ELDER DREW CARSON: Week 4 in the Field!!!! (right? I think?)

Hola, friends, Romans, countrymen,

This week was great! We had lots of fun times to celebrate the season and I got to meet more of the wonderful people of Cancun!!

LECCION DE LA SEMANA: Communication is clave. I always knew this conceptually, but I never truly understood it at an emotional level until the mission. Within the ward, we have to maintain constant communication with our leaders, or things fall through and the work doesn´t get done. It´s a HABIT that needs to be developed, and that takes time. I was talking to some Hermanas who have had a lot of success in their ward, and they told me that the communication they have with members is SPECTACULAR. They have a designated period each night for calling each family or individual who is going to accompany them the following day. The members expect and respond to these calls.

Also, don´t forget communication with God. We should always have a prayer in our hearts - a constant link to the greatest source of inspiration and direction and wisdom couldn´t possibly do you harm. I apply this when we contact in the streets as much as possible, and I feel the guidance of the Spirit in who to approach, and how.

When we are in a habit of repenting frecuently and communicating our desire to improve always, that is when we RETAIN a remision of our sins and qualify ourselves to eventually enter into God´s presence.

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HAPPY EARLY BIRTHDAY PAPA!!!!! LOVE YA!

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We´re teaching a family of recent converts and trying to really strengthen them. RCs can be extremely helpful in missionary work. Anyway, Hna Erika is a single mom with a Get-Things-Done attitude and a spunky attitute that reminds me of a dear friend of mine (hi Alisha Clayson!!) Her sons, Fernando and Juan, are like my own brothers, good-hearted, sweet, and also whiny, at times X) They always hug me when we come over.

We try not to talk to all the millions of Jehovah´s Witnesses unless so prompted by the Spirit, because they don´t want to listen. Only talk. One woman just quoted scriptures at us for about half an hour..... Lots of people confuse us for Witnesses. We frequently have to explain.

We have an investigator named Alejandra who has been taught all the lessons about four times but can´t progress because she doesn´t want to marry the guy she lives with. We´ve tried lots, but we think it´s up to the Hermanas in the ward to show her how much she´s loved. Pray for her, guys!

We are teaching another sister (lots of sisters because the men work all hours of the day to support their families - we teach on the porch or just inside with the door open) named Sandra. She confided in us this last visit that she knows everything we teach is true, but she can´t convert because her spouse and his family dont want her too... again, prayers are necessary.

We had a SUPER FUN Christmas multi-zone activity where we broke piñatas and ended up with way too much candy. Great food, great people, and a great devotional by our beloved President and his spouse.

Our Stake president is great. He lives right across the street from our house and makes sure we have everything we need. He graciously gifted us a plunger (....) and, just yesterday night, brought us each slices of OREO CAKE :DDD.

I missed home one time this week. We were using the Reference Manager program online last Thursday in an internet Cafe. There were two youngins next to us playing a match of Halo. I thought of all the good times playing online with my brother Stoney, and that was a little difficult. Refocused afterwards and we´re all good now :)

President Reynoso attended our ward yesterday!! And, he attended Gospel Principles!! (Which I taught, having been notified by my companion only five minutes earlier that I would be teaching...) Talk about pressure. It was great though. I tried to talk as little as possible by asking questions, and the members took up most of the time. There were a few mintues at the end where I wasn´t sure what to say, but President Reynoso and his wife swooped in to save the day. Afterwards, President gave me a big hug and told me I did great. Whew. Love that guy.

Merry Christmas to all. You are wonderful, and I love hearing from you. I hope your holiday is filled with all that gooey happiness.

Love,

Elder Carson

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Choppin' grass with a machete. Not the most efficient, but it feels really cool.

La Guadalupana otra vez, with a little me in front.

We built a fence for a less-active Hermano. (in 30 minutes!! Woohoo!)

Thank you Hno. Santiago Pech!! You da bomb!! (Took us out of our zone - with permission - to a restaurant a little closer to the beach. Still didnt see the water though....)