I had another great week!
Which was filled with the baptism of an amazing family, chatting with
the area seventy of Mexico, and celebrating the Día de Muertos.
The family that we had the opportunity to baptize was a reference
that we received from a family in the ward. From day one, they wanted
nothing more than be baptized and have the blessings that come
afterwards. I was amazed at times as they related to us how they
withstood the comments of family and friends telling that they shouldn't
follow through with the baptism. They were sure that they did the
right thing because the Holy Ghost had testified to them that they
needed to do it every time we came by, they read the Book of Mormon, or
prayed! Missionary work would be impossible without the help of the
Holy Ghost. They were so excited Sunday for the baptism and everything
went super smoothly.
So, the other day I went with my companion to
Tecamachalco (the Church offices of all of Mexico) for an appointment we
had there. I was waiting in the reception center studying my
scriptures when I heard the first bit English that I have heard for a
while: "Elder, how are you doing?" I looked up to see that it was
President Johnson, the seventy who is over the Church affairs here in
Mexico. He then chatted with me about where I am from, the mission, and
his family. I was impressed with how happy he was. He was so kind and I
enjoyed the opportunity to chat with him a while. He was such a great
example of charity by taking time out of his obviously busy day to chat
with some missionary sitting in the reception area.
For the Día de Muertos, we had the opportunity to
eat pan muerto which are sweet rolls covered in sugar (YUMMY!!), carve
pumpkins (Elder Méndez and I won third place!!), play with a Caja de
Toques (Shock Box), and eat tons of pizza. I thought we would do
something more traditional but the people here in this part of Mexico
City worked through the Holiday. In the evening the kids go around with
costumes and trick or treat. However, instead of asking for candy from
houses, they ask for candy from the businesses. To win third place in
the pumpkin carving contest we did a pumpkin with the face of Jack
Skeleton from a movie that my companion likes. The Caja de Toques was a
lot of fun and it was funny to see how much volts everyone could
withstand and the companionships. I was able to do it pretty well, but I'm
not one to enjoy self-inflicted pain...it really was a fun time!!
I hope that you all have a great week and enjoy the fall weather that is approaching!
Love,
Elder Janis
