Hi everyone!
Can you believe that this was my second General
Conference away from everyone? It's hard to believe that it's been six months
already. It has gone by so fast! Conference was a welcome change of scene for
us, although we still felt the same anxiety as we waited for people to show up
to it and they didn't. We were especially sad that Gustavo couldn't come. We
had just talked to him a few days earlier about baptism and stuff. He knows
it's important. He wants it. But he doesn't really want to get married because
he wants to go home to Mexico this year, and he's pretty sure his white
girlfriend and her two daughters aren't going to come. And I wouldn't really
encourage them going... most people try to get here in the US, not try to get
back to Mexico. We think his intentions are kind of valid, because he doesn't
want to marry her and then never see her again, but at the same time it's kind
of a weird thing that he's just going to ditch them after 8 years of being
together. We thought hearing words of the Prophet and apostles would be a cool
thing. We know he would have loved it, but he couldn't make it, so that
was sad. We do think that there is still potential with him though, so we're
still working on it.
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| My "Conference" shot of the Frankfort building. Haha. |
Anyway, as far as Conference goes, I loved it. As always.
I thought the real emphasis on families was super interesting, since it is so
uncommon that families are whole and seemingly "normal" anymore
compared to what they used to be. I'm all down to be progressive and fun, but
families are kind of critical, you know? You don't want to mess that
up. Anyway, I really enjoyed it, especially President Uchtdorf's talk
yesterday about not being judgmental and forgiving others. I also enjoyed Elder
Hollands talk and how he explained one of Christ's parables. I had just read
that one and didn't understand it at all, so I really liked that he cleared
that one up. Hahaha. And the sentiment about being grateful for what you
have regardless of what others have is a good message too. It was
just a good weekend full of lots of good talks. I'm kind of bummed it'll be
another six months before it comes back. And I wish I had a cool story like a
volcano blowing up on our way to the building to watch Conference, but it just
rained. Pretty normal. Haha.
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| We helped a random lady load a sectional into a U-haul between Conf. sessions on Sat. This was only the second AZ plate I've seen out here! |
Last week President and Sister W came and gave a
training. They made their way throughout the mission last week and gave
everyone the same workshop. We talked a lot about contacting everyone we come
across, which is a hard thing to do as a Spanish elder, just because we never
end up teaching the Americans we talk to, but we're making an effort to talk to
everyone we cross paths with. President challenged us to make 10 unplanned
contacts per person in your companionship each day with the promise that we
would grow personally, and that the success of the mission would increase as we
do our part to share the message with everyone. So that's 30 contacts
daily for us in a super tiny town. And almost none of them are Hispanic.
It's been kind of an interesting thing, but I also think it's been really good,
because it helps us Spanish elders keep working as hard as possible, because
even if we don't ever teach the person, at least they got some exposure, and
possibly talk to the English elders.
I've had a lot of "firsts" on my mission. This
week I cut my own hair for the first time! I just buzzed it all the same
length. Super boring, but it looks fine. I hope it grows out and looks a little
bit better than just the same length all over.
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| Buzzed hair. Not my style, but easier and cheaper than going somewhere or risking and elder totally messing it up. Haha. |
Oh man. I was so excited for our visit with Less-active
Patricia. Well... we got to her place last week and she opened the door before
we even made it to the front step. She was kind, but told us she didn't want us
to come back, and that she isn't going to get active in church. She thought she
should just be honest, since "reactivation was just the goal anyway."
It kind of stung when she said that, just because she is such a great lady. As
much as we wanted her to come back to church and remember how positive all of
this can be in someone's life, we did really love her for who she was. We were
motivated to visit her for more than just the glory or recognition of the
ward or mission. She is so cool. So that was a disappointment. But you
move on, I guess. It wasn't like we didn't try.
That seems to be about it for this week. Things are going
well, although the work is a little bit slow right now. But we go and work hard
every day.
Thanks for the love and support y'all give me! I
appreciate all that you do for me!
Much love,
Zac
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