You can put this on the blog mom...

FAM,

This week was sooooooo short.  I had literally no time in my area this week.  I did divisions with a missionary who is having a hard time. It was cool. It's been a long time since I've been with a missionary with more experience than me...what a relief.  Wednesday we all went to Celaya...had a multi-zone conference. It was tight.  We did a bunch of practices... learned a ton.  I LOVE conferences with president.  He's always sooo full of the spirit that its impossible not to learn something. Then we all saw "Meet the Mormons"! AWESOME. Mom told me she cried when she saw it. I almost cried too -- when I saw snowbird. I've dreamed about it every night since.

I'm good. I'm super busy right now. I gotta do a ton of stupid paperwork for numbers for the zone right now. We had some good experiences this week.  Ran into a ton of Americans for spring break.... almost all of them drunk.

One Mexican guy started talking to me in English yesterday.  I pretty much couldn't understand him. He told us if we answered three of his deep life questions, he'd let us visit him... and it was cool because we answered them perfectly, but he was still unconvinced. He told us he was confused by our words!  So I told him it wasn't the words that confused him, but the beer he drank about 30 minutes earlier was getting to him!  I had no idea he was drinking or was even a little drunk, but the spirit did and he took it like a hot iron to the face. He was a little humbled and invited us for this next week.  Even though I've had little success here, I feel the spirit working through me, so I'm at least planting seeds, and I feel like God is happy with me.

We got a 75 year old investigator... her name is Betti. Classic Catholic grandma!  She has gone to church twice now, and went to a baptism Friday...which helped her overcome her fear of the water.  She wants all six of her kids to be at her baptism.. but we will see how that works out because she doesn't know where two of them live!  I believe in miracles! She is also a devout reader of the Book of Mormon... and that's where we got her. If the whole world read a verse of the Book of Mormon daily, life would be a little better!  Betti will be baptized May 9th! I'm determined to baptize her on Whit's birthday, but we will see what the Lord thinks!

My comp and I are starting to play basketball every morning at the church, cause we live super close. Messed up my shoulder again, but it wasn't nearly as bad this time! It only hurt for like a hour after but its good. (Tam: lovely football shoulder separation - GO CHARGERS!)

One of the members in my ward went to Utah in December.  He was in the airport the moment Whit got home in December, and took a picture.... funny!  I'm pretty sure Whit's hugging Tanner in the pic, but I couldn't see it that well. Small world huh? Then he took some pictures of the tree of life and the Draper Temple.  (Tam: I feel good to know that there are other airport lurkers spying on return missionaries besides Jodie, Kristi and me!)

I'm really really tired. Haven't slept well these past nights! I've had GROWING PAINS!  Three nights in a row.  I'm stoked.... maybe I'll be a little taller.  One night I woke up and a guy was trying to break into our house... but that metal door we have, reinforced with the spirit, is unbreakable. We just knocked and he went running.  It was kinda funny. but don't worry about it ma, Salamaca is safe. Changes are in two weeks. We are gonna have lots of changes in the zone, but I'm in the "who cares where I serve" kinda mood!  All is well and will only get better. I've learned more about myself and God's plan for me in these past 9 weeks than I have learned in my whole life! I love missionary work!  Here is a scripture I read when I was  DEAD tired:

22 Brethren, shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage, brethren; and on, onto the victory! Let your hearts rejoice, and be exceedingly glad. Let the earth break forth into singing. Let the dead speak forth anthems of eternal praise to the King Immanuel, who hath ordained, before the world was, that which would enable us to redeem them out of their prison; for the prisoners shall go free. Christ suffered for all the hard times, and gave us a way to overcome all things. Whether we are dead spiritually, physically, or emotionally, there is always hope!

dyc 128:22

Here is a cool talk by President Uchtdorf:

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2008/04/a-matter-of-a-few-degrees?lang=eng

elder minnick

PS shout out to Chels Kartchner this week for her birthday!!! love you chelly!! miss you a ton and hope you have a great birthday week!

PPS shout out to Parker Ellis - soon to be Elder Ellis serving in CHICAGO!!!  VERY COOL!  So glad you will be in Mexico with me for six weeks!!  (Tam: when I sent Weston a pic of Park and his mission call... Weston's first response "He's wearing my shirt!")