Elder Connolly Mexico letter #15

HEY FAM!!
What's crackin'?

Ok! before that, Dad, send me a picture of you and the biggest fish you have caught, and also send a copy of that picture of me and my salmon on the Clearwater River. Thanks! I have a lot of investigators that are/were pescadores, or fisherman!  They will love them!

Ok, first things first, SIBS and MOM (and mom make sure they do it...) haha it would be realllllllly cool if ALL you guys would send me a picture of you guys at the temple on your wedding day-- like at the temple door, with the fam, or whatever.  Like Jeff,  that one of you and Nat where it looks like you jumped 8 feet high in the air due to excitement with your arms up, flexing at the camera, you know what one I'm taking about? haha.

We had a wayyy cool capacitcaion con the presidente last Friday!  I love my mission president!  He's so tight!  Just powerful-- and I learned alot: more rules... more tips with references and getting members involved, more confidence--I had to give the spiritual experience/lesson en español at the beginning!---and just alot more. And as a gift he gave us all a picture notebook that the AP's made with a picture of the temple on the front and a sealing room on the back to show the investigators and let them know that baptism isn't the end, but the end goal is to take your family to the temple. It's really cool, and you are supposed to fill it with pictures of converts you have baptized and later go to the temple with them, but I don't have any.....yet... but I do have parents and 10 bros and sis´s that have! so if you guys could send one, that´d be great, and you can't decide between 2, send both and I will pick :) gracias!!!

Well this week was good.  I had a thanksgiving dinner!!!!...NOT!! ha. but I had a lunch!... of rice and beans ;) ha. Well I didn't have a thanksgiving meal, but it was still a good week, and it was very fulllllll. I had 2 divisions, had a capaciation, lots of walkin and knockin and.... I can't remember any other big events.... but it was a good week.

1.  How many packages have you received?
Yes, I got one on monday, and the Christmas one at the capaciation on Friday—I loved them!!!!
2. Do you need anything? 
ummmmmm.... nope. maybe next week, I thought of stuff that I needed but they aren't coming to mind right now
3.  Can you send pics?
I sent a letter FINALLY last week, sorry. I am so bad at sending and writing letters by hand. My bad--. and I put like 18 pics in it from my camera for the calendar. Also you can print off the ones I sent before. My sd card has a virus from these computers, and now I can't view them... so dumb, so I am scared to put in the other sd cards and ruin more, I haven't lost them. I think I am just going to buy more SD cards from now on. I don't trust the computers here.
4. favorite story of the week DMD
Welll, there's always a bunch. but one that was cool was actually a train reaction one-- haha. So we started divisions, and I was with the ZL—he is pretty cool. and it was right after the capaciation where we are alllllll stokedddd to go out and work again cause SOMEHOW  cough ( the SPIRIT!!!!) just drives us to go baptize the world! haha but we started just talking and talking to people, and within like an hour we had 8 new investigators and citas set for the week and got a bunch of references, which led to references and mores citas tomorrow and Wednesday and it was reallly cool--- just bang bang bang.

We are going to have a greattt week this week. I can feel it. I wish I could write more, but i gotta go! Love you all. Hope all is well back at home! thanks for e´er thang!

Elder C.

E. Connolly Mexico letter #14

Querida Familia!

I had an interesting week. First off, we had a baptism fall through... Rachel didn't get baptized. The thing that is sooo frustrating is your excitement and joy get crushed sooo fast when things like that happen. Things will be going sooooo well with an investigator and then all the sudden something will happen, or something nothing, and everything changes... we are hoping to get her baptized this week, but it could be the next. I tell you,  I have never felt the power of Satan more.  I haven't experienced it myself, but I have witnessed it in too many people.  I  know he is real.

As for José, he is still doing good-- he didn't come to church this week, but he is ¨pained¨ in his words that he let us down.  We waited for him and he never came. It is sooo hard to get people to the capilla at 8 in the morning when few have a car, a bus ride cost money and takes from 20-30 minutes, and our area is HUGE.  But I think he´ll be fine, I hope and pray.

More about José-- we almost lost him on Wednesday. We showed up to his house and he had a concern. After conference last week, he was really feeling something, the start of a testimony.  So after, he called his mom, a bien duro catholic who lives in Compeche, and he told her what he was doing, investigating another church, and she flipped, threatening everything.  He told us he can't lose his family. We started a fast the next day and prayed specifically for him that his family would still accept him if he acted on what he found out to be true.  So far, he hasn't brought it up again and he is still progressing, and actually his daughters may begin being taught soon.  Fasting is unbelievable!   My testimony of fasting has gone up like 500 X on my mission.  I  read in the scriptures in like every instance that all the missionary studs like Ammon, Alma, Aaron and Helaman ¨fasted and prayed many days¨--Alma 17:2-3 and many more. No duh--they had the spirit.

I also had a life changing experience this week.  We were on our way to the capilla to teach a lesson there.  We crossed the road by our house,  and I passed this man on my left and greeted him and kept going. About 8 seconds later, behind me I heard the terrible sound of skidding tires, broken glass, and a CRASH!-- so loud, within 1 minute the whole colonia was outside.  The man we had just passed just got nailed by this speeding car and he was laying on the ground about 30 feet in front of the car with a shattered windshield and dented hood and we were the first people on the scene. I was freaking out and didn't know what do to. A blessing came to mind, but it wasn't possible with like 70 people out of their houses running over to help.  We just watched for a minute as the poor man tried to move. I felt so crappy and hopeless-- the rest of the night I was in vertigo, not being able to think about teaching or whatever.  Ii don't know if the guy is alive or not, but it just hit me how fragile life is and how things can happen soooo fast! It seemed so surreal to witness it. It also made me wonder if I missed a prompting to contact the guy, which would have interfered with his timing and would have been alright. I just felt terrible. please be careful family and friends, look both ways before crossing the road, wear your seatbelt and ¨don't do anything stupid¨ (dad´s advise to me). I am DYING to see you ALL in 19 months. ¡Cuídense MUCHO!

This week was a little downer, but things can only go up from here. T hanks for your love, prayers and support. me apoyáis mucho, y estoy muy agradecidos. ¡LES AMO con todo mi corazon!

-Elder C

Elder Connolly Mexico letter #13

MI HERMOSA FAMILIA!!!

So---- first off, I'm still here in Brisas, my definate home for Christmas 2011..whooo whoooo!! Haha!

This week was good. I don't know where to start. First off, the work is good. We have 2 progressing investigators now, 2 dropped... well not really dropped, one is 14 and the other is 17, and neither of them have the permission of their parents to get baptized-- so dumb. We´ve been teaching Arif, the 17 year old for about 2 months and now his mom won't even let us teach him until January, when he turns 18 and there's nothing we can do. It just kinda sucks. If I'm here still, I'll get to baptize him then.

Carla is doing great-- still not progressing because she isn't married, but going to church and really changing and likes it.  We need to work on her husband  (but not husband)  but he is never there, he works literally all day selling things on his bike.  By the way, I am finally beginning to trust the bike vendors—ha! -- they sell some pretty good stuff  and its wayyy cheap.  Also the stands that sell tortas and stuff.....wowwww, sooo good!   They ride by our house while we are studying in the morning, ¨E- Looooo-Tee-Ssss!!!............ E Looooo-tee-sss!!¨ or ¨tammmmmalllllliiiiiiiieeeeesssssss a tressss Peeeeeeeesssssssoooooossssssss!!!¨ ---every 5 minutes, or just ¨ppaannnn¨ haha. Anyways, more on them later.

We found another fam!  The dads name is José and he is really excited about the church. It was our stake conference yesterday and he came with us and we are so hoping that he will be baptized!  The families are just awesome! We have 2 others that we are still working on, but not as likely to progress, but we´re trying!

We had our interviews with the pres this past week, but turned out not being in our house!! haha sweeeeeeeeeet. and 1 of the new rules set by the pres is about our ipods....more than any worldly music you have on it, if you didn't buy it or have the hard copy, erase it. Which is about all of my music except fictionist and 1 Guster cd I bought the hard copy of....but those, being ¨worldly¨, still had to go. haha even my ipod that i gave to Sam to fill up on his computer of all church music... so I erased EVERYTHING!!! on my 1, the other one is going this week. so I literally have nothing. MY DREAM of having my playlist of all my favorite JAMS playlist ready to go on the way home from the airport post mish....is gone.... haha. I'm kinda sad, not gonna lie. but It's all good—it's a good thing really . I am starting over new. (hint mom... send me music, expecially a guy named Steven Sharp Nelson, he does arrangements of hymns and is amazing. )

Well something else, I started the bible for the first time last week, reading the new testament and in Spanish. I also took the advise of the mish pres and am memorizing a scripture a day. Pres Monson said if you memorize a scripture a day for a year, he promises you will have photographic memory. I wouldn't believe it but I't's from the prophet... I'm doin' it!!! And what about a scripture a day for 2 years? Haha!

I'm out of time, love you all. Have a good Thanksgiving, and don't do another epic BLACK FRIDAY SHOPPPING SPREE without ME!!!! haha jk        Elder C.

Elder Connolly in Mexico--letter #12

My Wonderful FAMILY...

I'm scared!! Flip!  Next week is transfers and I really don't want to leave this area.   Things have really started to pick up and I'm gonna be sad if I don't get to baptize the people we have found. We found another family last week, and I think we  will get to baptize them if I can hang on and survive transfers. Part of me thinks I will be leaving, but I don't know. Ahhh!!!

The daylight savings actually made the work a lot harder-- now it gets dark at like 5, and in our area, this city runs on sunlight, so as soon as the sun goes down, the beer comes out, and you are either drunk or have locked yourself in the house.... tracting and teaching has gotten a lot harder. It is necessary to set citas in those hours, and take as much time as you can buscando por más en la tarde. (what does this mean?)

Well flip, I had an amazing week. and it was verrrrrrrrrry full. To start out with, we had a capacitación con el presidente that was just awesome and excited all of us out, and we were on fire for the rest of the time. but wowwwwwwwwwwww, there are sooo many dang rules... already and this week pres droped a few (about 15) more.... ahhhh, the sad life of a missionary, so locked up but yet soo happy....?? huh??  haha, it feels really restricting, but whatev, I have kinda turned it into a game and have fun with being obedient!  Ha!

@e have a few progressing investigators aside from the 2 families, and 1 her name is Rachel, and she was an answer to my prayers... holy cow, she has NO doubts when we teach her, except she drank coffee and té, but when we taught her that, she dropped it immediately ha. It kinda makes it hard sometimes haha, what do we teach you if you have no needs!!?? haha :) I love it, I can't stop smiling! She is just sooo ready, why can't they all be like this?? And  Carla came to church yesterday with her 2 daughters! Ahhhh I loved it, but we have to get her married first before we can baptize her, that's the tricky part...

this week also consisted of my:

• first shoe shine
• first capaticación
• first sewing job with my kit
• and first time I've been this happy
• oh and, we haven't had electricity since last Wednesday!   Haha!

OH the mish, too much fun. I  love it. Thanks for all your support and love and prayers, I'm out! later!

-Elder Connolly

ps, I still can't get my camera to work, I'll send some pics from my printer mom,

Elder Connolly Letter from Mexico #11

HELLO FAM!!

Ok first off.... the mystery $500 pèso fedex package was a present from Mr. MAC with a new backpack... and also got the other package! I was wondering why you sent smoked salmon though-- hahahaha, I was like, ¨looks like where makin' salmon chowder¨ haha!  No really I am excited!  Thanks! And thanks for the random gifts, various butters of peanuts and almonds, and beef jerky ha, very much appreciated!!

OKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

wowwww what a week!!!  So here was my schedule for the week:

Tuesday: did an exchange with a new missionary, so  I was the senior comp ha, we are both greenies.  It was a lot of fun, and I learned a lot running the lessons and picking where we went.  We found 2 news and taught 5 lessons!   I was proud of myself!  Ha!

Wednesday:  Welllll,  we were supposed to have interviews with the president Thursday morning IN OUR HOUSE!!!  So we cleaned allll morning haha!  Then guess what?  We get a call from the APs, and 65 elders from 5 zones in Cancun and surrounding areas were being evacuated from their areas because of an approaching hurricane and coming to Merida and we have to host 2 more elders in our home for at least 5 days, and we were to pick them up in 2 hours.... OK I WANNA KNOW HOW BIG THIS HURRICANE WAS THAT CAUSED IT!!  Someone? in any case, it was a flippin'  blast.  We hosted 2 elders, 1 gringo and another Mexian that were just awesome.  And since they were here for 3 days (got cleared to go back Saturday) and worked in our areas, we found a TON of new investigators,  I think over 12 for the week. Our stats JUMPED up this week haha!  it was tight.

Also Wednesday, we had our noche de barrio, like FHE for the ward!  It was alot of fun haha, I think I told you about it last week.  It went pretty well as planned, the ward members that came did it then the institute class did it!  Haha-- it was hilarious!

Thursday
 I did splits with Elder Gomez, one of the Cancun elders, and it was awesome.  We found 3 new people and taught some lessons.  It was alot of fun!

Friday
We did service starting at 5pm until 9pm for building the house!  We messed around with the mashettes( swords thingys, spelling?), tossed around 40 pound cinder blocks high and low, cut down trees, and prepped for the actual  roofing of the house the next morning.  Since I haven't  really done any physical labor since June,  I was way sore haha!  All ofmy calluses have fallen off on my hands, and I got some nasty blisters back haha'1  It was great—I  actually miss working hard physically.

Saturday
Finished up service starting at 7 to 9, we had to finish early cause literally from 10am-9pm at night, we had appointments and a backup appointment every hour except around lunch time. The Cancun elders left at 5 in the morning and gave us all their citas, and then to add to ours, we had a good full day... then we got an extra hour of sleep that night :)

and Sunday was great—darn, I am running out of time—ha!

There wasn't really 1 highlight of the week, although this week was probably the longest and hardest week, it was the funnest.  We did find 1 girl, her name is Rachel.  Wow-- it was sooo amazing to see how ready she is.  It was like ¨come on, you have to have a DOUBT!!  EVERYONE DOES!!¨ It almost felt like it was too easy to teach her.  She was accepting everything and we have a baptism date set for her and everything.  Also Rachel´s brother was the point guard at Texas longhorns college basketball team a few years back, pretty dope and wayyy random! Haha!

And fam, I finally DID IT! I hit the 80 Kilogram mark! A solid 177 pounds! And this time I'm not jokin! –I am on the rise!

Love you fam, thanks for the letters, packages, prayers and support!
i gotta head! laterrrr

-Elder Connolly

ps, I have LOADS of pictures from this week, but the computer isn't working, so I'll send them next week.