Danger in Chiuhuahua

Well things are doing peachy here. Chugging along as usual. The only change is that now some transfers will happen every month, as well as at every sixth week mark. We´ll see if that changes much or not. That and "holy week", or in other words easter vacations start soon. Supposedly the whole city goes to the beach. I wonder how that will affect things, but it won´t really make a big difference. We will continue working as usual.

(About the drug cartel killings in Chiuhuahua) I heard something through the radio in a taxi yesterday, but I don´t know any of the details. As far as I know, I should be just fine here. Colima is far south and out of the way from most of that. Safer and supposedly a higher standard of living.

Daniel´s baptism isn´t officially set yet, but we´re hoping for Saturday. The issue is that we have to talk to his grandma and dad about the day. I just hope the inter family shenanigans don´t cause more problems for Danny. He´s suffered enough. Other than that, things are a little slower. The most promising aspect though is Gloria, the grandma of Jorge. She goes to church regularly now and participates a lot in class. She´s just hesitant about putting a day to her baptism. Speaking of Jorge, he blessed the sacrament yesterday in Ward Conference and three of the four people passing it were Christian, Luis, and Hector. That was really great to watch, and they all did just fine

We got put in charge of an activity for this past Saturday, actually. We put on a rally, with various bases and activities, from karaoke to bucket races, water balloon toss, and other things alike. It turned out great and there was dinner afterwards. I think that was something the ward badly needed. The downside is the amount of time we put into it was taken away from the work. Hopefully it pays off in the future, but I´m glad we were able to help. We won a lot of confidence within the ward, and it was a good setup for ward conference the next day.

I received the valentines package Tuesday, to give you a reference for how long it takes to mail things. We only receive our mail at the beginning of transfers, during zone conference, or interviews with the president. It´s possible the package arrived just a little bit too late last time around, but I have it now. Thank you all very much for that :)

I would also have to say that you´ve taught me well how to manage my money, even though I´m still not perfect with it. In February I paid the electric bill and for a tank of gas, so this month I said it was someone else´s turn. Nobody paid it, and they cut the lights on us. We went 24 hours without power, and nobody but me had any money left (it being the middle of the month......) to pay the bill, so I paid it and the reactivation fee as well. It all gets reimbursed, but that wasn´t exactly handled so well. I´ve still always got plenty of extra emergency cash though, because I don´t really need to buy a whole lot here.

I´m still not the best missionary, but I work on improving and on loving the people every day, with a lot of prayer as well. I´m sure I will be able to call my mission very successful if I am just able to put in my part and accept no compromises. I finished Jesus the Christ this week as well.

Well I´ve got to take off. Busy day as usual!

Love,
Elder Lund

Today's Adventure

So I'll start by describing today's adventure. It's pday, and also the last day of the transfer. Elder Tovar and I are staying here as companions still, but my piano prodigy amigo named Elder Talbot is heading off to Sayula. So anyways, there's no school today in Mexico for some reason as well, so Jorge our friend and convert invited us to go with his family up to a couple lagoons which are up close to the volcano (supposedly they are craters of the volcano). It's in our area and we were going to be able to get back in time, so we decided to go. It was a lot of fun. We grilled some steak and sausages, played a little soccer, hiked some beautiful trails, and took some fun pictures. The first laguna, from which I think all of the pictures are from, is a little smaller, and actually has a lot less water than usual right now. It's called Laguna Carrizalillo. From there we went even closer to the volcano to a bigger one called Laguna La Maria. It was really nice to be out in nature for a while, hike some cool trails (and there were some caves as well), and just spend time with the other missionaries, a convert, and three of our investigators (his family).

As far as baptisms go, Guadalupe was baptized, but Daniel was not. He still will, but it has been postponed until we can make sure that his dad can be here. He works in Tecoman, which is about 45 minutes away, but is only home some weekends. Guadalupe's baptism was nice, very simple, and a special experience for me. She's more active than some church members, and had only been a little hesitant to take this last step. Now she and her son Christopher are both members and one day can be sealed together as a family.

I'm glad you get to help the missionaries fellowship, that's so very important in missionary work. I've seen a lot of investigators that have testimonies of the truth, but are a little hesitant for social reasons. Fellowship can make all the difference in the world, as does working with members in general.

We had more investigators go to church than usual yesterday, including four of the five girls who came last week to do their school project. We'll see how that progresses, but I do think their interest is more than just academic. I have high hopes for the work here in Colima, all I need to do is make sure to put in my part to see them realized, and I know The Lord will do the rest.


As far as the working hard goes, that was more or less the philosophy I had been assuming. My thinking had been that God knows exactly where all of his children who are ready to listen and progress are. All we have to do is be worthy to teach them and show God that we are willing to have faith and put in our part. If we meet God's standard, he'll trust us with his children and we will find, recognize, teach, and baptize. If we're not trustworthy, he won't. Thus miracles happen after all that we can do. One thing I'm focusing on is more efficient study and planning. It is much more difficult to waste time and not put in your part if you have a good plan.

Actually, the ward (and stake, and supposedly Mexico in general...although I don't know about that) isn't doing all that hot at the moment. The bishop is one of if not the best I have ever seen, and he works incredibly hard despite being completely destitute. The rest of the ward, however, does nothing. Also, church attendance has lowered, almost as if to compensate for the converts we've brought in. Thankfully, all our converts are still active as of right now, but it's troublesome. No one in the ward seems to be friends with anyone else, and no one completes with their callings. However, we're working closely with the bishop, ward conference is this coming week, and with some prayer and sweat we'll see what we can do. The church will never fall back into apostasy (I've read that book, The Great Apostasy, btw. Very good and very informative), but will press onward and forward until the second coming of The Lord.

Love,
Elder Lund

Another Mexican Missionary

It sounds like there is someone I know in the majority of the missions here
in Mexico now! Congratulations to Ryan, he'll love it. The other day I got
to spend some time with two ex-teachers from the Mexico MTC who live here in
Colima. That was pretty nice and informative as well. Study is ever so
important, and so many forget that.

These past two weeks have been really slow, actually. We have been doing a
whole lot of contacting, but there were two full days of contacting in which
we were not able to teach a lesson in a home. Considering I've had days
with very different fortunes and this is MEXICO, it's been a little rough.
I'm patient though, I know we'll get some production going. Quite honestly
we have needed more investigators since the beginning of February.

We've got two baptisms planned for this week though. One is Guadalupe, the
mother of Christopher (who was baptized in January), and the other is
Daniel, a 9 year old who reminds me of David and who goes to church with his
grandma. If they both go through, it will be a nice way to greet the
transfers that are coming up the 14th.

In other news, I now sleep in a hammock, which is really comfy and I got it
very cheap as well. I've also become addicted to Salsa Valentina, a type of
hot sauce here. That wasn't really my cup of tea before the mission, but I
put it on everything now.

Also, my email has now changed because the church just switched clients to
Gmail. I am told all
emails sent to the old address will still reach me just fine. It's much
nicer, and it won't take an eternity to load photos anymore. I was talking
with Elder Humphreys the other day about the very idea of switching to
gmail. We've also talked about the usefulness of some sort of pda or other
device with maps, area books, preach my gospel, things of that nature.
Someday, maybe I'll get to tell my son how low-tech my mission was ;)

So I'm not sure how long I'll be here in Colima. Some say that missionaries
are being left in their areas longer, and three of the five I have lived
with stayed here for six months. At the same time, you never know what may
happen in the future. Whether I stay here or whether I start again
somewhere else, I will continue working hard to do the will of the Lord.

5 investigators appeared out of nowhere at sacrament meeting yesterday.
They said they were there to do a school project about ethics and wanted to
learn a lot about the church. Two of them ended up bearing their
testimonies during the meeting though, and we taught them The Restoration as
well as answered a bunch of their questions. They say they really enjoyed
themselves and will return next week. We'll see what happens. It was an
interesting experience for sure.

Well I've got to go. Say hi to everyone for me, and I hope things are going
alright.

Love,
Elder Lund

We caught an iguana this week, that was pretty interesting. Elder Talbot got sick with some sort of stomach virus as well, so I went on splits with his companion his second day in bed so that his companion Elder Humphreys could get to all his appointments. Too bad they all fell through, but it was an interesting change of pace.

My companion´s name is Elder Tovar and he´s from Tula, Hidalgo. I have yet to have a white companion, and I´ve only had one that speaks English and he was in the MTC. All is well there, it´s really good for my Spanish.

Ehh, the work has actually slowed down quite a bit recently. I´m trying to
see what we can do, but our investigators, who have all showed great
promise, aren´t progressing, and almsot nobody has gone to church these past
two weeks. I´m sure things will improve though, this is just an opportunity
to refine who I am as a missionary.

We´re baptizing Daniel, a 9 year old whose mom is inactive and dad is nonmember, but goes with his grandma to church, this saturday. He´s a really smart kid and really nice too. He actually bought us ties the other day. The rest of the work is going rather slow at the moment, but Danny is awesome. He makes me miss David, actually.

It seems I´m the only missionary in my district who was able to make his money last until the end of the month. Thanks for teaching me how to manage my money well!

I had my interview with the president this week too, nothing special, I just asked him a few questions I had. More interesting would be what I eat for breakfast. I´ve become addicted to puffed wheat. It´s cheap, wholesome, and tasty. I also cook eggs with tomato and onion a lot. Little by little, I´m trying to expand the things I can cook. Cheap and easy recipies are always appreciated!

I do love the food. I´ll be eating some tasty enchiladas in a few hours,
actually, with a member who loves to treat the missionaries. As far as
describing pozole seco goes, I´m still not sure how to put it, but it has
meat and some sort of pasta-like thing in it. The distinction is that it
isn´t served in a soup. Nothing too special, honestly, but that´s going by
Mexican tastiness standards.

So I guess I have to pick a favorite soccer team soon, since it´s popular
discussion here and a great conversation starter (when you teach potential
priesthood holders, that is...and the majority of investigators tend to be
women), but I don´t know what I would pick. Maybe I´ll just see if I can
find a Real Salt Lake jersey and call it good, but everyone knows what´s
going on between Chivas, Club America, Atlas, Pumas, and Monterrey at the
very least. Educational, actually. Did you get much of that in Ecuador?

Also, how much time did you spend out in the boonies as opposed to the city?
What´s different about it? I think there´s a 50% chance that I'll stay here
in Colima, but I´m curious.

I hope all is well at home, as usual.

-Love,
Elder Lund