We
did indeed go to Alamo to aid in the flood relief efforts. It was humbling to
see the damage that was done to some of the houses. The members who were
effected had incredibly good attitudes about everything and seemed to be in
good spirits. We got really dirty with the mud and the houses smelled awful,
but being able to lend a hand was an enjoyable experience overall and it
was cool to see some missionaries from that area that I hadn't seen for a
while.
No luck at church again. Finding ourselves in a hole we decided to be a
little more interactive in ward counsel and I think we've got a plan
figured out to get people to church next week.
The rain has continued, but
it's been weaker and a little less frequent so it's not a big problem. We don't live exceptionally close to the river, but the whole city lives at least somewhat
close to it.
I was able to gain a little more trust in the district this week,
but there's still one missionary left that I need to get to know better. The
problem isn't so much that he's stubborn or anything like that, it's more just
that we don't know each other very well still. I'm planning splits with him
because I just did them with his companion (that helped a lot in his
companion's case), but it's been difficult because his area is 2 hours away
from mine and due to several complications it's been hard to do many splits
with them.
We had neither Zone conference nor District class, but rather Zone
class. Conference is between 2 zones, District is the district, and Zone Class is
for 1 zone. Don't worry about keeping track of that. But it went well I
suppose.
There hasn't been much American backlash in Tuxpan. (In regards to the caravan of people trying to get to America and Trumps threats to take away aid.)
We don't eat super
weird things very often, so I've got nothing to say really about that, but I
will say that we had a lot of hot chocolate with bread this week thanks to el
Día de los Muertos.
Something that made me smile was that we had to drop by Walmart to grab something for the Zone activity and as we were leaving a teenage
guy chased us down and said to wait because his mom was buying stuff for us. A
minute or two later she showed up with cereal, milk, and bread. She said that
she knows we don't have much money as missionaries, because she used to get taught by
them so she wanted to help. She kindly refused our offer to visit the church
again, but she was definitely a good Christian lady.
I studied quite a bit
about Joseph Smith this week and how he acquired and used spiritual gifts. It
inspired me to do the same, so I'll be focusing this week on seeking spiritual
gifts.
One cool thing about Elder Jimenez is that he has always been very open
when talking to other missionaries or members about how he wanted to be my
companion for a long time before it happened haha.
Looking
back on this year in the mission field I can say that one thing I've learned
is that it's always going to be worth holding on to the Iron Rod. I've also
seen the importance of inviting others to either come back or take hold for the
first time (James 5:19-20). I know that the Lord rewards sacrifices. That's something
I saw with Lili (a teenager that we baptized in Xalapa). She gave up a lot to
join the church, but has been rewarded with a rock-solid conviction about her
newfound testimony. Another inspiring individual is the Bishop in Los Lagos. He
was another among the good examples of a father who would always make time to
be with his kids and get to know them individually regardless of how much time
his calling and job demanded. Some of the strongest spiritual experiences have
been felt while bearing pure testimony or offering an honest prayer. In the
next year I hope to 1. Strengthen my dedication 2. Help more missionaries on an
individual level and 3. Get back in good shape.
Love
you,
Elder
Finlinson
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