HAPPY THANKSGIVING! BARE YOUR TESTIMONY! MISSION BEST FOR YOUNG MAN & THE DREAM TEAM

FROM SISTER CALL IN THIS WEEK'S LETTER:

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.  It turns what we have into enough, and more.  It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity.  It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.  Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow."  Mosiah 18:23 “…and also every day they should give thanks to the Lord their God.”   

I am grateful for each one of you.    Abrazos……..Hermana Call

Honestly, this mission is the best thing to do for a young man before he does anything in life. My poor wife, whomever she may be, will be infinitely more appreciative that she didn´t have to deal with me as a normal man without the mission. My boss, wherever I may go, will be happy because I´m not like the rest of the men in the world. There are just certain principles that a missionary learns and SHOULD continue to practice and strive to do after the mission that can literally change the world. We are the light of the world and we can´t just hide anything. Let your light so shine, wherever you may be. I´m so grateful for the mission experience and it´s the best thanksgiving gift I can give is go and find more people. Same with Christmas.... it´s like Christ-más (Christ-more ) every day as a missionary. No better place to be. 

Anyway, I think the fact that it´s almost over is getting me but this week was super awesome. The Lord sent 12 investigators with a baptismal date to church yesterday and that is almost unheard of right now in the mission. IT IS NOT US! We are simply instruments in His hands. Please pray for them. These people are the following: 

-Brianda

-Edgar

-Carmen (Edgar´s wife- well, soon to be wife)

-José Luis (José Luis, Yolanda his wife, and Ana Laura the daughter)

-Yolanda

-Ana Laura

-Ricardo

-Alfredo (wife of a member less active)

-Camelia

-Cristian (with five little kids and he´s only 28! Born to be a Mormon!)

-Cintia (Cristian´s wife)

-Alicia (Brianda, Cristian, and Edgar´s mom)

Ricardo is separate, Camelia is separate, and Alfredo is separate, but the rest are from two families. The Church looks for families because we experience REAL GROWTH in Zion and we progress that much more. Oh, and guess what! Ricardo´s last name is ESCOGIDO! (chosen) We found that pretty funny. Well, I don´t have much time today to write because we still have to wash the laundry, but just know that the work will always go on until it has sounded in every ear. If we want the Millennium to come faster, preach the Gospel more! Fulfill the prophecies faster and then we might just experience something even greater in our lives. 

Don´t forget to share your testimony this week in Sacrament meeting! I invite you, but more importantly, God invites you because the testimony is strengthened by sharing it. 

Love you all! 

Elder Hill and Elder Sandoval

(aka-- "The Dream Team")

ps- I haven´t taken pictures... sorry. I´ll try and do that more but we are just so busy lately. I´ll take pics of our investigators this week so that you know them by face.  

COUNT YOUR MANY BLESSINGS!

ELDERS SANDOVAL AND HILL

It`s been a pretty spiritually crammed week, eh? These last two weeks have probably been the most tiring of my entire mission, and this last week we saw the fruits of all that work that we have been doing. 

Monday: 

We went to visit Brianda and Rodrigo at their house at night and they live fairly far from our house. We taught lesson 1, the Restoration, and Brianda accepted a baptismal date for the 15th of December. Blessing.  Rodrigo is a less active member. So, we leave their house and we started walking to the house and we were going to get home a little late with President`s permission. Suddenly a combi drives by and I whistle at it, it stops, and they tell us to get in. This combi was just going to the store but they took us to the corner next to our house and didn`t charge anything. Blessing. 

Tuesday: 

We went to eat with an older sister in the ward but because she was alone we had to eat outside and suddenly it started drizzling. We ate fast and went home to grab the sweaters because it was a little cold. We went to the Trebol to look for a contact that we had made a few days back and so we counted how many streets we had to go and we entered, knocked on the house, and no answer. We thought to ourselves, "Why are we here?" Knowing that the Lord put us there for a reason, we were there analyzing for like 3 minutes. I turn around and there is a little dry cleaning business there and so I feel like we need to contact them. A little old lady, Guadalupe, comes out and we explain the situation that we had been looking for someone, and then she explains that we had counted the blocks wrong. So we taught her lesson 1, too, and then she says at the end, "Good thing you boys made a mistake so that you could come bring me this wonderful message." Blessing. We left feeling a little stunned, thinking that maybe she might be a less active member, but no, she wasn`t. We are still teaching her. So we count the blocks correctly and nobody was home there either. Asking the same question, we feel like knocking two doors. From one, Gloria answered and from another answered Cintia. Both gave us appts to come back and share a message. Blessing. We leave there and go to talk to Brianda. We arrive and we teach the law of chastity because they aren`t married. They both understood and are making plans to get married. Blessing. 

Wednesday:

We go to a district meeting in the zone and one of the stinking sisters kept staring at me all through the meeting. I was super uncomfortable. CURSE. Pres. Call asked us to re-evaluate the goals for December to see if we would be inspìred to lower them so we helped them understand why that was and the zone goal went from 57 to 40, a very much more reasonable goal since we haven`t been fulfilling our goals as a mission. The mission goal went from 261 to 197. Blessing. I know that if we reach our goals now, we will all get more excited and work harder for January and on. After the uncomfortable district meeting, we went to the Trebol again and nobody was home, so we went with Rafa and Yamina, a really cool family here in the ward. Blessing. Rafa (Rafael) shared something that was really cool that I hadn`t understood in this way before. In D&C 18:15-16 it says that if we bring one soul unto Christ then how great will be our joy in the kingdom, and we will be so much more joyful with many souls. What Rafa explained is that the one soul that Christ asks for is OUR ONE SOUL, for how great will be OUR joy living with Him. The other souls come by helping others and preaching the Gospel. Just like on the airplanes when they talk about the O2 mask, save yourself, then you can help others. 

Thursday: 

We had weekly planning and we were about to go buy some enchiladas next to the house when the family where we live asked us if we had eaten and if we wanted some flautas (hard tacos). Blessing. We went and talked to Gloria in the Trebol and she said that she remembers when she was little a mormon family friend gave her a little doll for Christmas. This lady is like 70 something so if she still remembers it, it must have been a good experience. That`s our little window to have her allow us teach her family. Blessing. Patricia is an investigator that has been having the missionaries for a while. We stopped by to talk to her and I had noticed that something was wrong with her before but she didn`t tell us. This time, we talked about how if she goes to church she can receive revelation to know how to take care of that problem. I was talking to her about the blessings that she can receive and promising her that if she goes, she will feel better. She suddenly turns away and says that she felt something and that I should stop talking to her like that. We know it was the Spirit that she felt and that He was reprimanding her for not having taken the initiative to go. She said that she was going to go, but she didn`t. :(  Leaving her little store, we were walking to another appt and I suddenly felt that we should go down a fairly dark alley way. We did and we got to the end and noticed that it had no way out. Stopping and asking the same question as to why we were there, the words, "red door", came to mind and guess what? We were standing in front of a red door. We knock, and Alma comes out. She`s like 22 and she said that she had friends from the church and we made an appt to go back. Blessing. Later we find out that her cell number was already in our cell phone! Coincidence? I think not! 

Also on Thursday we went to see Rodrigo and Briando again. We walked in and Brianda looked totally different. This time she was radiating light (which was absent in past lessons) and she tells us that she didn`t receive her answer by praying, rather by sharing her experience and what she has been learning with her brother Cristian and mom, Alicia. 

Friday: 

Exchanges with Elders Ferrin and Castillo. Martha is an investigator of theirs who hasn`t progressed in more than a year! I knew why at the end of the lesson. She wasn`t praying the right way. She was praying in like third person or something. We explained it to her and I know that it will help her a lot by having a communication with her Heavenly Father. 

Saturday: 

We go visit Cristian and Cintia and they are super excited to go to church. They said that they are going to close their restaurant and go to church. Blessing. They both accept a baptismal date for the 15th of December. Blessing. 

Sunday: 

Adalberto goes to church alone and says that he was going to get baptized somewhere else but he had to move. He investigated the time and place, and showed up alone. Miracle. Yolanda, José Luis, and Ana Laura, a family of three said that they didn`t want to go to church when we contacted them. Suddenly they show up and love it and they`ve come two weeks now, and say that they`ll come next week, too! Miracle. We called Camelia to see why she wasn`t able to go to church and turns out that she was all ready to go and there was a shooting outside her house so she wasn`t able to leave. Opposition. Cristian and Cintia had something come up in the business and couldn`t make it. Opposition. We had several investigators in church and the Sacrament meeting attendance rose a lot. Blessing. 

Basically, there are tons of blessings. Just count them and you will see that we have more blessings than oppositions. 

Love you all. Gotta go. 

Elder Hill 

pic- Sandoval and me when it was really cold outside. (In the 50`s.) I`m going to be in trouble when I get home and it`s SNOWING! 

Jared, Pray for the Gonzalez-Valdespino Family, Companion on the Same Level, SCORPIONS in the House & Redheads are Good Luck!!

ROBERTO Y ELDER HILL ~ JARDINES

So do you remember the 10 year old kid, Jared, from Jardines who had Leukemia? When I left in September he was doing fine, at home playing video games and all that. The other day I heard that he was going to have a heart transplant. Today we went to Jardines so that we could talk to Roberto about my companion`s knee and he told me that Jared passed away Saturday morning. I remember when the whole process started we went to visit them and I ended up sharing a message that I felt inspired. I talked about the plan that was created and that if Jared ended up passing to the other side that they needed to stay strong and stay in the church. I thought it was harsh at the time and when he was getting better I just thought how great that nothing had happened. Now that he has passed away, he really is in a better place and without a diseased and suffering body. Please pray for the Gonzalez-Valdespino family. 

Well, we did exchanges this week and I was with Elder Quintana. He`s a funny guy and he takes sleeping pills at night because he`s been having a really hard time not sleeping. At like 10:15p he lays down to go to sleep and I`m sitting there on the bed thinking about reading a little and he starts telling me that the light bulb is yellow, but then as he turns his head to one side it turns blue, then purple! He was just talking and talking and then he just fell asleep. It was seriously a funny moment. Something else that happened while I was with him is we got into the combi to go to another appt and a little girl sitting in the back corner pinches her little brother. The little brother gets mad and says, "Why did you pinch me?!" the little girl whispers, "Shhhh... it`s a redhead.... their good luck... I`ll tell you later!" So, even in Mexico people pinch just because they see a red head. 

ELDER SANDOVAL MAKING DESSERT

This week we found five new people who accepted a baptismal date. We`ve been seeing the fruits of working hard and being obedient. It`s so nice to be with a companion who is on the same level as me. I mean, the Spirit is who does all the work but it`s just different being with a companion who has the experience and knows his stuff well. And at church, five new people showed up to church without us even doing anything. They just showed up and happened to like it and said that they will come next week. Three of them was a Mom, Dad, and a son who E. Sandoval and Elder De Los Santos had contacted while we were on exchanges. When they contacted them they didn`t want anything, so they just left a card with our names and address of the church on it and pretty much just saying, `well, if you ever have time or want to stop by, here we are on Sunday`. SURPRISE! They show up. Miracles DO happen. 

CEREAL BOX ELDER HILL MADE MODEST

Oh, and we have scorpions that sneak into the house at night so we have to watch out. Also, I bought a box of cereal this week and the girl on the back wasn`t dressed very modestly, so, Sharpie made her modest. E. Sandoval made a dessert, too. I don`t know what it`s called in English or Spanish. But it`s like a quick lemon pie type thing. 

Well, other than that.... it was a pretty good week. I just don`t remember every little thing that happened. It`s hard to put 7 days or 168 hours into an email. Love you all! Have a fabulous week! 

Elder Hill  

Thanks for all of the birthday wishes, ONLY true Church, step up the righteousness and DESIRE to find, teach, and baptize the elect.

BIRTHDAY CARD FROM MEMBERS TO ELDER HILL

 This last week was a good one. Thanks for all of the birthday wishes that were sent my way. It made the day much brighter! 

Well, this is what happened this week: 

Monday: Washed clothes and got settled into the new house and new area. Went shopping for food. 

Tuesday: We were going to eat with Bro. Pinedo (I know his parents because they are from Jardines) but he couldn`t get to his house because a factory exploded and the traffic was awful. He had purchased 60 Tlacoyos (bean stuffed tortillas they sell on the street), 12 for each missionary. In Tepo there are 2 companionships. So, all of his food went to waste, unfortunately. Found a few members to visit and that`s about it. 

Wednesday: We had a leadership meeting for all of the DL, ZL, and the Sister Training Leaders. We talked a lot about helping our investigators and members understand our purpose as missionaries that we aren`t just here to teach people, but to also BAPTIZE them in the one and ONLY true Church on the face of the land. Too many times we just end up teaching and being too scared to invite them to be baptized. Last month the mission had a goal of 246 baptisms and we only finished with 29. We`ve got a lot to improve and step up the righteousness and DESIRE to find, teach, and baptize the elect. After the meeting, we had a meeting with the stake president, but before the meeting President Call went with us to an appt that we had. The person we were looking for wasn`t there and so we decided to look around and we ended up knocking a door that was literally staring at me with the little ‘eye hole’ thing. Leticia came out and we started talking to her. She didn`t have too much time but the real success happened when Presidente Call talked to her and he just testified that the gospel would help her with her son who is sick in bed. We prayed and it felt like she felt something new and nice. We have gone back, but haven`t been able to find her so far. 

Thursday: My first zone meeting as the zone leader giving the meeting. We taught everything that Pres. Call had taught us from Wednesday. It went pretty well and most of the missionaries have been putting everything in practice so that`s been good. We are seeing a little improvement so far.  Halloween night was crazy with people all over the streets. There were a lot who asked us the spanish trick or treat and seeing that we didn`t have anything other than pass along cards, we handed out a bunch of cards to families and kids. We should talk Pres. Call into letting us go trick or treating because  it`s a good proselyting activity. ;) 

Friday: All of our appts fell through. We went to visit so many people but weren`t able to because of the festivals. 31st is Halloween. Nov. 1st is day of the dead for the kid spirits who supposedly come back and the 2nd is day of the dead for the adults. There were still hundreds of people in the street going from one store to another (most go to the stores here instead of houses because there are so many houses) and we had to go back to the house early because drunk guys were starting to make us uncomfortable. You have to understand... it`s a little pueblo that`s really devote to the traditions and liquor. 

Saturday: We contacted a few referrals. Went to the Trebol, a little colony where some members live. Met Hermano Rafa. He`s the stake secretary and also plays soccer wicked awesome. He`s a good guy and invited us to eat.... but you know... it was first Sunday. :) I think he forgot. 

Sunday: The first Sunday in Tepo. I had heard a lot of things about the ward from the zone leaders when I was in Jardines but it`s just different living it. When we sang the Sacrament hymn and took the Sacrament, only like 20 people were present. By the end of the meeting our attendance was at 89. It`s the most important meeting in the Church. We should all be there early and with full purpose of heart. Rafa took one of his soccer students to church and he really liked it. I`ll let you know more about him this week. 

ELDER SANDOVAL Y ELDER HILL MEXICO CIUDAD NORTE MISION

Monday: here I am, again. Picture of Elder Sandoval and I. I came out super white. 

I would have taken pictures of the altars and skeletons and all that but really I`d like to not get robbed and keep my camera. It would have been too crazy to take pictures. I`ll try and take more. 

Well, I know that this is the true Church. I`m on a mission to prove it. What are you doing? 

Loves you all! Have a fabulous week. 

Elder Hill 

(to ma, re: Spanish, release date) No. It´s Cómo Estás tú or Cómo está usted. One is polite and the first one is informal like with friends, fam, etc. 

I honestly haven´t talked to President about it. I just told him to do what date you had and from what I talked to him a little about, I´m out of my area as a missionary the 9th but I´m assuming that I won´t be with you until the 10th in the morning just because your flight gets here kind of late and all that. I´ll call him and ask him what I need to tell you. 

I´ll be on later. I just checked a few things. Also, I forgot to type the letter and all that so I´ll think about this week and I´ll have it for you this next week. 

Anything else? Oh, I´m going to try and write Mam a letter asap. I haven´t written her yet.

Tell everyone hola for me. Love yàll tons. Gotta go. Times up. We`ll talk more next week. Tell Mike, Des and Josh, Ryan…etc… hi too. 

loves.