May 28th, 2018 Letter #29

Elder Shoemaker will simply be leaving the offices. He's still got plenty of time left in the mission. Elder Garity is the secretary of finances and Elder Vasquez is the secretary to the President so they're actually not in training right now. There's typically 3 secretaries that know what's going on and one that is being trained. I think I'll be able to enjoy the job, but there's definitely a lot to learn and a lot of responsibility that I'll be left with. I'm basically in charge of making sure that everything we do is recorded in some way (baptisms, house contracts, etc.) as well as making sure every missionary has what they need (clothes racks, mattresses, Books of Mormon, etc.). In regards to "better food" let's just say I had a good fresh carrot this week so I'm happy. I haven't had Birria de res. I've spent the majority of the mission in areas too poor for carne de res. We can talk chicken though.

I found out a little more about what I'll be doing as a missionary in this area. Basically I'm in Los Lagos right now. Natura is typically the secretary's area, but I'm pretty much purely in Los Lagos for now while Elder Garity and Elder Vasquez take care of Natura. My suitcases are in Natura though so I'm really in between the two for where I sleep. The good thing is that the house in Natura is close to the offices so it's not hard to run over there to get clothes while I'm around the office. We have a couple of families that we're teaching as well as several individuals. We baptized Diego this weekend and should have some more baptisms on the 9th, but we'll wait and see. Diego has a difficult story, but he's made some serious changes in his life. I wasn't here to see much of the change, but it's been neat getting to know the guy.

The weather here is kind. Not too hot, and it hasn't really rained much. The area is nice because the ward is super well organized and so it's easier to work with them in some ways. I guess the negative side of the area would be that we pay a lot more for taxis.

I didn't have time to get Jose Emiliano a real present because I didn't have a P-day between getting the news that I was leaving and actually leaving, but I gave him a tie. Today we climbed a mountain with the AP's and the President's son. Look up "Cofre de Perote". I should have pictures of it next week probably (The President's son has them and will send them later I'm sure).There wasn't snow, but I did get cold for the first time in ages. There are little shacks up top, but I think it´s just to take care of the power poles and what not.

I'll try to heed your challenge, but since becoming a secretary and living in different houses it's become difficult to write in the ol' journal. Keep looking for missionary opportunities. The members can have a huge impact on missionary work if they have the desire and motivation.

Elder Finlinson

May 21st, 2018 Letter #28

Alma will get baptized next weekend, but I'm going to be out of town. I got special changed again to Xalapa. I'll be working in two areas at the same time because we have our own area (Natura) and the area of the assistants (Los Lagos) because they're going to be at conferences for the next few weeks. The good thing is that for now there are four secretaries so we can split effectively. (There are 4 right now because Elder Shoemaker is training Connor to take his place and I assume one of the others is doing the same thing.) Elder Shoemaker and I will mainly be in Los Lagos and Elder Garity and Elder Vasquez will be mainly in Natura. That being said I will be in both fairly often. It's a lot of work, but also more investigators that I'll meet. As a secretary I'll be in charge of records and materials. It's a lot of stuff, but I'll get into more details another day.

The week was good. I did splits with Elder Cornia at the start of the week and we found several new people. I got the phone call from the assistants the morning after. The food here is gonna be really nice, I can tell you that much. And there's a Walmart kinda close to our house.

Also. Happy Birthday!! I'm actually gonna celebrate because there's a recent convert from here that has a birthday today haha. 

Love, Elder Finlinson

Saying Goodbye to Hermana Milagros and Jose Emiliano

They gave him a Charmander Pokemon as a going away gift

May 14th Letter #27

So we didn't end up going to El Tajin just yet due to a lack of money, but it's in the plans. I didn't even know there were prizes for clean houses. (The cleanest apartments receive a prize in their mission.) I think I forgot to say Happy Mother's day! I appreciate the sacrifice and patience it's taken to get me here

Love you,

Elder Finlinson

Some of the conversation during our Mother's Day Skype:

Xanath has a reputation with the missionaries...very few want to serve in that area because it is so hilly. Connor really enjoys the area but he did say that by the end of the day the hills can be wearying. His former companion was a professional soccer player and they walked at a good pace on those hills but his new companion and those who come on splits have a harder time with that pace so Connor says they have to take it slower or take little breaks. 

There are lots of lizards. When asked what kinds he said, "It's like a Dr. Suess book, big ones, small ones, thin one, tall ones etc... Too many to count. But they love the lizards because they eat the bugs. He said he always has bug bites on his legs. The repellent only repels so much. 

There are also lots of chickens, roosters and birds everywhere. He doesn't even notice their sounds anymore. We were amazed how at all the bird sounds when he was talking with us. 

He said it is very hot. It doesn't matter if you are in the sun or shade the temperature is the same because of the humidity. He takes a quick cold shower in the morning and a long cold shower at night...sometimes with a fan blowing on him through the parted curtain. When asked about rain he said it hasn't rained very much at all, only about 15 days since he arrived. (6 months)

He usually is served chicken, beans and rice each day but one day he was served pork and he said it was the best thing he ever ate because it was different. :) 

His goal is to speak with the correct accent when he speaks Spanish. He is fluent but wants to keep improving.

On p-days they normally go to the church and play street soccer, after washing clothes etc..

May 7th, 2018 Letter #26

Another nearly empty week in the church. Almareli came though and she's got a baptismal date for the 19. She's Alberto's daughter.

Elder Marines is from Saltillo Coahuila, Mexico and is the second of three kids. He's been a member since birth and has been in the mission for 9 or 10 months. I still feel like I don't know him super well because we did splits twice this week and our personalities are a little different, but I'll think we'll get along fine. He just has a humor that isn't similar to mine. It's not bad, but I don't find it funny so I don't know how I should react to his jokes. I offer a weak laugh, but it's just kinda awkward.

I heard the Gummy Bear song in the street. You hear a lot of things in the street without knowing the source. 

Jalapeños are found in a lot of meals and sometimes are sides as well.

The apostle talks have the same structure as missionary lessons are supposed to have. It works best that way. 

The splits I did this week were with Elder Cornia and Elder Almonte. Both times I stayed in Xanath because my companion doesn't know the area yet.

Get those new people to church. Every member a missionary.

Love, Elder Finlinson

April 30th, 2018 Letter #25

Elder Alor is leaving tomorrow and my new companion's name will be Elder Marinez (or something like that). I'm staying in Xanath. 

Juana's baptism didn't come easy. She lives in a little community outside of Papantla and they have dirt roads. It rained hard the day of her scheduled baptism and the next day (Friday and Saturday) so we had to ask permission to baptize her on Sunday before the meeting (which is at 9). We got that permission Saturday at 9 PMish. So we made the necessary calls and set an alarm for 4 AM so we could fill the font. We got up at 4 and walked to the church (which in retrospect probably wasn't safe, but hindsight is 20/20). We tried to turn on the boiler so the water would be warm and.... no gas. So we walked back to our house, grabbed a little metal heater for heating water in buckets and got ready for church because we weren't going to be coming back. When we got back to the church we tried to warm one bucket at a time for a few hours, but that didn't do a thing to an entire font of water so it was still really cold. What's more is that Juana and her family didn't get to church until 8:30ish so we had to rush everything. We talked to her son about the water because she's 88 and we were worried the cold water would end more than just her life of sin, but he said something to the effect of: "Oh don't worry, we live in a small town. She bathes in cold water daily." So that was good. We had to baptize her twice though because the first time she tried to grab the edge of the font as she went under. 

No investigators came to church on Sunday so we have a lot of work to do this week. We have a few investigators, but we'll have to go on a quest tomorrow to see why nobody came to church.

District and Zone meetings are weekly. Splits come when they're needed. 

I've been studying the war chapters in Alma lately and I was thinking about when Moroni writes Pahoran in anger about how the government isn't helping to protect the freedom of the people. The reality is that Pahoran couldn't help due to rebellion in Zarahemla and he himself was in need. Moroni wrote with the intention of seeking help in protecting the people, which is good, but he made assumptions about why someone else might not be doing his part. We ought to keep that in mind when somebody else doesn't do their part or seems not to want to help with something. We never know what might be the reason for someone's lack. We shouldn't assume, but look for how we might help them.

I heard the Gummy Bear song this week in the street and I lost it. Elder Alor thought I was nuts, but I found it funny.

We had a super good chocolate cake this morning that a member gave us. I'm starting to realize that even though I'm getting used to spicier foods, I don't really like the taste of Jalapeños. The weather has been warm and somewhat rainy.

My favorite part of the week was this morning. We were out and about looking for a gift for José Emiliano because Elder Alor is leaving and we just so happened to find José and his mom in the street looking for a present for Elder Alor. I thought that was neat.

Love you, Elder Finlinson

Juana's Baptism

April 23rd, 2018 Letter #24

Alberto has lived a roller coaster of a life and, yes, he is the older fellow. Alberto has a variety of talents and has offered to teach members of the church that are interested so that should keep him involved. 

There were a lot of people in the English class (30 or so) from various age groups. 

My clothes and everything are holding up fine. Sometimes the fact that they're still in such good shape makes me question if I've really been on the mission as long as I have. My health is fine and my energy isn't problematic. I'd just like to see more stores that sell fruits and vegetables around here. There are bigger stores and a lot of produce places in the center of Papantla, but we live toward the edge of town.We can get into town fine, but it's a major pain to get the groceries home if we buy too much.

We've found some interesting new investigators this week. One is named Roosevelt and he used to talk to the missionaries all the time so he already knows a lot. He's 19 and he came to church yesterday. The other is Julieta and she's 16. The Spirit was really strong in the first lesson with her, but she wasn't able to make it to church. Juana (I don't know if I've mentioned her) should be getting baptized this week. She's 88. 

Elder Alor has been here for 4 transfers so he's probably gone next transfer. I'll definitely be here unless someone throws me a wicked curve ball. Xanath has great people. The members are super awesome in general.

Love you,

Elder Finlinson

April 16th, 2018 Letter #23

We had to dodge 372 bullets to baptize Alberto, but it worked out and the President personally congratulated us for being persistent with it. It was a nice baptism and we combined with other wards for the service. Some members from the other wards spoke. He let loose a few tears when he found out he was going to be able to get baptized so that was a neat experience. He's married but his wife kicked him out of his house as we were teaching him so we've had little contact with his family, but his daughter came to the baptism so we're going to start working with her. No investigators came, but we're teaching a few more. I'll let you know who's progressing next week. 

Zone conference was fun and, yes, the president comes to conference. My companion convinced Hna Equihuas to buy pizza for us. We talked about the importance of love in missionary work during the meeting for leaders and I liked that bit. Elder Alor and I were asked to sing in the conference "Secreta Oración." The conference was in Poza Rica.

 I went on splits with Elder Seaman (my first zone leader) this week and that was super fun. We had several incredible experiences. One time we had what I would call a "second chance contact." We were rejected, but something told Elder Seaman to stay outside the house and wait. So we waited. When the guy came back out I told him that we also offer service to others. He turned that down too, but we got started talking again and he eventually mentioned how his mom had died recently. We shared a bit about the Plan of Salvation, he let us in, and we made another appointment. Later on we taught an investigator who met all the requirements for baptism (times in church, commandments...), but lacked a testimony of Joseph Smith. I shared mine and told her to read that of Joseph Smith himself. Elder Seaman set up a time to watch "The Restoration" the next day. Yesterday Elder Seaman called me to let me know that she got baptized and confirmed this weekend. The other thing we did was teach an English class. We taught them directions (right, left, forward...) Then blindfolded them and sent volunteers one at a time through a maze of chairs while another person guided them in English. It was super fun.

 The members feed us lunch. Breakfast and dinner is kinda just whatever we have (cereal or toast or something). 

Love you

Elder Finlinson

Alberto's baptism...with others