TULA!!

Helloooooo my amazing family and friends!!

This week I had to say goodbye to my tadpole and parasite friends. It was quite the hard goodbye but it was time for them to go. On Friday we cleaned out our "tanke" which is the tank on top of the house that holds all our water. Turns out that there wasn't even anything covering it and the water was nice and dark green with dirt and the parasites and tadpole buddies that I was talking about. It was actually pretty dangerous that we were bathing and doing dishes with that water, so I'm glad we were able to see the little tadpoles or else we never would{ve known haha. We spent four hours getting that thing nice and squeaky clean with the help of our amazing mission leader and bishop. Now our problem is that everything smells like Chlorine haha. 

The doctor for the Mixquiahuala missionaries is a champion. She is part of the family Contreras Candeleria. This family is literally my favorite part of being here in Mixqui. Pres Kimball has all of his trust in this woman, and she definitely has all my trust too. But she had me and Elder Howell go get blood tests done to make sure we're ok. Turns out we both have salmonella poisoning. It wasn't from the water but it's because all the vegetables in this zone have salmonella and most people don't wash them well enough. Weirdly enough, Elder Howell is the one that got sick even though he's been here longer. He's been having a lot of digestive issues but guys for some reason I haven't really had any problems! Sure I have had my moments with diarreah but that's nothing new here in Mexico haha. I do have salmonella but I have prescripted medicine that will get the job done before I start having symptoms.

Guys. The family Contreras Candelaria. I am in love. Seriously we are so grateful to have their love and support as missionaries. There are three families that live in the same little complex with different little houses. All of them come from abuelita Cholita. Guys Cholita is a true homie. She's the woman in the background of the pic of me and Elder Howell eating chicken feet haha. I have officially adopted her as one of my grandmas and now I'm an honorary grandon. Her grandson is our misison leader, Lalo, who is just the best person on the planet. Cholita's daughter is the doctor I was talking about. And one of Cholita's grand daughter's name is Alondra. Alondra has Leukemia, but has such a strong spirit. She is such a light in the family and in the ward. We all really look up to her because despite all of the intense chemo and radiation she's going through, she is always perfectly happy. But guys this family is just so humble. They have a tiny little store that's connected to their house and they all take their little shifts as a family. You can tell they don't have very much money (except for the daughter that's a doctor haha) but they are all always perfectly happy. They also have a parrot named lorito that is almost thirty years old. The parrot always says "hola" and "que paso" or "como estas?" and it's just the funniest thing haha. Apparently he sings too but he gets nervous in front of us haha. He had a friend that died a while ago and it's hilarious because now he legit hates the daughter that's a doctor because he thinks that she killed his friend. He always runs away from her hahaha. That little bird brain never ceases to amaze me. This family is definitely one I want to come back to visit when I come home from the mish.

This week wasn't quite as successful as the others. It's hard to have every week as good as the past couple weeks. Lily is a 9 year old girl who was going to get baptized today but her dad didn't let her go to church last week and he is starting to doubt letting her get baptized. And a lot of our investigators with potential have kind of died off and become more flaky. With those let downs, and the fact the Elder Howell got sick pretty bad this past week, made it hard to have as much success and progress as we've been having. We're still doing really well in general. We're  on track on baptize two-five people this coming week, and we still have some good progressing investigators but we definitely have a lot of work to do if we're going to continue the success. We'll never be satisfied haha

The family that is going to be baptized this week is named the Reyes family. The mom and one of the daughters are basically set for this saturday but the other two daughters still aren't sure. This is the family that literally contacted us and asked for more lessons. Miracle. One of my favorite parts of the mission so far is when the investigators learn something new and their eyes just light up. The Reyes family has learned a lot and they have had so much more joy because of it. Yesterday in fast and testimony meeting, the mom and daughter bore their testimonies about how they have felt since the message of the gospel came into their lives. We're grateful they found us and we're hopeful to clear up the doubts of the two other daughter and eventually get to the father too! 

Next email I will know if Elder Howell and I are staying together. I really hope we do because we're on a roll here and we have a lot to do still but president told us that this cycle there are 25 new missionaries coming. That's more than any other cycle in the history of of the mission Mexico Pachuca. Because of this, president isn{t afraid to make some crazy decisions and changes to accomodate for all the trainers that will be needed. Training is supposed to be 12 weeks and I'm only at 6 but we'll see what happens for this next cycle. Hopefully I'll stay here in Mixqui! I love this place. But I know I'll love wherever I am sent.

Today for pday, Elder Howell and I, and the Progreso elders went with Lalo and his younger brother miguel to the ruins in Tula!! You have to get at least two baptisms in a cycle in order for president to let you go because its actually outside of our mission haha. We all just piled into the back of the truck and road tripped to Tula! Guys this place is so cool!! This is the place that has been speculated to be occupied by the Jaredites. All of the pyramids and buildings were used for sacred ceremonies and rituals. And the statues seem to be wearing ancient temple clothing. Tula was so dope. It was one of the biggest cities and civilazations in ancient Mexico, and it was so so beautiful. Next up I need to go to Teotihuacan, which could very well be where Christ visited the Americas. I love literally living in the Book of Mormon. 

This week I want to share a thought about how soon we, as humans, forget about the spiritual moments in our lives, and how we forget about when we{ve seen the hand of God. Alma 9:8-9 says "how have ye forgotten the tradition of your fathers? yea, how soon ye have forgotten the commandments of God. Do ye not remember that our father, Lehi, was brought out of Jerusalem by the hand of God? Do ye not remember that they were all led by him through the wilderness?". Guys this is why it is so important to read the scriptures, pray, and live the gospel every day. We forget so soon about how great God has been to us. I want to ask you questions just as Alma did. Do you not remember that you have the opportunity to live because God gave it to you? Do you not remember that God has supplied you with strength during your hard times? Do you not remember that Jesus Christ atoned for our sins, and that through him, we can repent and live forever? Family and friends, please think often in the times that you've seen the hand of God. Maybe keep a journal of how you've seen blessings from God in your life. Find a way to learn from this example in the scriptures and remember your savior and your God in every moment. They are everything. And all they ask us to do is keep the commandments and live the gospel. If we can do that, we will be blessed forever. This life is the time to prove to our creator that we love him, and we will obey him.

Les amo a todos de ustedes! Siempre recuerden y sigan su redentor y padre celestial!

Elder Millard