Little miracles like that happen...

Thank you very much for keeping our investigators in your prayers. Daniel was baptized after a very long wait (and the family is starting to unite more thanks to him), but we have pushed Eduardo and Carlos to this week so that we can finish teaching them, along with Jorge´s sister Tonantzin and grandma Gloria. It will be a tight week with 4 planned baptisms, with a lot of things to take care of as well as a need to keep contacting and helping the other progressing investigators along, but I´m sure we´ll be alright. We had 8 investigators in the chapel Sunday, that was great. We also found, by knocking doors, a family that loves the Book of Mormon and lost contact with the missionaries when they moved. They have a lot of problems, but they are eager to learn and progress. Little miracles like that happen all the time here, and at least two houses on every street are willing to listen to us. There is no excuse not to be a successful missionary here.

The environment for Americans here is nothing special. Every once in a while someone tries to practice their English on me or tell me how they used to live in California, but not much else. I am distinguished by being white and blonde, but not mocked. I´m sure that will all change if Mexico loses to the US in the world cup! I think some of that has to do with us being close neighbors and having a rather well used border. I think things would be more difficult if I were in Brazil, for example. Till next week!

Love,
Elder Lund

6 months down!

6 months down!

Saturday Carlos, Tonantzin, and Gloria were baptized. Eduardo still needs a little time, but it was a great service anyways, and there was a lot of time spent doing confirmations Sunday. I also take care to record in my journal each ordinance I perform, and I´m trying to make journal writing a habit.

The BoM loving family has some difficulties, including not being married and the lady being married to someone else from years ago. They also had a daughter die some years ago and need to find a new place to keep her because the place where the body is storied right now ends its contract before too long and if they don´t have somewhere else they throw the body out. There´s a lot to overcome with them, but as far as we´ve seen so far they´re willing to progress and do what´s necessary to be an eternal family. I pray that continues.

I´m also right now thinking about what it would be like to study at the BYU Jerusalem Center. Right now I haven´t a clue how I would pay for it, but it would be a fantastic experience.

There is a tiny pyramid here, I´ll see if I can convince my companion to go one monday. As far as Aztec, I´m not learning much of that since I´m in the city all the time now, but I have discovered that I can read Portuguese. My Spanish is decent now, but It´s still not at the level I´d like.

Today was an interesting p-day as well, as we played volleyball for a while and later went to the house of another missionary, Elder Gomez, who goes home in a week. We celebrated that and two birthdays (and wednesday I can celebrate 6 months in the mission) with soaking one another and stuffing cake in the birthday missionary´s faces.

Not much else has changed other than that, we´ve been very focused in the baptisms, and now that they´re done we´ll see what other adventures and stories I run into. Next week are transfers again. We´ll see if I´m left to complete 6 months straight in Colima or if I´m moved somewhere else.

Our apartment has 2 bedrooms and one bathroom. It´s close to KFC and Soriana, and it has a front patio (more like a garage) and a place to wash clothes. No grass. I´ve taken more to sleeping in my bed rather than the hammock due to the mosquitos, but it´s getting hotter and hammocks are really comfy, so we´ll see. The clothes situation is fine right now as well (i´ll get you shirt sizes next week), but I´d love as many pictures as you´re willing to send.

Well I´ve got to go. We´ll see if I can get some baptism photos soon, but I´m not sure I trust this cyber café and I don´t want this computer to eat my SD card. Take care, and I´ll write soon. Mother´s day is pretty soon too, so I´ll let you all know how that´s supposed to work out as well.

Love,
Elder Lund

Conference was wonderful!

Conference was wonderful, and it caused me to think about the family a lot, as well as my future here in the mission and further down the road. One of the odd things I realized is that counsel to parents is now something I should probably be listening too. As strange as that is, it makes me smile. As I focus on improving my connection to God and my love of and service to Jesus Christ, I´m sure things will become more and more clear. I just want to be able to use all of my talents and abilities, known and unknown, to their greatest potential to serve God, my family, and my fellow man. That´s a tricky bit of systems engineering if done alone, but I know The Lord has given me every single thing I have for a reason, and I want to give back in the way He has in mind.

Yes, actually. Shirts, shocks, and specifically pants would be appreciated. I´ve decided to stop carrying my wallet around because I realized that it´s what created the hole I have in one of my pairs of pants and is starting a hole in another pair. That...or the fact that I wash my clothes by hand. I think I´ll go with the first though.

I can understand the Zac Reese sentiment...and I think I´ll just leave it at that. ;)

Honestly, I think I´m probably the same weight as when I left the MTC (somewhere around 145 pounds I think). I say that because on the one hand, we do lots of walking and exercise and whatnot, but on the other hand my metabolism is ridiculous. One thing that has changed is that my hair is a lot more golden, and I´ve tanned a lot. As we get into the hotter months soon, we´ll see how far I can go in that respect. In the house I tend to eat egg omelettes, hamburgers, hotdogs, and quesadillas (all cooked by ME), but lunch every day can be one of a million things. I take care to take vitamins though, because Mexican diets are heavy on starches and meat, and not so heavy on everything else.

Danny, the 9 year old who´se baptism has been postponed for almost a month now, has another day set for Saturday. The biggest change, though, has been that his inactive mother and his nonmember father who had a bad runin with the church a year or two ago came to general conference, and they were greatly edified. They walked out of the session really looking like a loving, happy family. I really hope that will be able to last for them, that family (and in particular Daniel) has so much potential. I´ve even got a tie that he bought me. Please pray that things will turn out well for his baptism this Saturday and that his family can some day be sealed in the temple.

I´ll write more when I have more time, but for now this is goodbye. Thank you so much for everything you write every week. I love you, and everyone else in the family as well. Get them all and my friends to write! :P Take care, and know that The Lord Jesus Christ is with you and loves you, and will help you overcome all your problems if you will just go to him for help and search out His will, the things He would have you do. The rest, including inner peace, always comes.

Love,
Elder Lund

Time to step up!

Things have been good here. A couple hours after I last wrote, Elder Tovar got a phone call from the mission president and the next morning at 7AM he was on his way to Guadalajara, and I got a new companion. His name is Elder Peña and he´s from Cozumel...he also wishes he was black and played in the NFL. He´s a pretty cool Elder, actually, and we work hard. He´s only got 7 months in the mission, so the two of us are a very young companionship. Time to step up! I´m actually excited at the opportunity.

Today in the morning we played volleyball again, and it makes me feel like I´m back in the MTC. Now that I´ve been in the mission for 5 months that sounds strange, but it still feels like last week I was studying all day and was only pretending to understand Spanish.

I´m guessing that Ben will come to Mexico, btw. Just a thought.

I have no idea what to ask for my birthday, except for more shirts, more pants, more socks, and more ties. Something like that. That´s all I ever use, after all, except shoes...and I´d rather get shoes here so I can see that they fit my oddly shaped feet.

No baptisms right now, but we´re seeing what we can do to turn that around, and soon. We´ll see how the city changes for spring break.

gtg!

Love you all, enjoy spring break!