Elder Connolly Mexico letter #18

Hola FAM!

 

Ok, first things first,-- number to call me is 01-999-9-82-11-83. and call me on SUNDAY, DEC 25 at 3:34 and 45 seconds, 21 milliseconds... en PUNTO, Salt Lake City Time!! haha just around 3:30 SLC time, it will be 4:30 time here. we got 40 minutes. and yeahhhh... thats thats.

 

I'm starting out with the Q´s

 

1.  What is your situation this week with your comp gone home?  WHERE ARE YOU?

OKKKKKK.... so I got transferred, and you will NEVER guess where I am!!! CUBA!!! Cuba opened up last Monday and I am part of the first group of missionaries ever to go to Cuba, me and 31 other elders from our mission. It's absolutely crazy here. The food is tight, their accent is crazy different and very hard to understand. My area is Moco.  It's like 20 minutes out of the capital and the beach. Its really humid and hot, and wow, just different. And I love IT HERE!!! and best part is that none of this is true!  I am still in Brisas, with another gringo from our neighbor ward, and right now we´re working both areas until the end of the transfer, 1 more week. His names Elder Sorensen, he's from lehi, and he scored the winning goal against East soccer team to go into OT my senior year in the first game of playoffs, with 10 seconds left in the game....... then had the assist on the header goal in OT golden goal the first 2 minutes.... a day East high soccer will never forget... and on his state ring, it has inscribed on it ¨10 seconds¨.... I kinda hate him. Haha!  I'm over it though, he's a stud!  He has been in my district since my birth in the field and working together with him is way fun.

 

2  STORY OF THE WEEK

welllll, I'd say the story of the week was with this lady we found named Dori.   It was our 3rd door we had knocked on Saturday, and honestly, going up to the door, I thought, there's no way these people are gonna be interested cause they have alot of money/their house is huge.  But we still went up and knocked it.  The garage door opened, and we went over, and Dori was standing there.  She let us in the backyard, and we started to contact her and teach.  She already had a solid testimony of prayer because 30 plus years ago, sister missionaries had taught her and her 3 niños were taught all the lessons but weren't baptized because their dad wouldn't let them.  But he died 6 years ago, and I guess we´re the first people to knock her door since that ha!  I guess the other missionaries before me thought the same thing that I did! Haha!  We taught her the gospel of Christ, baptism, and the promise of eternal families, and she accepted a baptismal date for Jan 7.  I feel like she has a doubt that we still need to dig out of her, so it´ll take some work this week, but we have it on lockdown ha. I felt sooo good walking out of the lesson with her. It was sooooo awesome.  People are always ready to hear the gospel, you just need to find them. and I thank those 2 sister missionaries that planted the seeds soo long ago that made it all possible.  It really made me realize that all my work with investigators like Carla, Rachal, Carlos and all the others that we didn't get to see them in the baptismal font, might pay off with someone 30 years from now who will get to see them IN DA WATA.  If Dori gets baptized, I'm looking up those 2 sisters and tellin-- them, ones from Oaxaca and the other from Vera Cruz. Planting seeds is 99% of missionary work.

 

 

3.   What do the Mexican people do to celebrate Christmas?

They pretty much just worship Mary.... and not Jesus. Kinda backwards.  Its ¨Maria-mas¨ here. and actually they don't really do the whole gift thing, like you get presents on Dec. 25, but on January 11.  It's weird--I forgot why, ha.  But we´ll see how it really is. We have a bunch of rules we have to follow this week. We have to be in the house by 8pm on Christmas Eve, and we can't leave the house, except for our church, on Sunday Christmas day until 4pm, then Im heading over to a members house where you guys are gonna call me.

 

SoooIi haven't been in my house since Thursday, we have both houses, we can choose which house to live in ha. We´re probably gonna spend Christmas in my house, but who knows, it depends on the appointments we have.  ummmm what else... we hope to have a baptism this Saturday, we´ll see.

 

Well, I gotta go, hope you like the pictures! laterrr. talk to you on Christmas!

 

-elder C

Elder Connolly Mexico letter #16

Hola fammilia!

Okkkk, wow, I forgot to tell you mom how much I loved the packages you send. I love the pillow, got my retainers(my teeth are straight again! but very sore...!), STROP WAFFLESSS!!! AHHHH, nutella, love the stocking, and I started opening the day by day packages, opened dec 5 today! I loved Dec 1, the cd with testimonies from past and present prophets and apostles—tell the Woods thanks for that one!!!! Also I got some mail last week with east high newsletter and some notes! Thanks! You guys rock!

PUESSS.... IT'S DECEMBER!!!! But wait!!! there is no snow.... ok-- I have a request... send me snow! If anyone can figure out a way to successfully get a cube of POWDERY snow from slc to mexico, enough to make a 3 ball snowman, I will personally give my bank account numbers and passwords to you (that have nothing in it... right now...) it will be worth the 5 minutes that snowman that would last before it ¨in the sun it melted, melted, melted-- in the sun it melted, small, small, smalll...¨ the contest is on!'

Ok for real though, mom, if you could send me my friends mission home addresses. So Denmark mission, Russia Yukaterinburg mission, New Hampshire Manchester mission, and Magala Spain mission, and also Fort Lauderdale Florida mission and Tokoyo Japan homes, that would be great. Maybe more, I'll let you know. And its Espen, James,

Grayden, david hales and David Osborn  and Russell if you wanna just ask their moms.

Sooo it hit me this week that, duh, i get to talk to you guys in like 20 days, cool huh!!?? haha for real, I forgot. and  have some details about it. sooooo

1. it will be Christmas Sunday after 4 pm
2. You are going to call me. I have to get you the information, we´ll set a time and you call the number I give you at the time
3. We have 40 minutes

So I am excited. I'll get you the info next week. the only thing that is going to be hard is that Elder Griffith, my comp, is leaving next Friday Dec 16. The pres gave him and the other missionaries in his generation Christmas at their homes-- otherwise they would leave after the end of the transfer which is Dec 26, and be home Dec 28 haha. soooo presidente, in his amoroso misericordia, gave them Christmas at home. Good news for Griffith, the only thing is I don't know what is going to happen to me for the remainder of the transfer, about 10 days. It could be a special exchange, I leave or someone comes to me, I could be in a 3-some with the Zone Leaders, orrrr I could be alone...not. haha. More on that when I know.

What else...what ellse... oh we´re teaching some people!! We found this kid named Ulysis, and we took him to the First Presidency Devotional last night, which by the way was AWESOME!!! This time, I could understand A LOT more haha.  It was last night at 6 slc time, I think, if you guys saw it or not I don't know-- but it was cool. REMEMBER CHRIST in CHRISTmas! - Pres. Monson. They also have another movie they made, it was cool. Eyring and Uctdorf talked as well. AND YOU´LL NEVER GUESS WHO SAID THE CLOSING PRAYER AT THE END!!!! SUSAN BOYLES TWIN FROM GENERAL CONFERENCE!!!! HAHAHAHAH I was dying, it was soooo funnnny!!  But back to Ulysis—he is way excited, and I think we found him at the PERFECT time. We´ll see what happens this week!

Rachel....soo we haven't been able to talk to her for 3 weeks straight now...and when she has been home, she won't come out, she won't answer our calls and won't come to church. I thought we were gonna put her in da wata...but for real, it is frustrating. It is really never a done deal until they are baptized.  Also with José, we stopped by his house to teach him the other day-- he forgot about the cita and as we showed up, he was in the middle of building an alter for Mary for their house... ahhhh. It's just sooo frustrating. people here are verryyy flakey...I'm still trying to love them, but it's pushin' a few of my buttons sometimes.

Flip,  I had alot more to say, but I am getting kicked off. Love you fam. more next week! HAPPY BIRTHDAY EM!!!

-Elder C