ALL THE SMALL THINGS

Oye, México: Por favor, don’t touch our boy’s eyes....

November 24, 2014 

One of the consejeros [counselors] in the bishopric in the ward here speaks just enough English to be absolutely hilarious. Don’t worry, I’ve got examples: His wife speaks perfect English, and I mentioned that I’m afraid to have daughters. With excellent timing, her two daughters began reenacting a cat video they had found on Youtube. At this, Hna de Gutierrez looked at me and said “Beware, MacBeth!”. She’s very well-read. But her husband didn’t understand and said, at a volume that did not match the situation, “WHAT? BEWARE MY BREATH?” It caught me so off-guard, I was crying I was laughing so hard. The next week, he was asking about “hot dog chili peppers”. I asked him what he meant, but he just kept repeating it. Finally he said “aren’t they a music group?”, then I got to help him pronounce “Red Hot Chili Peppers”. And a good time was had by all.

One more thing before the good stuff, lots of people comment on my eyes. Apparently I’m the only person in Matamoros with blue eyes, so I’m quite a hit. Something I don’t understand, is that, therefore, people want to touch them. Is that a thing? I’ve had 3 people ask if they can touch my eyes. And I understand enough Spanish to know that I understood perfectly well that they wanted to know what my eyes felt like. If you have any insight on this, please let me know, because it’s pretty distressing. (Just in case it wasn’t obvious, I didn’t let them.)

So Élder Santana left today, and I got my new companion! His name is Élder Moreno, and he’s from here in México. He’s 25 years old, and he seems pretty cool.

We’ve got 2 baptisms lined up for this Saturday, Britany (9) and Daniel (29 or 30, I think). Britany’s been progressing really well, and she’s stoked to get in the water. Daniel is also doing good things. His lessons started over a year ago, and he’s overcome a lot of obstacles. He beats the last one this Friday when he gets married! Hoorah! He’ll get baptized the next day, and his wife 2 weeks later, if everything goes according to plan. We’re also going to talk with his mom about a date, because the only reason she hasn’t been baptized is because she’s waiting until Daniel can baptize her. 

Felipe finally came to church yesterday! He tried the week before, but he got lost. It’s great to see him finally progressing. He’s always been very receptive, but hasn’t really done much for himself. However, since we’ve been teaching him, we’ve seen the atonement take a hold in his life and the Light of Christ begin to grow in him. It’s so cool to actually witness someone coming unto Christ.

Now, I know I’ve testified of this before, but something I just keep learning is that Heavenly Father knows us perfectly. Think about that. He knows exactly who you are, what you want, what you fear, why you do what you do, and exactly what you need to be perfectly happy. All He asks is that you follow the example of His Son, Jesus Christ. If you have questions about our message, ask a missionary, or open the scriptures. Sometimes we tease 2 Nefi, but really it’s just pure doctrine, and it’s fantastic. If you want a specific answer, say a specific prayer. Heavenly Father already knows what you’re going to say, but sometimes we don’t. If you’re having a hard time, serve someone. Sometimes it’s hard, but I testify, in the name of Jesus Christ that you will feel better for following His example. 

He loves you. I love you. Have a good day, and pray often.

Élder Webb