Week 26- Jesus Christ lives!

Well Hello!!!

Hope everyone had a great week, well if you didn't then you should have one this week ha ha. This week I got a new companion, Elder Benjamin de Hoyos Visited the mission, and yesterday President Arriviara from the Tuxtla Gtz temple istied our branch. Just a couple things happening this week. So ya my new companion is Elder Reyes he is from Puebla Mexico. He is a good guy, been in the mission for 11 months and well he thinks he knows English better than me, so a little different than Elder Mora but nobody is the same as another person so ya.

Elder de Hoyos was awesome! We traveled to Tuxtla all day Friday and Saturday he talked to us about finding those people that are ready to hear our message. By inviting those people that are our investigators to invite them to invite a friend to a lesson, or we can talk with the member that live next to them to talk with them and invite them or to do things with their family. A little wisdom from him that's just a part, there is so much more but working with the member's was a big part. another thing he said was to use the Book of Mormon a lot more to always have a copy in our backpacks and to use it a lot more. it is the keystone of our religion why not use it as such?.  a good one good good devotional all in Spanish but you know what? I knew everything he said i just couldn't have spoken it as good as him haha. But it was a great experience just need to practice to understand conference in a week.  all good. President Arriviara was awesome yesterday!! i remember him and he remembers me from the time I was in the temple and could not even talk with him I only had been here 3 or 4 weeks it was great!!! he is a great guy! he talked a lot about Traditions and how we need to have traditions that help us succeed in life and to progress. he said if we have these traditions we can better be examples to our families that we need to be. he said Family Home evening is a tradition we need to have for sure to help the family become better as one. i have seen this in my family. We are more happy as a family when we have that time together to help strengthen the home. it is a great thing. He told us that if we pray, read the scriptures and have FHE as a family we will better our families and what better thing for a parent to say than "here in this family we come closer to the lord". What a great thing to tell your children. My parents have taught me that and when i don't read my scriptures than through out the day there is something missing in my day. Starting out with Reading and seeking guidance from the power of the Book of Mormon than I feel like i have put on my armor for the day. So did you put on your armor today? i did!!!

Sister De Hoyos told us one thing that i would like to share. She told us that as Americans with our English Bibles we have a tool that the Spanish missionaries don't have it's the topical guide (TG). she said that Elder Holland told missionaries to look up topics about Jesus Christ in the TG and Evey week study these topics. there is 57 topics about Jesus Christ and well that's one for every week of the year and a bit more. so i took this challenge and we will see how much i learn about our Lord and master. She said that learning more about Christ is important because we are Representatives and we need to have his attributes as well. one of my favorite scriptures is a scripture mastery it's Doctrine and Covenants Section 76:22 - 24. Its my favorite because it says this, 22: "And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives"!  I testify that Jesus Christ lives he stands on the right hand of God and if we really seek him we can feel his love!!! I love knowing that! Jesus Christ lives! (this makes his Mom cry, what a powerful testimony!)  with Easter next Sunday and  this week here being, Semana Santa, or sacred week- which means a week of remembering the death of Christ, next Sunday we remember the Resurrection and the opportunity we have to live with him again. What a great thought to live with our savior once again! This is why I am out here, i want to share the love of our Savior and seek his light and help others to do the same! I love this work!!!

Well That's my wrap, that's my two cents today on this very hot Monday in March? ya i never really recognized it could be hot in march!!! but it is here! I love you all!!! 6 months tomorrow and well its all going so fast it just keeps speedilyy gonsalasing away from me!!! haha but thats ok we will make it for sure!!!

With all the love I can give!!!
Elder Jaymes Monson

My New Companion

I am here in Ixhuatan with my new companion Elder Reyes he has been out 11 months, thats the changes. I was just in Arriaga all day yesterday and i found out at 7 pm Monday what was going on so it was a good thing i didnt have to pack it all up!  Hope you have a good day and love you!!! -Elder Monson

Week 25- Naranja!

Naranja!!! (orange)

Well hello from the place that just seems to get hotter and hotter by the day! But its just part of the mission just being hot! well this week was good. Naranja is what we hear everyday because there are always people selling Oranges and naranja is orange in Spanish. Naranjas naranjas naranjas!!!! so ya it gets a bit old after you hear it following you down the street all day haha, but all good . Elder Mora is going home Wednesday and well i have no idea what is happening with me so well its just part of the experience but that's just fine with me i know that whatever happens it will be the will of the lord. 

So this week was a pretty good week. We had a baptism of a guy i told you about the first of the year, Jun. He was in the accident and well he can pretty much walk now. But we talked to him and he wanted to be baptized. i was like wait really? no way! you really want to be baptized? i was thinking in April but no he wanted to be baptized as soon as we could. so well that's what we did. We baptized the man and well he will always remember the day he was baptized that he did it all and he has a strong spirit. man!!! well anyways. it was good.

We are doing good here. just doing really well. its hot but ah who cares, we see as it says in little rascals, a Man eating Chicken!!!. That's What i remember always when i am eating chicken. so ya its actually a lot of chicken and well fish there is a

lot of that and lots of Pineapple water and oranges and tan marino. so all good.

Well this week ill share an Article from President Monson from this months ensign. Peace be still. it is actually one of my favorite hymns. when it says this:

Whether the wrath of the storm-tossed sea

Or demons or men or whatever it be,

No waters can swallow the ship where lies

The Master of ocean and earth and skies.

They all shall sweetly obey thy will:

Peace, be still. Peace be still.

but the real reason is because of the story behind it. In Mark 4:36 -41. When he rebukes the wind and the sea and the part in 41 when it says. "What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?" we know what manner of man this is, the only person in the world who cared enough for us to sacrifice and die for us. that is the message i read in Jesus the Christ and read in Mark this week and also taught about the man who can detect a spiritual prompting -President Monson. He has trained himself to know what to do and that is amazing!!! great talk.

http://www.lds.org/liahona/2013/03/peace-be-still?lang=eng

Well that's about it from the heat of Mexico. hope all is well where

you are. the work will go on till, well, till the second coming. What a

great work it is too!!!

Love you All!!! Hasta la proximo vez!!! (til the next time!)

Elder Jaymes Monson

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Week 24! Falling Mangos

Hello from the hot south!!!

 
Well this is a week i will remember for my whole life!  it was a week of pain and a week of "what happened" and a week of "whats that on your head?" Well let me tell you. Tuesday i was jumping rope in the house for my exercises for the day. In the house here the door way is just a tad bit short. so as i was jumping rope i thought i was further away from this doorway but i wasn't. i hit my head hard against the bottom of the doorway and sort of fell down grabbed my head thinking it was a good hit but it wasn't just a good hit. my companion asked is there blood? i then lifted my hand with crimson blood covering it and i just said yep. he ran and grabbed the phone and called Sister Cardenas and told her what was going on. she said, Elders "where are you",  "in the house sister", "Elder wouldn't you think that if your companion is bleeding from his head you should go to the clinic?" oh OK ya we are on our way. we went to the clinic and he cut my hair and put two stitches in my head and well he is not a very gentile man i felt everything and it hurt haha as he did the old time stitches with a needle and thread.  so ya the picture is me after with tape all over my head haha. thats the good picture i could send a picture of the cut but i think that would be a little much as my Companion told me that i have a pretty deep cut and a pretty long cut as well.  we told all the kids that a mango fell from a tree hit me in the head and i fell to the ground and Elder Mora ate the mango haha they all believed it haha!  so ya i have a couple stories and i have had a little patch of goss on my head to protect it from the sun. but the funny thing about this is when the doctor asked my name, since i had a different shirt on that day and didn't have my name on it because of the blood. I said Jaymes, um your other name. Monson, Manson, no, Monson, Manuel?, No Monson, Ok well just put Monson then. Ha ha,it was sort of funny.

So ya that was one thing that happened this week the other is that we had a District Conference. it was good it is Just like a stake conference but the first one was filmed in Mexico city and well it was actually quite amazing. We learned a lot about the Virtue of women and how we all need to be a little better. Elder Ulisses Soares, Sister Elaine Dalton , Elder David Bednar, and Elder Richard G Scott. It was a wonderful meeting. We actually watched it on a VCR because they taped it from the morning  and then we watched the "Second Section" on a VCR player, Do they even make those anymore?, and a projector. so ya. the coolest thing was that Elder Scott got up after everyone else, including Elder Soraes who speaks Spanish as his primary language, he stood up after they all had had translators and spoke with a fluent tongue of Spanish!!! that was cool! and he spoke with such power too. It was all mostly About the virtue of women and how we all can make a difference with our diligent work. it was good a good Sunday!

Well this week hopefully there will be 4 baptisms like we are planning if not 2 so ya there is work to be done and well i will do my best. Next Monday i Might not even be in Ixhuatan i might be in Arriaga writing or in Tuxtla because next Tuesday I have a new companion and i have no idea who he is yet but i will tell you as soon as i find out.

 I just found out my brother is headed just 400 miles away from me in Guatemala City South Mission so we will be close and what a great opportunity for him!!!

Well hope you have a great week!!! I will do my best to not get hit by falling Mangoes or stop jumping rope in the house. 

A Dias !!! which means to god!

Elder Jaymes A Monson

Week 23 Wind, lights off and Pres. Monson

I never really know how to start a letter so ya ... hi!

Well this week was a pretty good week two baptisms, a zone conference, lots of wind, no lights for two days, well the least two were not all that great but who knows at least the lights came back on so i could write this letter.  Ixhautan is doing great a little under the weather because of all the wind and the trees falling but you know what all is good all is fine now.  to tell you the truth the wind was fierce but it felt nice and cool so that was a plus -you know what, if i look at the good things in life i seem to be much more happy.

if i counted how many people said "oh well your friends the Jehovah's witnesses were just here and well aren't you the same?"  or "well i got baptized in your church yesterday", oh really um and which church would we belong too? "oh the one up the street," oh really and whats the name? "um i cant remember but you are the same they wear a shirt and tie and wanted to convert me so i said yes that same day i was baptized so ya you are the same".  Um mam that would be the Jehovah's witnesses.  we belong to the true church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, there is no other church. "oh OK that makes no sense but OK i guess i already have a church so have a nice day.."  Now if I counted how many times i had heard that and then had the door shut in my face i would have had a rough week but i decided to look at the good, like the two baptisms, of David and Virgina, both two great examples for their family's and want whats best for them. they are really good people. but ill get to that in a minute.

this week was good because of two other people. Julian and Maybelline. These two young people are bother and sister who have moved down from their mom to go to school for much cheaper and to work for their uncle. these two have a testimony of the truth and have attended church and have done anything and everything that god would want them to do. but they have a problem. their uncle who they work for told them yesterday they couldn't attend church with us because he didn't like Mormons they just want to convert you and baptize you and corrupt you with their evil devilish ways. Julian told us, and his sister was a witness, he said "i stood up and told him, uncle i know this is true and just because you hate the Mormons doesn't mean anything you me. it is my choice which church to go to or not" and his aunt, who is him moms sister said, then i see no reason why you wouldn't want to go to the Mormon church. but the uncle thought otherwise. so ya its a big old problem with him but the aunt he said told him that its your choice and his mom would probably be OK with it.  two great 16 and 18 year old young people looking for the truth. it was powerful he told me he felt like Christ was in him and he could have just commanded the lights to come back on. haha we still need to teach him some things  but he is a great young man.  we have reached out to the Young men to welcome him in and well they are more than willing because there is a girl involved haha and well they are now figuring out which one of them will go with us which days and all of that cause they think she is beautiful. well she is nice and they are two great young people.

Now to a different story. Saturday we had a baptism. but there were no lights. the lights had been out about the whole day and well all I  said was, "we can say a prayer". but then a young man named Paco said, we can put Magdiel's motorcycle in the hallway of the church with the light shinning in and put mine in the room and we can have light. President Alvarez just said, um who's going to clean up after and i don't think the lord rode a motorcycle. so why would we park something that the lord didn't have in his house? OK that's interesting. then President Alvarez said, Elder Monson can call his grandpa and ask him to see if he can turn back on the lights. I said well i have this flash light and i cant really call President Monson because - one he is not my Grandpa and two we can just say a prayer. then President Alvarez said well if you give me that flashlight and then call your grandpa then we Will be OK. He doesn't get that I am not President Monson's Grandson. He always tells me im the Prophets Grandson OK and does he need water? as a matter of fact I do need water President but I'm not quite sure who you are talking to. so anyways everyone changed their clothes and i tapped the light switch and the lights came on. so of course I heard all about how i have called my Grandpa some how to turn on the lights. so ya. But what a great service to see them enter the waters of baptism and to have just a few people there that really loved these people and helped us to change their lives. just two shinning stars. so ya a great night. But President Alvarez will not stop asking me how much to buy my Flashlight. I told him 10000 pasos he said OK i can get that in the House. haha i don't know how much it is but it is not for sale. haha

So ya that's just a part of my week the other part is my companion and I with gray hair as we try to walk thought the dust storm. they are nuts!!! i cant wait til the rain comes in the end of May because I feel like a fish out of water and i just want water. that's a big hardship for me, there is snow at home now and in the summer there is boating but here its dirt and in May to November its time to get a boat! haha so ya here its good all good its either hot or windy or what else oh you either eat chicken and tortillas or chicken and tortillas or re fried beans and chicken. that's about it.

Zone conference was good with President Cardenas my mission president it was good to talk with him for a bit and for him to say Man this Zone is one of the best and Ixhuatan is one of the strongest areas and has great Elder serving there. so ya all good!!!

Hope you had a great week!! Hope there is sunshine were you are cause well it makes everyone just a bit happier. when the wind was here it was hard for us cause no one was happy and we were the only ones and they say crazies to even be out. At least i got the dirt out of my ears haha. this past week was 5 months in the mission its pretty crazy to think that five months ago i was left on the curb to just start running!! I Love this work!!!

Well I love you all!!! Have a great week!!! And just remember to Smile!!!!

Elder Jaymes A Monson