Following The Example Of Jesus Christ!

Hey guys!

Elder Johnson and I had a great week. We found a lot of new investigators this week and have received many references from members and we are working really great right now.

One cool experience we had this week was with an inspired contact. Elder Johnson and I were heading to an appointment and talking about how much more effective it is to receive references from members and following the divine guidance of the Spirit than anything else when a guy stopped us on our way down the hill to say hi to us. So we stopped and talked to him for a little about him personally and about what we do as missionaries and how our message could bless him in his life. He listened and accepted that we come back to teach him. The next night we went over to his house and taught him and his girlfriend about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As we explained about the process of repentance and about the Savior's Atonement, the Spirit was strongly present. We explained how the Spirit testifies of truth and the need to follow the example of Jesus Christ and how through baptism we can be washed clean of sin and mistakes and then invited them to follow His example and be baptized. They both accepted and are very excited to be able to follow through with the Savior's teachings. We plan to marry them this week and have their baptisms on Saturday! The zone is doing really great and we re all seeing a lot of success! Now we just gotta keep up with all of them to make sure we do even better!

Cool story! This morning we got up at 4:50 am to go hike this huge mountain in our area with two other Elders to see the sunrise. So we were hiking and basically bear crawling the mountain because it was so steep. But it was cool. When we saw the mountain we climbed when the sun came up, we were surprised  because it was basically just a vertical climb all the way up. So being that we were on a very steep hill, we were already "past the point of no return" so we had to keep climbing up to be able to get down. As we were approaching the bigger mountain right next to us, we found witches up there with us. Crazy! I don't have too much time to tell that whole story so if you're interested ask me about it when you see me again. So, we get past the witches and take pictures of the sunrise and go to the very highest tip-pity top point of the mountain and offer a prayer (because the tops of mountains are basically like temples and it's just cool like that) and head back down to go play soccer with the zone. Yay! Fun! 

But yeah, we are doing great and I hope you all are too! Oh yeah, Happy Belated Birthday to my faddah unit! He turned a grand 51 years old on March 20th which makes me also realize that I turn 21 this year... man, I'm gonna get old fast. Anyway, have a great week! Love you all!

¡Ten fe y se obediente!

Todo mi amor,

Elder San Diego

Beautiful Sunrise!

Tip-pity top of the mountain

Working Hard To Bring People Unto Christ

Hey guys!

Elder Johnson and I had a great week. We are having lots of experiences and working hard to bring people unto Christ. This week, we went with a sister in our ward to eat with her on Tuesday. We ate and talked to her and then shared a spiritual message with her afterwards. We identified the spirit when it came and asked her if she knew anyone who she would like for them to receive the gospel. She said she had a sister who could really use the gospel in her life and receive the blessings from it for her and her family. So we went with her to visit her sister and we put an appointment with her. We went back the next day and taught according to the spirit and her needs. The spirit testified strongly to her and she was really glad that we could finally visit with her. She accepted to be baptized and we baptized her on Saturday after General Conference and confirmed her the next day. We are super happy for her and can't wait to go back this week and invite her to stay strong and start being a missionary herself. We have many more investigators who we are working with right now and will have lots of success in the coming days and weeks.

General Conference was especially great this year. I highly recommend you all read over and listen to the talks again just as President Monson had also suggested. I know that as we do, we will experience the joys of the spirit and his companionship with us constantly and fully. I really enjoyed the themes that they focused on on being a true disciples of Christ through sharing the gospel, the importance of obedience, and how we need to stand firm in a world of shifting and changing values. I forgot my notes back at home but next week I'll send all of my favorite notes and quotes. Have a great week! I love you all!

¡Ten fe y se obediente!

Todo mi amor,

Elder San Diego

Martha's Familia!

Martha's baptism!

Pictures of my zone

Following The Instructions Of The Spirit

Hey guys!

This past week me and Elder Jay finished off great. We baptized one girl whose name is Becky Kim. We had her baptism on Wednesday and it was great and the rest of her family was there to support her. We also put 5 baptismal dates this week for this upcoming Saturday and will confirm them and Geovanni also. This past week we had some amazing experiences with some of the investigators we found that will be baptized. 

One day we decided to dedicate time to the Lord and follow the instructions of the Spirit as we walked around. We prayed specifically for the guidance of the Lord during that time and set off to follow the indications of the Spirit. As we were passing by a certain house, I started to feel the Spirit so I stopped and looked at it. Then we heard a little girl crying and I felt the Spirit even more. So we went and knocked on the door and presented ourselves with the lady and she said we could come back the next day. So we went but when we were knocking, no one came to the door. Then all of a sudden, a guy came walking up to us and said that he thought he knew Elder Jay and that he had seen him before. He was a little drunk at the time so we went walking and talking with him some more and set an appointment for the next day. When we went by the next day we found him and we went to the park with him to sit down and talk. He really needed emotional support and also wanted to seriously change his life and start over again. We taught him about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Spirit came super strong. We asked him how he felt and he said he felt something swell inside of him and that he had a huge calm and peace fall over him. We invited him to follow Jesus Christ and start anew and he said yes. Since then, he has been changing drastically. We taught him about the need to live the Word of Wisdom and he got all of his bottles together one night and we accompanied him as he threw all of his alcohol away in the trash. It was a way cool experience. (way interesting too because he speaks English because he used to live in the U.S. so we have taught him entirely in English.) His name is Chris.

Also, all of our appointments fell through Saturday and we were walking to go visit an inactive member when a guy named Paul, who we had met on the street one time and went to visit him but never found him, saw us and called us over. We went over and entered into his house and taught him about the Godhead. When the Spirit was present we identified it with him and invited him to be baptized and he also accepted.

There are another 3 who will be baptized this Saturday with them so I am looking forward to when they make that covenant with God. Also, we had a mission dodgeball tournament today and my zone rocked and beat everyone and so we were the champions!

And one last news!  I just got moved up today by President Tervort as the Zone Leader in a zone called Cuautepec!!  Awesome.  My new companion is Elder Johnson and we are going to tear it up!

Have a great week! Love you all!

¡Ten fe y se obediente!

Todo mi amor,

Elder San Diego

Becky Kim's baptism!

The winning zone! Industrial!

Receiving Enormous Blessings From The Lord Right Now!

Hey guys!

Elder Jay and I had a great week. 

We baptized an 11 year-old kid named Geovanni on Monday which went super great and his dad, who is not a member, was also present and felt the presence of the Spirit there. We are going to follow up with him and teach him the gospel as well. 

We found more investigators this week who have family members who are members of the church either in our ward or in a different part of Mexico or the United States. They are really accepting of the gospel and have felt the Spirit strongly and have committed to follow our Lord Jesus Christ. They will be baptized this upcoming week. 

We had a really cool spiritual experience in how we met one of the families we found this week. We were walking to one of our investigator's houses a few weeks ago when Elder Jay told me that he felt he needed to knock a door that we had passed a little while back. So we went back and knocked it but the people didn't want anything. Elder Jay couldn't remember well if that was the house or if it was another one that looked alike. So we knocked the other one and no one was home so we decided to go back whenever we passed by to see who lived there and if we could find somebody at home. We passed by a few more times over the next little while but no one was ever home. So we went one night just to check one last time and while we were waiting to see if anyone would answer, a guy came up to us who was a little drunk and said that he was a member and that he was baptized 4 years ago in Maryland and that he really needed help to overcome his addiction. We went over to his house and that's how we got to know him, his aunt, his mom, and his wife, all of whom we are teaching right now while helping him conquer his weaknesses. His mom is the only one with a baptismal date right now but we might be able to get the other two this week also if we keep working hard. 

We are doing great and are receiving enormous blessings from the Lord right now!

I love you all and hope you have an awesome week!

¡Ten fe y se obediente!

Todo mi amor,

Elder San Diego

Geovanni's Baptism!

Geovanni's Family

Teaching Of The Godhead With Inspirational Prayer

Hey guys!

Elder Jay and I had a good week and witnessed the help of the Lord through His spirit with the people we are working with.

Elder Jay and I focused this week on the things we learned this week from zone meeting about a tool we could use in the work by combining the teaching of the Godhead with inspiration in prayer to invite powerfully the spirit and then use the six steps. We decided to also put a goal to put 1 baptismal date every single day. As we did it and focused on that goal we saw the success. Although we weren't able to put 6 or 7 baptismal dates this week, we were able to put 3 and take them to church.

Using these things we learned, we went to an appointment with a lady named Claudia who we had met through her son who we met when some teens called us over to play frontón (handball) one day. We went to meet with her and taught about the Godhead and the role of every individual member of it. The spirit came powerfully to the lesson and Elder Jay offered an inspired prayer that made her feel the spirit stronger and start to cry. When we ended the prayer we asked her how she felt and she said that it was an amazing sensation she felt inside along with lots of peace and that it made her want to cry. We identified with her that it was the Spirit that she was feeling and taught her about the Doctrine of Jesus Christ and invited her to be baptized. She accepted and is still doing well. The next day we went over and her daughter was there so we taught both of them about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and when we could feel the Spirit, we invited her daughter, Belén, to also be baptized and she accepted.

We also were able to teach the grandson of some members of our ward who are getting back to activity in the church. His name is Giovanni. We taught about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and he himself identified the need for baptism and accepted gladly to be baptized. We are planning all of their baptisms for this week to come and the confirmations of the kids we baptized last week and this week.

We are doing great and will continue to do so and I hope all of you do too! Love you all!

¡Ten fe y se obediente!

Todo mi amor,
Elder San Diego

P.S. To all those who read this blog: I normally make it a matter to not disclose personal or family issues with friends and others. However, I wish to inform all those who read my blog that my mom, Holly San Diego, is sick and in the hospital right now suffering from what the doctors conclude to be an inflamed pancreas. I would ask of all of you to please include my mom in your prayers on behalf of her well-being and recuperation. I will be eternally thankful for all those who do so.

Miriam's Baptism

Cool wall graffiti

The Blessings Of God Poured Out In Our Area!!

Hey guys!

Elder Jay and I had a great week.  We worked really hard this week and it all felt like it passed by so fast and that it was a dream.

We baptized two this week from the family that we found. Their names are Anthony and Axel. The baptism went super well and we are preparing more of the family for this week to come. We are finding lots of success and look to have a great month of March.

We also were able to meet with one guy who contacted us last week and we had a great lesson with him in which the Spirit was strongly present. We invited him to be baptized and he accepted but didn't commit to a date yet because of some problems he has that he wants to be rid of before. He has since gained a testimony of Joseph Smith and is reading the Book of Mormon. We will meet with him more this next week and invite the Spirit more and put a secure baptismal date with him so we have a date to work towards.

Besides that, the work is really going along great and we are seeing the blessings of God poured out on our area.

 Have a great week!

¡Ten fe y se obediente!

Todo mi amor,

Elder San Diego

Anthony's and Axel's Baptism!

True Blessings From The Lord!

Hey guys!

We had a great week! Elder Jay and I are going crazy with the work and miracles are happening here in our area!

Again this week, we had a guy contact us who is interested in knowing more about the church and we have an appointment with him tomorrow and his family. We are planning the baptism of David, Nayeli, and Hugo (the guy who contacted us and his family) this Sunday and they are progressing super great.

A long ago me and Elder Jay asked for permission to give a blessing to a kid who was really sick in the hospital and on the verge of death. Well, he got better in a matter of a few weeks and is out and walking and living normal again and we were finally able this week to go and teach his family. We showed up and his dad was home and 3 of the 5 kids. We taught powerfully about the Restoration and used the six steps and invited them to be baptized and they all accepted! We are also preparing them for baptism this Sunday and will pick up the other two kids who weren't there also! Amazing things are happening and we are seeing true blessings from the Lord!

Happy belated birthday to my sister! Yay for getting older!

Have a great week! Love you all!

¡Ten fe y se obediente!

Todo mi amor,

Elder San Diego

P.S. There are crazy things going on in the work of the Lord and changes will be made to my mission and such around the world! Check it out at:

http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/missions-created-accommodate-influx-new-missionaries