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
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