Week 27- Thanksgiving Week

Well happy thanksgiving to everyone!!!!! I really wish that I could have some turkey but I do not think turkey exists in Mexico so there you go. Mostly we just eat a freaking ton of chicken with the occasional ham or ground beef. I never told this story I don't think. So our companionship and one other had been fasting for a while, and so when we went to lunch we were starving. After waiting for 45 minutes for the hermana we receive a call to go about another 45 minutes to little ceasers because she forgot about us, and she would buy us pizza. We got there and we all were starving she asked how many pizzas we wanted and my companion shouted 4, which I did not complain to at this point. She looked at us skeptically but ordered the pizzas (you have to understand how expensive that is here in Mexico for a normal person) then we began to eat, and eat, and eat. Finally when everyone was stuffed, and trying to finish the last pizza, one of the elder turns to me and says oh you're tired of chicken, then you will have pizza until it comes from your nose (bible joke) it made me laugh pretty darn hard if no one else did. Anyways, so this week, we had a milagro baptism of marcos!!!!! It honestly was pretty cool how this man had changed so much just in the time I have known him, he gave up drinking, he has agreed to pay tithing (really hard for him) and gained a testimony of Joseph Smith honestly its pretty darn cool. Its funny to see how people progress little by little until all of a sudden all of the progress comes all at once.

 It was really interesting because last week they had me do divisions with a new missionary, and I got to see how wet behind the ears he was, and its just amazing to see how much I have learned about just how to talk to people, and how I got the chance to talk to him about how to improve in different ways, teaching, Spanish, a ton of stuff. He has been suffering with his trainer a little bit, and so it really brought me back to the start of my mission. I have had companions with who I have suffered and who I have just loved like brothers so far, and its just funny to see how useful these 6 months have been down here.

Interesting scripture that I really want to share for the week that is Moroni 8 (this chapter is great for more than teaching infant baptism) it really teaches us how to develop love for other people in our hearts, and how to retain a remission of our sins. More than that, it gives us the best definition of what sin is, namely the breaking of one of the laws that God has given to us. Furthermore, I have really been pondering about D&C 121, and the rights of the priesthood. When we preach the Gospel or do any action in even the smallest seminary classroom, priesthood power is given to us and invoked. The priesthood power can only be invoked based upon principles of righteousness, namely mentioned patience long suffering and love unfeigned. What this means is that if we really wish to teach by the spirit, find by the spirit, or have in any way access to priesthood power, it requires more than just faith (which is the first principle of power in the gospel) it also must require love for the person who we are blessing, love in the most absolute sense, and then we have access to help others.

Anyways, I love my mission, I love Mexico, and I love all of you. Thank you all so much for the birthday wishes, I will respond to all of them within the next week because I am out of time

Love,

Elder STandridge