This week was nuts.

It's hard to believe that it's that time of the week again to write home with the rented Mexican computer. This week has gone by really fast!

This week started out with us being really frustrated because it seems like our current investigators don't want to progress much and no one else we contact wants to listen. Elder Bonilla and I have been studying a lot about what we should do, and the theme that seemed to pop up all the time was to talk to literally everyone. We were reminded of D&C 61:3, where the Lord is giving counsel to the early missionaries of the Church:

 

"But verily I say unto you, that it is not needful for this whole company of mine elders to be moving swiftly upon the waters, whilst the  inhabitants on either side are perishing in unbelief."

 

Bikes are great and everything, but sometimes it makes it harder for us to be able to stop and talk to everyone. We were reminded that absolutely everyone is a child of God, and that we will never know who is ready for the Gospel until we go out and talk to them. This week, we have been doing that. There was one day in particular (Thursday, I think) when we decided to take it to the next level. We were waiting for a bus to go to a meeting with the ward mission leader, and we decided to talk to literally everybody on the bus. Once we boarded, we went to that back of the bus and talked with everyone, working our way to the front. It made things so much more fun as a missionary. Those who know me know that I'm not exactly a talkative person--especially in a foreign language with complete strangers about a subject that many people find rather sensitive. This week, I've learned to trust in God, and simply open my mouth and proclaim the good news of the Gospel to my brothers and sisters. Things have worked out really well, because we now have a lot more people to teach. We're hoping for some baptisms pretty soon! 

 

We thought we had things all figured out, until literally the next day (Friday), we woke up to this:

It's kinda hard to tell from the picture, but it was raining like nobody's business. It's rained a couple of times since I came to Mexico, but they were just occasional drizzles. This was a good and proper POURING. Since we are missionaries though, and we proclaim the Gospel in rain or shine, we donned our coats, mounted our bikes, and continued onward. For about an hour.

We got soaked. We couldn't stand it. We had to return home, change our clothes, and reenter the deluge on foot, because we had to carry our umbrellas and we couldn't do that on bikes. It took longer to get soaked through, but luckily, we had enough visits that day to dry out every now and then.

All that was fun. That was my first real Mexican rain!

 

The only other thing I got this week is Contact of the Week. Since we have been really cracking down on contacting everybody, we got a lot of good juicy ones:

Thursday, we talked to three different people who simply wanted to argue. One of them was a Jehovah's Witness (Let's just say that they're basically all like that, and I'll leave it at that).

One insisted that there was no need for a church because all men lie and all churches are corrupt, but that he meets with a bunch of people in Monterrey every few months to talk about churchy-type stuff (Sigh; that's what we like to call a "church"), and that the Spirit of Some Guy (I couldn't quite make out the name. I'm not sure if it was Fernando or Filemon) testifies to him regularly that God is real. We couldn't get any words with him in edgewise.

The last contact used to be Catholic, but has converted between several different churches, and currently attends some type of Baptist church because she likes the pastor there. She kept insisting that we find the verse in the Bible that said that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was the true church. We stronly resisted the urge to ask her where the Bible says that her pastor is a true teacher of God, and we instead tried to teach her about the Apostasy and how we can receive answers from God, but she wouldn't really let us say anything, either.

Friday, we were wrapping up a contact with a guys who seemed really interested when some other guys walked up to us and demanded to know why God lies. We kept trying to ask him why he thinks that and explain that God never lies, but he kept simply repeating, "Why does God lie? Why does He say stuff and not do what He says? I'm really mad at God." We eventually found out that his daughter died despite lots of prayers in her behalf. (At least I think that's what he said. He was really hard to understand. I think he may have been drunk from the way he was acting). We tried to explain to him that God sometimes tests our faith and our commitment to Him, but that if we are faithful, we can live with our families for eternity, but he refused to believe us or listen.

It's heartbreaking to see all these people with their own needs, and that we are here to help them find peace and joy through Christ, but that, for whatever reason, they won't listen. The hardest part of being a missionary is watching people turn away from that which is right in front of them and which can help them in their struggles of their life. Sometimes I just want to walk up to Satan and strangle him for all the damage and heartache and misery he causes here on Earth, but I have to tell myself that not only is that not actually possible, but that the best way to combat Satan is to remain personally converted to Christ and help as many people as will listen to do the same. In the end, this great battle we call our mortal existence is boiled down to how much power over yourself you give to Satan to corrupt you and make you miserable, and how much of yourself you give to Christ to make better and make you truly happy. It's absolutely thrilling to be a part of that work on the front lines of the Great War between God and the devil.

Also, as a random but important side note before I end, I want to emphasize the importance of members in missionary work. We as missionaries are nothing without a good ward and good ward members who assist in this work. I challenge each of you to participate more in the work by being willing to give references to the missionaries, offer to accompany the missionaries in lessons, and bring investigators to church, especially when the church building is far away. If nothing else, reach out to your less-active and nonmember friends (and make more friends!) and share your testimony of how the Gospel has blessed your life. It makes the work go much more effectively when missionaries and members work together.

¡Muchas gracias por su amor, oraciones, y apoyo! ¡Mucho amor desde la tierra prometida de Nuevo Laredo!