Rufino Baptism!

Como les va familia y amigos!?

Looks like the fall colors are taking over in Utah, so beautiful! Everything looks the same here haha.

We had a really good week! We've had some really good lessons, and our investigators are progressing very well! A highlight from one of the lessons was when we were teaching a new family, it was our first lesson. I felt impressed to talk about baptisms for the dead (Which we almost never talk about in the first lesson) and the lady started to get really emotional and she started talking about how her mom was a Jehovah's Witness and a few years ago she passed away. The lady feels that her mother is lost but when we explained that she can be baptized for her, she got super interested! Before the lessons started, they told us that they cant come to church because they work on sundays, and after the lesson they told us that they are goign to figure out the way to come to church. So awesome!

So the chapel for our ward is the stake center, but it is a relatively small building for a stake center (because its a new stake) so they actually closed the chapel to expand it into a bigger and better building. Which means that for 9 months-1 year we will be in a different building that we're renting. Its now a lot harder for the baptisms because we have to go clear to Pachuca. Its only 50 minutes away but the transport is kind of hard for these people who live paycheck by paycheck. We'll figure it out though! The new building is perfect! But all of the stairs make it hard for the old people. We have sacrament meeting on the third floor and theres a super cool view of all of the center of Tizyuca! 

This week we baptized Rufino! A few weeks ago he contacted us on the street (We love when that happens) and he's progressed really well ever since! His wife is (or was) a less active member and they just barely got married (theyre both widows). Its a miracle that they are legitimately married! We knew that was a good sign. He hasnt missed a sunday since and he was ready for baptism! We're happy for him and we know he'll be great in the church.

This week we also had interviews with our President! I respect this man soooo much and Im so grateful for such a great leader in our mission. He gave me hints that I might be leaving so I really need to make the best of these last two weeks in Tizayuca! 

This week I read a talk from Spencer W Kimball that he gave about 50 years ago. Its called The Years that the Locust Devoured ( I think thats what its called, thats the direct translation from Spanish but maybe the English title is different) but here are two quotes (that im paraphrasing) that I loved!

"dost thou love life? then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of."- benjamin franklin

“En la vida hay tres cosas que no vuelven atrás: la flecha lanzada, la palabra pronunciada y la oportunidad perdida”  which means (in life there are three things that dont come back, the shot arrow, the pronounced word, and the past opportunity) it has a better ring to it in spanish haha

Les amo!!

Elder Millard

Waiting for the font to fill up...

It's hard to be tall in the Combi...

Tizayuca catholic church. notice that the virigin "guaudalupe" is the center of attention

Morning fog crossing the bridge

sleeping comp on the bus

Heriberto, Gisselle, and Brenda's Baptism!!

Como les va a todos!??

It was a super good week here in tiza!! The first highlight was the zone conference. President's words so sooo amazing and I think the mission is going to improve a lot. also drumroll..... an apostle is coming to the mission!!! Elder Cook was supposed to come a few months ago but it got canceled so we'll see who comes to visit us in november!! Im super stoked.

My favorite part of the week was the baptism for Heriberto and his wife and daughter!! They are super awesome, and super strong in the gospel!! The best part of the story is how we found him. my last comp Elder Castro and I were running a little late to an appointment but then all of a sudden it started raining SUPER but SUPER hard. So we had to find refuge in a close by taco stand. While we were waiting, I felt like I should contact this man who seemed like he was also waiting for the rain to pass by. He was super nice with us and accepted an appointment for a couple days later! And that was the start of everything! They were able to make some major life changes like smoking 10 cigarettes a day to 0... getting married (which took forever by the way) and starting to read and pray more! They are truly gonna be great converts. And little Brenda (11 years old) says she wants to be a missionary. This fam had met the missionaries like three years ago but they werent able to keep listening. Ever since then, theyve listened to different missionaries every once in a while but it wasnt until we met them that they decided to take the initiative and make the necessary life changes! We're so happy for them.

I finished the Old Testament this week! what an incredible book. I love the little bits and pieces we can learn about the priesthood and temple worship. There are so many little gems that teach us so much! It just makes me realize about how we really are in the "dispensation of the fulness of times" and all of those same things exist again to bless the lives of all of Gods children! 

Les quiero mucho!!

Elder Millard

The Gomez Gonzalez family! And Alex (on the left) a member friend who baptized them!

Still wearing that wristband from bike accident...

Cute little Brenda 

General Conference!

Como Vocés Estao!??

Haha im learning a little bit of portuguese thanks to my comp. Hows everyone going?? Wasnt conference incredible!? I loved all the sessions but sunday morning definitely won it for me! Its such a blessing to have living prophets! Its something that a lot of people dont know about, so share it with everyone!!

This week was soooo good! Weve been flying around our area for more lessons and we've had some really cool experiences! The most amazing miracle I've seen recently is a family that the parents smoked 10 cigarettes every day, and dont have basically any money. But with more lessons, and more reading the book of mormon, they have left completely their addictions and we've found the way for them to get married! So now they are set to be baptized this weekend!! The two parents and their daughter brenda who LOVES the church. They came to two session of general conference and they were just shining with hapiness! Theyre good friends with a lot of the members so theyre gonna fit right in. We love them! Next week Ill share the crazy story of how we found them!

Another highlight of this week was the leadership council we had with President. He discussed many topics that we as a mission need to improve. He and his wife got emotional in some parts talking about some more serious issues, and the spirit was sooooo strong. It reminded me of the scripture in D&C that talks about with the spirit you need to "reporove betimes with sharpness" and then love the person you corrected. We could feel that scripture come to life and I was able to feel the love and care that our president and his wife have for us!

I hope all of us can take a part of general conference and apply it into our life, and review these amazing talks to prepare for april! Remember that joy has very little to do with our situation, rather it has to do with what we're focused on!!

Les amo un buen!!

Elder Millard

Pic 1: MY BEST MISSION FRIEND ELDER CASSAT IS LEAVING ME IN A COUPLE WEEKS! If any of ya'll see him at BYU this coming semester, give him a hug for me

Pic 2: my comp lost his head hahahaha

Pic 3: A bridge over the freeway to mexico city! Were only 40 minutes away!

 

More Time Please!

Como les va familia y amiguitos!!?

It was a great week here in Tiza! Weve been sprinting all over our area for a bunch of lessons every day! God has blessed us with a lot of people who are progressing well. We ended the week super tired from getting home late every night but I wouldnt have it any other way! The best feeling is at the end of the day, feeling super satisfied with all the work. We need more than 24 hours in a day to get to everyone! Thats a good problem to have though. Today has definitely been a blessing to rest a little bit more and prepare for another week!

The Lord has placed us into the path of really great people who are so willing to learn about the gospel! Many of them were able to go to church yesterday. Im super excited to invite everyone to general conference this weekend though, its gonna be awesome!

The highlight of my week was a lesson we had last night. We were teaching the Islas family. The family consists of the dad, the mom, and three daughters. The dad's brother is a member and returned missionary who is also married with a member and they also have a few kids. It was like our third lesson, and we watched the restoration movie with them. After the movie, we focused on talking about the book of mormon because thats what interests the dad most. We talked about it and then invited the dad's brother to share his testimony of the book. He shared such a powerful testimony about how his conversion. His parents kicked him out and disowned him when he told them he got baptized. He also talked about when his first wife, who he is sealed with and everything, died in his own arms from her cancer. But through all the trials, the gospel is the only reason he got through it. Everyone was in tears, and the spirit was super strong. I think it was a great wake up call for the family to realize that the gospel is real, and they need to do their part to get their testimony. I love the mission!

Elder Millard

Pic 1: Since I didnt take other pics this week, heres a random pic in a gated community in our ward with our cone that shows we have permission to be visiting. 

Nuevo Compa!

Buenas tardes familia y amigos!!

Fall is offically here!! Ya'll better enjoy the beautiful Utah fall. I say Fall is my favorite season but then once winter comes, I say winters my favorite season.. and so forth haha. Thats the beauty of Utah though, there are actually four distinct seasons! Here thats definitely not the case haha.

Things a going great here in Tizayuca! We have so many great people in teaching. Of course most of them have very strong challenges like smoking or marriage but we honestly have high hopes for this new transfer!

Recently we got two of our investigators engaged! It was such a fun experience! He had everything ready and planned, and the three kids helped us out too. He put the ring inside of an avocado, her favorite fruit, and she loved it!! She said yes haha. One step closer to the baptism.

We had transfers this weekend and....... I have a new companion!! Im honestly super happy about it too! His name is Elder Cordeiro (lamb in portuegese) he's from Brazil!! He is honestly an amazing Elder. Ive never been in the same zone as him but Ive heard great things about him and with the 8 hours we have together so far, Im super excited! He's super humble, ready to work, and the most loving person! I know Im going to be able to work really well with him. He just got called as a zone leader so I will be teaching him the responsibilities. SO stoked! Elder Castro is headed to open up the area Mixquiahuala (my birthplace in the mish) with Elder Faussett who was my comp in the ccm.

I gave a talk this week in sacrament meeting which I think went well! I focused on what we need to do as members to help in missionary work. All of it starts with our own personal conversion. I love a quote from President Hunter that goes, paraphrasing, like this "the greatest indicator of one's personal conversion is their desire to share the gospel with others" I LOVE THAT: If we dont have a desire to share this knowledge with everyone, we really need to work on strengthening our testimonies. Everyone knows someone who isnt member, so share the message with them! Love you all!!

Elder Millard

pic 1: Elder Cordeiro and I in front of the beautiful black river of tizayuca.

pic 2: Elder Harris' death (he finished his mission)

pic 3: Meneces family engaged! the sign says (to say yes: smile, to say no: do a backflip) hahahaha

VIVA MEXICO!

Feliz 16 de septiembre a todos!! My whole life, I thought Mexico's independence was the 15th but apparently its the 16th, just that most people celebrate it on the 15th in the night.

This week was super good! On Thursday our zone had interviews with President Maldonado. It went great! He gave really good advice and thoughts. I think everyone left the interviews feeling a lot better than when entering.

On Friday we had the Noche Mexicana at the stake center for all the stake of Tizayuca! It was a super fun activity, every relief society of every ward prepared a traditional dance from different parts of Mexico. It definitely reminded me of Spanish Immersion at Cherry Hill Elementary haha. I love this culture so much!! We had some great tacos, tostadas, pozole, tamales, and other foods after the dances. Everyone was dressed up and the investigators really liked the activity!

It was a relatively harder week for our investigators. They had a lot of challenges and most werent able to come to church. We're still in process of getting them married but right now we're looking for more people who can progress faster. Changes are already next week so we'll see what happens! 

I've been reading Isaiah and Im just amazed about how much it talks about the restoration. There's a reason Christ said "great are the words of Isaiah". The prophesies are on point and his words are so beautifully organized. Its really interesting to see the differences between Isaiah and the passages of 2nd Nephi who have the words of Isaiah. There is a chapter of 2nd Nephi that has a phrase that includes the record in the Greek and Hebrew old testament which shows how the brass plates were more complete than the translations that have been done of the bible in these days. I hope we can all read and comprehend Isaiah's words to help us understand what has happened and what will happen in these last days!

Elder Millard

Pics 1,2: VIVA MEXICO!!!

3: The only cool part of tizayuca hahaha

Please Get Married

Que tal como estan??

It was a super fun week here in Tizayuca! Here are some highlights..

On Tuesday, we had exchanges. I was with Elder Dow who just barely got to the mission. We had a super successful day in our area! We had 5 really good lessons and some great contacts! The best part was when we visited Catalina who is a contact we found in Los Olmos which is a super poor colony above our house. Turns out that who family is like the owner of the whole colony, but she was super receptive to us!! Shes probably like 80 years old and she is just the nicest person. Honestly one of my favorite parts about Mexico are the old ladies that are just the funniest and nicest people on the planet. She received the restoration lesson very well, so I told Elder Dow to invite her to baptism. She said that she would love to! So we have it planned for the end of September. She came to church this sunday, nice and prepared and 30 minutes early. She found some good friends and had a great experience! It makes all the work worth it right there. We call her abuelita "grandma" and she calls us her nietos "grandkids". 

On Thursday, we had a zone conference with half of the mission because Elder Pino from the seventy came! It was a super good conference. On Friday, we had the leadership council also with Elder Pino. We were able to talk about a lot of different things to help the mission go forward and it looks like we're on the right path! 

The most frustrating thing in our area right now are all of the people who need to get married!!!! I never imagines this being such a big problem in my mission. Its been a challenge in all my mision but this area is the worst. We have 8+ people who want to get baptized, but they are living in "union libre" and need to get married. Sometimes they have to get divorced to previuos marriages to be able to get married to the current parter. It is a very long process and it definitely breaks my heart every time we find great new people and then they tell us they arent married. In the zone, we have 25+ people who are in the same situation. Its unbelievable. There is a member whos a lawyer and he helps us a little bit but its just such a long process and it doesnt help that most of these people have no savings, they just live check by check.

Yesterday, we were planning on getting two of our investigators engaged. Ricardo already has already bought the ring and everything was planned. But saturday night, their kid broke his arm which made them stay in the hospital for the weekend. Thats three sundays that weve tried to have the appointment but something has happened every week. Hopefully this week we'll be able to do it.

Everything is good though, we know that people will start progressing and there will be a bright future! 

I was reading in Psalms this week and I found a phrase that is also repeated a few times in Proverbs. It says "Fear of God is the beginning of Wisdom" which is so true!!! You can be the smartest person in the world, but if you dont understand God and the commandments, you really arent wise. The feat of God really is just respect, and understanding the importance of this life and the role of God and Jesus Christ.

Les amo a todos ustedes!

Elder Millard

Pic 1: District Activity at Zumpango Lake!

Pic 2: Selfie in the combi on the way back from the activity!