Saturday, February 28, 2015

Week Twenty-nine and a half: The perfect storm


All of my zone
My district and our zone leaders

Eating tacos for the last supper of Elder Gawrych
The elders from my district in our last zone conference together (Elder Gawrych goes home monday)

This week was insane. i had pretty much every big event happen in one week that could possibly happen. sunday we had about 14 elders stay the night in our house for various things the following day, then the next day i had to help out with a bunch of stuff for the meetings that the mission was having. Then i had to finish all of the financial stuff for the end of the fiscal month. that night a bunch of zone leaders came to sleep with us for the leadership council the next day. the following day we had the leadership council and i was running around all day for that. finally that was all done and the next day i had a day semi free to just work on the stuff piling up in the offices. the next day we had our zone conference and i lost pretty much a full day of work for that, but it went really well. then the next day we had to prepare for all off the missionaries who are ending their mission to come to the offices. today they all got here and my companion and i just worked like crazy all day instead of having a p day and we just barely left at like 6 to eat (for the first time all day) and then write, but we only have a little bit of time because we have to get back to do more stuff for the leaving missionaries who are all going to stay the night with us until sunday night/monday morning when we take them to the airport at 2 in the morning and then start getting ready for the arriving missionaries who will arrive that same day. Overall it was an insane, stressful, crazy, tiring week... and it continues to be haha. oh yeah and through all this we found out that the family we found a few weeks ago who was really positive now doesnt want to listen anymore because their grandfather is really catholic and he doesnt want us to teach his family. But i know that through all this, the work we do in the offices is helping all the other missionaries in the mission to have more time to work out in the field and find the sons and daughters of God who are ready to hear the message of the restored gospel.

Challenge: Preserver (Endure). Life throws some crazy stuff at us some times and we just have to endure them and learn from them so we can improve and become stronger people with stronger faith and testimonies. Ether 12:6 says that we receive our testimony after the trial of our faith, so keep enduring the trials that God gives us so you can receive a stronger testimony and stronger faith.
¡Gracias por todo que hacen por mi, les amo mucho! Que tengan una buena semana! Con mucho amor, Elder Wagner


Elder Sasser (my companion from the mtc), Elder Larsen (from my district in the mtc) and me after watching meet the mormons!




Saturday, February 21, 2015

Week Twenty-eight and a half: ¡Todo está bien!

After being stuck in the house all of last week and not being able to do much, i got better this week and was able to get some stuff done! 
 heres my work space... super exiciting, i know. haha
This week we had special training with our mission president and his assistants and it was great! we learned about how we can work with church members more effectively, and i got so see one of the members from my old ward because he came to help out! the only downside to the training, was that i lost a lot of time to work in the offices and fell a little behind, but i worked hard and got caught up and we were able to have splits with our zone leaders. I didnt know we were going to have them untill a few hours before they showed up in the offices, so i didnt have an overnight bag or anything and when we went to the house, i realized that i left my keys with my companion and couldnt get anything, so i just went with my teaching stuff and what i had on, so  i went two days with the same clothes! its all good, its not like i havnt done that before the mission haha.

We havnt been able to see Miguel since he came to church 2 weeks ago, but we have plans to see him tonight to see how hes doing and see if he can go to church tomorrow.

Yesterday we got a reference from a sister in our ward and when we went to see her, we asked her family if anyone wanted to join, and her father and 2 grandkids (who are teenagers) joined us! the lesson went really well and we have an appointment to see them again tonight! I think this family has a lot of potential to progress and im really excited!

This week another elder showed me a scripture and told me to substitute some words and it was amazing! i cant remember the verse or anything haha, but it was where Nephi was building a boat and he didnt make it after the manner of the world, he followed the direction of the lord, and he prayed often in the mount. the way the other missionary told me to read it made it sound like Nephi build his life after the manner of the lord instead of the way the world teaches how to build your life, and he went to the temple to pray often. 

Challenge: Build yourself the way Heavenly Father wants you to be built and not how the world tells you to do it. If we listen to our father in heaven and are in constant prayer, he will show us how we should build ourselves and others around us so we can lead happier lives and be better people.

¡Les quiero mucho! ¡Espero que todos tengan una buena semana! Con Amor, Elder Wagner

ps, sorry i dont have many pictures, but the offices arent too exciting haha.

some weird tea from chili that a sister gave us at lunch a few weeks ago. its kind of like the Brazilian stuff that ben and celeste like.





 Me wearing a luchador mask that another missionary had. im still looking for one to buy haha
the other 2 elders in our district Elder Gawrych from sandy utah and elder Sanchez from mexico city

Saturday, February 14, 2015

Week Twenty-seven and a half: ¡Dont eat the tacos!

This monday we went to eat some tacos that we heard were good, so we went.... and the next day i was reallyl sick. so all week weve been in the offices and directly after that in the house because the presidents wife says that we can go out to work untill im completely better and im still kind of sick so were still resting. I always just thought getting sick from tacos was a steriotype, but its totally true! never again! and they werent even that good! and they were expensive!

Today we went to the supermarket (called "soriana", its kind of like wal mart) and i bought some apples from washington, so i think ill be good in no time!

At the end of last week we met a man named miguel. he partly mentally and physically disabled, but he is amazing! hes so precious haha he is always sharing little parables and things with us that he has heard in church haha like salt and soup. we have to share our salt so others can have their soup taste better and so we dont have too much salt. (we should share the things we have with others who dont have much). The first day we went to teach him, he told us he had been reading a book about God and that he was going to bring it out for us and my companion and me though "oh great hes going to bring out some catholic book that says that mormons are bad because he says he always goes to mass" and then he brough out a gospel principles book! we couldnt believe our eyes! it tourns out he hadnt really been reading much because he has a reallyl hard time reading, but from the 2 or 3 pages he had read he said he knew it talked about God, so i guess thats good! we havnt been able to see him all week because we have been stuck in the house, but hopefully next week ill have more news from our friend Miguel!

Challenge: Share your salt so your soup isnt too salty! I love this story that Miguel shared with us because it is so true. sometimes we get caught up in trying to get all the salt we can and then we complain that our soup doesnt taste good, but we dont know why. its because you have too much salt! Be aware of others around you and look outward this week to find those in need who might need help and help them. Serve others, and i promise youll feel better than if you hadnt!

Les amo mucho! con amor, Elder Wagner

Saturday, February 7, 2015

Week Twenty-six and a half: The Office....s of the mission

This week was a little more calm that the last few weeks which was nice. we are getting caught up on stuff and can leave the offices more. In this area there are a lot more people who have money. they are more closed off and EVERYONE is catholic. whenever we try to talk to people in the street they tell us they are in a rush, or they are on their way to mass, or that they have their religion and they respect us, but theyre not going to change. its been tough on us, but were working hard and trying to find the sons and daughters that our Heavenly Father has prepared for us to teach. The other elders that are in our district had to move out of their house and havnt been able to find a new one, so they are staying with us in our house and its pretty fun, but it makes it a lot more difficult to focus on the work. Their names are Elder Gawrych (from Sandy UT) and Elder Sanchez (from mexico city) ive learned that all the americans here are from utah and a big majority of the mexicans are from mexico city or the federeal district of mexico haha. Right now we are teaching a recient convert named ricardo. he is amazing. before he was baptized he said that he want to serve a mission! So we are working with him to get him ready for that and hopefully by the time we leave this area he will be ready to come join the ranks!
Challenge:Read Alma 32. this week i have really noticed how humility affects us. Since coming to this new area i have seen how people who are humble act and how people who are proud act. And im here to tell you, you want to be humble haha. Pride is a tough challenge that satan puts in our path, but if we put our trust int the lord and ask for his help, he will help us develop this christlike attribute and help us become better followers of our savior Jesus Christ.
I hope everyone is doing good on the other side of the border in the cold!

Con mucho amor, Elder Wagner