Playing Soccer Helps the Soul - Elder Pack

Hello family and friends,

So this week was the 2nd to last week of the change.  It’s interesting to think that I have been in Tlahualili with the same companion for the last 3 months.  Well and most who would have thought I would be in Tlahualilo all this time from the day I got my calling??? Hahah…It’s been a great 4 months or so and well let’s see what happens next week when changes happen.

So the greatest news from the last week is we had a baptism!!!!!!! and this time it wasn’t a child!!!!! It’s great he has a super testimony  for just having been baptized into the church.  He believes that Joseph Smith was a prophet and was investigating his story to understand more about the life of him.  It’s funny and really frustrating the way Satan works in the life of people that are trying to change their lives.  Hugo was ready Friday…all animated for the baptism, telling them how happy he was and how he was hopping that his family would accompany him. (as my companion tells me because I was on splits with another elder, so that he could be interviewed) but when it came to baptism time he was very sad his family didn’t want to join him.  It also might have gone through his mind to turn back and not be baptized, but this was not the only way Satan was working.  As it got closer and closer to 4 and well it was me and my companion sitting in the church solo, the members had not shown up for the baptism and well we were forced to make calls to people to get them to come.  I only think about how saddening it would be to show up to your baptism and well my family couldn’t make it or didn’t want to come and then everyone in the small branch where I live also can’t make it or really didn’t want to come either.  It would not be a spiritually strengthening experience to tell you the truth,  but happily he went through with it (showed up a little late) and members showed up also to strengthen the occasion.

This week we are not so sure that we will be seeing a baptism or not.  A brother from the branch has problems with 1 substance and that would be alcohol.  He went 2 and a half weeks without drinking and we were so close to getting him into the water with his son that is 9, but he fell and drank again. We are hoping that we receive revelation on the matter from god because well we don’t want to baptize the son if the father needs to baptize him and well we need to baptize him if it will shock some sense into the brother.

So the exchanges for the week were very interesting.  We got to Chavez very very late in the day at about 2:30 or so.  When we actually started working after the comida, it was a little after 4.  We went to work and well I found myself teaching alot.  I was very happy to see I could teach basically solo,  but I felt bad that I didn’t know how to help my companion teach in the lessons.  It’s not that he didn’t know Spanish because well I knew that he did for the reason that he is Hispanic.  He just didn’t feel comfortable I guess.  Only having 4 months in the mission, it’s hard to teach with other elders than your companions.

Oh I almost forgot, Tuesday we went to Torreon again!!!!!  Well this time it was for a leadership meeting (I don’t know why we went because well I’m not a leader or training hahahaha) so we went and had a good time and learn some good things.  The president made everyone feel like sinners I’m sure because well he took out alot of powerful scriptures that made us think.  He told us some very true things like the way we live in the mission is the way that we will live our lives and so if we can’t learn to concur the things that make us week here, we won’t be able to when we get back home either.  Then he gave us a little card that has a little t in the center of a O and it has different significance. 1 is 0 tolerance 2 is total obedience for total the ordinances and the third is the card is yellow for refs of soccer and well we know the rules when a yellow card gets pulled on someone. It’s was a good idea, but I don’t like the fact that we have to get up an hour to an hour and a half earlier only to go to Gomez and well the bus ride isn’t very comfortable and well we can’t sleep.

Monday we played soccer!!!!  It’s the first time in about 3 months or so that I’ve had the chance to play!!!!!  But the sad thing was we stayed in Chaves overnight and well didn’t have a very comfortable night sleep with the floor being stinking cold.  It was good to play soccer again, and I learned that I need to do more exercise because well I was out of breath running just a little but hahahaha.

Well that would be all for this week.  I hope that everyone has a great week!!!!!

LOVE ELDER PACK

Sister Pack Sends Pictures!!

Sister Pack sent us some fun pictures of her pension and area this week.  Feel free to send her a letter through dear elder.  If you need the info, it's in the sidebar on the left!!

 a street well traveled in Formosa

 the pension....

 washing clothes

 sisters

34 people in Church - Elder Pack

hello!!!

Well quickly now so to tell the truth this week was a great week.  This week will be even better because we will be having a baptism and well the sir that is going to get baptized is super ready.  He just wants to get baptized and follow his Father and Savior.  So also talking about Sunday, we had another great attendance.  34 people were there, and well we are expecting new callings in the ward lots of people are really animated to start working and strengthening their testimonies.

The animo card isn’t as cool as what sister pack received because hers was a recognition from the mission president and other missionaries.  Mine well is a relic of the mission and it’s a piece a paper. Every missionary looks for them throughout their mission because they only existed here in this mission. It is a testament of something that started out as a good idea but went horribly wrong.  We hear the stories of this period of time and well it’s called the animo period.  The people remember it and constantly remind us that it happened…my screaming ¡¡¡ANIMO!!!. so it’s not as cool.  I’m happy for my sister!!!!

Today we went to Chavez and well PLAYED SOCCER!!!!!  It’s the first time in like 4 months since I had that opportunity… hahaha.  Well that is all I have time for.  Sorry it’s so short and doesn't really have much.

LOVE ELDER PACK

The Most "Animo Missionary" Award goes to Sister Pack

Hi guys!

    So my week has been really awesome and spiritually and hard.... lol total but over all a great week. This week we have a baptism to complete a family that got baptized last September.  It is way exciting to watch them grow closer mediante the gosple! I am so grateful for my family this week and the amazing family we have. I almost always hand out the family proclamation during my contacts. It is my favorite thing to give and promise that their family can have more unity!

    Anyways this week, we had Zone conference with Pres and Sister Heyman and let me tell you they are absolutely amazing! I love working with them. I also got an award for most animo missionary. I don´t know how to explain this word in English but yeah most excited about the work.  That was way cool. Not expecting that at all, but one person said it was because I smile all the time. lol.

    I am learning a lot here especially patience with the language. I want to be able to have a long conversation but it isn´t possible yet. However I have seen the gift of tongues work in my life. For that I am way grateful because I would die if I couldn´t tell the people here this amazing message.  The truthfulness of this message.

The weather here has been off and on between rain and hot hot hot, but I love the work no matter what. There is no other place I rather be in this moment to be honest.  As hard as it is, I have learned so much about the lord´s love for me and his children.  I am way grateful to be an instrument in his hand and watch the miracles he does through us.  Remember he loves you too!

                                                                                           Hermana Pack

 Christmas Dinner

 Worms...yuck!!

 service project

 Christmas morning (it is extremely hot here)!

Good Week for Elder Pack

hello people i have some great news!!!!

Well I got a package in the mail!!!! and well i think it might have gotten pirated in the mailing system because really the package was empty. Mom you might want to tell me what you sent in the last package (the one for my year mark).

Haha well, that isn’t the great news the news is that we had tons of people in the church.  Last week we only had 12 people in the church, and I still remember when we only had 8 in the church.  This last week the number grew to 32 people!!!!! I really have gained a testimony of fasting.  We have been really down in this area because as we worked we never saw results and as far as we understood from the mission they have been thinking about closing the area because it has been very in-active.  We really didn’t want that to happen and have been thinking of every way to change the mind-set of the people.  We did all that we could to help the people and went to visit them throughout the weeks I have been here, but until we really focused our fasts on the area we hadn’t seen the results.  Also we had a male investigator in the church that is very interested in learning the truth.  After sacrament meeting he told me that he had felt the peace of the spirit touch him and was happy to have come to church.  We also had a member of the branch bless the sacrament and that was the best part because they are learning how they can stand on their own and not just rely on the elders in this area.

So the sir that went to church this Sunday has a baptism date for 18 de Febrero, and I really do think that he will be ready to be baptized this day.  We just need to focus a little bit more on the family because they are the ones that could use the push to start investigating. I know that he will be a great asset to the branch and his family will also be great for the branch.  We are trying to focus on getting priesthood here so that as missionaries, we don’t have to do everything.  (I mean it’s fun and all but there really is no possible way we can focus on the work, the needs of all the less active members, and the branch…it just doesn’t all work out to well)

Oh another thing, I received my first ¡¡ANIMO!! Card...they’re relics in the mission that testify of something that went very wrong here and started blasphemy.

So well I don’t know what else went down in the week we went to Torreon to get my credit card (my first one got lost somehow).  We went to work finding people to teach and received a few good references that we are hoping will end with blessing for all.

Over all this week has been a great week and many people have learned some very good lessons. Well I know that I have and so has my companion.

That would be all for this week.  I love you all and hope that you all have a great week.

LOVE ELDER PACK!!!!!!!!!

Sister Pack eats some strange food!!

Hey guys!

This week has been awesome with tons and tons of rain and when it´s not raining my body feels like it´s raining because it is drenched! (sorry a bit information there) lol, but things are going well here in Formosa.  We are in our last two weeks of this transfer!  Insane right! We have a baptism next week and we are working with another guy who we think will be baptized in the beginning of March.

This area is tough because there is so much to do and sometimes we don´t know where to start. One thing that is interesting here is there are alot of Mormon-Evangelists. Insane right! lol They were baptized in the church but then become evangelists after! I don´t quite understand how but the church is growing here.  They had EFY for the youth in Paraguay and the youth in our ward loved it! I am so glad the church is starting to do things for their people here.

Tomorrow is my first Zone conference, and you won´t believe it, but I am playing the Piano here... it is tough but I love the challenge.  It´s so awesome to see my personality change and always be up for the challenges. (thank you hermana Gammon for helping me! and sister fish and sister Elmer!) My Spanish is coming along.  There are days better than others of course but I love it! I feel like it´s a puzzle here. I love the people here….they are awesome. My companion is learning how to contact from me weird right!? She is way older in the mission than me, but she said I have a way with my words and how I show interest in others. Maybe it's just my North American Mentality!

Des asked me back in the day if there was anything weird that I have eaten here. I can now say I ate blood sausage which is absolutely disgusting, and they eat cream of wheat with their meat here. Kind of weird for me. I had to pray myself through my first meal with cream of wheat... but the food here is rico!! I love the bread (my body doesn´t but hey! whatevs right!?) lol Love you guys! Hope your week is awesome!!

                                                                                    

Hermana Pack

Hitch Hiking in the Rain - Elder Pack

hello family and friends,

Well, now this week was fun.  I had a few new things go down.  Well, we had a baptism, then we had more experiences hitch hiking, had fun on exchanges (I don’t even know if that is the word anymore "exchanges"), and interviews with the president.

Well, starting from the first part of the week we didn’t do very much.  We went to work looking for people but the sad thing is in the first 3 days we didn’t find people wanting to listen to us, but the worst thing that happened through the first few days of the week was that all of the food appointments fell through.  But to tell you the truth, that’s fine.  We just went back to the house and cooked something really quickly. (It gives me more time to experiment on how many different ways I can cook an egg hehehe).  So, when Friday rolled around, and I needed to take exchanges with my district leader, I was a little afraid that the food was going to drop again but with luck it didn’t!!!!!!! We are going to move back to Thursday for the interviews.  On Thursday, president was in madero chavez to interview all of us and see how we were doing and all of that jazz.  It wasn’t supposed to take all day but the sad thing is it did.  We got to chavez at like 1 and had to do things that we can’t do in our area and then went to the church building to talk to the president and also have a little lecture given by the president.  We went into interviews, and well when I got done with mine it was 8 at night.  After that we had to return to our area.  The worst thing to be doing but there was no other thing we could have done….got back to the house at 10:30 and still had to do things so we didn’t get to bed until 12 or later. (We had to be ready for exchanges the next day)

Friday our district leader came to our ranch to take exchanges with me and also to do the interview of Dayra.  It was interesting to go on splits with Elder Levi (he is an American just if anyone is asking).  The funny thing is we really didn’t speak in English throughout the entire day…only when we got back to the house and started to relax a little bit more.  But as we were working, we had a great time.  We found a family that I am hoping will progress because the father actually seems interested and that is what this area needs…more men with the priesthood. But the best result of the day was that our little investigator was ready to become baptized.

Saturday, we went to chavez again for the baptism and it was great.  Our companionship and Elder Levi were there with the family. Only 8 people but a great experience.

Sunday, I had the second time to confirm a person a member of the church in Spanish and really the second time in my life. I have been thinking it gets easier every time (but that is not to say I’m an expert because really I fault a lot of Spanish before I can say that I’m good at it).  At night we went to our district meeting and while were sitting in the meeting out of nowhere we heard the crack of thunder and the only thing that went through my mind was oh crap.... well that would be because we had to return to our area in the night because they have told me that there is a rule about us not being able to stay in chaves overnight and return in the morning.  So we went out in the rain to go home and had some great luck and caught a ride with busses.  I wish that I could have gotten a ride from a pick-up truck and had a better story to tell the truth hahahaha.

Well my family and friends that would be it for this letter because the truth is I don’t have much more to write about.  Love you all and hope that you have a great week.

LOVE ELDER PACK

The iPod works!! - Sister Pack

Hi guys.  Here are some pictures of my week this week.  We had another baptism, and I am teaching everyday and serving everyday.  Sorry no cool stories this week.  OH WAIT I DO!  My IPOD is resurrected! for now.  It only works when it wants to though.  Kind of a bummer lol, but it works!  I am so grateful to the lord for that miracle.  Anyways that is it, and I am working hard trying to learn how to be a true disciple of Christ.  I am glad my little brother is ALIVE! ps felicitaciones en su cumpleaño! un año bro. tengo muchisimo respecto para tu! ojala su proxima año es capo y tiene exitó en el campo. ps escribasme!!!  Anyways, I hope all is well at home and can´t wait to see new photos of my new nephew or niece! When is Emily due again?  Well this week is short lo siento, but I am doing well in the heat.  I always have sunblock and a bottle of ice with me everywhere!  Well, cuidase por este semaña porfavor. choa!

                                                                                      Hermana Pack