I went to the temple again

Did you meet anyone I know down up there in San Diego? My week went pretty well. How is everyone else?

Please thank Great Grandma B for me and let her know that I love her.

Also how did everything else go this week?

This week I went to the temple again. I am so dang lucky I have been through 2 times already and I only have about 8 to 9 months here in Mexico. Normally the average is 1 or 0 in this mission. I have already beaten the average. I love the temple so much. The Lord answers our prayers when we are there. The Spirit is also super strong.

Jorge and Erendira are actually getting married and baptized this week. Im super excited. THey always share there testimonies with us.

I don't really have much to say this week. Sorry... 

I also finished True to the Faith and Our Heritage. They are really good books.

I love you. Do good. Stay strong. And recognize the blessings throughout the day.

If ye love me, keep my commandments

This week has been pretty good. Our companionship gets to go to the temple this week because we won the scripture chase and examen in the zone conference. We also have our investigators Jorge and Erendira that are going to get married on Friday and baptized on Saturday. Please pray so that they will prepare. They are great!

Also don't worry. I do learn things from all of my companions. I have been moldeable with the things I can work on. I'm trying to develop the attributes of Christ found in Preach MY Gospel.

Spiritual thought for the week. I hope I don't surprise any of you by saying that you are all gods. God is our loving Heavenly Father. If he is our Father and we are his children then we are Gods. Just like Mom and Dad are humans, I too am human. We aren't horses, cows, or dogs. Please look up Psalms 82:6. We are gods growing to the potential of our Heavenly Father. Its amazing how much he loves us. He has prepared the plan of salvation, given us bodies, experiences, trials, families, the restoration, repentance, the atonement, a living prophet, scriptures, etc. He has given us so much to show his love. Now the question is... Do you Love him??? How do we love him? In the scriptures it says, "If ye love me, keep my commandments." If you really love Heavenly Father then you need to obey his commandments. You can't  just say you love him, but you have to do what he has commanded us. No matter how hard it might be to obey commandments at times there is always a way by way we can obey them as Nephi teaches in 1 Nephi 3:7. Look for the way to obey him in all ways so that you can love Heavenly Father. Also remember that you are gods with the potential to become like your Father in Heaven.

Love God, do good, and endure to the end! 

Love, 

Your Red headed Mexican Missionary Elder Tierra de Amor (Elder Loveland)

Socking EVIL in the jaw!

I’m doing pretty good, and you?  I hope all is going well there.  I know they call Las Vegas Sin City, but I’m pretty sure I’ve seen more sins here in Guadalajara.  It’s almost like people don’t try to hide anything.  They just sin on the streets here.  I guess that’s the difference.  In Las Vegas, everyone sins indoors and not outside.  Pretty messed up here.  Lots of yougins in middle and high school doing things they shouldn’t.  Random people with porn magazines in their hands, porn magazines, newspapers, and dvds sold on the streets, drug dealers, gangsters, etc.  This place should just be called Perdition, the brother of Las Vegas.

Anyway, off that subject.  We are having more success in the area.  We are finding more investigators that are progressing and will progress.  So I guess when there is the most good, there is the most evil.  Like Nephi teaches, there must be opposition in all things such as; good and bad, man and woman, hot and cold, chair and table, black and  white, wood and rock, country and rap, weak and strong, toothbrush and Reeses, etc.  So I’m going to be grateful with the success we’re having.  Please continue to keep us and our investigators in your prayers.  That will help out a lot.

Hey, and guess what!?!!  Today we got a call from the assistants saying that we can email for two hours now.  Also the rule has changed to where we can email directly to family, friends, church leaders, and basically anyone other than our converts of the opposite sex.  That was the most shocking call!  From 45 minutes to 2 hours, and being able to write almost anyone that we want to.  This mission started out with thirty minutes.  Actually, we just got the call about ten minutes ago and my mind is just going LOCO!  But this doesn’t mean I’m going to do or use the two whole hours every week.  It might be on an occasion.

Do good, work hard, stay strong, and know that Elder Loveland is socking EVIL  in the jaw!

I hope you understand Spanish

I hope you understand Spanish because that´s what I wrote in.

This week we also had exchanges with the assistants this week. Elder Valis came with me to my area. It went pretty well. I know my area pretty decently now.

(Thanks to his grandma, we can read his letter.  No, I don't understand Spanish.)  :)

How are you?  Everything is fine here.  The relationship between Elder Jacinto and I is more or less.  At times it's difficult porque Elder Jacinto doesn't want to obey the rules.  It frustrates me a little.  He thinks that we can break the rules if it's for something good  He has good intentions, but we know where good intentions take us.  The road to hell is good intentions.  I've intended to explain the importance of obedience, but haven't had a chance.  I am completely obedient and he doesn't like some rules.  But other than that, we are fine.  He likes to work, but just lacks obedience with exactness.

Sister Wagner sent you a message through e-mail.  I think the zone conference went wel..

Oh, also, I'm going to stay here at least six months.  Today we're going to start the changes.  A district leader in my zone was changed to be a zone leader in another zone in Zapopah.

How's the reading in the Book of Mormon going for March Madness?  I hope to hear good news during the month.  I hear that you had an interesting experience in Kansas.  Ha, ha.

I love you all.  Have a good week.

I just love it here!

How was your week?  My week has gone alright.  I’m still adjusting to the new responsibilities and new area.  It still feels like a whole new life.

   

Congratulations A for making it into BYU-I.  A is going to be ahead of me in school.  Crazy!  Hopefully you can figure out housing and all of that stuff.  I too start school next January.  I have no idea how we’ll figure out my schooling especially since it is seeming like I will be on my mission until December 30^th.  Technically, that is the date that I leave the mission.  We will see what happens. 

So tomorrow I have a zone conference.  Elder Jacinto and I are in charge of setting it up, lunch and teaching ninety minutes of it.  That will be interesting.  Please keep us in your prayers for tomorrow.  Also could you please pray for us and our zone to learn new things?

Jorge and Erendira are now on the way to getting married.  They have filled out some papers and are now waiting for something from the government which will take a couple weeks.  Once they are married they will be able to be baptized.  I’m looking forward to that.  Also, could you pray for Pedro and Victor with the word of wisdom problems?

     

It’s quite weird now.  I can’t imagine my life not being in a mission or not being in Mexico.  There are so many things I love about here.  I never would have been able to say that before the mission but now…..I don’t even want to leave Mexico and the Spanish speaking.  Let me just tell ya’ll right now that it is going to be super hard leaving the mission in ten months.  When you truly come to love the people, culture and country, you just want to stay.  Even the small idea of not having tortillas every meal makes me not want to return.  I just love it here!  Here’s an idea….you should all just move down here to Mexico when I finish my mission.  That goes for all immediate family, extended family, the ward, and friends.  Then I wouldn’t have the desire to return.  Sounds like a good idea right?  Let’s put it to action.  Now seriously, only eight months here in Mexico and it’s what I’m thinking.  Ten more months!?!?!?  When that time comes hopefully I won’t go insane.

If you can learn anything from this letter, learn to love life in the moment and make every precious moment count.  Do good, stay strong, work hard, and make time count.  I love you.

Worst house to best house

How’s it going?  It’s true.  I have a lot of responsibilities.  My companion Elder Jacinto is also a zone leader. 

Yes, my apartment is way different.  We have a microwave, two bathrooms, running water, working toilets, warm water for showering, and a place of privacy to be able to dry clothes.  The house is definitely a ton better than the other house.  Actually, Sister Wagner said a couple weeks ago that the house in Villa Hidalgo is the worst in the mission.  Also now, my house is considered the best in the mission because we have a microwave.  The only critters we have had are two roaches and an average sized spider.

We do have investigators.  We have ones named Jorge and Erendira that are going to get baptized in early March.  We have to get them married now and they do have the desire. 

I too have heard of Jabari.  I heard about him when I was in San Diego.  That is super cool.

Where does Yadira’s family live here in Guadalajara?  

What does Adriana and her family think about me being in the same ward as her sister?  I’m in the same ward, but there are two areas of missionaries.  I’m in the other area.  But I still see her every Sunday, when we eat with her family, and at activities.  Her sister is also very nice to me and the missionaries.  She’s great!

Yes, there are also a billion changes from Villa Hidalgo too.  The air isn’t as fresh.  The roads are paved.  It’s not flat and there are very big and steep hills.  We take buses sometimes to get places.  There are tons of people outside always.  There are lots of immodest women, but that’s everywhere in the world I’m sure.

We get fed by members every day.  Most of the time, the food isn’t as good as it was in Villa Hidalgo.  We live by a big gorge (canyon) which is awesome.  I get to see it every day.

    

Well I love you family.  Do good, be strong and BE OBEDIENT!!!  Love ya!

It's a small world

Crazy week and full of emotions!  Well again, I am a zone leader in the Independencia zone/Stake.  My ward also as my area is Arquitectura.  There are two companionships in my ward.  The other wards are Independencia, Auditorio, Huerta, and Huentitan.  I’m in charge of this zone and the district leaders in it with my companion Elder Jacinto. 

Elder Jacinto is from Villa Hermosa, Tobasco, MX.  He is a really good missionary, and he really shows his love towards others when he teaches.  He is also obedient.  I’ve been pretty blessed with companions on my mission so far. 

I also saw Adriana’s mom and sister this week two times.  I actually ate at her sister’s house, sister Corral, yesterday on Sunday.  When I got there it was a bit normal, until her sister told me to look at some of her pictures.  She asked me if I recognized them and I told them that they look familiar.  Then she pointed out her sister Adriana to me.  I also noticed her mom in the picture and freaked out a bit.  Basically we talked a lot while eating, and they really liked talking to me having that connection.  They were so nice to me.  I was very grateful for that experience.  It really was one that I needed after a week not being in Villa Hidalgo with all the people I love.  Anyway, that was a small world experience.  But that’s not it!!  

I also ate with another family this week named the Calzadas.  When we were there, the parents told me that their son was serving a mission in San Diego.  I asked them when he entered, and they said May of last year.  I started freaking out in my mind.  I remembered back to an experience in San Diego.  We were at the transfer meeting in San Diego, and it was the one where I got transferred to Ramona and Julian.  There was an elder from Guadalajara that entered the mission at that transfer meeting.  At that time, I looked at my companion and told him (In San Diego with Elder Higbee and Elder Heredia), “Hey, that’s the mission I should be in.”  In the transfer meeting, I actually talked to that elder and told him that I was waiting for my visa to go to Guadalajara.  So I told the Calzadas family about my experience and they treated me very nicely.  When we finished eating, they showed me his pictures.  I recognized him, Elder Campbell, Elder Guier, and a couple other missionaries in the pictures.  It was so neat.  I let them know that their son is in a good mission with a good mission president.

I also did get the packages.  Thank you so much.  I really did enjoy the candies, white shirts, and shirts.  I sleep with my Captain America shirt every night.  Thank you so much.  I’m thinking about throwing out all of my stained white shirts.  So if I could get a few more short sleeved white shirts that would help a lot.  

I have gotten the quote by President Benson.  It is pretty neat.

Yes little g, I read the Book of Mormon every single day of my life…haha

I don’t really like doing exchanges with other missionaries even though I’ve had good times and learned a lot.  I like to stay in my area.

For personal study, we study in our native language.  I study my Preach My Gospel in Spanish.  I just began Alma today in my studies.

    

I love my little sisters!!!

    

Also in the interviews two weeks ago, President Wagner told me that I was going to be a zone leader in Guadalajara.  It was interesting.  He also said that he was pleased with what I did in Villa Hidalgo.  These pictures are the last day I had with Elder Montiel.

Anyway, I love you.  Do good, stay strong, and trust in the Lord.