Week 102 - Oh What Songs of the Heart

Hello,

Elder Roth here reporting on the best week of my mission. It was absolutely, incredibly awesome. On Monday I went up to Tuxtla to sleep in the mission offices. I ate at Burger King in the bus station. When I got to the offices, President George was working, so I got to talk with Sister George for about an hour and a half as she waited for him to finish. Then they invited us to their house for some cookies and milk (the first time in my entire time in Mexico that I´ve had a good cookie.) On Tuesday morning we went up to San Cristóbal, which is so sweet! The drive is super scenic and the weather is perfect. I spoke to the youth in one of the classes. Then we at lunch there with the Temple President. He asked me how long I had been in the mission, to which I responded that I would be visiting him the following week. He then told me that the temple would be closed this week. When President George heard that, he told me to go back to Tuxtla with the Temple President so I could get a session in before I ended my mission. As it turned out though, there was a blockade of the road from San Cris to Tuxtla. So we went the long way around - a drive of almost 4 hours. Which is hardly something to complain about when it gives you the chance to speak one on one with the Temple President for 4 hours. I learned a ton of cool stuff. Then I went to the temple. Then I went to bed. On Wednesday we had our mission counsel. As it turned out, our zone was the most successful - not a bad way to finish a mission. After the meeting was over President George asked me what my plans were after I finished the mission. I told him that I would go to BYU to study.  After that it was back to work. 2 days in Cabeza de Toro (yep, Bull´s Head, Chiapas), a day in Azteca, and my last day here in Arriaga. Tomorrow I go Tuxtla at 2 o'clock. And after that...I really don´t know. 

Dad -

 1.  Describe where you are right now.

      - the same ciber I have used for the last 12 weeks. Unfortunately this time there is a quite strong stench of tobacco. 

2.  Tell us about the EFY thing last week.

           - see above.

3.  What was a memorable event from last week

          - see above ha.

4.  What is something you want to eat, once you get home?

           -anything. Ritas, bbq, Mimi´s, a good sandwich, Mexican food (not a joke - American mex is way better), Chinese, Italian. I would be happy with anything.

5.  What will you do in Mexico this week?

           - I really don´t know. On Tuesday and Wednesday I will be in the mission offices. If I can I think I will go visit Ocozocoautla again. Or San Cristóbal. Or Reforma (my first area), or whatever the Mission President tells me to do.

6.  Are you ready to come home?

            - Yes. I felt it was somewhat bittersweet before. (and in a way it still is) But now it's time to apply what I´ve learned. I am so, so excited to go home haha. I hope that doesn´t sound bad, but it's the truth.

7.  Tell us about your day yesterday. 

            - Well it was pretty normal. Until 7:40 - then the members threw me a going away party. It was cool - I was able to express my testimony of missionary work and my love for them. Plus there was some really good cake.

Andee - I´m looking forward to seeing you again. I may need you to lend me a v neck haha. just kidding. I´m so excited!

Mom - It really hasn´t hit me yet. I feel really normal. But at the same time really excited. That is an excellent scripture. I hope you had a good time at the beach. See you soon!

Stephanie - what a fantastic picture of Roy. haha. See you soon!

Roy - Thanks for emailing me haha. These last 2 years have without a doubt been the best 2.  But I´m looking forward to the next best 2 years. See you on Thursday...I guess. or Friday if you can´t make it to the airport haha. Just kidding, you better be there. I´ll teach you the Mexican way to have an extremely awkward hug. haha

Week 101 - Hi.

Hey,

Heavenly Father has been so good to me. I really couldn´t ask for anything else. This month the zone had more baptisms and confirmations than we have had in at least the last 4 years. I was blessed to do 4 days of divisions with elder Aguilar from Michoacán, Mexico. We saw so many miracles - including 2 baptisms that came out of the blue. On Saturday, President George called us and asked us to accompany him to San Cristóbal (the best part of the mission, which I have never before seen) to speak at EFY. We leave in the afternoon. This week I will start in San Cristobal, then I´ll have leadership council, then a zone training, then divisions in Tonalá, then divisions in Azteca, then Sunday, then it's back to Tuxtla for my exit interview and temple visit. It's going to go by fast. 

Thanks for your emails. 

Andee - haha, I hope you don´t get too bored in the house. haha. Thanks for the pictures. I´ve noticed that in every picture you have sent me Roy is wearing a v neck haha. He used to mock me, now he honors me haha. just kidding. Don´t you worry. I´be working my ghetto booty off this week. I´ll finish strong. 

Dad - Congratulations to Josh Gathro. Robert Wadlow was legit! ha. I hope you have a good week in Ohio. Like I said before, I´ll be on the road as well. I didn´t get the Wolfsheim reference. I apologize. 

1.  Did you have a great Missionary Week?

      - an A number 1 super winner week.

2.  Would you have any use for a car in Provo, or do you live so close to campus that it would be unnecessary? 

        - haha. A tandem bike will suffice haha. Plus I´m an expert in public transportation now.

3.  Do you and the missionaries ever sing in Sacrament Meeting?

        - No. I have never seen a special musical number in a sacrament meeting here. We have sung in baptismal services, though. 

4.  As a relief from the heat, so you ever eat popsicles or similar frozen things?

       - I don´t have any money haha. If I did I would buy bolis (which is a frozen little bag filled with some fruit concoction. They usually cost 2 pesos. There are also chocobananas - also 2 pesos. 

5.  Tell us something nice about your companion.

        - He is really good at soccer. And he is always super excited to do missionary work. It's nice not to have to drag someone along.

6.  Tell us about someone you are currently teaching.

          - Josefina is great. She married an inactive member (let me correct that - she started living with an inactive member) 20 years ago. About a month ago we found her though a contact. She and her husband have since gone to church 5 times, their daughter was baptized, their son is going to be baptized soon, and two family friends will also be baptized. Josefina  is going to get married this Friday and baptized this Saturday.

7.  What was the farthest distance you got from your house this week?

       - Pijijiapan for a baptismal interview.

8.  We tried to find your house, based upon the directions you gave last week.  We found Zapta school.  Are you right next to a Consultorio Medico?

          -No, it's next to a printing shop.

Love you dad! have a great week. 

Mom - Hi. Sounds like I´ll be going home to a new house. The Bible does have lots of sad stories like that. I hate the story of David. It's so tragic. I´m looking forward to some nice 90 degree days haha. I think the thermostat idea is the most heinous thing I´ve ever heard haha. I´ll pray for you :) You´ll do great, don´t worry about it. Boyd K. Packer gave a little talk about teaching by the Spirit in the Work of Salvation broadcast. He says sometimes his mind is just completely blank haha. I can identify with that haha. But it always turns out just fine. I love you Mom!

Roy - I call dibs on destroying the Tobisha! haha. We have a great tradition of destroying each other´s laptops. I avoid playing soccer haha. I´m a disgrace to the Roth name. I likewise was rubbush when I was called and I´m rubbish now haha. (What car did Jeremy describe like that.) I´ll be sure to keep it within the margin of error haha. jokes. Obedience is good. 

The wonderful zona Tonalá. With President and Sister George and the assistants. (the two on the outside.)

Week 100 - Sweat Rags and the Spirit

Good Afternoon my beloved family,

I love you all! I had a great week. I would estimate that I sweat about 4 gallons over the course of the week - but that may be a gross underestimate. ha. One day they told us that is was 42 degrees. If I´m not mistaken that converts to about 107 in fahrenheit. It was awe-strikingly hot. All of my ties, pants, shirts, and the like are stained with sweat.

But anyway. All is well. I´m having lots of cool expiriences lately. This week I translated for my mission president in an interview with a disobedient missionary...that was interesting haha. President George is just so cool - we are already best buds ha.

I had lots of things to write but I forgot them all. I guess I´ll just answer your emails.

Andee - I did not know that there are 68 refectors from the Preserve sign to the house but I can assure you that I have run over every one of them several times just to mess with mom haha. Sounds like you had a good week. Tell Roy he is a delk haha. Just kidding. But seriously. Well, I´m glad you are excited for me to come home haha - it's good for the family to look forward to it. As for me, I try not to think about it. It's just a vague concept - I don´t feel like the day will ever actually come.

Roy - hahaha "I ate lunch with a bloke from Wales." hahahaha. Top Gear is so awesome ha. You and Dad both sent me Top Gear quotes this week. I didn´t know you were still working (I had assumed you were fired ha). Today and Tomorrow I will be a missionary indeed. That's all that matters. Love you bro.

Mom - You are such a good teacher! There is a reason that you get chosen for some special assignment every week. A talk on becoming like the Savior...well, there are tons. A fantastic talk was given by Tad R Callister about becoming like god - it's a BYU speech, you´ll have to look for it. Congrats on the new compy.  I love you!

Dad - Do you remember when Jeremy was testing the E55 AMG touring and says, "It's more powerful than a Ferrari f430! Its more powerful than Mexico!" haha. So funny - so true.

1.  In your travels, have you set eye upon the Pacific Ocean?  If so, how close have you been to the water?

      - All of the cities here are a fair distance from the Pacific. And not surprisingly we aren´t allowed to go on P-day. But I can see it from a big hill in my area. Don´t think California style waves and white sand beaches. There are no waves and it's just dirty.

2.  I found your chapel in Arriaga on Google Street View, nice building with nice landscaping.  Do you have an address for your apartment that I can look for?  As the numbering system is not 100% reliable, any landmarks that would help me lock in?

      - Um my address is 8 norte y 2 poniente. It's an orange house in front of a blue elementary school called Emiliano Zapata. 

The house where we think Elder Roth is living 
Turns out, it's not the right house - see the Week 101 post!

3.  Tell us how you have exhibited Obedience this week?

      - by obeying haha. I try not to be austentatious about it. 

4.  How will your eating habits be different, once you return to the USA, from you experiences in Mexico?

       - I will spend longer giving thanks for the food before I eat it. haha. I really prefer the american food pyramid to the one I described last week.

5.  I think we have an apartment for you in Provo.  Will you take any of your unicycles with you, or will walking be sufficient?

       - haha, no. I´d prefer to have friends. I´ll take a bike, though.

6.  Tell us something amazing about Mexico.

       - Amazing in what sense? The first thing that came to mind was the public transport. It's an impressive, albeit terrifying system. You can get from any part of the state to another in public transport. For example, I can take a combi from Tuxtla to San Cristóbal, from there to Comitán, from Comitán to Comalapa, from there to Motozintla, from there to Huixtla, from there to Escuitla, from there to Mapastepec, there to Pijijiapan, there to Tonala, there to Arriaga. There you´ve got a nice tour of the mission. Plus there are buses that go from Tapachula to Tijuana - a trip of about 56 hours. It's crazy.

Love you dad.

Steph - Wow 2nd degree sunburn is impressive. Be sure to take pictures ha. :) Thanks for the quotes from Pres. Smith and Elder Scott. Very interesting. I hope you have a great week. See you soon.

Love you all.

Have a fantastic week. See ya en 2.

Week 99 - Mis Ojos Ya Perciben el Boleto de Avión (Mine Eyes Have Seen the Plane Ticket)

Hey!

I got 16 emails today. Best day ever! So thanks for writing me. This week was good -  We had interviews with President George. Which was awesome! He is seriously the coolest guy ever - the level of cool that only a 60 year old dairy farmer from Wyoming can ever attain. I love him so much. This week I did divisions with Elder Luna in Pijijiapan. That was fun. He is from the Distrito Federal and is super funny. We taught some sweet lessons and found some new people. If you haven´t been able to tell I´ve been doing lots of divisions this transfer. I think in the last 3 weeks I have spent more than 9 days outside of my area. It's super exhausting, but it's good to spend time working with the missionaries from the zone and I´m enjoying life.

I´ll do my best to respond to your emails. Forgive me if I forget to answer any questions!

Dad - I´m glad Brother Vorwaller was able to endure to the end. He was the man that pronounced blessings upon me and my future - I´m grateful for him. I wonder who the next patriarch will be. 
Haha - losing the M5 in Orlando was epic. I challenge you to find a power outlet in that airport to charge your dead phone haha. It took me over 2 hours to find one haha. Thanks for doing your PMG homework, I know it will be a blessing in your life. Teaching is indeed what it's all about. 

1.  If you could provide training to the Melchizedek Priesthood leaders in the Wards and Branches you have served in, what would be some of the subjects you would cover?

      - Perhaps it would be significantly different here - given that in reality there is very, very little understanding of how to fulfilling Melchizedek priesthood callings here. I think one of the most important things I have learned about fulfilling callings is this simple formula:

Want to magnify your calling? 

1. Read the red or blue manual. 

2. Do what the manual says. 

That's it. Of course you are going to have to go a bit deeper than that - but those are my two cents.

2.  In the time you have served, the missionary age requirement has changed.  What have you seen change in that time, that might be attributable to that change?

      - there are like a bajillion more sister missionaries. For example, the zona Tonalá (my zone) used to have 12 elders and 0 sisters. Now we have 10 elders and 8 sisters. Sisters and elders are very different, but essentially we accomplish the same work. It's a blessing to have their input and their work ethic in the zone.

3.  How many calories do you consume on an average daily basis, what is the source of your calories?

     - That varies greatly. Probably somwhere between 1500 (those are rough days!) and 7000 (also rough days ha). Let me answer by teaching you the Chiapanecan food pyramid. From bottom up - tortilla, fat (in form of oil or mayonnaise), sugar (water must be filled with so much sugar that it can´t all be dissolved), chile (not a great source of calories), and lime. 

4.  What have you learned about people recently?

       -I dont know. People are weird.

5.  What is the prettiest thing you have seen in nature this week?

      - my reflection. ha. No. The mountains between Tonalá and Pijijiapan are incredible and there was a nice full moon this week as well. 

6.  How has a member helped you this last week?

      - The 3 keys of missionary work are: members, members, members. They helped us make the investigators feel comfortable in church. Really, it's the members that keep people coming back.

I love you dad!

Andee and Roy - GOOOOOOOOAL! haha. Did you know that when Mexico won the gold medal in soccer in the Olympics I ran around in my speedo with the mexican flag draping my back in the street in front of my house? haha. I´m not big on parties - I really would prefer not to have a homecoming thing, but I´ll leave that in your hands. Yes Roy, it was the strongest earthquake so far. Believe me you don´t want the deworming pills. They make your stomach hurt so bad. The worms make a strong final stand haha.

Mom - Thanks for the insights on the sealing and gathering. I´m obsessed with eternal families right now. (am I going to be a typical RM or what!) ha. Thanks for the PMG update as well. As for the clothes, I guess I want to go shopping for them (I say that rather hesitantly ha). Don´t worry about it for the moment. Sorry for the short email. I love you!

Steph - Enjoy your new callings! Thanks for the constant prayers. Ty and Ry are the coolest.

I love you all!

Week 98 - It's All About the Family

Hey! How´s life? 

Mine is pretty good. This week was pretty eventful. On Monday night I went to Tuxtla for a mission leadership council. It was really good. President George is awesome - he is so humble, so loving, so in tune. He is just a good guy. We came back on Tuesday night, on Wednesday morning we taught the zone training in Tonalá. After that I went to a little city called Mapastepec for 3 days to work with one of the missionaries there, and his companion took my spot in Arriaga. On Saturday morning I came back and we have been working since then. The sisters in our branch had 3 baptisms this week so we went to support them (I baptized one of the converts :)) So that was my week in a paragraph. 

Thanks for all the emails and the concern for the earthquake - all is well. In fact it hit here at 6:26 in the morning. It was a good way to wake up haha. It was pretty strong but as far as I know all of the missionaries are safe and enjoying their P-day. 

Dad - Thanks for the email. The Genesis Devotional sounds pretty legit. I think ending a mission is supposed to be hard. The end of Christ´s mission was certainly the most difficult time of all, so why should I expect anything different for me. As Jeffery R. Holland states so forcefully : salvation is not a cheap experience. :) 

1.  If one YouTube's Arriaga, the first thing that comes up is Death Train.  Apparently, there is some train that goes to the US, that folks try to jump on and get a free ride.  It is very dangerous, thus the name.  Ever heard of it?

         - hahaha. That's awesome. Of course I´ve heard of it, I pass by it everyday. Here they call it la bestia - the beast. They are always asking me for money and stuff. I like to tell them that the USA isn`t that great and that I fled to Chiapas. haha. It's good fun. It's crazy though - I´ll tell you some stories about it when I get home. 

2.  Tell us something you have learned about Prayer and Fasting.

4.  Tell us something you have learned from reading the Book of Mormon this week.

    I´m going to combine this with number 4. Yesterday I was studying Ether 2 - when the Brother of Jared asks the Lord how he can light the boats. It hit me that he didn´t just ask the Lord to do it - he asked the Lord how he could do it. I try to spend most of my time praying giving thanks - I ask very little. But this week I learned to stop asking the Lord to do stuff for me, instead I ought to ask him how I can do stuff for myself. For example, instead of just asking him to bless you all, I consult with him to learn how I can bless you. 

3.  Describe the sounds you hear around you as you read this email.

     - Some Bruno Mars haha. The lady that runs this ciber always listens to American music. Other than that I just hear lots of keystrokes.

5.  Tell us something good that happened while talking to people in the street this week.

       - I don´t have any Ensign worthy experiences, but our contacts have been good. Recently I have been talking with the contacts about eternal families. Who doesn´t want that? It's been working out well and we have found lots of good people.

6.  Tell us of some Priesthood service you rendered this week.

       - The very best type of priesthood service - helping people in saving ordinances. I baptized a young man named Alex this week. Other than that my priesthood service has been limited to watching over God´s children and helping them on their way home.

As far as I know I will be home on August 7th - but I still don´t have the itinerary. I´ll let you know as soon as I know. I`ll be sure to include what you said in my homecoming talk haha. I have met lots of cool people here - I look forward to telling you about them. You just wait for me in the courtesy waiting lot haha. (I don´t think mom has ever been more angry with me than she was the day the Roy was coming home and I said it was no big deal if we got there on time or not. haha. Forgive me Mom! :)) 

I love you Dad!

Roy - I hope you are enjoying Kansas. This week I remembered eating in Applebee´s the night we got there for your sealing. Good times right. I hope you have a rocking week. keep it /mathbb{R}. (My LaTeX abilities are suffering).

Mom - I think this was the 5th earthquake of my mission. They are fun. ha. That Genesis Devotional sounds like the proverbial bee´s proverbial knees. I love Romans 8. I´m glad you enjoyed the 4th of July weekend. I remember eating ribs out on the back deck with Bud Powell. That was fun. I hope you have a wonderful week Mother. I love you!

Devynn - Thanks for writing me! I have missed you too - we´ll have to party with Roy and Andee-Dawn when I get back. Don´t tell Roy, but he is terrible with his codes haha. I look forward to seeing you again!

Andee - We  always made Murphy fast on fast Sunday haha - the birds can do it too ha. Minor league baseball is the best right? It's hard to find a better use of 17 dollars. Your swimming comment made me extremely jealous - I think that will be the first thing I do when I am released, before I even take off the suit I am going swimming! But anyway - that's still kind of a long way away. Have a great week. Say hi to the 904 for me. 

Well here´s a few quick notes before I forget.

1. Remember Elder Ballard´s talk about following up? Well, consider this your reminder - I want to hear about what you are learning in PMG. You don´t have to read much to learn a lot. 

2. Did you know that Bishop and Amy Maughan are in a Mormon Message? It's called Families Can Be Together Forever.

(They are the couple on the second page of the photo album on the lower right hand side at the beginning of the video)

3. I just realized that my fly is down haha.

4. I appreciate your prayers for me and I love you all. 

5. Boyd K. Packer´s talk,´´ The Witness,´´ is on par with Bruce R. McConkie´s ´´The Purifying Power of Gethsemane.´´

I love you all!

Elder Roth

Week 97 - Hey

Dearest Family,

I am so tired. So, so tired. ha. But I´m doing alright. This week has been...interesting. My new companion is...interesting. I´ve had a headache ever since he got here but other than that it's all good. haha :) 

So I guess I don´t really have all that much to report from this week. No, that's not true. I learned a lot - and even though this last transfer may not be particularly pleasant for me, I'm sure it will be good for me. I have recognized the need to respond to situations like Christ would more than I ever had before. I really think of Him often and try to do what I think he would do. He would be patient and loving, he would look for the good and be quick to forgive the bad. He would be an awesome missionary companion! :)

Plus, we now have a new Mission President, President George. He is from Cody Wyoming. I´ll meet him tonight or tomorrow. I sure do admire Presidente Cardenas (or p-card as Elder Stucki called him) and I´m excited to work with p-george.

Dad - I would kill for some good seafood. The fish is good here but picking the million tiny little bones out is a bit tidious. I´m glad you had a taste of the heat here in Arriaga...it's awesome, right!? ha. It was really funny when Mexico lost. We were in church as the game was going (I´m amazed that our church attendence didn´t plummet) but when we left it was obvious they had lost. The streets were practically empty, the few people there were all had their heads down and sad faces. ha.

1. What is your area like, city or rural?  What are most of the houses like?  Close together or far apart?

      - Let me use the words of my former companion to describe it. Boondocks, la goma (that's Spanish for boondocks haha), and my favorite description - if you don´t want to be there at night, you´re in our part of Arriaga. haha. The houses are made of cement and act as ovens during the day. There is no space between them. I think I´m going crazy haha. just kidding. I like chiapanecan culture...kind of.

2.  How were you able to share your musical talents this week?

     - I played piano in Sacrament meeting and I sang a few hymns in the lessons. I wish you could hear the singing here. I´ll give you a sample of it when I get home.

3.  Tell us something you did this week that demonstrated discipleship.

      - I don´t know. I tried to keep one of our missionary's spirits up who is struggling with an infamous companion. 

4.  How many folks are you currently teaching, or are in your teaching pool?

     - Did you really just use the word folks? haha. We have quite a few but almost no one is progressing right now.

5.  What have you learned about shoes?

     - You get what you pay for. True of almost everything actually. But Eccos are so worth the high cost.

6.  What is your most useful, non church related, possession?

     - the toaster haha. I love toast!! ha. And my tie buddy :)

Enjoy your 4th of July celebrations! When I was with Elder Stucki we were planning one day, and decided to set somebody's baptismal date for the 5th of July. Realizing that he would be home by then he said,  "I´m going to be so full of bar-b-que that day" haha. It was so funny. Anyway, I hope you are all super full of barbeque on the 5th. Love you!

Mom - Sounds like a good deal you´ve got worked out with Dad. If only that was how our p-days were haha. Which reminds me, today we are going to Tuxtla for our mission council meeting. We leave at 5:30. It should be pretty cool! The whole covenant path thing is excellent. I read today that Elder Nelson taught: in missionary work we should begin with the end in mind. Of course that end is making and keeping temple covenants. I loved the story you sent about the guy in jail. Integrity is a fascinating subject. Tad Callister gave a talk on it when I was at BYU. I also heard a devotional by Jon Huntsman in which he says, ´´without integrity nothing else matters, and with integrity, nothing else matters.´´ pretty cool right. I love you Mom! 

RAD - Wow, I could never imagine leaving BYU - that would be sad. Of course, it's a lot more tolerable when Stanford is your next destination. I hope you enjoy your little summer in South Utah and Florida. You are the best!

Well, I guess that's all for today. My friend Mike sent me a letter today. He talked about how the last part of the mission is in many ways the most difficult part. He is so right. Going home is really scary. (Luckily, it is all still a bunch of words. I can´t imagine actually going home, nor do I want to.) But I´m just going to keep doing my best, keep repenting when I mess up and trust. Pray for me. 

I love y´all! :)

Elder Roth

Week 96 - I Just Realized That My Emails Early In The Mission Were Way Funnier Than They Have Been Recently

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