Hey!
How´s it going? Things are good here in Arriaga, Chiapas! We got our transfer calls last night. I´ll be staying here for my last transfer. Elder Stucki finished his mission - so he´ll be heading home this week. My new companion is Elder Ibarra from Pánama. Word has it that he is a super hard worker so that´ll be good.
My comp and I are going to spend a good part of the day in the bus station to make sure all of the missionaries in the zone have someone to stay with as they wait for their companions to arrive - that´s why this email is coming out a bit early.
Dad - I can´t believe you let the marsh grow back...how could you miss an opportunity to use power tools? ha. I still recommend the Mexican method of clearing land - burn in down! haha - the problem is that it never really burns, it just creates a massive amount of smoke. I´m pretty sure I have tuberculosis... just kidding, kinda. ha. I´m glad you are enjoying Top Gear in my absence - we´re "ambitious but rubbish".
1. Do you see much in the way of bicycles used for local transportation?
- a little bit. For the most part it's Nacho Libre style tricycles but most don´t have engines - you just pedal them. There are also a bunch of bici-taxis, which are kind of similar to what they have in Key West. I wish we had bikes! Our area is really big, we often spend 30 minutes walking from lesson to lesson.
2. Please share any learnings from the scriptures that you were blessed with this week.
- This week I read Helaman and the beginning of 3rd Nephi. I love the prophet Nefi (note the Spanish spelling) - he was so powerful that it was impossible for his opponents not to believe his words. He even raised a brother of his from the dead; not too shabby. It's all about faith. We talk a lot about faith as missionaries. Often we just consider faith to mean that if you believe hard enough something good will happen. But I believe that obedience is the true measure of faith. Don´t tell me you have faith if you aren´t obedient.
3. Based upon your diet for the last while, how might that impact your eating habits in the future, back in the USA?
- Minimally. I´m ready for some good American cuisine! ha. Though I must say that enchiladas are awesome!
4. Tell us about any investigator you worked with this week.
- How about Román. He lives a bit far away in an ejido called San Pablo. (Ejido means village), so we can´t visit him very often. But he is super cool - he is 14 years old and absolutely loves the church. Although we had only visited him about 3 times he was totally ready to get baptized. So this week we did divisions with our District Leader and I took him out to do Román´s baptismal interview. He passed and was baptized! :) Román is an example of what we are looking for as missionaries - he goes to church by himself, he reads and learns by himself, and he is excited to follow the Savior. You can´t make people want this gospel - it comes from within. Roman is a chosen person.
5. What was the best tasting thing you were able to enjoy this week?
- Umm, there wasn´t anything too memorable. I ate some toast...that was good. I also made myself a good grilled ham and cheese sandwich. That's about it.
Mom - CES is so cool. Plus, my companion and I realized that it is an apostle maker. Think about it - Elder Holland, Elder Oaks, President Eyring, Elder Maxwell, Elder Bednar, etc. All heavily involved in CES. But anyway, those are some excellent points. My favorite, of course, is Reach One More. That's what it's all about. If every Bishop could find and help prepare one more youth from his ward to serve a full time mission there would be 30,000 more missionaries. If every member of the church found just 1 person for the missionaries to teach there would be 15,000,000 referrals. That´s amazing! If every Elder´s Quorum helped reactivate one prospective elder there would be tens of thousands more Melchizedek priesthood holders, and tens of thousands ready to make temple covenants. I love you Mom! Keep on keeping on. You are acomplishing miracles as you fulfill your callings.
Carly - I get the biggest smile on my face every time I see your name in my inbox :) Thanks for writing me and for following my blog haha. I´m so glad Jared could get a totally sweet job there in Florida. I hope you´re loving it. And, CONGRATULATIONS! I´m so excited for you and Jared! I can´t wait till December! If it's a boy you should totally name him Clark. It's a fantastic name :) I love you guys!
Well, Love you guys!
Elder Roth
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