La Misión de Elder Andres Bosque

Fotos

2012-05-21T16:36:00.001-06:00

Coconuts for sale

With President Spannaus

Jump!

Offering Sacrifice @ Xochicalco

Xochicalco

Cool Graffiti

Campaign season in Mexico. Nice teeth!

Estoy Vivo

2012-05-21T14:04:00.001-06:00

Family,

It has been a busy week. I won't be able to send a full email until Friday because on Monday we are going to Zihuatanejo. Check it out on Google--it supposedly has beautiful beaches. On Tuesday we have a zone conference with zona Guacamayas; Wednesday with zona Acapulco; and Thursday with zona Costa Azul (in Acapulco). Friday will be my P Day this week. I haven't had a lot of time to write but know that I am alive.

We made two trips to Guerrero on Tuesday and Wednesday last week to hold zone conferences for zona Iguala and zona Chilpancingo. E. Martinez and I had to give a training session and president wanted us to talk about families so we gave a capacitación on how to find families. The first time we taught it in Iguala it didn't go so well. The missionaries were super quiet. In Chilpancingo it got better as we adjusted our teaching method. Participation is crucial in teaching large groups of people. It was great to see E. Cornejo in Chilpancingo. He has been on a mission for the same length of time as me and has only been in two areas. He was in Puente de Ixtla (area next to Alpuyeca) for five changes and now has been zone leader in Chilpancingo for five.

Things have been a battle for me on the inside as my weaknesses are revealed and I fight to overcome them. It has been difficult but it is necessary for my growth. It is like running the Alta run in XC-- a horrible 3 mile run up a mountain but it makes you stronger in the end.

I finished the Book of Mormon for the first time in Spanish. Yes, it has taken me this long to do it but only because I get side-tracked on different themes. This time around I plan on reading it all before June 28th.

All is well and I will write on Friday when I return from part two of the zone conference tour.

Keep sending me pictures of the family. I hope all goes well with the move.

Love you all,

Elder Forrest

SpiderBosque and Giant Shrimp

2012-05-07T13:43:00.001-06:00

Hello Family,

As you can see by the photos I am living it up here in the city of cow horn (the literal translation of Cuernavaca). I decided to play an office prank on President Spannaus and change my picture on the missionary board to my true heroic identity- SpiderBosque. He still hasn't passed by the offices yet but I can't wait for his reaction. I also went to a leadership conference and sat with E. Blair, then got caught by a giant shrimp.

Things go by so quickly I feel like I have no time for my journal anymore. I have so many personal and missionary things to do. Things like putting away my laundry and sewing up socks are put last on the list.

From last Thursday until Friday my life was a busy inferno. I finally had time to teach a lesson on Thursday when I did divisions with one of the ZLs in a place called Porvenir in zona Civac. It was great.

President bore a fiery testimony on the final day of the leadership conference (Thursday and Friday) that really had an impact on many missionaries. He spoke about what it is to have success as a missionary, a topic I have discussed with him on many occasions. He spoke of two of his favorite missionaries, Enoch and Moses. In Deuteronomy 31 God communicates a message to Moses that he will not enter into the promised land with his "converts":

2 And he said unto them, I am an hundred and twenty years old this day; I can no more go out and come in: also the Lord hath said unto me, Thou shalt not go over this Jordan.

3 The Lord thy God, he will go over before thee, and he will destroy these nations from before thee, and thou shalt possess them: and Joshua, he shall go over before thee, as the Lord hath said.

President had obviously pondered a lot about the chapters surrounding these verses. He asked us why would God tell Moses that he would not enter into the promised land after so much time in the desert and why God would later tell Moses about the errors of the children of Israel. Was Moses a failure because the children of Israel were going into the promised land without him and that they would later fall into sin?
President then related it to missionary work. How would we feel if God told us that all of our converts were going to become inactive? Would it mean we were failures because they went inactive? The answer is no. Our missions would not be failures because it doesn't depend on how many people you baptize. There is no place in the Bible that states how many baptisms you need to be successful. He strongly stated that our success depends on our relationship with God and if we obey His will. His lesson was powerful. I found it all so moving. The room we had sat in for hours had transformed. The walls, the windows, the room temperature was all the same as it had been for the past two days, but the feeling was so different. President Spannaus brought the Spirit into the room. It was incredible. His testimony is so incredibly strong.

Another special moment during the conference was when he showed a video of a family that had been taught and baptized by missionaries. It was a nice video that we had all seen many times. He then showed it again but this time with an extended ending. The new ending was the family going to the temple. The sister missionaries that had taught the family came back to go to the temple with them. It was so touching. Many missionaries cried while watching it and I was on the brink of doing the same. I want so much for my converts to go to the temple.

We had a miracle occur this past Sunday when we had eight people show up for church. I am so grateful. We prayed to have 10 but I am nonetheless thankful for eight. We are going to start working hard with them.

Love you all. Keep sending me updates about the house, especially pics. I want to see your faces! Talk to you all on Sunday via Skype for Mother's Day.

Elder Bosque

Little Sleep & Lots of Tickets

2012-05-02T20:29:00.000-06:00

Family,

Here is what I wrote to president this week (yes, sadly I am too tired to write you a separate email):

Presidente,

Today really hasn't been much of a P-Day, seeing that all we have done has been in preparation for the capacitación [training] and a zone meeting. We are squeezing in 30 minutes to say hi to the family, quickly change the laundry in the machine, and try to create a capacitación for the DL's and set up the stake center in Civac. Life has been hectic since last Thursday. I haven't had a break since then. Arranging everything for changes for the first time on my mission, making some mistakes, running from the Estrella de Oro bus station and back to the offices, and making an endless amount of phone calls this weekend and on Monday. Top it all off with a run around the airport, lead a bunch of jabbering elders to their new home in Cuernavaca, and then housing the muertos [elders going home] for two nights. Finish the cambios [changes] and begin with more logistics for the capacitación. I can tell it is killing E. Martinez because he has to give up time in the street to fulfill his AP responsibilities. I am looking forward to getting out in the field this next week as well. It can be challenging changing your mentality from organizing, buying, typing, and communicating to teaching, testifying, and focusing on the needs of investigators. I don't intend to complain, just give my view on things. You of course have heard the whole new-and-overwhelmed-assistant spiel a few times by now on your mission. As we both know, there are busy weeks and insanely busy weeks. That is how it was when I was in student government in my high school. I didn't understand why the work couldn't be spread evenly across every week. Such is life.

I feel somewhat frustrated with the work because it seems like we teach our investigators for no end that has to do with baptism. People just won't arise and shine forth Sunday mornings for church. I thought about it a lot and rather than letting the frustration get to me I am going to use a tactic I have applied many times in life to remove stress and emotion and pretend like this challenge of zero people in church is more of a game than a frustrating and impossible obstacle. By saying I will turn it into a game I don't mean to imply that I will take things lightly and without care, but that I am going to look at it more as a fun mountain to conquer. I spoke with recent convert Hna. Cristina and from what I gathered from her conversion story it takes more time for investigators to progress in this area, and I need to be more patient and understanding of what is going on in their lives. I am sure this is similar to the work done in the U.S. where people don't accept a fecha bautismal [baptismal date] right away or go to church on Sunday because they have nothing else to do. Patience, empathy, and the Spirit will be key.

I found out my family has plans to live in a new home this month. They are moving to Riverton, Utah. I will let you know how the move goes. It will be an interesting adventure to return home to an unfamiliar neighborhood with unfamiliar neighbors after living in the same ward for 14 years.

I am alive. I am doing fine. I would like one nap, please. The chocolate cake for E. Hernandez´s birthday was delicious.

Until the next heinous week,

Elder Forrest

Family,

I have spent tons of money buying tickets and moving scores of missionaries around Morelos and Guerrero. It has been the biggest thing on my mind this past week. We purchase tickets from the Estrella de Oro bus station and the workers cringe in fear when they see us coming because we buy so many bus tickets.

We have a capacitación of leaders this Thursday and Friday. We have to teach district leaders how to give excellent district meetings.

In the Mexico City airport I met a few mission presidents and other assistants to the president from other missions here in Mexico who were there picking up new missionaries too. It was interesting to see the many styles of the mission presidents. Some MPs call missionaries that are about to finish the mission as APs. Everyone I spoke to was surprised at how little time I had, haha.

Anish wrote me a touching letter and I really appreciate it. It has become one of my favorites. Let him know I deeply appreciate what he did and find out what grade he got on his paper about me, haha.

Elder Blair is my new district leader. I love that guy so much and I am so happy he will be finishing his mission in my district. He received the letter Erin wrote and he was super happy.

A missionary that just finished his mission wants to write Erin. Someone is becoming a hot item!!! Haha

Love you all,

Elder Bosque

Happy 14th Birthday Duncan. Sorry the birthday candles are only matches but it's all I had.

We finally had a baptism as AP's! This couple is the best.

Eating Mickey D's w/ Elder Blair & an Interview w/ President

2012-04-25T10:41:00.000-06:00

Hello family,

This week has felt like a long one. Echamos las ganas [we had the desire] this week but we still only had two investigators in church. My comp and I talked things out and we are going to change the way we work here. We are savage for baptisms and we think we know how we are going to do it: work more with the members and demand the blessings from God. I will explain a little more shortly.

The conference with Elder Gonzalez of the Seventy was good. Here's a photo of the missionaries in a chapel in Acapulco waiting for the conference to begin. It was a blast being with E. Blair again (we are together on the front row in the photo). We laughed ourselves to tears before the conference began as we chatted about good memories and funny stories. After the conference we went to McDonald's together for a meal. It was a blast. We are considering rooming together after our missions.

The important things I learned from the conference was being on common ground with the investigator and not on opposing grounds. Instead of using lots of "but" we need to talk in a way that we relate with the investigator. That´s something good 'ol Mum has taught me since birth but something that I had forgotten. I also learned the importance of "real growth," where a person truly changes and continues to become more like Christ, rather than falling away after a short period of time. Judging from the fact that we had three members of the Seventy present and telling us these things, it must be something affecting the entire church.

I had a 45 minute interview with president today. I entered prepared with my questions and we had a pleasant and spiritual chat about my concerns, how to find my future career, and the work here in Palmas. One thing he mentioned was that if we are doing everything we can and things aren't turning out that we should demand the blessings from the Lord. He used the word "exigir" which means to demand. There are many situations where we could receive many blessings if we but ask for them. I have come to learn a lot more about the importance of praying and especially becoming detailed in my prayers and talking everything out with the Lord. To me it means relying more on Him and trusting Him. This week I am going to pray a lot more and especially to start seeing success. I can't demand anything from the missionaries that I can't or am not doing, and baptizing is something we need to start doing.

I hope all is going well and that everyone is happy. Congrats to Erin on becoming an student body officer at Hillcrest High School. If you put everything into it you will have the best high school experience ever.

Thanks for the emails.

Elder Forrest

Acà en Aca (and Advice to Future Missionaries)

2012-04-16T21:08:00.003-06:00

Family,

I am feeling the hot weather again in Acapulco. We drove down here a couple hours ago from Cuernavaca to prepare for the conference with Elder Walter F. Gonzalez. It has been such a privilege to hear from so many leaders of the church on my mission. Five or six apostles, two or three from the presidency of the Quorum of the Seventy, and more members of the Quorum of the Seventy itself. It was a beastly task to move almost the entire mission (8 of the 10 zones) to the same location at the same time but we managed to do it.

I won't lie, this week was hard. I didn't enjoy the work like it should be enjoyed. I think not baptizing in 6 weeks has had an impact on me as well as adjusting to a new companion and style of teaching. I don't know how Elder Durrant does it in the Czech Republic. He must have doors shut on his face (if they ever open in the first place) all the time and rarely see anyone enter into the baptismal font. I would have died in a European mission. E. Martinez, my companion, is an excellent elder and I know we will start having success soon. I have come to realize that bringing people to church in Morelos state is a lot more difficult compared to bringing people to church in Guerrero state. The humble state of the people in Acapulco may be a big driving reason.

I have come to master the Family Home Evening lesson. I have collected and invented 5 or 6 FHEs that work with all sorts of groups: big groups of people, quiet groups, groups of members when they forget to invite non-members, etc. If you ever want a break from doing FHE I've got your back for a couple months, Dad.

I don't feel like I have much to write about this week largely due to the fact that I wanted the week to end quickly, haha. Don't be worried about me, though, because I feel much better.

If I were to enter into the mission field as a new missionary I would pack more Pepto-Bismol and stronger medicine. Adjusting to the food is quite the trip (to the bathroom). I wouldn't worry about nice ties or nice pants. I would buy pants that looked fine and would last a long time. Shoes are an important investment and spending a little more for more durable shoes is worth it. A key tool for a missionary is his pen; my Parker pen has lasted me my entire mission. It is also a good gift for those that are looking to get a missionary something other than a tie (although a tie is always appreciated). I studied the scriptures deeply before the mission and I am glad I did. The time I spent with the Book of Mormon and the Bible (can't forget the Bible) has helped me immensely. I didn't have to spend a lot of time learning the doctrine and could use my time to make my knowledge more profound.

I wouldn't worry so much about learning the language. That is always a big concern for new missionaries but I feel like most missionaries worry too much about it. Learning the language should be something an elder should be concerned about but not worried. It comes with time and many activities in language books.

An important part of being a missionary is letting go of who you are and being flexible. It is about taking a step back and looking at things with a greater perspective. If you don't let go of your pride it will eat you up. The results of pride are arguments with companions, lack of unity, and no success. My mission has been a humbling experience. Humble Pie is my least favorite flavor but I am eating a lot of it here on the mission.

The most important part of being a missionary is love. Loving the hard things, loving the weird moments (they make for the best stories), and loving the people. If you love first then the conversion happens. There is no need to worry about numbers when you do it all for love.

I am rambling, so I better go. I got the Easters package and the candy has been a delicious road snack. I think the South African diary and calendar are awesome and it merely makes me want to go to Africa even more when I get home. Thank you so much for the support, it has made my mission an incredible experience. The great part of it all is that I still have a year to go.

I hope all is going well back home,

Elder Bosque

Playing glow-in-the-dark mini-golf last P Day

Road trip with Elders Martinez, Dudley & Hernandez

The Plane Left Without Him

2012-04-09T19:56:00.003-06:00

Hello family,

Yesterday was one looooong day. I have started praying that the days go by faster because when I wake up at 6:30 I already want to be done. I haven't written in my journal in days so I think my emails home are going to be my new form of recording everything that happens. We still haven't baptized as a companionship but I hope we do soon. I am hungry to baptize. Going so long without baptizing is starting to make me go crazy. We are working at 100% effort so I hope something happens within this month.

I had another specific prayer answered today! It was answered two minutes prior to writing you all. The power went out in the mission offices about an hour ago and we needed the computers to write email and buy tickets to move 75% of the mission to Acapulco for a missionary conference that will be happening soon. We decided to say a specific prayer (I like to call them Elder Tenorio Prayers). I said the prayer and asked God that the electricity would come back so we could complete with these tasks, as we don't have a lot of time today. I explained we were doing everything possible to be productive with our time but we needed help. I asked that within 30 seconds of ending the prayer that electricity would come back to the offices. We ended the prayer and headed towards the main room. As we entered the room we heard a small click, a few beeps, and then suddenly the fan started spinning and the lights came on. Both E. Martinez and I let out a "woooooooooooooaaaahh." I couldn't believe it. Within 30 seconds all the power came back into the building. Seeing an answer come so quickly to a prayer blows my mind but also lets me know that God is listening. It was so cool.

Yesterday was a beast of a day. We collect the data of all of the missionaries and it takes forever. It also makes me a little jealous of the elders that only have to focus on their areas and investigators. Lucky ducks! We left church early to drive a missionary to the airport. E. Martinez drove up to Mexico city and during the trip we took and accidental detour and toured a large portion of Mexico City. After our hour-long tour we got help from a taxista to get us to the airport. With our great luck we got in too late and the elder wasn't able to get his flight. We were stuck in the international airport for who knows how long.

There were two options: put the elder's name on the waiting list for the flight at 5:30 p.m. or guarantee a ticket at 10:00 p.m. It was 1:30 p.m. at the time we had to make the decision. We called president and-yes of course- went with the riskier choice involving a lot of prayer. We put his name on the waiting list and sat (he and I) in the airport for a few hours. It was so hard to read the Book of Mormon while waiting because I found all of the people passing by so interesting! I strained to hear if any of the white-skinned people spoke English. Surprisingly, very few did. I managed to enjoy two and a half hours of people watching while praying my heart out. Yes, it was another specific prayer.

Meanwhile outside E. Martinez and another elder where driving the car around the glorieta [roundabout] because we calculated that we wouldn't have enough money to pay for parking, the toll to return to Cuernavaca, and the elder's new plane ticket. While he drove in circles for hours (he ended up getting a ticket in the end) we stressed out inside. In my prayer I told God that at 4:21 p.m. we would collect the elder's bags and head over to the counter to find out about the flight. I prayed about the situation and how we needed him to get on this flight. I waited in anxious anticipation as the clock struck 4:21 p.m. As soon as it did we got up from our seats and went to the counter.

We waited in line and right as the clock showed 4:30 p.m., the time that we were supposed to check the list, we spoke with the man behind the counter. The workers originally told us that they weren't sure that there would be a spot due to the timing and destination, but that there could be a small probability. God made that probability work in our favor as the elder had a spot on the plane. After some emergency de-packing (overweight bags) he hopped on his plane and we headed home.

I got to drive home. You think that after being away from the pedals and wheel that it would be awkward driving but it felt like I had never stopped driving. No one was on our side of the freeway so we got home quickly :)

I love being in Cuernavaca and having the chance to use more of my talents in the mission field. I hope that we can baptize soon. We need to be examples to the mission.

We are going neon mini-golfing today and I am pumped. I will snap some shots for you all to see.

Take care,

Elder Bosque

The view from the balcony of our apartment

Over the Hill

2012-04-05T15:09:00.004-06:00

Hello Family,

As you may have realized, I completed one year on the mission last Friday. Woo! I have climbed over the hill and am on the way out. I think something happened to me when I hit the year mark. My heart transformed and now I have no desire to go home (sorry Mum). In our apartment we found a bunch of stuff left behind by a missionary who was here a year ago. There were photos of his girlfriend, letters, and even a tape from her. Being curious missionaries we decided to listen to the tape. I only needed to listen to ten seconds of the tape to remember idle conversations about menial things that once used to mean so much to me. The way the girlfriend spoke, the things she talked about, everything reminded me of being a young man back home and dealing with and focusing on the trivial things she was talking about. It repulsed me and increased my desires to forever remain here in the mission field. Forget silly things and social lives; I want to stay in my simple world of find, teach, and help people come unto Christ.

Our pad (it deserves to be called a pad) is near the mission office. Our area is medium-sized. When we have time to work we work like crazy because sometimes there isn't a chance to teach in a whole day. We want to start baptizing every week to be an example to the mission. My companion has baptized approximately 75 people on his mission. He is one of the top baptizers in the whole mission. We get along well. I met him a few months ago so we knew each other before becoming comps. I still don't know a lot about my responsibilities so I am learning on the go. I take notes to remember all of the stuff we need to do.

E. Blair slept over at our apartment last night because he is going to the temple in Mexico City today with his companion. His comp has converts that are going to be sealed in the temple. It was so awesome to talk to him and swap stories. I love him a ton. He also brought a “peace offering” with his visit: some laundry soap and an electric toothbrush. When his family comes to pick him up I think they may invite me to go eat with them (sweeeet!).

I enjoyed General Conference. Never in my life have I ever paid so much attention to the callings and releases announced in General Conference. When Pres. Spannaus' name was read as one to be sustained as an Area Seventy, E. Stapley (office elder) and I whooped for joy while the other elders were stunned. President never told us he was going to be called but we put two and two together when he told us he was going to be in Salt Lake City for conference weekend. When he got back to Cuernavaca he told us about his amazing spiritual experience and more about the organization of the Seventy. I found it all super-interesting and took notes on what he said. Pres. Spannaus is a boss! He has met all of the apostles; he has listened to Elder Scott tell jokes, spoke in Spanish with Elder Cristofferson, and was set apart by Elder Holland. Wow.

Speaking of General Conference, I recall one of the speakers mentioning the importance of writing handwritten letters. I hope everyone back home that reads my blog follows that sage counsel. Missionaries are very receptive to helping you all out in completing this new commandment.

Yesterday we had a consejo de los lideres de zona [zone leader council]. All of the zone leaders came to Cuernavaca and we had training by President Spannaus. We, E. Martinez and I, had to do a training session as well. We decided to talk about “the team and the individual” and the importance of every missionary's contribution to have success as a zone. We got permission to show a video clip of Michael Jordan when he beat the Utah Jazz in 1998 with his clutch jumper. Everyone loved that part. The meeting turned out well and I learned a lot.

Thanks for your love and support. I got letters from Brad, Jeffrey Bennett, and D-Reich. I miss my buddies.

Peace!

P.S. I’ve been to Costco here in Mexico. It is 98% THE EXACT SAME as it is in the US. There are even bacon bits and the big plastic canister of pub mix! I bought a huge bag of pistachios and am going to town with them. I want a Costco card when I grow up.

Here I am enjoying fine dining at Domino's Pizza

Elder Martinez at Domino's

This is the room at the church where General Conference was broadcast in English. Pictured are Elders Sonntag, Anderson (my former comp), Wake, Hickenlooper and Wilding.

Look what I'm carrying around in my pack.

A Week of Exhaustion & Big Bellies

2012-03-26T20:24:00.006-06:00

Family,

We have had a loooong, tiring week. They say that there are perks to working in the office but also a lot of extra duties and work. I have gone to bed late and woken up early almost every day to complete everything we have needed to do. We have seen two new groups of missionaries arrive, said goodbye to a group that finished their missions, and celebrated the birthday of President Spannaus. I have eaten like a king: hamburgers, Krispy Kreme donuts, and a lot of cake.

We celebrated president's birthday by going to a place called Reuben's Hamburgers. It was so delicious. We also surprised him with a tres leches cake after the meeting with the new missionaries and their trainers on Thursday (the dent in the bottom of the cake is where his wife very lovingly smashed his face into the cream). When he left the chapel he was surprised with a decorated car. I was tempted to adorn the interior of the vehicle with a ton of confetti but something told me not to. President loved the surprises.

There is so much to do as an assistant. I had a one-on-one conversation with president where we talked about my role as an assistant. He warned me of falling into pride because I am a young missionary and I have never been a district leader or a zone leader (a mission is divided into several zones, and zones are further divided into approximately four to six districts which each typically have about six to eight missionaries). As for my being proud, on the contrary I feel a bit limited by my lack of experience in the mission, especially in the chain of leadership. I hardly know what I am doing. Unfortunately there isn't an assistants' manual and you have to go with the flow. Some of the responsibilities include collecting numbers from all of the zones every weekend, seeing how things are going with baptisms by making calls on Wednesday to see who has possible and set baptisms, and doing anything president wants you to do.

One of the interesting things president said to me was about humility. He said that there are two types of humility: outward humility and inward humility. It is important to exercise both types of humility, but to focus on having interior or inward humility. He said to both E. Martinez and me that he doesn't think we are prideful missionaries but to be aware and careful at all times and places. He told us we will both be assistants when the new president comes in so we need to be on top of the ball when he gets here so everything runs smoothly. I really learned a lot from the conversation I had with President Spannaus in his office. I really look up to him and respect him.

A lot of the work we do as assistants is to help things move smoothly. President related it to when President Monson holds General Conference. He isn't worried or stressed about lighting, the hymns, or the cameras because everything has been thought out and planned for previous to the conference. As assistants we help all of president's meetings run smoothly to provide a professional, spiritually-ready environment.

On Sunday I gave a talk in my new ward. My bishop is all about missionary work which has me excited. President was in attendance with his wife and kids. They too went to the Hunger Games movie. I will have to see if his daughters enjoyed it as much as Erin did.

One of our investigators, Jorge, attended church yesterday. This past week we challenged him to baptism. We tried to put a date of the 28th of April but he didn't accept the date, though he told us he would consider it with his wife. On Sunday he decided to go to the genealogy class. During the class he felt a profound spiritual feeling in his chest so he stood up and told everyone he wanted to be baptized.

Meanwhile in Sunday School class the bishop opens the door and waves for E. Martinez to leave. When they got back they told me that Jorge was going to be baptized on Wednesday. It was such a surprise! I thought it was odd that he wanted to be baptized on Wednesday. Apparently E. Martinez tried to move the date to Saturday but Jorge was determined to be baptized on Wednesday. Why? Because Wednesday is the 28th.... of March. We think he misunderstood us when we tried to challenge him to be baptized on the 28th of April and this whole time he was seriously pondering over the 28th. It was a rather curious coincidence but we know he wants to be baptized. He has had some profound spiritual experiences and he knows he wants to be baptized. He wants his family to be baptized as well. They are all very receptive to the message and they read the Book of Mormon frequently. Without us suggesting it they pray as a family often, too.

I am tired and I have a lot to learn. I hope to learn quickly because on the 17th of April we are going to Acapulco for a mission conference with E. Gonzalez from the First Quorum of the Seventy. President must have some sweet hookups with the higher ups because we have listened to a lot of church leaders.

Take care,

Elder Forrest

Here's a photo of my companion, Elder Martinez. He is an amazing missionary. He is so focused and bold and as a result has baptized a ton of people. One of his greatest desires is to see the Salt Lake Temple someday.

Mexico: Where Anything is Possible

2012-03-21T14:16:00.005-06:00

Hello Family,

There have been some changes in my life recently. As always, you can't go a week here without something exciting happening.

First off, about the earthquake: we felt a slight rumble here, but that was it. I have not seen any signs of damage. However, you need to know I was not in Guerrero State, the epicenter of the earthquake, when it happened. Let me elaborate.

Working with Elder Hinton was a blast. He is fun to hang out with and we joked around a lot. We were able to baptize in both areas which was cool to do, but now we are no longer companions. No, I am not training Elder Jones, the new missionary from the U.S., which was the original plan for me. In fact, I am actually no longer in Zapata. I am here in Cuernavaca and I will be here anywhere from six to eight months. I am serving in the mission office as an assistant to the mission president. I am replacing an elder from Argentina named Elder Udrizar who just finished being an assistant to the president for seven or eight months. My new companion is named Elder Martinez from Jalisco State here in Mexico. I am excited to work with E. Martinez because he is known across the mission as one of the hardest-working missionaries. I have heard he has baptized a lot. We hope to work a lot with the members because they are animated about the work and baptize like grande.

These past few days have been heinous. I wasn't expecting to leave Zapata, so it came as a complete surprise when we got the call about changes Saturday night. It got even crazier when we received a late phone call from the zone leaders on Sunday telling us that we needed to be at the bus station at 5:00 p.m. The call came in the middle of la comida at 3:40 p.m. We flew back home and packed (or rather heaped) my bags together in fifteen minutes and rushed to the station. I was told that I was to be the new assistant to the president. At first I thought the zone leaders were pulling a joke on me. I called my district leader and he told me it was no joke. Finally, in frustration I called Elder Martinez because I was sure there was no way I could be the new AP. He assured me it was true. When I finally saw President Spannaus I asked him who was more surprised by my new assignment: me or him. "Oh, I was the most surprised" came his prompt response, with a big smile.

The reason I am serving as an AP is because President Spannaus goes home from his mission in July. He wanted a relatively young AP who could serve the new president for more than just a few weeks or months. Because I have a year left in the mission I made a good candidate. Still, it's hard to believe I will be serving in this position because I've never been a district leader or a zone leader. If I weren't working at breakneck speed I'd still be in shock.

Speaking of work, let me tell you what I've been doing for the past few days and why I wasn't able to email you on my P Day. On Monday we (E. Martinez and I) worked on helping all of the missionaries in the mission who were being transferred arrive in their new areas. We had the phone plastered to our ears as we made tons of calls to zone leaders to find out about bus schedules. We then picked up the new Mexican missionaries that had arrived from the missionary training center in Mexico City and held a meeting with them in the mission president's home. After that we hopped on a bus to Mexico City to pick up some new missionaries from the U.S. who had arrived at the airport. It brought back a lot of memories to ride on the bus and go into the airport again. The new missionaries were very excited and I loved how their eyes were glued to the windows as they experienced Mexico for the first time. They tried out their basic Spanish and learned new words on the ride back to Cuernavaca. E. Martinez and I laughed a ton at all of the crazy things the elders said and knew. When we arrived in Cuernavaca we threw down some tacos with the new elders and president and went home. Finally, for the past few days the missionaries that are finishing their missions and going home today (Wednesday) stayed in our apartment. It has been crazy because they stayed up late, made a huge mess, and ate a ton of food. They call them muertos [dead] for a reason. It was good to see some of the guys and say goodbye before they left.

I am so excited to be back here in Cuernavaca. The weather is beautiful and the streets are actually paved and not just made of dirt. I learned a lot from my time in Zapata and some day I may be back. Things are going to be way different but I am excited to take on a bigger role here in the mission.

Love,

Elder Forrest

Praying Like Elder Tenorio

2012-03-12T19:56:00.003-06:00

Family,

This week was a week. We had an incredible multi-zone conference with the general authority, Elder Octavio Tenorio. The man has had so many crazy spiritual experiences! Allow me to write about one of the many stories he told us.

Elder Tenorio was going to a conference in Veracruz, Mexico when he received a call from a fellow general authority. This man informed him that he had forgotten to reserve a hotel room and that he, Elder Tenorio, would need to find a place to stay. It was a difficult situation because the week of the conference was during Halloween and Día de los Muertos so the area was full. There was no room in the inn. Elder Tenorio continued on to Veracruz and said "a detailed prayer" to God. He said to God that he was going to the hotel and ask for a reservation. If there was no room in the hotel he would do out to eat and in an hour and a half return and ask for a room again. By that time a room would be available for him.

According to his plan, Elder Tenorio went to the hotel and spoke with the man behind the desk. The man said that there was no room in the inn and he was sure there wouldn't be in an hour an a half. Elder Tenorio left to go eat. When he returned an hour and a half later the man, upon seeing Elder Tenorio enter the hotel, signaled to him that there still weren't any available rooms. Elder Tenorio said, "hold on, I still haven't walked up to your desk yet!" As Elder Tenorio walked toward the front desk, the phone rang on the desk. The man picked it up, and as Elder Tenorio approached he could here the man saying, "Don't worry, I am sure we can find someone to take your room." The man hung up and his jaw dropped. Within that moment from the time Elder Tenorio entered into the hotel up until the moment that he reached the desk, someone had cancelled a suite room.

"Are you a brujo (male witch)?' the man asked incredulously. Elder Tenorio smiled, told him no, and took the room.

This, among many other stories, had me amazed. He told us the secret ingredients to his successful prayers: i) 2 Nephi 25:23--grace, AFTER ALL that we can do. ii) Genesis 24--the servant made a detailed prayer to find the chosen woman. We speak in details and show God what we are going to do and ask Him to help us with the rest. We don't ask God to do everything. This coincides with Doctrine and Covenants 58:26-29. Elder Tenorio also said that he is constantly praying to God. I loved the conference and learned some profound things from Elder Tenorio. It is such a privilege to be in the presence of such spiritual men.

Mum, you told me that I need to tell you everything that goes on, both the good and the bad. Well, I have some news. I was robbed this week. A drunk woman stole my 5 peso (35 cent) water bottle out of my pack while I was hopping onto a truck because I was ignoring her. I didn't realize until too late that the bottle she was waving in her hand was mine until we were out of range. She probably was a bit thirsty and just needed a drink. We had a good laugh from the incident.

I got the camera you sent for my birthday as well as a package from James and Lindsey. Thank you all so much for the letters. E. Hinton and I have downed nearly all of the candy and I am putting the ties into good use, but I think the letters were one of my favorite things from the packages. Tell Ron Jensen I say hi and a big thank you for his letter. James and Lindsey wrote me some nice letters and it sounds like they are doing well. The camera can do so many things! Holy cow. We have been playing around with the super slow-motion video setting. It is going to take me some time to get to know the camera but so far so good. The extra battery will come in handy too because the battery on the camera dies quickly. Thanks so much!

That is about it for this week. We should be getting our new missionaries next Monday, but who knows what will happen.

Love you all,

Elder Bosque

Happy Birthday Little Onion (Erin)

Zona Costa Azul con Elder Tenorio

Getting my birthday package. Notice my apartment is about as tidy as my room back home.

Almost a Few Liters (Litres) Short

2012-03-05T21:12:00.003-07:00

Family,

God is a God of miracles and He was working His miraculous power for us this past Saturday for our baptism.

We arrived at the church on Saturday afternoon to find the baptismal font nearly empty, something we had expected. As we began to fill the font and prepare for the service later in the evening, we heard a dreadful noise. Drip, drip drip....nada. The church building was out of water. No water from the fountain, the sinks, the cisterna, the toilets, nada.

Elders from another area showed up and we broke the news to them. They had a baptism planned at 5:00 and ours was at 6:00. We tried everything we could to get water from somewhere but it was impossible. We took a break from problem solving and ate la comida at a member's house. While we were there we frantically made phone calls to see if we could call a pipa de agua (people that have big trucks full of water that they deposit into tinacos [water tanks] and cisternas [cisterns]) but the members told us that they usually need a few days' notice. We called a member to see if we could use his relative's swimming pool but the relative was Catholic and said no. We were out of ideas and needed a miracle.

We returned to the church to see what we could do before the services began. E. Hinton and I sat down in an office to brainstorm. We could put objects in the water to raise the water level, we could buy garrafónes de agua (bottles that hold 20 liters of water) but it would take scores of garrafónes. E. Hinton suggested we kneel and pray so we did so.

We decided to try out the garrafón idea. As we left the church building and were walking through the parking lot I noticed a man who had parked his truck and looked to be walking out of the premises. Being a bit suspicious of his actions I called out to him and asked him what he was doing. We found out he was a member from another ward and was in charge of cleaning the building. We asked if he had keys to the underground cisterna and he told us he didn't. We explained the situation at hand and he, Roberto, immediately offered to help. We hopped in his truck and left rapidly from the church building. Roberto suggested we try talk to firemen or to a pipa de agua company nearby. We decided to try the pipa de agua first (it was 4:40 at the time).

We arrived and tried to see if they would fill up just the baptismal font. They told us they would charge us 400 pesos to do it, not because of the quantity of water but due to gas prices. We scrambled to find enough money. E. Hinton had 50 pesos. I had an emergency 100 pesos on hand so I donated 170 to the Save The Baptism Fund. Then, miraculously again, Roberto saved the day with some of his own money. We were short about 60 pesos but convinced the people to do the job. We raced back to the church building, inserted the hose through a window, and filled up the font a little after 5:00. The girl that was going to be baptized helped out with the process. The font was full, and the show went on.

It was a small miracle that we were able to witness Saturday evening as one man so willingly, quickly, and without thought for himself gave of his time, efforts, and material goods to help out. Without Roberto and his sacrifices we would not have had any baptismal services Saturday night. He told us during the drive that he was a convert of two years and had almost never missed a day of church. He said that when he realized that this was God's church he was willing to do anything for it. I am so grateful for the service that this kind man rendered to us desperate missionaries. God is a God of miracles, and through His faithful servants He can bring to pass many great things.

We will be having a multi-zone conference this Saturday because a general authority, Elder Tenorio, will be coming. He supposedly will be coming to inspect our houses as well so we have been cleaning quite a bit. Good thing we did a ton of cleaning a few weeks ago.

Mum, could you send me your delicious chocolate-chip pumpkin cookie recipe? An investigator we have worked as a cook in the US and wants to cook us American food. You have no idea how excited we are. Sometimes you get sick of eating the same thing every week (tortilla, chicken, salsa, soda) and want some variety.

Things are looking like they are going to get better this week. We had a solid planning session last night and we are excited for the week. Hopefully Arturo will be baptized.

Love,

Elder Bosque

Here's a photo of Christina's baptism

A fairly common sight here in Zapata.

New Missionaries Still Stuck in Utah

2012-02-27T18:58:00.002-07:00

Family,

We called Pres. Spannaus this past week and found out that we will have to wait at least two more weeks for our new comps to come. E. Jones, pray harder for your visa to come! It means that E. Hinton and I will work almost the entire change together if our trainees come in two weeks. It could be even more time for all we know.

I don't know if many elders can say they have managed two areas at a time and I don't think many would want to be able to say it. February has been a difficult month with waiting for our new companions to come and work in two areas. We have limited the time we work in Cima and focus more in Zapata, but even then it is still hard to get a rhythm in one area. I am not very satisfied with the results from last month and hope to make a change for this coming month.

We baptized the mother of Lupe, Genesis, and Mitzi! Maria Huerta was so excited for her baptism. A lot of people showed up and everything went smoothly. She was so happy to be baptized. Her daughters sang a special musical number which I think Maria enjoyed.

This week Freddy and Yuli are getting baptized! Freddy and Yuli are a young couple Elder Blair and I found in Alpuyeca. We taught them everything but due to the fact that they weren't married they couldn't be baptized. Ever since that time (about 6 months ago) they have been doing everything to get married. This past Friday they were married and now are overjoyed at the prospect of being baptized. I think it is so cool that I happen to be a missionary in their area again and will have the opportunity to participate in their baptism.

Today I drank agua de carambola and it was delicious. Look it up on Google.

Last night we had a hard time doing our monthly and weekly planning because a family was celebrating the baptism of their newborn baby. Like any pachanga [fiesta] in Mexico, the sound has to be big.... and it sure was. We couldn't focus nor go to sleep until late because the people were blasting the same seven songs over and over again. Even if you are poor as dirt you gotta have the big stereo system ready for anything.

Any thoughts on the incoming mission president? I am sure I will love him, but I sure am going to miss President Spannaus.

I gotta reply to your emails... peace!

Elder Bosque

Servicio Bautismales Chidos y Paquetes

2012-02-20T17:13:00.004-07:00

Familia,

First off, thanks for the birthday emails and package. E. Hinton has already downed the Rolos and I am saving those delicious-looking Skittles for last. There is confetti all over my house an a nice inflatable palm tree in the corner. You know you have been gone from America for some time when the Skittles flavor is new to you as well as Twizzler Extra-long Nibs. I love America.

We had a boss zone conference with President Spannaus. The man is on fire with his lessons. He touches on every point of missionary work that we need to improve and teaches us new things every time. We talked about how to make baptismal services really cool and another tool in helping people come to know the truth about this church. We discussed how to work with members, the sacrifices taken to print the Book of Mormon (super interesting stuff there--Pres. went with his wife to Palmyra to see how the BoM was originally printed), and ate Domino's pizza for lunch. We analyzed a talk with Hna. Spannaus that Elder Bednar gave about becoming Preach My Gospel missionaries. Preach My Gospel is the manual we use to learn what to teach and how to work as missionaries. In the MTC and in instructional videos we watch we are taught to ''Teach People, Not Lessons.'' I have done both on my mission. I have felt the rigid, machine-like lessons where we teach and don't discover the doubts and desires of the investigator and I have had spiritual lessons where we watch the investigator's eyes light up as they learn about the gospel.

For example, this past week we taught a family in Cima about the Book of Mormon. The entire lesson things felt empty and we attempted to get them to open up and talk. Nothing seemed to be working. Apart from the fact that they were shy, they just weren't giving us anything to work with. At the end of the lesson the cat came out of the bag: They were active Catholics (something rare in Mexico) and they were interested more in learning about our religion instead of trying to know if what we were saying was true. I won't lie, we felt shut down after we came to realize something so important so late in the lesson. We ended the lesson and a rather flat note.

On the other hand, we had a lesson this past week with a guy named Mattias. When we were starting the lesson it was a little obvious that he wasn't too interested in what we were going to talk about. The conversations kept sliding out of verifying his progress in the Book of Mormon and praying to what happened with the wife, the latest video game, etc. Apart from that, Mattias was nearly barfing into his shirt. He said he had typhoid fever and it was his sixth month of being sick. We started with an opening prayer and as we closed the prayer he got up to go throw up in the sink downstairs.

E. Hinton and I realized that what we had planned to talk about wasn't going to work, if we were even going to have a chance to talk to him at all. We had to do some quick thinking and decided to talk about the priesthood and how, with the power of God, one can do miracles.

Matthias came back up the stairs from throwing up and we explained to him what the priesthood was. We shared James 5:14 and talked about how he could receive a blessing of healing from us. We shared the story of the woman who touched the clothing of Christ and was healed, not because of the fabric, but because of her faith. We asked him if he had faith in God that he could be healed and if he had faith in us to heal him with the priesthood. He told us yes and we anointed his head with consecrated oil and gave him a blessing.

I will admit, I was a bit nervous to give the blessing because the last time I gave a blessing to a really sick man he died a few weeks later. Do you remember the man who had the horrible fever? I found out a little while ago that he died. Talk about confidence booster, haha.

I tried my best to give a blessing as the Spirit directed. Upon closing the blessing, we heard Mattias sobbing. He cried and cried. He shared a very personal experience from his life when his father was having bad convulsions and how one time he shut himself in his room and prayed and prayed for his father to be better. He returned to the room where his father was and found his father calmly lying on his bed. Mattias told us that since that prayer his father has never had the convulsions. There was a big difference in the way Mattias acted before the lesson began than at the end. He thanked us profusely and seemed more interested in what we have to offer him.

Sometimes you hit the nail on the head with lessons, and sometimes you hit rock bottom. I have learned that it depends on where your focus is. If it is the pressure to fulfill with the goal for the month and not on how the investigator is progressing, regardless of if you need him or her to be baptized to complete the goal, you will mess up and not have the Spirit in the lesson. I have done both and have learned from my experiences. If you are in tune with the Spirit and the person you are speaking to really isn't interested or their heart is not open, you feel it. The Spirit helps you discern between those that are seeking to change and those that are superficial and not sincere in their efforts.

We had a baptism this weekend. C__ was baptized and we prepared a boss service for her. We even made little programs announcing her baptism and the service. Her family came and it was a great service. We have come to learn of the importance of DVD controllers. No one ever has a DVD controller so watching church videos is impossible because we can never select the Spanish language option. That was the only kink in our service.

M__ H__ hung up on the phone with me yesterday. She doesn't want to talk to us right now because she feels we pressured her to be baptized. We did pressure her and her family to be baptized because we know they are ready, but at the end of the lesson we recognized they weren't prepared so we pushed the baptismal date back to give them more time. Maria doesn't understand things sometimes. She got hung up over one word in the BOM and was going to deny the truthfulness of the book because the way the word is used today is sarcastic while in ancient times it meant "according to." Despite the fact that she feels peace when she reads the BOM every night she was super hung up on this one word. It took 12 minutes to explain what it meant to her. She can be very stubborn. I don't think she realizes that we conceded to give them all more time. I feel like I have part of the blame in them not wanting to listen to us anymore, but at the same time the lesson we had where we tried to get them to be baptized was a spiritual one. I have asked her member friend to stop by this week to talk to them. We will not be fulfilling the baptismal goal for this month but it doesn't matter; right now it is all about getting M__ H__ and her family back on track. Her husband had a spiritual answer to his prayer and he knows he should be baptized.

Wow, I went on a lot more than I thought I would. Today we are going to eat with a member from E. Hinton's ward at the fanciest hotel in Acapulco, The Princess. She lives on the hotel grounds with her son who is a cook. I hope we eat well.

The earliest we can get our new elders will be next Monday. I will let you know then if we have our second set of kids.

McDonald's here have play places, they clean the building all the time, and it is where the richer people go here in Acapulco. I hope you enjoy the dumpy one in Midvale! Eat a Big Mac with Coca Cola for me.

Thanks for the love,

Elder Bosque

Almost Baptisms

2012-02-13T19:29:00.007-07:00

Family,

Managing two areas is very busy and needs a lot of planning. I carried a suit, my dirty clothes, clean clothes, and my study items from Zapata to Cima yesterday on one of the antrobuses.

We had some almost-baptisms this past weekend. Four, to be exact. We went with the DLs (they are co-district leaders: E. Olsen, who was my ZL in Alpuyeca and E. Coon, who is about to go home) to the entrevistas [baptismal interviews] in Zapata. E. Hinton, my current comp, took E. Coon to the super-prepared woman named C__. She was taught by the elders in Acapulco and moved back home with her member family. She has read over 300 pages of scripture and church documents. She is so excited to be baptized... but after the baptismal interview the DL concluded she needed more time to prepare. Our luck with M.H. and her family was the same.

E. Olsen and I went over to do the interview for J__ M__, the husband, and M__ I__, the 11-year-old daughter. We got there and as I began to explain the process of the interview I felt like something wasn't right. JM and his wife began to talk about how they felt like they needed more time. The unique difference that I noticed in what they were saying to me compared to the scores of times that I have heard the same stuff before was that JM really truly wants to be baptized. His intent is to be baptized, he isn't merely trying to avoid baptism for another week.

E. Olsen and I went to work on taking out the doubts and obstacles. I had never taught with E. Olsen but was interested to see how he would teach. Earlier in the week we were exchanging ideas on how to find more people that are ready for baptism and how he is teaching in creative ways. It started getting me thinking in how I can become even more creative in how I teach.

I gave metaphors, E. Olsen used magic tricks, and slowly we were helping JM realize the need for baptism and how it helps in life. It isn't the end but an essential part of the process of life and becoming like God. I made up an example on the spot about how sins, problems, and arguments are like the fire burning down our house and baptism is the firemen. We can wait for them to come into play when the fire has subsided and the damage has been done, or we can call them into play when the fire is blazing and most fierce. After the fire has been calmed the Spirit comes in to reconstruct the damaged areas of our house and construct a building far greater and more beautiful than we could ever do if left to our own human devices. I feel like JM and his family will do more pondering on being baptized. They want to do it, they just lack a small push. Through this battle I have come to understand and learn of the motivation and power of a goal.

The mom of the three girls we baptized is super pumped to be baptized. She went to church yesterday with her daughters. I hope her baptism this weekend will touch her husband's heart.

Being comps with E. Hinton has been a blast. We are really similar (in looks and in likes) so it has been fun. We already have plans on hanging out after the mission at BYU.

Cima had two baptisms this past weekend. They were young kids that had their records lost, so it was their second baptism, haha.

We played volleyball at the beach and I heard an old lady (I assume she was from the US) speak some funny-sounding Spanish. Funny to think that I sounded like that 6 or 7 years ago when I started to learn Spanish.

E. Hinton and I are into this kid toy called the trompo [top]. You can do a bunch of tricks with it like spin it on your hand. We play with the kids in his ward sometimes.

Life is good.

Love,

Elder Bosque

I'm Training Again

2012-02-06T19:05:00.003-07:00

Dear Family,

This past week was a bit crazy as we received a call on Wednesday night from the zone leaders telling me I needed to buy a bus ticket to go to Cuernavaca. Thursday morning I was on a big bus with Elders Hinton, Gray, and King after bidding farewell to Elder Morales. We arrived at the capilla [chapel] in Leyva for a training meeting with president. Twenty one missionaries will be training this change (today is the beginning of the next change). The crazy thing is that a ton of the elders that are training are super young as far as time served in the mission. E. Hinton, my buddy from Cima, is training his second missionary as well. The problem is that our new companions are have to wait for their visas and are stuck in the U.S. so we will be working both Zapata and Cima for at least a week, if not more. All I know about my new companion is that his name is E. Jones.

I got to see E. Blair when I went to Cuernavaca! It was so good to see him after he left Alpuyeca months ago. He is on the way out from the mission and it is hard to believe that he is going home. This past weekend I also got into mission genealogy; I have all of my missionary family and found out that I am related to E. Cornejo. My missionary genealogy is sweet!

I enjoyed my one change with E. Morales here in Zapata. I feel like I am constantly learning and developing as a missionary. Once again I am going to be in charge of an area and training, but this time I feel much more relaxed about it. I feel like I have more control over what I am doing and I am learning to identify those people that are ready to listen and change their lives with this gospel.

We should be baptizing like grande this weekend. Here in Zapata we have a family that wants to be baptized, E. Hinton has one baptism set in Cima and two possibilities, and I received a reference in the bus stop from a missionary that is going home and the investigator is supposedly super escogida [chosen]. Managing two areas is going to be a beastly job but fun at the same time.

The family that we should be baptizing this weekend is awesome. M__ H__, J__ M__, and their daughter M__ I__ (they have two other daughters, E__ and I__; I like to call I__ ''Chicharita'' because she likes pretending to be the famous soccer player Chicharito of Manchester United and the Mexican national squad fame). J__ is humble in heart and has a lot of faith. He and his wife are ready to change any aspect of their lives to be in line with the teachings found in the scriptures. We taught M__ H__ the Word of Wisdom and watched as she poured out the bottle of alcohol she had in the house (it smelled rank during the rest of the lesson so in the future I'll recommend dumping the stuff in a location away from where the lesson is taking place) and decided right there and then to live the Word of Wisdom.

This weekend we celebrated our good times by eating at a delicious taquerìa called Tarascos. Big changes happened in the zone this change (only one area out of nine didn't have some sort of companionship change) and a big generation of elders are going home. The mission is becoming very young and President is on the way out. I think he is going to prepare the mission for the future by making the younger missionaries get experience fast by making them do hard things. 108 of the 187 missionaries right now have less than a year in the field, and in the next two changes mission Cuernavaca is going to receive 42 more missionaries.

I love life as a missionary right now. I am completely certain that this is the only true church of Jesus Christ. I deeply admire the faith of the people here that open their hearts to hear this gospel. I am going to work hard and work to the very end of my time in Mexico.

Con amor,

Elder Bosque

Here is a photo of my new companion, Elder Hinton. He's from Hurricane, Utah and is a BYU fan. I'm definitely hanging out with him after my mission.

Here's a photo of the inside of our chapel in Zapata. It's a rented house so looks a little different than the other chapels I am used to.

Here's a zombie dog. Pretty freaky, but pretty normal for around here.

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 4, 4

2012-01-30T19:23:00.008-07:00

Dear Family,

As you know, Elder Morales and I had a goal for 3 baptisms in the month of January. The Final Countdown began and as we drew closer to the end of the month with no prospects in sight, things did not look good for us. Well, all I can say is good things happen to those who work hard and trust in the Lord.

Yes, family, as you will notice from the title of my email, the Final Countdown ended at four instead of zero. This weekend we baptized four and completed our goal to help at least three people come unto Christ this month. Whew! We worked our brains out to get everything perfect and ended up working till the last minute (i.e., Thursday and Friday night) and held the baptismal service Saturday. We baptized three sisters, L__, G__, and M__, as well as a man we met on the street only a week ago named G__. I know that God put him in our path at the perfect timing.

The three girls had been going to church with their aunt and her family for months. Her mom had refused to give permission for the baptisms previously when the missionaries tried to baptize them. We taught them all the lessons and in the final lesson we talked about getting permission from mom. We practiced what would happen (good old role plays) and had each girl give an answer of why they want to be baptized. Although her answer was so simple, when L__ (short for Maria Guadalupe) told me ''I want to be baptized so I can continue going to church," I really felt the Spirit whack my chest. We then said a prayer and went to ask the mom for permission. We called the mom over and made the girls do all of the talking. When L__ said she wanted to be baptized, the mom asked her and her sisters why they wanted to be baptized. Upon hearing their responses, she signed the cédulas (yesssssss). By the way, the picture of my companion and me and the three girls is supposed to be the various stages of evolution (yes, I'm the ape). Unfortunately Mexicans don't quite get my sense of humor so my clever photos generally end up being not so clever.

I loved seeing these girls be baptized. I have enjoyed teaching them, too. They sit down for the lesson and begin chattering like Italian fishwives (a saying I got from my Grandpa Forrest). Give them a glass of agua de límon and they would chatter all day (they are 11, 12, and 13 years old). I just hope they remain faithful to their baptismal covenant and are active for the rest of their lives. So many times I have seen young men or women in the church marry outside of the church and have their lives fall apart. I am not saying it is bad or wrong to marry outside of this religion, but one, they miss out on the most precious blessing the Lord can give us (being sealed in the temple), and two, the people they marry are often hard-hearted toward the church (at least they are here in my mission).

G__ was a baptism on wheels. That's literally how we met him. He was riding his bike, stopped, and spoke to us. We set up a cita to chat at a later date. In the cita we found out that all of his daughters are baptized (but married outside of the church and are now inactive) but he had never been baptized. He had gone to church for years but had recently gone "inactive." After another very long chat with him, we convinced him to be baptized. He hadn't been baptized before due to marital problems.

J__, mom of Hna. Velez, has hardened her heart. She knows it is true, but she cannot pull herself away from her traditions.

You will have to tell Takami that I saw him in some EFY 2011 videos with Scott Barrow, his sister, and Spencer. I freaked out when I saw him in it and it made me miss the chap. I am sure he is enjoying every minute of his time on the mission.

I went on divisions with a cool elder named E. Hinton. I went to his area, Cima, and boy was it hilly. I got some good views of the costera and of my area.

I am so thankful to God for blessing us this past week. We have been working really hard here in Zapata. I discovered in the scriptures that one can fast to give thanks (somewhere in Alma, like 43:1) and that is exactly what E. Morales and I are going to do next Sunday.

Until next week,

Elder Bosque

Here are some photos of the chapel here in Zapata.

Here I am being Mexican Rocky.

This is a delicious treat E. Morales introduced me to that's called volcan de chocolate. We are in a Domino's Pizza restaurant.

2012-01-23T14:16:00.003-07:00

Dear Familia,

This week was very busy. First off, I need to declare my new found love for apple-cinnamon Cheerios. I got sick of Zucaritas and E. Morales got me hooked on these delicious Cheerios. I also have a new spoon to add to my collection. It's hard to believe the one in my right hand is about 16 years old now. Mum--when I was about 12, I told you I was going to take it on my mission. Here's the proof!

Interviews with President always come at the perfect time. Tuesday was a rough day with little to no success. Wednesday followed in a similar manner. The entire week we have been teaching and finding people to baptize for this month (our monthly goal being 3). The mom of I__, does everything she can to avoid us and has been successful in doing so. The options we have to baptize for this month are slim.

E. Morales and I decided to fast to receive spiritual strength in fulfilling our inspired goal. The same day that we terminated our fast we had interviews with Pres. (Thursday morning). The talk with Pres. really helped calm me down and give me more hope. This area is hard and we are really making an effort to forward the work here and I am grateful to know that President recognizes our efforts. I can feel that he is proud of my efforts and that he loves me as one of his missionaries. It is hard to believe that in 5 months or so he will return to Argentina and we will have a new mission president.

The interview helped me focus and realize that all that matters is your fullest effort to be a good missionary. There will always be struggles, whether you baptize 1,000 or 3. This past week was a struggle week but I have grown quickly from the experiences I have had and we have already seen blessings from our fast and our hard work.

We rent a two-room, one-bathroom house from a member family, familia Velez. We held a Noche de Hogar with them and Hna. Velez invited her hard-core Catholic parents. We have since taught them and J__, the mother, is so close to being baptized. We have had spiritual lessons with J__ where she has received rather significant answers to her prayers.

On Thursday we taught J__ and spoke about how, with one God, there is one baptism and one path or manner to obey Him. We referred to Ephesians 4 (using her giant Catholic Bible to show her we use the same Bible) and testified that this church is the restored church of Jesus Christ on the earth. At the end of the lesson, we invited her to pray specifically to know that this church was true and if she should be baptized. She hesitated, but decided to pray.

The prayer started off like a normal recited prayer (reciting the Lord's Prayer), but soon she began asking God to know if "The church of my daughter (Hna. Velez) is your church and if it is the true church, and if I should be baptized in it." During her prayer I was praying with all the strength of my soul as if I was wringing out every spiritual drop of my spiritual material to help her receive an answer. She ended her prayer, and we waited in silence.

I looked up as I heard sobs come from J__. She wiped her tears from her face. I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from grinning. She told us she felt good and that she felt peace. We helped her recognize that it was an answer from God. She accepted being baptized, but rejected the date of the 28th for her baptism. We set up a cita for Saturday night.

Saturday night with J__ we addressed her next doubt-- being baptized so quickly. This is a doubt we find very often in our work and is due to a misunderstanding of the doctrine of baptism. We referred to the story in Acts 2:37-41 where Peter baptizes 3,000 people the same day that they felt the Spirit upon hearing the word of God. We invited her at the end of the lesson to pray specifically about the 28th to know if she should be baptized that day. J__ prayed with sincerity and real intent, truly desiring to know if she should be baptized the 28th. Again, and miraculously so, God gave her an answer immediately after she uttered amen. Two consecutive answers within two days. It was amazing. A few tears fell from her eyes and she told us that she felt good again. But, because salvation is not a cheap experience, things weren't going to continue being this easy with J__. She presented another duda [doubt] about being 100% committed to the church after baptism. Out of time, we set up a cita for last night.

We went with Hna. Velez once more to visit her mother. We spoke about how baptism is not the end of things, but the beginning. Instead of being the end result of a change, baptism is a part of the process. It accelerates one's learning, spiritual growth, and strengthens the testimony. We explained to her that over time she would make a complete change from the Catholic traditions she so dearly holds on to as she grew within the light of the gospel. She threw out a duda that she didn't know how to read; we told her God speaks to His children individually and in the way they learn the best, and that our bishop didn't know how to read. She continued denying the 28th. Her daughter bore a strong testimony of the gospel and baptism. We told her God gave those immediate answers to her prayers because He knows she is prepared and she will go through with them. We ended the night in a toss up, and are going back tonight. Funny, despite the fact that she is resisting baptism she keeps letting us in the door.

I know that this is the church of Jesus Christ. I know that He is our Savior and that He lives and communicates to a living prophet. I have no fear because I know it is all true.

Onto your emails. I love you all and I hope you are doing well.

Con amor,

Elder Bosque

Here's a photo of Zapata's main street. The vehicle with the orange cover is a form of public transportation. Just imagine 25 people crammed in it.

Baptism Cancelled

2012-01-16T13:35:00.002-07:00

Hi familia,

Our baptism with I___ was cancelled. We had everything set up and ready to go until his mom had to go all hard-hearted on us. She keeps saying that she has to receive a call from her husband (who is working in the US) to ask for his permission. It is frustrating because she won't let us sit down and explain everything to her, so we talk with her in front of her house and manage to convince her for a moment, only to return and have her say ''màs adelante'' [later] to us again.

The other reason we keep persisting and know that she is throwing up excuses is because I___ has gone to church with the member family that lives across the street for a year. He also remembers what we teach him better than any other child investigator I have ever taught.

You wouldn't believe how many lies we hear every day. We are lied to, ignored, sworn at, and more on a daily basis. We encounter hard-hearted people who refuse to listen and even go as far as calling Moses and other Bible prophets false prophets (I will go into more details later about that) even though they profess to read the Bible. We go through so much garbage (literally, I might add) to find the few and rare people that are prepared to receive the word of God and live it. Even then, with those who are willing to listen, it is a battle to lead them to the baptismal font. There is always some sort of obstacle and the devil never ceases to spice things up.

For example, D___, an old lady who is listening to us and wants to be baptized, but her situation is difficult. She receives a monthly pension from her first husband and she survives off that money. She currently lives in an "union libre" [common law marriage] with an old man that has no form of identification. As D___ put it, ''He doesn't exist''. In order to comply with the commandments so she can be baptized, she needs to separate from him or marry him. The problem is that if she marries him she loses the pension, and also I don't know if it is possible to marry someone that doesn't even have a birth date. Who knows what is going to happen there.

All of the pain and struggle in missionary work reminds me of a line from a talk by Elder Holland. The quote has forever been etched into my mind and burns even brighter when I have a bad day or nothing turns out. He said, ''Salvation is not a cheap experience''. I almost wish he'd said, ''Salvation isn't a cheap experience for the investigator'' because I feel like we pay the price to see people baptized as much as they do.

This week didn't turn out the way we planned it to be. Citas [appointments] fell like dead flies (or rather, cucarachas in our house) and it looks like we will need a strong spiritual moment to convince I___'s mom that this is a blessing and that she too can be baptized. We did find a promising family and we are on good terms with the ward.

E. Hinton and Funk (elders in an area called Cima) are going to baptize a couple that I taught in Alpuyeca. Y___ and F___ (the dude who believed that a doll spoke to him and gave him powers to levitate and move objects without touching them) really want to be baptized. We were about to baptize them when they were living in Alpuyeca but they moved back home to Acapulco before we could get them married. The cool thing is that they remember who I am! It made me so happy to hear that they were super prepared for baptism and that F___ has gotten a whole lot better since Alpuyeca. I may try and go to their baptismal service to say hi.

One more story: F___, the dad of a recent convert, has been duped by the devil. When we went to teach him Thursday night he had a bunch of rubbish questions about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. Each of his questions had scriptures from the Bible that he had ''looked up himself'' (even though he doesn't know where the books are in the Bible) to contradict Joseph's account of the First Vision and the Book of Mormon. It was apparent that someone had inserted their own ideas and hatred for the church into his mind. We answered all of his questions by telling him he needed to read the Book of Mormon and pray to God with real intent because that would be the only true way of answering his doubts. We testified of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, but he would merely move on to his next question without considering our answer in the least. He was looking more to prove us wrong or catch us without an answer to one of his questions and scriptures from the Bible than receive an answer to understand our message. One of the things he was hung up about was a scripture in John 1:18 that states that no man has seen God. E. Morales pulled out an awesome scripture in Numbers 12:6-7 and spoke about how prophets in the Bible had seen the Lord. F___ was so obsessed with his tiny, misinterpreted verse (I believe there is a JST that clarifies that no man has seen God except he has borne record of the Son) that he declared that Moses and others that had claimed to have seen God in Old Testament times were false prophets. It was sad to see how hard-hearted he was. He refused to believe nor read the Book of Mormon because he believed that Joseph Smith wrote it and that all it talks about is his first vision, even after we explained to him repeatedly that it was an account of the ancient inhabitants of the Americas.

Oh well. We gotta keep working.

Dad, I hope you have a fantastic birthday and that you enjoy your day with the family. I have always appreciated your words of advice and counsel. You have helped me out all throughout my life and I am grateful for your example of one with an unshakeable testimony in Jesus Christ. I have seen so many types of fathers and leaders here in Mexico and I grow ever more appreciative for you and how you raised me; you respect my agency but correct me when I need it. You are patient and wise with your words. I still remember the car ride home from Lake Powell where we almost ran out of gas and we talked about the gospel. I hope you do something today where you treat yourself well (like buying a cool Mac mouse or BYU jersey) like you have treated me. Happy Birthday!

Sorry about the long email today. I actually thought I had nothing to say. Onto your emails.

Con amor,

Elder Bosque

Life is a Beach & I'm Playing in the Sand

2012-01-09T20:08:00.002-07:00

Familia Bosque,

That's exactly what I just finished doing before sitting down in a cyber-cafe to write you all. Our zone got together and burned our feet in the sand as we played some volleyball and longingly glanced over to the ocean after every point. All is well; we topped off the event with some McDonald's with free Coke refills. Ahhhhhh.

I am finally over my stomach sickness! Woo! I have been sick for the past three weeks with who knows what. At first it was sporadic, then it changed to intestinal pain, and, after a blessing, not eating for a day, and then three days of steamed carrots and caldo de pollo [chicken broth], I feel fine.

We should have a baptism coming up this week. The young chap is named I___ and he loves learning about the gospel. He is eleven and he is already sharing the gospel with his grandma. He reads the folletos [pamphlets] we leave him and remembers what he learns from the lesson before. At the end of church yesterday he called me over to set up the cita [appointment], instead of the regular method of us going to the investigator to set up the following cita. The only thing left that he needs is permission from his dad. This requires a call to the US by his mom because his dad works in the States. Oh, he also turns off schoolmates' phones when they try to show him bad stuff. Cool kid.

We have held a ton of lessons with part-member families here. Some have been fruitful, and others not so much. Last night we taught the longest lesson of my life. Normally lessons go no longer than one hour, but somehow this one extended out to be an hour and forty-five minutes. Whew! Good thing the time flew. I learned a lesson about long lessons: God will allow crazy stuff to happen if you stay to long. For example: The member mom, near the end of the lesson (when we are about to put the investigators with a baptismal date) stands in the middle of everyone, bawling, because her primo-hermano had died ten days earlier and she had just been notified.

The lesson last night did go well. The dad, F____, is interested which is excellent. If you can get the man of the house interested you have one huge obstacle defeated. One daughter of the family, G___, was recently baptized so that is how we found them.

I am eating up the book Jesus the Christ. I know I say this every week but Talmage is a Bible boss. The best part of Jesus the Christ is that it is so long! It is amazing the profound amount of knowledge he knows about Christ and how much more meaning the Biblical stories take on when Talmage explains it all. Jesus is the best! He also was an incredible teacher. His manner of teaching is astounding and so deeply intense. For example, when Simon the Pharisee invites Christ to dine with him and the sinner woman (who is not Mary Magdalene, according to Elder Talmage) comes to clean, kiss, and anoint Christ's feet (Luke ch. 7, I believe) and Christ planches Simon with the story of the two debtors that were forgiven is awesome. James E. Talmage relates it to when Nathan planches Daniel in 2 Samuel (I can't remember the chapter off of the top of my head). It is all so interesting to me and I can't stop reading it. Oh, by the way: Planching is a missionary term for calling someone to repentance in a way that makes you want to say ''oooooh, that burned''. It comes from the verb planchar, which is to iron clothing. President Spannaus planches disobedient missionaries like a pro.

The ward is still a little dysfunctional but nice. One of the counselors announced the speakers and the closing hymn in sacrament meeting yesterday, everyone followed the meeting plan, and then when it was time for the closing prayer the counselor announced two more speakers because there was 15 minutes left until the hour. The two speakers proceeded to take 40 minutes to talk, haha. Odd but we are loving it.

I feel like I am becoming more spiritually dependent on God and more spiritually minded. I am praying constantly and doing my best to remain humble and willing to use the priesthood. Jesus the Christ has been helping me stay interested during my studies and more spiritually minded as I ponder more on what I learn. The biggest question I have had on my mission is why we have a need for our physical bodies on an eternal scheme. I understand that in order to become like God one must attain a body, and the united spirit and element receives a fulness of joy (DyC 93:33), but what purpose does the body have in the eternal scheme of things? It is something of obvious worth because every being without one (namely, the devil and his followers) always seek to obtain one.

I have also learned about the importance of having a strong family and how important it is to be an obedient father with a strong testimony. I have seen so many famlies fall apart because the father failed to be a good example and fell in to serious traps of sin.
Things are going well with E. Morales. He and I get along and we are pretty open with our communication, which is key in any type of relationship.

Onto your emails. Nos vidrios!

Elder Bosque

Hot

2012-01-02T18:51:00.005-07:00

Hi family,

First off, it is unbelievably hot and I am dreading being here in the summer. I hope I leave before then just because of the heat. I am already skinny and don't have any more room to lose more weight. All the fat people in the world should move to Acapulco and try the weight-loss program I invented. Walk outside, up hills, and on dirt paths for hours and hours, and come back indoors to see how much skinnier you've become. It's magic!

Wow, so much to say but so little time. To generalize many points, the ward feels like it is at a stage where it will either remain the same if no action is taken, or explode like the ward did in Alpuyeca if we work hard. The ward here has existed for some 24 years, yet it still only brings in 90 people to church each Sunday. The bishop has been a member of the church for 6 years, and 5 of those as bishop! On top of that, he doesn't know how to read. There is no piano but the ward sings a lot better than the ward in Alpuyeca, haha.

My welcome into 2012 in Mexico was an interesting one. Suffice it to say New Year's is huge here. On New Year's Eve you eat twelve grapes and decide on twelve desires or wishes for the new year, one for every month. You hug everyone at midnight and set off every explosive you have while drinking as much beer possible. Because New Year's is a reason to celebrate it is huge. You turn up the already loud music you have playing, you drink more beer than you usually do, and eat some good food.

As for my personal introduction to 2012, firstly, our next door neighbor happened to be the mero mero pachanguero of Colonia Zapata and blasted his music until 7:30 a.m. There were a ton of fireworks shot off and guns fired in other parts of our area. We ate at three or four members' houses (including the 12 grape tradition) and ended the night listening to the musical and fiery explosions outside our window.

Secondly, I was introduced to the ward, but I never got to meet the bishop or his counselors. I realized that I will have to take the initiative in getting to know everyone, because, unlike Alpuyeca, they don't come to meet you. The culture in this ward is different and I am still getting used to it. You know it is interesting when a 15-year-old girl is married to a 68-year-old man. There are some very faithful members that we are working with. With motivation we can get things going in this ward.

After emailing you all last week I felt, after walking around town, that I would never see another guero [white person] or another person that spoke English ever again. The following day our first cita [lesson] was with a teenage girl named L__ that used to live in Anaheim. It was nice to realize God is looking out for me, even in the little things. L__ hasn't had any real guidance in her life and it looks like it is going to be a challenge to help her realize that all of the answers and happiness she is looking for lies in this gospel and nowhere else.

This past week we did more than the previous elders did during the entire month of December. E. Morales was paired up with an elder who apparently did nothing the final month of his mission. I can tell he didn't do much because he holds all of the positions in the high score charts on the little games on our cell phone. To get things going we have been holding family home evening lessons with the members. We have already gotten a few good investigators and have 5-7 more FHEs to go this week.

E. Morales is cool. I get along with him because he wants to work. He has experience so he doesn't freak out at changes. He is still recovering from being with a dead missionary but he has a good heart so I am not worried. We communicate well with each other.

I haven't taken any photos because I didn't know how dangerous the area would be. It is more dangerous than Alpuyeca and it is very feo [ugly], too. It is a lot dirtier and nastier here. My clothes will be destroyed by the end of my time here in Zapata, haha. We walk more and transportation is cheap, so it doesn't look like I will be spending nearly as much as I did before.

I know that this is the Lord's work we are doing and that I am supposed to be here in Mexico. I love learning the language (E. Morales is teaching me a bunch of slang, yesss) and I hope I can gain a stronger testimony and new language from my experience here. I am reading Jesus the Christ and can't put it down. Talmage is a Bible boss and I love taking a deeper look into the miracles and teachings of Christ. It has helped me come to realize the importance of the power of the priesthood and how it truly can cause miracles. Just the other day we gave a blessing to a man who had the worst fever I have ever seen in my life. He was lying on some old mattress moaning. His legs were trembling and his eyes refused to open. His head was soaked with sweat and it seemed like the heat wouldn't release from his tormented body. We gave him a blessing and in the blessing I told him to be healed. We haven't had a chance to go back and check up on him, but I hope that with my faith and God's will the man will feel better.

My apartment in Zapata is tiny. I now appreciate the mansion we had in Alpuyeca. We cleaned our apartment out today so it should be fine. There are a ton of dead cucarachas everywhere, haha.

That's all my news for this week.

I love you guys,

Elder Bosque

It's Already Heating Up

2011-12-26T16:11:00.003-07:00

Dear Family,

Today I am writing to you from my new area and new home: Zapata, in the Mexican state of Guerrero. The most famous city in this state is Acapulco. Yes, that Acapulco--with tourists, beaches and cliff-divers. My area is about 10 miles inland from the coast, though, so I shouldn't be anywhere near any of that stuff. Only moments ago I was lifting my bags into my new living space (try lifting 50-60 pound bags up one floor... it is fun) and have already started up a nice sweat. If the Acapulco region is hot like it is right now in December, I can't imagine what it will be like in March or May. Of the three or four blocks I have seen of my area, Zapata, it seems a lot more ghetto than Alpuyeca, but it does have a cajero [ATM], big grocery stores, and KFC. I don't mind ghetto-ness at all. I am here to work.

This past weekend was a bittersweet one as I said goodbye to converts and members in Alpuyeca, where I have served since June, 2011. I wrote every single one of my converts a note, as well as some beloved members. I am going to miss Alpuyeca a lot, but I am also very ready for a new adventure. I enjoyed being in an area for 7 months but my time was definitely up there.

My time in my birthplace ended with a bang as we partied all night with the Ochoa family on the 24th. In Mexico the Christmas celebration is on the night of the 24th instead of the day of the 25th like it is in the States. We held a talent show (E. Anderson and I made up some songs about the Ochoas that had them laughing), hung out, and ate some delicious food: shrimp soup, mole rojo, a seafood plate whose name I can't remember, and delicious rosca de reyes. Rosca is a type of fruit cake, but so delicious.

Sunday no one was in church. The church culture in Mexico is different. Many treat going to the church regularly as something less serious than perhaps many members in the States do. Try 20 members in church in comparison to our normal number of 150-200.

After church I packed a bag and then went to the Ochoa's again to say hi to all of you on Skype. It was cool to see the family and also Marcelo and Andres. Looks like you guys had a very BYU blue Christmas.

Today Papi Ochoa took me to Cuernavaca, where I boarded a bus and sat for a good 3 hours and 15 minutes. The state of Guerrero is visibly different than Morelos. It seems a lot busier, it is a lot hotter, and there are more bright colors. I was nervous when I got the call to serve here in the Costa Azul zone, but upon boarding the bus I didn't feel nervous, just desirous to work hard. Sadly, I have learned by tough experience that I am not good at traveling long distances; either I start feeling sick or my body starts hurting. I hope my neck can recover tonight, because it feels a little sore.

My compañero is named E. Morales. No, he is not the E. Morales that was with E. Blair before I came to Alpuyeca, but a different one. He has 13 months on the mission and we are "co-iguales" [co-equals], or there isn't a senior or junior companion. I have no idea why president decided to do that, nor do I know how it will affect the companionship, so it is something I am not going to worry about. Apparently we have co-iguales district leaders, so instead of one DL I have two halves, haha.

I enjoyed my final weeks with E. Anderson. He should be able to get 3-4 baptisms this month with the people we had in teaching Alpuyeca. Here in Zapata there are 5 people currently in teaching, so we have a lot of finding to do. I hope we can really make an impact on this area.

I have more bad news about the camera-- we were trying to fix the memory card and what ended up happening was that the card lost all of its images. I lost 2-3 weeks worth of photos, maybe more. I am a little sad about it because we had some hilarious stuff on there. I am trying not to dwell on it and hope that my memory will serve me well of AlpucaYork.

Thanks again for the chat yesterday. Dunc may try and deepen his voice, Megan still isn't married, and dad's hair is a lot longer, but I can tell all is well. On to victory.

Love,

Elder Bosque

Christmas Conference

2011-12-19T21:18:00.002-07:00

Dear Family,

This past week was probably one of our best weeks, even if we didn't baptize. A couple we have been teaching are close to baptism but have to get married first (V. and W., with their child named I.).

I am pretty confident I am leaving Alpuyeca soon. Elder Blair wants me to go to Cuautla. I have no idea where I will be going. I imagine I will be going to some tiny little pueblo in the hills of who knows where for 6 months. Can you believe that I am 3 months away from being halfway done on my mission? Nutso.

Our mission president said we can have a visit via Skype on Christmas day but it needs to be limited to 45 minutes. I will be online at 2:00 p.m. my time (1:00 p.m. your time). It will be so strange to see everyone again after nine months. Where has the time gone?

I got the package from home the other day. It didn't say ¨NAVIDAD¨ or anything of the like on it, but when I began opening it Claire had some Christmas paper things for us, so I am guessing it's my Christmas package. I won't open it until Christmas day.

I got E. Anderson a cool Mexican backpack for Christmas. I didn't know what to get him and they are pretty cool. I haven't found a single place to wrap the Christmas presents I bought for people down here so I used the newspaper you guys used as padding in a package you sent me to wrap one gift, and I think I will use one of my many Zucaritas (Frosted Flakes) boxes that I have lying around the house for the others. I have been able to fulfill my dreams of eating however much cereal I want while here in Mexico. It is wonderful.

One fun thing that occurred this week was the mission Christmas conference. We went to Civac and joined up with Zonas Civac and Cuernavaca. We did a big white elephant gift exchange (my Mexican backpack gift was the first thing to be stolen three times, haha) and I scored a nice fleece hat. It keeps my cranium warm in the semi-chilly mornings. The conference began with a talent show. E. Anderson and I wrote lyrics about President Spannaus and baptizing to the tunes of "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas," "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," and "Joy to the World." We must have done okay because President loved it and now wants a copy of our lyrics. The other district in our zone did a sick interpretive dance to a song called "Healing Waters", where they danced robotically and played out the whole teaching, baptizing, and confirmation process. We took a break for some food and finished with a thunderous devotional by Hermana and President Spannaus.

Hna. Spannaus talked about grace. I liked how she said that grace isn't something we receive after reaching a certain point on the imaginary line between us and God, but rather that we can receive grace continually-- before, during, and after.

Pres. Spannaus' talk was powerful. He spoke about our "fuente de fuerza" [source of strength]. Where do we get our strength? Money, muscles, strong family, intelligence, baptisms, etc? He told us it could all disappear in a moment. He spoke about our need to have our source of strength in Christ and in nothing else, because all other things can and will fall. He showed us pictures of the time he went to Jerusalem and told us he didn't gain his testimony by going inside the tomb of Christ, but rather in his seminary class as a boy and at church. It was awesome.

The conference was nice because I was able to relax and stop stressing about the work. I have got to learn how to become more relaxed but still effective, not only as a missionary but as a person in general.

That's it for this week. I can't wait to see and talk to you all through Skype on Christmas day.

Merry Christmas,

Elder Bosque

Closing in on Christmas

2011-12-12T20:17:00.002-07:00

Hello family,

I just got done with my Christmas "Shopping." I walked through the giant mall called Galerias in Cuernavaca and couldn't believe how expensive everything was (even in dollar equivalent). I couldn't find a single clearance rack! I felt really odd as a missionary in a mall. My needs have changed completely and I found I had no interest in the stores I normally would wander around for hours. The great part of the mall were the Domino's, Krispy Kreme, Burger King, Subway, and Haagen Daaz. We bought a few gifts for a white elephant game we will be playing at the Christmas Conference this Thursday and some chocolates for our favorite ward members. I should be Skyping you guys if everything turns out well.

It so weird to think it's Christmas time yet the sun still shines here in Alpuyeca and it is warm every day. This will be my first Christmas without snow--nothing but sun, sun, sun.

I think I've said this before, but we see dogs all the time here in Mexico. At first I vowed I would never touch a dog, but I sometimes pet the house animals now (you'd be crazy to touch a street dog). After seeing every mixed breed of dog possible (that's what happens with street dogs roaming everywhere) I think I would get a grey dog with short, non shedding hair and grey eyes. Granted, I am never going to get a dog, but if I were forced to I would get that. It would be a cool animal to take up with me into the mountains if it were smart enough to listen to me.

I experienced my first earthquake this past week! It felt more like intense bass in Marcus's home theater, but it was still cool. Right as we were talking with investigators V____ and W___ about being baptized the floor started rumbling and there were sounds of glasses trembling around. Vicente got up and zoomed out of the house with his wife and kids, then E. Anderson got up and told me to come, so I grabbed my pack and followed out. The trembling decreased gradually until it ceased about a minute later.

V___ and W___ were going to be baptized this coming weekend but because the didn't come to church yesterday (we still don't know why) they will have to wait one more week. We normally want our investigators to attend church at least twice before being baptized. They have big plans to be baptized and we are excited for them.

We saw some interesting local traditions from the rooftop of Yuka's house the other day. Her house is built right on one side of the Catholic church in centro Alpuyeca. Apparently they were re-enacting the battle between the Moors and Christians with big costumes, weird masks, and machetes bought from the local Truper (Home Depot). Alpuyeca is a very religious pueblo and you get to see interesting religious traditions here.

I am trying to work on pondering and meditating more. In a very interesting church movie about the life of Joseph Smith, his mother writes in her journal that Joseph would ponder on things for long periods of time. He has received some of the greatest revelations for our time (the First Vision and other select revelations recorded in Doctrine and Covenants) following periods of meditation, and I want to become more in tune with the Spirit and receive more inspiration. A few weeks ago I began pondering on the life of Christ, particularly his Crucifixion. I thought about how his death was an integral part of fulfilling the will of God, particularly to overcome the obstacle of physical death. I thought about the way He was killed and if it were necessary for Him to die in that way. Although I wasn't able to really study deeply on the subject, I came up with an answer for myself by using another example found in the Bible (just wait, all of this will make sense in a moment). During class on Sunday only one investigator came (G____), so we ended up teaching him the lesson about the Restoration (we teach gospel principles class) and he asked if the people that killed Jesus were considered good, because they helped fulfill that part of the plan. It was a crazy moment because I had thought to an extent about that same thing weeks earlier, and because I had already thought about it I could give him the answer that took me awhile to come up with. I asked him if he thought was Satan was evil. He said yes. I then proceeded to explain how Satan tried to meddle with the plans of God when Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden, and although it may seem like what he did was good for mankind (because now we exist; see 2 Nephi 2), his intentions were to destroy God's plan and ruin mankind. God, being omnipotent and far greater than the devil, is two steps ahead of him in everything. The people that crucified Christ didn't do it to fulfill the plan of God, but to get rid of someone who cramped on their strict Mosaic Law and started taking power away from the "religious" groups and people (Pharisees and Sadducees). The lesson went really well with G___ and he quickly accepted a date to be baptized on the 30th of this month if he receives his answer before then.

As we close on Christmas I feel that I also may be closing the door of my time in Alpuyeca. I am going to keep working as if I am going to stay, but by the end of this month I will have lived here for 7 months. I have built great relationships with the people here and I am going to miss them a lot. I plan on writing everyone letters (I am going to have more than 30 to write, yay) before I go to keep in touch. Christmas will be my final day here, and it will be spent with my second family, the Ochoas. I love them.

I know I may be jumping the gun when I say this, but I am also close to completing a year on my mission. In four months (or two and a half changes) I will have a year on the mission. Crazy how time flies!

I don't really care if I get my packages from you before Christmas. My needs and wants have changed since I have been a missionary. I don't care if I get letters; when I get them they are like a treat. I appreciate what I receive, but what I really focus on is if I am healthy, if I am obeying the rules, if we are working to our potential, and if our investigators are feeling the spirit and being baptized.

I hope you all enjoy a wonderful Navidad and remember Christ during this month.

Con amor,

Elder Bosque

It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas

2011-12-05T21:29:00.005-07:00

Hello Family,

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...probably because E. Anderson and I have decorated our house with Christmas decorations that he received from his mom. We now have a big Christmas banner, a feliz navidad sign, and a paper Christmas tree! It is pretty awesome. We lack some lights and snow or else we would be good to go!

We visited A__so during the week to see if we could help him on his decision of being baptized. We showed up to his house unannounced and the family welcomed us in. Before I could finish uttering the question about baptism to A__so after the prayer he told us he wanted to be baptized. It was so thrilling. We had prepared ourselves doctrinally and mentally for a lesson to help him realize the need for baptism but, and I believe it was due to the example of his sister, he had already made up his mind. We made the final arrangements for the service and he was baptized on Saturday and confirmed with his sister yesterday.

A__ra and A__so have changed. A___ra is energetic and hyper with happiness. She speaks really, really, really fast and is excited for our visits. A____so is one of those young men with a smile permanently set on his face. Their baptisms had a positive impact on the ward and also on their mom. She wants to be baptized, she just needs to stop working Sundays and get married. Yes, A___so has decided not to work on Sundays anymore, and is now praying for work during the week. Go A___so!

We watched the First Presidency Christmas devotional last night in Spanish. The familiarity of Temple Square brought back memories of life before the mission. It was a nice service and we all enjoyed seeing the prophet and his counselors. I am really looking forward to Navidad this year. I plan on reading the account of the birth of the Savior before Christmastime.

On to the other emails! I hope all is going well in snowy Utah and all throughout the world.

Love,

Elder Bosque

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