Year 2, Week 47

Hey, friends!!! How are you guys?? 

LECCIÓN DE LA SEMANA: A leader projects his qualities and attributes upon his stewardship. During a visit to a certain branch of the church pertaining to the mission, I found myself speaking with several members of the church with a seemingly negative outlook for the future of the branch. I thought, "How strange! Why does this line of thinking so commonly exist in a branch that is growing steadily? I would be celebrating!" 

I discovered the answer a few hours later in a branch council meeting. Unfortunately, the presiding leader possessed the same attitude I had witnessed in the members. Now, it all made sense. President Reynoso’s voice rang in my head: "I look at you and I already know how your zone is." The truth is, our stewardship gradually takes the form we give it. That’s called example. Is it any wonder that God, who is steward over our universe, must be perfect in order to lead us to that same perfection? 

While you strive to lead in your own spheres, be worthy. Cultivate the same traits that characterize the Savior. Repent of any and all wanderings from the straight and narrow path. I promise that the blessings will come, and they will be much greater than we can now comprehend.  

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This week, we travelled to Chetumal and Carrillo Puerto (again). Seems like we’re always going down there, right? BUT it was even more fun this time, because we didn’t stay in any one place for more than a day at a time! It was a lot of fast-paced action and LOTS of miracles to tell of. 

When we returned to Valladolid, we went directly to work and prepared for one of our investigators (named Honorio) to be baptized. What a cool experience it was to seem him be baptized with his son!! I’ll send you guys photos when I can because I forgot my camara that day and a sister missionary had to help us out with her camara. 

We also held our second embroidery class with the sisters of the ward. We didn’t have a TON of turn-out, but there were plenty of sisters excited to learn, so we gave them fabric, needles, and string to practice with! Next week we’ll have even MORE participation (and we hope to bring investigators, too!!). 

That’s all, folks!! Thanks for your words of excitement, frequent updates, and memes!!! haha. 

Love, 

Elder Carson

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Buddies in Carrillo Puerto!

Dramatic look off into the middle-distance... we're explorers, what can I say??

Looking out on ancient Mayan cityscapes.

Year 2, Week 46

LECCIÓN DE LA SEMANA: Work with your head, not just your feet. 

It’s something that President Reynoso always tells us. Why walk around all day in the sun if there’s a more intelligent way to find people to teach? 

Turns out, the same applies to moving fallen ceder trees. The bishop called us two days ago at 8:00pm and asked us to come to his house and lend a hand. We arrived, only to discover that he had toppled a giant ceder with a hand-axe, knocking out his rock fence and that of his neighbor. His goal was to move giant chunks of wood onto his property between the three of us. I was a little bit like Laman, thinking "how do you plan to do that, genius?" Well the bishop showed me. He took out a giant wooden pole and applied the principles of newtonian physics to relocate the trunk of that giant tree. I was impressed by the faith and the smarts that he demonstrated. 

I hereby commit myself to (1) work with my head more than my feet, and (2) not doubt when there’s work to do. I invite you all to do the same. 

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Not much time today, but here’s a photo of life in Tizimin X)

Love you all!!!

Elder Carson

Year 2, Week 45

LECCIÓN DE LA SEMANA:

In a talk given to BYU students some ten years ago, Elder Bednar touched on spiritual gifts, and one in particular - the gift of being quick to observe. As it describes in Mormon 1:2, the prophet Mormon was considered "quick to observe" from a young age. This gift enabled him to compile the Book of Mormon in an impactful harmony of doctrine, principles, and history.

So what is the gift of being quick to observe? As Elder Bednar states, it is noticing or discerning, and then acting. As we seek to extract eternal lessons from everyday experiences, we are noticing. Then, as we apply those observed principles to our own lives, obeying the promptings of the spirit, we gain a testimony of their truthfulness and enable ourselves to receive more knowledge in the future.

Just imagine using this formula over and over again during a lifetime - how many truths could you discover? How many mysteries of God could you understand? How would your life change? I invite all of you to look for meaning in the everyday things. Listen closely to the Spirit to hear God’s will for you. Then, study 1 Nephi 11-14 to learn better how the Spirit teaches us. 

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• I got a new companion this week! He looks a little familiar to me! (see photo) 
• We visited missionaries in Tulum and Puerto Aventuras, who surprised us with their many talents. It’s a great privilege to learn from them!!Arriving from our two-day trip, we were blessed to find a new family to teach in Kanchoc - a small village about 20 minutes driving distance from Valladolid. David, Daniel, Arsenio, Aurely, and her two daughters who didn’t want to tell us their name, were so willing to accept the baptismal invitation, following the example of Jesus Christ. We are hoping to see them tomorrow at church!!!
• Another miracle - the Zone Leaders helped us cover an appointment while we were out. Our objective: obtain the parent-signature so that Pablo, our 15-year-old investigator. They arrived and nobody was home, so they promptly left. They were just about to get in a taxi when they noticed Pablo’s mom enter and went to contact her. SIGNATURE OBTAINED!!!! :D 

That’s all for now, folks. Thanks for your encouraging words!!!!

Love, Elder Carson

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THE BUDDIES ARE BACK TOGETHER!!! 

Year 2, Week 44

LECCIÓN DE LA SEMANA: Don’t count your chickens until they hatch!!! 

Now, I’m not trunky. But it definitely changes the mentality and perspective of a man when he knows the two best years to-date are a month from their finish. One ponders his goals, plans, and hopes for what lies ahead, even as he fulfills the responsibility at hand. A rush of emotions - SADNESS, fear, and even a little excitement begin to gnaw at the fabric of consciousness. 

BUT. The Lord has the last word. And sometimes, as I learned on Monday night, His will differs from our plans. 

I am pleased to announce that the Lord has reconsidered my return date, and now, instead of returning the 25th of September, I will now be getting home on the 6th of November. 

I love you all, and will greatly enjoy seeing you when I return. For now, however, it’s time for WORK, WORK, WORK, and I could not be happier!!! :) 

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This week, Elder Godina and I went on exchanges with Tizimin Zone. That involved a lot of taxi-rides to little villages, speaking Maya (bix a beel, sucuum?) and one-on-one time with lots of different elders. It’s honestly my favorite kind of service. 

I discovered that the Mayan people are very talented with embroidery! There’s a sister in our ward who’s going to embroider a tie of mine for only $100mx. i’ll be sure to show you guys as soon as she finishes!! 

We had our Zone Conference this week with President Reynoso. The only thing that didn’t go well was President’s hotel reservation - after we went to make the reservation, they CHANGED the room to another located on the THIRD floor WITHOUT an elevator... sigh. Everything else was EXCELLENT, and I left super inspired!!! :D

Tomorrow is Stake Conference in Tizimin. We’re going to take our investigators on a bus trip!! Woohoo!!! Hope you all have as much fun as we will! 

Love, 

Elder Carson

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DAVID GOT BAPTIZED!!! The kid´s a future mission president - real story.

Year 2, Week 43

This week was a BLUR! We weren’t even home until yesterday night. 

LECCIÓN DE LA SEMANA: The most effective way to minister is one by one. Have you ever noticed that people respond differently when you give them your time and care? That is how Jesus served. 

Having been taught this important lesson by our mission president, Elder Godina and I took a different approach to our monthly trip to Chetumal. Instead of zipping from area to area trying to secure baptisms and raise the zone’s stats, we implemented three new ideas: 

• A special council meeting just for the district leaders.
• Companionship trainings (arriving at the house of one companionship to study together a specific topic and strengthen them with practices)
• One on one interviews with the missionaries who haven’t seen much progress in their missions.

Doing this, we felt a renewed strength and energy in the zone and even saw some miracles with the investigators. 

I know that when we choose to focus on the INDIVIDUALS around us, we open up channels through which the Spirit can strengthen and bless them. I saw this principle in action! I hope this week we can all commit to be instruments in the hands of the Lord to minister to the ONE!

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We had another arrival of new missionaries! This time, it was our turn to go to the airport. We made arrangements so as to enter the parking lot with the shuttle-van and not have to pass security, but after waiting for the missionaries a while, we discovered that they left the airport on the OTHER side of the fence, where we normally go... Sigh.

After giving the new missionaries a big welcome conference that lasted all morning, we headed off to the mission home with the departing missionaries to have a farewell dinner. MAMÁ REYNOSO MAKES THE BEST MEXICAN FOOD EVER!!

It’s honestly a little crazy to go from place to place without seeing home-sweet-home in Valladolid! I love it, and at the same time I miss my member friends in Yucatán! Every month, the mission gives us a travel budget, which also serves for food and taxis throughout our trips. In order to save on long-distance travel, we go in combi instead of bus. It’s a little more cramped, but... I’m still young. X) 

We got home last night because of a little miracle - normally we travel from Chetumal to Carrillo Puerto and then to Valladolid, but when we got to Carrillo, there were no trips to Valladolid! The vans normally don’t leave very late, and it was already 6:30pm. By providence, we were able to find one van on the other side of town that still hadn’t left for Valladolid and had space for the two of us. 

That’s all, folks! Thanks for tuning in! I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Love, 

Elder Carson

Year 2, Week 42

The answer to life, the universe and everything.... It’s week 42!!!! 

LECCIÒN DE LA SEMANA: Don’t steady the ark!! I was talking with Elder Jensen yesterday, and we had a very enlightening, doctrinal conversation about how we sometimes step outside our stewardship as missionaries. It’s a similitude of the ark of the covenant in 1 Chronicles 13:

9 And when they came unto the threshingfloor of Chidon, Uzza put forth his hand to hold the ark; for the oxen stumbled.

10 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzza, and he smote him, because he put his hand to the ark: and there he died before God.

Sometimes, we, too, want to fulfill responsabilites that aren’t ours to fulfill, and we end up impeding the spiritual growth of others. Some examples: 

• We want to reprimand fellow members of the church when really that is the bishop’s responsability.
• We want to council someone who should really be seeking the advice of his quorum leaders.
• We want to discipline other children so that they behave better when that job belongs to his parents.
• We judge others when the only one capable of understanding them perfectly is God Himself.

Don’t steady the ark. Magnify YOUR CALLING in the church and in the community. Demonstrate trust and let others do their job, even when they have weaknesses. If you do, I promise that you will see progress and unity in your wards and stakes. The Lord’s work advances when we all pitch in.

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This week was half and half - half in Valladolid and half in Cancun. We spent the first few days finding in our area, and we saw lots of miracles. The people in Yucatàn are very humble and willing to listen to the teachings of Jesus Christ. We committed the father of our recent convert, Romel, to go to church and accept a baptismal date - now it’s only a matter of his choices to follow through. 

We had a Zone Party for baptizing more than the other zones!!! (pride is bad, people). President showed us some fun Family-Home-Evening-style games and he took us out to eat smoked meat tacos. Elder Del Toro ate the most (about three entire plates of pure meat) and I came in second with ten tacos. 

ANGEL GOT BAPTIZED LAST WEEK! He was happy to be cleaned of sin and overcome his fear of water. 

Now in Cancùn, we’ve been busy doing the planning for transfers. Turns out, I´ll be staying in Valladolid with Elder Godina for my last transfer!!!! Together, Elder Marquez, Jensen, Godina, and I came up with a Henry Ford assembly-line-style system to finish the logistics in half the time. We planned, wrote, corrected, and typed about 50 movements in less than 4 hours!! WOOHOO!!! What´s gonna work? TEAMWORK!!!

Now, we´re enjoying PDay in the mission offices. Great stuff.

Hope you enjoy the photos :) 

Elder Carson

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ANGEL!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SISTER SANTIAGO!!!! (her companion is behind the camera :) )

20 BAPTISMS IN TIZIMIN!!!! (hashtag zone pride)

Year 2, Week 41

LECCIÓN DE LA SEMANA: Your companionship is an invaluable investment. The other day, I had a sit-down talk with a dear friend of mine in the mission. He counciled me to think less about myself and "invest" more in my companion. I thought, "what could that mean? We’re working hard, aren’t we? We’re baptizing, aren’t we?"

Here are some things I WASN’T doing very well before:

• Taking time to talk with my companionship and get to know him beyond superficial missionary-work things.
• Paying attention to make sure his needs (physical, emotional, spiritual) are fulfilled.
• Making sure there was a positive (not just neutral) spirit between us BEFORE leaving the house to work.

It’s very easy to obsess over good things. Every virtue, when taken to an extreme, can become a vice (Deiter F. Uchtdorf). Being a great teacher of the Gospel is ineffective if the spirit does not exist between companions.

My invitation for all of the friends, brothers, sons, daughters, friends, spouses, and parents out there is to take time to MINISTER to those close to you. Don’t take their company for granted. Even a good relationship can become better when you add time and heart. And that investment has a VERY good interest rate.

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This week was another week planning and executing the leadership council. Elder Marquez, Jensen, Godina, and I all focused on OBEDIENCE, because President has been worried about the observance of the mission rules lately. It was a stay-up-late-making-powerpoints-and-practicing-the-activity type adventure X) The great part is that Elder Jensen is always very generous with the food in their house (and cooks a mean breakfast)!

Elder Godina and I have been rushing to find the "chosen ones" for August in the little time we have in our area. MIRACLES ARE REAL! We found the friend of one member who has gone to church a lot and who’s willing to be baptized THIS WEEK! WOOHOO!! Yesterday he had his baptismal interview and passed with flying colors!

This next week, we’ll be finalizing transfers with President Reynoso - always a delightful process. It just hit me - after this next week, I will be on my LAST TRANSFER... :O

Several of you have commented your excitement for this FACT-THAT-SHALL-NOT-BE-NAMED; let me remind you that six weeks is practically a lifetime and that I can sleep sound at night knowing that I am a natural-born Yucateco Mexican boy... (right?)

Love you all! Have a wonderful week!

Elder Carson