Turn Around

its been a great week, Randy came to church and he loved it. He's a metal head and ahh things are great but he came and really wants to get the rest of his family there! we had interviews with presidente torres they went super good. i got an MRI of my brain it was honestly the first and best nap ive ever had so far. ive been learning the importance of teacher elders with the scriptures more. like more in depth.. you can relate it to swimming on the surface of water, then there is snorkling.. and then there is scuba diving.. and to be honest scuba diving with the scriptures is the best way. went on an exchange with one of my zls, it was the best and helped a lot. man counseling just helps so much. i had feelings of anxiety at the beginning of the week and idk how to explain it but things just work out the way they are supposed to. my district had been helping out the sisters in our branch in a play of the parable of the 10 virgins, i never thought that i would ever be a town crier. it was by far the weirdest experience.
we were visiting with our investigator Tony for the 2nd time we were visiting and shareing a lesson and then he stopped us.. and said.."do you know why jesus sent you here? he sent you to baptize me and save me. i want to be baptized" we were both like woahhhh. he's come a long way and ahh just has that desire that we should all have. im sorry guys but i think thats all, every week is crazy! i miss you all. have a great week.

one of my good friends Elder Prieto got transfered mid transfer, we were all super sad so we had a little service for him..

 juice made from parsley, it smelled like grass but tasted like awesome.

south texas scenery (nada)

Its Not About You

pretty good week im not even sure how to explain this week. it all started with me reading a letter, it really made me question who i was and what i was doing.. i felt almost the same way i did my first week in the mission. as i was riding my bike trying to get through the day..
this song came into my head that says "its not about you", it was crazy and in the moment i realized i just need to relax..sit back for a moment cause its not about me at all, theres people out there going through much worse and they dont know where to find peace.. i need to chill.. what happened to me. im happy to still be here, we are teaching a few families that are progressing. we had a mission tour with elder Kopisckha .. i cant remember how to spell his name.. anyways we had it with 3 other zones so it was really good to see old friends and be inspired together. its been a very spiritually uplifting week. thankful to still be here.

we were out doing VLO and were passing HEB and this guy waved us down and asked for some money to get a gatorade. his name is ricky. we gave him out water we had and he told us he had walked from santa rosa over to mercedes to see his son that he hasnt seen in 5 months. santa rosa is a good 10 miles or more from where we were. this guy was tired but really wanted to see his son. he started to tell us about how he was in a coma for almost a year during his girlfriends pregnancy and his son was born while he was in a coma. he really regretted a lot in his life and all he wanted was to be there for his son.. we told him that god loves him and will forgive him and fill the hole in his heart so he could have peach in his heart and be happy.. he burst into tears and gave me a huge hug..we then walked to the dollar general and bought a powerade.. this guy went on his way after we got his info to send the missionaries. I learned a lot about unconditional love, i read an old talk from the 70's and really pondered on how i need to improve.. i dont know why its hard for me.. it sucks but there was a passage that i read that i liked.. it said.."have to learn somehow that they are more important than their mistakes; that they are worthwhile, valuable, useful; that they are loved unconditionally" that really hit me.. people have their agency and of course no one is perfect. it may be hard to see someone you really care for make a mistake that hurts them or anything.. but you still have to love them, let them know they are loved. just be there.. i guess this is something ive really lacked in. i m real sorry for all the close people in my life that i was never there for even though i knew they needed help. the atonement is there and we can make those changes. that experience with ricky really helped a lot. ive realized that i really have to act different with my district.. they are unique and i really need to show my love for them, i dont know its been very interesting. the best place to learn something is the mission.

my papi (Anderson), Me, Barnett, Scott and his mijo (Shipley)

we enjoy candles

When The River Meets the Sea

This week has been pretty good so far. Elder Scott is training and he's in weslaco! so i saw him and my grandson. it was so great to see elder scott again, i missed him a ton. There are 34 missionaries in the zone now. on monday we had a cita with an investigator and member a couple miles from home. so i look at a map to find the best route and end up finding one that doesnt make us get on the freeway. so we head out and make our way to this street that should lead us to where we need to go. we get to the road and all is well and then we get to the levey and ride up and can see that someone has drove their car on the trail so we know its good. so we start riding down in hopes that it will lead to our destination. we get about halfway and come to a stop cause someone had destroyed the bridge that crossed a small creek. the creek not being that big we decide to see if we could walk across. i step down into the mud to make sure its good that we cross. the mud is soft but firm so i turn around to grab my bike and when i did that i then instantly sank to my knees in the mud and i began to sink more and i turned to get out on my own but i had decided to wear slip ons this day and could fel them coming off. it was way to hard for me to get out on my own. I yelled to barnett to help me out and he grabbed my hand and started to help me out. it was super hard to get out. after a short while i was able to get out and my feet were wrecked. i had mud all over. I dont know why but in that moment it made me think of how the savior helps us. in our life we are going our way through sketchy paths and end up finding ourselves knee deep in sin, addictions whatever it may be. i tried to get out on my own but it was clear that i wouldnt be able to without help. we made our way across the creek onto the lesson we finally arrive at the members house and there we met their friend/neighbor who is interested to learn about the gospel and the lesson was amazing. we gave her a book of mormon and that night she read all of 1nephi. all of these days have been a blur. i have a hard time remembering what i did the last 3 hours without looking at my planner. there are these highrise apartments in mercedes. they are about 7 stories high. its the tallest building in the valley and one day we decided to go to the top to check out the view. we get in the elevator and make our way up and as soon as the doors open and we walk out we got hit with vertigo..we could barely make our way to the railing..it was super strange.
miracle moment, we have this time every morning where we go out to find the menos activos and we were out on our bikes going to see if this hermana still lived at this address. we get there and knock on the door a few times and nothing. then as we are about to leave, this man walks up to the door and we ask him if this hmna lives there and he says no and invites us in for some water. he ends up telling us that his church doesnt accept him anymore cause he got divorced a few years ago and to be honest i could see his pain in his eyes.. he was hurting a lot. he told us he would try to come to church and see how it is. he misses having god in his life. this transfer is super good so far. we are focusing on inspiration right now. when i was younger i would watch skateboard videos all the time and everytime i would watch them i would want to go right outside and skateboard!! those videos inspired me to go out there and do it!!. we can apply that same principle to acting in the gospel. inspire people to have more faith in christ or hold onto the iron rod tighter. we can inspire others through the scriptures or even through personal experiences. the gospel is perfect! things have been great. heavenly father is truly watching over us. I dont really know what to say as the days go on i learn so much. i love the mission so much. ive almost been here for a year and ive been in the lords hands since day 1. enduring through so many things to shape me into what He wants and needs. submit yourself to Him and cousel with Him and you'll see miracles and have the greatest joy in your heart. the refiners fire is real. there was a question that was asked at stake conference and it was "how can i remain happy while im in the refiners fire?" I feel if you truly study and pray and ponder eternal blessings and remember them as you endure the fire. the spirit will testify to you in your heart and bring you comfort. im very grateful for all the lord has given me and loving parents to guide and support me in this life, for the atonement knowing I can be forgiven of my sins. its not easy but its all possible through christ. Dont give up..

the view from our street

 rio de diablo

the crossing

 queen city

1lb burger

mijo 

for my boy Doc

Something More

It was near the end of the night and we were a little lost, there was many places we wanted to go. i told barnett to follow the spirit and show me the way. we rode down a couple streets and then we stopped to say a prayer for guidance and then we rode down one street and stopped in front of the house and barnett looks at me and says he doesn't know. i tell him.. just listen to the spirit.. we sit there for a second and i feel that we should go into this house we were in front of. i waited for barnett and then he decides we should go into the house we were in front of. we knock the door and this lady opens and says "what can i help you with?" we tell her we have an important message from the lord for her and her family. she invited us in and we start getting to know her and she tells us she is losing faith in god and christ cause she feels they are being forgotten in this world. I tell her she is not forgotten and that he loves her greatly. we then ask if she has ever prayed and she said no. we teach her how to pray and asked her to pray right then and there and ask God for his love and help. she started praying for her husband and children and as she is praying she just breaks out into tears...and couldnt finish.. i know without a doubt she felt gods love. we could feel it as she was praying. He loves us greatly and is eager to hear our voice and how we are doing. dont be that stubborn teenager that doesnt talk to their parents. take some time, kneel by your bed and just talk to him. He loves you. I know we were guided to that hermanas house for a reason. be humble and embrace the fact you cant do everything on your own. this last transfer was pretty interesting i feel like i have transformed into some sort of Pharisee. im being completely honest. ive slowly forgotten about one of the greatest things of all and its charity. this one day i felt completely off everything was just dragging.. i found myself praying to the lord for help. we went out to work and man...it just wasnt good. we headed back to our apartment and gave eachother blessings adn we went back out. the day goes on and we visit an investigator and we visit with him and its all good then at the end he tells us that he wants to write a letter to our superiors to tell them that we are doing a good job and that he truly appreciates us serving..he was almost in tears.. the lord answers prayers in many ways. the things that Renee said really changed everything for us.
stuff that happened this week.
mijo fell off of his bike again, this time over the handle bars.
theres killer clowns out here and everyone keeps telling us to watch out or they'll get us. they discovered that there was a hobo living in the attic of the weslaco chapel for about a year and they just barely found him.. ha que loco
conference was good, ive never been so pumped for conference in my life. hope you all had a chance to see it or hear it. thats pretty much it.

an oldie