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| Just your typical Mexican Meat Shop. haha |
So I'm gonna start with the questions my dad has asked me this week as I am almost at my halfway mark on the mission. In his words, these questions are a little deeper haha but dont worry they are family friendly.
1) What has been most surprising about my mission? A. Hmmm..tough one. I would say two things. #1 - How hard it has been. I dont know how i missed it with all the movies and talks and whatnot, but I honestly was not prepared for just how tough the mission can be at times. But of course at the same time...theres just some spirit about it that keeps you working. And #2 - How right people have been. All the wierd things I heard about the mission have turned out to be true. Things like "time moves differently", "it goes by slow....but fast", and "one day, you just start speaking the language." People really know what theyre talking about haha
2) What, if anything, would you have done differently in terms of preperation? A. Hmmm differently in terms of preperation?...Prepared haha the truth is that I really didnt prepare well for the mission and i think that really made it hard in the first few months of my mission. Spiritually? Everything. I would have read the Book of Mormon all the way through but more importantly, I would have studied the bible. We have to understand that the rest of the world only has the bible, thus focusing on the Book of Mormon alone is not enough. And last but not least, I would have tried to understand that it isnt all that sad to leave your family for two years (sorry mom and dad). Its sad, but the whole meltdown, crying uncontrollably at the airport (that of course I didnt do) just makes it worse haha its gonna be okay.
And 3) When you have been most successful on your mission, is there anything you have done that the success can be attributed to? A. Yes. Be In Tune. Its not all about finding either. If you are in tune with the spirit, the people you teach can feel it and you will find yourself saying things that actually enter their hearts. I wish i could say it has happened many times in my 11 months, but if you really seek to have the spirit, you will have success.
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| Rosca de Reyes! |
Soo the week. So this doesnt drag on too much, I'm gonna try to go quick. Monday night (the 6th of January) we went over to a members house to celebrate "Dia de los Magos" which is where the people here celebrate when the magai brought gifts to Christ when he was born. First off, we have now had 3 celebrations with this family so I told them we HAD to take some pictures, and they will be included. So the way they celebrate the day is with a big sweet bread called "Rosca de Reyes". Its filled with little plastic dolls and if you get one in the piece that you cut out, you have to pick a card that has something written on it like "you have to bring cups and plates" or....like the one me and Elder Mendez got..."you have to bring tamales". Uhh..i do NOT know how to make tamales haha so well see about that. Then Tuesday we had changes....and I am the new District Leader here in Tehuacan and I have my first baptismal interview tonight....go ahead and offer those prayers on behalf of the person I will be interviewing. But its gonna be good. Then the rest of the week was pretty uneventful, with some delicious tacos arrabes from a place called "Tacuba" highly reccommended, and thats about it! haha
Spiritual Thought!! (surprise surprise) This week, the spiritual thought is about Patience. Good loaf....I have had soooo many opportunities these past 2 changes to exercise patience, and I honestly think I am better for it. In this life we are tested....but its not only the results of the test which affect us...but how we react to these tests. When we have a trial placed in our life, God is giving us the opportunity to grow, and more importantly to develop Godlike attritbutes. Now, I dont know if Gods greatest attribute is his patience...but its GOTTA be up there haha Whyyy is it so hard to be patient? I know that its a virtue and virtues are things which normally dont come easily, but man, this patience thing is the next levellllll. Butt we can do it. I also like the scripture that says that God wont tempt us above that which we are able to bear. I believe it also applies to our level of patience, and our ability to be patient in difficult situations. God has stretched me sooo much on my mission....but he hasnt let me snap yet! And he wont let you snap either, if you only turn to him in times when you are feeling impatient. He gave you your weaknesses, so work on them so that he can turn them into strengths.
Hey fammmmm! I love you all a ton (like i always say) but its true!! So I hope you can all feel that love everyday! Keep being people i can brag about!
Love you!
Elder Josh Hamm
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