Wow those pics are cool! That boat is a little bit like the one I used to take to get to my first area... Mine was a bit fancier though haha. I am glad you had fun on your trip and learned lots! Haha I like the picture of the sign... I have heard Chiapas is pretty...
Those pyramids and buildings look pretty cool... You aren't allowed to go like inside them right? I have heard that there is some cool stuff inside. I have heard of ruins that have baptismal fonts inside. I definitely want to come back to Mexico after and go tour that kind of stuff... probably not in a tour group though. I think it would be more fun on your own.
Haha everybody tried to charge more to the Americans. Especially if you pay in dollars. You just have to haggle haha. But it is just their way of life. Its sad. In Mexico its worse because of all the corruption. The cartels have a lot of influence and its hard to make enough to get by.
I will have to make you some REAL Mexican food when I get home. I'm guessing what you ate wasn't near the real thing, and that's what tastes best!
My last few days in the office were interesting... on Monday we sent a group of 10 missionaries home after finishing their missions. They were all sup´posed to go to Mexico City and then to their respective places. We got a call saying their flight was re routed to Michoacan! A completely different part of Mexico! We had no idea why and the airline wouldn't give me any answers. Me and the poor kid who replaced me had to resolve that crisis. It was fun though haha. One last hurrah before I left the office haha. Everybody missed their connecting flights but eventually they all got home. One kid who is form Ecuador didn't get home til the next day at 9 am! Poor kid! After getting Elder Porter, the new sec, trained and ready, we headed out to the area...
This week has been pretty great! We are both just super antsy to get out and work. I have to admit them I am so tired. Mentally exhausted. I had a a lot of late nights and early mornings and long days and stressful days in the office and all of that is just coming back to me right now haha. I hope I recover soon haha because I am tired almost ALL the time.
Our area is super great! We were a bit worried coming in because we had seen the graphs and it didn't look too pretty. But we came and there is a ton of potential here. The members are great, we just have to show them that we mean business and are here to work. Little by little everybody is starting to wake up a bit and we are pumped! The ward mission leader is totally on board and is ready to work with us a bunch. The stake president is super excited about some plans we have for the zone. We have a meeting with him tomorrow and again on Thursday with President Ramirez. Chairel has never really been a zone that anybody really wants to go to. It's just kind of there. But from what we have seen it is a great area and a great stake.
I have now been in all 5 zones in the Tampico area. Tampico, Madero, Ampliacion, Bosque, and Chairel. Apart from that, Panuco and Victoria. There are only 3 zones I haven't been in. Who knows if this is my last area. I hope not... Elder Tipton finishes the change after me so maybe he will stay and I will go finish somewhere else. I love the area but it's just weird thinking I will finish my mission here... And worse because the darn wards name is "Airport" haha. Just keepin me close I guess!
We have found some great investigators this week!
Jose Luis (inv) and Yolanda (Less Active): Yolanda is in the process of reactivating. Their son Albert got baptized a few weeks ago. They aren't married but have lived together for 15 years. Surprise! He has a bit of a drinking problem. He is super smart though and is willing to learn and to work on his problem. He accepted a baptism date for the13th and they are going to pick a wedding date before the next time we visit them. We´re going to have a wedding!! yay! That means future eternal family! They didn't go to church on Sunday (The son did, parents no) because there were some people working on their roof, but next week they will!
Yaneli: Friend of our Ward mission Leaders (Mahonri) sister (Abish), has been going to church off and on for the past few years, hasn't been able to be baptized because of the rule that one of her parents has to be baptized because she is just 14. That rule changed 6 months ago but she went out of town for a while. Now she is back and has a date for the 6th of February! Didn't show up to church at first but 30 minutes in to Sacrament meeting she showed up! Hurray! She is super great and ready to be baptized.
Bricio: Recently moved into the ward a few weeks ago. His sister is an RM and her wife is RC. He is a federal police officer and works in the airport. Has been listening to the sisters for a few years off and on (more off than on) but has never talked to elders. He lives with his sister and his wife and his daughter (whose name is "azul" haha) so maybe what he needs is just some guy influence haha. He expressed to us a desire to come closer to God and a feeling of having drifter away from God in the past few months. Went to church on Sunday and is committed to listen to the Book of Mormon on his phone every day. We invited him to be baptized but we didn't want to pressure him so he is going to think about a date and let us know. he said "Finally, missionaries that aren't pressuring me to just get baptized already!" We are super excited for him.
Oscar and Sonia: Former investigators we found in the area book. Sonia is going to have a baby any day know (Guess what they re going to name it! Emma! Weird, right?). They are super humble and teachable and they want to find out the truth. He works on Sunday's but I'm guessing he will be willing to give that up. We are excited for them too!
Keep them all in your prayers! We are so blessed to have them as investigators! This morning the 1st counselor in the stake pres called us and said that some family friends came to their door saying they are going through some problems and are interested in learning more about the church! We have a family home evening with them tonight!
Things are going miraculously here and we are super excited to work hard! I love missionary work and it feels great to be back in the field!
Love you lots!
Love you lots!
Elder Skalla
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