Where in the World is Elder San Diego?: Stairway to Heaven

Hello again my family and friends!

This week has been pretty mellow but pretty good all around.

Last Friday and Saturday we received two new investigators, Ernesto and Beny. Both are really great guys and are interested in what we have to say. Ernesto is from Honduras and living in Connecticut right now where he works in construction. He has a family of two children and his wife and he loves to spend time with them. He has heard about the Church, since his sister and in-laws are members, and thinks well of us and what we have to say. Beny lives in the Dominican Republic. He is studying at college right now and also plays baseball for the school. He has a good heart and we got to know him through his girlfriend who is a member. So, I think we will have a good experience teaching them throughout the next few weeks. (p.s. My teachers are the investigators. They are acting out people they taught on their missions)

Sunday was so great! Since it was Fast Sunday, we had our monthly mission conference and heard some great talks from our MTC Mission Presidency. Here is the main point that I took away from the whole conference: Faith, obedience, and repentance are the three factors that help us to progress up the eternal staircase and return to our Father's presence. Faith causes you to come to the stairs of life. Obedience allows you to move up the vertical part of the stair while repentance allows you to move the horizontal part of the stair to move forward to reach obedience again in a continual process of climbing the stairs. Faith, obedience, and repentance are not just one-time events that stop after they have happened, but instead are renewed by us every single day through our diligence in submitting to the will of God every day of our lives.

I know these things to be so true! I testify of them and the power that they have in each of our lives!

Monday was pretty relaxed. We had class and had the opportunity to meet with our investigators again. They are understanding everything and coming along in their commitments that we set for them to read the Book of Mormon.

Tuesday was a very full day. In the early hours of the morning the other two elders who were in my room (Elder Llerena from Peru and Elder Aho from Tonga) left for their mission in Sacramento so it was fun to see them excited to get out to their mission. Later in the day my companions and I went down to the BYU Student Health Center to get some drugs for Elder Ridd since he is sick and has been for a while now. So it was nice to walk outside the MTC gates again. The devotional was great tonight. We heard from Elder Jay E. Jensen of the Seventy and here are some notes: Submissiveness. This is one of Christ's very greatest attributes that we all should strive to develop. As you submit your will to God's will, you will be greatly blessed and be guided in all you do. Decisions do determine destiny! You need to love vertically before you love horizontally.

Wednesday I got a notice that told me I would go to the consulate in Salt Lake to sign my visa, but later in the day I was called in to the travel office and told that there was a mistake on my visa that needed to be fixed so I have to wait until it is fixed to go down to the consulate. So, a little bit of a disappointment but not much. But it was a pretty good day all around.

Today Elder Ridd felt terrible so we stayed home from the temple and just rested and wrote letters and studied so it has been a really relaxed day so far.

Well, that's all for this week! I know this gospel to be true and that it is given to us so we can be even happier in our lives!

Ten fe y se obediente!

Todo mi amor,

Elder San Diego

Best Story Ever:

Elder May said when he played football his friend picked up the paper and saw the all-state players. He said, "When I am All-State, this is the smile I am gonna make!" Thus, this is that smile, "the All-Stater"