well well well, it appears as though another chapter of my
mission is ending, my time here in Santiago Tuxtlas is coming to a close. They
are sending me from the Jungle back to my old Zone in Veracruz city, where I
will be with Elder Romo. I cannot tell you how much I will miss this area,
honestly it is the absolute best. I love the members, the food (they are
teaching me to make memellas today, which are the best, literally the best, if
you know how much I eat, then you know how filling they are when I can only eat
one) and I love how much we could work here. I checked the total for the
lessons, and over the course of the past transfer we did 250 lessons. I was
super proud of that for some reason. Anyways, I have some pictures that we took
from the top of the hill cummorah where the nephites died, and from my zone and
at the baptism this week. In all honestly this was just kind of a miracle
baptism. We went to church, and there was this guy there who went with his
girlfriend who is a member. He aid that the missionaries ad taught him and he`d
gone to church a bunch, but never got baptized. We asked him if he wanted to he
said sure why not Saturday. OKAY!!! When someone wants to get baptized here I
think it is a little easier because we went in to teach him on Monday and we
taught the word of wisdom, and we said do you smoke, yes. Do you drink, yes. Do
you drink coffee, yes. (the others no). Are you willing to give them up
to get baptized, yes...well no. Which is the problem. He responded, I honestly
cannot give up the coffee. The fact that coffee is the most addictive of all of
those I found a little hilarious. He gave up coffee for a week and got baptized
on Saturday, okeedokeey (they need 21 days sober, or all of the time from the
moment you teach the lesson). Also in the photos is a family we activated whose
son got activated, it honestly made me super happy. Oh okay, so something else
cool that happened this week. As my companion taught the girlfriend of the boy
who got baptized, I taught her mom and Grandma. They hadn´t gone to church,
don`t pay tithing, barely eat once a day, and are honestly dirt poor. (they
handmake piñatas) I talked with them for like 20 30 minutes, and afterwards
they said, a lot of people have explained to us tithing, but never like that, I
am going to pay it now. That honestly was the happiest moment of my mission,
like honestly I`ve never felt so good as when she said that. Oh by the way, we
finally cleaned the house of prayer, and that was a fun activity, I officially
know how to cut grass with a machete (trust me, it looks awful, especially when
I do it). That was perhaps the most humbling moment of the week, I have about
30 pounds out of sheer height on everyone here, and I am stronger in terms of
pure strength than just about anyone, but man you put an old mexican man with a
machete and he just kicked my butt on choping down trees, cutting grass, you
name it, I have no idea how, but put a machete in the hands of a mexican, and
you might as well have given them a shotgun for all the damage they can do.
Anyways, here in Santiago the family of the branch president
is literally the best, like you have no idea how much I love them (the branch
president is there in the photo with the fanny pack). They are the firmest
people I have ever met in the Gospel, he knows more about any question that we
have than anyone I´ve ever met, and is constantly working (her too). Like this
area is so blessed to have them, and last night I said a farewell to them, and
it was really really hard, like I cannot describe it. Anyways, I just cannot
believe that I already have been here in Santiago for 3 months. I am in my
youth right now, which is basically the time in between training and when you
become senior companion, I was kind of hoping to be senior after this change,
but it looks like I still have at least one more as junior. I must admit, I
honestly will miss Elder Espinoza a ton, he honestly is my Mexican twin, like
we have the same beliefs, same style of working, and I honestly learned so much
about how to teach from him.
Thank you so very much who went with my mom to the temple,
you have no idea how happy it makes me that she has people there who love and
support her so much, like I cannot express that enough. You are all in my
prayers, and I miss you guys lots!
Elder Standridge
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