There’s a tardiness theme to these two elders’ posts, and it has nothing to do with them. (It’s all the fault of one of their parents; we won’t name names [to protect feelings, etc.].)
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| Christmas Day 2014 — under the weather, but still happy |
December 22, 2014
Scarface
Round 2! [Editor’s note:
Round 1 begins below.] We’ve had some guesses, but the offer still stands!
Guess the theme of my email subjects! I promise the theme is appropriate for a
missionary.
Mom, I don’t know if there’s
a Chiropractice for Dummies but if ever dummies needed a
chiropractor, they were missionaries.
So Elder Altamira loves
80s music. I have heard him singing Tears for Fears, Bruce Springsteen, Billy
Joel, and Robert Palmer. Also, he says “Hey, take it easy” in English. He’s
never seen “Nacho Libre,” so he doesn’t understand why I make him do it like 5
times a day. I love my companion.
I’m going to share
something with you guys that I hope impacts you the way it should: we taught an
investigator who has grass and carpet. Grass is rare enough. I got to smell
fresh-cut grass when we passed his house last week, and it was magical. Then we
went inside and he had CARPET. You guys probably don’t understand what that
means. There are missionaries who go 2 years without stepping on carpet. (I’ve
never seen it, but I’ve heard rumors that President Morales’ office has carpet.
It’s something of a legend here.) I didn’t even want to sit down. I just stood
and enjoyed it for probably too long. Be grateful for what you have.
We were listening to Elder
Howard, our compañero de la casa, teach El Plan de Salvación. At one point, he
said that we’re here on earth to obtain bodies and be tested, “and that’s why
there are babies.” He insists he meant to say it like that, but we all thought
it was pretty funny.
So we’ve got some new
investigators! The fella with the carpet is Diego. He’s 29 and he’s been listening
to the missionaries off-and-on for like 6 years. He introduced us to his
girlfriend, Karla, and we taught them together in the chapel, and they both
accepted baptismal dates! Even though he hasn’t been baptized, he has a strong
testimony, or a least lots of knowledge. We were teaching Karla how to receive
an answer to her prayers (by a very specific question) and he said “I think
that’s why I haven’t been baptized. I haven’t done that.” I wanted to say “duh”,
but I thought it better to testify with the Spirit.
Our other new investigator
is Israel. He loved the first lesson, and when we invited him to baptism, he
said, “Well, who’s going to get offended if I get baptized in your church? When
should we do it?” It was awesome.
So I know 2 Nephi gets teased
sometimes, because it’s kind of long, and there’s lots of Isaiah, but it’s
really awesome. If you look at the Scripture Mastery for the Book of Mormon,
like 8 of the 25 scriptures are from 2 Nephi. It’s basically just 33 chapters
describing the testimony of one of the most faithful prophets who has ever
lived. It’s just doctrine and truth. I love reading it.
Also, it’s Christmas! Let’s
remember why we celebrate it. We’re celebrating the birth of the Saviour. His
whole life, his birth and even his death, was one big miracle, with a bunch of
beautiful gifts, lessons, and miracles in between. Be grateful you have what
you need (like the Gospel), that you have what you want (like carpet) and give
to others what they need (like a massage).
Love you guys
Élder Webb
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They’re looking at their cousin Oliver (3 mos. old), whom they hadn’t met.
We had a couple of minutes with both boys together, then Elder Eli called back a bit later. |
December 15, 2014
Punch
I’m starting a new theme!
If you can guess the theme of my subject titles, I will send you a picture of
me blowing you a kiss. Unless you think that’s inappropriate for a missionary,
in which case it will be of me reading the scriptures.
Ok! If you didn’t know, I
got transferred last week! I’m training a brand new missionary, and I got moved
to a new area! I’m in the same zone in Matamoros, but I’m in the ward Matamoros
2 now. My companion is Élder Altamira from Mexico City. He’s a hard worker, and
I’m excited to get into a teaching groove with him.
I would like to recommend
to you, my friends, that you look up paintings by Walter Rane. Maybe they’re
not your thing, but I absolutely love them. He paints stories from the Book of
Mormon and the Bible. My favorites that I’ve seen are of Enos praying in the
woods, and when Christ visits the Americas, but they’re all good.
The highlight of my last
week in Buena Vista 2 was watching 94-year-old Herlinda de Treviño play with
her 2-year-old great-granddaughter. They chased each other around the house
very slowly, and with a little stumbling by each participant. It was adorable.
I got to baptize Brittany
this week (even though I’m not in that ward) because she was baptized in the
chapel of Matamoros 2! Whoo! It was an awesome blessing to participate in that
special ordinance.
We don’t have a lot of
work here. It’s known for being a tough area, but we’re slowly building our
list of investigators. We walk like 12 miles a day, and we don’t teach very
many lessons, but we know we’re working hard, and we know the Lord is pleased
with our work.
It’s very easy to get
distracted or discouraged on the mission with Baptisms. I know how important
they are, and I appreciate that they are the gateway to eternal happiness, and
it is my goal to baptize everybody in Matamoros, but that’s not how we measure
success. Here on the mission, and the Gospel in general, success is measured by
your effort. Preach My Gospel has a list of things that say when you know you
are a successful missionary, and the number of baptisms you had this transfer
is not on the list. What IS on the list is things like knowing that the Spirit
teaches people through you, being exactly obedient, and working as hard as you
can. I have learned that success is measured by your effort to work, to turn
your will over to the Lord, and to serve others.
Another thing I learned is
that love is the easiest way to do everything. The easiest way to be obedient
is to love the Lord and want to do His will. The easiest way to contact people
is to really love them and want them to find the joy you have in the Gospel.
The easiest way to get along with your companion is to just love them and want
them to enjoy success on their mission (for questions on what makes a
successful missionary, see above or page 10 of “Preach My Gospel” [well, it’s
page 10 in Spanish]).
I love you guys. Pray for
the ability to forgive those who have wronged you.
Élder Webb
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