Hey Mom and Dad! How are you!!!??? Thanks for the e-mails. I love to hear about the family. I've been doing well. I've really been changing, in my heart more than anything. President Spannaus seems to know exactly what to say to me. He told us in our Zone Conference that we shouldn't expect to change our hearts in an instant. We should be patient with ourselves. He gave us the example of Paul, who after his baptism, waited fourteen years until he started to really preach and write his doctrinal essays.
I am playing the piano allot here! This weekend was pretty intense. On Saturday, we had to go to the chapel early and fill up the baptismal font with buckets, because the pump want' working. After that we went to the apartment and took a rest. My back hurts still! We went out to work and to eat, and then we started to teach Piano and English classes. After I taught the English class we had to rush to Cuautla, about an hour and a half away, and I played the piano in Stake Conference. I also played the piano in the second Sunday session.
President Spannaus's mom came to Mexico to visit. She's an old lady in a wheel chair, and flew all the way from Argentina to visit. President Spannaus is one person that I respect so much! I feel a close connection with him. His wife is so awesome, and they have two young daughters. Laura was baptized yesterday with her daughter and with another brother named Abel. It was a special service. I baptized Laura and Elder Anderson baptized Yamilet and Abel.
The people here are so special. They have allot of curiosity. They want to know what's going on with the new chapel. They also have allot of gossip.Allot of them say that the church is only for rich people, and that we share wives and all that stuff. It's hilarious how the people believe silly things like that!
The LDS Church version of the bible in Spanish just got released. President Spannaus and his wife gave all of the Elders a brand new bible in Spanish, leather with the name printed in front in gold. This bible is something amazing because now the Spanish speaking people have references to the Book of Mormon, and the Joseph Smith translation.
We are going to start singing to people in their houses more. I'm teaching Elder Anderson how to sing! We're gonna go tracting and sing to the people in their houses. I think they'll be a little more receptive if we sing to them. The Mexican people are so open and willing to listen. The hard thing is helping them to understand and open their heart. Some are so attached to the Catholic church that they aren't willing to open their heart to the message. It's so important to listen to the Spirit.
We really don't walk that much. It's a pretty small pueblito. We don't use transportation much either. It is a really good area.
We wash our clothes by hand. There is a little washing area outside of the the house. We just dump our clothes in a bucket with water, Clorox and soap and let it sit for a while. Then we wash them one by one. I actually like to do it. As Dad would say, it builds character!
The church is so amazing!It's amazing that there are saints in Argentina helping saints in Mexico and saints in the U.S. that are helping saints in China and all over the world. It's a miracle to be part of all of this. It's a miracle that people are so believing and willing to have faith. For every door knocked on in Europe, one person is Mexico is baptized! Even though the Catholic church has done a ton of damage, it has prepared the people to believe in the Messiah and have an idea of what faith and repentance are.
Do you and Dad want to come and pick me up, or do you want me to come home by myself? Gosh, what happened to Steven Adams? Why did he come home early? I felt a pit in my stomach when you told me that. Is he doing okay?
Tell everyone that I love the, If you happen to see friends from High School, tell them hi. I love you so much and am very grateful for your examples of faith.
Russell
Elder West
