Week 12

Another week of New Mexico on the board. Mission life can be pretty hard at times, but it's fulfilling to see the progress people are making as they accept the gospel.


MONDAY, we started off with going grocery shopping, where we got to see all of the Christmas stuff they're already setting out. They're going for it early this year, not even giving Halloween a chance. Afterward, we headed back to the house to drop stuff off and then went out for zone p-day. As always, we played basketball for a couple of hours and then talked to our families for a bit before getting back to work. Because it's been getting so dark so early, we decided to spend some time just walking through a neighborhood and try to talk to anyone we saw outside. I actually saw a shooting star for the first time while we were walking around. It was pretty cool to watch it go across the sky and then just disappear. At the end of the night when we were about to head home, we happened upon someone who said that we could come back later in the week and share a message.


TUESDAY, we were stuck inside for a while just getting all of our studies and our weekly planning done. Once we got all of that done and had lunch, we headed out to track some neighbors that we hadn't gone all the way through. Met some interesting people, but no one new to teach, unfortunately.


WEDNESDAY was kind of rough because we had a couple of lessons planned and were ready to teach, but they all canceled on us one after the other. It sucked, but that's how life is sometimes. We have to face those trials to improve, I guess.


THURSDAY was more tract in neighborhoods. It was kind of slow going that day, but we were able to hand out our number to a couple of different people. Hopefully, some of them give us a call back so we can start teaching them.


FRIDAY we had District council, so we headed into town. There have been a ton of traffic jams on the highway recently, but we were thankfully able to avoid any. We talked a lot about working to be united with not just our companion but with the spirit as well. It was pretty cool because it really emphasized how important it is to have the spirit with you as you are teaching the gospel. Afterwards, I started overnight exchanges with the Estancia Elders. Because they live out in the middle of nowhere, it took us a while to get to their trailer. When we did get there, we started off with studies, but since I'd already done studies, it meant I just got an extra hour of personal study. Later, we had dinner with a member where they actually gave us a lesson. It was cool because it led to a pretty deep conversation about the importance of forgiveness to be a true disciple of Christ.


SATURDAY after we ended exchanges back at the Trapp house and did studies, Elder Bates and I headed over to the food pantry to help out. At the end of our time there, they actually gave us a bunch of food that they needed to get rid of, which was very kind of them. While we were out tract in, I actually saw a snake for the first time out here. It wouldn't have been that noteworthy on its own, but then Elder Bates tried to pick it up. Thankfully, the snake just slithered off and didn't bite him.


SUNDAY we had church and were able to watch our other ward's primary program and then share a message in elders quorum. Once church ended, we started to head into town because we were supposed to have a meeting with the stake president, but it ended up getting canceled when we were halfway there, so we just turned around. We spent some time visiting members later in the day which led to us being given a bunch of cookies.


It was a pretty normal week, but I really enjoyed it and definitely appreciated the study time. The spiritual thought I'd like to share comes from the Book of Mormon in the book of Ether, chapter 12, verse 27. It says, "27 And if men come unto me, I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble, and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me. For if they humble themselves before me and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them." I really like this verse because it helps me to know why I struggle with some things and why I make mistakes. When we have weaknesses, it allows us to truly understand the Lord's atonement and the process of repentance that is possible because of it. It also allows us to be like the Savior and forgive those around us, to have that love for our fellow man.


A huge chicken statue.
Got to have dinner with my primary teacher.
A snake Elder Bates tried to catch.
Normal scenery out here.



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