Well there´s lots to tell.

Lots and lots.

Gabriel is coming along just fine. He should have his new job soon and also be able to find a better and safer apartment as well. His baptism should be this Saturday. Too bad I won´t get to see it though.

I was transfered, and am finally outside of Guadalajara. I´m also officially retired from the leadership of the mission. Missionaries don´t finish as leaders here, but rather finish training or helping other young Elders. Since no new missionaries arrived this transfer, I am doing the latter. My companion is Elder Escamilla, from Ixmiquilpan, Hidalgo. Yes, that´s where Elder Cruz is from. They never met before the mission though, because my companion was baptized in February of 2010. Yes, that´s right. I have a companion who wasn´t a member when I started the mission. He´s 25. Pretty cool guy. We´re working hard here.

I´m in Tepic, which is the capital of the state of Nayarit. Here there are still native communities of Coras and Huicholes, although I haven´t run into any so far here in the city. The area is Fresnos 3, which makes us the third companionship in a rather large ward. We´re on the far edge of the city, where there are seven or eight new developments of cheap houses that have been built. It´s growing like crazy out here. It turns out that there are a lot of members, and every day it seems we find another member who just moved here and doesn´t know where the church is. It´s a challenge because the chapel is rather far away, and really expensive to go by bus (which is how most Mexicans get around), so those who don´t have a car have to really sacrifice in order to get to church with their families. The Elders had been organizing trucks to come around and help pick up the members, but there were so many this time that we needed a second truck. That second truck driver fell through Saturday in the afternoon, leaving us with nothing. We didn´t have any phone credit either to call people, so we were running around on foot all day (and later that night we got a member to help drive us around) searching for someone with a truck that could help us out. Nothing. We were fasting as well for a miracle and for the area. We got to the house really late Saturdy night and we had nothing and nobody to help, and hadn´t a clue how we were going to pick up all those people and drive them so far away. We went to bed basically leaving it in God´s hands. We had done everything we could think of.

But Sunday morning a member arrived who is almost never in town (they live in the woods, I think) and her husband has a truck. We ran out to see them and they were more than willing to help out. I lead one truck that picked up 24 people, and my companion lead another that picked up 22, and we got them all to church on time. That was just among investigators and less actives without the resources to travel to church every week. Aside from that the active members went and we ended up being about 70 people from our part of the ward. There had been hopes for a house of prayer out here for some time now, but the Stake President wanted to see if there were really enough members to justify it. He was certainly surprised to see so many people just from our area in church, and agreed to give it the green light. Tomorrow he will be asking the Area President (who is already informed about the situation) for a unit number, and Wednesday we have a meeting with him about it. It´s very possible that we could have our own branch by the end of the month. Another gigantic miracle after a difficult trial of faith. We owe God so much for providing transportation and preparing the way. We´re also working with two families that are very excited about the gospel and are working out the details with their marriages.

In other news, the President tells me that the extention has been approved, and I have permission to do whatever is necessary to take care of finances, housing, and classes for school. So I´ll be writing you about that soon. Gotta run for now. Take care and make sure to say hi to all my RHS friends and especially Joe´s family for me. I miss you and love you all, but I know that will just make it all the more worth it to work hard now and really enjoy my time with you when I get home.

Love you,
Elder Lund

l know i will see him again.

To the Ramos family:

I had the privilege of meeting Joe in High School. We shared a few classes and I think I was his TA in one. He was always very intelligent and witty, but also had a big heart. We got along well, and became good friends. We esepcially spent a lot of time together in the summer of 2009 before I started the mission, playing videogames, board games, and watching anime with our group of friends. Sometimes we talked about the deeper and more important things of the universe as well.

I'm glad joe had the chance to know the gospel and to live it for a time. I know he was not very active in the church, and from what I remember it had to do with a few youth who were not exactly the best example for him and did not treat him very well. I've felt sorry about that many times, even though we still hadn`t moved to Florida when it happened. Throughout the time we knew eachother, I always maintained the hope of being able to help him return...to help the whole family. I stopped by your house a few times in hopes of being able to share a short message about families, but I don't remember having been able to tell you about it. Please receive my parents in my place. I hope they'll be able to help your family in ways that I wasn't able to. I know that God lives, that Christ loves you and that He has prepared the way for you to see Joe again...and I hope to see him as well.

"Now, concerning the astate of the soul between bdeath and the resurrectionBehold, it has been made known unto me by an angel, that the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life. And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of those who are righteous are received into a state of happiness, which is called paradise, a state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow." (Alma 40:11-12)

I testify as a representative of Jesus Christ that it is possible for your family to be eternal; it's possible to be with him again. God has provided the way through the His Gospel and His Priesthood. Your family, through the sealing ordinance, can be eternal. But it all depeneds on your willingnes to sacrifice the world and live worthy of that promise. My parents will be there to help you in anything you need. I'm absolutely sure of it. They won`t fail you.

Please forgive me the times I have not been there for Joe, the times he has been sad and I haven't been able to cheer him up, and the times I couldn`t help him overcome his challenges. I did my best and I'll always remember him. He is a special child of God and he loves you. He is thinking about you and wants the best for you. Remember that the commandments are the bridge between you always. When I return from Mexico, I will be at your disposition for anything you need. One thing I'm learning to do hear is love God with all my heart and to love others as myself. Please take care.

With all sincerity,

Elder Lund

So all I can report from this week is that we took Gabriel to the church employment center and helped him search for a job, and we also put him in contact with the ward employment person (or whatever that calling is called). Her name is Matilde and she does a fantastic job. They'll be visiting a mechanic today to see if he can help Gabriel out, because he doesn`t want to work on Sundays anymore. Please pray for him.

We also sent the missionaries to find his family in Indiana this week. His family has had some hard times, especially because his brother needed help. Apparently his whole family went to church this week. He's ecstatic.

Other than that we're simply forming ideas to help the zone and the ward, but I'll tell you more about them once we've got things moving. Just know that we have many, many plans and we're being very innovative. You gotta do everything you can to make a difference.

Transfers are today. As always, we'll see what happens. I'm going to talk to the President about how much I can do to decide my classes, housing, and how to take care of that application. I'll let you know when I find out what can be done.

Love,

Elder Lund

P.S. Song of the day:

I'm sorry, I heard about the bad news today. A crowd of people around you Telling you it's okay And everything happens for a reason

When you lose a part of your self To somebody you know It takes a lot to let go Every breath that you remember Pictures fade away but memory is forever

An empty chair at all the tables And I'll be seeing you when all my days boil down But it's better where you're going anyway

I'm sorry I heard about the bad news today It's really hard to get through Tough times and long days But it really just depends on the season

For now we'll say goodbye We know it's not the last time I've lost the best part of my day But it's better where you're going anyway

This is the last thing I will remember It's better where you're going anyway

New Found Gory -"Sonny"

I know I'll see him again someday.

Where to start today?

Well we´re teaching Gabriel, a security guard at a store called Bodega Aurrera who said he admired us and what we do , and he´s progressing rapidly. He´s reading the Book of Mormon, went to church, is searching for a job that lets him keep the sabbath day holy, and has accepted a baptismal date for the 13th of August. Fantastic! He´s a great guy. He´s living here alone because he was deported after living for 15 years or so in the states.

We also got to eat in a place called Karne Garibaldi, which is delicious "carne en su jugo" and has the guiness world record for fastest restaurant in the world. It´s actually just a couple blocks from the house, and we ate there with some members because our lunch appointment fell through. It was quite the experience. Tasty food, and fast. I mean REALLY fast.

We had interviews with the President and we also worked with him this week. He came with us to our area and participated as if he was any other missionary or junior companion. I actually rather enjoyed it, even though that was a particularly rough day where the appointments fell through and the people in the streets and whose doors we knocked wanted nothing to do with us. But we were still positive, and the next day is when we had out fantastic appointment with Gabriel.

The President´s son Mahonri, who recently returned home from his mission, also introduced us to a friend of his (supposedly not his girlfriend) and we taught her a few things and gave her a Book of Mormon. She lives kinda far away though so anything that comes out of it will be passed to the Elders who work where she lives.

We´re in the middle of planning a huge Plan of Salvation activity like the one they did back home in the stake. We´ll see how we can adapt it to the leadership and the membership here in Providencia. Just one week left until transfers, so I know I probably won´t see the fruits of these efforts, but that´s not what´s important. We´re also trying to get some materials put together to try a different way of street marketing. THere are a LOT of people in the streets in our area all the time, so it´s a great way to get the message out . More flyers and posters and things like that can help make things interesting. I´ve done similar things before.

And now we come to the big thing. I love you all very much and have come to appreciate you even more over the course of the mission. I´m excited to continue progressing in life and find new ways to serve the Lord with my time once I get home. I´ll love seeing how much David has grown, how much of an adult Holley is becoming, and what sort of schennanigans Ashley has been up to. However, I´ve been thinking very seriously about extending the mission a transfer. I know there is a lot of good I could do here in an extra six weeks.

As Holley explained it so clearly when I was set apart, this isn´t just MY mission. It´s the FAMILY´s mission, and the family should help make the decision. Thank you for your prayers, fasting, words of support, and missionary efforts up until this point. You´ve been a big part of my success and my mission.

I love you all very much and await your reply. Take care.

Love,
Elder Lund

It´s infectious

Haven´t worked with President yet, but perhaps it´ll happen tomorrow. We´re having interviews in 24 hours anyways.

So it´s been a rough week, but I´m still positive. Every single investigator we had (except Nadia) fell through this week. Some told us they wouldn`t like us to come back, others canceled the appointments and told us that they´d called us, etc., so by Wednesday there was nothing...and the people we meet in the streets and whose doors we knocked were not the most friendly either. Yikes. Some of these people had baptismal dates for this week or next week, and many had been coming to church. The only recent convert who came on Sunday was Iran.

So there was a little frustration precisely Wednesday, but we prayed and read some scriptures and found some motivational phrases and we´re good now. We´ve got a pretty positive outlook on things and everything will turn out okay. The trick is to always find solutions and not worry about problems. I´ve had worse experiences.

On a much brighter side, Iran´s family is doing fantastic, and there´s two other families who have started coming back. We´re seeing actual changes in their lives, attitudes, and family harmony. It´s amazing to see it happen. I´ll never stop feeling the "thrill of flying", as Elder Uchtdorf calls it.

So Elder Wilde goes home today. Sort of a mix of feelings there. He´s an awesome missionary and he´ll kick trash at home too. In his place arrives Elder Newman from my generation. He´s from Vegas and is pretty cool. It´s strange to know he probably just arrived in his last area.

Don`t worry about Elder Hernandez and I, we´ll be cheerily working hard, trying to find solutions and having a positive spirit about everything. It´s infectious. It´s hard to be frustrated when you think about all that God has given us, and it´s hard to complain about Friday when you know that Sunday will come...that Christ has gone through all of this and much more.

"It´s funny how you find you enjoy your life when you´re happy to be alive" - High of 75 - Relient K

Love,
Elder Lund

Go, Go Power Rangers!!

We were attacked by the Power Rangers this week!

There´s a district whose only responsibility is to go from zone to zone and spend a week with a companionship (each member of this special district) helping them out and measuring their progress. They´re all former zone leaders, and after some amount of time they will become zone leaders again. They showed up to the zone last monday, so that was interesting. I think it helped out a lot, but we´ll have to see. But I started calling them the Power Rangers when they were first created and the name has kinda stuck. They even have colors now. There was no Ranger with my companion and I, but we´ll work one day with the President, supposedly.

A less active also planned an ambush for us. She called us and asked us if we could go over to her house "right now", and supposedly it was something really important. Her phone credit was running out so I couldn`t ask any questions and had to make a split second decision. We headed over there and apparently the 18-24 year old friends of this lady´s daughter (who we have been teaching because she isn`t member) were going to come over to pick her up and go hang out. The mom decided it would be a fantastic idea to force them to listen to the missionaries before they could go anywhere...and the girls didn`t know until they showed up. Kinda awkward from her daughter´s point of view, I´m sure.

However, they reacted very well and seemed fairly interested. We´ll have another appointment with the whole group on Tuesday, and we´ll be sure to prepare well beforehand and see what happens. A number of other members have introduced us to their friends, and we´ll be visiting them this next week, including a lady named Corina from Chile. Saturday, a lady talked to us on the bus and asked us where our church was. We quickly gave her the address, exchanged phone numbers, and left her a pamphlet before she got off (there was standing room only). She said she was looking for a church. She came with us Sunday and seemed to enjoy it and learn a lot. The name is Berenice and she´s a very nice lady in a sincere search for a way to follow God.

We´ve been able to feel the spirit very strongly in a number of the lessons, and I must give credit to my companion´s faith. Yesterday we were teaching a man who was very stubborn in not wanting to leave behind his traditions nor his iniquity, and who was sure he wouldn`t know where the truth was until he died. I don´t remember what exactly we said, but at some point he completely changed his attitude. Later he expressed that he had felt something special that caused him to pay more attention and open up more. We recognize that none of that would have happened without the spirit. Our actual words can do absolutely NOTHING by themselves. We rely on a greater force to do our work.

So I´m getting ready to mail some stuff home, and I dunno when it will get there honestly, but we´ll see how it goes. Aside from some souvenirs for the family I need to lighten the load of things I´d like to keep but that I don`t need to use here in the mission. Also, on an interesting note, our ward mission leader (who just got back from the states) was an MTC teacher. His name is Rob Davis. Cool guy, actually, and works hard. He highly recommends teaching at the MTC since I´ll be back in BYU. Speaking of which, how is that going for J Tyler?

Finishing D&C this week and starting up the New Testament, while reading the BoM as always.

Love you!
Elder Lund

Woo! 4th of July!

Woo! 4th of July! Elder Black and I have been singing patriotic songs on the top of our lungs all morning. Our companions think its funny. The plan to celebrate this fantastic day is to eat a whole lot of food...the American way. That´s all we´ll have time for anyways since we need to go to the offices. We had to stop by the hospital as well so my companion could get the results from an exam. It seems he will need an operation in his throat to take out a gland that has died. Please pray for him...he´s fantastic, and he´s facing all this with a lot of optimism. There was a scare of possibly having to send him home, but it doesn´t seem like it´ll be that extreme.

So Iran Rojas was baptized on Saturday. It was a great service, and Nadia was there as well. The family is doing great and they´re all coming together and trying to do things right. Nadia is just waiting for some paperwork in order to get married and then baptized. SHe´s loving the Book of Mormon and she and Sinuhe have changed a lot. There´s a number of others who are coming along as well. Seven investigators in church, and about ten less actives as well. Honestly, I´m having a great time. I´m always exhausted and there´s never enough time for all that needs to be done. That´s part of what makes it the best time of my mission. I´m working harder than ever at a time when most missionaries start to slow down, and every moment is worth it.

Putting first things first, you say?

Honestly, you´ll never get anywhere if you don`t have your priorities straight, and it comes from a basic principle: God can make far more out of our lives and talents than we can. Living righteously and living to serve allow God to open the windows of heaven and bless us in all that we do. He´s more than willing to bless us with the talents and abilities we need if we´re willing to dedicate all we are to Him and His work. The scriptures are full of those promises. I know I will have success in whatever I decide to do, because I´ve decided to use my time and talents to serve The Lord. I don´t doubt it at all.

"Whoever shall lose his life for my sake..." fill in the blanks. It really is that simple. And if anyone doubts it, I dare them to try it. Iran Rojas was baptized because we sacrificed p-day and sleeping time in order to visit his uncle one day. We were tired and had things to do (we had no food for the week), but we agreed to visit Brother Rojas as he had asked us. That caused a chain reaction which led to two families coming back to the church, Iran´s baptism, and soon Nadia´s baptism as well. There´s lots of tiny examples like that which, while they seem insignificant at first, lead to great things.

Also, being here in the mission is completely changing my life. That´s a little miracle in and of itself. God always gives us back 100x what we invest in Him or thanking Him.

Well, gotta run. Love you!

wahakalugie

Actually, the package (which was FANTASTIC btw) was awesome, and got me thinking. Is there any way I can get a list of majors at BYU? I´m moving towards NASA stuff again (perhaps just because of the awesome shirt and the blanket). It´s been an interest all my life, and perhaps there´s something behind that. It´s kinda hard to gather thoughts together though, espcially because I´m in the middle of so many other things. The space blanket is super cool though, and super warm. The only downside is that it crinkles and makes noise that scares the snot out of my comp sometimes. But eh, that´s cool. ;P

So speaking of which, I´m still in providencia and my comp is Elder Hernandez from Santo Domingo Ingenio, the state of Oaxaca (can you prounounce that? Say it with me: "wa-ha-ka"...or "wahakalugie") Cool place with lots of native culture, unlike Guadalajara, which can trace most of its influnces to the Spaniards and things that have been invented since Mexican Independence. GDL is a modern city though.

So Mayte was baptized on saturday! It was a good service, and her friends from another ward came. Also with her was her mom, who felt the spirit and seemed very proud of her daugher. We´ll see what we can do there in the future. It´s always such a good feeling to start to change families step by step. mayte is already super active and ready though...I mean, she was doing visiting teaching before she was baptized! Friday she went to a multi-stake dance too. Ready to roll, and help change things in her own home and strengthen her family.

People to pray for: Nadia and Sinuhe, who are doing beter. Also Sinuhe´s nephew Iran, whose family is reactivating and preparing for his baptism. The thing is, Iran is sick. i don´t know what he´s got (some weird named disease without a cure...it has to do with swelling organs and stuf), but it´s not deathly dangerous. The only thing is that he´ll have to stay in bed or sitting around for about a month. The dad is sure that he can be okay for this Saturday, but that´s something they are gonna consult with the doctor today to see if he´s physically able to do that. Hopefully everything turns out alright.

Say hi and send my thanks to Richard Krenz, Tyler McCombs, and Kevin Habenicht, the three people who have sent me letters! They´re all awesome. I´ll see how I can get letters back, because its rather complicated...but I´ll see what I can do. Tell them thanks for me, and also especial thanks to the family, for always thinking about me and setting a good example for others. Thank you for enjoying life too!

Well, gotta run...We´ll be giving district class today.

Love yoU!
Elder Lund