May 30, 2016

Hey family! How´s it going? 

Remember that family I wrote about last week? well the mom is named Rosa (Rose), her daughters are Luz (Light) and Rocio (Dew). Well it turns out that they are super prepared! But I mean SUPER prepared! We taught them about the restoration, the plan of salvation, and baptism! They are super excited and accepted our invitation to come to church this sunday. We also hope that they´ll be able to  come to the baptism of Kimberly and Edwin this saturday!

Oh yeah, Baptism this saturday! We´ve been teaching the Gomez Family for about a month and a half now and this saturday Kimberly and Edwin will be getting baptized! They are a family of 3: Veronica (reactivated member), Kimberly (14, super shy but watch out if she gets angry), and Edwin (11, a rambunctious child). 

This week we did something kind of cool: We did an exorcism on a house! ok, not quite like that. We did a blessing for a house. Some recent converts had been having some problems lately and their daughter (4 yrs old) claimed to have seen spirits and other strange stuff, so we jumped into action! After the blessing they say that everything is better and the problems have calmed down.

I Love You!

Elder Phillips

Stay tuned until next time when Elder Phillips sends pictures!

Here is Becky's letter with a short reply. 

So she actually graduated! It has been a very busy weekend! But you know those are always the funnest. Aunt Sally uncle DEL, Tevon, Emma, and Grandma came to visit for the weekend. I don't know if I told you, Chris couldn't come because he's in Ireland! He went with school and will be there for six weeks. So fun! They haven't heard from him much, so I can't tell you any highlights yet. Our highlights were
1: going to jump Creek Falls. It's a nice little walk into a waterfall, can't really be considered a hike there for Ellie can't complain :-) I actually think she's getting better, she's hanging out with adventurous people that make her be OK with hiking. Grandma loved exploring, and the girls actually got in that frigid water! I will have to send those pictures separately.
2. We went to garage sales :-) that was at Sally's number one request one coming here. I found some good things, some cute clothes for little baby savanna, and a new coffee table! But nobody was there selling the gospel ;-) not like your yard sales!
3. I took all the girls up to see great grandma Thompson up in Haines Oregon. She will be 97 years old in September! I doubt she will make it that long though. We enjoyed our visit with her. My aunt Denise was there, And she let the girls ride her horses. They got to brush them down and braid their hair also :-) they were in heaven! We also went and visited aunt Charlene and uncle Jerry. She is in really bad shape! She fell and shattered the ball joint of her shoulder and had to have it replaced, And then a week after that fell on it again! I think they are putting her on hospice which usually means you only have at the most six months to live. They still love you, and ask about you

(From John)

Wow!

1. That sounds awesome and super fun!

2. Well somebody´s got to start! Buy a few book of mormon and start handing them out!

3. That sounds like fun, but it´s a real bummer hearing about Aunt Charlene and Great Grandma Thompson. So they´re thinking that they only have a few months left? they really need our prayers.

May 23, 2016

Wow! What a week! 

Let me just say that I am grateful for all those hot summer hikes that we did as scouts up in the mountains, because this week was a lot of working hard in the burning sun. And it was awesome.

I have found that in the past year (that´s right, I´ve been out here a full year already!) my best weeks were the ones when we worked the hardest. Porque asi es. That´s just how it is. And I´m starting to realize that that´s how life is in general. The more you work in anything -a calling, a job, school studies, etc- the more you get out of it. If you want to have a good mission experience, you´ve got to forget yourself and get to work.

Nifty Little Weekly Experience!

So last week we went through our Area Book again. For those of you who don´t know, The Area Book is our binder where we keep the progress records of all our investigators. And we have records from 2013ish up until the current date of every investigator whom the missionaries here in Mezquital have visited. Anyways, we went through it and found Rosa, an investigator from about 2 years back whom the missionaries stopped visiting. We stopped by to pay her a visit and she accepted to recieve the lessions again. However, she didn´t really seem interested. The first visit we got to know her and about her family (she has 2 daughters and 1 son, but they don´t live with her anymore). We left doubting her interest in the gospel but we decided to teach her, invite her, and see if she progressed. We went one more time and taught both she and her daughter about the Restoration. To our surprise, they were very receptive and promised to read the Book of Mormon! We went back a few days later and found that she had read in Alma, prayed about it, and got her answer! Holy Huacamole! I was truthfully astounded! She was one of our investigators who had progressed the least, showed the least interest, and was most dedicated to another church, but she got the answer! It just goes to show you that God gives ¨liberally and abraideth not¨ to all who ask in faith (James 1:5). So just like that, a question was asked and an answer was given. 

So that turned out to be super awesome! 

Also, we make a cake this week! That super delicious lemon cake recipe that you sent me. And it turned out a bit ugly, but super tasty!

I hope you all have an amazing week!

I Love You!

Elder Phillips

May 16th, 2016

That meat though! That sounds like 12lbs of sweet smoky goodness!

I´m glad that everone´s feeling better now, it always stinks getting sick :P

So about 2 weeks ago we met a young couple and their 2 kids in the street. We walked up to them and started talking -about the weather, their kids, local sports, the differences between the beans here and the beans back home, about loads of stuff (cuz that´s what we do)- and after mentioning our purpose as missionaries, they invited us to visit them and share our message with their family. This was awesome, because we had been fasting and praying to find new receptive investigators. But when we stopped by their house, nobody was there. Super dissappointing. The following week while walking in the street, we bumped into them every day! That never happens! So we talked to them a bit more each day and we put another appointment to visit them. And this time when we stopped by, they were there with there parents too! It turns out that the father (of the husband in the couple) was a member of the church too and that his wife and son (the husband) went to church too! They had stopped going to church a few years back but now the Lord helped us to find them again. They shared with us their desire to have an eternal family and grow closer to God. We taught them a quick little message and put another appointment to visit the couple and their parents too. Now we´re hoping that they join us at church this coming sunday. It just goes to show you that God´s always there. Here in the mission I have really noticed that God doesn´t abandon us. Sometimes we´re just not very good at noticing all the little things/tender mercies that he gives us. So remember that God has, can, and will guide you, and all you have to do is ask.

Con amor, 

Elder Phillips

So the pictures:

1. Elder Seguel and I went on divisions this week. He is from Chile!

2. Elder Madin (my companion) and I

3. Baptism of Joel and Claudia

May 9, 2016

Hello everyone!

So here´s a little bit about my week: 

The Gomez family came to church this week! There is absolutely nothing worse that when the families you teach and invite don´t show up, but they came! We´re working really hard to reactivate Veronica (The Mom) and help her two kids learn more about the church. If all continues well, Kimberly and Edwin will be getting bapized the 4th of June! This sunday when they came it was Ward Conference, so they got to meet lots of new people!

Another little weekly observation: Who remembers the story of the Zoramites in Alma 31? They were dissenters who had fallen into ¨Great Errors¨. One of these being their super redundant and blasphemous prayer (Verses 15-18). Now compare that to Alma´s prayer in verses 26-35. See any differences? One thing I like is that Alma doesn´t say ¨Thanks for making us better.¨ Nor does he say ¨Make them change.¨ I have heard many prayers in sacrament meeting lately where they pray for those who didn´t come. and that´s ok. But do we honestly believe that just because we pray for them to come back, that the´ll wake up with a change of heart? No. I´m 150% sure that when we are brought before God after this life, we can ask him ¨Why didn´t you help (Insert name of inactive member here) come back to church? Why didn´t you send an angel to teach him and show him the way?¨ And you know what I think the answer´ll be? ¨I did. I sent you. Why didn´t you do your visits?¨ Now look again at Alma´s prayer. He doesn´t ask God to force them all back to church or magically change them. But look at what he prays for: 

¨Behold, O Lord, their souls are precious, and many of them are our brethren; therefore, give unto us, O Lord, power and wisdom that we may bring these, our brethren, again unto thee.¨ (verse 35)

He prays for Gods help as they exercise their faith as agents. Not as objects. They Still Had To Work. 

When Elder David A. Bednar spoke to us in the Mexico MTC, he taught us a lot about that principle. He understands and teaches it in way so clearly that it´s hard to misunderstand. look up his talks on this topic, they´re all really good!

Sorry if I ramble a little, but I guess the point I´m trying to make is: DO YOUR VISITS!!! Exercise your faith. 

God will use you to effect miracles.

Here´s another semi-amusing anecdote for you: My companion and I both got sick with a strange combination of a cold and flu. Again. However, there is no rest for the Lord´s Missionaries. We just kept on working. We left the house that morning feeling pretty crummy, but when we got home that night we felt 100% better!

      He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.  Isaiah 40:29-31

Put your faith in God and get to work!

I Love you all!

Elder Phillips

And Happy Mothers Day!

May 2, 2016

So the Mothers day call: Here in Mexico Mothers day is always on May 10th. So we will be calling on may 10th around 4pm. Or later around 7 if you´d prefer, We have a bit of flexability with this.

holy cow! So are they going to change some of the stuff that you recommended? Good job on that 10% raise! Now you are officially rich! haha, my mexican companions always assume that I´m super rich (because I´m american. I think it counts as racism...) but are amazed by how cheap I am. I finally went to buy some new pants with the money that you guys sent in the package.

The life style here in mexico is very different. If they have money, they spend it. simple as that. They live in super small houses with roofs falling apart, but have the newest x box with half a dozen games. I still don´t really understand it, but that´s what they do.

And mom, I´ve noticed that same theme down here too! The sabbath day is a very important commandment that we really don´t understand, and many who say that they do understand it don´t live it! Recently I heard the local Institute president tell us that on Sunday, we spend less time in meetings and sleeping, and spend more time doing visits. I was thinking about that a lot and came to the conclusion that he is right. What better way is there to dedicate a day entirely to the Lord than strengthening relations, serving, and sharing the gospel with those who need it? These are exactly the kinds of things that Christ did during his ministry!

Here´s a little lesson I learned this week. We met with one of our investigators who was a little upset. She had had a few problems lately and was complaining a about how she was a good person and God had abandoned her, and all that rubbish. I started pondering on the subject of Gods help and blessings in our lives and honestly, I got a little upset. Here´s why: Look, when someone wants to ask a favor from their parents, what do they first have to do? Clean their room, do their chores, homework, etc. God (our father), works in similar ways. When you want blessings from God what do you have to do? Keep his commandments (DYC 82:3,10 ;DYC 130:21-22). There is no doubt in my mind that this is true. Trials will still come (that is a promise too), but we will have Gods help. What more can we ask for? So if ever you start to think that God has abandoned you, take a nice good look at your life. Are you keeping all of the commandments? Are you constantly striving to develop Christlike atributes? If the answer to both these questions is yes, then we´ll talk. But if not, what else can you expect?

Here in the mission, it gets rough at times. But I now understand that this exact same principls applies to me, here and now, as it does to all of us. When I am discouraged and things get rough, I now ask myself ¨Elder Phillips, are you doing all you can? Are you striving to be 200% more Christlike daily?¨ And if I can´t honestly say that I am, do I have any right to complain? Do any of us ever really have the right to complain?

I testify of this principle. I testify of our lord and saviour, Jesus Christ. I testify that he lives and loves us all, and that only by him and through him can we return to God´s presence. I know that is constantly reaching out to us, begging and pleading us to follow him and obtain eternal life, and with it, eternal happiness.

In Christ´s name I testify of these things. Amen

Love ya,

Elder Phillips