6 Months Gone!

HEEELLLLLOOOOOOO AAAAAALLLLLL!!!!!

Did I get your attention? Do I have your ears? ¿Oyeron todos? Alright dale listo...

This week has been a fun and interesting week for sure. I had the pleasure and landmark mission- moment of completing 6 months in the mission, WOOT! I'm a quarter of the way there; and boy has that gone by fast! Blink, boom and now I'm here. The tradition in the mission is to burn a tie of yours when you complete 6 months, so naturally that is what we did. It was quite difficult actually, it wouldn't stay burning, but we eventually came up with a genius plan to keep it burning... hanging it from a hanger above a candle :P Oh mission life, haha.

I really feel like I have learned so much about the gospel and about myself in these past 6 months, and I have never felt closer to my Father in Heaven than I do right now. I know that He guides this work, because it is His work, and we all play a special role in it. Just like it says in the Book of Mormon multiple times; that our goal and aspiration should be to become an instrument in His hands.

We contacted that referral that we got on Sunday, Victor, and it was incredible. He described to us more specific details about his dreams that he's had, 3 times. Says that in the dream he saw Angel Moroni above Joseph Smith as he is taking out the Golden Plates from the Hill Cumorah. He just didn't know the names as specifically. We knew exactly what he was talking about and the Spirit was so stong then, the whole time we talked. We explained a little bit of what it meant, then found the picture in the Joseph Smith testimony pamphlet that describes the scene exactly; and he just says, "Eso es lo que yo vi, esa escena". Incredible! We've tried to call him back a few times to set up another cita, but he's a busy man and we can't seem to make it work. But we will definitely go to visit him again. He also said that Angel Moroni said to him that he needs to follow what the "libro con carácteres egiptos" says or he will be castigado, or punished. Wow that is so awesome! This is what missionaries like me live for. This is the reason we are out here, trying to find people with these kinds of experiences.

SO anyways, on to something else more frustrating. Our neighbors we live with, or landlord basically, have been bugging us a lot lately. His daughter who lives adjacent to us put up a metal gate between our backyards, cutting off more than half of our space that we use to hang up laundry and what not, and they always enter in and do whatever they want in our space without permission. So we talked to President Ward about it and he basically said, "If they bug you and you want to move, go for it, start looking for another house." That's what we're going to do then because this is not worth the headache or the price the church pays for the house. The water is always gone in the house, and it's just dumb, so we're looking for new houses now.

But back to something good, second time going to Baptisms for the Dead with our blind convert, Hermano Lincoln, and he LOVES the temple for sure. This time he brought the information to do the temple work for his own father who had passed away, and was baptized for him, super powerful moment. It's amazing seeing this drive in people, in converts especially because I know that he now wants to be a faithful member for life, even though Veracruz is FULL of members that are all inactive. Even 7 return missionaries (and still counting) that are inactive for one reason or another. It's so sad how weak this branch is and unorganized. I miss all you faithful members back home who went to church every single Sunday without fail, sigan adelante and always go to church. You know it's the right thing to do, and I truly know how important it is as a person who tries all week to get people to go there, and then gets there and no one shows up that all promised they would. It's just frustrating.

It's funny though, Panamanians with their little manerisms, one thing that I have incorporated that they do is, instead of pointing with their fingers, they purse their lips and point with their lips and chin, like a kissy face, so hilarious! It really looks ridiculous but it's so awesome, then you just say "oh por allá" then point with the lips like you're kissing the air haha. Certainly weird and confusing the first few times it happened, thought a bunch of middle age men were trying to kiss me, hahaha.

The reading out loud in el Libro de Mormón is progressing, like chapter 14 of 1 Nefi.  I love reading out loud in Spanish too, great way to practice prounciation. I have gotten an even stronger testimony of the Book of Mormon. Like I seriously think it grows every week, everything seriously just makes sense, and you just place yourself in whatever is happening. Like you are walking side by side when Nephi is at the point of killing King Laban, I feel like I am there with him making the right decision with him and listening to the powerful promptings of the Spirit.

All of you reading this email, finish this little email of mine, then go study the Book of Mormon. Set apart time everyday to read a piece of it, everything will be better I promise you.

We have cambios this Wednesday, 2 days, and Bradford and everyone else believes that he's leaving. First gringo comp come and gone. Maybe I'll get another Latin, or get another white boy like myself haha, who knows. Mission live, cada día es otra adventura.

Scriptures son las siguientes, D&C 121: 7-8, where God answers Joseph's pleading in Liberty Jail, it is so powerful. All 3 of those sections are incredible, read that for sure. Then another in Liberty Jail, D&C 122: 8-9, specifically 9, an admonition to us saying, art thou better than the Son of Man to believe that He hadn't suffered all and more imaginable for all los hijos de los hombres?

Words don't describe and cannot describe how I feel about the scriptures.

Love you all, have a wonderful week. Maybe I'll be writing you from a different area next week, maybe with a different comp, who knows? Love you.