Week # 31 Well I guess Honduras is cool too hahahaha

May 26, 2014

Subject: Well I guess Honduras is cool too hahahaha

So when Grant got his mission call I just started crying and this little Mexican girl was like "are you okay sir?" hahaha super funny. I had a feeling he was going Spanish-speaking haha. So siiiickk now we can all just go hard in Spanish when we all get back. Dang, too pumped for him! He is gunna kill it in Honduras. That is where they are going to need him the most is where ever he is called. Too weird that all my best friends are moving on with life. I hope the best for every single one of you guys, and you are all included in my prayers.

Well this week just is super duper crazy boring we are having a lot of success in our ward though! It’s cool to see your work paying off. It started out with 80 people going to church every week like 4 months ago, and the difference now, we have 150 160 people going to church every week!!! We moved the relief society out of their room because we can’t fit all of the investigators .We have like 30 investigators in the church between the 3 companionships. Just working super hard and God is blessing us like crazy. Probably the happiest time in my mission, just love helping people we are just doing service like crazy. I feel so bad for my little boy Elder Penagos cause we are doing so much service, its awesome.

We are going to be baptizing a bunch of people soon we have a family of 4 that is the strongest family in our ward, bringing people to church, going to all the activities, and just loving the church. We are going to marry a couple soon and they are going to be baptized. We are just working super hard trying to get whole families into the temple, Edgar one of the converts, decided to go on a mission and is just waiting to complete his year in the church and then he can go! So Stoked the mission is super tough, but so much cooler than it is tough.

Love all you guys and Happy Queen Elizabeth Day and Memorial Day haha.

Love your home boy, Elder SlitherswithSnakes

Rodabough

Week # 30 Didn’t cry too much this time

May 12, 2014

Subject: Didn’t cry too much this time

So just going to start out by saying, and I’m sure you all know, but I have the best mother ever. I had the best mothers day ever too! Thats weird to say but mother’s day I think is my second favorite holiday of the year (at least for these 2 years hahaha). So good talking to my family, they are the life. I am super grateful to have the family that I have, they literally are the raddest ever. 

So kind of a boring week just had like a bunch of meetings and we painted a whole house, so that’s always fun. I’m learning how to speak Colombian from my companion. And I bet you didn’t even know they had a separate language, but they really don’t, their Spanish is just super freaking weird. They have an accent that throws the curve ball at me on the daily, I think my companion thinks I have hearing problems cause I’m always like, “what did you say?” hahah. So there's that. We are still tearing it up hear in Real Del Bosque.

Well on another note too hyped to find out where Grant is going on his mission, I’m sure he’s going straight to Africa Ghana mission! That is whats on the forecast from Elder SoarswithEagles (aka Rodabough). He’s gunna destroy wherever he gets called, God knows where to put him. But really though I am probably more excited than he is haha. Love that kid.

Just loving the mission it really is great to learn all this stuff like Elder Measels wrote, learning a language, forgetting yourself, and finding yourself at the same time is the coolest thing ever to experience.

Love you all, ElderSoarswithEagles

Rodabough

Week # 29 Call me big papa

May 5, 2014

Subject: Call me big papa

So last week I became a dad LOL! After about 9 months in the mission I gave birth to a 140 lb, 19 year old baby, named Elder Penagos, he’s Colombian haha. He’s pretty siick, scared out of his mind, and doesn’t say a thing when we are with investigators, so I just put the companionship on my back and carry the team to victory! I am teaching him Mexican Spanish, so that’s cool. We are working super hard. My companion got sunburned which is funny because he is Latino and I didn’t think they got sunburned, but you learn something new everyday right. 

Side note: this keyboard sucks... 

We had a good week its weird being the one that makes the decisions and your comp just follows you! But we are working really hard, but we aren’t robots so thats sweet. We go walking through the forest by our house when we study so thats super sweet just to study in the fresh air. 

We found a new family of 8 that we are teaching. Recently their father/husband died so we are teaching them about the plan of salvation, and the spirit was super strong. They are going to go to church next sunday so I’m excited, too excited! The work is crazy here I feel like I am in the promised land of missionary work, so many people are accepting us we found 12 new people to teach this week. God is really helping me out in my time of need.

Lesson of the week look for the tender mercies, for example finding mac and cheese at the grocery store.

Realment estoy muy agradecido para tener personas como ustedes en mi vida, a veces me gustaria tener personas un poco menos chido en mi vida porque a veces les extraño mucho. Muchas gracias por todo sus oraciones y cosas que hacen por mi.

Love Elder fallswithrain

Rodabough

Week # 28 Responsibility... Booo!! Jk I’m stoked!

April 28, 2014

Subject: Responsibility... Booo!! Jk I’m stoked!

Hello darlings. So this week was one of the slowest weeks in a little while just because the anticipation of changes. We visited a lot of people we haven’t seen in a long time because of semana santa here in Mexico, everyone was gone for vacations. We visited my hommies sandra y paco this week, and they finally went to church, and they committed to go to church every Sunday for the rest of their lives! Nah just kidding but they said they are committed to go every Sunday because they feel that the church is true. They want to pay tithing too, huge change in them soo cool to see. It is so cool to have people change right in front of your eyes but not because of the words but how they feel. Lovin it!!

So I think I’m cursed. My first comp after he was with me got changed to zone leader. My companion got his changes, and is going to be a zone leader. It’s safe to say that if you’re with me then your guaranteed to be a zone leader next. I had interviews with president and he was talking with me and told me that I’m going to be training and going to be district leader. I was like uhhhh yeah not ready president and he just destroyed me (not really) he just told me I’m ready and have to have more faith. So I’m super nervous and excited at the same time. I feel honored to be a trainer, president says its the most important calling you can receive in the mission field is to train, because I will help set the pace for his whole 24 months here. We are gunna do some super dope stuff; we are gunna study in the forest thats close to our house (I hope he like the forest haha). 

So yeah super stoked, weird to think that April is over… went by super fast. I’m gunna miss Elder Vasquez a ton he’s a good friend to me, but he’s gunna kill it as zone leader. 

Well gotta go to the changes my darlings. Have a good week. I’ll let you know the name of my kid (my trainee) when I get him. Hopefully he’s cool.

Love Elder prances with horses

Rodabough

Week # 27 WWlll Dog version

April 21, 2014

WWlll Dog version

So the good news is, is that I didn’t die in the earthquake. Bad news is, that I didn’t even feel the earthquake, so that kinda sucks. I’ve always wanted to feel an earthquake so not my lucky day. 

Well I just saw world war III outside, all these dogs were attacking each other and I think like 1 or 2 died, but I didn’t see cause I was inside getting my camera to video it. But then I thought to myself who am I really, Michael Vick, or a representative of Jesus Christ???, so I put the camera down. I’m sorry for all the people who wanted to see it though. It was like a brawl, but for dogs so that was pretty sweet.

Anyways… we had a super good week! This could be my last week with my homie and companion Elder Vasquez. We have pretty much baptized every week, so that’s super sick! We have a good relationship, we work super hard, but we have fun together too. We both like to pull jokes on each other, so I gotta be on my toes. I will be sad if he leaves (is that how you spell that kind of leaves??) but yeah we are gunna baptize another on Sat., super cool. We are baptizing a girl that had a total change of heart so that was super cool. She didn’t want anything at first, but she opened up and is such a strong convert. Her name is, well Fanny. She’s tight!!

Well the work is good. Just chillin chillin everyday. I Miss the mountains....... ohh and my family. Joke joke haha haha… laugh everyone.  Everyone I love you.

Elder flieswithfeathers 

Rodabough

Week # 26 WORD UP!

April 14, 2014

WORD UP!

So I feel like the weeks are just going by too fast now its really starting to scare me. Even though at times I’m a complete wimp about the stupid time factor. But this week was a super good week and we found a bunch of new people to teach! Super dope I love finding people who are just so stoked to hear the word. 

So it was like 9:30 at night, and we were walking to eat some pizza out at our ward mission leaders house, and we were walking up the giant hill right in front of his house, and these two people walked by me and I had a prompting to talk with him and his wife. So I contacted them and go figure he is a recent convert gone inactive that lived for 8 years in West Valley, Utah! What a coincidence (I think that’s how you spell it...) there are no such things as a coincidences. We talked to him and felt like I should bare my testimony to his wife, and she wants to hear more about the church. I love little cool experiences like that haha.

We had mission conference this week again to listen to the dedication of the MTC here in Mexico and have a little discussion. President asked what we felt about the talks given and nobody really wanted to share cause they are all pansies (not really). So I stood up and shared what I felt. I shared an experience I had with a member about how when the missionaries with only a little time left are always excited and happy in the mish cause they are almost done. But why not the ones with lots of time left? I shared the need to live in the moment, and just take everything in, and just love it cause we only get to do this once and if we keep living in the future we will end our lives not really living! Felt super good about what I said cause I felt like there were a lot of people struggling with that like I was. So glad I shared. 

I’ve been yelling in my sleep in Spanish and it is freaking my comp out so that’s good. I yelled vamanos so loud that my comp screamed, and it woke me up and I was like…. Dude why are you screaming. And he got mad and said I was screaming and I just laughed. But I’m getting weirder as the time goes on so that’s sweet. The mission is rad.

#livepic

Ps im now blacker than Isaiah. #graciasmexicansun

Well I gotta go eat tacos with a member, so I will talk to you guys later!

Love Elder walkswithlions

Week # 25 General Conference was too siick!

April 7, 2014

General Conference was too siick!

I completely agree with Jaleisa about General Conference. It is the coolest part of every 6 months. I had a bunch of talks just punch me right in the face with the spirit so that was cool. The crappy part was that I was banished to the secretary’s office to watch it in English, so that was also super awesome. When you listen to conference in Spanish, it’s the same translator the whole 10 hours of conference so that kinda sucks. So I like to watch it in English, even if I am banished to the tiny little secretary’s office. It’s still way worth it!!!!! 

So almost every talk in some way talked about the resurrection of Jesus Christ, I felt the spirit prompt me that we really are in the last days, and the second coming of Christ really is very close at hand. We should be preparing everyday to meet our Savior. Personally I am too stoked to meet the Savior, He really is my friend and I feel closer to him than ever.

When I came out on my mission I literally didn’t have a testimony of hardly anything. I only had a testimony of The Atonement. I have felt the forgiving power and love that He has for me. This testimony carried me the first four months of my mission, until I gained a testimony of everything else. I know now that we have a living prophet on the earth today, he leads and guides this church through divine revelation from God himself. I know the Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ, and his Infinite Atonement. I know Joseph Smith is a true prophet and that I accepted to be his messenger during this time to bring many souls this message, that the true church of Jesus Christ in now again on the earth and never to leave again. This is my testimony now all thanks to the knowledge that the atonement is real.

I love all of you and I cant wait to hear about all the great things you are doing back home in the 801. Love you all. Talk to you soon my darlings.

With Love, Elder Rodabough