Elder San Diego's Homecoming Talk!

In my mission, I had a motto. It was very simple and very brief, but for me, one of the most powerful statements I could imagine and one of eternal magnitude and importance. My motto was “Have faith and be obedient.” For you see, it is upon these two principles of faith and obedience that we must anchor ourselves and our lives in order to receive all the promised blessings of the Lord unto the faithful. Faith is defined as “Trust and confidence of a person in Jesus Christ which leads the person to obey Him.” “Miracles do not produce faith, rather, strong and lasting faith is developed through obedience to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” Faith is the essence of our existence. Without faith, we are not. Without faith, we achieve no progress. Without faith, everything is impossible unto us. With faith, we breathe, live, and interact. With faith, one can obtain the job or college degree he is seeking. Faith is a hope in things which are not seen, which are true. To obey signifies to do the will of God. In revelation and instruction through the Prophet Joseph Smith recorded in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, we read:

“There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundation of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated – and when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.”

Simple! When we obey, we receive all the blessings. When we choose not to obey, we deny ourselves the opportunity to enjoy the blessings of the Lord in our lives. Without faith, there cannot be obedience. Without obedience, there is no faith. These two eternal elements must be linked and joined together at all times if we wish to fulfill our true divine potentials. As we show forth faith and demonstrate our love for the Lord through our obedience we receive the promises He has extended towards us.

I have always felt that in order to effectively do missionary work, we must first qualify ourselves for the blessings through our faith, diligence, and obedience. One of my favorite promises is also found in the Doctrine and Covenants. It reads:

“And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up.”

As I exercised faith and obedience throughout my mission, I felt the accomplishment of this promise day after day. I remember one experience we had with a young man named Chris. When planning for our day the night before, my companion Elder Jay and I prayed to the Lord asking Him to guide us to someone who was in need of the gospel. We planned a certain time during the day in which we would follow the whisperings of the Spirit and trust in Him to guide us. As we were walking, I felt the impression to knock on a certain door. We knocked and a lady came out and answered and said she didn’t have time at the moment but that she would be able to receive us the next day in the evening. So, we passed by the next day at the appointed time and we found that there wasn’t anybody home. We decided to wait for a few minutes to see if she would arrive soon. As we waited, a young man approached us. He was drunk at the time and it was interesting what happened. He came up and told my companion that he knew him and that he had seen him somewhere before which was weird because my companion was just starting his mission. It was also strange because this young man spoke perfect English. He introduced himself as Chris and said that he saw us and that he was out walking around in hopes of finding someone who could help him. He told us of how he was feeling alone and abandoned and how he really needed help and guidance to know what to do. We walked around with him for a little bit and talked about what we do as missionaries and how we could help him. We scheduled an appointment with him for the next day. We taught him about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how through having faith in Him, repenting of our sins, and being baptized we can find and receive the peace and guidance in our lives that we desire. The lessons we taught him were some of the most powerful I had ever been a part of in my mission. I remember when we taught him about the Word of Wisdom, he was determined to quit drinking and gathered all the bottles he had in his house together and asked us to accompany him to throw it all away. As I watched him throw away his bottles of alcohol, I felt a deep appreciation for the Lord and His promises to the faithful and the obedient that He would bless them, the way He did us.

In a different area my companion and I taught a girl named Judith. She was an atheist. She had stopped believing in God because of the tragic death of her husband. She had many questions such as “Why him?” “If God really does love us, why would he allow such things to happen?” My companion and I decided to teach her about the Plan of Salvation of God. As we were teaching her I remember thinking, “What’s the point? She’s an atheist and she won’t accept what we’re saying anyway.” Then, I remembered what President Thomas S. Monson said in a recent General Conference when he said that we must see people not as they are, but as they can become. I started to change my attitude in that moment and started to feel the presence of the Holy Ghost in the lesson. As we identified the Spirit with her, I started to see a change in her and how the Spirit was touching her heart and testifying of the truths we were teaching. As she exercised her faith in Christ and obedience to His commandments, she experienced a powerful change of heart and decided to be baptized.

In my last area, my companion and I were working hard and being as obedient as we could, yet we were not seeing the kind of success that we wanted. As we continued in faith, we received a reference from a lady leading us to two people, Angelica and Paulina. I was blessed to see and witness first-hand how the application of these two principles of faith and obedience blessed their lives and changed everything for them. When we met them, we taught of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and about just how the Gospel of Jesus Christ was taught to bless our lives. They felt the Spirit, had faith, accepted the truthfulness of the message, decided to obey God’s commands, and were soon baptized. The real blessing for me came afterwards when they had some trials and difficulties and how I saw them exercise faith unto obedience and how they overcame their challenges. Soon after being baptized, Angelica lost her job and was finding difficulties at all turns. She felt abandoned and rejected. As she was reaching what she thought to be her breaking point, we encouraged her to keep applying the principles of faith and obedience in her life and how she would very soon see the calm after the storm and the tremendous blessings of the Lord upon her. She persevered and continued in righteousness and was soon blessed to find an amazing job that paid much more than her previous job with a schedule that was perfect for her and allowed her to attend church on Sundays. I know that it was because of her faith and action in obedience that she was blessed as she was.

I know and testify that the Spirit of the Lord is present with us, testifying of the truth of all these things. I know it is here because I can feel it, and because I can feel it, I know that each one of you feel it too. The feelings that the Spirit brings to us are different. They can be peace, joy, love, a feeling of strength, but it is always something uplifting and good that encourages us to be better. For me it comes as a burning in my chest which fills me and gives me assurance. Whatever you feel right now, that is the Spirit. God sends us the Spirit to testify especially to us individually the truthfulness of things and to encourage us to follow Jesus Christ. It is only through obedience to the Gospel of Jesus Christ that we are saved. His gospel teaches us that first, we must have faith in Him. We must trust Him and obey with exactness all His counsels. Second, we must repent of our sins. We must forsake that which is evil in the sight of God, ask for forgiveness for our transgressions, and obey His will for us. True repentance is a change of heart from desiring what is wrong, to desiring that which the Lord desires. Then, we must be baptized and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost and endure to the end. In the scriptures, we read the following account of the baptism of Jesus Christ.

                “Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.” Jesus went to John to be baptized by him because he was the only one who had authority from God to do it. “But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, ‘Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then he suffered him.” Christ was baptized when he was conscious of his acts and comprehended the difference between good and evil. It was His decision to be baptized, and so it is with us. We are to be baptized when we have committed sins and are responsible for our actions. It is precisely for that reason that we are baptized, to wash away our own sins and errors that we have committed. Jesus, when he was baptized, came straightway up out of the water, showing that baptism is to be done by immersion which symbolizes the death of our sins, and the resurrection of a new person. As a Book of Mormon prophet said while pondering the baptism of Christ, “And now, if the Lamb of God, he being holy, should have need to be baptized by water, to fulfill all righteousness, O then, how much more need have we, being unholy, to be baptized, yea, even by water.” I testify that if we follow the example of Jesus Christ, with faith and obedience, we shall receive all of His blessings. I invite all of you, no matter where you are on the path, to come unto Christ, to follow Him, and be perfected by Him.

Hermanos y hermanas, yo sé que Jesucristo vive. Sé que Él nos ama y que ha dado su vida para nosotros.  Sé y testifico que Él es el Salvador del mundo. Sé que Dios es nuestro amoroso Padre Celestial y que Él conoce a cada uno de nosotros y está al pendiente de nosotros. Sé que es por medio de Jesucristo que somos salvos, después de hacer todo en cuanto podamos. Sé que si confiamos en Jesucristo, Él nos guiará y enderezará nuestro camino delante de nosotros. Sé que por medio de la fe en El y obediencia a Sus mandamientos, podemos superar cualquier desafío en nuestras vidas y calificarnos para la vida eterna. Sé que José Smith fue un profeta de Dios y que fue escogido para restaurar la verdad a la tierra en nuestros días. Sé que El Libro de Mormón es la palabra de Dios y que es evidencia de la veracidad de la restauración. Sé que ese libro es verdadero y no cabe duda en mí de que lo es. Sé que esta es la iglesia verdadera y que todo esto es verdadero y testifico de esto en el nombre de Jesucristo. Amén.

The Elder San Diego welcoming committee!!

L to R: Dad, Me, Mom, Michael, Grandma Ching, Grandpa Ching

Doppelganger

2 years!!

Hey everybody,

Wow!  And just like that, the mission has come to an end.  It seems as though it was but a little time ago that I started the mission.  Time surely has passed by fast.  I look back on myself two years ago now and I am really impressed by who and what I am today.  There has been so much spiritual growth and progress on my part.  I think the two greatest things I have learned on the mission are:

1. How to love the Lord with all my heart, might, mind, and strength.
2. How to identify and follow the Spirit in my life.

Honestly, serving a mission is the best decision I have ever made and the thing from which I have received the most blessings.  As we took off from the airport, I reflected on the grand and vast size of the city and all of the people and thought to myself about if I really made a difference.  Then I thought of all the people I have helped be converted to the gospel and the loving testimonies they have born to me and it makes me feel the spirit and an overwhelming joy burn inside of me to know that I, in a very small and simple way, have been an instrument in God's hands to help Him bring about the immortality, eternal life, and eternal happiness of His children.  I cannot express even a part of the happiness I feel for having been a full-time missionary for two years and having had all of the spiritual experiences that I've had. I truly will miss this beautiful time in my life to dedicate every minute of every hour to the work of the Lord.  There is no greater work that we can do.  I testify that Jesus is the Christ, the very Son of our loving Heavenly Father.  I know that Christ suffered for us and that He is our Savior and Redeemer.  I know that it is through obedience to His gospel that we are forgiven of all of our sins and brought back to the presence of God. I testify that Christ lives and that He restored His church and gospel in these days through the Prophet Joseph Smith.  I know that the Book of Mormon is true.  And last of all, I know that as we participate with the Lord in the work of salvation, we become one with Him.  In the name of Jesus Christ.  Amen.

¡Ten fe y se obediente!

Todo mi amor,
Elder Eric Scott Kanemokuheali'i San Diego

Teresita's baptism!

"Memories Are Summer Flowers For The Winters Of Our Lives."

Hey everybody!

This past week was great and Elder Durrant and I are kicking it into high gear to finish strong.  We had lots of good lessons and have been blessed to find and receive success from our Heavenly Father.  This week we have a goal of three baptisms that we hope to have so we are excited and excited again to also be preparing some people and families who will be baptized after I leave.  I love these people and really wish I could stay a little longer to bless the lives of a few more people.

Somehow, two years go by in the blink of an eye.  It's hard to comprehend that my time as a full-time missionary has come to a close.  The funniest part is that even though I had many difficult and hard, rough times in the mission, all I remember are the good times; the times I was happy, the times I have felt the Spirit bear testimony, the times when me and my companion would run through rain, dust, mud, hail, cold, heat and be laughing as we were and fully loving what we were doing.  Truly we do remember the good times more that the bad. I love a quote I saw the other day that says:

 "God gives us memories, because memories are summer flowers for the winters of our lives."

I have cherished and hold dear every memory I have had here in the mission and all the lessons I have learned and all the growing I have done spiritually.   I love my mission.  I have loved it and I will forever love it.  There has not been any moment in my life to compare with it and if I had the chance, I would gladly do it again.  My favorite scripture says:

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding; in all they ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."

I testify that if we trust Him and love Him, He shall indeed direct our paths.  I know that God is our loving Heavenly Father.  He knows each and every one of us.  He wants us to be happy and thus provides the means by which we may have happiness if we will but only follow Jesus Christ.  I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and our Redeemer and our Friend and Advocate with the Father.  He lives!  He loves us!  He can and will heal even the deepest of wounds that we have if we will let His loving sacrifice take effect in our lives.  I know that the scriptures testify of that.  I know that all scripture invites us to come unto Him and be perfected in Him.  I testify and know with all my soul that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God.  He did see the Father and the Son that early spring morning in 1820, an occurrence of which he so persistently and unwearingly testified of to his death.  He was the instrument in God's hands in bringing forth His truth and His restored work in these last days.  The Book of Mormon is true.  I know it is.  I am convinced that this is the true and only church of Christ upon the face of the Earth.  It is called The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  I know that all mankind may be saved by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel of Christ which are faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, receiving the gift of the holy ghost by the laying on of hands, and enduring to the end.  I know that all of this is true.  I know it because I have felt the Spirit of God confirm the truth of it to me personally.  I bear my special witness as an authorized representative of Jesus Christ  that these things are true and I do so in the name of Jesus Christ.  Amen.

¡Ten fe y se obediente!

Todo mi amor,

Elder San Diego

Enduring To The End!!

Howdy doody!

Elder Durrant and I had a good week.  Actually, we had a terrible week. 

Every single one of the appointments we had fell through during the week.  We fought hard to keep our spirits up the whole week with everything and the additional rain storms that came all of a sudden.  But!  We actually did have a good week.  We remembered to forget ourselves and go to work.  We were happily working in the rain and such and we learned a really important lesson about enduring to the end. 

On Sunday in our very last appointment of the day we went to visit with an inactive member of our ward, Edgar, and his non-member wife, Karina.  We taught them about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the spirit was very strong and present.  We identified the spirit and invited Karina to be baptized and she accepted and we will have her baptismal service August 3!  We also strengthened Edgar's recent desire that he has had to return to activity in the church and he is making plans to come back with us and enjoy the fullness of the blessings his Heavenly Father has to offer him.  

It was a great experience for us to work hard all week and finally see the fruits of our labor in the last minutes of the last day of the week all because we decided to endure.  We are going to have a great week and finish these last few weeks I have left with a bang!  

I love you all!  Have a great week!

¡Ten fe y se obediente!

Todo mi amor,

Elder San Diego

 Me getting wet in the rain.

 The both of us getting wet in the rain

  Elder Durrant getting wet in the rain.

We Are Going To Turn This Mission Around!

Hey guys,

We had a pretty good week. It was uneventful for the most part, just mainly a finding week, but we had some success and will see a lot more in these next few days. 

We made some contacts and met some really great families who we are going to visit today and tomorrow and we hope to see lots of grand success and more baptisms.  I went of divisions with some elders in my zone and helped them out a bit and the fun thing right now is that everyone in the zone has a goal to baptize this week and we can see that the excitement and work is increasing which is a super great thing to see right now. 

We also had a zone leader conference with President Hall this week and it was great and we learned a lot and got work done and planned how we are going to turn this mission around.  I love this work and know that we will have some huge successes in these up and coming weeks. 

Take care and love you all!

¡Ten fe y se obediente!

Todo mi amor,

Elder San Diego

 What can I say, we're goons!

Mexico City Temple

"Stay Put And Wait A Little More For An Answer!!"

Hey family!

So, we had an alright week here in Arbolillo. 

We started the week having interviews and Zone Conference with President and Sister Hall and the assistants.  President Hall is a great guy and in my interview with him we talked about my desires to finish the mission strong and about the miracles I can accomplish here in my area.  Be prepared all of you to hear some great stories because I ain't finished just yet!  

One cool experience I had during the week was when we left our house one day, we were wondering what we could do since some appointments fell through when all of a sudden I started feeling the spirit super strong trying to tell me something.  So I listened more but the funny thing was I wasn't guided to go anywhere but to just stay put and wait a little more for an answer.  All of a sudden, the car we were standing next to blinked its lights to signify that it was unlocked. I looked at the car for a bit and turning back around saw a family pass by us and get into the car.  That's when I realized that that was why I was prompted to stay put.  I contacted the dad and it turns out he is an inactive member but his wife and kids aren't, so I got his address and we are going to visit him.  We also have an investigator named Ruben who has the most sincere heart to know what is true than any other person I have met in the mission.  It has been great teaching him and answering his questions this week and we keep seeing him progressing which is fantastic.

We also had a stake primary mission activity where the kids got assigned to missions and did fun stuff.  We  taught them all a little bit about why missionary work is such a blessing.  It was really fun and cool to see all the little kids excited about missionary work. 

Also, today I went to the Mexico MTC and helped the security guards with a power point presentation.  A brother in my ward is a security guard at the MTC and they had to translate into English a power point they made for the missionaries to know what to do in certain situations.  Since none of their English is very good yet and Google translate is horrendous in translating, they asked me to help.  So, I basically redid the whole presentation and helped them pronounce the words, it was fun.  So Michael, when you are in the Mexico MTC and see that power point, you can tell everyone that yours truly helped make it!

Cool, well, take care everyone and have a great week!

¡Ten fe y se obediente!

Todo mi amor,

Elder San Diego

I found Heather's twin!

Mexico MTC

¡Bienvenidos President & Sister Hall!

Hey guys!

Elder Durrant and I had a great week.  We had the blessing of baptizing Maria Elena this week and seeing her joy and enthusiasm as she followed the steps of the Lord Jesus Christ.  This week we didn't have as much success as other weeks as far as people accepting baptism but we are still working hard and seeing huge blessings, especially through the members of the ward who are coming together to help us out even more in the work of salvation.

We now have a new mission president who is President Hall from Idaho Falls, Idaho.  He is a really great, sincere, and spiritual man and will truly continue to press missionary work forward here in our mission. (I also asked him and Sister Hall if they have been to Da Pineapple Grill and they said they have and that they love the food there.)  He and Sister Hall visited us on Friday with the assistants to get to know us and to visit some of the other companionships here in Arbolillo.  We will have interviews and zone conference with him tomorrow morning.

In other news, I was in Walmart the other day to take money out and to buy some stuff when we saw a bunch of Mormon-looking white people.  When we got closer we found out that they were indeed Mormon white people!  They were the MTC teachers at the new and recently functioning Mexico MTC!  And suprise!  One of my MTC teachers, Brother Arnold was in the group!  Strange.  We talked for a bit and it was exciting to see him and hear what he's done in these past few years.

Also, the Sister missionaries had another baptism of another couple that was in that baptismal service when I spoke!  It has been a really neat experience being there in each and every one of their baptisms during this past month and see how the family has progressed and come closer and see the joy that they have experienced recently and will continue to experience.  Well that's all!  Take care and have a great week! 

I love you all!

¡Ten fe y se obediente!

Todo mi amor,

Elder San Diego

Maribel's baptism! 

Maria Elena's baptism!

Overcoming Trials With The Guidance Of The Spirit

Hey folks!

We had a great week here in Arbolillo. We had the baptism of Maribel this week and we have really seen a miracle happen in her life. For a really long time and since the time I have known her she has had a problem with alcohol and she couldn't stop drinking. We would work with her and talk and after going good for a few days she would fall into it again and she didn't show too much commitment during the process to stop. This week however we talked with her about how she wanted her life to be and what kind of goals she had. She recognized that drinking did not make her happy and that it only caused unhappiness and sorrow in her life and for the first time I saw her and heard her express her sincere desire to stop drinking and have the guidance of the Spirit in her life. She was changing and said she had committed with herself right before we went to visit her that day that from that moment onward she would never drink again. We were very happy and with the guidance of the Spirit helped her have an even firer resolution to follow the Lord. We gave her a blessing and since that day she has had many temptations and opportunities to fall but has overcome and resisted. When she told me all about her trials and how she has overcome, it made me so happy to see someone fighting and doing all in their power to be able to return to the presence of our God relying solely on His power.

We had lots of other great experiences this past week and look forward to the baptism of Maria Elena this weekend who is the mom of one of our recent converts, Julio. We have an elder with us for a little while named Elder Solis who is waiting for his VISA to Argentina where he will be serving. He's way fun and I don't think I have laughed so much or so hard in a long time. Needless to say we all are doing great. We also went to the temple this week! Yay! It was the first time I have been able to go since I left the MTC and it was a good feeling being able to go and be in the temple for a little bit. Have a great week! Love you all!

¡Ten fe y se obediente!

Todo mi amor,

Elder San Diego

Last Mission Conference with President & Sister Trevort

Happy Birthday Elder San Diego!!!

Hey guys!

Elder Durrant and I had a great week. We baptized Elizabeth, Angelica, and Paulina this weekend and the Spirit was amazing in each of their baptisms. I asked them how they felt after their baptisms and they responded that they felt really good and happy and lots of peace. I asked them what it was and they said that it was the Spirit. I told them to write down their feelings and what they experienced to have that memory with them forever. Angelica had a special experience on Sunday during her confirmation. She said she felt something really strange during the confirmation that felt like a warmth and heat that started in her head and went down through her whole body out to her hands and that it felt really good and comforting. I again told her,"Do you know what that is?" and she said,"The Holy Spirit." It was a really neat experience for me to hear her experience and have her know and identify how the Spirit talks and testifies to her.

Me and Elder Durrant also got to perform the baptisms of a couple that the sister missionaries married and baptized. It's that same couple I talked about a few weeks ago when I shared a message in the baptismal service of the sister missionaries and they got excited to be married and baptized.

On my birthday I was looking in the mirror and what did I see? Three new white hairs I had never seen before. Yup, I sure am getting older and wiser too. But it was good. I got a few small gifts from some sweet members of my ward and one sister in the ward bought me a cake. It was a really calm day and actually really great because we started the day with Angelica and Paulina's baptism! So it was good.

We also had our last mission conference with President Tervort this past week. He will be ending his mission in a week and will be off back home to Utah and we will get President Hall from Idaho as our new mission president.

I also got to go back and visit my converts in Xalostoc and it was really great seeing most of them and leaving my testimony with them one last time before I leave Mexico. Everything has been great and will continue to be! I love you all!

¡Ten fe y se obediente!

Todo mi amor,

Elder San Diego

Angelica and Paulina's baptism!

Birthday cake

The sister's baptism!

Called To Serve - El Salvador San Salvador East Mission!

Hey everybody!

First off, congratulations to my little brother, Michael, for receiving his mission call! He will proudly serve the Lord in the El Salvador San Salvador East Mission! Yay! He will report to the Mexico MTC September 4 which is in my zone and right in front of my area actually. It's kind of weird thinking that once that day comes, my parents will be completely alone by themselves for a few months since I'll be back at BYU and both my brother and sister will be on their missions.

Anyway, we had a great week here, me and Elder Durrant. At the beginning of this week we went with Maribel and Elizabeth and checked up on the last commitment we left with Maribel to say a prayer and repent of everything she has ever done. She said that she did it and that she felt very calm and peaceful and felt that she was loved and forgiven of everything. We taught them a little about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and invited them to be baptized and they accepted! They are going to be baptized this Friday and are progressing and preparing every day. We taught them about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ a few days later and invited them to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it and ask if Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. Elizabeth said she did it and that she felt a warmth in her chest that extended to her stomach and that tickled a little bit. I asked her what that was what she had felt and she responded saying it was the Spirit.

We were going to have Angelica's and Paulina's baptism this weekend but Angelica had to work so we changed it for this upcoming weekend and they are excited and progressing greatly! 

We had Stake Conference yesterday and it was just swell and we got to sit our investigators right up front. Tomorrow we have our last Mission Conference with President Tervort. It will be very emotional probably but very good nonetheless.

We had a great week and will have a greater one this week! Hope you all do the same!

¡Ten fe y se obediente!

Todo mi amor,

Elder San Diego

 Me and Elder Durrant with President and Sister Tervort

The Benemerito! Soon to be the new Mexico MTC!

Milkshake mustaches!

Following Christ's Example To Be Baptized!

Hey guys!

Elder Durrant and I had a great week. We baptized Julio this Sunday and it was a really neat experience seeing him make that sacred covenant with God to always follow him. 

This week we received a reference from a member in our ward of a family that had just recently moved into some of the apartment complexes in our area. We went with the family and taught them the first night about God our loving Heavenly Father and the Atonement of Jesus Christ and how we can have a surety that they exist and love us since they were feeling confused about God and religion and the reality and importance of it all. We went back the next day and followed up on the commitment we left with them to pray and they said that they felt good as they prayed and that they did really feel like He loved them. We taught about the guidance God gives us through prophets and about the Restoration of the Gospel through the Prophet Joseph Smith. The spirit came strongly to the lesson and we identified it with them and taught about how we follow Christ through living His gospel and we invited them to be baptized. They accepted, went to the baptismal service we had Sunday morning, and stayed for church and left very excited and enthusiastic to follow Jesus Christ in that way. 

It was a really cool experience and through service that me and Elder Durrant offered we found some more investigators and are in the process of reactivating some more members and receiving references from them. 

Everything is great and we are doing well. Have a great week!

¡Ten fe y se obediente!

Todo mi amor,

Elder San Diego

Julio's baptism!

Elder Durrant bought a mariachi suit!

"Come Unto Christ!"

Hey guys!

Elder Avery and I had a good week. We put two baptismal dates this past week with a mom, Maria Elena, and her son, Julio, who Elder Avery had been teaching since the time he got here. They have already been ready to be baptized for a while now just that the mom wasn't married but today her and her husband went and got married and now she is able to be baptized. When we went over to teach them we shared our testimonies and watched Thomas S. Monson's final address from this past conference and a few Mormon Messages. Those simple yet spiritual video clips invited the spirit in a powerful way. We testified of the divinity and truth of this work to them and set the baptismal date for Sunday right before church. They are happy and prepared to receive the fulness of the gospel and all the blessings it brings.

This week one of the most spiritual experiences I had was during the baptismal service of Hermana Gonzalez and Hermana Alvarado. They asked me and my companion to serve as witnesses at the baptism so we went to help them out. When we got there they were finishing up the last touches of the baptismal program when I noticed that there were family members of the girl who was going to be baptized present who were not yet members either. I asked Hermana Alvarado if she or her companion already had a talk prepared for after the baptism in which to use and apply the six steps. She told me that she actually forgot about that and in turn asked me to do it. I accepted and while meditating on what to say, the scripture from Matthew 11 came to mind saying:

        "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

I felt strongly the impression to share with them that scripture along with Alma 7:14-15. As I shared those scriptures and my personal testimony after the ordinance of baptism I felt the strong influence and presence of the spirit and I directed all to give heed to those feelings and testimony they were receiving from the spirit. After the baptismal service was done, I had the chance to talk to those family members and encourage them towards following the gospel and obeying the truth through following the Holy Spirit. Hermana Alvarado was super excited afterward and thanked me. She said that the people who were not yet baptized weren't married and didn't want to be married and thus could not receive the ordinance of baptism. She said that while she was talking to them after the baptism they said they felt many amazing manifestations of the Spirit in them and that they now want to be married in order to be baptized and start to form their own eternal family. I felt humbled by this experience and delighted that my testimony was a help to them to strengthen their resolution to follow the Lord Jesus Christ.

I know that if we come unto Christ, He will give us rest. In the times we live in, there are many problems and challenges that we encounter and face. Sometimes we feel weighed down with the burden of life or stressed or burdened with the sins and mistakes we have made, just wondering if there is a possible way out. I testify today that there indeed is a way out; that there is a solution. I testify that it is in and through our Lord, Jesus the Christ. If you are weighed down with burdens, come and leave your burdens at His feet. If you cannot find rest unto your souls, learn of Him, and He shall give you rest. I know that He has power to heal us. I know that if we follow Him, we will find the peace and blessings we desire for ourselves and our families. I testify of these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

This week should be a good one! Elder Avery was unassigned today as Zone Leader and sent to another area while I received a new companion, Elder Durrant! If you remember the Christmas Primary Program that I helped organize and direct, it was Elder Durrant who helped me and is with me in that picture. Well, we are going to have a great week and I hope you all do too!

¡Ten fe y se obediente!

Todo mi amor,

Elder San Diego

Elder Avery and I at the Mission Home for a Zone Leader meeting.

Teaching The Plan Of Salvation

Hey guys,

Elder Avery and I had an alright week. For me there were only a few highlights this week. 

We found a mom, Maribel, and her daughter, Elizabeth, this week who were given to us as references. We visited them and talked a bit and found out that a few years ago Maribel's husband died and they really wanted to know if he was alright. We started to teach them about the Plan of Salvation and about the trials and misfortunes we face in this life contrasting it with the glory and marvelous light given through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. When the Spirit was present we identified it with them and taught about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We invited them to be baptized and Elizabeth accepted and her mom said she would really like to to be able to have peace in her life but didn't accept a set date. We are working with them and hope to baptize them this week. We also went to visit an inactive member on Saturday and ended up meeting her husband's family who are not members. We had just a few minutes to share with them and decided to offer a prayer with them. The prayer was offered and the Spirit was felt strong and the mom of the family said it was exactly what she needed at this time. We identified the Spirit with them and invited them to obtain more through learning more. We will go this week with them and are super excited to have lots of success teaching that family. Have a great week!

¡Ten fe y se obediente!

Todo mi amor,

Elder San Diego

"I Know It Was The Holy Spirit That I Felt"

Hey folks!

Elder Johnson and I had a great last week together. We went on divisions this week with Elder Ferre, Elder Lopez, Elder Ross, and Elder Ceron to help them out in the work and give them a little extra boost of success and we had some really neat spiritual experiences with them! When I was with Elder Ferre we passed by a family who he had met the day before from being inspired by the Spirit to knock their door. We went over and talked with the mom, Sandra, and her daughter, Karla. We started talking about their lives and getting to know them a little bit and we got talking about trials and challenges of life and why we are called to pass through such difficult situations. We started to teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how through having faith, we have a hope of a better future and that how through repentance we free ourselves from the guilt and shame we experience from falling into sin. The Spirit testified with force of the truthfulness of our message and we identified the Spirit with her and continued to explain that through baptism we are renewed and cleansed. We invited them to be baptized and they accepted with surety and joy.

Elder Johnson had a neat experience with Elder Ceron with a guy named Maximino who had contacted us in the morning right before the divisions. They went over and entered into his house and he came out with the Bible and another book from the Jehovah's Witnesses. Apparantly he confused us in the morning for being TJ's but in the end all he wanted was for someone to help guide him to have more faith in Jesus Christ and learn more about Him. They started to teach about the Godhead and when the Spirit was present they explained baptism and invited Maximino to be baptized and he accepted! He went to church with us this past week and got to sit in the front row at Stake Conference and is preparing to be baptized this week.

Also, when I was with Elder Ross on divisions we were heading up the hill to go see some inactive members when we ran into a kid named Farith who was on his way back from the store to his house. When we saw him he smiled at us and said "HI Elders!" so we asked if his family were members and he said that his mom was. Taking advantage of the situation, we asked if we could go to his house with him and share a message. He said we could so we went with him to his house and met his mom who had recently been inactive. We found out that Farith was not yet baptized and that he loved going to church when they went about a year and a half ago. We taught about the importance of following Christ through baptism and when we felt the Spirit we asked Farith how he felt and he said he felt a lot of peace. We invited him to be baptized and he accepted and will be baptized this week.

Elder Johnson and I had the opportunity to baptize a girl named Jaqueline this past week. She is the sister of a recent convert and had expressed desires to learn more about God thanks to her sister being a member missionary. We invited her to the baptismal service we had last week for Judith and afterwards told us that she wanted to be baptized. We passed by with her all this past week and taught her everything she needed to know and helping her identify what the Spirit was. Her baptism was great and when sharing her testimony after she came back in the room she said, "I know this is true and I am so happy for having had the chance today to make this promise with God. When I was baptized, I felt something in there that I think was.... no, I know it was the Holy Spirit that I felt." Hearing her testimony was one of the best experiences I have had here in the mission. 

President Tervort called me the other day and asked me to move over to the zone right next to us called Arbolillo and to be the zone leader there. So now I have a new companion who I know from when I was in Centenario named Elder Avery who is from Panaca, Nevada so it's all good in the hood. Anyway! Elder Avery and I are ready to make miracles happen here in Arbolillo! Have a great week!

¡Ten fe y se obediente!

Todo mi amor,

Elder San Diego

Jaqueline's baptism!

Jaqueline's Family

The Pure Love Of Christ

Hey folks!

We had a great week and many spiritual experiences. One of them in particular has been my favorite this past week and maybe even one of the greatest I have had in my whole mission. 

In our ward, we are teaching the parents of one member named Cinthia. We shared a message last week with her and asked her if she knew anyone who she wanted to receive the Gospel. She couldn't think of anyone and referred us to a friend of hers who has been inactive for a while so after we wrapped up the lesson, we went over to visit her friend whose name is Abigail. We found her at home and shared a brief message with her about trials and how through the Lord Jesus Christ we can receive strength to endure our trials. While we talked she started to cry and said that she was thinking a lot recently about the need for her to go back to church and that when we got there it was an answer from God. We passed by the next day and found her sister, Judith, who was not a member. As we got talking with Judith, she said that she wasn't even sure she believed that there was a God. She listened a little more and agreed to go to church last week with us. We went back on Tuesday to visit her and planned to teach about the Plan of Salvation. As we taught, doubt entered my mind and I started to think negatively and think that she wouldn't accept or feel anything. I was in those thoughts when I remembered what we had taught the zone these past few weeks. Since she was 21 I imagined the friends I have back home and the love I had for them and then I turned that love towards her, picturing her as one of my best friends. I felt deep love in Christ sink into my heart and I started to feel the spirit testify strongly as we continued to teach. We asked her how she felt and she related to us that recently she was talking to God through prayer and that she wanted help desperately and that's when we showed up. She said she had done it before and that's when the missionaries passed by for the first time with her sisters. She said she felt it was an answer from God to her and accepted to be baptized. I felt deep appreciation for the Lord as we sat there and a huge humbling feeling come over me as I thought about the greatness of our Lord and God and the chance they gave us and especially me in that moment to be an instrument in His hand. Judith was baptized this past Saturday and since Tuesday we have seen amazing changes in her heart and spirit as she has come to know and accept the truth. 

Lots of amazing things are happening here! I love you all! Have a great week!

¡Ten fe y se obediente!

Todo mi amor,

Elder San Diego

Judith's baptism!

"Therefore, Come And Be Baptized Unto Repentance, That Ye May Be Washed From Your Sins!"

Hey guys!

Elder Johnson and I had a great week and some amazing spiritual experiences. On Monday after our zone meeting, we went over to the house of a guy named Jose Luis. We had met him a few days before while we were walking. He was over to the side of the road drinking and said hi to us and called us over so we went and talked to him for a little and put an appointment. So we went and applied what we had taught the zone in our meeting about loving and teaching others as if they were your own family and teaching according to their needs. We talked and he mentioned how he always felt unsettled and not in peace and how he would like to start anew. We taught him about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and about how through faith, we repent and are forgiven if we truly forsake and feel sorrow for our sins. We then taught how through baptism we are washed clean of our sins and wrong-doings and that through following Jesus Christ we receive a remission of our sins and peace through the spirit. We felt the power of the Holy Spirit in that moment and identified with him that what he was feeling (which he described as peace, happiness, and something big inside of him) was the spirit and invited him to be baptized and follow Jesus Christ and he accepted! We plan to baptize him this Sunday since we are still helping him to stop drinking. Cool thing is we have a member in our ward who used to be an alcoholic and has helped the stake out with the Church's recovery program so he is helping us to help Jose Luis to stop drinking.

On Wednesday, we went to our convert's house to try teach some of her non-member family members and we found her husband Oscar there so he listened to us. He said that he really needed a change in his life and that he would love to go to church and everything and be with his wife and kids there and feel and have more peace in his life. We taught him that through repentance and baptism, we can receive that peace and guidance through the spirit which we receive after baptism. The spirit was strongly present and we invited him to be baptized and he accepted also! We plan to baptize him this Sunday.

Also, on Saturday we had a neat experience with one of our investigators, Maria. She had previously listened to missionaries and had wanted to be baptized but her husband forbade her to. We taught her about the importance to follow Christ through baptism and how even though there might be opposition, there will always be a way for us to complete with the Lord's command if we want to and if we strive hard do all we can to complete His will. She accepted to pray for a confirmation to know the Lord's will concerning her and for courage to talk to her husband to get permission. She shared with us her amazing experience that she had that after she prayed about her baptism and for the Lord to help her make a sure decision, she opened her Book of Mormon and stumbled upon some scriptures that the sister missionaries had marked for her in her book that happened to be Alma chapter 7 verses 11 through 16. She was impacted by those scriptures and as we discussed the importance of that answer of God to her in that moment, we were touched by the spirit and she realized that no matter what, she needed to be baptized and follow Christ. She decided and is firm in her decision and told us that she will just let her husband know that she has made a decision and that with his permission or not, she was going to follow Jesus Christ. She is very enthusiastic and excited for her upcoming baptism which is scheduled for May 10.

We are doing great and I hope you all are too! Love you all!

¡Ten fe y se obediente!

Todo mi amor,

Elder San Diego

Following The Guidance Of Modern-Day Prophets

Hey guys!

We had a very eventful yet uneventful week. We absolutely did WORK this week and I think this is the most tired I have ever been in my mission (also taking into account the fact that we wake up at 5:40am to go get big at the gym). 

But we taught a bunch of solid lessons this week all with the amazing presence of the spirit. We invited everyone we met to be baptized and follow Jesus Christ but the main theme we found in common with all of our investigators was that they feel they aren't prepared and that they won't be prepared until after a long time and knowing everything (totally not true, that's why we're given faith). But, we have good investigators that are progressing and taking everything we give them. 

One cool experience I had was that I got to talk in church on Sunday about the importance of listening to the General Conferences of the Church and following the guidance of modern-day prophets. One of our investigators named Jorge who we haven't taught about prophets yet was at church so I specifically made it a point to direct my thoughts and words toward him and his needs. After church we talked a bit and set up an appointment and he said he was really interested in learning more about modern-day prophets and receiving more knowledge from us. Cool! But yeah, well I gotta go but we are doing swell as I hope all of you are! 

Take care and love you!

¡Ten fe y se obediente!

Todo mi amor,

Elder San Diego

I thought this was hilarious.  Since I arrived in Mexico, I made the correct judgement that Coke is the replacement for water here.  But never had I beheld such a scene as this one!  A fridge full of Coke for all the Coke-loving Mexicans and the one bottle of water for the dehydrated Elder that comes a walkin' by.  How considerate!

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