Abinadi Testify and then He was converted and baptized many and fled the city by promptings of the holy ghost and then was straightened through prayer and came in contact with Mosiah who then let him Preach and he Baptized Thousands and then we have his sons story which we all know he preached against the church an angel came struck him like he was dead then he jumped up and taught the gospel and turned his life into a total life of service to God!!! now that's amazing!!!!

Another thing I learned this week was a lesson on the significance of an attitude. Now I am not saying that I had a trial but i learned how attitudes help you or dont help your day. I learned that if you wake up with a smile your day should be a good day or if you wake up saying "man its already 630 why!!!!?!?!?!?!?" that's probably not a good attitude, but it's all about an attitude that makes the day it is. First day back to school you may choose the length of the day!!! you can wake up say "you have got to be kidding me school seriously!!!" and your day will be -i don't like school or wake up and say i don't thin k i have ever said this out load but "I love school!!!" now that's a good day. when i am thank full for my day and the opportunity to be alive and be in a different country then i can have a good day.  now i just have to hope that I keep that mind set cause it gets easy to complain or to say "why me" when your back pack is the size of you and has plenty of things in it and your great Companion wont stop hitting your shoulder you just have to say "ya Elder we are friends" through the hurting pain in your shoulders or "ya Elder lets walk more" haha My favorite mindset is when i sing "Pioneer Children sang as they walked and walked" haha or change it to "the two sweaty Elders sang as they walked" haha that might get me down so another song pops in the good old full of Inspiring thoughts "Fly like an eagle" as i start singing in a language nobody knows it makes me feel better!!  Its all about an attitude that makes or brakes your day.

Now what brought this up was I listened to a talk from President Uchtdorf from 2010 October that says Things that matter most. It is all about what matters most in our lives. This is just a thought or two but lets make the little things like a person cutting you off on the road or someone here doesn't let you in cause you are a Mormon and well they don't want to be converted, lets not have those set us off they re little.  keep a good attitude and let your Mind only keep positive thoughts. Let us all try just a bit to be a happy people cause when we smile or have a good attitude people want to talk to us and well that's a lot better then having people not want to be in your presence. Everyone has a great smile now use it!!!!

this started because a missionary who was leaving to go home at the end of his mission woke up at 330 in the morning and him and his companion got ready for the day to leave at 530 but they weren't quiet, they sang the whole time.  now because of this Elder Picuasi and I had no sleep, at least they could sleep in the car we had to go to work!!  so ya I thought about how my attitude would be that day, I have determined to make a god attitude and make it the happiest days ever.

I'm teaching people and hope they come to church on Sunday so they can be baptized, we will see what happens this next Sunday.

Well that's this week a sample at least. Hope all is well where you are. Here its just hot and is going to get hotter!!! so yahoo!!! by the time i come home I might Look like a brown Elder.

Have a wondeful Monday and a wonderful Week!!!

Love you all!!!!
Elder Jaymes Monson

Wearing my new Christmas tie!

Picture of my Tan Line haha I wear a watch always!!! even while I am not actually wearing one!!! that's what you get for being a White boy in a hot sunny place!!!

.

Week 15

Well Hello there!

Here in the grand old Ixhuatan We have blue skies and a slight breeze and well it’s hot so the breeze off the ocean is nice, at times wait, all the time!!! Except when it gets in your eyes that's no good at all.

Well where to start..... Let’s start at the beginning of this week back when it was 2012 do you remember that? huh that was a week ago? feels like two days ago but oh well, it was a week ago and it sure went fast!!!! I am sort of glad it has sped up since the first weeks because those were pretty slow!!! I don't know if you can tell through this letter but i am actually in a very happy mood! i know it may be strange, a missionary happy, but its true!!! I am super happy and i have no clue why! that's the great thing about being a missionary you have no idea what’s going on outside of the place you are serving, except what your parents send, and you’re still so happy. It’s a good day.

So anyways the 31 of December New Years Eve. What a night that was!!! wow! if i could only have videoed the night, these elders didn't sleep a wink. I would have called it "the world ending"  cause here it’s nice and hot (or cool for them) and well fireworks are a big thing here and that's all i need to say… no I’ll sort of describe the night.  So after Emailing last monday we picked up our clothes from President Alveres's house and got our backpacks and set out on a night that I will remember for the rest of my life. not only was I away from home but for the first time on new years eve i was sweating, I thought new years eve was either working at a roller skating rink or going to a dance or going to bed before midnight or when I was young breaking a spoon on a pan after making noise at 10pm with the family to ring in the new year. or snow? ya that's one thing Mexico doesn't have. So anyways my trusty stead, Elder Picuasi, and I walked into the night to the house of President Vasquez's house for a little dinner and some good old fanta. it was good some chicken and spaghetti. then we walked out into what feels like the middle of nowhere here which is just the country type part of Ixhuatan and talked with a nice women and her kids for a bit then started home. On the way our good friend Juan (John) came up in his mototaxi and said, "Hey I'll take ya home" so we thought hey that's pretty nice, but then he said, "haha just kidding, my mom has food for you and well we are going to my house". We looked at each other and then at our full tummies and said ok Juan. Then we sort of forced more food into our already full stomach and thought, we made it! but then his kind sister brought out a full plate of goodies and cake. The picture included. And well ate a bunch of it but had to take the rest home to eat later but holy cow my stomach was pretty close to the part  of blowing up. (so ya that was my boom story, haha) nope here's the best part. Juan took us home and we planned for the next day went to bed after I wrote in my journal.  I laid in my bed for a bit just thinking and then finally fell asleep. Now i said Fireworks are a big thing here well here anything is legal and at exactly 12 midnight the place went crazy!!! the ground shock, the house shock, as the biggest booms of fireworks light up the world. now my brother in one of the letters said that the world ending was on Mormon standard time but well i felt like the world ending was right then!!!! I am serious. It was crazy!!! as the night sky lit up for 30 minutes and the sleepy elders just laid there looking up at the sky or out the window and thinking –what’s up? haha at the thirty minute mark the biggest boom rang the sky. i thought it was a house that just blew up but no they put everything they don't want to remember from the last year in a stuffed scare crow type thing tied him to a chair and then (well i don't know if everyone does this but at least the neighbors across the street did) they put some fireworks in the scarecrow and just blew the top off and wow it shock me for about the whole night , it was a night in which we didn't really sleep well, but to make things better we got a txt at 2 am saying Juan had just been in an accident and was quickly being ambulanced off to a place that  could help him. Yesterday he came home and we visited him, he fractured his left leg from just above the knee down through his whole left leg and he cracked his skull above the left eye up to the top of his head. it didn't look good. But this Mexican is one tough man! he is going to make it for sure! as he has been to 3 hospitals for all his problems, each one a different part of his body. He is going to be alright.

Well the first day of 2013 went like this: the missionaries woke up, got dressed, headed for the taxis and no one was up not a single person but one taxi driver and 6 missionaries. Jan 1st is a day to sleep all day long!!! But the faithful missionaries went to a meeting with their zone and got their money for the month. We sure are the army of Helaman after no sleep at all we were faithful! way to go Elders!!!!

That's about may whole week just studding praying for Juan . Saturday I went on splits with another guy in the ward and we rode bikes all day it was good and a much quicker way to get around when your appointments are all over the world,  or just the small world of Ixhuatan Oaxaca Mexico. I taught some good lessons and one of the guys, my first time asking a guy to do this,  said he will be baptized!  in two three weeks he will most likely be. YES!!!! other than that my week has been walking and talking and walking and teaching and walking and eating and well every night sleeping. A typical Missionary day here. In the mornings i listen to a talk, this weeks highlight, which there are a lot, is President Monson's Attitude of Gratitude from 2010 October. It really made me think of how grateful i am to live in this world and to be so grateful to “give up” people say that, but it’s more like voluntarily enrolled in the Army of Helaman for two years to serve the master. The Armies of heleman are always ready for as good old battle with satin to cast him out of peoples lives and to change them forever. Elder Holland said this in his last talk, "the crowning characteristic of love is always loyalty" how loyal are we to our savior? are we loyal enough to give up our all to serve the master? just a thought for you today. Anyways this happy little Helper of the Lord is always ready to cast satin aside to help people open their eyes and that's what I'm here for. I am here to help serve the Lord with my other brethren and Sisters in the army of super missionary stripling warriors of  Helaman.

Now this time of the year i don't really like, well i love every time, but the fact that the Christmas carols or songs change back to party rock instead of Rudolph or Payphone instead or we three kings is a bit sad it just means to me that the season of love hope and peace is gone! it changed to- the world is back! Kind of sad.

Hope you are Safe where ever you are. I sure do love you all!!!!

Elder "Super missionary" Jaymes Monson- not the apostle Monson and there is still no relation to the prophet.  I  keep getting that question!

Picture of New years Eve with the Orozco Family

Week 14 Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!!!!

Hope your new year is filled with lots of love and joy!! I have a goal this year its pretty simple. Serve The Lord for a whole year!!!  This is the only full year January to December that i can do this full time with a name tag on so I plan on just living the whole year to the best of my ability. With the name of Jesus Christ on my white shirt i plan to be just like him well as close as a 19-20 year old young man can get. There is one Scripture that i have loved for a long time and well ever since reading the Book (that's always in my bag except in a different language English) the Book of Mormon. Its the last testimony the last hurrah of the greatest book known to the Mormon world the scripture is Moroni 10: 32 and 33. "Come unto Christ and be perfected in him". That's the message i carry everywhere I go.  Come unto the only person that loves you more than anyone else. Yes even more than a mother, i know its hard to believe sometimes but its true!

"We chose to wear RED for Christmas!"

 I know that my Moms week and Christmas was made on Friday and my Christmas was made a thousand times better, When I called home through Skype. What a great opportunity i had to see my whole family and say Merry Christmas and feel like they were across the table from me! that made my week right there! I love you Mom and Dad!!! and you too family.

This week I celebrated a Christmas that I probably wont forget because I was 5000 miles away from in a place i now call home. But it is great that the moon is the same everywhere you go. Every Night I look up at this moon, which has been absolutely amazing!!! the last two nights as it comes up its been glowing orange and is amazing! but anyway the same moon is everywhere, we are all connected by the same moon at night. and one of my favorite things is to walk by the light of the moon by the light of my family! So anyway this Christmas was a great one. Here December is the party month.  well it is. Lots of parties that's how they celebrate and tonight and Christmas eve are the biggest of the year! Christmas eve we were invited to many parties but we cant really go to them so the members bring food to us.  But Christmas eve i ate Armadillo now it was very good tasted just like everything else here except sweeter. it was quite good as a delicacy party meal. then Christmas We ate the most i think i will ever eaten in my whole entire life!!!! aha!!! i think i gained like 100 lbs haha jk. but it was a lot!!! My favorite was probably the Coconut Drink or the horcahta! it is very good!!!!  So ya that's just a bit of the Christmas except we had a night with the district and we had a couple people there and I taught the true meaning of Christmas. It was good! They didn't really know why we celebrate this great Holiday so i helped them recognize it is all about the savior. it was nice.  Its been a good week and I'm looking forward to what this next week and year will bring.

Wednesday was my 3 month mark I have been at this life changing and life forming work for three months and i love it!!!! Its going to be a great Mission and a great Year!!! the gospel is all around us. a talk i listened to this week was by Elder Holland go figure haha but it was from October 2011 or 10 don't remember but in the priesthood session about staying in bounds and keep the commandments. It is very good there is a Mormon message about it. another is by President Monson in the same session i think about the 3 R's  it is a great one too.  i suggest listening to them if you can find them. It has been a great week listened to Elder Bednars talk on being true disciples of Christ and also a few conferences ago about the holy ghost a messenger of Christ. Man those three men are amazing speakers including the rest of the quorum of the twelve as well. Another one was a talk by James E Faust to the young single adults about blessings. it was a great one. I think I listen to too many of the talks they are all scattered in my mind, the life of a missionary thats all i have to say. In Spanish they aren't really powerful not really any power in their voices.

Happy new year!!! here is another Scripture for the week. Moroni 7 all of it and 1 Nephi 1:1...I nephi (Jaymes) having been born of goodly parents. there are lots more but i don't have my scriptures with me ugh now thats not a good thing i should say because i should always have them as a missionary.

Have a great New Start to a year full of opportunities!!! Hope you and your Family have a great New years and a great week!!! Well an new year is upon us and lets just do the best we can!!!

Love you all!!!

Elder Jaymes Monson

pet Iguana... and a delicacy to eat..

This is his Christmas present...soccer jersey for best team in Mexico

This is his Zone at a Zone Conference Christmas Party. 
Elder Monson is on the second row from the top 7th one in from left

Tuxtla Gutierrez Temple, Dec 19, 2012

 

 

Lunch!