Elder Martinez, Mountains, and Conference

Hola,

I'm glad that my letters got through last week.  I don't like leaving you in the dark like that, but what can you do when the internet breaks.  Still, hopefully things will work from now on.

As far as my companion, yes that was him.  He is a veteran in the mission.  He litterally has been out longer than this mission has existed, and I feel like I've learned a ton from him these past few weeks.  He is a bit crazy, but we all are, so that's OK.  (The quote I feel best describes missionaries is from Alice in Wonderland, "We're all mad here.")  He likes K-pop, which is unfortunate, but he doesn't make me listen to it, so that's OK.  He's from Honduras, but everyone here thinks he is from somewhere in Mexico.  I think I've mentioned it, but his name is Elder Martinez.  He likes Piña Coladas and getting lost in the rain, etc.  Ultimately he is a great missionary, and I'm really glad to have had this opportunity to be his companion.

Mexican Independence Day was pretty crazy.  I was glad that we were going to be inside when I saw somebody setting up for a party with about 50 liter cup with beer brands on them.  There were a ton of fireworks lasting for most of the night.  We had a wild party, which involved eating popcorn and bread with nutella and bananas, which apparently is a foreign concept to Honduranians.  We watched a couple church movies, then tried to sleep while the streets were being bombarded.  Nothing celebrates independence like the reenaction of a war I guess.  Still, everyone seemed to have fun, and nobody I know died, so I guess things went pretty well.

The weather has been calming down a bit I feel.  We still get some pretty good rain storms, but they don't seem to last as long or come as frequently as before.  As far as hurricanes go, there's no need to worry.  Apparently this area is to high up to get hit with anything more than some good rain.  So no going out to watch a hurricane for me, not that I would ever have the desire to do that.  Still, if one does blow in we might get some flooding, but that's the only worry we have here.  

And as far as the mountains, I'm this close:  

The mountain on the left is named Iztaccihuatl, but it is usually refered to as the sleeping woman.  It has about as much resemblance to a woman as Mount Timpanogas.  On the right is Popocatepetl, and yes that is smoke.  I've been told that the way the crater points that any lava will flow towards Puebla though, so don't worry about that.  This was the first time I had been able to seem them both.  Usually the peak of at least on of them is covered by clouds.  They are different from the mountains at home, but they're mountains, so I'm not going to complain.

The conference went really well.  One of the members of our ward helped us practice, and it really helped our sound.  Unfortunately, the Hermanas got caught in some traffic and didn't make it in time to sing, so it was just the Elders.  Still, it went pretty well, and the Hermanas showed up eventually.  Elder Miron of the Seventies spoke.  He spoke on a couple different topics.  He started out talking about overcoming trials in the mission field.  He said one of the best things to do is to ask yourself, what is your reason for being a missionary.  I really liked this idea, because it focuses your mind on the possitive parts of a mission.  He also talked about the progression of the work of salvation, including the creation of many new missions, like this one.  He also talked about involving the members more in the work.  It was a pretty good talk, and it was the first time I've heard a talk from a general authority in Spanish.  After his talk we heard from some of the zone leaders and the assitants to the president.  They talked about improving the small acts of obedience throughout the day, how to recognize people who the Lord has prepared, and the importance of service.  The conference finished with President Crickmore, who talked about receiving revelation.  All in all it was a pretty good conference, and I feel like I learned some things that will be able to help me in the future.

That's about it for me.  I'm doing great, and feel really good health wise.  I'm glad to hear you guys are doing good.  I love you, and I'll write you next week.

Love,

Elder Samuel Long

2 Letters, A Picture, & Baptisms! Happy Mexican Independence Day!

September 8, 2014

Hola,

First off, I am sorry that I couldn't write to you last week, and I'm hoping to be able to deliver you your loooong letter this week.  I don't know if you remember, but two weeks ago I told you we might go to Teotihuacan.  Well, we did, and we didn't get back in time to write.  This time, one of the elders that went with us explained how things there fit in with the temple.  It's amaizing how much there is there that nobody really understands unless they are endowed.  Obviously I can't explain most of it, but just know that it was an incredibly uplifting experience to see these things.  He also explained several things with the Book of Mormon, and those I can talk about a bit more.  First off, there is a rather large open area with a small pyramid in the middle of it.  From the top of this pyramid, you can talk in more or less a normal speaking voice, and somebody in the corner of this area can understand what you are saying.  It hasn't been confirmed by the church, but the common belief is that this is the tower constructed by King Benjamin.  And I can personally confirm that it really does work.  When somebody talks in your direction, you can understand everything they are saying.  We also saw some examples of some skeletons that had been buried in that area.  The interesting thing is, pretty much every body intered there was buried in a sitting possition.  This was done so that in the resurection, the resurected beings would simply stand up and walk.  Basically, if you know what you are looking for, there is a lot to learn there.  I have decided I am good without making that trip again for awhile though.  I would like to go there again, but maybe in more than two weeks time.

Next bit of news, two Saturdays ago, we had three baptisms, a mother and son named Emma and Eduardo, and another woman named Feliciana.  President Crickmore came to the baptism, and I think the way he described them is the best way to put it.  He told me that when I am as old as he is, they will still be active church members.  In particular, Feliciana has one of the strongest testimonies I have ever heard.  She bore her testimony at the baptism, and after she was done I looked at President Crickmore.  He looked at me and mouthed ´´wow´´.  She shared an expierience that happened during the week before her baptism with us that is unlike anything I have heard of from an investigator.  She told us that she had been studying in the bible, in Corinthians where it talks about spiritual gifts.  She decided that she would pray to have one of these gifts after her baptism, and she told us she decided to pray for knowledge, because she was impressed with the knowledge we had.  So she said her prayer and went to sleep.  In the middle of the night, she woke up and heard a voice tell her to read Moroni 8.  She wrote this down and went back to sleep.  Now, when I met her, she went by the name she had been given when she was baptized in the Catholic church as a baby, Blanca.  However, after reading this chapter, which talks about the baptism of little children being a sin, she decided that she would no longer go by that name.  She's now working on going to the temple, and I have no doubt that she will continue to remain active.  Eduardo also has a pretty strong testimony, and his strength is what helped his mother decide to be baptized.  He is 17 years old, and has been a member for two weeks, and he already talks about going on a mission.  Emma is not completely thrilled about the idea yet, but I think she will come around.

This last Saturday, we got permission to organize a trip to the visitors center at the Mexico City temple.  With all the missionaries in the ward, three companionships, we got together a group of about 35 investigators, recent converts, and less active members to go there.  It was amazing having the opportunity to see these people learn about the blessings available in the temple.  It made me very glad to have had the knowledge of these things for my whole life.  It was incredible to talk with some of them, and explain some of the blessings available there.  That they could be sealed together as famalies for all eternity, and that they could help their family members who have passed on to receive these same blessings.  I do think they need to check the air filter there though, because every once in a while my eyes would start watering, and it was hard to stop it.  They also had an area with videos of the testimonies of the first presidency and the quorum of the twelve.  It was pretty incredible to hear some of the experiences they shared, and I would love to have a chance to hear them all.  All in all, it was a powerful spiritual experience, and I hope to be able to go back there again sometime.

As far as my ´´new´´ area goes, it is surprisingly different from my last area.  It's amazing how much difference there can be between the different areas.  Still, the people are still very giving, even though most of the people here live in what would be a level of poverty in the United States.  It really is humbling to see the difference there is down here.  It really hit me when we where talking with some members a couple weeks ago, and started talking about temples.  We pulled up Google Maps, and were looking up different temples in the world.  When we looked up the Jordin River Temple, and went into street view, the first thing my companion and the members commented on was how clean the streets are.  It's things like that that I feel I have taken advantage of my entire life, and now that I've seen the difference, I hope to never forget to be thankful for all that I have in my life.  Needless to say, I've never thought of as many things to honestly thank Heavenly Father for before now.

As for the actual area, we work in two areas for the most part, Los Alamos, where we live, and Cuatzingo.  Los Alamos is kind of a gated community, and it's one of the nicer looking areas I have seen here.  But it still has some of the problems of other areas, like drugs.  Still, I don't worry too much for my safety here.  Cuatzingo is pretty much nothing but dirt roads, and the houses are unusually spread out for Mexico.  Still, there are some wonderful people in that area, including a family we are teaching who are progressing pretty well.  All in all, it's a pretty nice area, and from what I've seen there is plently of work to do here.  I also like that it is close to the mountains.  I'm kind of surprised how much I've missed mountains during my time here, so it's nice to see them again.

I hope that counts as a long letter.  If not, I'll try harder next time.  Now, next week I might not be able to write again.  I guess the 15th is a pretty big holiday here, and things sometimes get out of hand, especially at night.  So we have be told to be home by 5:00, and we may not have time to write.  We should be fine, so don't worry, just know you might not hear from me.

I love you, and I'll write to you as soon as I can.

Love,

Elder Samuel Long

September 15, 2014

Hola,

First thing first.  ¡Feliz Cumpleaños! (Mom's birthday 9/9)  I hope you had fun, and I really am sorry you didn't get last weeks letter.  I don't know why it didn't go through, but hopefully this one will.

This week was pretty good for me.  Today is Mexico's independence day, and everyone has been pretty excited all week.  I haven't seen this many Mexican flags displayed during my entire time here.  But things sometimes get a bit crazy during the night, so we have to be home by 5:00.  There are also plenty of party favors around, and they are pretty different from the ones in America.  I'll include a picture to show what I mean.  But there has been an energy of excitement in there air here, and from what I've heard it will be kind of difficult to sleep tonight because of the fireworks.  Most of the people we talked to this week invited us to come to their party tonight.  That is the thing about the people here.  Most of them have far less than they need, but they all want to give.  I really have learned a lesson in generosity from them.

Other than that not much new has happened.  We are going to have a multizone conference this Thursday with one of the Seventy, and our zone has been asked to sing A Childs Prayer for the musical number.  It's kind of odd, but we will be singing it in English.  Still, it does make it easier for me, so I won't complain.  The hardest thing is that there are only two sisters in our entire zone, and even with some of the Elders singing the high part it's still hard to hear them.  Still, hopefully we won't do too terrible.  I'll also let you know what he talked about next week, assuming the letter will go through.  I really am sorry, and I'm sure you've been very anxious not having heard from me, so I'm just letting you know I'm fine.  I love you so much, and I'll write to you next week.

Love,

Elder Samuel Long

Spanish and the Second Coming

Hola,

First off, you might want to pick up the pace this week, because I have officially finished the Isaiah chapters.  I'm currently in 2 Nephi 29, so  you still have a chance.  But let me just say, be grateful for the fact that you are reading Isaiah in English.  I swear whoever translated the Book of Mormon into Spanish started making up words in the Isaiah chapters.  Keep it up though, you want to get as far as you can before school starts.

This week was pretty good for me.  We keep pretty busy here, and I feel I'm getting the hang of this Spanish thing.  My only concern is that at times my English starts to get replaced with the Spanish, which is fine for now, but eventually I will come home, and will probably be teased mercilessly by a certain beloved family of mine.  You would never do that though, would you?

As far as the second coming goes, I do feel you are right, we don't seem to talk about it as much as we should.  It is interesting that you brought it up though, because I've actually been thinking about it for the last little while.  This is because yesterday night, we watched The Testaments with some members and one of our recent converts.  At the end of the film, some words come up on the screen that say "The Messiah has come, and he will come again."  I've found with that movie, which I have seen three times now during my mission, two of which were in Spanish, that different things stand out to me each time.  Speaking of that movie, if you haven't seen it recently, I highly recommend it.

That's all I've got for you this week.  I love you, and I'll write you later.

Love,

Elder Samuel Long