Week 19 in the field!!!

HELLO MY FRIENDS. I AM ELDER ROBOT CARSON. 

Hehe. This week has been absolutely WONDERFUL and full of surprises! I am astonished every day by the wisdom with which God directs his servants, the prophets, as well as local church leaders and mission presidents. 

LECCIÒN DE LA SEMANA: Trust is one of our most valuable assets, and it feels darn good to have it. This past week, unfortunately, it fell upon me to inform President Reynoso of some frituras (wrong-doings) that had occurred at the had of a certain missionary. It was a little uncomfortable to approach him, but he was very supportive and thanked me for standing up for what's right. 

As a result of what I said, there were emergency transfers in the mission, and I got sent BACK to Palmas. I was surprised - I had been super ready to embrace life in the new ward, Cancùn - but I was super happy to be able to go back to the investigators and awesome members of Palmas. 

Apparently, President was worried about me, so he called me and told me that if anyone tries to call me a tattle, he'll go to war XD Later, the bishop of the ward called me (because he had been discussing the problem with President) to congratulate me for being open. In that moment, all my worries and stresses disappeared. The elder involved in the incident had gotten mad at me for exposing him, but I realized that I now had the trust of three VERY important people in the work - President, the bishop, and God, and I couldn't help but feel grateful to my Heavenly Father for prompting me to do the right thing. 

I hope that as we go about our daily lives, we can all recognize the importance of trust. Having trust amongst friends is great, but the trust that matters most is between us and God. That relationship is irreplaceable. I can tell you all that it's WORTH IT to do the right thing, even when someone might get mad. The Lord will build you up as others try to tear you down. 

-------------------

This week, on Monday, President trained all of us trainers in preparation to receive our new companions. When the new missionaries arrived, we sang to them, and I was reminded of my own first day in the field. I got assigned Elder Coello as my new companion - a missionary fresh from Honduras - and have been working with him since then. He's AWESOME (his accent and all) and he already extended his first baptismal invitation! The only thing is he likes to sleep, but I can understand that XD I only have to turn on the lights and start singing hymns in the morning... bwahahaha

I HAD TWO DAYS OF HOT SHOWERS. That was a blessing from heaven, let me tell you. I wasn't expecting it, either - we got to the house in Cancùn Ward, I stepped in the shower and turned on the water, and BAM - gloriously warm liquid poured out upon me. I almost melted. 

I SAW THE OCEAN. But only from a distance. We were riding the bus, which mounted a bridge juuuuuuusst tall enough to see between two tall hotel buildings, where a tiny sliver of glittering water shone majestically. Ahhhhh. :) 

President Reynoso accompanied us to an appointment this week! One of our investigators, 12-year-old Aleyda, was going to get baptized this past week, but she was fearful of ruining her relationship with her Catholic father. President and his wife wanted to go to try and encourage her. I think she was a little intimidated, though XD President can be very direct. haha. Soo she didn't get baptized this week, but we`re still working with her and her family. 

One visited one investigator named Hugo in his taco stand and had a quick lesson. At the end of the lesson, we were teaching him how to pray, when suddenly, he just WENT for it! Right there, without even having to invite him! It was awesome XD We set a baptismal date and are returning on Wednesday to continue teaching. 

I listened to the story of how Hno. Pech met his wife..... again. I think it's the fourth time. I love the guy to death, but MAN, he can go for an hour telling it, and he's ALWAYS equally excited. 

I have lots of other things to talk about, but the time's just about up. I hope you guys loved conference as much as I did - it was super uplifting and gave me the confidence I need for these coming weeks. Remember what it means to be a disciple of Christ - we're ALL IN. 

Stay strong and hungry, my friends. 

Love, 

Elder Carson 

-------------

Four generations of excellence: Elder Vargas (my dear gran-pappy in the mish - he just went home), Elder Melena (papi), yours truly, annnd mi chan hijo (hooray, Maya!)

Back in the homeland... :) Always happy feels in Ciudad Natura.