Elder Newell: February 21st 2011

¡HOLA MI FAMILIA!

Wow, sounds like everyone is doing good still, and at least the only true constant, change, hasn`t changed with crazy government business. Good job Grandma for venturing into relatively unknown territory! Well it sounds like everything is going great still for everybody. Please keep sending me information on even the mundane things in life, it`s always great to hear about home.

Well, this week, I learned how people start to not like going to church. The missionaries before us got here in Tapatio and had baptized the kids of a family, a 10, 9, and 8 year old. Their parents can`t get baptized, or practically go to church. We had to bring them so they could get confirmed. They were good for the first bit of the program, but afterwards in the talks and all that, they started getting restless. Then some members started saying, shhh! "Sorry." A couple minutes later, SHHH!! "Sorry, I`m giving the art book, letting them draw on my agenda, I`m trying to get them to calm down more." Then a couple minutes later, SSSSSHHHUUUUUUSSSSHHHH!!!! "SO SORRY, THEY`RE NOT MY KIDS, THEY`RE THE NEW MEMBERS OF THE WARD! YOU CALM THEM DOWN!" So that was a fun growing experience for me. At the end of Sacrament I thought, Yes! Now they`re off to Primary! I have so much more respect for those teachers. Anyone that goes to the Primary gains their ticket to the Celestial Kingdom in my book.

But anyways, times are good here in Tapatio. We are working hard trying to get the area memorized the both of us. It`s not quite as large as my last area. It`s really weird to have...limits...to the area. We`re working really hard though, really excited the both of us. Elder Winegar is from Sandy, Utah, and I got with him when he had 3 weeks in Mexico. We`ve been striving really hard, and the Lord is blessing us amazingly with people to teach and baptize in a few weeks.

Now, I was filling out the forms of baptism/confirmation yesterday and I needed the full name of Elder Selee, who is the companion of Elder Tah in Tonala now. I called them up and talked to Elder Tah, and he told me that Elena got baptized yesterday! OK, so, remember Marcela? And how I mentioned we contacted her aunt? That`s Elena. Pretty sure I mentioned her before. She is amazing. The most prepared person I have met on my mission, and she didn`t even need some kind of tragedy in her life or anything to prepare her. She is just amazingly humble, and with immense desires to serve the Lord. She faced sooooooo much opposition, but took it all in stride. She knew this was true, and did everything she needed to in order to get baptized, and embark in the path that ensures us "that (we) will not be cast off forever." Also, her and Marcela got confirmed yesterday at the same time, and the both are very, very happy. It`s amazing the joy that comes from seeing people truly accept the gospel of Christ. It is surely that joy and peace that Christ promised to His Apostles that would not be peace of the world, but the peace that only He could give. I see the Lord`s hand working here. Quicker than any man can keep up with. He truly loves His children, and desires them to return to His presence.

I`m so amazed by the strength of the women here of Mexico. So many times I have heard men say that they only joined the church because their wife was the strength they needed. They are the pulling force behind everything that happens here. If all the women were taken away, Mexico would be destroyed in the matter of a week. Pretty sure we could declare that as a global constant, but I`m only here in Tlaquepaque for right now, we`ll need correspondence from Alex Peacock and Newell to be sure.

I hope all stays well there, let me know what happens througout the week! I love you all so much, and I will talk to you all next week!

¡ADIOS MI FAMILIA!