A Missionary for God

Well this week was a weird week y a hard one of doing nothing. On Monday we went to the mall y elder Runyan ate Chinese food y starting that night he was feeling not so good. Then let me say poor Elder Runyan, he got a stomach infection y so for like almost 3 days we had to stay in the house. Y when he was feeling a bit better we worked, but we couldn’t go far if he needs to go to the bathroom.

Anita’s baptism. The man is our awsome bishop named Cancino. He helps us out so much y he is just awesome!

Well at 7:30 on Saturday night Anita Laura, a very smart girl y a good example to her mom y two sisters that are not members, got baptized.  She is 11 years old. There were a lot of members there y let me tell you the spirit was so strong. But more when she said her testimony y said thanks to us y she said she loves her family y she started to cry. It was so cute.

Well yesterday was the kids’ program in sacrament meeting. It was cute y funny y the spirit was so so strong.

Well sorry it is not that long, but we are just happy to see Anita get baptized y start the way for her less active dad to come back to church y for her mom y sisters to join the church. We are going to work hard on it. Love you all.

Love, Elder VanBuskirk

ADIOSSSSSS!!!!!!

Hi mom. I love you.  How are you?

My snake looks bigger! So who lost my snake this time? My snake is bigger y stronger. Is he still eating the fuzzy mice?

mice y does he have the same cage? But it looks like he got something good to eat out there somewhere.

I love you. So do you like the new time change?

Yours in next week, right? We did it yesterday here in Mexico.

I think the Day of the Dead started, but no it is not a real big deal here like we think.

Well I’m learning to just speak more Spanish y let the spirit testify.  They still have a hard time understanding me, but it is doing good.

So how is Nate with the temple? Are you going to have a nice week this week?

Andres wore my tie I gave him when he left the MTC for the airport to Africa.  (he sent me a picture, but it didn’t come through)

Sorry, I don’t know what I want for my package. I guess I want weird or nice Christmas ties y money so I can save for buying things for college.  Maybe just more nuts from the Stevens y tell them i love them y miss them. But Mom, I’m fine. Surprise me.

So I can’t send you a lot of pics because his cyber is slow, but I will try to send one.

Mom,  I’m coming home in 10 months or so. What I do like y kinda miss is your pizza y the salt caramels from Costco, but I no sey.

Thanks mom. Tell everyone I say Hi y I miss them. Y tell them to have a great Halloween!  Just surprise me in my package because I’m fine, because I’m a missionary for God. Love you y have a great week!

Thanks mom. I love “talking” to you. ha ha

Love you. adiosssss

Hi Caleb, I hope your not a weird goof-off now since I left. But I love you y know you are ready y God knows you are ready to get the priesthood. Well I wish I could be there on your birthday to beat you up like the old times. ha ha. No, I mean to give you a big big hug y tell you I love you. Caleb, I really love you buddy. Love my Caleb. Love my Caleb y of course happy birthday to such a weird soon to be 12 year old. Love, your big mean brother Alex!!!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Elder Runyon plays the piano y the guitar

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We Are So Happy!!!!!

Well yesterday we had no investigators in church for two reasons: it was raining hard all day Sunday y on Saturday we had a whole bunch of plans for visiting them but nobody was home all day because there was a party in the middle of town. Well, we visited a investigator named Anita Laurita. She has two other sisters y her mom y dad. Her dad is a member but less active. But Anita y her two sisters y mom are not members. So we invited Anita to get baptize this Saturday at 7 y she said yes! She reads the Book of Mormon more than anybody in her family y she prays y she is a great example for her family. We are so happy she is going to get baptized!!!!!! 

Well, an investigator named Gabriella, her daughter Gaby went to school in a other state y she is a member y the mom isn’t, butwants to get baptized when her daughter comes back in December.  She prayed to see if it is true y she got her answer. So she knows it is true.  We are so happy!!!!!

Then her neighbors right across the street saw us y asked if we are Mormons. I said yes y she said she visited Salt Lake y wanted us to teach them. We taught them y the spirit was so so strong y afterwords they ask us what is that feeling is. We said it was the Holy Ghost. Y we taught a teenager named Lupita y she sad she knows it is true y she wants to get baptized.

So we had a great week. Love you y thanks for everything.

Love Elder VanBuskirk!!!!

ADIOS!!!!!!!!!

        

Hola.  How are you?at I’m great.  How was your week?

Are you ready for the stake party?

e

Hey Nate, Im so happy for you. Just keep working hard y know that i love you.

That is sad about the water damage.  We had a big rain storm yesterday y there was no one to teach, but we were still there working all wet in the rain.

Yeah, the area it is great.  It is not that big, but the members are great y this week we are going to work on investigators in church.

How are the boys y Dad? Tell Dad I love him y I’m so proud of him for the hard work for the bonus.

Hey, why don’t people send me letters from the ward?  I’m only getting them from other members not in our ward.  I was just wondering, not trying to be mean. I got some from Schyver’s family y Whitlocks y Sister Hester, but not our ward. I was just wondering?

I’m fine. I have no problems.  Love you.

I wan to go to the SD temple with Nate and you guys!

Thanks for everything.  I’ve got to go. Love you y say hi to all. You guys are always in my prayers. Love you.

Love you. Bye bye. Have a greet week!

The steep street where we live

Just some cool pics of the rainy sky

God Bless the Lomas!!!!!

Well, we live on a very steep hill like in San Francisco. Our house is very big y blue there is actually 3 houses, one on the bottom y two on top. We are on top with such a very beautiful view of Tuxtla. 

Our view at night

Our view in the day

No, we can't see the templo from here

The balcony

It's the perfect spot for a nap

The people who live in the other houses are members, but less active. But we are working on it y they are helping us a lot here, learning the area more, so that is good. Well, this area is pretty small, but it has a lot of members to help us to know our area better, like telling us where investigators live y less actives y more members, y they always want to join us at lessons. The bishop is so nice y he always says if we, the elders, were not here the ward wouldn’t be here, y he always thanks us. He is a great bishop. I love him.  He is very good with helping us with any problems that we have.

Well, these past 2 weeks we didn’t have a lot of lessons with investigators, but with the less actives, because we are still trying to see who our investigators are ,but we are doing all we can.  That is what counts. It is pretty hard to open an area after the last elders didn’t work for 3 weeks before we came because one elder got very sick. So that is why we don’t really know the investigators. But this week we are going to work y work y work to find new investigators y all the other ones. It is hard to open a area at first but after a few weeks it is pretty easy. But I’m just so happy to have great members here always willing to help y join us. GOD BLESS THE LOMAS!!!!!!!! Love you all y thanks for everything. ADIOSSSS!!!!!!!

Hola!  Hey Mom, if you want to pick me up you need to call the church travel office the number is 8012405111.  You need to call when I have six months left.

So did you have fun with the disaster practice all weekend?

I bet it wasn’t exactly fun.  I’m glad I wasn’t there. Ha ha.  Who were the other families?

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I got both packages, thanks a lot.

My comp is from Salt Lake y likes to do everything. Y his family got divorced and his step mom y dad are not members. But I love him y he is a great!  He just has a lot of stress. He sometimes needs to take a nap y then he is good. I always tell him I’m here for him.  We always speak Spanish because it is a rule y it helps us both.

I’ve got to go.  I love you.  Bye.  Have fun at Disneyland. Say hi to dad y the boys y give them my love. Thanks mom for everything!  Te amo xoxo

Love you, bye! 

More inside our house

I thought the big pink gate was beautiful. We went down that road to check it out but it was just a old house

What happened is we couldn’t fill the font 
so we called a water truck to fill it up. 
Then we had more water so we watered the trees.

Conference was Amazing!

Ho everybody. I’m in my new area called Los Lomas.  It is pretty close to my last area. It is not that big, but it is great with the ward y members. We didn’t have time to visit our investigators yet but we will tonight. This week was just a week for exploring the new area y getting lost a few times y doing a lot of lessons in the street. The members help us so much.  They are planning on showing us around this week.

I love general conference it was so nice y the spirit was so strong. Love you all y more info next week. Adioss!!!!!!

Hi mom. Love you.

Conference was amazing. It was English for us this time.  My favorite was that we need to have a scripture a day – ponderize! Mine this week is Mosiah 27:36-37. Monson didn’t look too good. Sad.

My comp is great. We work hard together. He is from Utah y his Spanish is so, so good. He is helping me a lot. I love him.  He is great.

Okay, so how is the family? Tell nate to use his time he has to get ready for the mission wisely.  It looks like you guys like going to Disney a lot.

 I dont have a lot of time left.  Love you.

Thanks. I got to go.  Say hi to all.  Sorry for not a lot of info.

I will send you y all the others a nice big letter, okay?

Give all my love y I pray for you always. 

xoxoxo

Our desk

Our area

Our house

Opening a New Area!

Things are swinging!

Hey everybody. Well, today is tranfers y I’m leaving my area, but I’m going to be in the same zone . Y I’m going to open a new area named Los Lomas where the elders before got sick y left. My companion is Elder Runyan. He has be out the same time as me in the mission. So that is the big news!!!!!!!

investigator Fernando

 Well yesterday we had a new, very crazy, investigator in church named Fernando. Well, we saw him in the street on Wednesday. Then we visited him on Friday. First off, he has all the books of all the churches you can think of, y second, he said he has a bag of drugs in his head y he got stabbed by a sword 4 times y he died y came back to life. He has a long beard y long hair y we said, “if you want to get baptized, you need to cut it.”  He said it is fine, but after cutting it he’ll get all of his cut hair y tie it on a long rope with his other hair that he cut because he said it got blessed y he got baptize 4 times: 2 times in the same church y the other times in others. He went to church yesterday y everybody thought he was the Mexican Jesus!  He wants to be baptized on October 20, so let’s see what happens.

investigators Hernan y Arturo 

We had the member yesterday go y get Hernan y Arturo, but they were very, very sick. But we taught them on Wednesday on the plan of happiness y on Saturday on the word of wisdom.  We gave them a date to be baptized on the 20th of October also. So we have 3 dates for baptisms. Let’s see what happens. We were about to finish the goals the president wants us to do, but we didn’t have enough investigators in church. We are trying to help Hna. Rosio have this faith y wanting to visit church again. She hasn’t gone for a few weeks.

Well that is it. I love you all y thanks for everything!  Enjoy conference weekend y love you all!

ADIOSS!!!!!!!

Hey Mom, I got some news. Guess? Yep, transfers! Well, I’m in the same zone y my companion is Elder Runyan. He is a gringo from Utah. We have the same amount of time here because we got here together.  I don’t know him because he was in the other district in the MTC. No say who is the senior comp because me and my companion have been the same time in the mission.  But the big news is we are going to open an area. But the bad part y the hard part is to open a new area. I am a bit happy to be done with my last comp.

Thanks for the package. I got it in a month. Not too bad. Did you send my Halloween package?  So what is in my package? Halloween candy of course! Gracias! How are you?  Is the family all good?

Can’t wait for conference and to know who are the three new apostles. I never have answers for conference, because I just don’t have questions.  But I will ask for guidance on how to go about opening this new area. 

No say if I can see the baptisms from my last area. We’ll see.

I love you!  So how is Nate with the mission? That is so good that he was made an elder. You should look at the mission book with him and make sure he is ready. ha ha.  I got to go in a few.

Thanks mom for everything y give all my love! Thanks.

Hermano Hidlago y his wife 

with member Ivan 

Investigator Roberto y his broken arm 

me with a kid named Ju y his grandma 

thumbs up with Rachel 

Elder Estrada and I with Rachel's sister, Diana  

playing around 

Duros - chips a member gave me