A Lot of Hard Work Does Pay Off!!

Well, what a week! First, it was one year ago last Friday when I got my call to Tuxtla. Wow.

Well this week we thought we were going to the temple, but we had to work very hard to do so because we are four hours away. So we worked so hard to earn it y on Friday they said the whole ward is not going because Tuxtla is shut down from teachers protesting because they wanted to do it before the voting yesterday. But we had to send our numbers to the president Friday night to see if we can go, so all week we worked y worked y worked y guess what? We did it!  We met our goals y we still didn’t go to the temple. It was fun y a lot of work. So we did 24 lessons with an investigator y 95 invites to baptism y 215 contacts y 4 investigators came in church yesterday y 12  new investigators! Johnni got confirmed a member y he received the gift of the Holy Ghost y in the blessing the person said he will be a great faithful missionary. But wow what a great week a lot of work does pay off!

So we visited a new investigator named Socuro y we taught about the Plan of Happiness because her friend died y one hour before the testigos (Jehova Witnesses) came y taught her there is no life after this one y we are nothing. So we asked after the lesson how do you feel?  She sad good, peace, y she said “I know this is the plan of God”  The spirit was so strong y it was a wonderful lesson. We got a new investigator named Luis.  He drinks but we are helping him out with it. Y we visited David again y gave him a date for baptism July 11.  He already visit ed church 2 times.  He is a great kid. We are always teaching Alba but she doesn’t want to get married.

Happy Birthday Elder Merrill!

More cake!

 Well yesterday was my companion’s birthday so I bought him a cake. Then a member bought him a cake, so we have a lot of cake now y today is his 17 month in the mission. But that was my week love you all thanks for everything.

Love Elder VanBuskirk

ADIOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I got the garments y grandma’s gift card. Tell her thanks for me y thanks to you too.

I’m great.  My feet are fine. I love my companion.  He is great!

Nate will get his call on Thursday. My comp says Nate will go to North Carolina or Mexico. I’m not guessing because I’d rather just find out, but it would be very awesome if he comes down to Mexico or Idaho.

‪I understand how you feel, Mom. I will pray for you y Franky y his family. You did everything you could for him y that is all God wanted from you, so good job.

Thanks for everything! Wish Dad y the twins happy birthday y I love them‬! Say hi to Luke, Caleb y Nathan y tell them I love them all so much. Talk to you guys next week.  Have a good week.

Thanks. Love you.  Please send the info for Franky’s great tio who lives here in Comitan y send Franky email.  Thanks. Bye. Love you! xoxoxoxo

Adios!

This says that me y Elder Mena did a lot of work so we made it in the newsletter!

Storm clouds over Comitan

A Week of Miracles!!

Well yesterday I baptized Johnni. It went great. It took me 2 y a half times because the first time they couldn’t hear me from the big glass, so I didn’t it again y it went good. I put him down in the very cold water then when I brought him up he was so scared y terrified. Then he hugged me y waved good bye to all. But the baptism went so good. The primary sang some songs y Johnni brother John said the first prayer y then Johnni said the last one. The spirit was so strong. I love Johnni so much. He is such a smart funny kid.

 Well also we visited Hermana Gina y told us that her divorce will be done in 20 days, then she can get married with Lember, so after 8 to 10 it will be all done y she will be baptize in a month or so. We are so so happy she can finally be baptized. So this Sunday we are doing a group fast with her y her family about the divorce, so I invite anybody who wants to join.

The Andres family invited their cousin David to church the last week y so we set a appointment y we visited him y guess what? He invited his friend Roberto. They are both excited to listen y join.

 So my new companion is Elder Merrill.  He lives in Provo, Utah y he is the youngest out of three. He has a sister y an older brother. He has been out 17 months on his mission next Monday y his birthday is next Sunday. He’ll finish his mission in December. He is helping me so so much on my Spanish he corrects me y he does a lot of practicing with me.  My Spanish has gotten a lot better in one week. I’m so happy he is my first gringo companion. He is so great y I love him.

Elder Lyons new mission is the Salt Lake City South Mission Spanish-speaking.   ‬

So that was our great week of miracles. Love you all y miss you a ton. Thanks for Everything!!!!!! ADIOSS!!!!!

So do you have names for the pray roll for me? We are going to the temple on Saturday. We are leaving here at 5 am y coming back at 5 pm. I’ve got to go sorry. But I love you y say bye to Franky y tell Nate y Franky good job on graduating. Tell everyone I love them y miss them a ton.

i love you more. Keep it up Dad! You are always great.

  The meat with vegetables is meat from the stomach of a cow. It is a tradition here.

THIS WEEK WAS GOOD Y SAD Y PAINFUL ALL AT ONCE!!!!!!‏

Machete!

Well today is exchanges. My companion is going up into the mountains, learning a Mayan language that is dying off y he is leaving tomorrow. All I know is my new companion is a gringo, my first one since the MTC.  He was a zone leader for 4 exchanges y I’m the companion little again y he is the district leader here. I’m sad my comp is leaving but I’m glad to work with a new one.

Well the weather was raining like all week then yesterday it rained 3 times for an hour. Well on Friday we did some service with Sabino, a new member who my comp baptized. We with machetes went to an empty lot y started hacking away all the big plants. It was fun y the weather was great but we were still sweating.

What do the scriptures say again about how beautiful the feet of those who publish peace are?

Then that night at 8 was my worst night ever!!! I had two ingrown toenails. A member who was a doctor took out the ingrown parts y she gave me a shot so I wouldn’t feel anything. She gave me three, but they didn’t work. It hurt so much. I was sweating y crying y screaming. Then when it was done my whole body was shaking from the pain.  But the next day we stayed home all day to rest.  I read a lot of Jesus the Christ and The Book of Mormon y right now it dosen’t hurt. I’m fine. I’m just so glad Friday night is done!

 Well, we taught Johnni all week, but we were teaching him too fast so he didn’t remember a lot of things. But we have two more lessons to teach him y then the baptism on the Saturday. He really wants to be a missionary just like us we are so happy about that.  We also taught Alba on the first lesson. I will gave you more info on my new comp y the inv.

I just got finished talking to Elder Lyons.   He will get his new mission call this week.  I feel a lot better now that I talked to him.

My guess is that Nate is going on his mission to a small island somewhere that we never heard or a muy crazy country far away.  I know it is crazy guess -just like me.

Love you all! Thanks for everything. Say hi to all y give them my love.  I love you a ton. Have a great week. Thanks for sending the packages. I hope Nate y Franky have a good graduation y say bye to Franky y give him my love.

8 Meses!

Well yesterday was 8 months on my mission. Wow!  It went fast!  But I enjoy every minute of it!  Andres’ family had a birthday party for my comp. because Sat he turned 19, y the next day was my 8 months, so they had a cake y balloons y a banner. They are so loving. They invited us over today at 7 pm for pancakes.  1/3 of the way through my mission. It is crazy, I know, but it is crazy fun!

 Well, every day from Friday to Sunday it rained for one hour y yesterday the wind was super strong y it hailed big, bigger than last time.  Good thing is we were finishing lunch when it started y stayed until it was done, but it was a lot of rain. It is fresh in the mornings, then in the afternoon it is hot, then either 2 or 3 or 4 it will rain for 1 hour or 2, then it is fresh, then cold at night. The weather is so weird here in Comitan.

We taught Antonio on Friday on the sacrament. We read together 3 Nephi 18, but at the end he said it is the same as his church, the Catholic church. He is so hard to teach. Then we sent a message for an appointment with Fabiola for the afternoon y she answered us back y said it would be fine, but when we arrived in the afternoon, they told us she just left 5 to 10 minutes ago.

 But yesterday the bishop told us a less active family has a son who is named Johny y he is 9.  He is not baptized so we are planning on refreshing him on everything then to get baptized on Saturday or Sunday. We are happy about that. His mom served a mission, but when she got married her member husband didn’t want to go back. But we we’re visiting them about two times a week y she wanted to go back but her husband no. So we told her she is example for her kids she says “I know” y she cried all the time we visited. The spirit is just so strong. One time we visited a day before General Conference but only the oldest was home y we invited him to conference y he said he wants to y he started to cry, but he didn’t come. I just love this family. After all the visits they are finally coming back to church. Yesterday was the first in a long time. It made us feel so good.

With our new area we got some of the hermanas’ investigators like Alba, but she didn’t visit church. These last two weeks we were working so hard y it is coming little by little.

Well yesterday for my 8 months, the bishop wanted us, the missionaries, to talk about the missionary work. It was my first time giving a talk in Spanish y I was not even nervous. When I was done a lot of people gave me a thumbs up y said good job. Our ward mission leader said, “That was what I need to hear. Thanks.” I talked about how the members are missionaries y also they are called by the profetas of God the same as us. That is what President Benson said.

Me and the Mission President's wife.
She wanted a photo and after the interviews they took us for tacos.

On Thursday we had an interview with the mission president. He said he loves me y I’ve changed so much since i got here y I speak more Spanish.

So that was my week. I love all of you. Thanks for everything.

Love Elder VanBuskirk

ADIOSS!!!!!!!!

How is everybody y Franky doing? I’m sorry Franky is leaving sooner. I will pray for him y that his new ward members will watch over him. Prayer y fe y fasting is all we can do. 1 Nephi 14 talks about there is only two churches – God’s y Satan’s. You should read this with him.

Why do you have tears for me? You know I’m fine y God is watching over me!

I love you. I got to go. I love you y say hi to all y give them my love. I pray for all of you everyday. Thanks for everything Mom. xoxoxoxo

adiosss

The green stuff with the meat is fried cactus.
 I had like 5! It was SO good!

We found these stairs going up a whole hillside
and we just had to climb every one of them.

View from the top

Happy Mothers Day!

This week was great.  First, happy Mothers Day to all the moms out there!!!!! Well we visited Fabiola y we taught about chastity y the spirit was so strong. We were all about to cry y we also taught her about the plan of happiness. She knows how to pray but she isn’t visiting church. We finished our goals for lessons with members present y other lessons y our contacts so we are happy about that. We also taught Antonio on the Plan of Salvation y he didn’t visit church. We also taught Tonita, but the same thing - no church.

But yesterday we got the news that our area is adding four more streets so we are happy about that. It is going to help out a ton. Y on Saturday we had an activity where the primary y the teenagers went out y were missionaries for a day. They visited less actives y the had their own badges.  We taught them how to contact y teach the Plan of Salvation. It was a great activity. Then later on at 6, I got a phone call from my companion in the MTC, Elder Lyons. He said he is going on a different mission y he will be going home for couple months.  He said they found something in his colon y they don’t know what it is so please pray for him. Thanks.

But yesterday at 6:30 here y 4:30 at home I skyped my mom y all my family. We dedicated the new house y they all had questions for me.  I bore my testimony in Spanish. It was so great to see them all y say bye to Nathan. The spirit was so strong.

Well also a drunk started to teach me about different things for 30 min then 3 days later another one was teaching my companion. There are a lot of them here y they are all crazy. We don’t have any investigators progressing y we are having a hard time to finding new ones, so please pray for us y are investigators. But we hope the new part of the area will help. Love you all y thanks for the prayers y the support.

Love you Mom y happy mother day!!!!!

Adios!!!!!

So when does Franky leave? You should read 1 Nephi 8 with him. You should read this tonight y talk about it.

‪Remember the beef jerky the ward sent me? A member wants you to send a big bag y he will repay you. The skype was great! I loved seeing you!‬  It was so nice a lot of family was there.

No, I wasn’t too homesick - the spirit was just so strong. But I’m fine. What did they all say after I skyped?  The new house looks great.

Thanks Mom. So how is everybody y did you have a great mothers day? I’ve got to go. Sorry. Love you a ton say hi to everyone y please try to look for the Meet the Mormons movie for me.‬  Tell everyone to keep up the good work

Adios xoxoxo

The pictures came with no explanation, but it looks like he is making tortillas!  Pay attention, boy!
I want you to make them when you get home!

Looks like someone gave them a ride in the trunk.  Its better than walking!

Looks like he got his care package from our Relief Society's Mission Possible night!
Thank you everyone!

Yum!

Where the missionaries in his mission come from.

Rainy Season

Hi everyone. This week was the first week of the rainy season. Everyday either in the afternoon or at night it rains. We can hear all the frogs at night y the next day see them dead in the street. The rainy season goes until October. 

Well, we are really having a hard time here in our area because our investigators are not progressing. So right now we have Fabiloua, who visited church 2 times but doesn’t want to get married because she is from a different country. Then there is Ricardo, his whole family are members y he doesn’t want to join. We watched The Restoration, the one about Jose Smith with him. At first he didn’t want to come, but his daughter brought him in to watch. Then there is Antonio who has no time because he is working late at work. Y  Tonita who hasn’t visited church yet, but knows what we teach is true y hasn’t gotten her answer from God to know if it is true. Yesterday we had no investigators in church besides Gina who for 8 years now is waiting for her answer for the divorce.

So last week y this week we have been doing a lot of lessons with the members y teach about missionary work y gave them a movie or a pamphlet to give to people y we ask for referencias. We are getting kind of sad about this area. The contacts they give us are crappy addresses or say they are part of another church. The members told us the elders here always have few baptisms but you guys planted a seed y that is what is important.

The top arrow is where our area ended before, now we will add on everything to the bottom arrow.

Well, next week our area is going to have 4 more streets added to it to help us out because our area is the smallest y a lot of it is trees y fields y the hermanas’ area is bigger so we are going to make it more equal. We are happy about that.

So that was our week. Love you all. Thanks for all the prayers y support. Adios!!!!!

Hi mom. I will Skype you at 4 your time Sunday!  I will have 40 minutes, no mas. 40 because in our white bible, or our rule book, it says 40 y the Church dosen’t want us to be distracted from the work. The same for Christmas. I hope Franky can get off work and Grandma & Grandpa Signs will be there and Grandma Wilber can come down. And I know it will be the last time I see Nathan for a long time.  3 long years! I can’t wait for Sunday!

What more does Nate need to do for his mission? Sounds like its close.  Did Nate get his passport? It is hard to get in the summer. EFY will be great.  I bet the boys are happy about it!  Are Franky and Nate going too? That would be so cool.

Do you have Meet the Mormons on DVD? If you can, send me one! 

I’m fine. My feet hurt from the blisters from my shoes y the rocks. My shoes are not going to last much longer because it is the rainy season.  Before it was hot so my glue in my shoes didn’t work so I had to super glue them again.

Hey, ask dad how much money I have because I am going to send off a package in a week or so. Thanks.

I got to go. Remember 4 on Sunday! Love you a ton! Thanks for everything! Bye. Love you. Say hi to all.

Love you more. Thanks. Adios!!!!!

The hilly roads of our area.

The highest part of our area looking over Comitan.

 Standing in the cold rain because I like it!

The brown drink is peanut pozol.   So now I have all the pozol -maiz y chocolate y blanco.