Week 8 in Mexico

How is everyone doing?  so far everything here is good.  We have had some trouble with investigators coming to church.  One of our investigators can be baptized this week, but she won´t accept a baptismal date because she doesn´t feel ready.  We are working with her to help her feel ready.  All of our investigators need 5 asistencias or to come to church 5 times before they can be baptized.  This week we are going to work especially hard in finding new people to teach.  We did have lots of the less actives that we are teaching come to church yesturday, which was cool.  Otherwise not much happened.  Best of luck to everyone!

Elder Carey

Week 7 in Mexico

This week has been pretty good!  It has been a little tough now and then because lots of people are on vacations, and it is hard to find people, members and investigators.  In the begining of the week, we went to go visit the family that was coming to church and everything, and they said that they don´t want to be taught any more because his wife isn´t super inclined, and they want to try more in a different church.  It was really sad, because they were listening, coming to church, reading and everything.  We still are going to try and send over members, one in specific, who is a recent convert, and had almost the same situation before his baptism.  We did feel the hand of the Lord when we decided to go to a members house, and found the member, her son and his wife (who are investigators), and the rest of their family.  We were able to teach a lesson, and talk with them for a little bit.  It was a really interesting day.  We also had a zone meeting, and in zone meetings, we get the letters from the month.  It was great to get letters and hear from people.  Not much else happened this week.  We went to the central of Tlaquepaque today, or the main city that is in my zone.  It is a really cool city, and I have a picture of one of the cool buildings.  It is really interesting to be in a big city in another country, and not as a tourist.  I sometimes hear people speaking english, and honestly, its sort of weird sometimes.  Time is really flying by, I only have 4 weeks left in my training and it is the middle of August already.  I am grateful for this opportunity to serve, and to learn and grow.  Hope everyone has a great week!

Elder Carey

Week 6 in Mexico

Hey everyone! hope everything is going good!  So far, this week has been pretty good.  Sometimes the days are long because lots of people are gone for vacations.  Overall things are still pretty normal.  I finished my first exchange here in mexico!  My training is half way over.  The work here is going good, but our investigators didn´t come to church again :(  We don´t have any new ones, but the lessons with all of our current ones are going pretty good.  We are teaching an hermana named Jessica, and we taught her about the plan of salvation.  She has some doubts about it because she believes in reincarnation, but we explained to her that if she reads the book of mormon, and comes to know it is true, than reincarnation isn´t true.  Sometimes the people here are weird with their religions and beliefs.  The ten commandments here says to ¨sanctify your parties¨ and doesn´t mention the Sabbath day. The good thing is that when people understand and agree with us, we can tell that they have been prepared.  We had a change in the zone leaders this past exchange because one of them finished his mission and is on his way home.  I have a picture of him, and a picture of part of my zone that I am going to send.  Time really is going by fast, and it is interesting to see how the Lord works with people of different cultures. Well I´ve got to go, good luck with everything everyone!
Elder Carey

Week 5 in Mexico

This week has been pretty good!  It has been pretty normal as well.  We found another family to teach!  They were a refural of a member, and it was cool because the day we got the refural, we were out and about.  We finished up a lesson, and went to our next, but just about no one was home.  I was talking with my companion, and mentioned that we should go to this house, but it was sort of far away, so my companion thought that we should try and go somewhere else.  Then like two minutes later, the same member called us and told us they found someone who wanted to hear more!  It is a family, and they are doing really good.  We have had  2 lessons with them, and they came to church!  They are catholic, but there are things that they disagree with.  The two parents aren´t married so we can´t get a baptismal date, but they have plans to get married soon so they can be members!  I can tell that they were prepared for us to teach!

This week we also went to KFC twice because members didn´t have time to make us food, so they just gave us money, so we went to KFC!  I also bought a nerf gun at a members house for way cheap. My companion bought 2 nerf guns, and a light saber.  I´m not exactly sure, but it is an interesting souvenir.

So far spanish is coming really good.  Everyone tells me that I´m doing good, but I still have a hard time talking to people in the street, because I haven´t learned a lot of the words or phrases.  I have talked with people in the street, and usually they understand me, and I can understand part of what they are saying! 

I´ve got to go because I don´t have lots of time to write today because of a meeting I had in the mission office because it is my 6th week.  Good luck everyone with everything!

Elder Carey

Week 4 in Mexico

This week has been a blast!  I went on exchanges again, but this time I stayed in my area, and my companion went to the other area.  It was interesting because we had to do weekly planning, and my companion for the day didn´t excactly know my area, but we still got it done.  We also found this hermana outside trying to clear a path so the water in the street could drain, so we helped her.  After we helped her, she invited us into her house, and we started to teach her!  Now she has a baptismal date, and we are going to teach her again tomorrow!  I also had another baptism this past week of a sister whos family was converted only a little while ago, and she wasn´t there for the lessons, so we taught her, and now she is a member! In the picture, her father is standing next to me, and she is more in the middle, by my companion.  The city here is certainly interesting!  I had this really good soup yesterday that had bacon, and some other type of meat in it.  I shouldn´t be supprised but people here put chili on just about everything.  The food is good, but the members always want me to put chili on my food, but I almost never do.  I have had salsa de habanero, but pretty much anything that has salsa, not chili, or pica in the name isn´t spicy.  Its weird because the weeks are going by so fast,  I´m already just about half way done with my training!  spanish is coming good, I had to give my first talk in spanish this past sunday, and I didn´t have that much time to prepare, but I went in with 3 scriptures and was able to talk for just about all of the time that was allotted me! It was a good experience and I could tell that the Lord has helped me with the language.

Sounds like everything is going good back home and everywhere else!  Keep up the good work!

Elder Carey

Week 3 in Mexico

This week has been good!  How is everyone else doing?  This week we have another baptism on Friday, and we are looking forward to it!  Another one of our investigators, his name is Viktor, finally came to church this past Sunday!  He has a problem with the word of wisdom, but we got him to commit to living it! His baptismal date is August the 16th, and I think he will make it!! We just started teaching his brother, but he hasn't accepted baptism yet, but we can help with that.  I hope that they can both make it to the baptism this Friday of Lilia, another one of our investigators.  This week we had lunch one day at a families house who owns a butcher shop, and it was amazing!  He brought out three trays of steaming hot meat for tacos.  Pastor, bistek, and one other that I don't remember.  And then a bowl full of chorizo or sausage.  There was guacamole, limes, onions and this drink that is similar to horchata, but is blended I think. We ate till we couldn't eat any more, and then he brought out this cake stuff for dessert, and I couldn't even finish it.  It was by far the best meal that I have had here in Mexico.  Other times the food is terrible.  Just the day before the amazing food,  I had tostadas, with onions, and this stuff that looked like onions, but had the texture of extra thick gelatin, with a weird flavor, I almost finished it, but couldn't do it.   

I went to go sign my visa today in Guadalajara central, and the city is very beautiful with lots of cathedrals and parks, I'll need to get some pictures next time I go.  The people here are pretty nice,  almost always, the members will give us food, or drinks.  They are always very excited to see the elders, and its fun to teach, but usaually my companion talks most, because he is a fast talker, and likes to talk, but people can understand me when it is my turn to teach, and lots of people say that I have good spanish for my amount of time in Mexico, and I know that the Lord is helping me.

Good Luck everyone!

Elder Carey

Week 2 in Mexico

Hey everyone! 

Hope everything is going good!  So far things are great here in Mexico!  Had my first exchanges this week, it was for the 4th and the 5th.  So for the fourth of July, I bought an ice cream, and was thinking about America when I ate it.  I got to see another baptism this week, it was an 8 year old girl that the hermanas in my zone have been giving lessons to.  I don't have a lot of time to write today, but it sounds like everything is going good in the MTC, but you'll all be going out to the field in a day or two, and I wish you the best of luck!  So far my companion and I have two baptismal dates coming up, and a couple more that we will be asking to be baptized soon.  It is cool to see the work of the Lord progress here in Mexico!  One of our investigators, his name is viktor, has a problem with marijuana, but is very interested in the church.  He has asked us for a bible, because whenever we use a scripture from the bible, he can't go to it with us.  When we start lessons, he asks us if we can begin with a prayer.  I can tell he wants to know more about the gospel.  

The zone leader in my area is from Peru, and it is cool because he is the beat boxing champion from Peru two years in a row, and I think he can make any sound with his mouth.  Sorry about not having pictures, this computer wouldn't work with my camera, but it just means more for next time!

Alright,Good luck everyone!

God be with you till we meet again!

Elder Carey