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| Last Zone Conference |
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| He's here!!! With his sisters at the airport |
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| With Elder Jackson at the airport |
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| Elder Lotulelei, Elder Castleton, Elder Jackson |
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| Teaching us how to play Mexican tops |
Sunday, August 30, 2015
Home
Gabe returned home with honor on August 19th. We enjoyed so much having many of you come last Sunday and help us celebrate his return. Here are a few pictures from Gabe's return.
Sunday, August 16, 2015
Wrapping Up
Note from Chuck: OK, I haven't posted for a long time. I'm going to post several recent, brief emails that Gabe has sent over the last month or so. This will be the last post before Gabe comes home this Wednesday, August 19th!
First, just a reminder of homecoming plans. Gabe will be speaking in 2 sacrament meetings, both next Sunday, August 23rd.
He will speak in our old ward, the Alpine 10th Ward, at 9:00 am. The church address is 327 South Long Drive, Alpine, Utah.
He will speak in our new ward, the Highland 22 Ward, at 11:00 am. The church address is 9621 North, 6050 West, Highland, Utah.
You're welcome to attend either or both services. You are also welcome to stop by our house to visit afterwards. Our address is 6075 West 9740 North, Highland, Utah.
Email from July 6:
Hey mom, dad, so guess what?....we got changes... so I am actually going back to Tierra Nueva again. I will be just a senior companion, which is what I want, haha, and my companion is Elder Martinez. I have no idea who he is so I guess we will see tomorrow. But it's my last change. I have 6! weeks left now, so times gonna go by fast. Just 6 weeks more. How are you guys doin? We have to clean a lot and pack up cause were changing houses here as well. So we got a lot of work. I miss you guys. I'll talk to you soon.
Email from July 13:
Thanks for praying. It does get hard here. It's going good, though. Apparently we don't have the same investigators (as when I was in this area before), Idk what happened to them all. Some of them moved. But we have a few that are progressing, so that's nice. We had a few baptisms in the ward Saturday. But the thing is, before the baptism apparently the bishop and some other men from the church gave the younger boy that got baptized the priesthood and we found out yesterday morning. So we talked to the bishop to see if that is correct. It's not, right? You have to be a member to receive the priesthood, right? Anyways, it was really strange. Hows your work going?
Email from July 27:
My companion is from Veracruz. We teach really well together. We actually just set 4 baptism dates so we're pretty excited, but I'm not sure if I will be here or not.
First, just a reminder of homecoming plans. Gabe will be speaking in 2 sacrament meetings, both next Sunday, August 23rd.
He will speak in our old ward, the Alpine 10th Ward, at 9:00 am. The church address is 327 South Long Drive, Alpine, Utah.
He will speak in our new ward, the Highland 22 Ward, at 11:00 am. The church address is 9621 North, 6050 West, Highland, Utah.
You're welcome to attend either or both services. You are also welcome to stop by our house to visit afterwards. Our address is 6075 West 9740 North, Highland, Utah.
Email from July 6:
Hey mom, dad, so guess what?....we got changes... so I am actually going back to Tierra Nueva again. I will be just a senior companion, which is what I want, haha, and my companion is Elder Martinez. I have no idea who he is so I guess we will see tomorrow. But it's my last change. I have 6! weeks left now, so times gonna go by fast. Just 6 weeks more. How are you guys doin? We have to clean a lot and pack up cause were changing houses here as well. So we got a lot of work. I miss you guys. I'll talk to you soon.
Email from July 13:
Thanks for praying. It does get hard here. It's going good, though. Apparently we don't have the same investigators (as when I was in this area before), Idk what happened to them all. Some of them moved. But we have a few that are progressing, so that's nice. We had a few baptisms in the ward Saturday. But the thing is, before the baptism apparently the bishop and some other men from the church gave the younger boy that got baptized the priesthood and we found out yesterday morning. So we talked to the bishop to see if that is correct. It's not, right? You have to be a member to receive the priesthood, right? Anyways, it was really strange. Hows your work going?
Email from July 27:
My companion is from Veracruz. We teach really well together. We actually just set 4 baptism dates so we're pretty excited, but I'm not sure if I will be here or not.
Sunday, June 28, 2015
Homecoming Plans
Gabe's homecoming plans are set. He will be speaking in 2 sacrament meetings, both on August 23rd.
He will speak in our old ward, the Alpine 10th Ward, at 9:00 am. The church address is 327 South Long Drive, Alpine, Utah.
He will speak in our new ward, the Highland 22 Ward, at 11:00 am. The church address is 9621 North, 6050 West, Highland, Utah.
You're welcome to attend either or both services. You are also welcome to stop by our house to visit afterwards. Our address is 6075 West 9740 North, Highland, Utah.
Here's a picture that was posted by one of Gabe's fellow missionaries recently.
He will speak in our old ward, the Alpine 10th Ward, at 9:00 am. The church address is 327 South Long Drive, Alpine, Utah.
He will speak in our new ward, the Highland 22 Ward, at 11:00 am. The church address is 9621 North, 6050 West, Highland, Utah.
You're welcome to attend either or both services. You are also welcome to stop by our house to visit afterwards. Our address is 6075 West 9740 North, Highland, Utah.
Here's a picture that was posted by one of Gabe's fellow missionaries recently.
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| And for Fathers' Day, we went and showed our skills out while making cookies. Courtesy of the Carrasco Family, who brought all of this to the church for the ward Dads' day party. It was awesome. |
Sunday, June 21, 2015
The Heat Season
I am great! haha. It is so hot here!!! We don't use blankets. I sweat at night and when we shower and get out and dry off, it's like I didn't even get out. We still sweat, haha. So it's hot, very hot. It was up in the 100s this past week. This coming week, idk.
Our investigators are good. We found a family that are really humble and are listening to us. They love when we come over. They're from Kansas, but they don't speak English. The zone is really good. We have a zone meeting today, so I hope it goes good. We're trying to get the missionaries a little more excited and pumped up to do the work. Lots of them seem like they're sad or just dying, idk, it's weird. So it will be good to talk to them today.
I miss you, Dad. I miss all those camping trips we did. I love you.
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| Men in Black and White |
Sunday, June 7, 2015
Not in Kansas Any More
This story is from Elder Jackson, Gabe's new companion:
We were walking in the street and trying to find somebody, ANYBODY, to talk to, and failing miserably (seriously, the only reason that people walk in the street in our area is to get from the house to the car), and I will say that saying hi to people on their balconies has its benefits, because next thing we know there is a woman coming out onto the street and asking us to talk to her. At first we thought that she might be a little drunk, because her neighbors were having a little fun throwing the alcohol around, but as we got closer we saw that that was not the case. She had just gotten into the city from Kansas, (and for those of you who don't know, my brother is on his mission in Kansas) and asked us to teach her, because she had been taking the lessons in Kansas, and the only reason she can't come to church is because her mother is seriously ill with some king of muscular atrophy, but she wants to be baptized and it is super awesome just going there, because the spirit is so flipping strong and its just a super cool experience.
Here are a couple of pictures Elder Jackson posted. The captions are his, too.
We were walking in the street and trying to find somebody, ANYBODY, to talk to, and failing miserably (seriously, the only reason that people walk in the street in our area is to get from the house to the car), and I will say that saying hi to people on their balconies has its benefits, because next thing we know there is a woman coming out onto the street and asking us to talk to her. At first we thought that she might be a little drunk, because her neighbors were having a little fun throwing the alcohol around, but as we got closer we saw that that was not the case. She had just gotten into the city from Kansas, (and for those of you who don't know, my brother is on his mission in Kansas) and asked us to teach her, because she had been taking the lessons in Kansas, and the only reason she can't come to church is because her mother is seriously ill with some king of muscular atrophy, but she wants to be baptized and it is super awesome just going there, because the spirit is so flipping strong and its just a super cool experience.
Here are a couple of pictures Elder Jackson posted. The captions are his, too.
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| This is Elder Castleton, my companion. Despite appearances, he is American, from Alpine Utah, and super awesome. |
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| This is the view of Juarez we have from our roof. Best view in the whole dang world. |
What's Really Important
Editor's Note: Gabe hasn't been sending a lot of missionary stories lately, so I'm going to share a couple that other missionaries have shared involving Gabe. These were posted on a Ciudad Juarez Missionary Moms Facebook page. This one is from Elder Cox, who is in Gabe's zone.
Chuck
The experience I wanted to share with you was that me and Elder Castleton went on divisions and visited a new investigator. It was a lady in her 40's and her mother who I really don't know how old she was but she's pretty much terminally ill. And we were just getting to know them and about them. The mother who was sick was telling us that really she's looking for something that can give her hope and that she doesn't know which visit with us will be the last. It was kind of sad, but it really opened my eyes that sometimes we just get focused on getting things done as missionaries and just the numbers and that people really do find hope in what we have. When really if we focus on helping the people understand and receive the gospel, then Heavenly Father is happy with our work. He's not counting our lessons, he just wants us as missionaries to do what we can to make sure people receive the Gospel and realize how important this work is.
Chuck
The experience I wanted to share with you was that me and Elder Castleton went on divisions and visited a new investigator. It was a lady in her 40's and her mother who I really don't know how old she was but she's pretty much terminally ill. And we were just getting to know them and about them. The mother who was sick was telling us that really she's looking for something that can give her hope and that she doesn't know which visit with us will be the last. It was kind of sad, but it really opened my eyes that sometimes we just get focused on getting things done as missionaries and just the numbers and that people really do find hope in what we have. When really if we focus on helping the people understand and receive the gospel, then Heavenly Father is happy with our work. He's not counting our lessons, he just wants us as missionaries to do what we can to make sure people receive the Gospel and realize how important this work is.
Coming to the End
Hey, guys, so yea, it's been a good week! Yea, my new companion is Elder Jackson. He's chill. We had some cool experiences this past week! i wanna save them for when I'm home. It's kinda hard ending cause everyone is like hey, you're going home and I'm like yea.... but I'm ready as well. I wanna start my life. But I'm still goin here, still preachin. It just doesn't feel real. It's weird. I can't see my self living in Utah. I have dreamed a ton and wished to make it back home safe and see the green grass movin by the wind and the mountains standing tall and strong and my dear sweet beautiful family. That's all I want. I just want my family. The gospel and family is all I want. It's all I need to be complete, at least for here on this earth. But in the next life it will be better. I just dream of seeing Utah again. I understand how hard it is for some people to have the desire to go over to live in the USA but they can't. It feels like I've had the most perfect life and people here want to do the same. They dream of crossing the border to live in a place like our place. I don't know, it's just hard sometimes. But I miss you guys and hope everything goes great. Have a great week!
Baptism Surprise
Editor's Note: It's been a while since I posted here. Not to make excuses, but we've been moving... I'll try to post a few today going back to the end of April.
HEY!! So this week we had a baptism surprise! It went well. Well, there were two baptisms, of a familia and their daughter and the other daughter that's like 8. But we activated the family and helped them and we just had the baptism. It was really nice. i could feel the spirit really strongly.
In my last area I don't know if that lady got baptized. We can't really talk to the other elders from the other areas. It's a rule. But hopefully she did. We also had an activity in the stake where, well I'll say it was the president of the stake's idea. We got all the investigators to come to the church for this activity and the recent converts from some of the other wards shared their conversion experience. It went really nicely and us missionaries sang in a choir there. it was awesome. We also gave out Hershey kisses and cookies, like from Pres. Packer's talk in general conference. But we used Hershey kisses cause we obviously can't be goin around kissing people so we used those chocolates. It was fun. That was yesterday. So that's some fun stuff that went on. We are planning to have more activities this summer, a lot more, so we're gonna see what we can do.
How are you guys doing? I know some hard things have happened but just keep goin. Help someone have a good day. An elder here, his father died. He left to see him for a week and he died. Then he returned here to the mission. He's a strong elder and it helped me as well cause he cares about the work and he trusts God. So I know as we just follow the steps in the gospel God will help and bless us. THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BEING ACTIVE IN CHURCH AND IN THE GOSPEL. I hope you guys have a good week :) See you next week.
HEY!! So this week we had a baptism surprise! It went well. Well, there were two baptisms, of a familia and their daughter and the other daughter that's like 8. But we activated the family and helped them and we just had the baptism. It was really nice. i could feel the spirit really strongly.
In my last area I don't know if that lady got baptized. We can't really talk to the other elders from the other areas. It's a rule. But hopefully she did. We also had an activity in the stake where, well I'll say it was the president of the stake's idea. We got all the investigators to come to the church for this activity and the recent converts from some of the other wards shared their conversion experience. It went really nicely and us missionaries sang in a choir there. it was awesome. We also gave out Hershey kisses and cookies, like from Pres. Packer's talk in general conference. But we used Hershey kisses cause we obviously can't be goin around kissing people so we used those chocolates. It was fun. That was yesterday. So that's some fun stuff that went on. We are planning to have more activities this summer, a lot more, so we're gonna see what we can do.
How are you guys doing? I know some hard things have happened but just keep goin. Help someone have a good day. An elder here, his father died. He left to see him for a week and he died. Then he returned here to the mission. He's a strong elder and it helped me as well cause he cares about the work and he trusts God. So I know as we just follow the steps in the gospel God will help and bless us. THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BEING ACTIVE IN CHURCH AND IN THE GOSPEL. I hope you guys have a good week :) See you next week.
Elder Castleton
Sunday, April 26, 2015
Sharing the Message
(Note: This email is posted out of order. It should have been posted a few weeks ago before Gabe was transferred. But I thought I'd share it anyway. Chuck)
Hey, guys, how's it going?
Hey, guys, how's it going?
This week was awesome as well. We actually
had the same 6 people again at church and they love it. Now they have
friends and everything is running great. One more Sunday and the Hermana
Valeria can get baptized!!! She has a strong testimony.
We're
making plans to work with the new video, the "Because He Lives" thing. I
think that's how you say it in English, but we're making plans and ideas,
how were gonna do activities here to get more references and new
investigators. today I'm gonna present a plan with my district and we're
gonna discuss and everything how we're gonna roll. Everything's all good
here. We just barely had a meeting with president, so it went great. How
are you guys doing? Sounds like running very busy. I hope you guys are
taking Spanish classes cause I'm coming home speaking only Spanish. No
more English. Haha, just kidding. Well, I invite you guys to read Preach My Gospel and read chapter 5, I believe it is, about the Book of Mormon and the Bible. It's really good and you guys can take those ideas
to help someone every day come to know the Book of Mormon. If you guys
can do that at work or school, doesn’t matter, you will be blessed a lot.
Every day. :)
I hope you have a great week. :)
Elder Castleton
Conference
Hey everybody!! How are you all doin?? So my first week
really as a zone leader has been so good! I love it. We saw conference
in the stake center with the Americans. The Latinos went in with the
rest of the members in the chapel. We were in another room with the Americans watching it in English. It was awesome. I loved it. Sooo good!
It's awesome with my companion. We're so chill and nice to the Elders and Sisters. They all love us and they're like "Yea, best zone leaders!!". It's because they know I'm funny, and my companion as well. It's so fun. The house is amazing. When I get a camera, haha, I will show you fotos. I really like our area as well. It's nice and lots of the members speak English, so that's always fun. I really like it here.
So how did you guys do during the conference? Thank you guys so much for your help and support. I am still getting to know everywhere and the investigators and stuff, but for now its all good. We get a long really, really well. We were friends in the MTC, so it's pretty cool. We were joking like "Ahh, hey man, what if we are companions in the field, that would be so cool" and now BOOM! We're companions.....Pretty cool.......pretty cool.......Well, I love you all. I gots to go but tell me how you are all doin'. I will talk to you all soon!
Love you guys!!
Elder Castleton
Bad News and Good News
Hey Mom, Dad, how are you guys? So I got some news for ya. First I'll tell
ya the bad news...
So my companion and I were in the store Monday and when we enter we have to leave our backpacks in this area where they guard it. So we left our backpacks there like always and we go in. So we came out and we asked for our backpacks and their like "No, it's not here", so we talked to them and other employees and they think that someone took them. We went back the next day because they told us to, and so they said no, and they say that yea, it's gone. Someone took it, but they took the both of our backpacks, so basically, we got our backpacks stolen!!!!! So that’s the bad news and they can't do anything, either. It's some dumb rule they have. So now I have no backpack, no scriptures, no camera or other important papers I had. And just some other stuff I had from the mission. So thats the bad news I got. I am alone with out my preaching stuff. The thing is the mission can't pay for every thing that got lost.....sooo I am gonna have to get new scriptures, and I can buy a backpack here.
Also the good news, though, is awesome!!!! This is the best good news............so we actually have transfers in 1 more week but, President moved me to be ZONE LEADER!!! So now I'm a zone leader and I AM WITH!!............Elder Webster from the MTC. He was there in the same apartment with me. He was my best friend in the MTC. He's so cool. He's my companion!!!! So we've got the same time left, we're already friends and were kicking it together. Zone leaders in the area called Fronterra. We have 36 missionaries in our zone. It's big. So yea!!!! Oh, also, our house - oh man, don’t get me started!!! It's sooo legit!! It's so nice, so nice. It's I think the nicest or one of the nicest houses for missionaries in all of the mission, or Juarez, idk. It's sooo cool. I would take pictures but i ain't got no camera. So yea, sorry. But that’s the good news.
I feel better in this position. It's actually easier than being a district leader. But I am also in a rich area again, like in Nogales. Nogales is in my zone. So yea, it's awesome!! The area is awesome, rich people and awesome food. I like it here. But yea, I've been so busy we didn’t have time this week really to write, so sorry but now we have some time. But yea, at least I am safe and I had my money in my pocket, not my backpack. Well, I got to go again, but I love you so much, you two. I will talk to you soon. Thanks very much.
So my companion and I were in the store Monday and when we enter we have to leave our backpacks in this area where they guard it. So we left our backpacks there like always and we go in. So we came out and we asked for our backpacks and their like "No, it's not here", so we talked to them and other employees and they think that someone took them. We went back the next day because they told us to, and so they said no, and they say that yea, it's gone. Someone took it, but they took the both of our backpacks, so basically, we got our backpacks stolen!!!!! So that’s the bad news and they can't do anything, either. It's some dumb rule they have. So now I have no backpack, no scriptures, no camera or other important papers I had. And just some other stuff I had from the mission. So thats the bad news I got. I am alone with out my preaching stuff. The thing is the mission can't pay for every thing that got lost.....sooo I am gonna have to get new scriptures, and I can buy a backpack here.
Also the good news, though, is awesome!!!! This is the best good news............so we actually have transfers in 1 more week but, President moved me to be ZONE LEADER!!! So now I'm a zone leader and I AM WITH!!............Elder Webster from the MTC. He was there in the same apartment with me. He was my best friend in the MTC. He's so cool. He's my companion!!!! So we've got the same time left, we're already friends and were kicking it together. Zone leaders in the area called Fronterra. We have 36 missionaries in our zone. It's big. So yea!!!! Oh, also, our house - oh man, don’t get me started!!! It's sooo legit!! It's so nice, so nice. It's I think the nicest or one of the nicest houses for missionaries in all of the mission, or Juarez, idk. It's sooo cool. I would take pictures but i ain't got no camera. So yea, sorry. But that’s the good news.
I feel better in this position. It's actually easier than being a district leader. But I am also in a rich area again, like in Nogales. Nogales is in my zone. So yea, it's awesome!! The area is awesome, rich people and awesome food. I like it here. But yea, I've been so busy we didn’t have time this week really to write, so sorry but now we have some time. But yea, at least I am safe and I had my money in my pocket, not my backpack. Well, I got to go again, but I love you so much, you two. I will talk to you soon. Thanks very much.
Sunday, March 29, 2015
Work, Work, Work and a Little More Work
Hello Everybody!! how goes it? Everything is good here. We're getting
ready for the "Because He Lives" thing, idk how to say it in English. So
were getting that ready. How are you guys doing? I hear some things aren’t
that good. I know God gives us a lot of trials and hardships but don’t
give up hope. There is always hope, and keep reading and studying the
scriptures. The stories of other people had hard times and even worse.
Learn to be 100% obedient and not just with the commandments. Study, don’t read. Understand and things will work out for the best. Love
everyone but love God first and you won't have to worry if you're keeping
the commandments. This life is hard, not easy, but salvation isn’t
cheap, so its work, work, work and a little more work. I love you all. Read Alma 5 and study it. Ask yourselves those questions that it has. I will
talk to you all next week. Love you all.
Sunday, March 15, 2015
Prayers Are Answered!
Hey everybody, how are you doing? Well, this week went very
good. We had a prayer answered. The hermana Valeria that I was talking
about a while back, well, her husband wouldn't let her come to church for a
long time. He got mad and stuff at her. So this Sunday in the morning
while my companion was showering, I kneeled down to pray and I was just
asking, pleading for help and guidance and that our investigatores would
be able to come to church. I got to church and, oh, also, we found a new
investigator. Her name is Magdalena. She's like 28 and loves our church. She
came as well. But, the hermana Valeria called me and said "Hey, I'm coming
to church, my husband let me" and so she came!! I felt sooo happy! She
came and just loved it. Everyone greeted her and welcomed her and we took
her to meet some of the other ladies there. In the gospel principles
class she was like on fire testifying, like "I just know this is the truth. God has answered my prayers to come here." And she's like "I know Joseph Smith was a prophet", and all that good stuff. She's ready to be baptized,
only she has 2 Sundays left to come and then she can be baptized. Also,
we had 2 other younger girls that always come, they're dry Mormons, haha, but
their dad says he doesn't want them baptized. And we had this other guy,
he looks like idk, just a motorcycle guy, with his hair in a ponytail, cool
guy that has come 2 times now to church. He's cool. He brings his daughter. She
loves it. So we had 6 people in the church with us and it was just a
blessing. I know the prayers are from you guys as well, so finally we
have been blessed. So that's what's going on now. We still keep getting references so we've got a lot of work to do, and yea, it's fun. My friend from
the MTC told me that from the 19th of this month we have 5 months left
in the mission. :( Yea, it's passin so fast. I'm scared, haha. But there's a
lot of work, so I haven't thought about that. So I'm all good. If you guys
have any questions just throw 'em. I hope you guys have a great
week. I will talk to you guys next week!
Elder Castleton
Hey, Quiubole!!
Hey, Quiubole!! Como estan??!!! This week was pretty good, pretty chill. Umm, we have a lot of work finding people and contacting the references
that we have. There are transfers tomorrow...... I didn’t get transferred,
haha. It's all good. I like my area. But we are getting an elder from my
generation. He's cool. I also have some fotos I wanna show you guys.
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| The elders in my district |
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| I might just have diabetes..... but it's worth it, hahaha. jk jk jk. No, I'll tell you this story with the food when I'm home, haha. |
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| This is what the money is like here, for those of you that wanna know. |
Sunday, March 1, 2015
Spartans
Hey everybody, how are you guys? It's goin good here, slow but good. One
elder in my district is about to leave for home next week. He's all done, haha. It's weird cause I remember him like a year ago, and now he's leavin. I am
just training and training and training here, helping the other elders
progress and become my little Spartans. Every district meeting we do a
like, idk how you call it, shout like Spartans. It's kinda weird but the
other elders like it, haha. It gives us a smile.
We also found another family to teach and I asked her again the first visit to be baptized, and she said yes. She also came to church with us and her little girls, haha, they were so funny. They're really white. They look American but no, they're from here, haha. So we're teaching them.
We're really working with the youth to come with us and help us, and they're actually working. They gave us more references and introduced some of their friends to us. We taught them and they liked it. They also came to church as well, and we're in the process of teaching them. So that's that, hahaha. So Is it cold there right now in Utah? Well, I got to go but I love you all and hope you have a great week!
We also found another family to teach and I asked her again the first visit to be baptized, and she said yes. She also came to church with us and her little girls, haha, they were so funny. They're really white. They look American but no, they're from here, haha. So we're teaching them.
We're really working with the youth to come with us and help us, and they're actually working. They gave us more references and introduced some of their friends to us. We taught them and they liked it. They also came to church as well, and we're in the process of teaching them. So that's that, hahaha. So Is it cold there right now in Utah? Well, I got to go but I love you all and hope you have a great week!
Hasta luego!
Sunday, February 15, 2015
Hey!
Hey, everybody! Sorry I haven’t written. It's been crazy busy here. I didn’t
have any time yesterday, either. I don’t have much time now, either, but just
wanted to say hi and see how everybody’s doing. I would write in Spanish but the translate does it a little wrong. Also, mom, hahahaha,
viejo is kinda bad here, haha, just a heads up, hahaha. But it's all good. I
got a good laugh. Elder is just Elder here. (Note from Chuck - Kathy tried to write to Gabe in Spanish using the Google translator. Apparently it was an amusing translation.)
Were having some problems with Valeria and her baptism date. She didn't come Sunday to church. She told us she was ready but her husband took her to the mass of the Catholic church. She really wants to go and continue, but her husband doesn’t give her support. He likes the Catholic church better. We haven’t talked to him. He's always busy and he's never there when we're there, just her sons.
We're working better with the youth as well here, helping them get a testimony of Joseph Smith. Also so they can help us and teach and invite their friends to church as well. Any ideas of activities for youth? I know it's hard cause it's a big difference between here and there of what youth do. They don't like to do anything here. There's not a relationship between them. It's like "OK, whatever". We brought a boy with us yesterday to teach and he hated it. He was like "I wanna go home, I'm tired" and complaining the whole time. I just felt like aww, man, bummer. We talked to him and stuff, what he likes to do and stuff, but nope, he just wanted to go play video games. He shook the hand of our investigator but like pulled away fast, and she said "Are you angry or something?" and he didn’t respond so I just said ''Oh, nah, he's just a little shy''. But he didn’t even care (the boy). I was like "OK, you can go home, but you're walkin home alone, or you can come with us to a few more visits and we will take you home." But no, he wanted out, so I'm like "OK, your salvation", haha. I was like wowww...... dang, our future generation.......we need help with things to do cause the youth don’t like anything with church. ideas?.....
Well, I love you all, and thanks for the brownies and cookies. My district about died, haha. One new elder, he's brand new, loved them. He's from South Carolina and he's like "Ahhh, the United States", haha. It felt good to eat real brownies from home. Here they don’t exist, just in packaged stuff, but they're gross. Haha, well I hope you all have a great week! Love you all!
Were having some problems with Valeria and her baptism date. She didn't come Sunday to church. She told us she was ready but her husband took her to the mass of the Catholic church. She really wants to go and continue, but her husband doesn’t give her support. He likes the Catholic church better. We haven’t talked to him. He's always busy and he's never there when we're there, just her sons.
We're working better with the youth as well here, helping them get a testimony of Joseph Smith. Also so they can help us and teach and invite their friends to church as well. Any ideas of activities for youth? I know it's hard cause it's a big difference between here and there of what youth do. They don't like to do anything here. There's not a relationship between them. It's like "OK, whatever". We brought a boy with us yesterday to teach and he hated it. He was like "I wanna go home, I'm tired" and complaining the whole time. I just felt like aww, man, bummer. We talked to him and stuff, what he likes to do and stuff, but nope, he just wanted to go play video games. He shook the hand of our investigator but like pulled away fast, and she said "Are you angry or something?" and he didn’t respond so I just said ''Oh, nah, he's just a little shy''. But he didn’t even care (the boy). I was like "OK, you can go home, but you're walkin home alone, or you can come with us to a few more visits and we will take you home." But no, he wanted out, so I'm like "OK, your salvation", haha. I was like wowww...... dang, our future generation.......we need help with things to do cause the youth don’t like anything with church. ideas?.....
Well, I love you all, and thanks for the brownies and cookies. My district about died, haha. One new elder, he's brand new, loved them. He's from South Carolina and he's like "Ahhh, the United States", haha. It felt good to eat real brownies from home. Here they don’t exist, just in packaged stuff, but they're gross. Haha, well I hope you all have a great week! Love you all!
Bye!
Elder Castleton
Sunday, February 8, 2015
Bien Occupado No Pudimos Escribir...
Hola! Como estan? I was thinking about writing in Spanish but you won't
understand. Yesterday we didn't have any time to write, haha, sorry. Our
p-day is just soo full. So how are you guys doing?
This week we found a lady named Valeria. She's about your age and the missionaries passed her by a lot but we went with her and got to know her. She said the elders rushed her to be baptized and she didn't like that. She said "I want to make sure I'm in the right church." I thought back for a moment and thought to my self..." Well, I don't think she knows lesson 1." I asked her "Sister, did the other missionaries explain why there are lots of churches?" She said no, and I was like, what? Oh, man! She told us that they talked about the plan of salvation and all the other lessons, but they did not explain L1. I said to her "Well, we're gonna tell you what happened". So we taught part of L1 and after, she loved it and said "That explains why", and then we talked about goals and baptism. I asked her about if setting a goal for baptism would be good, and a lot of other things, like we're her to help you all the way and achieve your goal and it's a time to prepare and God will answer your prayer and, ya, so she said...............YES! So we put a baptism date for the 28th of Feb. It was awesome. I felt pretty happy that we were there to help her and her need. That was the spiritual experience this week. I have lots for every week but some are more special and others are too special that I will tell you guys when I'm home.
Well, I hope you all enjoy your week. I love you all. Thanks for your support and prayers. Keep holdin' strong to that lil' bar of iron.
Love you All!
Elder Castleton
This week we found a lady named Valeria. She's about your age and the missionaries passed her by a lot but we went with her and got to know her. She said the elders rushed her to be baptized and she didn't like that. She said "I want to make sure I'm in the right church." I thought back for a moment and thought to my self..." Well, I don't think she knows lesson 1." I asked her "Sister, did the other missionaries explain why there are lots of churches?" She said no, and I was like, what? Oh, man! She told us that they talked about the plan of salvation and all the other lessons, but they did not explain L1. I said to her "Well, we're gonna tell you what happened". So we taught part of L1 and after, she loved it and said "That explains why", and then we talked about goals and baptism. I asked her about if setting a goal for baptism would be good, and a lot of other things, like we're her to help you all the way and achieve your goal and it's a time to prepare and God will answer your prayer and, ya, so she said...............YES! So we put a baptism date for the 28th of Feb. It was awesome. I felt pretty happy that we were there to help her and her need. That was the spiritual experience this week. I have lots for every week but some are more special and others are too special that I will tell you guys when I'm home.
Well, I hope you all enjoy your week. I love you all. Thanks for your support and prayers. Keep holdin' strong to that lil' bar of iron.
Love you All!
Elder Castleton
Sunday, February 1, 2015
New Area
Hey, everybody -
So I'm in a new area its called Aztecas. My companion is Elder Caal. He's from Guatemala. He's pretty cool and very funny. He is very, very tiny. He's the tiniest guy in the mission, I think, but he's like a ball of muscle, like Spencer Tuckett. It made me think of him, haha. I like it here, actually. The house is a lot bigger. I like the area and the members. I actually don’t have much time to write now. I have a lot of stuff to do as a district leader. I'll send fotos next week so you can see it all, haha. I'm like on the mountain of Juarez, kinda, so we can see the whole valley of Juarez and El Paso. It's soo cool at night time. The area is big, as well, and we're walking a lot, and I have to walk slower cause my companion can't keep up, haha. I take big steps and he's running, almost, with his little legs, but he's so cool. Sometimes it's hard to understand him cause the Spanish from there is a little different in a bunch of words. But I'm learning a lot more now, haha. Well, I love you all and hope you all have a great week! Be Good!
So I'm in a new area its called Aztecas. My companion is Elder Caal. He's from Guatemala. He's pretty cool and very funny. He is very, very tiny. He's the tiniest guy in the mission, I think, but he's like a ball of muscle, like Spencer Tuckett. It made me think of him, haha. I like it here, actually. The house is a lot bigger. I like the area and the members. I actually don’t have much time to write now. I have a lot of stuff to do as a district leader. I'll send fotos next week so you can see it all, haha. I'm like on the mountain of Juarez, kinda, so we can see the whole valley of Juarez and El Paso. It's soo cool at night time. The area is big, as well, and we're walking a lot, and I have to walk slower cause my companion can't keep up, haha. I take big steps and he's running, almost, with his little legs, but he's so cool. Sometimes it's hard to understand him cause the Spanish from there is a little different in a bunch of words. But I'm learning a lot more now, haha. Well, I love you all and hope you all have a great week! Be Good!
Elder Castleton
New Assignment
Hey you all!
So we got transfers, haha. I am leaving Tierra Nueva. :( I loved it here, but it's all good. My companion will stay here. I’m going to a new area called Aztecas. I am going as a district leader. Actually this is a big deal. Down here it is. It's hard to become a district leader here, because they have to be 100% obedient and in a lot of things I'll tell you when I'm home, but I've been 100% diligent, so Pres sees that and now I'm a district leader. He says if there are bad district leaders then the whole mission will be bad. I feel ready for this. It will be interesting.
My companion's name is Elder Cal, I think. He's from Honduras or from Guatamala, from what I've heard. This will be an adventure. I have a ton a stuff to pack, haha. Also, there are not so many elders here that have a lot of time in the mission. There's a couple generations before me and in a couple months I'll be one of the oldest generations here. I will probably be a zone leader before I go home. I don’t wanna be an assistant, though. They do sooo much work here. They hardly teach at all. And they are always running, busy, busy. District leader and zone leader sounds good to me, ahha. Yea, the members were soo bummed that I'm leaving. They are good people. I'll miss them but I'm so ready for this opportunity.
How's it all going over there? It also sounds like I'll be coming home the 19 of August. I am having a good time here. I love teaching now and talking to the people, showing them the love that I have for them. Thank you guys for your support and love. Also for the gifts you send. I share the fotos of you guys with the members. They wanna see what Alpine is like. I don’t know if you guys wouldn't mind taking some fotos of Alpine and also views of the lake and the mountains. Idk if it is snowy there or not. Maybe in the spring. haha. Also I have to say, I handed out some glow sticks to little kids in the church and more came and I'm like "Oh, ok, I got a couple more." Then all of a sudden a huge stampede of kids came running AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! I want one!!!! I want one!!! I want one!!! They were all pushing me over and attacking the bag. I about wet my pants from laughter and my companion was like laughing and it was just funny. Here those don't really exist, but they love them a lot!! Like it fascinates them so much. They all wanted one, but i didn’t have enough. There was like maybe 60 kids. There were too many, but yea, it was funny.
We also activated a family this week and they came and their son passed the sacrament. It was awesome, and there were also 2 goodbye farewells yesterday. it was interesting, haha. They're different here, haha.
Yea, well, thanks so much. This week was a pretty good week. I made some amazing hamburgers with my companion and we about died because it was so good. I couldn’t move, either. they were huge burgers but so good, and yea, I about wet my pants laying on the couch cause i had to go potty but couldn’t lift my self up, hahaha. Pretty strange but good week. Hah, well, I love you all. Hope you all have a great week! Be good!
So we got transfers, haha. I am leaving Tierra Nueva. :( I loved it here, but it's all good. My companion will stay here. I’m going to a new area called Aztecas. I am going as a district leader. Actually this is a big deal. Down here it is. It's hard to become a district leader here, because they have to be 100% obedient and in a lot of things I'll tell you when I'm home, but I've been 100% diligent, so Pres sees that and now I'm a district leader. He says if there are bad district leaders then the whole mission will be bad. I feel ready for this. It will be interesting.
My companion's name is Elder Cal, I think. He's from Honduras or from Guatamala, from what I've heard. This will be an adventure. I have a ton a stuff to pack, haha. Also, there are not so many elders here that have a lot of time in the mission. There's a couple generations before me and in a couple months I'll be one of the oldest generations here. I will probably be a zone leader before I go home. I don’t wanna be an assistant, though. They do sooo much work here. They hardly teach at all. And they are always running, busy, busy. District leader and zone leader sounds good to me, ahha. Yea, the members were soo bummed that I'm leaving. They are good people. I'll miss them but I'm so ready for this opportunity.
How's it all going over there? It also sounds like I'll be coming home the 19 of August. I am having a good time here. I love teaching now and talking to the people, showing them the love that I have for them. Thank you guys for your support and love. Also for the gifts you send. I share the fotos of you guys with the members. They wanna see what Alpine is like. I don’t know if you guys wouldn't mind taking some fotos of Alpine and also views of the lake and the mountains. Idk if it is snowy there or not. Maybe in the spring. haha. Also I have to say, I handed out some glow sticks to little kids in the church and more came and I'm like "Oh, ok, I got a couple more." Then all of a sudden a huge stampede of kids came running AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! I want one!!!! I want one!!! I want one!!! They were all pushing me over and attacking the bag. I about wet my pants from laughter and my companion was like laughing and it was just funny. Here those don't really exist, but they love them a lot!! Like it fascinates them so much. They all wanted one, but i didn’t have enough. There was like maybe 60 kids. There were too many, but yea, it was funny.
We also activated a family this week and they came and their son passed the sacrament. It was awesome, and there were also 2 goodbye farewells yesterday. it was interesting, haha. They're different here, haha.
Yea, well, thanks so much. This week was a pretty good week. I made some amazing hamburgers with my companion and we about died because it was so good. I couldn’t move, either. they were huge burgers but so good, and yea, I about wet my pants laying on the couch cause i had to go potty but couldn’t lift my self up, hahaha. Pretty strange but good week. Hah, well, I love you all. Hope you all have a great week! Be good!
Elder Castleton
Sunday, January 18, 2015
Love
Hello everybody! How was your week? So there is good news and bad news.
The bad news is the boy Marcos, his parents don’t want him baptized. But
he still comes to church and does everything, so that’s all good. Also, we
did have a baptism. It was another investigator. We just thought maybe he wouldn’t be baptized, and it was good. We had 3 baptisms yesterday. 1 from
our ward and 2 from the ward of our other companions. Their ward's called Independencia and ours is Tierra Nueva. So either way it was cool. The
boy that got baptized, his name is Aaron. And yea, he got confirmed a
member yesterday. It was pretty awesome. We're gonna set another
baptisimal date this week as well. haha. So everything is all good.
My camera died and I forgot the charger so i don’t have pictures. The thing is I'm gonna change areas, haha. My companion is gonna train, so we have been going to some meetings for that. Actually we have to go to one tomorrow. So were gonna have transfers but I think, I don’t know, but I might be a district leader. I am not sure yet. So all is well. haha.
How is everybody doin? i see Suzy is like a star over there! Congrats Suzy!!! I'm proud of you! Daria, that sounds awesome and fun to have another friend around. Kendra and Graham, I'm coming back for that asphalt pie....and Graham, you still have a forest beard? Soo, that's how you get the ladies, right?.... OK, I see how it is... Eva and Big J, keep up the preachin, your planting the seed as you serve and love your neighbors. The best thing you can do is love them.
Study about love in the scriptures, all of you, please, haha. It's deep... haha. Lots of times we talk about love but we don’t love to a degree that changes ourselves first. I have learned about that this week. Think about this: IF WE REALLY LOVE JESUS AND OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS WE WILL OBEY THE COMMANDMENTS........That is the secret to everything. If you don’t got love you got nottin. haha There's this kid that says if you don’t got J's you don’t got nothing, meaning Jordans, the tennis shoes, haha. So I say if you don’t got love, you got nothing. Well, I invite you to test yourselves. Do I really love Jesus? That I can say it to his face? Do I love my neighbors and the people that surround me? Those kind of questions we need to ask ourselves. I know God will always help us if he sees us loving our brothers and sisters.
Love you all so much. I pray for your safety and for guidance. I will talk to you all next week! Have a fantastic week!
My camera died and I forgot the charger so i don’t have pictures. The thing is I'm gonna change areas, haha. My companion is gonna train, so we have been going to some meetings for that. Actually we have to go to one tomorrow. So were gonna have transfers but I think, I don’t know, but I might be a district leader. I am not sure yet. So all is well. haha.
How is everybody doin? i see Suzy is like a star over there! Congrats Suzy!!! I'm proud of you! Daria, that sounds awesome and fun to have another friend around. Kendra and Graham, I'm coming back for that asphalt pie....and Graham, you still have a forest beard? Soo, that's how you get the ladies, right?.... OK, I see how it is... Eva and Big J, keep up the preachin, your planting the seed as you serve and love your neighbors. The best thing you can do is love them.
Study about love in the scriptures, all of you, please, haha. It's deep... haha. Lots of times we talk about love but we don’t love to a degree that changes ourselves first. I have learned about that this week. Think about this: IF WE REALLY LOVE JESUS AND OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS WE WILL OBEY THE COMMANDMENTS........That is the secret to everything. If you don’t got love you got nottin. haha There's this kid that says if you don’t got J's you don’t got nothing, meaning Jordans, the tennis shoes, haha. So I say if you don’t got love, you got nothing. Well, I invite you to test yourselves. Do I really love Jesus? That I can say it to his face? Do I love my neighbors and the people that surround me? Those kind of questions we need to ask ourselves. I know God will always help us if he sees us loving our brothers and sisters.
Love you all so much. I pray for your safety and for guidance. I will talk to you all next week! Have a fantastic week!
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