Week 87: I love Sundays and Mexican Food!

Hola

This week we started off with intercambios. The other missionaries in my district had another person that was ready to get baptized so we had exchanges to take advantage of the situation. So I got to go to Estación Bamoa this week with one of my good friends Elder Chichia. Estación Bamoa is a ranch that is like an hour away from Guasave. So we had a pretty good time. Their investigator, Jesus, passed his interview and was baptized and confirmed this last weekend. 

Then when I got back to Alameda we had a branch activity, which was our branch family home evening. We have started organizing activities in the branch so that the members can hangout more rather than just on Sundays, and because the church is really far away from everyone, we have been hosting the activities in the houses of the members which are a lot closer. We hope to be able to have these FHEs every two weeks. We had a pretty decent turnout this week and we were able to have a few investigators come. 

On Saturday we were out working when it started to rain really hard. So we took refuge in hermana Pati´s house. There we waited for the rain to stop, but it never did. Then hermana Pati told us that she had to go to the grocery store to buy food to prepare for us the next day. (We eat with hermana Pati every sunday after church.) It was still raining super hard and hermana Pati does not have a car so she was going to walk with her little handcart to the store in the rain, so instead we offered to go because we have bikes. So she gave us a list and when we left the house, I felt like it started to rain even harder. We got to the store soaking wet, bought all of the things that she needed, and went back to her house. I was happy that we could help her. I knew that there was not really much we could do in the pouring rain, but I was glad that we had another opportunity to serve. 

Sunday was a great day also. I just love Sundays. We had a lesson in the morning then we got to go to church and help out with the classes. Then we went to hermana pati´s house to eat fish tacos. I just love the food here in Mexico. it is the best. 

The mission has been going great. I am happy and I know that I am working well. This area has been kind of tough because there have been many difficulties. And even though I have not had really any baptisms here, I have been able to help reactivate quite a few members so that has been were I feel some success. But I am going to keep going out and working hard because I know I don't have much time left. 

I cant believe how quickly the time goes by. I almost dont want it to end because i know that I will not have an opportunity like this in my life ever again. I only wish that I could have had more success in the past 20 months of my mission, but I also know that I have done my best and that there is nothing that I can do to change the past. I love this work and I love Jesus Christ and all that he has done for us. 

I hope that you all have an amazing week. 

Les amo

Elder Snyder

Riding in the back of a truck to Bamoa

Our Branch Activity

Week 86: Cake Please!

Hola

Sorry if this letter is short...we got to our cyber late. It is great to hear about all of the family activities. I cannot believe how busy everyone is. 

This week we had a pretty good week. All the companionships in my district had transfers except for us, so yes, I have new missionaries in my district. We were able to have a family home evening with one of the families in the branch. They also invited their neighbors to the FHE so we were able to talk about the gospel of Jesus Christ with them. The mother of the family was not able to go to church yesterday, but the members have been helping us out and inviting her to church. She says that this sunday she is going to go. It is always the best when the members help us out with missionary work. 

I also had a leadership meeting in Mochis on friday. So I got to go and see pretty much everyone from my generation that is in Sinaloa because pretty much all of them are leaders. But it was a good meeting. We talked about chapter 3 of the teachings of Gordon B Hinckley that talks about how we need to be optimistic. As missionaries the people that have the most success (and the most fun) are the ones that can think positively and enjoy every moment. One of the missionaries said that the mission is like a carmel. It is hard and sweet at the same time. That we cant change our circumstances, but we can change our attitude. We talked about how we need to be positive and help all the other missionaries in our zones and districts have the same faith in their areas. 

So we have been trying to start having activities in the branch so that everyone can get more excited. So we have been planning on having a branch FHE every 2 weeks in a members house (because the church building is too far away for everyone). We are still not sure what we are going to do, but we have the activity planned for this thursday so we need to figure something out before then.

We have also been making a lot of cakes this week. Elder Sosa and I made our famous galletas marias cake for our FHE with the branch president's family. And today we made a cake with one of the members that we have been reactivating. It was pretty fun and delicious in the end. 

Well that was our week. and I need to go. :)

Love you so much 

Elder Snyder 

Week 85: Where did January go?

Our District

Hola

Mom, that is pretty funny that that woman you met from Mexico freaked out when she found out that I am in Sinaloa. Honestly, the parts of Sinaloa that I have been in have been very safe places. I have never seen or heard of anything crazy that has happened here. The only crazy thing was when they captured El Chapo who happened to be living in our area :). But everything is super calm, even more here in Guasave. 

Well transfers came and Elder Sosa and I stayed the same. Nothing too exciting. 

And this last week everyone in my district baptized except for us. We had a total of 7 baptisms last week. And on thursday I had to interview 6 people so it was a pretty great day. It was such and awesome experience to see these people come unto Christ. Also one of the people that I interviewed asked me to baptize him, so I actually "got wet" this week also. 

It was also the last week for one of the sisters in my district, so we all bought her a cake for our district meeting. It was also super funny because they spelled "misión" wrong. But we are going to miss hermana muñoz. 

This week was also super hard for me because it is just hard not to get discouraged when it seems like all the other missionaries have progressing investigators and we can't seem to find anyone.  But with prayer and the help of a fast, I have been able to feel strength from the Lord. I Also was able to receive much strength from the Sacrament. I love this ordinance and I now understand the importance of it and the power that it has in my own life. 

I hope that this next transfer that we will be able to work hard and receive the joy that comes from serving the Lord. I cannot believe that I only have 3 transfers left. Time is going by so fast. It is so hard to believe everything that is happening. 

Love you so much. 

Elder Snyder

Week 84: Broadcast, Baptism, Busses, and a Bridge

All the missionaries that I came out with that are serving in Sinaloa

Hola,

Well many things happened this week. 

So we started off the week with our district meeting, then the next day we went to mochis to see the broadcast. It was super fun because I got to see all the other missionaries that are in Sinaloa. And because I have been in Sinaloa pretty much my entire mission, I pretty much knew everyone there. And we got to take a picture with all the missionaries in Sinaloa from my generation. But the broadcast was pretty crazy. They changed so many things about missionary work. They basically got rid of all of the key indicatores. Now they are not going to ask us how many lessons we had or how many street contacts. Now they are only going to ask for people who got baptized, those who attended church with a baptismal date, and the new investigators that we found that week. I think that it is so much better. The missionaries are going to be able to work more efficiently and they are going to be able to be responsible to the Lord for their work and not so much to the leaders. 

The next day we had interviews with president myers. It was pretty cool to talk with him. He started my interview thanking me for my service in the branches. (He has only seen me work in branches). He said that he was thankful for my enthusiasim and that I have not complained. He told me that many of the other missionaries complain about being in a branch. But it helped me feel good. We talked about some of the difficulties in the branch and he gave me some advice of what we can do. But mostly he told me to stay positive and that my success may not come in baptisms, but in helping other people in the branch. 

On Friday, I had my first baptismal interview which was pretty interesting. It was a really awesome experience. I loved the desire that this man had to come unto Christ. It was also interesting because he anwered yes to question 4, which is if you have committed a major crime. And when that happens you have to call the mission president to see what he wants to do. So I called president Myers and he asked me a couple questions about what this guy did trying to see if he had truly repented. Then he asked me the most important question of all. He asked me if I could feel the presence of the Holy Ghost while I was talking with this man. I told him that I honestly couldnt feel much because I had to do the interview outside and it was freezing cold. :) But I said that we had felt the spirit while we were talking. President myers also said that he could feel the spirit. He told me to ask this guy a few more questions about what he did to see if he had truly repented and that if I still felt the spirit that it would be okay to give him permission to get baptized. I can say that when I heard this man explain how he felt after he had repented, that I felt him describe the exact same feelings that I had felt when I had truly repented of my sins. I know that he has repented and is committed to change. I felt the spirit the whole rest of the interview and this man is going to get baptized this Saturday. Also it is super exciting because the rest of the district is going to have like 6 baptisms this week so I will get to do a bunch of interviews. What a blessing that is. Being able to see others come unto Christ first hand. 

Well that is all the spiritual side of my letter. What I did this pday was go to this one town called sinaloa de leyva. We went with the other missionaries in my district that live close by. It was pretty fun because it was something different from the everyday missionary life. But we got to cross a big suspension bridge that is kind of like the one that is in our area, but a lot better maintained. We saw a cool Catholic church too.

I am glad to hear that you all had a great and busy week. I love you so much. Next week is transfers. I think that I am going to stay in Alameda but who knows. 

Te quiero mucho

Elder Snyder

Not a whole lot of leg room on these Mexican busses

On the super long suspension bridge

Week 83: I Guess I Look Like Harry Potter

Hola

I got my haircut today by this woman who told me that I looked like harry potter. haha! I am 100% sure that this woman is crazy because she just talks and talks and when she asks you a question she does not even listen to what you have to say. But other than that random note…

Our week was kind of a rough week. We have still been looking for new people to teach. We found some people but as we started to teach them we realized that they weren't really that interested. Drugs are a big problem here. So many people in our area were all involved in drugs at one time or another. So many of the people we teach seem normal, but after a while we can tell that they dont listen to anything we say they just keep talking about random stories. So it has been pretty difficult to find people. 

You asked if I've gotten sick very much and the answer is no. Sure every once in a while I dont feel very well, but nothing that has been super painful that is really worth telling you about. So dont worry I have not been sick and the food here is amazing. Elder Sosa and I go out for tacos like once a week and they are delicious. I told Elder Sosa that when he finishes the Book of Mormon (for the first time) that I will take him out for tacos and buy him all the tacos he wants!!

Our branch is also still struggling. We are doing the best we can to help out the branch president, but it is really hard. We speak just about every Sunday. The rough thing is that I never have time to prepare anything to speak on because the president will usually let us know that we are going to speak during the announcements. I'm using a lot of my talks from 4 milpas. 

But other than that we are still working hard in the branch. We have been organizing the branch council for the president (because the branch has not had one in years) and it was going to be this Sunday, but we had to cancel it because the branch presidents grandma died the day before and the funeral service was going to be on sunday the same day as the branch council so we decided to postpone it. One of the returned missionaries from the branch is finally getting a calling in the ward as secretary. Finally the president is going to have someone else to help him. 

This week we have a broadcast from the apostles that is for all the missionaries that are out serving. So on wednesday we have to travel to Mochis to see the broadcast. And because it is in Mochis we are going to have a big party with all the missionaries in Sinaloa. So it is going to be like a big reunion. Then the next day we all have interviews with president Myers so that should be good as well. Also one of the companionships in my district has a baptism planed for this Saturday. So I should get to have my first baptismal interview this week. I am pretty excited. 

And that is about it.

Love you so much

Elder Snyder

Week 82: Little by Little

Elder Sosa and I with Johan (He is the autistic boy, who LOVES Jesus Christ and the church so much!!)

So this week was interesting. We have been having trouble finding new investigatores and our current investigators don't seem to want to progress. But we have been having a lot of success with many of the less active members. The less active family that we have been teaching came to church again!! Wooo 3 times in a row!! We are excited because we have made it a goal for the father of this family to baptize his two daughters, so now he is even more committed to going to church. We also found a couple other less active members and we were able to get one of the young adults to come to church. 

We also had our zone conference last friday. It is kind of sad because we are one of the only zones that has their conferences by themselves but that is because we are the farthest away in the mission. We learned about repentance and about how great a gift it is that we are able to repent. That we are able to escape the punishment of sin because of the Savior´s sacrifice and by following his instructions of repentance and baptism. 

So our goal right now has been to help out the branch. And we decided to focus on the little things that everyone should be doing like praying and reading their scriptures. We have noticed that the majority of the members do not do these simple things. Also we have been waiting for one of the branch leaders to take action, but that has not happened and because we are not going to sit and watch the grass grow, we have decided to take the initiative. So we basically taught everyone that they need to read their scriptures and study their scriptures everyday. Also we started a class of gospel principles to teach all of the less active members that seem to not know the basics of the church, like the restoration. But it is going along well and I think that we are going to see some progress in these next few weeks. 

It was also Johans birthday yesterday so we celebrated his birthday on saturday (because Johan likes to keep the sabbath day holy). And on sunday we had a little party but it was without music. 

Oh something else cool that happened was we decided to help out the Elders quorum president with the lesson. Every sunday the class is always so boring because we just read out of the manual. It is like the priesthood lesson in the movie, The RM. And that is because he never prepares the lesson. So we decided to go in the week to help him out and teach him how to prepare the lesson. So we taught him how to study the lesson first and to answer the questions. Then on saturday when we came back to help him finish he thanked us for helping him and told us that we are the only people that have ever taught him how to prepare a lesson since he has been Elders quorum president. That was over 4 years ago!! Then on sunday he was pretty nervous to give his lesson but we helped him out. We participated alot in his class and it still wasnt super great, but it was a lot better than the other lessons he has had to teach. But after the last hour of church he thanked us for our help and told us that he is excited to start learning this year.

But that was pretty much our week. We are hoping to start focusing more on helping out the less active members but we know that we cannot do it alone and that we need the help of the other members. 

love you all so much hope you have a great week. 

Elder Snyder

With Johan and some members of our branch

Week 81: 101 Contacts!

Guasave…a big change from 4 Milpas - paved roads!

Hola

We had an interesting week. We did not have too much success but we were able to see a few miracles. To start we made it our goal to invite 100 people this week to listen to our message. And we ended the week with 101 street contacts. The only problem was that we only received 6 new investigators out of all of that and of those 6 it does not seem like we will have much progress. So it has been kind of a hard week. But we are trying hard to do our part. 

Some of the miracles that happened were when all of our plans fell through in the morning and I remembered someone that we taught a while back that said that he was going out of town and that we could visit him after new years. I really did not want to go see him because he lives in the complete opposite direction from where we were going, so at first I decided not too. But then I felt again that we should go look for him. So this time I decided to listen and we started heading in the opposite direction. As we got closer to his house a girl called out our names. So we started to talk to her and she said that she is a member of the church and got baptized in Tijuana and moved here to Guasave and has not been able to find the church. We then told her where the church was and gave her a copy of the BOM because she left hers in tijuana. Afterwards I could not remember exactly where the house of the guy we were looking for was and I felt that maybe the whole purpose of us going to look for his house was to find and talk to this girl. She did not go to church or any of our appointments this week but I still feel that it was inspired. 

The less active family that we have been teaching went to church again!! wooo!!! I also got the stake presidency to talk to the branch president so hopefully that will help. 

Oh our district is doing really well. It looks like everyone is going to baptize this transfer. Finally i will get to do a baptismal interview. ;) I still feel kind of discouraged and impatient. I feel like we are doing everything we can to have success, but we seem to be having very few results. But I know if I keep doing my part that is what counts. 

Love you lots

Elder Snyder