July 27 2009

6-month anniversary tie-burning

Bret burning his tie

Chapel in Jona



I am writing today which means I am here in Jonacatapec for another change. President didn't change anyone other than those that finished their mission or had their area closed. This president has some new ideas because he closed a number of areas, and I imagine he opened a number of areas as well. Apparently, president wants little movement in the mission right now so that he can formulate a plan.
I must admit I was disappointed to find out that I would be staying in this area again with the same companion. Two weeks ago he got way excited to work, but this past week was pretty much back to the way it used to be. Sometimes I get frustrated because I don't know what I can do to help us do what we need to do. But I will try to stay positive and not complain, and just hope it all will work out. I was pretty confident that some change would take place because with President Gardner he never kept two missionaries together for more than two changes. I guess this president has different ideas. But there must be some reason that I am here for another six weeks.
This week I had a cool experience. We have been teaching a man named Jose Cruz for a number of weeks. We have already taught him everything, and he recently started reading the Book of Mormon from the beginning. Every day we ask him if he has received an answer to his prayers, but every time he says no. On Tuesday, we met with him and we talked about what he had read. He said that he had read up to chapter 15 of First Nephi. I then asked if he understould Lehi's dream. He then began to tell us that he had had a dream very similar to Lehi's dream. He said that over the course of several years he has had the same dream several times. As he described his dream, it was exactly the same, and he said that he and his uncle were eating the fruit of the tree of life. We then proceeded to tell him that he had received his answer. He has commited to a baptismal date and came to church this Sunday.
To me that was a cool experience because it shows that God began preparing Jose to receive the gospel years in advance. It made me wonder who else is out there that has been prepared to receive us. I also learned from this experience that many times God wants to see how dedicated we are before he gives us an answer. It wasn't until after we had taught all the discussions and he began to read the Book of Mormon for himself, that he received an answer.
Yesterday, the US lost 5-0 to Mexico in the Gold Cup. This means that I have to some really hot chili. My companion and some member set the terms of the bet and I was pretty much forced to comply.
Next week if you can, I would like to know my line of authority.
I included some pictures from when I burned my tie and one of our chapel here in Jona.