We
had a good chat with Gael and Ariana's mom. We found out the real reason why
she wasn't ready to give her kids permission, resolved the problem, and they
were baptized! Not only that, but she herself finally decided to come to church
with Dana. And I was wrong about how old Dana was, she turns 8 on the 5th of
January! So we talked to Viridiana (the mom) about baptism for both her and
Dana that day and she seems semi-open about it. She's super cool with us now,
we just need to teach her a little more directly and I think she herself will
accept the baptism. Chuco's parents want to wait a little more, but they said
they want to investigate the details a little more and his mom showed up at the
baptism of Gael and Ariana as well so I think we'll see progress with time.
Elvira and Karla had one of the strangest/most miraculous weeks I've seen thus
far in the mission. Through a unique process and a few unexpected details
President Esquihuas himself gave us direct permission to baptize them this week.
It was pretty cool. I
baptized Karla, Elder Jimenez baptized Elvira, and Miguel baptized his cousins.
Usually we don't confirm, but on rare occasions we do. Karla has just showed an
incredible dedication to do everything we've invited her to do and now is no
longer dependent on others to help her make her decisions, which was the
obstacle at first. Elvira changed her attitude after one simple act from us.
She had been struggling to give up coffee so we bought her a giant container of
powder to make chocolate milk instead (perhaps the reason we struggle
financially?) and she just about cried from the surprise/dedication. Since then
she's been pretty dedicated as well. The rest of the deal was that the Zone
leaders called President saying that they were ready and whatnot, and he gave
us the green light saying, "Baptize them as soon as possible."
We saw a lot of blessings this week. Thanks to the
last-second surge of baptisms we broke the record of baptisms (according to our
knowledge of the history of the zone) in the Tuxpan Zone this month (the record
of the zone was 11 in one month and we got 13). That was pretty exciting.
We're having a little bit of trouble with the money right now, but I think we
just need to be smarter with how we spend it. Elder Jimenez and I are indeed
both staying here for the next change.
It turns out that there is going to be a Primary Program after all. And it's only a few weeks away haha. I'm excited.
I got my package when I went for my visa. I think they get here faster than you
think. Elder Jimenez will get a package soon I'm sure. He comes from a family
that is pretty well-off. He's a convert of 7 years.
It would be hard to say
that there is a "best part" about being a missionary. It's a neat
thing. You can definitely feel divine support and it's a great opportunity to
learn how you want to live your life. It's also really special to see people
change and to be an instrument in the process.
We wash laundry at a member's
house. They have a machine. It's not the like American machines, but it beats
hand-washing. Then we dry the clothes on a line.
The last thing that Elder
Jimenez and I laughed about was when we were on the bus we decided to
coordinate ourselves in order to synchronize our making of the "Lovaas
Face." (The one we did in the pictures with the little girl). We have it
down so we can do it in the same instant.
People don't really have a particular
tendency in regards to work as far as I know. But we live really close to a
hospital so a lot of the people we meet from nearby work there. I haven't taken
a picture with the Tuxpan sign yet.
The best part of the week was Sunday
Morning because we saw everything come together with the confirmations and there
were a lot of other investigators, inactive members, and recent converts there
that were there thanks to the efforts of the missionaries. Of the 13 baptized
in the zone there were 9 from our ward. 5 from the Zone Leaders and 4 from us.
The attendance in church on Sunday was super high. I felt really blessed that
morning.
One challenge this week was when we heard the changes. I feel like in
these 6 weeks Elder Jimenez and I have gotten along well, but I also feel like
it's really easy to offend his pride or make him mad. So I was kind of hoping
to end things on a good note and call it a day. Sometimes I feel like I walk a
thin line between trying to keep him happy and do my job. That being said, he's
excited for another change together and I should be too. He can be really
helpful when he's in the right mood so I'll just have to stay patient and
humble and I'm sure it'll be another good change. I know the Lord knows what
He's doing by keeping us together.
One thing I was meditating in my studies
this week was the importance of convert retention. I was thinking about how it
was odd that we were given special permission to baptize Karla and Elvira
already. But I'm glad to stay in Tuxpan to keep an eye on them.
I don't have
pictures of the baptisms right now. Elder Jimenez and I both forgot cameras so
we told Miguel to send us the pictures, but he didn't do it yet. I'll remind
him tonight because we're going to visit his family later.
Love
you,
Elder
Finlinson
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