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.

Elder Castleton

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?

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.

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. 

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