:)))))))))))))))))))))))))

Hola,

Lemme tell ya guys...This has literally been the craziest week of my life...and I’ve had some crazy weeks. It’s also been one of the hardest weeks of my life. I didn’t know what a hard week was until this one :) But, I’ve never grown so close to my father in heaven in such a short amount of time. I'm going to  do my best to explain this week...but bear with me if I get lost :)

I got up at 4 AM last Monday morning and hopped onto a bus to Querétaro... it was super nice so I slept for a solid 4 hours. Our mission President, Mejorada, and his wife picked us up with the APs. President reminds me of President Holmes, so it’s easy to say I love him already :) We went to the mission home, in a neighborhood that is a mix of Pepperwood and Draper Heights. Ate food, got interviewed, and then the luxury ended and I haven’t seen it since...I went out and did some contacting with Elder Flores of Argentina...he spoke no English so that was super sick because we contacted a bunch of people on the bus. He taught me how to contact, and then a crazy rainstorm blew in. We ran like 4 miles through the rain back to the mission offices and slept there. 

I met my comp the next day...Elder Manning of Tremonton, UTAH. (Tam note -- Weston typed in his letter Tree Mountain, UT -- took me a while to figure out "Tremonton".  IS there a Tree Mountain, UT :)   He has 20 months in the mission...I’ve been praying for an awesome trainer, and let me tell ya.... my prayers were answered. I'm blessed to have a trainer like him. He’s awesome. And we found out something pretty cool. Before he got to Mexico, he had visa problems, so they sent him to the SLC South Mission... and served in our stake, Draper South Mtn,  and the Corner Canyon Stake. He pulled out his old planner and journal. We found pages where he had dinner at Corby and Suzanne Campbell’s home, and he also met with President Holmes, Mike Pratt, and DAD!!!! He was only there for 1.5 weeks, and doesn’t remember our house, but he had it scheduled in his planner and it said they stopped by. He also had Emily King's name written in the planner, and went to another baptism of a kid from our school. It was a good little home flash back. :)

I am serving in Parque de Sur Area. It’s in Leon, which is boot capital of Mexico... and the boots here are waaaaay cooler then any boots that dad has.  Sorry dad... I'll bring a pair home. :) We are also opening a new area... this has been pretty difficult.  We are still meeting people in our ward. WE went to ward council yesterday, and it reminded me a lot of home -- but they get really excited about missionary work. The members here are awesome. They feed us everyday, and I haven’t gotten one bad meal. All the food here is awesome. especially the street tacos :)  You gotta be careful with the water though....Its SKETCH.

My area... its not exactly super dangerous.... my comp is smart and knows where to be and where not to be. There are some neighborhoods that are best avoiding, especially in the late afternoon. We’ve only had stuff thrown at us once or twice :)  Its been hard opening up an area... we work all day and sometimes don’t have enough time to eat, and I haven’t had time to go shopping yet so I get kinda starving...but that’s okay. This work is the most important thing I can do right now, and I want to give it my all. I know that if I do all I can, the Lord will provide the rest for me. God’s law of harvest is that if we want something later, we have to work for it now.

We play soccer every morning... I am awful but so are the rest of us white guys, so its fun :) 

Like I said, it’s been crazy. I can’t remember a lot so I’m just going to talk about my favorite mission rules:

1. Invite to baptism on the first visit.

2. Ask for references from everyone, every visit, always x 100.

3. If the don’t have a baptism date within a week of the first lesson, drop em and let the lord prepare them before we return.

4. Leave the lesson when the spirit is strongest, even when your only 5 minutes into it.

If I didn’t have a sure testimony of this work before, I do now. There isn’t enough time in the day to get everything we have done. I have a lot of room to improve especially with my Spanish. I know that I can improve everyday because with faith, hard work, and much prayer, ALL things are possible.

I wish I could share more but I love you all. I’m blessed to have such amazing family and friends back home! I miss you all and hope that you all are remembering the covenants we have made! I hope you all remember what it means when you partake of the sacrament. Don’t forget the Savior! 

The best way to send me mail is to my mission office! Momma por favor put that address on this email (Mom note: address on sidebar of blog), cause I don’t have it with me. If you send any packages, send it to the same address through DHL. Its the best way for me cause its a ton cheaper for me, and I don’t have to sign for it! 

As of now, I don’t have a house, so I sleep on the floor of the other Elders super ghetto apartment.. I shower out of a bucket. Its AWESOME! Peace and blessings!

Elder Minnick

Padre and Madre - I love this place!

Mother!

No time at all today!!!  But let me tell ya.... I LOVE THIS!  Best day of my life.  I don't meet my comp till tomorrow, but I've been doing splits today in the area around my mission home with a guy that speaks no English!!!!  Its awesome!!!! I love this momma! P-day is Monday and I'll be sure to give you all the dirty deeets next week! Querétaro is super nice.  Some parts are nicer than home.  Our mission president lives in a neighborhood that is as big as Pepperwood and as nice as Draper Heights!  But the area I'm tracting in now is the opposite :)  I love the people and I love my mission. I can't wait to meet my comp and see where I'm going.  Presidente Mejorada and his family are awesome! I had my interview with him and I really like him.. anyway I'm safe and healthy and most of all I'm happy. I don't understand much but I'm learning mas Espanol all day every day. I love it here. Querétaro is my favorite place on this whole earth --  I love you. Pass my love on to the rest of the family :)

_________________

Padre, 

First day in the field is nutz! I am happy! Its all about attitude, and I feel the spirit all the time, so its easy to be happy. This whole mission thing is single handily the greatest thing to ever happen to me in my life. I want to tell you that I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you. I am eternally grateful. The Spanish is difficult but not impossible. When I speak with the spirit I speak with power, I don't understand a lot but I know what to say. I am excited to learn and grow and become an awesome missionary. I had a interview con el presidente. He is awesome.  Right on the line. I can tell he doesn't have much patience for disobedience, so I'm going to be the most obedient missionary in the field. I feel worthy. I am imperfect, but I am worthy, and I can say this -- I am eternally grateful for the enabling power of the atonement.

Querétaro is awesome. Seriously such a beautiful place. The President lives in a gated community, nicer than ours.  Maybe not as big as houses, but I did see like three ladies driving around Cayennes.  And its huge --the whole city. I talked to one of the native APs for about an hour this morning. There are about 170 missionaries in my mission. Each companionship averages about 8 baptisms a month, and every Sunday at least 10 investigators come to church. Not much tracting here. All our investigators are references. Its a mission rule that we ask for references during every visit, with members, and investigators. I already had dinner at a members house -- I prayed, and bore my testimony. She was baptized last month. Really cool. Don't know what I ate though. Some type of stomach. I don't care what it is, mostly cause I have a firm knowledge that nothing I eat will kill me, and if I get sick.... well pain is temporary and the Lord told Joseph Smith "peace be unto thy soul because thy afflictions will be but a small moment..." something like that... either way I'm not worried about my body while I'm out here... mostly because if I die out here I'm going straight to the celestial kingdom :) Sorry this is all over the place but I'm just getting it all out...haha!   I don't even have any of my luggage, or my shoulder bag...its all back at the office, so all I got is my name tag.

Mexico is a different planet. Its crazy. Everything is crazy everywhere, but the people are so much nicer... like we just contacted some lady who was walking down the street, she was smoking and carrying like 3 kids but she still took the time to hear our short message and give us her information. I feel like back home, people aren't nice enough to sacrifice a second of their time to hear something so important for them. The people here are genuinely friendly and awesome. They all seem to want to help me with my Spanish. 

I'd send pics but I don't have my camera. 

I'm really excited. I think every ounce of home sickness is gone.

LOVE YOU GUYS!!

Elder Minnick

Tam Note: These pics came on his last day in MTC...

My district!

My bff teacher Hermano Villegas
He proposed to his GF in front of the temple on Thursday!  He has  been off his mission for a year... I wanna be just like this guy... he is coool :)

ultimo semana

Hello Friends y Familia,

I wanna start off with a quote by the prophet Gordon B. Hinckley, cause I love the guy and I love the quote...

"Do you want to be happy? Forget yourself and get lost in this great cause. Lend your efforts to helping people...Stand higher, lift those with feeble knees, hold up the arms of those that hang down.  Live the gospel of Jesus Christ."

I really shouldn't have to write anymore than that but if I don't, than I get like 500 emails that tell me I don't write my mom enough. :) Tam note: mission accomplished!  LOL!

Well guys, I'm outta the MTC Monday morning. I really really really enjoyed the MTC. I've met a ton of cool guys that I cant wait to chill with at BYU when I get home, and I've learned more stuff here than I did in my 12 years of public education.

I finished the BoM on Sunday. This was a big accomplishment for me -- goal was to finish it in 3 weeks but I finished in 2!  Me y mi comp decided that we were going to read it next in Spanish, but this time read it completely out loud. It has for sure helped me learn more Spanish, and the more I read, the more I understand, the faster I speak, and my faith grows in the gift of tongues everyday. There is no way I would be able to learn this much Spanish, this fast, without it. I'm grateful for the gift of the Holy Ghost and testify that it does all the teaching.

Here are some of my thoughts from this week!

--Life isn't fair

--Its not enough to just have a testimony

--There is no reward for half hearted efforts

Highlight of my week was being able to listen to Elder David A Bednar's devotional called "The Characteristics of Christ".   Something I have been trying my best to improve on is turning outward all the time, even when I am at my weakest point. This is one of my favorite attributes of Christ!

Anyway, love and miss you all! Next time you hear from me I'll be in Querétaro!!!!

Elder Minnick

P.S. 

Thanks for the Dear Elder Clint..... and of course mama, love ya always. 

I'm wearing your name tag everyday Dad! I hope I can be half the missionary you were! 

Zaners, I hope you have a good first week of school! Make a lot of friends and say hi to everyone!  Wear deodorant, and if you kiss any girls, I better hear about it before mom and dad do ;) 

Elder Riley Williams

We write together

Elder Mohl and Peterson....my main homiez

I like this crap...it keeps me healthy!

Wearing papas name tag everyday

Look how clean our room is mom  :)

Zaners you better be stoked cause
I gotta lotta sick birthday stuff coming your way

Elder Valentine and I...always good to see a familiar face  :)

Is this good?

Hola friends and family!!!

Another week here in the CCM.... only 11 days left until I'm out in the field.... and lemme tell ya guys, I AM SOOOOOOOOOO EXCITED. The MTC is cool and all, and I learn about 1000000 million things that improves my life every day, but I want to go invite some Mexicans to come unto Christ. My Spanish is improving but I still have a lot to learn. Note to Whittles.... congrats on rolling your R's. It only took you 14 months! Hey.... I can't do it either. Hopefully I'll be able to figure it out in under a year :) I only have 23 months left... I've decided that isn't enough time.

It was a little more of a challenging week... mostly because I got this gnarly head cold that nagged me with headaches all day. Sunday was hard because I was fasting and sick and I was up all night. Luckily I have a Savior that suffered, bled and died for me. Because of the enabling power of the Atonement, I was able to suck it up, fast, bear my testimony, and enjoy my fav day of the week. I also learned that I learn best when I'm weak... That's when I have the most room to improve. Weakness is AWESOME.

I love missions. They get me really excited to have a future family. In fact, my FAVORITE  thing to teach is how the Gospel blesses families. This is great because everyone needs family.  Especially me.  I am grateful for my family... every single one of you.

I got to go to the temple today... unfortunately the Mexico City Temple is closed because it needs some work done, but the visitors center is awesome! I also got some sick stuff for ya Zaners. I'm spoiling you for your birthday man.

Mexico City Temple

Elder Salina of the seventy came and spoke to us this week. He talked a lot about obedience, and why we should be obedient. We should be obedient because we love God and our Savior, Jesus Christ. The blessings from obedience are cool and all, but we should strive to be obedient even if God doesn't bless us. I learned that he who becomes obedient by habit becomes indifferent in the kingdom of God. It doesn't matter where he will serve, or what he does, or where he is, he serves because he loves the Savior. I learned that he who obeys out of fear becomes tired. He who obeys under social pressure becomes prideful and a hypocrite. And finally, obedience under force brings rebellion. I strive to be 100% obedient every day, even though sometimes it is difficult.

You are not called to serve in a place but you are called to serve in the place of the Savior.

I read the whole book of Alma in like 2 days this week.... and man do I love that stuff. For those of you not reading the Book of Mormon every day.... I am sorry! You are only punishing yourself! I promise that if you read it every day, you will be happier, things will be easier, and that you will become stronger!

Love,

Elder Minnick

Go & Do

When it rains...it hails!

BAM!

Comp - Elder Ramirez

My District!  (all but 4 headed to Querétaro!)

Temple Time!