Week 91: Transfers! Etchajoa here I come!

So I know that you are all wondering what has happened to me this transfer. Well I have been transferred from alameda. It was kind of sad to say goodbye to everyone but I know that our transfers are inspired and that the Lord has work for me elsewhere. I just really hope that the family that we found gets baptized. They are just so awesome, I have faith that they will. 

Well I have been transferred to Etchajoa, which is a small town that is like 30 minutes from Navajoa. It is another branch, but I have heard a lot of good things about this branch and I imagine that it cannot have as many challenges as Alameda. But the most interesting part of this transfer is that I will be opening the area. President Myers did a white wash here. He took out the old missionaries and put us in. So I will be opening with a missionary that is very new. His name is Elder Martinez and he only has had 3 transfers in the mission. But because none of us know the area, right now I am in intercambios with one of the zone leaders who actually served here in Etchajoa. So he is going to be showing me the basics of where everyone lives and what buses to take. Hopefully I dont get lost :) Sounds like it is going to be quite an adventure here. 

Yesterday we had stake conference. So we got to go to Mochis again :) It was really cool because one of the members of the 70 was present and also the president of the temple in Hermosillo. The name of the 70 was Elder Felix. He is from Oaxaca. He gave really great talks. I was able to go to all of the sesions of conference so I was able to learn alot from him. One of the things that we talked about was that we need to align our desires with God's desires and that when we do that, we will be able to experience true joy. He also talked about D&C 9 and that when we want an answer to one of our prayers we must study the answer out in our minds first and then ask God if what we have decided is right. And when we do that 1 of 3 things will occur. 1st - we will have feelings of comfort and peace that will confirm what we have chosen is correct. 2nd - that we will have a stupor of thought and that we will feel confused or frustrated or worried or feel anxiety and that will tell us that what we have decided is wrong. And the 3rd is that as we pray we will feel neither of these 2 things. That when this happens it is because God trusts us enough to make our own decisions and that we have to trust that he will help us make the right choice. He also said that the majority of answers that come to us will NOT come when we are on our knees but when we go out and act. 

Well our house here in Etchojoa is definitely one of the worst houses that i have had. I like to compare it to the 3 degrees of Glory. When you first enter, you enter into the telestial world. The first 2 rooms dont have a floor, the walls are made of concrete and it is full of trash. The next room is the terrestrial world. It has a crappy floor (but at least it has a floor) it has the fridge and the tiny kitchen and all of our materials. Then the last room is when we enter into the celestial kingdom (it is where we sleep). This room has a nice tile floor, with painted walls and the most important thing…AC! I have heard rumors that the Elders before me had a cat and a dog as pets in the house. I will see if there are any stray animals that come lurking by. But one of the first things that we are going to do is clean up the house. 

I am pretty excited to work here. I also know that I am going to have to work hard because my companion is going to need my help. 

Well that is about it. I will let you know of our adventures here in Navajoa. 

Love you so much

Elder Snyder

12 more weeks

Week 90: Uh...Elder, I ripped my pants.

Hola

Sounds like you all had a super fun week. Tell oma and katie hi for me. I really wish that I could have seen the Lamb of God performance. I hope that some day I will be able to see it. 

Well this week was a lot better than the last. We started off the week with exchanges. I went to Estación Bamoa to work with Elder Mull. We had exchanges for 2 days, so I was able to help out Elder Mull who has kind of felt discouraged in his area and I was able to take a little break from all the problems that have been going on in Alameda. 

But the great news is that the family that we have been working with finally came to church!!! The mother did not come but the dad and his 3 daughters came. We were also able to have another guy that we have been teaching come to church. We were both really happy. They also really enjoyed church. Luckily one of the primary counselors came to church so she was able to teach the primary. I taught Gospel principles and my companion taught Sunday school. the 3rd hour was kind of rough because the elders quorum president did not come to church so one of his counselors gave the lesson. It was terrible because we just read the entire chapter in the Gorden B Hinckley book, but we did not die so that is the good thing. 

The only problem this week is that we dont know how our investigatores are going to attend church this sunday. This sunday we have stake conferance and everyone has to go to Mochis to go see it. idk what we are going to do. 

Also this saturday it was pretty funny because we went to visit this family that lives super far away. It is where we have to cross the suspension bridge to get there. The last time my comp almost fell off his bike so I told him to get off his bike this time. So Elder Sosa started to walk across the bridge with is bike. I was in front and had finished crossing and when he caught up to me he told be that he ripped his pants. So I started to laugh and asked him where they ripped. He then turned to the side and showed me that his entire pant leg had ripped open. It was pretty funny. When we got to the house Elder Sosa sewed his pants up and then we were able to go back to Guasave. 

Today some members invited us to go with them to las glorias to eat. So we got to visit the famous glorias. It was the first time that I had seen a beach in years. It was pretty cool and the food was also super awesome. The only problem is that I dont have the pictures one of the other member has them. So when I get them I will send them to you. 

Well this is the last week of the transfer. Next monday you will know  if I get transfered or not. I honestly have no idea what is going to happen. 

Love you all so much. 

Elder Snyder