Photos 1/19/2016

​Why are there rocks in the sink drain? I don't know either.

​Our poinsettia now. It looks like a Dr. Seuss plant.

Zona más guapa de México

Korihor 2.0 1/19/2016

We have been contacting a LOT the past week, because our district leaders animated us, (if there is a better word for it, Mom, please correct it because I'm thinking in Spanish)
[Mom comment: animar is a great word, kind of like animate or probably more like motivate] 
and we have found a few... interesting people. A few really Catholic people, but that's normal. Then there are the book believers, like the Cabin Book and the Urantia book.  First off, the Cabin book is one guy's experience where he saw the Godhead but Jesus and the Holy Ghost were women....  I think that says enough. And the Urantia book says it was written directly by celestial beings, and it has stories of Jesus' childhood, like when he saw blood sacrifices in the temple and ran out crying saying, "How could my father permit this cruelty?"  Wow, OK, you don't understand the Bible. 

And now I get to the title. We contacted a lady and came to her house to talk to her. Then her husband or brother or someone, starts talking to us like hardcore questioning us. Like, what's the difference between sin, error, and iniquity?  With the clear intention to tie us up. I always feel like the scripture missionaries when it says, "For he did withstand them in all their questions, and did confound them in all their words."  Then this guy pulls out the Urantia Book, saying things like, "Here it says that Jesus Christ didn't come to save us from our sins, because that would be against our agency, and we don't need religion, we just need communion with God. He believes this book before the Bible or anything else because he says that it was written by men but his book was written by celestial beings. We listened to him the first time, but the next time we came, after about 20 minutes of talking, I got fed up. I said "Ok, I'm done with you. Sister, we came to talk with you, not to debate..." *pipes in Korihor* "I'm not debating." "I said I'm done." *goes quiet like a punished child* *to the sister*...And we have barely talked with you. so i would like to put another appointment when we can talk to you." (My comp with the face like, Wow, you told him)  You guys know who Korihor is right? He was preaching to people saying that Christ wouldn't come because an angel told him he wouldn't. He ended up stricken down by God. We found Korihor 2.0.

But in other news we have finished another transfer cycle, and I have finished another month in the mission. I am still with Elder Lopez, which is cool. We have had a lot of spiritual lessons. And now that I have had a month and a half in the area that I have been planting seeds, I hope to start seeing baptisms. I hope you guys are all warm where you are because I'm freezing in the night here. It's not because it's that cold.  It's because the houses are not built thinking about weather, because practically everyone builds their own house.

More Adventures

I can't wait to have water pressure again.

But it's all worth it. You know why? 

...

...

Tacos. That's why. Just a reminder that my mission is better than yours.

But I love Mexican food.

The Adventures of a Haggard Traveler Jan. 11, 2016

This week on The Adventures of a Haggard Traveler, we will see insects, ancient native weapons, new people, and food.

On Thursday, we went on divisions. I stayed in our area, and Elder Flores was with me. We contacted a lot. We found 6 new investigators. And one of the ways I liked that we contacted was by singing. I broke the barrier and was really effective. It brings the spirit really quickly and helps show that we believe in Christ. I liked singing "Nearer My God to Thee".  It happened like this: "Hi, we´re missionaries ...not right now thanks ...but we´d like to sing you a hymn, 15 seconds.  OK.  *We sing, and other little message* When can we come by to share more of this message? Baptize me.  OK, it wasn't quite that way, but we have an appointment.

​So my companion found that cactus spines are like native darts.  And while i was taking the picture......

Wham!

​This happens.

Oh, and the other day, I invented a tie knot.

Pretty cool, eh?

​I know we´re not supposed to have pets, but how am I supposed to get rid of our pet cockroach 

when he is inside our microwave?

[Mom comment:  What is good in a package? Ryan: I have peanut butter. It's not that rare here. It's actually cheaper, because not very many people like it. Beef jerky was good. I really go through the candy fast. .  Pop tarts were good.]

Jan. 11, 2016

[Mom comment: My Instagram is showing a snow covered Popocatepetl from yesterday.  Do you have snow up there?  Have you been having winter?  We are supposed to have rain all this week.  Brrr, but good.]

It looks like winter by the way people are dressed, but it's not really that cold.

"The celebration of Epiphany to enjoy the Rosca de Reyes is a Mexican tradition that takes place, 12 days after Christmas, each year in social reunions with family, friends or colleagues in offices or homes. This meeting is usually done a few days before or after January 6 at the offices or places outside the home, however for the family reunions they are normally held in homes on the sixth day of January in the evening, Epiphany Day or the appearance of the Wise Men or Magi Kings: Balthazar, Melchior and Caspar."

Yep. and there is a muñequita [doll] inside and if you get the muñekita you have to provide the tamales on February 2.

Happy new start!

Happy New Year!

And Happy Birthday to Me!

There are at least two reasons those are significant. One, I'm two decades old.  Two, I have nearly spent a year in the mission, and this year will be completely in the mission. And also my age is easier to say now.  Diecinueve, now veinte. Today I put on my Happy Birthday Tie, and set out to conquer the day.

An investigator that lives in Nagoya, Japan, was in my sacrament meeting yesterday. He doesn't know Spanish, but luckily he knows English, so I translated for him. (A little.  I could have done a better job.)  And gave him a Spanish Book of Mormon because he wanted one. His name is Mesaya Niwa. He's been listening to the missionaries for quite a while and he looked for the church building all by himself!

Today we went bowling and went to the sushi bar again, because it's my birthday. 

I'm ready for the work to pick up again and have people to visit. Yesterday we found 5 new investigators. Woo. I love when that happens. Especially when it's a prompting to turn here and start knocking doors. And the second door, they invited us in. They knew it was for something that we knocked on their door. I see a family baptism in the future! YAY!

Oh, and a comment on the family we found. It was really cool because their son was in a motorcycle accident and now he is in bed all the time, quite a bit of damage there. But we had a short spiritual lesson about the resurrection and how we will have perfect bodies. It was very espiritual and really cool.

​Do you want to eat something without taste or smell? I don't. 

But apparently that's something to put on the box for advertising.

​What ya doing handsome? I'm making butter, because the butter here sucks.

​Are there reasons to believe what the Bible says?      Yes. At least two.     Bahahahhaaha Jevovah's Witnesses. They stole your line Connor!

[Mom comment:  Why is this funny?]   When Connor was in a marching band competition, a school arrived with a bunch of buses. When asked how many people he thought they had, connor said, "At least two". And that has been a phrase with from that day on. 

​Awww yeah! Birthday tie!

I feel obligated to put something about 2016 in my title DEC 28, 2015

Kyndal´s companion is waiting for her visa to go to the California Irvine mission!  Look for her. And if she happens to be in the ward at some point, send me a picture!

As the year reaches its end, I realize that I started my mission in the beginning of the year. Seeing some people say that they only have one call [phone call home] left, makes me think, "Didn't you start after me?" But, yeah, they did because they are sister missionaries. But still, I have two left. Wow. Time flies. It flies like a turkey right before Thanksgiving. (For those of you who don't think that turkeys fly, look it up. They fly fast.)  I hope you all had a great Christmas!  It was awesome to be able to call home once more. It was great to see everyone. It's a little bit of pressure being the first one to go on the mission from the cousins. But it's good pressure. 

On Christmas Eve, we went to the zone leaders' apartment and had a traditional dinner of pizza and chips. Then we played phase 10, Uno, and Risk.  Risk was last and the one that took the most time. Let's just say that I got 4 hours of sleep.  Then Christmas we got up and went to our areas. Nothing special. The Christmas time in which we think would be great to accept the gospel message, everyone is receptive to the spirit of the holidays so also to the spirit. Not really. There were about 20 people that I saw in the whole day. But then calling home gave me the boost I needed to survive. Thanks everyone for being awesome. It was cool seeing the pictures of friends on the mission with their families via Skype. 

Zone Picture

Samuel the Lamanite

Maria and Jose

The Star of the Show

Christmas Risk

#zonebluesteel and Elder Lugo