Week 53: I know God is here right by me to help me. I LOVE THIS WORK!!!!!

HI hope that the force was with you this week haha sorry I just was reading my brothers emails.

Well I now have a year in my mission!!! that's pretty cool isn't it! It’s been a great year that's for sure. And other than being just a little bit sick on Thursday in the morning it was a great week filled with lots of just heartwarming things as well 2 baptisms so ya it was a great week. 

In the picture it goes me in the great looking white haha, then the cute little Joseline who's family is all members except her and well E. Zambrano baptized her, then its Jamie who's mom was a member and well she just died and he is accepting the lord into his life a lot more. He is like a missionary he always says that he will go where the Lord wants him to go, he is a great guy a single man that just does the will of the lord. Then there is My Companion Elder Zambrano in his White and well i just figured out he is just a little darker than me and that we look good in white haha. But this was a great baptism two people that are just so close to god and are willing to go where the lord wants them to go. Joseline was so scared to talk to the district leader because she was afraid he would ask her questions she wouldn't know haha but then she just opened up and just couldn't stop talking about how she is a daughter of god. she will make a great young women. and Jamie is just awesome we go over there a lot of times in the mornings and we paint his house we finish one project and he comes up with more to paint haha but what a humble person!

I think this is what the mission is all about not baptizing it’s getting to know people that are just so humble and so prepared. My first half of my mission has been in three different places, in Provo for two months here for two months and well the place I miss- my birth place in the mission Ixhuatan. Here in the mission Field it is amazing who you can talk to. it’s amazing to be in the lords hands. i think that's what you can say about a missionary they are the lords hands. the lord is an amazing person he is all knowing, sometimes I stop and think how our father in heaven does it. then it makes my head hurt thinking of how it all came to pass. but since he is all knowing I am the lords hands I am, as President Uchtdorf described in his talk about how we are the hands of Christ, “I am the work, I am the body but not the spirit, I am the mouth but not the tongue”. I am an elder set apart to be away from the people I love to go and be the physical body our heavenly father needs to be able to reach out to his children. I have a gift to speak a language that was so foreign as the country i was going to, OK granted it is not that foreign but it’s not the US. I open my mouth and there are things that come out of it I had no Idea were even words, I am Elder Jaymes Monson A man of strength but I will do exactly as Ammon in Alma 26:11-14

 11 But Ammon said unto him: I do not boast in my own strength, nor in my own wisdom; but behold, my Joy is full, yea, my heart is brim with joy, and I will rejoice in my God.

 12 Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.

 13 Behold, how many thousands of our brethren has he loosed from the pains of hell; and they are brought to sing redeeming love, and this because of the power of his word which is in us, therefore have we not great reason to rejoice?

 14 Yea, we have reason to praise him forever, for he is the Most High God, and has loosed our brethren from the chains of hell.

EXACTLY!!! Its real! I am defiantly not boasting in my strength, that would be a joke haha, but I will boast in the strength the lord has given me. the lord works through me to get to his children he works through me to bring people unto him. Everything I do Everything I say is given me in the exact moment I need it (D&C 10:6)  6: For it shall be given you in the very hour, yea, in the very moment, what ye shall say.
I am really given it in the very second I need it, the spirit is in me and I will let it work through me to become the best I can be.

This first year has been a great one started out like wow I hope I will make it at least a year but now i don't want to go home ever!!! I have gotten to know people who are amazing and who want to become closer to god and they are the best people in the world because they opened the door to let the lord bless them. I can always remember Temo I don't think I will ever forget him and his family they are the best people that have changed their hearts and have accepted god in their lives, they have been touched by the loving atonement that god has given them and they will hopefully go on and never turn down the lord again. I love being a missionary sometimes you feel like you really are on the front lines with Christ and you are getting hit from everywhere with everything you don't want to happen but I wouldn't want it any other way. I will go where my spirit sends me because where ever my spirit goes my body does too. I love this work and I love being on the front lines against satin and I will make sure he never wins because I am a messenger of god and will always be one I know this church is true and I know that if we come to god with a broken heart and a contrite spirit we will always have him to lead and guide us. I am a child of god and I know this truth a family is forever I am a messenger of our loving Father in heaven a Representative of the Savior Jesus Christ. I know god is here right by me to help me. I LOVE THIS WORK!!!!!

I love you all and hope you all have a great day and a great week!!!

Elder Jaymes A Monson
A Representative of Jesus Christ

Week 52: 1 year mark, is that possible?

Hello, hope everyone is just doing great.

I just want to sing something to my wonderful Mother. she is the best in the whole world. hope you all know that I wouldn't change my mom for any mom in the world because she is mine. Happy birthday to you happy birthday to you happy birthday best mom in the world happy birthday to you. there ya go mom happy birthday yesterday hope it was a awesome day hope you know how much i love you.

(Just so everyone knows... I did not put him up to saying such nice things about me, but I'll graciously accept every word!)

This week was absolutely awesome. it was overly awesome I don't know how to explain it its like you order an Ice cream and they give you an extra spoon full free. that was my week it was probably one of the bests weeks in my mission I am telling you I know I have a year out in my mission this week but the truth is Elder Zambrano and I had an awesome week and well what payed it off was that we have some pretty choice people we are teaching. they are defiantly just in the right place at the right time. they are excepting the gospel at the right time in their lives. and it is really quite interesting how we find them. we usually find them from members but this time its the less actives. it is really quite interesting because these people that they haven't seen the inside of the church in awhile they are just showing up out of the blue to find us. they just say elders I have someone you need to meet. and all of a sudden these people are coming back to the church because they need to bring this person who they are helping to church. it is awesome. so  we are doing twice the work at the same time.  we are teaching two different people in which they are not members but they have someone who is. and well it is awesome. and its pretty nice to see how the gospel still is in these peoples lives as they help the person understand what they need to do. We found a young man last week named Freddy and wow he is defiantly chosen for this time to change his life just a little bit more. he is just all over the gospel he just cant get enough of it. he just literally eats it up that's what i need to take a picture of next, him eating up the gospel. he literally he just cant put down the gospel and he is always just wondering when will we come over again and well it is like 4 hours later and he wants us to come over to help him know more. he is a great guy.

But one of the most interesting thing i learned this week, we had 24 lessons this week, horrible numbers horrible. well they weren't that bad they were just a little low. and we were just scratching our heads just saying why why do these things happen like a person told us she didn't want to see us again and she was ready for baptism this week. we just sort of said wait what why does the devil have to do that. but the thing I learned this week was Patience. the power of Patience. the lord was like just wait a second my sons just wait i have a huge blessing coming. so we looked and Saturday was filled to the limit with lessons i felt the prompting to ask if we could have 8 lessons this day. boom, day comes we work our tails off and we come home with 9 lessons! 9 lessons what a blessing holy cow the blessing came and we were amazed we came home and sat down and well my companion and I were just looking at each other and I said lets get down and thank the lord for what he just did through us. What a blessing how big and how great it was. holy cows it was amazing how the lord worked through us he really tries us then he just shows the blessings. just like it says in Ether 12:6  And now, I, Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning these things; I would show unto the world that Faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith.
the witness did come that's for sure. and i am so grateful for it.

Well this week will mark the 1 year mark and well next week I will write a little about how I have seen the changes from a year ago. I love this church. and love you all. the 26th will be a day that I didn't think would happen a year ago haha

Love you all

Elder Jaymes Monson

Week 51- RAIN

Welcome to week 51 that just means life just keeps going on.

Hope you are all well and all having a great Day. here it is the Mexican Independence day. so there are just a few partying people. haha its a good day to party i guess good day to spend it with family that's what they are all doing. so that sounds just like the 4th of July doesn't it? its because they both are great days!!!
 

This week we are talking about RAIN!!!!! it has rained everyday in September except yesterday. but this week the rain came down all week long!!

everyday all day, well just about all day everyday so yesterday was nice because everything could dry out just a bit as well as us!!!  it got a little warmer yesterday because  it has been a little chilly sometimes. but ya what a good week it was except the fact that some people told us to come back because they didn't want us to get their house wet and they also told us not to get wet and to not get sick. wouldn't these things be the best reason to let us in? haha oh well we tried not to do all of those things but how are you not supposed to get wet when you are under the buckets of rain that are coming down.

This week was great on the studying side I really learned a lot about being an example.

"Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attendance to areading, to exhortation, to doctrine.  Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.  Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both asave thyself, and them that hear thee."

It is just a great thing to be!!! Don't you think? BE an EXAMPLE. what does it mean to be an example. well out here where I am they say that we are examples or more like lights that attract everyone!! They then joke and say its because we wear white! and we are just like OK that's a good thing but they are really hard to keep clean. haha no its not because of that its because we are the people who are closer to Christ said one sister in our ward she then said its because every young man wants to be like us because as we sing in primary we are trying to be like Jesus and well what better way to be more like Christ than to be like the missionaries. so I thought that was pretty cool. But i remember this when it was a youth theme for the year. Be an example of the Believers...It was actually pretty great to be reminded that we are all examples of the love Christ has for us. We are examples of what we are and what we can become. the neat thing we had this week was we taught two new young men well they are in their 20s and well they have had a person or two from the church, both are young women around their age, haha funny how they have an affect on young men haha! and well both of these guys have gone to church and to institute because they wanted to know why these young girls are the way they are. one of them named Jorge told us that he saw something in the way they act and the way the are that really caught his eye. the other one told us that they were always there for him and always just there for an answer to a question. now one of them are taking a class at institute and you would never guess what it is.... its the marriage for eternity class. haha I guess this girl wants to save this mans life haha. its sort of funny isn't it but its actually changing his life he loves hearing the word of god and well both of them have baptismal dates for the 28th of September and they seem to be ready. and well they are new people to teach but they aren't new to the church because well they where attending church since the beginning of august but in a different ward. but its amazing what a good example can do isn't it?  so well lets look for the opportunity's to be a good example and to be like this two sisters and find people and help them to go on the right path that will change their lives forever. 

Well this week will be a good week i just know it!!! lets be EXAMPLES this week and well forever. lets be examples of the believers in all the things we do!!!


Hope you have a great week!!! Love you all!!!

Elder Jaymes Monson

Week 50- Pickle juice and Count your blessings!

Well it’s Week 50!!! Two weeks and I have a year!!! And now I am 20 years old!!! Wow!! Times really flies doesn't it I know I say it a lot but really it flies!!!

This week was great!!! It was my 20th birthday on Tuesday!! it was actually a blast!!! The four of us that live in the same building celebrated by me making bacon and pancakes and we had ice cream!! ya it’s not a normal thing to eat on your birthday but we whipped it all up and we had a blast it was awesome as we just talked and enjoyed each other’s company!!  It was great, another way we celebrated it was by going through the rain about 1/2 the day! I love rain but really it was a bit wet!!! Also we went to a member’s house and they made Flan for me and well it was pretty great!! They sang the mañanitas to me and well it was pretty great. But it wasn't all that great of a work day but it was still pretty awesome!!! 

Since moving here to Juarez I have had to do a little more Bible searching haha ya it’s a very interesting thing to go into a lesson and be like “that is in the bible?” And well I am trying to tell my companion he should do the same so that we know what to talk about and how to play it off of what they say. It is actually sort of interesting because my companion and I sometimes are teaching a lesson and we do really well. But then when we talk about the bible I'm like Elder help me!! And he is like i have no clue what we are even talking about haha ya we are working on that. But anyways I read a talk this week that goes along with a Parable that Christ gave. The talk is by Elder Holland in 2012 it actually is one of my favorites!! I think I'm using that work a little too much lately! Because well I have lots of favorites!!! What it’s true! haha how can you only choose one! But this talk is called The Laborers in the Vineyard. It’s found in Matthew 20:1-15 let me just share some parts of this he says, the Savior’s parable in which a householder “went out early in the morning to hire laborers.” After employing the first group at 6:00 in the morning, he returned at 9:00 a.m., at 12:00 noon, and at 3:00 in the afternoon, hiring more workers as the urgency of the harvest increased. The scripture says he came back a final time, “about the eleventh hour” (approximately 5:00 p.m.), and hired a concluding number. Then just an hour later, all the workers gathered to receive their day’s wage. Surprisingly, all received the same wage in spite of the different hours of labor. Immediately, those hired first were angry, saying, “These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day.” When reading this parable, perhaps you, as well as those workers, have felt there was an injustice being done here. Let me speak briefly to that concern.

First of all it is important to note that no one has been treated unfairly here. The first workers agreed to the full wage of the day, and they received it. Furthermore, they were, I can only imagine, very grateful to get the work. In the time of the Savior, an average man and his family could not do much more than live on what they made that day. If you didn’t work or farm or fish or sell, you likely didn’t eat. With more prospective workers than jobs, these first men chosen were the most fortunate in the entire labor pool that morning.

Indeed, if there is any sympathy to be generated, it should at least initially be for the men not chosen who also had mouths to feed and backs to clothe. Luck never seemed to be with some of them. With each visit of the steward throughout the day, they always saw someone else chosen.

But just at day’s close, the householder returns a surprising fifth time with a remarkable eleventh-hour offer! These last and most discouraged of laborers, hearing only that they will be treated fairly, accept work without even knowing the wage, knowing that anything will be better than nothing, which is what they have had so far. Then as they gather for their payment, they are stunned to receive the same as all the others! How awestruck they must have been and how very, very grateful! Surely never had such compassion been seen in all their working days.

It is with that reading of the story that I feel the grumbling of the first laborers must be seen. As the householder in the parable tells them (and I paraphrase only slightly): “My friends, I am not being unfair to you. You agreed on the wage for the day, a good wage. You were very happy to get the work, and I am very happy with the way you served. You are paid in full. Take your pay and enjoy the blessing. As for the others, surely I am free to do what I like with my own money.” Then this piercing question to anyone then or now who needs to hear it: “Why should you be jealous because I choose to be kind?”  

Brothers and sisters, there are going to be times in our lives when someone else gets an unexpected blessing or receives some special recognition. May I plead with us not to be hurt—and certainly not to feel envious—when good fortune comes to another person? We are not diminished when someone else is added upon. We are not in a race against each other to see who is the wealthiest or the most talented or the most beautiful or even the most blessed. The race we are really in is the race against sin, and surely envy is one of the most universal of those.

Furthermore, envy is a mistake that just keeps on giving. Obviously we suffer a little when some misfortune befalls us, but envy requires us to suffer all good fortune that befalls everyone we know! What a bright prospect that is—downing another quart of pickle juice every time anyone around you has a happy moment! To say nothing of the chagrin in the end, when we find that God really is both just and merciful, giving to all who stand with Him “all that he hath,” as the scripture says. So lesson number one from the Lord’s vineyard: coveting, pouting, or tearing others down does not elevate your standing, nor does demeaning someone else improve your self-image.

So be kind, and be grateful that God is kind. It is a happy way to live. 

like this Parable and as Elder Holland tells us We are not sure when we will get he opportunity to work in the lords vineyard. but we are always happy to take the work. But are we the kind of people that as Elder Holland says drown another quart of pickle juice every time anyone around you has a happy moment! are we like that? I sure hope not we should be happy that so many people are having happy moments we need to get out of our unhappy moments and get into a good mood. are we going to be the kind of people who are always mad because our friends are getting blessed. or as my Companion told someone who was not having a great day because her neighbor got a new car, he said, Sister are you serious why are you mad because they got a new car, she said, because now I have to see it everyday and it Will haunt me! wow Why? because they are so blessed, then came in the spirit working on our minds and then we both said sister, how is your family? boom! right then we turned that frown upside down and she said they are great we never don't have food because my husband works and well they are happy and they love me, I said What a blessing sister now why are you mad when they get something new, you should be happy for them and say good for them, she joked and said good for them they have a car payment to pay now, ha ha she was just joking around but really we should do as a hymn tells us to do, 

When upon life's billows you are tempest-tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings; name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done

 Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear
Count your many blessings; ev'ry doubt will fly,
And you will be singing as the days go by.

When you look at others with their lands and gold,
Think that Christ has promised you his wealth untold.
Count your many blessings; money cannot buy
Your reward in heaven nor your home on high.

So amid the conflict, whether great or small,
Do not be discouraged; God is over all.
Count your many blessings; angels will attend,
Help and comfort give you to your journey's end.

(Chorus)
Count your blessings;
Name them one by one.
Count your blessings;
See what God hath done.
Count your blessings;
Name them one by one.
Count your many blessings;
See what God hath done.
Count your many blessing!!

like in the story of the laborers in the vineyard count the blessing of getting the work for the day

Count your many blessings!!! Name them one by one!! Like the people in the story of the laborers they should count the blessing of having the work! We have so many blessings especially to have a loving father in heaven who loves us and a family who cares for us!!!! What else do we need?  I love this work and what a blessing to be here!!!

Just remember to count the blessings we have not to drink a quart of pickle juice!!! Hope your week is pickle juice drinking free!!! 

Love you all!!!

Elder Jaymes Monson

Elder Jeffery R Holland April 2012 GC http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/04/the-laborers-in-the-vineyard?lang=eng