Hello again everyone!
Well, as the title says, this week
we had two baptisms. We taught and baptized some eight year olds in the ward.
It was actually a lot of fun to work with some kids. They all say I'm "the
fun elder". Unfortunately, baptisms of member children like this don't
count towards our statistics that we report. Bummer... oh well. The baptismal
service was really good. You could feel the spirit bearing witness of the
ordinance. Super cool. :)
Also, we've got the news on our
transfers now. I'm staying here in Carlos A. Carrillo and Elder Wheeler is
going to Cordoba. My new companion's name is Elder Mendez. He was actually in
my last zone so I know him a little. He seems like a good guy. He'll be
district leader. It's his first time as a leader so we'll see what happens. Oh
and he's from Arizona and a Spanish speaking family so he speaks both English
and Spanish fluently. Tomorrow we'll do the actual switches. It'll take all day
because I'm going to have to travel all the way to Veracruz, meet my companion,
then travel back. At least I'll have time to nap! :)
Nothing special really happened for
Easter, but I think that's because they're going to celebrate it the 7th over
here, but then again who knows? I still haven't received my package, but I
imagine that I'll pick it up while I'm in Veracruz. Just in time too! In other
news, I'm super excited for General Conference! The opportunity to hear the
prophet's voice is always a blessing. Make sure you all take advantage of it!
Dad asked what I learned with my
zone leader last time. Mostly I learned a bit more about the teaching
technique. I learned a little bit more about how to teach directly and
efficiently and also how to tell when people are really paying attention. With
these things in mind, it's easier to know if you should follow up with people
or let them be. Sometimes that's the hardest decision to make. We want everyone
to follow through and be baptized, but if they don't have the desire there's
nothing we can really do. We can help them to make a more educated decision,
but overall the choice to be baptized is theirs.
As for investigators. We've got four
really promising ones. Two are 15 year olds that Elder Wheeler met while I was
on splits in another area. They've got good questions and they seem to have a
genuine desire to follow Christ. I can definitely see them being baptized soon.
Even better, they've got member friends to support them. Super cool. :) The
other two is a couple. The husband actually approached us a while back and
asked for a Book of Mormon. We couldn't meet with him at that time because he
was about to leave the area for work, but now we've been teaching him and his
wife. They're both way nice and have a great desire to know the truth. The wife
has more doubts and questions, but I believe they'll both be baptized within
the next couple weeks. Overall, things are looking good. :)
I also mentioned that my mission has
been different than I expected and Dad asked for more details. Where to
start... I expected to baptize more first off. When I found out that I was
going to Mexico everyone told me that they baptize a ton. It's true that we
baptize a good amount here, but as you know, I haven't had a lot of baptisms.
Also, (I don't know why),but I didn't expect to be challenged as much as I've
been. I think it's because I never really thought about it that much, plus most
things have come fairly easily for me before. Here I've been challenged
physically, mentally and spiritually. I always knew that the mission would
bring blessings, but I didn't think that they'd come in the form of challenges.
(Now that I think about it, it's obvious that we receive more blessings when we
stretch a little but at the time I didn't think about that.) I guess I just had
a vision of having a perfect mission, but I never gave much thought to the
"how". My mission so far hasn't been "perfect", but I've
grown in many ways. Even better, I've been able to help people change their
lives. With the few baptisms I've had plus members that we've strengthened, I
at least hope that I've left a good mark here.
That's about all I have time for
today. Just know that this church is true. I know that Christ is the Redeemer
of us all and that through Him we all can be perfected. These days of Easter
(the holy week here in Mexico) I hope that you stop to think of the Atonement
and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Strive to live so that you can apply His
atoning sacrifice in your life. I promise that if you do, you'll find greater
peace and greater strength to keep the commandments.
I love you all. Keep doing what's
right. Read the scriptures, pray and go to church. I've seen that these are the
three most basic and most important things that we can do to strengthen our
faith and testimony.
With all my love,
Elder Sean Horrocks
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