IF THE SPIRIT MOVES YOU! THE BOOK OF MORMON ~ MORE INFO!

“And if ye shall believe in Christ ye will believe in these words, for they are the words of Christ, … and they teach all men that they should do good.” 2 Nephi 33:10

May 30, 2013

Hola Everyone! Welcome to my son Elder Matthew Hill's blog! Thank you for supporting him and reading his letters!
I have become increasingly aware the past few months of the world-wide attention this blog has gotten. Many stumble upon it looking for something else. I get several comments weekly, anything from thanking me for the information  to complete fascination at the contents of letters they stumble upon. I have decide to add this page in the faith that this blog page can provide more information for the many that seem daily to become fascinated with Matthew's Blog and the contents therein.
If this is "you", and you have some warm fuzzy feelings reading the posts here, and are interested in learning more about the things he speaks of, I invite you to visit the links I provide below. You should be able to get the content in any language.

I invite you to read the content of the Book below. Ponder the things you read. Listen to your spirit. There is a PROMISE in this Book that the TRUTH will be revealed to you. Pray to your God, our Heavenly Father, with real intent to know if these things you read are true, and ask Him with FAITH in Jesus Christ, our Lord, if these things you read are true. The Holy Ghost/Spirit will manifest to you by that same warmth, that this is indeed a Testament of Jesus Christ and is His restored Gospel.
"And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. " (Moroni 10:4)

CHAT WITH A MISSIONARY!

Young men and women ages 18-20 spend 18-24 months away from their family, friends, TV, texts, phone calls, movies, dating, etc. to go where they are assigned to share this Gospel of Jesus Christ. They are allowed an email a week to family and 2 phone calls a year home. The rest of the time, they concentrate on sharing this message with others.
IF YOU PREFER TO CHAT WITH A MISSIONARY LIKE ELDER HILL, SIMPLY CLICK THE LINK ^^^^ ABOVE!

My love to you all. Thank you for visiting this site. :) Wendy, (aka. Elder Hill's mom) 

FREE DOWNLOAD OF THE BOOK (free of spyware, malware, etc.): Cebuano, Chinese, Danish, English, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Italiano, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Español, Swedish, Tagalog, Tongan.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO! (Hope I got these languages right!) 
ENG (AU), ENG (NZ), ENG (UK), Español, Deutsch, Português, Pу́сский , Français, Nederlands, 日本人, 中国话的, Svenska, Українці, հայերեն, Italiano, Latvijas, Tagalog, 한국어/조선말, Cebuano, Indonesian, Polski, ไทย , Dansk, Hrvatski, Magyar, Norsk, Română, Slovenščina

Electronic text and audio recordings are also available on the Church’s mobile applications.

Electronic text is also available on the Church's LDS View application.

Audio recordings are available on iTunes and will soon be available at LDS Media Library.

Free copies of the Holy Bible and Book of Mormon are also available for those of other faiths.

Special Braille files are available online in English Braille and Spanish Braille. 

“Its origin is miraculous; when the story of that origin is first told to one unfamiliar with it, it is almost unbelievable. But the book is here to be felt and handled and read. No one can dispute its presence..." (L. Tom Perry)

(Excerpts from a talk by President Thomas S. Monsen about these promises & blessings , titled, "Precious Promises of the Book of Mormon") From its pages comes the promise of “never-ending happiness” to “those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual” (Mosiah 2:41).

From its pages comes the promise of “incomprehensible joy” to those who become “instrument[s] in the hands of God” in rescuing His precious sons and daughters (Alma 28:8; 29:9).

From its pages comes the promise that scattered Israel will be gathered—a work in which we are engaged through our great worldwide missionary efforts (see 3 Nephi 16; 21–22).

From its pages comes the promise that as we pray unto the Father in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, our families will be blessed (see3 Nephi 18:21).

From a study of its pages comes the fulfillment of the prophetic promise that “there will come into your lives and into your homes an added measure of the Spirit of the Lord, a strengthened resolution to walk in obedience to His commandments, and a stronger testimony of the living reality of the Son of God.”¹

And from the pages of the Book of Mormon comes Moroni’s promise that through prayer, real intent, and faith in Christ, we may know the truth of these promises “by the power of the Holy Ghost” (see Moroni 10:4–5).

With other latter-day prophets, I testify of the truthfulness of this “most correct of any book on earth,”² even the Book of Mormon,another testament of Jesus Christ. Its message spans the earth and brings its readers to a knowledge of the truth. It is my testimony that the Book of Mormon changes lives. May each of us read it and reread it. And may we joyfully share our testimonies of its precious promises with all of God’s children.

The Book of Mormon is published in 107 languages, and many of them are available in multiple formats online.
(Links are provided above^^)

History

In March 1830, 5,000 copies of the Book of Mormon were printed in the E. B. Grandin print shop in Palmyra, New York. From that humble beginning, today the Church prints over 3 million copies a year on large web presses. By the end of this year, nearly 150 million copies will have been distributed. Truly, this important witness of Jesus Christ is beginning to cover the earth.

It is also interesting to note the increasingly rapid pace of translation work. In its first 100 year history (1830-1930), the Book of Mormon was translated into 16 languages. In the next 68 years (1931-1999), all or part of the Book of Mormon was translated into another 80 languages. Today, all or part of the Book of Mormon has been translated into 107 languages. 82 are translations of the full book and 25 are translations of Selections from The Book of Mormon, which contains the doctrinal teachings amounting to approximately one third of the full book.
AGAIN, TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS, CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO! (Hope I got these languages right!) 
ENG (AU), ENG (NZ), ENG (UK), Español, Deutsch, Português, Pу́сский , Français, Nederlands, 日本人, 中国话的, Svenska, Українці, հայերեն, Italiano, Latvijas, Tagalog, 한국어/조선말, Cebuano, Indonesian, Polski, ไทย , Dansk, Hrvatski, Magyar, Norsk, Română, Slovenščina

Por Fin!! (Finally!) What A Week, Bautismo, Trial After Trial, Lean On The Lord....

Elder Matt Hill, Elder Orozoco, Flor, Alora & Larisa at bautismo, (not sure who is who!)

Hola!

What a week! Flor, Aurora, and Larisa were FINALLY baptized! It`s been something like two months since we began teaching them and we`ve had trial after trial after trial to get them baptized but the work has paid off. They will be confirmed next week and will be official members of the one and only true Church. It was funny because we`ve been joking this week of all that has happened to prevent them from being baptized and then Aurora was baptized 5 times because her dress kept popping up. Finally. 

Por Fin!! (Finally...a baptism!) Elder Matt Hill, Elder Orozoco, Flor, Alora & Larisa at bautismo!

This week we went over to a member’s house to take a picture with an older hermana who is only in town for a little bit but wanted a picture with us. We got there and she said, "My grand-daughter is here should I go get her?" and without us even responding she went upstairs to get her grand-daughter. She`s our age, name is Yatziri, and is one of those people who has been prepared to hear the Gospel. So far we`ve taught her three times and in every lesson she has cried because she felt the Spirit. She accepted her baptismal date for April 28th without any problem. She didn`t know that her mom is actually a member of the Church, but inactive for years. She remembers that she went to a church where they taught her to not believe in idols and all that, but she didn`t remember which one it was. Her grandma told her the other day that her mom had been baptized as well. She has a friend who has invited her to another church and she has gone twice but she told us on the first day that after feeling the Spirit she felt `located` or comfortable here. She went to church and the baptism yesterday and loved it all. 

Yesterday I woke up at 7:10a (Church starts at 8 and normally we get up at 6 on Sundays) and I told Orozco that the phone`s alarm didn`t go off. We hurried up and got to church a little late. Later, Orozco told me that the alarm did go off but that I hit snooze and rolled back over. (LOL, he used to do that and sleep through 3 LOUD alarms and 2 alarm clocks, but then get up bright and early 99% of the time!) I don`t remember ANYTHING that happened before I woke up. It must have been one of those nights that I was just super tired. Ooops.

Well, that`s about all that has been going on. We`re working on finding new people to teach but it`s been a little tough. Today I listened to President Eyring`s talk again from Saturday morning`s session and I felt yet again the power that comes from his testimony. All of the Prophets and Apostles are chosen by Christ Himself and He guides this church because it is His. He talks to President face to face just as he did with Moses on Mount Sinai. The Church is true. No doubt about it. I hope everyone has a great week. Reach out to someone who needs the Gospel and make their day, and maybe even their life. (Mamá- man I LOVE this kid, his testimony, dedication & spirit!)

Loves, 

Elder Hill 

P.S. Mamá-Just keep doing what you know you need to do and that will be enough. If we are being obedient and things still don`t work out how we want them to, then we have to trust in the Lord that he is doing what is best to shape and form us. D&C 82:10 and D&C 68:6. I hope that you don`t have to move, but when I left we knew that it was a possibility. We`ll see what happens in the coming months. 

Love you. Lean on the Lord. "When life`s troubles come upon you and you find yourself to weak to stand, kneel." It will all be okay in the end, speaking of an eternal perspective. 

Ma: Des got a pretty high score on math, recommended for honors math at MPJH!

EH: That`s great. Tell her congrats for me. 

Gotta go now. Have a great week. Love you. 

Elder Hill 

His email said..."Fat Boy" must've found his favorite...ice cream, 'cause he's not the type to say..."fat-boy"

There is Sunshine in Our Souls AND ¡Un Año en la Mísion! (1 Year on the Mission)

The weather this last week has been "cold" and a little different. It was between 55-60 F during the day and everyone was walking around in fur coats and beanies meanwhile my companion and I were enjoying the spring like weather! It´s also been a little more cloudy than normal, but there has been sunshine in our souls. Out of nowhere, the blessings began to come this last week. We have about 15 referrals from members and lots of other people that we are trying to contact as well. 

Flor is a single mom who used to go to the Christian church and was really involved there until some things happened and she starting to separated herself from there. She has a friend who is a member and she shared the gospel with Flor and we went to see her. We taught her about the Restoration and she has lots of questions and doubts, but she likes it. She went to church yesterday and loved it and has a baptismal date for 9 February. 

Enrique is a self-referral from Mormon.org and is interested. He´s 43 and has had several bad experiences with other churches that have led him to investigate our church. He sent his information back in July but the missionaries never checked the referrals page that we use. He is reading the Book of Mormon and is willing to be baptized when he receives his answer from God that the Book is blue and the Church is True. 

Pascual and his wife Paola, daughters Paulina and Daniela are a family that contacted us when we went to look for someone who ended up not being home. Pascual was sick with early stages of kidney failure and wanted something in English to read so his wife talked to me on the street. We made an appointment and brought English pamphlets and the Liahona. They all went to church yesterday and dressed like members! Everyone thought that it was a family visiting. They´re pretty cool and are progressing well. 

Kelloggs Factory in Matthew's area of Querétaro, México

 Read the Liahona

I found a quote this week that I like-- 

"Live each day as if you were going to live eternally, for you surely shall." President Gordon B. Hinckley

 Click here to read: Pillars of Truth ~ Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley Jan 94 Ensign First Pres. Message

Querétaro Area

All too often we think that we should live like we are going to die tomorrow, but what would the difference be if we thought about how all of the choices that we make here will all be of eternal consequence. Repent not at your deathbed, but as President Uchtdorf said in conference- that we need to make the daily decisions so that when we are dying we don´t have regrets. Live the Gospel of Jesus Christ through His Church, and all will be well. Click here to read: Of Regrets and Resolutions ~ Pres. Dieter F. Uchtdorf Conference Oct. 2012

Have a FANTASTIC week! 

Elder Hill 

Seeing The Mission Through New Eyes!

2 MATEO'S!! Elders Matthew Hill & Matthew Clayton

Bueno!

This week is week number one for Elder Matt Clayton from Henderson (Las Vegas), Nevada! I told him where my grandma lives and he´s like, 'Oh yeah, those streets!' So, I´m not sure if he really knew, but it was funny! Elder Taylor left and Elder Treviño left as well to other areas.

I´m seeing the mission through new eyes now. All the little things that I have gotten used to and are just normal now, are extremely astonishing to my companion. I am also realizing that the Lord prepares whom He calls because I didn´t really feel ready to train a new missionary, but it´s not so hard. The new things that have sparked a reaction are the following:

-All the dogs in the street

-Teaching real people who accept the invitation to read the B.of M. because they want to

-Stopping people in the street to talk to them about the Church

-Eating weird things (consumé- greasy soup with beans and veggies....and chicken legs)

-Mexican people who talk so fast you don´t catch anything they say

-Well, this one I´ll just say people are more open about their feelings here than at home

-Teaching a lesson in a van while going to another area and this person saying he´s been looking for answers the last few months

-Things the Spanish teachers teach them from other countries that NOBODY does or says here

-and the list will go on for a few more weeks! :)

I ate Dominos pizza at the training meeting on Monday-- Dominos for the first time in a long time. Everyone says that they get sick when they eat American food, but it was delicious and I didn´t get sick at all! The funniest thing that Elder Clayton told me when he got here was that he remembers reading my blog before he went to the MTC.

Also, my voice is cracking again. I think my voice is hitting stage two of "the changing phase". It´s kind of funny when I speak Spanish and words that are accented funny because my voice cracks and I turn red and try not to laugh because it´s super funny. Oh, the things that entertain a missionary!

Something neat that happened was yesterday. We got in a van to go to another village and a little after we got in, a man stopped the van to climb in. As I saw him through the window I felt like I had talked to him before or at least seen him. He got in and sat by me. After a few seconds I asked him if I knew him. He said no. I introduced myself to him, and him to me, and I  said that we were missionaries. Jesús is his name, and he said that he knew that we were missionaries. He had been investigating religions lately and read something about our Church, Joseph Smith, and the Book of Mormon. As about 20 minutes of our ride went on, I taught him the whole first lesson, explained the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith, and gave it to him. He is the first person that I have met that describes the scripture in D&C 123:12  that says the people are kept from the truth because they don´t know where to find it. He´s a chosen one- he´s ready to be baptized. We just need to be able to meet with him because his family doesn´t like other religions coming over, so that would be a problem.

We have other people to teach, but I´m out of time to tell you about them. None of our investigators went to church this week so it was a bit of a downer, but all will be well.

Gotta go. Love you all! Keep your chin up and congrats on the beginning of a new school year.... or just another month if you´re an old person.

Elder Hill

Transfers, Training and the HONEYBEE!

This is the Honeybee that stung my throat...Elder Hill rightly chastens below:

Hey peeps,

This week is a little bit of craziness, but let me share you just a little bit of what´s going on.

We continued teaching Paulino and his family. He said that he believes that the Book of Mormon is true but that he can´t just change his religion overnight after being catholic for 50 years. I think it is more of a pride thing because he can change, but he fears what others might say if he changes. He is a great guy and his family are great people. I have high hopes for them. He came to church yesterday and sat through testimony meeting which is a bit of a miracle. In 3 months he hasn´t come to church, but he did yesterday. He left after sacrament meeting because his granddaughter came to visit. I´ll take a miracle step by step if I have to!

Yoletzi is a part member family. She came to church, too. She has a baptismal date for the 16th, I think. She´s so going to get baptized.

We were looking for a family on Saturday and a lady comes out and stops us and tells us that her son, 16 yrs old, has been acting weird, having visions, screaming, and a whole bunch of other things. We went and talked to him and there was definitely a heavy feeling there, but not too overbearing. After trying to figure out what was going on, there was a point when we asked him if he knew us. He said yes, that we were the "intelligent eyes". There were several occasions when he looked me in the eye and I felt that I knew before this life, whatever spirit he has. Crazy. We left pretty soon because he was on drugs and we can´t do anything when he´s like that. After studying the scriptures and Jesus the Christ Sunday morning,  I realized just how parallel everything that was happening with us happened with Christ when he cast out demons. We went again yesterday and gave him a blessing, but he was still a little crazy. We told his dad to start praying every day so that his son would be healed. His dad accepted a baptismal date. On Tuesday we´ll go back to visit his family.

Treviño is now a Zone Leader in Queretaro and I get to train a new Elder from the United States of America! I still don´t know who because they are still in the airport and I´m in the offices waiting with the other trainers. I´ll let you know next week, if Hermana Call doesn´t send a picture this week.

Well, gotta go. Sounds like Josh is doing good. Tell him to keep up the good work. Congrats to Abel Chavez and your mission call! What a champ!

Keep your chin up and move forward!

Elder Hill

Mom’s FB post with the honeybee…(BEWARE OF LEAVING YOUR SODAS UNCOVERED IN SUMMER, the BEES LOVE them!! Funny today, miserable yesterday! Had a WICKED ride marathon @ Lagoon with Destiny Michelle, Jaxie Taylor, & Alex. We rode 16 times, 8 straight without even getting off! We walk down and Alex & I grab our drinks, take my Rockstar and guzzle it..Feel lump, then pain and sting! Ran to car and drank water, induced vomiting! VIOLA! A dang honeybee stung me and left stinger by epiglottis! HORRIBLY painful. Hours, benedryl, prilosec & zyrtec later, miserable. So to the ER I go!)

The honey bee is a sign that you should stop drinking Rockstars and caffeine and eat more natural fruits, vegetables, and grains. They will give you more long lasting and healthy sugar. After teaching the word of wisdom so long, I can only tell it how it is. The word of wisdom is principally to free our body from ADDICTIONS, not necessarily what the pamphlet just says. There is a scripture in Corinthians that says ´the letter killeth; the spirit enlighteneth´or something like that. Look it up. (2^nd Cor. 3:6 ~ Who also hath made us able ^aministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the^bspirit giveth life.)

(Latter-day Saints know that true doctrine comes by revelation from God, not by scholarship or worldly wisdom (see Moses 5:58). Similarly, the Apostle Paul wrote that we are not “sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God” (2 Corinthians 3:5). Rather than trusting in our own interpretations of written texts, we rely on God and the glorious “ministration of the spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:8). Here we encounter a new meaning of Paul’s familiar teaching that true believers are “ministers … of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life” (2 Corinthians 3:6).)

Steve told me about Abel. That´s cool. Tell him congratulations for me.

Gotta go.

Lo Mejor de Ambos Lados ~ (Best of Both Sides) and A Lamb In A Wheelbarrow, Now Missing it's Hoof(ves)

Me with a lizard in the street that Elder Baez
caught when we were on exchanges

Hey,

Bummer to hear about Tom passing away. He was a really great guy. 

Tell Chris sorry to hear about his brother. That´s a bummer also, but he´s in a better place being taught the Gospel.

I still haven´t received the package, either. It should come this week, but I don´t really know. Should get it before transfers on the 3rd.

Something I´ve learned and dealt with here in Mexico is just because one is released doesn´t mean they should stop going to church. A member of the Church never gets released from being a member nor un-assigned from visiting/home teaching. Christ doesn´t need the church; we need the church in order to make it back to His presence. If we don´t fulfill with ALL of the ordinances, we won´t be able to make it back. And ONLY in this Church do we have that opportunity. It isn´t a game, it´s salvation.

The mission is great. I´m enjoying everything that I do. And I won´t be coming home early.... sorry! (I had a dream/nightmare, really that he came back early from an injury! We are thrilled even if we miss him, we don't wanna see him early!)

LOOK TO SEE IF TRANSLATE WILL WORK ON TOP OF BROWSER OR TO RIGHT CLICK TRANSLATE. I have always wanted him to write in Spanish and as I received this, I wanted to beg him not to! I have attempted to do so here... (Wendy)

Muy buenas tardes a todos, (Very good afternoon to all)

 

Ésta semana estuvo muy bien. (This week was very good.) México ganó el oro en las Olimpiadas en Inglaterra y Estados Unidos ganó a México en un partído nacional aquí, entonces tengo lo mejor de ambos lados de mi mente. (Mexico won gold in the Olympics and the United States won Mexico, so it's the best of both sides on my mind.)

 

United States 1, Mexico 0. U.S. Wins in Mexico, (Soccer) for the First Time In 75 Years!

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/16/sports/soccer/soccer-roundup.html

 

Ésta semana yo leí un discurso que se llama "Only an Elder" por Bruce R. McKonkie y ese hombre era muy poderoso. (This week I read "Only An Elder, by Bruce R. McKonkie, he is a powerful man.) http://www.lds.org/ensign/1975/06/only-an-elder?lang=eng 

Aprendí mucho de lo que yo debo hacer y ser como misionero y miembro de ésta iglesia. Lo recomiendo para todos, aunque sean mujeres.  (I learned more of what I have to do as a missionary and member of this Church. I recommend it for everyone, even the woman.) También estaba leyendo otro discurso que se llama "The Transforming Power of Faith and Character" por Richard G. Scott de la Conferencia de Octubre 2010, http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2010/10/the-transforming-power-of-faith-and-character 

creo. Igual, aprendí muchisimo is es una fuente muy poderosa de lo que tenemos que hacer como miembros y discípulos de Cristo. (A lot is learned and (these) are a very powerful source(s) for us to know what we should do as (Church) members and Disciples of Christ.)

 

Hilda todavía quiere tomar un bautizmo y eso es muy bueno. (Hilda wants to be baptized and that is very good.) Solo tenemos unos detalles con ella porque tiene que ir a Veracruz otra vez para trabajar, y no sabemos todavía lo que va a hacer. (We have details to work out because he has to work in Veracruz) Encontramos una persona que se llama Victor. Es muy buena persona y acceptó su fecha bautismal, (We found a person named Victor, he is a very good person, we accept his baptismal date,) pero no pudo venir a la capilla ayer porque se esposa tuvo una cita con el ultrasonido para su embaraza. (he could not come yesterday because his wife had an ultrasound appointment.) Lo vamos a visitar hoy. (We will visit today.) Nadia se mudó hasta otro lado y ya no podemos vistarle, tampoco la dieron permiso sus padres para bautizarse. (Nadia moved to the other side, so we cannot visit, nor did parents give permission to baptize (her).) Vamos a dejar Edgar y Denise una semana más para ver sí deciden que quieren venir a la iglesia y cumplir con sus compromisos. (We leave Edgar & Denise for another week to see if they will come to church & fulfill their commitments) No es su tiempo todavía. (It's not their time yet) Estamos enseñando a Paulino y su familia. (We are teaching Paulino & family) Son investigadores de años con muchos misioneros. (Some investigators spent years with many missionaries.) Su hija es miembro, pero no vive aquí. (Her daughter is a member, but does not live here.) Su problema es que estan un poco duros de corazón pero lo ésta (Her problem is a little hard heart, (softening.) ablandando mucho, y éstan progresando poco a poco. (progressing a little) Por fin estan leyendo el Libro de Mormón, so faltan que lean y oran para recibir una respuesta. (They are finally reading the Book of Mormon, so now to pray and receive a confirmation of it's truth/ a reponse.) José tomó despúes de su bautizmo, como una semana, pero ya está bien. Él quiere dejar todo atrás y empezar de nuevo. (I think it says Jose took off after his baptism, about a week later is doing well but left for a fresh start...basically.)

Me "playing" the guitar with a hat and
ray-ban´s looking like a country song

Tuvimos entrevistas el Viernes y fueron muy bien. Hablé con presidente, y me siento muy bien en mi progreso como persona y misionero. (Interviews Friday went very well, I spoke to President (Call), I feel I am progressing very well as a person & missionary.)

 

Pués, es todo. No hay nada más interesante pasando aquí. (Well that's all, Nothing more interesting here) Vamos a seguir trabajando y haciendo todo lo posible para encontrar personsas para enseñar. (We will keep working to encounter people to teach.) Que hagan todo lo posible para ser lo mejor que pueda, en si mismo, y no comparandose con otras personas. (Make every effort to be the best you can, in yourselves, don't compare yourself to others.)

 

Hasta luego, (Until then,)

Elder Hill

Wait until the 3rd and I will tell you what´s up. (re: transfers) Also, you can add this to my letter, but I´m not going to write in Spanish. (WHEW!!)

Now, The Lamb!  CAUTION: READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED

On Saturday, we went to find a person in a village called Anaya. We ended up finding somebody else, but right as we started talking to them, some guy came out to the street with a lamb in a wheelbarrow. I thought, "Huh.... he´s just going to wheel the sheep to where he needs it instead of walking it. That´s strange." But no, it was even more strange. He just takes it to the side of a ditch and kills it. Elder Treviño runs over to ask him what he is doing and he jsut says that they have some baptisms tomorrow so they are going to cook some barbacoa lamb. So, while I am teaching these two people outside of their house, Treviño is over there taking pictures and recording the whole thing. When I finish, I go over and contact the guy and tell him that we are missionaries. At one point in the process, the guy breaks one of the hoofs off to have his kids take it to start being cleaned to cook. Then my companion asks if he can break one of the remaining three, and he does! Then I, being a little bit competitive, decided that I would ask, too, and I got to break one! I was a little more worried about blood getting on my shirt than my companion, but I came out clean. Normally I would say "No way!", but only once in my life will I ever be able to say that I broke a sheep hoof in my mission. That was the strangest part of the mission so far, because I saw everything-- from skinning, to hanging it in a tree and taking all the parts out. (I'll bet that GROSSED him out!)

Gotta go, Love you.

IT`S PRETTY SWEET TO THINK THAT I`M FULFILLING A PROPHECY! :) DON'T DELAY! IT'S GETTING LATE.

Always has reminded me of Elder Matthew Hill!
(Artwork by Greg Olsen ~ permission granted for us in this blog) https://www.facebook.com/gregolsenfan

Buenas Tardes, 

This week went by super fast! Elder Treviño and I didn`t even notice it was Friday and now it`s Monday! Anyway, this week we had Zone Conference. That was great. We basically got told, "Good job, but why aren`t you guys working?" The Stake President showed up and said that it was an embarrassment to missionary work that a Stake took 20 years to be divided. Honestly, it was GREAT! I sometimes feel that people don`t understand what they need to do when they are told in a nice and round-about way. I think that the Zone (and me as well) will start to understand better what it means to be a missionary in these days. We are fulfilling prophecies of thousands of years past by Prophets of the Old Testament! We are also fulfilling prophecies in the Book of Mormon. It`s pretty sweet to think that I`m fulfilling a prophecy! :)

This week we were in a store that is owned by a member. Across the street is another store owned by our ward mission leader. So, some guy pulls up across the street on a red motorcycle  with a sombrero. The member across the street also has a red motorcycle. So, I whistle at this guy like (whooot-wooo)..... this guy turns around and looks at us and it was just some random guy who went to pick up something from the store. We just started laughing!! I learned to not whistle at people, no matter what.

Love is not looking at each other, it's
looking together in the same direction.

Our investigators Clementina and Nadia came to church yesterday. They are great people and are willing to learn. We don`t have very many new people to teach this week, so we are scrambling to get to work. Our baptisms should be for July 21. That will be cool.

Mexico City North Mission

Everyone here in my district keeps teasing me that I will be getting a call, everyone has started spreading rumors. Guys and gals-- rumors don`t end. They`re always there, but the topics change!

Jeffrey R. Holland ~ General Authority

This week I read Elder Holland`s talk from Conference- Laborers in the Vineyard. http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/04/the-laborers-in-the-vineyard Read it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYogSVAZZVU (Click to watch it!) My favorite part is the last line. Don`t delay! It`s getting late. If that just isn`t a Spirit filled line I don`t know what is!

My friends, I love ya`ll! Keep at it and be good.

Con amor,

Elder Hill

Farmland Journey and Citrus Essential Oil

No matter were i go or what I do, there will
always be a lot of "cop" in me!

HOLA!!!

Life in Tezontepec is super cool because it is city with farmland. Just walking down the street, we hear cows, turkeys, chickens, dogs, pigs, etc. It’s nice to be out in the open air instead of in the city.

Just a few things that are kind of cool that I found out this week.

Elder Hill on a wire bridge

1- I went into the MTC on the wedding anniversary of Joseph and Emma Smith.

2- Elder Dillon Taylor from American Fork is in my district now, and he knows Melissa Angus. Strange to have connections when we’re like 6,000 miles from home.

Elder Trevino with a chicken

Elder Hill and a hen...did he ever
tell you the Little Red Hen Story
was cited to him MANY times!

I really enjoy my new companion and all that we are doing in our area.  I am working harder with him than I have in my whole mission and I really enjoy that. We have found a lot of people this week, but they’re not really secure for progressing. There is one couple, Jose and Flor, that we are working with. They have two kids, but aren’t married. Flor is a member just Jose no. We met with them yesterday after church to talk to them about the word of wisdom. Turns out that Jose has difficulties with smoking and drinking on occasion. He said that he is willing to give it all up to be closer to his family and friends. Then, the marriage thing came up. Jose said that he wants to get married, but Flor was a little hesitant. She said that she doesn’t want to marry him (keep in mind that they already have two kids together) because of how Jose drinks and smokes. We asked her that if Jose quit smoking and drinking in 3 weeks, if she would marry him. Her answer was YES! It’s just super cool to see how many blessings we can receive from living the commandments.

There is another hermana, Inez, who isn’t married either because her boyfriend is still married to his previous wife, and hasn’t divorced. He is a member but super inactive and she feels like he is holding her back a little bit from progressing (being baptized with her kids) and to keep going. We are working on that situation as well. We might be missionaries with the power of God, but we don’t have powers to marry or divorce people on the spot. That would be kind of cool though!

So here is the citrus oil part. (Mother’s letter last week: There are at least 20-24 months that you will have opportunities to have the oils serve you and during that time you will know when your mission is up who you are prompted to leave the oils with.)

Yesterday we were at a homecoming for a missionary that came home and there is this 4 year old kid in the ward who is super hyperactive and just mischievous as can be. He is innocent, but he is still difficult to control. Well, my mom so lovingly sent me some essential oils that I didn’t think I would use and yesterday I had brought some with me to show an hermano in the ward who uses them. I handed him a blend of citrus oils. He went over to this super active kid and rubbed this oil behind his ears and was like "Oscar! Smell this!"...... and within 5 minutes this kid was calm as can be! The 5 of us who knew what happened were laughing soooo hard! I think we found a solution for Sunday so that everyone can take the sacrament without yelling and screaming. :)

My Captain Moroni stance, overlooking the river.

Pictures--

-Elder Trevino with a chicken (like Simba)

-Me with the hen

-A super huge pig

-Oh, and "I didn’t know it was there.... It isn’t mine!" (Marijuana leaf)
-Me on a wire bridge over a river

Well my friends, this is what I am doing in Tezontepec!

I hope that you are all enjoying your summer!