Lessons with President :0

Hello!

President called us Wednesday.... "Where are you guys?... I'll be there in 10 minutes." President decided that in his last 4 months he would start doing more visits with the missionaries. :)  We got lucky and we were visit one and two.

President did a visit with us Thursday, which was also very exciting!!  I re-learned some pretty simple principles about teaching with the spirit, and I do have a lot more to learn and practice. One thing that stuck on me through this is that President didn't teach a whole ton of doctrine. We focused on simple principles...we build foundations! The other thing is that the spirit does all the heavy lifting. 

One of the lessons was with our Muslim friend. Long story short, he decided to finish with a prayer, and in all the lessons before, he wouldn't even participate in the prayer with us. He doesn't think that Christ is the Son of God, but when we asked him if he felt it, things got a little quiet.  He may never get baptized, but the Spirit did touch his heart. The Spirit did something no man could do in a million years! 

Love,

Elder Minnick

Elder Spanglish

Hello!

Eventful week...

Daniel Salinas got baptized. Mildred gets baptized this next Saturday, and Francisco gets baptized the 12th. In my new area, I met Daniel Vázquez too and if it all goes pretty, he should get baptized in two weeks too!

We taught a Muslim this week. First Muslim I've found in Mexico... It was different! It was cool too. We talked about the Book of Mormon, and he said he would read it, if we read the Koran!

We also found a Buddhist. I don't think I've met a nicer guy in all Querétaro! He offered us to take his martial arts class. He wasn't too interested in the Gospel, but we have another lesson with him this week.

An American came to church this week. His name is David. He speaks very little Spanish, so I got to be Elder translator for 3 hours! He had a TON of questions after. It was hard to teach in English. I'd say 3 words in English, 2 in Spanish... I prefer Spanish any day. He understood the need for the restoration very well, but still has some doubts!

It's been a good week. I learned a ton! Revelation is constant so that means change is too! God lives and speaks today!

Love ya ma! <3

Elder Minnick

Happy birthday to my man P-Ellis! Love ya man!

From Tam:

We asked Elder Minnick to make a short video on his camera - congratulating Whit and Tay on their marriage.  The mission president ended up giving him 10 minutes to Skype his sister on her wedding day...  at the 2:35 mark in the video below we got most of this interaction on video.  I love love love Whit's reaction as she had no idea this was happening.  Such a great day!  

Whit + Tay Wedding Video

Sunday is a good day to repent!

HOLA!

Elder Paul B. Pieper came to the mission this week... I learned that my way of teaching is out-dated. Bummer huh? God is hastening His work so we must hasten ourselves too! So I had to repent, make some changes, and get on with the good work!

We found a 78 year-old man named Francisco on Saturday. With our newly learned and still in development teaching abilities, he put himself a baptismal date for March, and asked if we would take him to church the next day. When we were on the way, he said, "I was reading the scripture you left me the night before, and I think I'll be ready sooner"... Go Paco!

Fast and testimony meeting---- I had just bore my testimony, and Mildred, my investigator who is 16 and gets baptized in two weeks leaned over to me and says, 

"Mini... I want to share my testimony."

I said, "Uh. Right. What are you going to say?" 

Milly said, "I don't know, but I feel like I should. How do I do it?"   I wrote on her paper a ton of questions --  I believe...  I know.... and told her to say what she felt! 

She asked me to come up with her (I think I was more nervous than she was) and shrugged when one of the bishop councilors gave me that look that said, 

"You know that's not a really good idea"  and I looked at him with the look that said, "Pray for something good to happen!"  

All went well! Mildred had received an answer to her prayers in a dream days earlier and believes firmly that the church is true!  It was one of the first testimonies of the day and really brought the spirit of missionary work to the ward!

We taught our investigators who came to church yesterday that we should repent as we partake of the sacrament. One of our investigators jokingly said, "Sunday is a good day to repent" and I agree! Its a great time to ask the Lord, "What lack I yet?"

Smiles,

Elder Minnick

I Love the Lord!

Hola!

This week was tight!

We got a Dominican investigator named Ana. She's by far the funniest person I've met in 19 months. Somehow she found out our first names on the internet (kinda creepy I know) and so she's always calling me "Weton" because they can't pronounce their "S"s.  We get a kick out of it, BUT we keep reminding her to call me ELDER Minnick and my comp ELDER Meneses.  She told us after sacrament meeting that we should pay a black choir to sing at our meetings because we all are awful singers apparently. I'm with her though!

One of our families that we are teaching invited us to dinner with them on their 18th wedding anniversary. I felt honored because they are a very humble family. They sacrificed all the money they had made that day and didn't eat much so we could eat with them. After all of that they gave me a really nice Queretaro soccer jersey. I was speechless through it all. We had only met this family two weeks earlier! At the end of the night we watched the Restoration DVD right there with them! As always... it was just powerful. We didn't even have to speak! The Spirit taught. Some members are doing a Family Home Evening with them this week! Life is good!

I have been saving up 50 cent coins I've been finding in the street for about a year in a piggy bank. After a year of street watching, I saved up 250 pesos in 50, 10 and 20 cents... so naturally we went to the centro on P-Day and bought a ton of stuff. The people weren't too happy when I bought a 60 peso jacket in all these coins! Save your money!

One of the great lessons I've learned in the mission field is that as we serve one another, we love one another. I've come to know and love these great people in Mexico, and they will always have a special place in my heart. More importantly, I have come to love the Lord more and more every day!

Elder Minnick

Good things to come!

HOLA!

First, THANK YOU all for all the birthday emails! I'd love to respond to them all but I only have an hour to write and I gotta dedicate at least half of it to writing mom! Thank you all.  I love you guys! 

This week started off rough. We had two bad days and decided we had to change something... so we went home in the middle of the day and decided we needed to humble ourselves. We prayed and repented separately and after we did so together, then we went and worked hard!  It all went uphill from there!

Shortly after we found two new families!  One of them is a family of a bunch of older ladies. They just don't get more Catholic! They invited us to eat, and we invited them to baptism! They politely rejected but it was okay cause we still ate. ;)  The other family is the "R" Family!  We only had 15 minutes to teach them, cause we had to get home on time, and we couldn't find them any other day we visited. The 15 minutes was enough for them to feel the Spirit though, because they showed up at Church! They loved it and we are hoping to baptize all of them this next month.

We've been teaching "M" too. She's 16, and her parents are going through a divorce. She's the first person I've taught in all my time in Mexico that has not been baptized in any church. All her family is atheist, but she's gotta firm faith. She's the first investigator I have that also reads all the pamphlets we give, and even does the additional study. She teaches us!

Its been a pretty good week...just a series of miracles for me! We went from not having any success to having a very bright future in a matter of days. President Monson was right on when he said, "Your future is as bright as your faith."

I love the Lord!

Elder Minnick

Espanglish

HOLA!

I can't really remember the last time I wrote...my bad. Don't be too mad!  I'll be home in like five months :0

I'm with Elder Meneses now... He is from California. I'll just say we talk a lot of Spanglish and we just laugh too much. I'd be lying if I told y'all we don't have too much fun but its okay cause we are obedient and work hard. He always says he's the bad cop and I'm the good cop. He usually tells people to repent and then I reinforce it with a lot of inspiring stuff to take the sting off a little. It usually works pretty well... usually. ;)

I would also be lying if I told you we've been having a ton of success. We've been finding a lot of people, and teaching some really powerful lessons. Some of the most spiritual lessons I've ever had in my mission I've had in these last two weeks. We've got a lot of Investigators that are receiving testimonies but then the real problems come in... Abusive spouses, money problems, legal problems, or justing getting robbed. You name it!  These good people are going through it all. 

Sometimes we get a little tempted to look at all these black dots in on the white wall of our area, but we've just been focusing on looking up! It'd be real easy for us to just give up and complain all day but I've learned from many experiences that acting like that gets you absolutely no where! 

I often think of my Savior, who had a lot of long hot days without much success. He suffered and prayed with and for the people He taught. He cried with them, and laughed with them too. Even when He suffered the most, He turned out! He kept working, and trying, giving it all He could. And when things got really dark, He gave His life!

The Savior hasn't asked me to die in this work, but He has asked me to give my life to missionary service for two years! As I count my many blessings, I realize it is a very small price to pay :)

Zane, you look taller every time I see pics of you!

Love y'all,

Elder Minnick

HEY!

Hi mom!! 

How are ya!  I liked your letter!

Good to hear all went well with whit and tay wedding!  I don't even wanna think about home... I woke up super early today in a cold sweat cause I realized I only have 6 months left. All the sisters that came with me go home this week... time flies!

I gotta new comp today. That's 4 comps for 4 changes... and he goes home this next change.  So I'll be here in my ward for at least 2 more changes. His name is Elder Meneses.  He already knows you cause every time you have called or emailed the office, he answered.... he says you're already good friends. hahaha but ya he's about as dead as it gets. but we will see how it goes.

I'm happy, healthy, and ready for the new year! love ya mom!

Westy