New Greenies, Tang! and OYM

Hello Everyone!

Well this week flew by again haha.  I stayed away from being sick which is always a bonus.  So lets see what I did this week.  As of Wednesday I am no longer the newest missionary in my zone!  In fact there are 4 new American missionaries.  I didn't even know what to do at the Zone meeting because I saw so many Americans haha.  I am so used to a lot of foreigners now.  Elder Canencia and I had to go to the Ramon Elders to give them a key because they were both new to the area.  One of the Elders is about as tall as me, but super thin.  Man I am a little worried for him.  When I was talking to him, he saw a lot of what a third world country was like and he was basically in shock.  He saw a dog and thought it looked bad.  I had to explain to him that that dog was actually one of the most healthiest dogs because it had all of it's hair.  It is definitely a different world here.  I adjusted pretty well and really quickly, but I came to realize we have soo many advantages in America with this new Elder.  I hope he is able to adjust to the differences of a third world country.  

I got to listen to conference this week.  For the first time ever I had to be dressed up for all of the sessions and I didn't get my usual breakfast of cinnamon rolls, eggs, and bacon...  Sayang (too bad).  In fact I didn't eat breakfast at all for those haha.  I loved the talk from Elder Bednar about the advantages of having elderly lead the church. https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/10/chosen-to-bear-testimony-of-my-name?lang=eng It is so true that they are spiritually mature, plus when you think about it, if you are still raising a family and become the President of the Church,  I feel like you might just go insane.  There is a purpose for everything in our church.  I learned a ton from Conference.  I also liked the talk on pondering a scripture every week, https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/10/my-heart-pondereth-them-continually?lang=eng  but first I have decided to focus my efforts on finishing my reading of the entire quad.  After I finish it, I will go back and with my newly highlighted scriptures I can then ponderize every week.  

So this week I found the most amazing invention ever.  Tang.  You know that orange drink mix I used to have as a kid.  Well they got liter packets here for 9 pesos each.  Man I buy like 1 for each day, and it makes drinking a liter of water sooooo much easier.  My favorite flavors are Orange, Grape, and Mango.  Dang that stuff is good.  I also learned that cooking with only oil can be a pain sometimes.  For instance I burned three fingers last night making myself a grilled cheese.  

On a spiritual note, this past week when we went to the promised land, a crowd of kids came up to me like usual.  This time I was determined to OYM (Open Your Mouth) all of them.  SO I did.  I talked to each one individually, asked there name, shared a message, and gave them a pamphlet.  That day we had 25 contacts.  Now it is pretty easy to talk to kids when you know they want to know how to be tall and if you play basketball, but it also shows how easy it can be to share a quick message about the gospel.  All you have to do is share a quick 3 minute testimony and give them a card with our beliefs and you have the potential to save them for an eternity along with their family.  Being a missionary is super hard, but it is also super simple.  You just have to try, show each and everyone you talk to love.  If we do our all to show others that God is our Heavenly Father and his arms are always stretched out towards us, how great will our joy be in the end?  I know that no other church has what we have.  They can't.  We can not change our standards to meet what the world desires.  We must be like Christ, unchanging, and constant.  Only then will we find our true happiness.  As it was stated in a talk, the barrier isn't to limit our abilities, it is to prevent the evil that lurks just on the outside.  https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/10/blessed-and-happy-are-those-who-keep-the-commandments-of-god?lang=eng  I love you all and I know it won't be long before I see all of you again.

Love,

Elder Warren

Email sent by Elder Warren on 10/12/2015