Oct 14, 2013

I hit my 6 months mark on Thursday.... Sometimes I still catch myself thinking ´´Wow I am a missionary, I am here in Mexico with a bunch of people that I dont even know, and all that while speaking in spanish!´´ It still hasnt hit me, probably never will! So this week was a tough one again. We are still trying to get used to this huge area that we are in! We have a really big ward too with lots of people so it is really overwhelming especially for me cuz I am TERRIBLE with names! My agenda is just filled with a bunch of names so that I dont forget them. Yesterday in church we had about 150 people there and there was a ton of people that we taught that werent there too! There seems to be about a million less active people in this ward but hey, I guess I shouldnt be complaining about a lot of work! The weather here has been so extreme too. It is blistering hot in the day, but once the sun goes down it is freezing cold! It doesnt help either that there are NO trees, just concrete here in Mexico. Beautiful concrete. Oh yeah, it started hailing on friday too, I didint know that was possible here in Mexico. I was kinda freaking out cuz it was such a cool experince. It was really histerical to see all the people freaking out too. People sprinting to get home or find some sort of shelter! The people here in Mexico really do not like the rain at all!

We had a meeting with our bishop this week and he told us that we really need to work with the leaders of the ward cuz even the leaders here arent the stongest of members in general. He said they were the strongest they got! So thats our plan right now is to go with the members of the ward, strengthen them, and ask for lots and lots of references! Those are our favorite. Everyone back at home give the Elders references. THEY ARE REALLY HELPFUL! :)

So this week I was preparing my district class and I was putting a few ideas together the morning of the class when the phone rang and it was President Egbert, he called me to tell me that he and Sister Egbert would be attending my class that day. No pressure right? Just kidding. It turned out to be an amazing experience and the class I gave was on the Book of Mormon and the role it plays in our religion and as missionaries. We have been invited by our President to go to every single person we teach, and invite them to read the Book of Mormon from  cover to cover! That is another thing that we have been doing. In fact, this week also I finished the Book of Mormon again, in English ;), and of course prayed like always to find out if it was true. I just felt this overwhelming sense of peace and joy and to me that was just a great testimony builder! :) I know the Book of Mormon is a true book and that when we apply its teachings we can draw closer to our Heavenly Father and it really is the keystone of our religion. If we know the Book of Mormon is true, Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God, we know that Jesus really is our Savior and Redeemer, and we know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints really is the kingdom of God here on earth!

Really quick, we have 1 real investigator at this point and he is awesome. His name is Erick Palacios and he was athiest but then he has his little girl and now he believes in God. His wife found us miraculously in the street our 2nd day here in the area and told us her husband wanted to talk to us. So we went and we have taught him 3 times now and he actually took us to church with his wife and little girl yesterday. That was a really cool experience. I know the Lord is in charge and puts us exactly where we need to be at the right time! Always stand in holy places so that the Lord can guide you!

Well, thats all I can think of for now. I hope you all have a good week! I love you all.

Elder Hixon