Week 87: "thank the Lord God in all things" - I found root beer!

Well what a week it was. And today I complete 20! yes 20 Months as a missionary!! i must be crazy or something because i remember being in my companions place and thinking “what in the world am i going to do with 23 months!?!” and i would just say lets go for the long run but wait! i want it to slow down a bit!! but I sure am grateful to be a missionary!!

First root beer!

oh that reminds me of a talk by Pres. Uchtdorf this past conference entitled Grateful in any circumstances What a great talk!!! the funny thing is i have been studying about it for 2 weeks and its helped!!! wow how great it is to be grateful! I really have learned in my mission a lot about being grateful!!! it might be because the people sacrifice to give things to us like food and well whatever it is we better be grateful for it and well we better at least try it! the truth is I'm so grateful to be a missionary. As Disciples of Christ, we are commanded to “thank the Lord [our] God in all things,” to “sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving,” and to “let [our] heart be full of thanks unto God.” it’s the truth I feel better when I thank than when i ask god. because its important to ask but what great blessings we have. Perhaps focusing on what we are grateful for is the wrong approach. It is difficult to develop a spirit of gratitude if our thankfulness is only proportional to the number of blessings we can count. True, it is important to frequently “count our blessings”—and anyone who has tried this knows there are many—but I don’t believe the Lord expects us to be less thankful in times of trial than in times of abundance and ease. In fact, most of the scriptural references do not speak of gratitude for things but rather suggest an overall spirit or attitude of gratitude. the thing is we are happier when we give thanks. think of it this way have you ever seen someone really be grateful for something with a frown on there face? i haven't but it might happen but when usually are happy and we are showing our thanks to the person. now let me tell you a story.

When I was in Tuxtla we visited a great young man named Freddy. i still miss him! one day elder Zambrano and I where teaching him about the importance of being grateful. we asked him "Freddy what are you grateful for?" and Boom a list of things then Elder Zambrano asked a question that really brought the spirit in strong. he asked "now Freddy what are you grateful for with god? , and how do you show it?" wow great question I thought but the answer was better, he said " I am grateful for my life and i show it in the way i act, he loves me and I know that but if i don't show that I love him how will I feel his love? thats the way i show i care." another person who i know is so grateful to his father in heaven is Emmanuel he says he loves god so much he will pay 3 pesos for his tithing because he is just grateful to receive money. A Christ centered life is a grateful one. My dear brothers and sisters, the choice is ours. We can choose to limit our gratitude, based on the blessings we feel we lack. Or we can choose to be like Nephi, whose grateful heart never faltered. When his brothers tied him up on the ship—which he had built to take them to the promised land—his ankles and wrists were so sore “they had swollen exceedingly,” and a violent storm threatened to swallow him up in the depths of the sea. “Nevertheless,” Nephi said, “I did look unto my God, and I did praise him all the day long; and I did not murmur against the Lord because of mine afflictions." just as it says in 1 Corinthians 15:57-58  "But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord." When we are grateful to God in our circumstances, we can experience gentle peace in the midst of tribulation. In grief, we can still lift up our hearts in praise. In pain, we can glory in Christ’s Atonement. In the cold of bitter sorrow, we can experience the closeness and warmth of heaven’s embrace. This is not a gratitude of the lips but of the soul. It is a gratitude that heals the heart and expands the mind. We can choose to be grateful, no matter what. what a great blessing it is to be grateful and to do the will of the lord! yesterday sister Oliphant, one of the sister missionaries in our ward and well my “neighbor" because she is from South Jordan, she sang yesterday in church and she sang i know that my redeemer lives in English and Spanish. It made me think how grateful i am to know that he lives, thank you sister Oliphant you helped us remember something we should always be grateful for, that our lord and savior Jesus Christ lives. I am so glad to have his name over my heart everyday and well what an honor it is to be worth of bearing his name! may we live in Thanksgiving daily! the church is true!!! may god bless you wherever you are and whatever you do. I'm so glad to be a missionary!!

love you all!! have a great week!!

Elder Jaymes Monson

Week 86: The race doesn't stop before the finish line it stops after it!!! 4 months left

Well what a week- i am just saying!!!

This week I learned I cant be in a bus very long because I get really bored haha and I get a bit car sick because its a lot of movement but that’s the worst part of the week. The best part was Tuesday when I got my new Companion Elder Reyes, Again?! ha ha Yes he is the same Reyes haha no this Elder is from Tampico Tamaulipas Mexico. So he speaks Spanish and well what a great Elder, man he might only have barley a week in the field but man he has a heart for the mission and its awesome. We are going to work well together once he gets down the work together and language is one aspect but man he will go far.  Lots of Elders and Sisters from the United States have asked if his real name is David Archuleta because he sort of looks and talks like him haha but no he isn't so don't worry. 

 It was a great Tuesday meeting him and then sitting for 6 hours in a bus with nothing to do except talk to my companion or to the other two elders that were with us so ya but one of my favorite parts of the week was Wednesday we had the opportunity to have Elder Johnson he’s the brother of the Elder Johnson who is president of the area. so ya i forgot his name! sorry! It was absolutely awesome!! He talked about the faith and how if we put our faith in the right places we will be blessed and he also talked about how we need to look for the solutions to things not the ways to get out of them. well it was pretty awesome!!! It was a great time and he really spoke to the heart. Since then I have been putting it in action to be able to get better in my faith. Its a pretty good thought and I will be happy to make the faith of others grow we shouldn't be sad or not smile when we are sharing it. There is a reason there is a saying I'm a Mormon I'm happy. We show our faith by the smile we have. If we are frowny people who wants to go to a frowny church? We should be happy because we know who we are! I have 4 months or so left in my mission and this is where lots of missionaries are like “ya im in the home stretch let me be a bit more lazy” or “ya I’m good where i am”.  But I'm not!!! Are you kidding if I had that kind of attitude my new buddy, Companion, would think that the mission is a place to be lazy of just work a little bit. I am in the home stretch the last inning wouldn't that be the best time to win? Its the time to make it the best. The best part of the game!! My favorite part is how the game ends not how it starts! haha its a lot better to watch you win or finish then to watch someone start. Especially when the game is close. Satin is on my heals and what am i going to do? Are you serious, I'm not going to let him win the devil will never win when I'm on in the war of truth and right! I will go and do the will of the Lord, he is our commander and we are glad to have him aboard. 

So I told my companion “Welcome aboard to the best army in the world, the army of men and women that as Elder Holland said in conference, you have in your own humble way stepped into a circle of very distinguished women and men , welcome aboard companion now lets go fight til the end!” I am the man with a name tag! The one who fights for the right with all my might, who Christ is my strength and well my whole life!!! Now let US finish this battle I have only a couple more months left to be on the front lines! I'm not stopping after 4 months my job isn’t through till the master says the work is done, I will be the man god needs on his team! I am an Elder a missionary of god I have been chosen to serve him and I better be working hard to defeat the devil and that's what I will do we will baptize soon I haven’t done it in 3 months!! its time to get these people in the water!!! So with the spirit of God and the armor placed in its place lets go- this is the best time of our lives. My new companion is here now its our daily preparation we need to be ready for the war of each day and there will be lots of anger coming from the other team so are you ready? I am!! If you aren't get ready because we are in the middle of the largest war we will ever see and we will win!! That’s why I will not go down I will not die!! The race doesn't stop before the finish line it stops after it!!! Now climb aboard our journey is about to get funner and get ready to fight!! I love this work!!! We all are the army of Helaman!!! Now let us show it to our Father in heaven let us show him we are ready for his commands to go into the middle and to destroy the bad and replaces it with good!!! The Church is true!!! Thanks you Elder Reyes I’m as ready as you are to work!!

Love you all!!

Elder Jaymes Monson

Week 85: Mother's Day

Happy Monday!!!

Well I just got word last night that I’m going to Tuxtla today to get my companion, I'm training a new Elder, who knows what his name it but ill know tomorrow so ya it will be good I’ll keep working hard and moving forward!

Yesterday was Mothers Day so happy mothers day to all you wonderful women! Grandmothers and mothers, sisters all the wonderful women in our livers!!! I am so glad I got the opportunity to talk to my wonderful mother yesterday! It was good I have forgotten how to speak English but that's OK ill learn it soon!!

I was joking with my mom last week as we were chatting back and forth a bit. she said her doctor said he needs to move her knee more I then told here she needs to start running because when I come home in four months or so she will be the first to come and give me a hug. haha she just said she’ll start running! I love my mom she is the best. I just want to say I’m pretty sure I have the best mom in the world for me. I couldn't ask for anyone else to take her place. Elder Christofferson said, "In all events, a mother can exert an influence unequaled by any other person in any other relationship. By the power of her example and teaching, her sons learn to respect womanhood and to incorporate discipline and high moral standards in their own lives. Her daughters learn to cultivate their own virtue and to stand up for what is right, again and again, however unpopular. A mother’s love and high expectations lead her children to act responsibly without excuses, to be serious about education and personal development, and to make ongoing contributions to the well-being of all around them."

A mother is a teacher she teaches by example, she is a counselor and a she helps her children learn whats wrong from right. To tell you the truth my mom is a “i`m right here” type of mom. Let me explain, she is there in times of need like when I was in my elementary school when mom packed my lunch it was awesome because she would pack it full of good things to eat and more times then not I would find a napkin that would say four words “I love you Jaymes” or like one time i remember i found the words, “Jaymes I am so proud of you keep your chin up” that day I remember was a rough day but I gained straight that day that only mom can give. As I grew up I received texts or a message in my mailbox on my phone from my wonderful mom. She is awesome and even today I receive emails from my mom telling me how much she loves me. My mom is a proud missionary mother of 2 missionaries she always is sending us her love, even when we are miles away!!!  A mother is always there for her children, mother’s “Be ready always to give an answer to every [man, woman, and child] that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you. Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.  Bring up your children in light and truth. Teach [them] to pray, and to walk uprightly before the Lord.” A mother is a peacemaker and a Worthy daughter of god; she lives righteously for priesthood blessings in her home. I have seen it in my grandmothers as their husbands use their priesthood to bless others and act in their callings. I have seen it in my own mother when my dad was bishop, and came home late because he was blessing others lives, or when she would go to the hospital just to be with him to see members who needed his help. I have seen it in every calling she has been in. She has sacrificed all to have priesthood blessings. A woman’s moral influence is nowhere more powerfully felt or more beneficially employed than in the home. There is no better setting for rearing the rising generation than the traditional family, where a father and a mother work in harmony to provide for, teach, and nurture their children. The things that are important to god are the small and simple things and where our heart is. I am so glad to have such a wonderful mother and father who love me and are my guides through this life. A mother is one of the best if not the best creation god has. She is there to be the nurse when we get hurt, the hand to hold in the doctors office, the one to make you smile to be there for you, the best hugger, the criers place to find peace, the person who is home to greet you, and the best part of her husbands life, and so much more!! Aren’t mothers the best!! I want to marry someone just like my mom so my kids can have what I have had. If you haven't wished your mom or your sister or your grandma a happy mothers day you better do it soon. Its their day to shine and well its the best day for missionaries because they got to call home!! Now these missionary moms can’t wait til Christmas and its only May!! Because they get to talk to their missionaries once again!! Let us celebrate mothers day everyday!! Share your love everyday with the mom in your life because each day to a good day to show and tell your mom you love her! Moms are the best!! I LOVE YOU MOM!!!

Love you all hope the week was good and well this week is even better!!!

Elder Jaymes Monson

        

    

   

Happy Mother's Day Skype

Happy Mother's Day!

We had a wonderful evening talking with both boys on missions and us at home!  I could not have asked for a better mother's day gift than to have all of us in the "same room" for a little bit of time.  Jaymes shared that he loves the people of Tapachula and all of his Mission.  They love to give him gifts, they are very generous and nice. He loves teaching about the Gospel from lesson #3 in Preach My Gospel.  He says it is a powerful lesson each time.  

He lives upstairs in a nice big home while owners of the home and members of the church live downstairs.  He uses their washing machine to do laundry and the family feeds them often.  He has eaten iguana (tastes like chicken), chicken feet, and tortua (turtle).  He has gotten really sick twice on his mission both times he has learned a lesson of what and where not to eat :) His favorite days of the week are Sundays and P-days!

Jaymes shared a favorite part about his mission is being around the people.  They treat you like part of their family, you become their kids, like he is their son.  He loves to help them and give back.

Other than that we just joked about lots of fun memories and what they miss about home and what they love about being away.  Jaymes and Tyler really loved chatting with one another in spanish and sharing similar experiences or expressions.  That was neat to watch.  Brayden even chimed in a few times with his spanish.  I asked lots of questions and just enjoyed the moments.  We took a few pictures but it seems like I never get enough or take the right ones but oh well.  

I'm proud of Jaymes.  He is a hard worker, compassionate, giving, understanding, loves the Lord and follows closely to what the spirit tell him.  He is also strictly obedient and works really hard to do what is right no matter what else is happening.  He is learning just what he can become and what the Lord sees in him.  I'm a proud and happy Mama!

Mother's Day was just perfect.  Nothing like being together as a family no matter how far away we are from some.  Family is family and I sure love them all!

Week 84: I love this work!!!

WELL HI!

It’s May but wasn't the saying April showers bring May flowers? then why didn't it rain here in April and why were there flowers in April and now they are just about gone? I guess they where talking about weather in the US because here its backwards!

its Cinco de MAYO but the truth is they only have the holiday in the US because its when the Mexicans beat the Americans so here its a holiday for the little kids but the day is the same for everyone else -but its a huge day in Puebla! So anyways today is a good day. The best thing that happened this week was probably listening to talks every night while my companion was taking a shower. He would shower and I would listen to the talks from conference or both of us would listen to them and since Elder Aguila understands English we got to listen to them with their own voices and how great are these talks! man I loved each one of them and I had to listen to Elder Hollands talk twice because I liked it so much! one I would like to highlight just a bit today is from President Uchtdorf about sleeping during the restoration. man what a great talk. i would like to ask you the same question are you sleeping during the restoration? the truth is my companion and I teach the Restoration a lot I think in the last month we must have taught it 60 or so times. but if we don't get the real meaning of a young boy in a grove of trees in the spring of 1820 we might be lost or we might spread a rumor about what we believe. Behind all of this is the thing that happened in 1820 when Joseph Smith saw God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ, it happened and I know it because I learned it from god. 

a story from the week… On Monday we went and visited a person our 2nd counselor found and he is a great guy and we taught the family and this brother talked up a storm like really a storm started when he stopped talking (crazy) but anyways we taught the Restoration a couple days after and the spirit that we felt there as we shared this humble story, “I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. … When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!” the power of the Spirt overcomes us as we are taught through the spirit, and I like to ask what do you feel? do you think this would happen? and almost every time they say, Yes it HAPPENED!.  even then very toughest people say I think so it could happen. but there are still a few if those stubborn people who don't feel the spirit, they pull out the bible and ask the question i just love! haha no not really…  and where is Joesph smith in here? you have got to be kidding, we just say we can show you but you wont understand or you wont accept. but the truth that happened in a grove of trees in 1820 wasn't to just be put aside it was to shape the human world forever. it was to change the world to enlighten the world to bring mankind to the understanding of their errors and their needs!  Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord: And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall  run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it. The young boy Joseph Smith is not our god, as people want to say, he restored the very church that Christ put on the earth.  As Elder Holland says Sadly enough, my young friends, it is a characteristic of our age that if people want any gods at all, they want them to be gods who do not demand much, comfortable gods, smooth gods who not only don’t rock the boat but don’t even row it, gods who pat us on the head, make us giggle, then tell us to run along and pick marigolds. Talk about man creating God in his own image! Sometimes—and this seems the greatest irony of all—these folks invoke the name of Jesus as one who was this kind of “comfortable” God. Really? He who said not only should we not break commandments, but we should not even think about breaking them. And if we do think about breaking them, we have already broken them in our heart. Does that sound like “comfortable” doctrine, easy on the ear and popular down at the village love-in? we make god to be the person we want him to be and that's where we fall. the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ happened and is still happening if we are not anxiously engaged in a good cause then in what cause are we engaged in? the scriptures say, 27 Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness. (D&C 58:27) the restoration is happening we are in the middle of it! we have things to do we have the very work of the almighty god to build in our hearts. if we love god then we will keep his commandments and that is everyone even the ones that come from our prophets voice and for the chosen servants of god. Love god and be free. Being a disciple of Jesus Christ is not an effort of once a week or once a day. It is an effort of once and for all. (PRS. Uchtdorf)

we are in the middle of the last dispensation of the fullness of times and where are you? are you sleeping or sitting back and watching it all happen or are you in the middle of it? well if you aren't in the middle of it you might miss out. Jump in and help all the hands are needed and well the blessings of god will be poured out!!! i love this gospel and you should too!! so jump in!! and lend a hand we are all needed and to be a divine disciple we need to act not be acted upon. Brethren, shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. courage, brethren; and on, on to the victory! Let your hearts rejoice, and be exceedingly glad. Let the earth break forth into singing. (D&C 128:22)

I love this work!!!

hope all is well where you are and may god bless each one of you! look up and you’ll find him looking down he loves us and we love him!!! i love each of you hope this week is a good one Happy Mothers day to all you wonderful women! I get to talk to my mom this week!! YES!!! hope all is well!!

Elder Jaymes Monson