Week 32 in the field!

You know what time it is!!! It’s time to talk about stuff that happened to one of your old buddies super far from where you live!!! :D

I certainly enjoyed this week, but the truth is, we didn’t have much time to work in our own area!! More on that later.

LECCIÒN DE LA SEMANA: Enjoy every experience as it comes. This week, I talked with lots of other missionaries and heard lots of different viewpoints regarding mission-life. It saddens me to report that a number of elders focus A LOT more on getting home than on the task at hand. I talked with one elder, though, who really impressed me with how tuned-in he was to the work. When I asked him about his future after the mission, he told me simply, "I have a plan, but my heart is here right now." He then proceeded to direct the conversation towards his investigators and how we can better treat their needs. What a boss!! We actually had a super interesting dialogue about how the Savior would approach his particular situation, and I learned that it’s a lot better to live in the present than in the future. This particular elder is one of the happiest guys I know, and I would definitely like to improve and become as laser-focused as he is.

As it happens, I am content with my situation. Life is great here in the field, and there’s nowhere else I’d rather be, despite how much I love you all!! :)

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• On Tuesday, E. Sanchez and I went to a small town about a half-hour outside of Chetumal called Ucum. We were planning on doing some exchanges with the missionaries there, but just as we arrived, President called us with the surprise news that the very elder we were going to visit is getting sent home! It was a shock, and we had to cancel our plans and return home to organize his trip. It was a bummer, even though Ucum was stunningly beautiful.

• This elder’s companion was GOING to accompany him to Cancùn to drop him off in the missionary offices, but at the last minute, he got super sick, and the next in line for the job was... yours truly. So I spent all of Wednesday on the bus! We got on at 6am, arrived in Cancun at 12pm, ate lunch in the offices (Hna. Reynoso makes a mean ham sandwich), socialized briefly with the secretaries while President gave the elder a talky-talk, and took the other bus to Chetumal at 2:30 to arrive at 9pm. Doing nothing is exhausting!!

• On Thursday we were able to work in our area.

• On Friday (yesterday), some sisters got special permission from President to teach us the area of Bacalar. It was strange to walk around the small town with sisters, but they knew everything about the area, and we honestly would have been lost without them.

Bacalar is AMAZING! It’s called the "Pueblo Màgico", and it’s true to the name - I left feeling enchanted. It’s about an hour from Chetumal, nestled into the jungle, and borders the Lagoon of Seven Colors (can’t describe it with words - look it up). There are ruins and everything!

We spoke with the brach president there, and, seeing as there aren’t currently missionaries, he’s going to coordinate so that we can travel once a week to work there. President’s in on it, because there are a ton of potencial baptisms.  SUPER EXCITED :D

And TODAY! It’s a special PDay because on Monday, we’ll be leaving for a leadership conference in Cancùn. I’m excited AND nervous because my companion says there’s always PLENTY of repremanding! Haha but it’s cool, President loves me, so I feel relatively safe :)

That’s it for now. Remember, as you finish reading this letter, you’ll have lots of things to do. DIVE IN! Give preference to God in all things and invest your time in good causes. Live NOW!

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Anyone want to tell me how many of these colorful signs there are and where the tradition started? I'm honestly curious.

Eating with rich people can be fun.

On the way home from Cancùn with the bros. :D

In the mission offices with my secretary buddies. They`re enjoying it, I promise.

​"On the left, you have Nutella, and on the right, you have money, scriptures, and your largest mission journal. Which is more powerful?"  "Well..... hmm.... I`ve gotta say the right side, but only for the scriptures."