Tuesday, August 28, 2012

28 agosto 2012


Hey familia,
First of all, when I was writing last week, I wanted to tell Bree and Shayla Happy Birthday, but I totally  spaced it.  So Happy Birthday, Shayla and Bree! I hope it was a good one. I´ll have to sing you the mañanitas when I get back. It´s what the Mexicans sing when it´s someone´s birthday.
So I had a pretty good week here in la Magdalena Contreras. Lot´s of rain and lightning. But the weather here is perfect. It is never hot or cold. I just wear the short sleeve gamer shirts every day.  I love it. But I do miss it being cold.
I am trying to remember what happened this week. On Thursday we had Ivan´s baptism. As you can tell from the pictures, he is tiny. The baptismal service didn´t go to great because the ward mission leader didn´t plan it and everything was unorganized. We also had Diego´s baptism on Saturday. I liked it a lot because his cousin came from Cuernavaca to baptize him.   Cooler than the other side of the pillow.
Before every baptism, the people have to have an interview to see if they are ready for it. I interviewed a 17 year old this week for another area in our zone. It is always cool to see how the people have changed their lives and their hearts, and have the desire to be a better person.  It still is weird that I am the one doing the interview and not the one being interviewed. Haha.
The people here are gearing up for Independence Day once again. It feels like I was just in Topilejo and had to endure that. There are going to be pachanga´s like it´s going out of style.  There will be fireworks, annoying music, and a lot of borrachos. But oh well. My new slogan is When In Rome.
Our hardest person to teach right now is Lucía. She is 82 years old and it is kind of hard to get the message of the Restored Gospel in her noggin. But she is really sweet and wants to be baptized. She goes to church even though she can´t hear a thing.    
The zone is doing pretty good. We always have problems with Elders not getting along with their companions or not wanting to follow all of the mission rules and we do what we can to help them.  This will be my last week  with my good friend Elder Bunker and then he´s going back to Chicago. I am going to miss him a lot.  So this Monday I will write to you and tell you who my new companion is.
Rosalía has her baptism this saturday!! I am really excited because she has changed a lot of things in her life. I have learned a lot about repentance while I have been a missionary. I have learned that it is really  a change in direction of our lives. Instead of always being focused on worldly problems, we turn to the Saviour and he helps us out. I know that we find peace and happiness in our lives when we follow him. One of the best ways to follow him is to pray every day. I have noticed that some people pray just because it is what we do. But we should really learn how to talk to Heavenly Father and spill our guts out to him. I am still learning how to use prayer better in my own life, and I know that he listens. I invite all of you to pay close attention to your prayers and try to get closer to God as you do. And if you don´t pray, then make it a habit.
Love you all and I am glad to hear that all is well in the motherland.
Vote for Pedro.
Elder Hubbard



 Diego´s baptism

 And his family

Ivan´s baptism