Week 95 - One Year Older and Wiser Too!

Hey!

Happy Father's Day Dad!

This week was awesome! Thanks for all the birthday wishes - I had a fantastic day. I´m just going to go straight to your emails.

Dad -  

I´m going to put numbers 1, 3, and 4 in the same response.

 

1.  Tell us of a memorable Missionary Moment this week.

3.  Do you have any special memories from your 21st birthday?
4.  Tell us about someone you have baptized.

On Saturday we baptized Saraí. It was so, so cool. Saraí has been as strong as Sinai in all of her problems and trials. I´ll give you the full story when I get home. Also the 7 other missionaries here in Arriaga threw me a little surprise party after the baptism. They bought me a cake and some bubbles. I enjoyed both very much haha. It was an awesome day.

2.  What is the status of your feet?  How are they holding up?

 

Not bad...not good either haha. I don´t think amputation will be necessary...

 

5.  Tell us of a special moment from Sunday.

 

My companion and I gave talks. Since it was Father´s Day I decided to give my talk on the 5th commandment - honor thy mother and thy father. I talked about how honor means more than simply obey or love. It means to magnify their happiness by becoming what they want you to become. I then spoke about honoring our Heavenly Father by becoming like him. I thought it went pretty well. 

Thanks for the encouragement and advice. I love you Dad!

Mom - I´m glad you are back in the temple again. That's the best place to be. Please please please repair the ac. I can´t stand this heat much longer haha. Its seriously so hot. I love you mom!

Roy and Andee - Believe me that I know exactly what´s happening in the World Cup. Haha and I always know when there is a game on because everyone is watching it and there is no one to teach. haha. But we just keep looking. Anywho, I have seen 17 Miracles - it's so awesome. I love the song in it, Savior, Redeemer of my Soul. Enjoy your last full week in Provo!

Grandma - Thanks for the birthday wishes. It was a great day. I hope you are doing well!

Vinny Castilla - haha I love the way you say that. I´m still trabajando como negro! haha (that's not racist in Spanish. but in English...) Love ya big guy!

Sorry that I haven´t sent pictures in a long time. I hardly ever take any. Plus these computers don´t have a slot for the memory card. Tough... A

 

(It seems Clark may have hit the send button prematurely!!)

Week 94 - It's so hot. Milk was a bad choice

Hello from the Devil´s Sauna - Arriaga, Chiapas,

This week has been awesome. Elder Stucki is just the coolest guy ever and we are loving every day. Thanks for the emails and birthday wishes - I had forgotten that my birthday is this week... I suppose I´ll spend my 21st b-day a bit differently than most. :) 

My head is kind of spinning right now. I just did our zone´s report which always tuckers me out, and I´ve just got lots of stuff on my mind. But no worries. I´m happy, and blessed, and living the good life. 

On to the emails.

Dad - I hope you can get the AC fixed. I can´t decide if air conditioning or washing machines are the better invention. Those sem grad skewers sound simply scrumptuous. I could go for some of those right now...

1.  Name something you learned in Seminary that you used last week on the mission.

     - There are lots of things, but perhaps the most important is that in seminary I learned to teach. Mom taught me a ton about asking good questions, forming conversations, dealing with distractions (mostly caused by myself), and other things. Seminary made me a better teacher.

2.  Name something you learned in Boy Scouts that you used last week on the mission.

    - How to sleep in great discomfort... haha. And getting along with everyone.

3.  Name something you learned in Young Men that you used on the mission last week.

      - The greatest impact Young Men has had on me is in my understanding of who I am and what is expected of me. Especially in Priests´ Quorum I felt like I owed my quorum members something - a good mission, a good example, support, etc. More than anything I learned that people are counting on me.

4.  Name something you learned in Primary that you used last week on the mission.

     - Without a doubt the most lasting impact Primary has had on me has come through the songs. I love A Child´s Prayer so much. That song has always lifted me up and reminded me that He really is there.

5.  What is the most pleasant sound you get to hear on a regular basis?

      - It's certainly not the ward´s singing haha. Probably I Love the Lord by the BYU Men´s Chorus.

6.  Tell us something ridiculous that you experienced this week.

      - Where to start? Perhaps when I asked one of our District Leaders (a really nerdy kid), ´´What kind of bear is best?´´ He gave an answer that not even Dwight Schrute  could summon. My companion and I were dying.

7.  What was your hottest experience this week?

     - Probably Tuesday. haha. In the words of my companion it was one of those days when you walk outside and say, ``Wow! I might actually die today.``

8.  How  often do you think about snow in the mountains?

     - I try to keep day dreams to a minimum. ha

9.  Tell us about someone you thought about this week.

     - I think about lots of people. Shuntez, the guy I baptized in the JBW. Matt Hess and Wills Russell. Michael Ricks, a friend at BYU who finishes his mission today. All of my family members. The missionaries serving from the JBW. I love you all. :)

Mom - I´m glad to hear about the miracles in St. George. I´m sure you´ve been praying for them for a long time. So how many callings and assignments do you hold right now? haha. I think you´ve been up to about 7 or 8 before. I got a package this week! I´ve already eaten all the grits, and the rest will soon be devoured as well. Thanks for watching out for me! I love you!

Roy and Andee - Sorry to write to the two of you together but I´m low on time. AD your first world problems comment made me laugh out loud haha. So funny. There is a kid exactly like the kid you talked about here in the mission. He is awesome. I hope you´re both enjoying your summer and the relative relaxation. You´re the best! 

Steph - Your kids are awesome! Tyler is going to be an awesome missionary- I can´t wait to see them again. Keep on rockin!

I love you guys!

Elder Roth.

Week 93 - Sorry

Good Afternoon from the slowest computer in Chiapas,

Well this has been a good week. I apologize in advance for the short
email - it took my companion and I more than an hour to send our
report on the zone so I don´t have much time to write. Today ´ll be
headed back up to Tuxtla for another mission counsel. I´m excited,
they are super fun. I´ll be back here Tuesday night, and Wednesday
we´ll teach our zone meeting with President Cardenas in
attendence...I´m nervious haha.

Welp, I guess ´ll answer your questions next time. Love ya!

Elder Roth

Week 92 - A Sunny 99 with 99% Humidity :)

Hey,

Thanks for writing me today. They are going to buy my plane tickets home this week. I seriously cannot believe how fast time has gone by. The good news is that I still have a some time left - and I´m going to use it wisely :) The mission is just the best thing ever. Sure, it's insanely hot, and I´ve had diarrhea since Easters but it's good for the soul. haha. 

Mom - Thanks for the picture haha. I was a cute little kid...I don´t know what happened. :) Testimonies do indeed have a short shelf life. That's what part of Alma 32 is about. Sure, you can test the seed and find that it's good - but unless you keep nourishing it it's never going to yield fruit. You´ve gotta be constant about it. I hope you enjoy your trip to California! I love you Mom!

Dad - The pictures where excellent! That's a pretty garage! 

1.  What Chapter of PMG have you found most useful to you, over the last two months?
     -That's a tough one. 1, 4, 6, 9, and 10 are my favorites. If I had to pick only one it would have to be chapter 1. It teaches who you are and who you have the potential to become. I think it's hard to beat a good lesson on human potential. 

2.  What is a food delicacy in your particular area?
     - As for Arriagan cuisine there is nothing even kind of good haha. But guess what!? We have a toaster in our house!!! This is the first toaster I´ve had on my mission. I ate an entire loaf of toast last week. And I plan on doing it again this week haha. I´m addicted.

3.  Tell us of something interesting you did Sunday.
      - Well it doesn´t get more interesting than our church meetings. 

4.  As you are walking around daily, looking for people, what are the people on the street that you see doing?
     - Usually, Drinking, sweeping the street in front of their house, or walking to the store.

5.  How close are you to the Pacific Ocean?  Can you see it?  Smell it?
    - Not super close, but there is a big hill in our area from which we can see it. I can´t smell it above the smell of my own BO. ha

6.  Is there much farming or agriculture in your area?
     - Yep, bananas, mangos (lots and lots of mangos), watermelon, corn, etc.

7.  How big, in physical size, is you area?
     - Pretty big. We have all the outskirts of Arriaga (or as my companion described it all the parts that you want to avoid at night. haha) So we have a geographically large area. If I had to estimate how much we walk daily I´d probably say about a bagillion miles :)

8.  Tell us about a current investigator.
      - Saraí is the coolest!  She has made enormous family sacrifices to accept the gospel. Her baptismal date is for the 7th of June. She is so awesome! 

9.  Did you get my pictures?
    -affirmative.

 Love you dad!

RAD - just in time. I hope Ingrid is back to full health. :) About the whole studio apartment thing - I wish you guys could have seen my house in Tapachula. One room (Yep, the bathroom was just kind of off to the side and there was no door) no windows, no closets, etc. It was totally wicked dude! (with the voice of the kid from The Incredibles). haha. I hope your move goes smoothly. When do you leave happy valley? Love you guys!

Steph - A Seventy (I forgot who...does this sound like a good introduction to dodgy doctrine or what!?) once said, ``When you have to choose between two good choices pick the harder one.´´ I love that. Hard things are good for you. Thanks for your email. Love ya. 

Well that's about all I´ve got. Love you guys!

Elder Roth

Week 91 - Arriaga

Hello from Arriaga, Chiapas.

This place is awesome!! haha. I had a super super ridiculously good week this week - probably my best in the mission. I got here on Monday night, (I didn´t really get to bed till about 12:30 - transfers are crazy). On Tuesday I had to wake up early to take a missionary who had finished the mission to the bus station. Then we had a meeting in Tonalá. On Wednesday we had our district meeting with our legitimately crazy DL - it was over two and a half hours long and a good part of it focused on 2 Kings 20:17. haha. Thursday was normal. Friday we had a meeting with Elder Johnson, an Area Seventy, which was totally awesome - after the meeting we found a new family of 8 to teach! On Saturday my comp and I went to Tuxtla for another meeting with Elder Johnson (We are the ZL´s) which was even cooler. Then on Sunday we had lots of investigators at church - including 3 of the 8 from that family and we had a killer lesson with a woman named Saraí. (I´ll tell you her story some day - its pretty long. But she has some Job-like faith.) It was pretty intense. 

Thanks for your emails. or as Dad would say Presh8cha. haha

A^D - Sounds like you guys had a pretty good week. I´m so excited that you are going to be at home when I go back! We are going to rip it up like only an awkward rm and his delk brother and wife can. ha. I hope Ingrid is still treating you well - she's a good car. As for all the stuff about when I get home I prefer not to think about it. All I know is that I want to go to the doctor, dentist, and dermatologist asap. haha. Love ya AD have an A number 1 super winner week. :)

Dad - Thats so cool - 3 missionaries leaving the same day from the same ward. Alex will love his mission. 

1. Tell us of one thing that surprised you about your new area

      - There is actually green stuff here! There are really pretty mountains and it's all super pretty. Arriaga is known as the Windy City of Mexico. There are gusts every day of about 50mph.

2. Tell us what your living arrangements are like.  What type of buckets you have, etc.

      - First things first, we have air conditioning in our room!!! :) I cannot explain how awesome that is. The house is pretty much like all my other houses - we are well stocked with buckets. The only problems are a couple of rats...but they´ll soon feel the wrath of elder roth :)

3. Tell us about your new companion.

      - My new companion is awesome. He went to BYU with me and we kind of know each other. Mikele knows him as well. His name is Elder Stucki. He is going to finish his 2 years in the mission this Friday but he got to extend to 25 months. As they say in the mission I am going to kill him (aka be his last comp). We are having a great time together and seeing lots of miracles. 

4. What does the new area look like?  Is there any place in America it reminds you of?

      - The closest thing in terms of looks is Central Utah. The mountains remind me of Utah - just a greener Utah. 

5. How many investigators do you have?

     - Quite a few. We are going to drop some of them though, and look for some more people who will keep their commitments. In missionary terminology we have to find the chosen.

6. Tell us what you did on Sunday.

     -Wake up, study, pick up investigatores, go to church, play the piano, teach Gospel Principles, teach Young Men, meet with branch prez, eat, teach Saraí, teach some more, teach some more, finish off my box of grits (haha I got the package Friday - most of the food is already gone...I miss American food), take reports, sleep.

 

7. Tell us what you learned about Heavenly Father this past week.

      - Things that can be learned but cannot be taught. :) He lives. 

8. Describe the room you are sitting in right now.

      Its a 12 computer ciber with some pictures of New York, Paris, and San Francisco adorning the walls. It smells a bit like a public bathroom but not too bad haha.

I´m glad you´re enjoying the 550. Have a good week in Cinci. Love you Dad!

Mom - I am an advocate of reading conference talks daily. I have read about a billion on my mission. What are the 9 basic doctrines? I haven´t heard of that. President Packer is the coolest! His talk, ´´The Twelve´´ continues to blow my mind...´´of him I bear witness; of him I am a witness.´´ So powerful .  I´m pretty sure my EE is in now! :) Love you mom!

Roy - I´m looking forward to reading the first drafts of Blood in the Water. haha. I always thought it was called Speckled Richard haha. Love ya Roy!

Love you guys!

Elder Roth

Week 90 - On the Road Again!

Hey,

Long time no see. I really enjoyed talking to you yesterday. I imagine not too much has changed since then. Welp, guess what! I´m leaving Ocozocoautla. I'll be heading back to the coast - this time to Arriaga. I´m really excited and I just love the heat :) ha. No, but seriously I´m excited. I´ll give you the down low next week. 

Well I really don´t have that much to write this week. And I have to leave at about 2 o'clock to catch my bus to Arriaga so I´m a bit rushed. But anyway. 

Mom - I hope you had a wonderful Mother´s Day. You are the best! I love you so much! You´re darn right that God is for you. (In response to Psalm 56:9 "When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back; this I know: For God is for me)  One day in the MTC I was feeling a bit down. I was sitting on a bench, contemplating the magnificently beautiful Y mountain, and thinking a bit about what laid before me. As I sat there the words to Be Still My Soul came to mind. Be still my soul, the Lord in on thy side. Later that night in a devotional we sang Lord, I Would Follow Thee. I really came to know (I mean really KNOW) that the Lord is on my side and I made the determination to follow Him - wherever He leads me. He has certainly been good to me so far :)

Dad - The new 550 is brilliant. I love it. I hope you have a great week at work and that soon you won't have to work so much!

1.  What did it feel like talking to two people in English today?

      - It was cool. It's been a long time since I have had a normal conversation in English. It's a bummer the sound quality wasn´t better but it's good to know that I sound like an American again.

2.  How has your understanding of the working of The Holy Ghost expanded lately?

     - Good question. One little insight. Dallin H. Oaks gave a talk in which he asked a question similar to this: How can we have the companionship of the Holy Ghost to guide our lives and keep us on the path? His answer was: Sabbath Day observance. But I like the question. If you seek the guidance of the Holy Ghost you will not fall off the path - sure, you may sin, perhaps even commit a more grievous sin. But if you are constantly seeking his presence you will repent, you will partake of the sacrament, you will pray and study and learn. You will not fall. 

3.  Did you enjoy eating the brains on Sunday?  What else was on the menu?

     I did not. They were bitter... Some cow grisel soup and fried chicken. It was a bit out there haha.

4.  What are the roads like?  It looks like a multi lane highway was built for Ocozoco to TXG. Is it nice?

     The worst thing in the world. It is not. haha. Riding the bus to Tuxtla is a painful experience.

5.  What percent of the day are you in air conditioned comfort?

     - Today probably about 15% with the bus ride to Arriaga. On Sundays we get 3 hours. Other than that; zero, zilch, nada, nothing. haha.

Coping With the Heat

6.  What is you favorite drink, other than H2O?

     - milk. I cant get enough of it. haha. I pretty much hate any 
kind of flavored water, though. So Much Sugar. It makes me sick. haha.

I love you guys!

Elder Roth

A Rabbit Got in the House!

Week 89 - I Love You All!

What´s crackin?

Well, its been another great week in the mission. We taught quite a few lessons with a member present. That's good. The investigators progress a lot more when there is a member by their side. We are really just enjoying the work, the walking and the miracles. 

Thanks for your emails today. They were even better than normal :)

Dad - I´m glad you were able to see the Fort Lauderdale Temple dedication. Hopefully you and Mom can go and visit it :) You can never go wrong with alpine white but on a 5 sedan carbon black might be even cooler. 

1.  What is the best smelling thing you encounter in a normal day?

    - We encounter lots of poor smelling things daily, but not too many good smells. One of my favorite smells is the smell of the leaves of a lime tree. They are very fragrant. Also as a funny note, Elder Shelley always said, ´´it smells like sin´´ whenever a girl walked by with lots of perfume. haha. It made me laugh every time.

2.  How is your backpack holding up?  What has your mission taught you about backpacks?  What type of backpack will you want for school?

    - the backbag is pretty shreaded. But we aren´t allowed to use them anymore. I bought a 280 pesos faux leather bag that lasted me 2 days haha. Since then I just carry my scriptures around in my hands ha. Does my BMW backpack still exist or did Roy destroy that as well? haha. I´m really not too concerned about it. 

3.  How is your mission shaping how you will act in Elders Quorum when you are back at school?

     - A wonderful question. First of all I have learned to "lift where you stand". You don't have to be the EQP to have a positive influence on the quorum. Second - never, ever miss a month of home teaching. Third - often, especially with less active members once a month is not often enough. I could go on. Suffice it to say that these 2 years of service will change the remainder of my years of service.

4.  What have you found to be most useful to you as a missionary, that you might not have anticipated before you left?

    - Umm, perhaps the importance of group cooperation and a combined effort to move things along. As missionaries we spend every minute of every day trying to help people - but that's not enough. Most people need quorum or class members to visit them as well. As another comment - a bishop, even bishops as good as I´m sure Bishop Maughan is, cannot make a ward be successful by himself. Missionaries, even the ones that are way better than me, can´t make wards grow by themselves, etc. We are in this together. 

5.  Tell us something humorous that you and your companion did this week.

    - Every day is humorous in Chiapas. haha. I´ll tell you this Sunday some good stories. 

Steph - I´m glad you enjoyed your time in Provo. I love that place. You are the best. Love ya Steph!

Mom - Elder Ballard has given some really good talks lately. I´m a fan. I also can say that those men are very much in touch. They are amazing. Elder Anderson gave a talk while I was in the MTC and during his testimony at the end he bore his apostolic testimony of Jesus Christ. As he did so I had a powerful feeling that that man KNOWS. He knows. I have tried very hard to make my testimony powerful like his. I know I´m no special witness - but I do have a witness. Jesus Christ lives. I love you mom!

Roy - Shut up old man! hahahaha. Funniest moment of my life. Rough news on the A-, BYU volleyball, and the such. But the world keeps going. I love Alma 34:31 (Yea, I would that ye would come forth and harden not your hearts any longer; for behold, now is the time and the day of your salvation; and therefore, if ye will repent and harden not your hearts, immediately shall the great plan of redemption be brought about unto you. ) as well. Immediately is a great word. 

Andee - Congrats on finishing up at the Y. I must say that I am in no way looking forward to finishing my time there (or here.) I think a PC would be good. But a MAC is fine too haha. Does that narrow it down for you? 

Well, I love you all. I´m looking forward to this Sunday! Sorry for my poor English.

Love,

Elder Roth