Hey Mom and Dad,
Our p day is on Friday this week because we had to go to immigration to get our visas finalized. We didn't know ahead of time to let you know that we would be two days late so I'm sorry if you've spent the last two days wondering if I've gone to Mexican jail or been kidnapped.
It's been a long week. Going to get our visas done this morning was like taking a field trip to the dmv. Fortunately mexican immigration could teach the dmv a thing or two. When we got there they had us all line up so that we could start being processed. While we were waiting an american man came in and remarked smiling to us, "The Mormons have arrived". One of the other elders ended up sitting next to him and talking to him later and it turns out he knew basically nothing about the church but I thought it was so cool that we as Mormon missionaries are so identifiable. We are on the Lord's errand and even if people aren't interested in our message they know who we are.
As far as what is happening here it's hard to know what to relay. The days all blend together and yet seem impossibly long. My spanish is getting better although I'm confident I can still say more in french. Sometimes when I have trouble finding a word in spanish I just use the french and everything seems to work out alright.
This week I had several experiences that I think are worth relating. By tuesday morning I was once again at my wits end frustrated with my districts immaturity and inability to commit to the work wholeheartedly. That day we had a leadership meeting and for what must have been the 4th or 5th time I felt like I got the answers I needed to help my district without having to ask a single question. The mtc presidency had actually written a letter to be read to all the districts about committing more wholeheartedly to the work and working harder to be better missionaries. After reading the letter to my district we were able to improve some this week but we still have a long ways to go.
In addition to this there were two inspirational stories that I heard this week that made me want to be a better missionary. The first was in that leadership meeting and was relayed by president Bennett (The CCM president). He told of a missionary he met while serving as a mission president in Chile. I don't remember the missionaries name but the story was striking to me. He said while conducting new missionary interviews he had just finished interviewing an elder and had stood up to let the elder know that the meeting was over and that he needed to interview the other missionaries. To his surprise the elder said, president could you please sit down, there is something I need to tell you. the missionary then proceeded to promise the president that not one second of his valuable time would be wasted because of his disobedience. Pres. Bennett said that he was struck by that because no missionary before or since had ever said that. Throughout the rest of this missionaries service he was a huge asset to the mission because the president could trust him implicitly and give him assignments that no other missionary could fulfill. My relationship with obedience up until now might be described as a distasteful contempt for all rules and regulations whatsoever. I am beginning to see however that out here obedience has very little to do with the substance of the rules (Which I still have a healthy amount of contempt for) and everything to do with the opportunity for added blessings. I wont change overnight and I will still never like rules but I want to be the kind of missionary that can make that exact commitment to my mission president and because of it, be the most reliable and effective missionary possible.
The other story I don't have time to relate and Elder Bednar tells it better anyways. It's a story from when he was a missionary and I'd encourage you to look it up. Let me know if you can find it, it involves him and an apostle and a train.
That's all for this week. I will be sending out letters sometime this week so you should get those soon.
much love
Isaac
