Brazilian Buffets and Baptisms!

HOLA!

What can I say..... I feel very blessed. I loved this last week. It was super crazy which just made it more fun. We did divisiones with some district leaders, had a bunch of baptismal interviews, and were all over the place. 

Ana and Laura have been progressing very well. The two of them have been a walking miracle! We taught the restoration to Laura, and gave her the pamphlet for the word of wisdom. The next day, we got a message that said, "I stopped drinking coffee and tea, and I taught my friend to stop too!"  She is great!

Some of the sister's investigators asked us to baptize them, so I baptized Karen! It was a special moment for me, because it just might be my last time in the font as a missionary. Ana and Laura will be baptized before I leave but we plan on inviting the members to baptize!

Wednesday a member gave us money to go eat, so we naturally decided to go eat all you can eat Brazilian buffet...which is just really a bunch of meat. After 2 years in Mexico, my stomach has converted in to steel so I was all good!  However, our Peruvian companion just hasn't gotten to that point yet, so after 3 days in the bathroom he finally decided to call the doctor, and we spent Saturday and Sunday in the hospital. I spent about 15 hours in a lounge chair while my other comp, Elder Ramirez went to work and to church with the members. For the first 5 hours there my legs hurt for not doing anything, and the other 10  hours I really relaxed for the first time in a long time. It felt so good that I didn't even get up to eat. I'm pretty sure I wont have another moment like that for a while, so I enjoyed it. :) In the end, Elder Pacheco lives and we left the hospital this morning. 

Happy June!

Elder Minnick

30 Days

Note from Tami:  

-- Elder Minnick arrives home on Tuesday, June 21st at 8:30 PM.  

-- Weston will speak in church on Sunday, June 26th @ 9 AM at the Traverse Ridge Building.  We would love to see you there!   We can't wait to hug our Elder Minnick!  It's time!!!  


HOLA,

My companion told me yesterday, "There are 730 days in 2 years, and you have already lived about 700 of them... so what are ya gunna do with the last 30?"  A  good friend counseled me that I shouldn't focus on what I can't do in such little time, but I should focus on all the many things I can do in that time. These things have been on my mind lately.  So I've been trying my best to do all I can do while I can do it!

We put the goal as a Zone to contact every bus we get on, and that's probably a good 15 buses for every companionship every week. We have to find a solid 20 investigators this week... I hated bus contacting before, but I've learned that if I just teach a principle from PMG at least a couple people are interested. I feel cool too when we put the Book of Mormon in the air and invite the whole bus to read it. We have fun with it.

I've been really enjoying my life here. It's been super hot and for the first time in my whole mission I bought sun screen because I don't want to go home like a tomato and hopefully my nose will stop peeling. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY THIS WEEK MOMMA! LOVE YA :)

Elder Minnick

This work is FUN!!

Hello!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY THIS WEEK DAD! LOVE YA!

This week was just super awesome. It has been so fun to be back in Colinas. I already know all the members and converts so the appointments with members are super chill. We also found a TON of my old investigators so the work was a breeze.

We did a special fast with the sister missionaries in our ward to find new people Saturday. We worked all day knocking doors, contacting people and buses. We didn't have any success but we we didn't get down on ourselves and were confident that something awesome would happen. We sat down for a couple minutes to talk with the local drunk guy, when out of the nowhere some 19 year-old girl was running towards us yelling, "Elders, Elders!"  She explained to us that she was living in Mexico City for 2  months and had been going to church. She had been looking for us for 2 weeks! She broke up with her boyfriend and now lives about 2 streets away from. We were a little surprised and I just asked her if she was a member of the church. She said, "No, but I want to be baptized."  I learned a thing or two about exercising faith and being in the right place at the right time. I am very grateful to God for being able to witness such a cool miracle.

I am confident that I could not enjoy being a missionary more. It's so much fun. My zone has the goal to contact every bus we take... I pay the bus driver, and without checking how many people are on the bus I start talking. It's super nerve racking because sometimes the bus is super full and other times its empty but I like the surprise. I love being a missionary!

Well.... I'm thinking of just not sending any more pics! You can all see me when I get home! 

Elder Minnick

P.S.  CONGRATS ZANE on TAKING STATE! You're the man!!!!!

Bueno...

Bueno...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WHIT! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TAYOR!

Well, its my last change! I'm going back to my old area Colinas!  I'm very excited, it's been one of my favorite areas!  I'll be in a trio with Elder Ramirez and Elder Pacheco. We will be working in a branch called Paseos as well!

We taught Cecilia again this week. We talked about what repentance meant in her life and how we can know if we really have been forgiven of our sins! After a little bit she confessed that she felt the need for baptism but she doubted the feeling because she had already been baptized as a child. We just sat and listened as she explained to us about her personal conflict. We decided to read DyC 20:37 and talked about what each part meant for her, and if she had felt the spirit and  could reach the requirements of baptism.  After a moment of pondering she lifted my scriptures a little higher and said something like, "I feel that this is true." She repeated it a couple times and then said, "I know that these things are true". With a sweet spirit in the room she told us that she will be baptized when she can meet the requirements and that she will be waiting outside for us to pick her up at 7:30 am Sunday morning! I left that house very happy and uplifted, and with a stronger conviction that the Spirit testifies of the truth.

This week I heard the Roosevlet quote, "Believe you can and you're halfway there" and then a President Monson quote, "Work will win when wishy-washy wishing won't." I am very very grateful for a mother who taught me to believe and work. Thanks mom for never letting me be a quitter, and teaching me exactly what I should do and why I need to do it! I love you mom! Happy Mother's Day yesterday!

Elder Minnick

Seek and Ye Shall Find!

Hola!!!

It's hard to describe just how great these past few weeks have been. Dad told me in a letter that these will be the best weeks of my mission and it is so true!

Getting on the bus to go to Leon about 21 months ago, the first thing my trainer told me was, "attitude determines altitude". How true I have found that to be in my life!  Whether it be under the hot sun contacting people or losing missionaries in airports, our attitude as a companionship has made some hard times into unforgettable memories.

After knocking about 30 doors with Elder Zapata (this was the first time in my whole mission that we planned on knocking doors) with little to no success, he looked me in the eye and said, The next guy we talk to will feel the spirit".  Surely enough, we met Ismael sitting in front of his house in deep thought. His wife recently had their first baby girl. We taught him the plan of salvation for about 10 minutes and with a new light in his eyes he invited us to come back so we could talk with his wife too.

A while back I had a companion who found at least one coin in the street EVERY day. I was with him for more then 4 months, and he never went a day without finding money in the street. That's how he paid for transport and food. One day he found 100 pesos in the middle of the road... After a while he found so much that he would start giving the money to me and others, and after a couple months he had given me 250 pesos in pure 50, 20, and 10 cent coins. After a little more time he had almost our whole zone looking for money in the street!

I have learned quite a bit from numerous experiences I have had like these.  Jesus taught, 

7  Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
8  For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

If you look to feel the spirit, I know that you will feel it. If you look for money in the street, my piggy bank tells me you'll find some. If you look to teach repentance like the Savior did and baptize converts every week (that's my goal) I know you can do it too!  Surely one of the greatest secrets I have discovered in Mexico is that happy and successful people choose to be happy and successful!

Love ya!

Elder Minnick