Week 078 - I Am That Second Mouse

Wow,

Alright lets taco bout Texas! I’m sad I have not yet experienced the Texan Fourth of July, but it clearly looks like a blast. You know I tell everyone here that I’m from Texas, because it’s like the most known of the states other than Florida, but I totally feel fake when people start asking me all about things like "Texas rangers"..... Umm well I know the power rangers, I’m sure they’re the same. The other day I was on divisions with Elder Andrew, what a stud, but we went to a recent convert in their ward and I tell them "yes I am from the lone star state". And the mom gets psyched. Then she asks, "is it true that there are those dried up bushes that round up into balls and get blown by the wind  everywhere, mainly crossing the street?"......Ahhhhh yes it is true, tumbleweeds do exist and they do cross roads. It blew their minds.

I’m working my way into becoming a true gaucho. And for the newbies, gauchos are like argentine cowboys that spend their days taking down horses, drinking mate, and singing songs and poems from EL GAUCHO MARTIN FIERRO. Look into it. It’s dope. Due to the fact that I’m in a mission, I can’t truly become a gaucho, but I’m friending myself with many to get the details on gaucho living.

So we went to Santa Fe this week to listen to a conference and Elder Bragg from the Seventy and his wife came to give a good word to the missionaries.  They’re really cool and are from Los Angeles. His wife is total trooper, because she gave a talk but really doesn’t know that much Spanish, but tried her best anyway and gave some good words, and totally quoted "Catch me if you can" I think I was the only one that caught that because for some reason like no one has seen that movies

"Two little mice fell in a bucket of cream. The first mouse quickly gave up and drowned. The second mouse, wouldn't quit. He struggled so hard that eventually he churned that cream into butter and crawled out. Gentlemen, as of this moment, I am that second mouse."

But she said that we were the second mouse, and I liked the analogy a lot, we can either quit in our trials and difficulty or we can become better and make something of it. And Elder Bragg talked about some of the mission’s problems and how to overcome them and make the mission stronger.

I always like these conferences though, they are a pretty good refresher from the mission. I told my companion that it is kind of like vacation, and ... what I learned from Uncle Stanton, that there is no food rules on vacation, if you want a donut, you get a donut.

So I and Elder Hopkins realized that this branch has some huge problems with unity and getting along with each other sometimes and most go to church to take the sacrament and go home. And it’s stinks when you invite someone to the true church of Jesus Christ and when you show up it doesn’t feel that way. So we’ve been trying to help with the unity through missionary work and the branch coming together through fasting and prayer. And we are seeing some great outcomes of love being shown more to each other, and members having missionary opportunities. The first presidency sent a letter saying that all the branches and wards should be temporal auto sufficient, and so we got right on that on making plans on how everyone is going to help each other, including active and inactive and investigators have gardens, make gardens, food storages, fire ovens, emergency supplies. Also due to lack of members that a assisting the church we fasted and prayed last fast Sunday to help with the attendance of the church and yesterday the branch president gets a call saying that a recently baptized family is moving to the branch, apparently a very nice and stable family which is totally what this branch needs. So things have been doing real great for Juan de Garay.

I love you guys I hope you have the greatest week!

Thanks mom for the link to the BYU website, I’m looking into getting an ecclesiastical endorsement from my president, because I need that before I can register for classes!