Alma and Karen UrquizaConference weekend, we got home from all the meetings, around 6:00 pm Sunday. We attended all four sessions and we had a new member at the Priesthood session and 2 candidates for baptism at the Sunday morning session. We baptized them between the two sessions. There were 10 people baptized in our stake, and 18 from the neighboring stake which is also in our zone. I felt honored to be asked to do these two baptisms.
The work is going very well right now, and we have two or three more people we are working with that we have high hopes for. It is really such a thrill to see people accept our message and go down into the waters of baptism. The mother, Alma, and her daughter, Karen, that were baptized on the 7th of October have a little son/brother, Aldo, 7 years old that can hardly wait until he is 8 in just three more weeks. He wants to be baptized so badly, he can hardly sit still.
A few weeks ago we met a woman on the street, who came up to us asking for change for the telephone. We didn’t have any, but when she noticed our name tags, she asked if we were Mormons. We affirmed and she broke into tears. She told us that she had had the elders coming to teach her, and then they just stopped coming, she didn’t know why. She said she wanted to be baptized. We took down her information, on a blue card, and not knowing where she lived we turned it over to the zone leader. We found out that she lived in our zone but not in our area. The card was given to the elders in her area and today we saw her be baptized. When we greeted Rosa, the lady at the telephone, on Sunday, she recognized us immediately, and she kept repeating, through her tears …”gracias, gracias”. We have subsequently found out that her experience, with the missionaries who left her high and dry, happened several years ago, and not knowing what else to do, she went back to the Catholic Church, even though she knew it wasn’t true. God works in mysterious ways.
Missionary work is a very rewarding experience and we are loving it. To see the look on people’s faces before and after baptism is almost miraculous. They change from doubtful curiosity to anticipation then to hope, to joy and peace in just a few short visits.
We went to see Alma Monday night and we talked about the gift of the Holy Ghost, that she would be receiving next Sunday, and while we were explaining the function of the Holy Ghost and the difference between receiving a witness and having it as a constant companion, Alma said that our first encounter with her was miraculous, because she never opens her door to anybody she doesn’t know. She said that something touched her when she saw us, and she knew that she wanted to hear our message. This was a special witness to us that we are succeeding in our purpose before God.
After our visit with Alma we went to visit a family that we found three weeks ago. They are the Garcia’s. When we first knocked on their door, they opened it wide and invited us in, saying they were Christians. Marjorie was leery of another Bible bashing session, but it turned out quite well. Apparently they are non-denominational. We told them about the restoration and Joseph Smith and we got an appointment for a return visit with the elders who speak much better Spanish than either of us do. Elva Garcia speaks some English, but her husband Manual doesn’t. Well when the day for our visit came they called us a half hour before and canceled, with no explanation. We went by several times but found no one at home. We were fearful that this family had done an about face and we would not see them again. Thankfully we were wrong. They were both home, and they invited us in again. They explained the cancellation with an emergency that had come up suddenly in the family. They had a lot of questions and doubts. We were there to get an appointment, not teach, but we did try to answer their questions. They were having a bit of trouble with the concept of prophets and the Book of Mormon. We bore our testimonies and asked that they keep an open mind until we returned to teach with the missionaries. They said even if we aren’t baptized we hope to remain friends with you. The spirit is strong in their home and they really need the additional light of the restored gospel in their lives.
This missionary work is such a growing experience for us, and we are learning so many valuable life lessons almost on a daily basis. One of the most important things we have learned here in Mexico, is that the Lord will bless us according to our needs as long as we make an effort to do His work, and we can survive just fine on a whole lot less than we considered to be necessary. We live a lot more simply and our life is a lot less complicated. I don’t think I’ll ever take clean, pure drinkable water for granted again. We brush our teeth in bottled water and we never use more than a half a glass full. People here wash their cars and seldom use more than a five gallon bucket to do the job, unless it is extremely muddy and dirty. The tap water here is potentially lethal if you drink it. It looks clean, but we wash our dishes in it with a cap full of iodine to disinfect them. We also use iodine in the water to soak our fresh vegetables in. The tap water is safe to shower and wash our hands a face in, we just don’t let any get in our mouth. We use about five gallons of bottled water, bottled by the Coca-Cola Company here in Mexico, every week. It costs us $28 pesos a week ($2.80). We drink a lot of water every day. Our wash water and non potable water supply comes from a tank on the roof. It holds about five hundred gallons, and it gets filled about every other day. I have no idea where the water comes from or how the system works. Sometimes (3 so far) the tank runs dry, and we are without water to wash dishes, bath, or flush with. There is no warning when this happens, it just happens, and we make do..
The other thing we had to get used to is the electrical distribution system. There is only one outlet in each room, with the exception of the kitchen, it has two. We have had to get used to using extension cords and multiple outlet extenders, as there is only one plug-in in each outlet. It is all very complicated and I’ve often wondered why there aren’t more fires. The main reason for this is all the houses are solid concrete, no wood frame construction anywhere.
Another interesting thing is the way the gardeners mow their lawns. They use hedge trimmers, weed whackers or once or twice I have seen someone with an old fashioned push mower. The brooms for cleaning up the grass clippings are made of willow switches tied with wire to a tree limb.
The stereotypical lazy Mexican that some people believe is the norm, is completely bogus as far as we can tell. The Mexican people work very hard for very little money. The average wage for most general labor intensive jobs is from $5 to $8 a day. Many people work 6 or 7 days a week at jobs that would overwhelm and completely destroy the desire of an American laborer to return for more the next day. I am surprised that many of the people have nice cars, a big TV, and a modest but comfortable home. I have even met a few people who have completely paid off their homes, meaning apartments like ours of 5 to 6 hundred square feet. It is amazing how many people can live in such cramped quarters and survive. Like I said, they are a very friendly people.
Apparently credit is easy to get I’m not sure about interest rates, but the working class people seem happy. They take a licking and keep on ticking.
We love Mexico, the Mexican people, and especially the Mexican Saints. They are so kind, generous and full of faith. They work hard, play hard, and love life. Most of them will give a friend the shirt off of their back, and think nothing of it.
If it wasn’t such a long way from our family, and such a hassle with the citizenship thing and all the legal hoops and red tape to go through, I think it would be nice to live here. We are definitely thinking about a return visit in a few years from now.
VIVA MEXICO!
A few weeks ago we met a woman on the street, who came up to us asking for change for the telephone. We didn’t have any, but when she noticed our name tags, she asked if we were Mormons. We affirmed and she broke into tears. She told us that she had had the elders coming to teach her, and then they just stopped coming, she didn’t know why. She said she wanted to be baptized. We took down her information, on a blue card, and not knowing where she lived we turned it over to the zone leader. We found out that she lived in our zone but not in our area. The card was given to the elders in her area and today we saw her be baptized. When we greeted Rosa, the lady at the telephone, on Sunday, she recognized us immediately, and she kept repeating, through her tears …”gracias, gracias”. We have subsequently found out that her experience, with the missionaries who left her high and dry, happened several years ago, and not knowing what else to do, she went back to the Catholic Church, even though she knew it wasn’t true. God works in mysterious ways.
Missionary work is a very rewarding experience and we are loving it. To see the look on people’s faces before and after baptism is almost miraculous. They change from doubtful curiosity to anticipation then to hope, to joy and peace in just a few short visits.
We went to see Alma Monday night and we talked about the gift of the Holy Ghost, that she would be receiving next Sunday, and while we were explaining the function of the Holy Ghost and the difference between receiving a witness and having it as a constant companion, Alma said that our first encounter with her was miraculous, because she never opens her door to anybody she doesn’t know. She said that something touched her when she saw us, and she knew that she wanted to hear our message. This was a special witness to us that we are succeeding in our purpose before God.
After our visit with Alma we went to visit a family that we found three weeks ago. They are the Garcia’s. When we first knocked on their door, they opened it wide and invited us in, saying they were Christians. Marjorie was leery of another Bible bashing session, but it turned out quite well. Apparently they are non-denominational. We told them about the restoration and Joseph Smith and we got an appointment for a return visit with the elders who speak much better Spanish than either of us do. Elva Garcia speaks some English, but her husband Manual doesn’t. Well when the day for our visit came they called us a half hour before and canceled, with no explanation. We went by several times but found no one at home. We were fearful that this family had done an about face and we would not see them again. Thankfully we were wrong. They were both home, and they invited us in again. They explained the cancellation with an emergency that had come up suddenly in the family. They had a lot of questions and doubts. We were there to get an appointment, not teach, but we did try to answer their questions. They were having a bit of trouble with the concept of prophets and the Book of Mormon. We bore our testimonies and asked that they keep an open mind until we returned to teach with the missionaries. They said even if we aren’t baptized we hope to remain friends with you. The spirit is strong in their home and they really need the additional light of the restored gospel in their lives.
This missionary work is such a growing experience for us, and we are learning so many valuable life lessons almost on a daily basis. One of the most important things we have learned here in Mexico, is that the Lord will bless us according to our needs as long as we make an effort to do His work, and we can survive just fine on a whole lot less than we considered to be necessary. We live a lot more simply and our life is a lot less complicated. I don’t think I’ll ever take clean, pure drinkable water for granted again. We brush our teeth in bottled water and we never use more than a half a glass full. People here wash their cars and seldom use more than a five gallon bucket to do the job, unless it is extremely muddy and dirty. The tap water here is potentially lethal if you drink it. It looks clean, but we wash our dishes in it with a cap full of iodine to disinfect them. We also use iodine in the water to soak our fresh vegetables in. The tap water is safe to shower and wash our hands a face in, we just don’t let any get in our mouth. We use about five gallons of bottled water, bottled by the Coca-Cola Company here in Mexico, every week. It costs us $28 pesos a week ($2.80). We drink a lot of water every day. Our wash water and non potable water supply comes from a tank on the roof. It holds about five hundred gallons, and it gets filled about every other day. I have no idea where the water comes from or how the system works. Sometimes (3 so far) the tank runs dry, and we are without water to wash dishes, bath, or flush with. There is no warning when this happens, it just happens, and we make do..
The other thing we had to get used to is the electrical distribution system. There is only one outlet in each room, with the exception of the kitchen, it has two. We have had to get used to using extension cords and multiple outlet extenders, as there is only one plug-in in each outlet. It is all very complicated and I’ve often wondered why there aren’t more fires. The main reason for this is all the houses are solid concrete, no wood frame construction anywhere.
Another interesting thing is the way the gardeners mow their lawns. They use hedge trimmers, weed whackers or once or twice I have seen someone with an old fashioned push mower. The brooms for cleaning up the grass clippings are made of willow switches tied with wire to a tree limb.
The stereotypical lazy Mexican that some people believe is the norm, is completely bogus as far as we can tell. The Mexican people work very hard for very little money. The average wage for most general labor intensive jobs is from $5 to $8 a day. Many people work 6 or 7 days a week at jobs that would overwhelm and completely destroy the desire of an American laborer to return for more the next day. I am surprised that many of the people have nice cars, a big TV, and a modest but comfortable home. I have even met a few people who have completely paid off their homes, meaning apartments like ours of 5 to 6 hundred square feet. It is amazing how many people can live in such cramped quarters and survive. Like I said, they are a very friendly people.
Apparently credit is easy to get I’m not sure about interest rates, but the working class people seem happy. They take a licking and keep on ticking.
We love Mexico, the Mexican people, and especially the Mexican Saints. They are so kind, generous and full of faith. They work hard, play hard, and love life. Most of them will give a friend the shirt off of their back, and think nothing of it.
If it wasn’t such a long way from our family, and such a hassle with the citizenship thing and all the legal hoops and red tape to go through, I think it would be nice to live here. We are definitely thinking about a return visit in a few years from now.
VIVA MEXICO!
3 comments:
In this blog I discussed the water system, and I said the tank on our roof held about 500 gallons of water. This was a guess. Since then I measured and calculated the correct capacity, and it is about 198 gallons when full. Depending on where it closes the valve.
Dad
Mom And Dad
That was a great post. Very interesting. I love the story about the woman who was basically abandoned by the missionarys. Im certain that, the same thing happens quite frequently all over the world. I remember once as a ward mission leader not being able to contact my missionarys and wondering where they went but not being to worried because they were frequently so busy. Then after not seeing them at church the next sunday I went to visit them at their appartment and didnt find them home. Again I was not to worried. Then a 2nd week went by without seeing them or hearing from them so I called the mission home and the mission president had moved both missionarys at the same time to go to an area that had not had missionarys for a couple of years. He closed our area and moved them that same day both at the same time. So the work basically stopped overnight. I did not know all of their investigators and did not have the same relationship with the ones that I did know. After that I think the missionarys considered me a pain because I always wanted to know all the address of all contacts investigators etc in case something ever happened. I also has a different case where I received two new missionarys in one transfter. Those two young men had to walk into an apartment and keep up the work using the records the previous elders had left which were not entirely complete. Plus the relationship the individual Elders have is a connection that investigators rely on as they are developing their personal testimony. So, sadly, I can see how that might happen. Its exciting that you found her and basically rescured her.
I also love hearing the details about Mexico and the people there. I have never though of Mexicans as lazy. Ive known forever that they are hard working people. Thats why they come to this county any way they can because they are willing to work. I think the stero type is bacause of a few that find the welfare provisions of our country and take advantage of it, but again I think that is a minorty. Mexico has not welfare system. You work or you go hungry.
The water sounds bad, I would get pretty tired of that. Just carrying all that water all the time would be a chore. Would a water purification system of some kind help? Let me know.
Andrew went and bought all of his cloths the past saturday. That was a fun time. Corinne was teary but it was a wonderful experience. Andrew is resolved, excited and ready. Im very proud of him.
Gotta go for now. I will comment more later.
Its seem Corinne is going to get that new job. She was suppose to have a lunch today but the Docter in charge of the whole thing called and told her that they were not able to get the lunchen scheduled because they were short on staff and no one had time to schedule it. So the Doc had to schedule it himself. When he spoke with Corinne he said he was sorry that the meeting didnt come off but that it was scheduled for thursday instead. Then he said he is really excited to get he and as far as he is concerned she has the job and that meeting the staff is just a formality. They spoke a bit and Corinne reminded him she was ready to begin and that a replacement for her at this current job was in place so that she could get started. He was glad and said he would start working on a date with the hospital. Corinne was really pleased. She will of course be awesome and it made her happy to be so highly considered. She will be great at that job so Im excited for her to.
Speaking of Jobs, Sean is working at a Taco place, Taco Del Mar. And he loves it. It seems odd to me that he would like it but he really does. He loves it according to him.
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