Love Is Spoken Here

we had a pretty great week. Luis our investigator got married. hes the best ever. i became a full Vally rat as i help a member move some mattresses from the top of his van. idk why but all these week ive been learning about being humble and just having a good heart. we went to mercedes to visit a member that we have never met. well we knock on the door and the guy opens it super soon and says who he is and he was the man that we were looking for. we start getting to know him and his son walks down the stairs hes probably about in his 20's and peeks over his dads shoulder and says whats up, so i say whats up man. then he started to walk away and turns around and says.. is this the J-dubs and we both say nooo we are mormon. then he says.. ohhh so you'll be back... you know what please dont come back.. at all!! its a huge inconvenience. dont come back at all!!.. the dad was just like shut upppppp.. and acosta and i were kinda laughing inside and we set up a time to go over today. we will see how it goes. but yeah it was interesting.
also quote of the week. "Leave Babylon, come to Zion" when i first heard that i dont know why but it really hit me. It just really made me think of my life and where i want to be and also people we are teaching and where they want to go. Babylon just being a very wicked city and Zion being a place where the pure in heart live. we cant have a vacation house in Babylon if we are in Zion the rest of the time. we should always reside in Zion. Be pure in heart. leaving our old ways in babylon, leave our nets behind like peter did to follow the savior. It makes me think of this boy i once knew, that skipped seminary to go get a mohawk and barely graduated highschool. now on this very day that boy is serving a mission. it amazes me each day that he is still out there. leave babylon and come to zion. the lord is so merciful. random fact.. we found out that westlaco east highschool girls power lifting team won state a year or 2 ago. how cool? there is so much i want to say and share. just love the lord and be humble. I had a dream that the world was ending and being flooded. I ended up giving my friend Adam a blessing in the dream and just really trying to help my friends find a boat to escape on. My heart ached cause they wouldnt follow me all of the way to find a boat. thats completely random haha. We have been working with Asa for a while and he came to church on sunday and loved it! Sister Frankie "Two Canes" sang us a song as well. its super dope and just little acts of service can mean the world to some people. i love you guys a lot. each and every one of you.

helping my fellow family members move some stuff (Gonzalez)

member journeys

custard apple

good ol Donna water, if you drink it you can get cancer... so they say.. ha so dont drink it!!

custard apple.. pretty interesting.. it was super sweet.

interesting street name

Luis & Elizabeth Garza

Purity

woww its already august. well last monday we rode down to brownsville to meet up with some elders and dig but when we got there they already dug but it was nice to see the other missionaries there. we had a great week there is so much to do!! we havent been able to work in Mercedes. random things pop up in weslaco or Donna all the time! they split the ward about a year ago and so we are meeting a lot of people that stopped going to church cause of the split, its a little crazy and unreal but its true. it amazes me of all the things that i hear. my mom would be proud of me now that i dont bark at people the second they say something.
"if you dont have anything nice to say, dont open your mouth." - Pia Gonzalez i love you mami thanks for being there always. I also found out that Elder Rasband was the elders quorum presidents mission president when he was serving in new york. how cool!! so this one day we were going to visit this member that we'd never met. so we pull up and infront of the trailer is a fence that is about 6 feet tall. we open the gate and walk in and close the gate behind us. as we walk up to the steps we notice 2 giant bowls of dog food and a giant bowl of water. we both look at eachother and were like woahhh theres probably some huge dogs here. so we get up to the door as we look around and just before i knock. this huge dog comes out from behind the trailer...... and it was not chained to anything at all. we were standing about 20 ft from the dog and i said.. man this door better open. we kept knocking.. and knocking.. and knocking.. finally the door opened up and the hmna's daughter opened and we could barely talk to her cause she had just gotten up and kept closing the door cause the sun was too bright, haha it was kinda funny. the dog never chased us good thing. this other member we tried to visit wasnt home and as we were knocking the door this black lab walked up and sat by the house and was just chillen.. but as we left it got up and started chasing us. Acosta did some Jet Lee swinging kick and almost hit it hahaha. these days have been getting better and better. the next day we were out and about visiting people at 10am and we got a call from our zls telling us to go to the offices cause presidente torres wanted to do interviews. we run back to our apartments jump in our suits and race to mcallen and end up waiting 4 hours to get into our interviews. it was pretty bomb. ahh presidente torres is amazing! he's the best. he kicked a ball from halfcourt while eating a pizza and kicked the ball into the garbage at the other side of the gym it was so rad! haha. well later the day before that we tried to visit but wasnt home so we left a card with out number. well the next day he calls us scared out of his mind.. cause theres been a lot of weird noises and banging for over a week and so we planned to go over and bless his trailer and we go and hes not there!! ah!!
we've been teaching this guy named Luis Garza this huge buff guy with an awesome beard. anyway we are teaching him and he is learning and understanding the gospel super well. he asked us about another guy we are teaching named Asa. we told him hes doing good just not coming to church. Luis then said.. "whats his address" we gave him the address and he says alright thanks guys im going to go invite him to church and talk to him about it. ahhh it was so great!!
when we were out in the country finding some members we were getting back into our truck and this guy walking stopped us and asked us for a ride.. he had been walking for 15 miles cause his car broke down.. like we are deep in the country.. so we counsel and decide to give him a ride if he sits in the bed of the truck.. he hops in back and we take off. as we drop him off we get his info cause he wants us to visit him and his family. and its saturday so we ask him" hey whatre you doing tomorrow?" he says nothing, so we'll be there, we are like what.... then he says yeah what time does your church start? we'll be there. and thats how we met Joe Lara. hahah que loco right?!?!? haha
something happened the other day we went to stop by this family and the daughter opens the door she is about 14. she tells us that her mom and dad are working and she didnt know when they would be back. she said they are at her grandmas house.. we kept talking trying to find out more about them cause we just met them for the first time and as we are talking to the daughter we see her younger sister walk down the hall into a different room. this sister is about 11. she then comes to teh door and says "my mom said she is busy" lol the older sister froze.... elder acosta and i look at eachother smile and laugh inside.. then we just left.. sad inside cause its so easy to see that the whole family is aad and miserable. its families and just people like that , that we always pray for. ah just open your heart to the lord. ahh just pour it all out!!

mmmm denny's

gorditos

weslaco

Donna North Highschool.... fancy.. 

Welcome To South Texas, sorry kids.

Something I Call Personality

pretty awesome week. we picked up 2 mini missionaries. one was from Edinburgh and the other was from mcallen. they got to spend the whole week with us and it was honestly a great experience. i felt like i was training again. We had a zone conference on tuesday and it literally changed my life forever. there was a lot that was said but part of what was talked about was learning to overcome weaknesses in the flesh cause in the spirit world itll be hard to overcome a weakness of the flesh but without flesh. just think of a borracho. in the spirit world he will be looking for alcohol but none will be there for him. Learning to control, who do we serve, our body or spirit? debemos tener un espiritu despuesto. just think of a caballo puro sangre.. they return to the owner whenever the owner rings a bell or however they call back the horse. before we sin heavenly father rings the bell for us to come back.. Cuando soy debil, soy fuerte. theres a diference between resisting temptation or avoiding it. if you are closer to god so will your actions your thoughts, words. idk the meeting was so crazy. i truly love the mission. theres no better school than the mission. the first day we had the mini missionaries we visited sister meyer and she completely called out her son that we are teaching (Asa). and just went hard on how she wants him to be baptized. it was awesome and another sister met an old highschool friend and told us that she wanted a blessing so we went over and started teaching her family. its so dope!! I met the coolest old couple ever. they are a member I hadnt met yet so on an exchange we went to go meet them and as soon as i walked into the house i instantly thought of my grandma and grandpa Gonzalez cause there was a couple lazyboys infront of the tv, old furniture, a puzzle being finished, glued puzzles up on the wall, old bookshelfs with old books, and a piano. they are awesome! also on that exchange elder Pierce got pretty ill and threw up a few times haha. on sunday we said good by to the mini missionaries. Alejo and Garza. church was really good. this investigator Luis Garza came to church! a hes so rad. he's had a crazy past like super crazy. he is missing part of his leg from a motorcycle crash. we are super happy for him to see him progress. there was a fireside for the mini missionaries last night. it was awesome to see Garza bare his testimony. I remember when he first started on monday he said he didnt want to go on a mission and he barely even came out on the mini mission. But at the end he loved it a ton and actually wants to go on a mission now. it was great! his parents were super happy about it cause he"ll be the first missionary in his family.this week was super great and very humbling. something that just came to my mind a lot this week is to just not be a slave to man and being a better person is possible. my heart has truly changed and im forever thankful for our heavenly father, el espiritu y jesucristo. my desire to help people have a change of heart as well and just trulyyyyyyy come closer to Him is just so great!. ahh!! i love you all.

 the squad.

penguins.

service with the niños.

the pizza is texas tiger size. 

Garza and I with elder Pierce in the back all sick.. 

another exchange with the good old diabetic Anderson!

The obra is getting there just getting the machine going can be a little while. Inspiration is pouring in. its really rad! its amazing that just through a simple prayer we can recieve inspiration that can change everything. our heavenly father is great! i feel like when i got here there was a shotgun blast to the work here. Everything scattered but we've picked it up. Its going great thanks to our heavnely father! be humble!! and dont be embarrassed to testify!! STAND UP FOR WHAT YOU REP!! we had a super sick day on saturday, we started teaching this guy named elias hes an army veteran. acosta almost got eaten by a dog. we walked up to a less actives house and there was a fence around it and there were 3 big dogs inside and one of the them was eating a frozen piece of chicken. well we opened the gate and started to walk in. acosta went in and just as i was about to walk in something said no..
so i stood at the gate and thats when this huge dog started barking at acosta and walking toward him as if he was going to attack, so he held his scripture bag out towards the dog ( SCRIPTURE POWER) and the dog stopped walking. thank goodness the door of the house was open so we yelled and then the owner came out. It was kinda crazy and the big dogs name was Dingo. later on that day, we went to go meet the indian hills elders to do an exchange. we decided since we have extra time lets go visit a less active . we started talking and one of them is the son of the hmna that we were trying to visit. shes home so we go and knock the door , at the door acosta said how great it would be just to pull up to a house and do some kind of cleaning service or anything for someone just to brighten their day. well the hmna opens and her house is full of paintings . turnes out they had just gotten home and need help putting in her new AC cause it was huge. ahh it was awesome!! and this week we are going to get mini missionaries!!

its a highschool's football field!!

i love seth anderson!! hahaha

they have esprite on the menu haha

only in the valley

held by a couple ropes... only in the valley

here is Lorenzo Gonzales, wearing a circle jerks tank top and camo shorts.. punk at birth.. hes my favorite!!

Spaceman

I once had a dream that Elder Acosta and i were driving in a car looking for an address and i looked up at the street sign and it said mile 1 1/2.......... well that dream came true..

I got a call Tuesday night from Presidente Torres asking me how long ive been in Laredo.. i told him this is my 5th transfer here.. he said.. hmm thats long enough for someone to be in an area.. pack your bags youre leaving Laredo tomorrow morning. It was right before a bomb lesson elder scott and i had planned. So we went to the lesson and it was amazing and so hard to focus cause i kept thinking of how the area will be and if mijo would be fine. But i knew all would be well. So we got home that night, planned and then i started packing right away. I was a little bummed cause i was super excited for another transfer with mijo. But i was also really pumped to see where i would go. So im packed up and the next day i get picked up and make my way to McAllen. 3 hours later i meet my new comp...... and its ELDER ACOSTA!!!!!!!
lol how crazy!! I feel like im in a different world.. so we went straight to our 1st appointment and thats where my dream came true.. when we turned onto their street right away i knew this place was going to be different than any other place ive been. Cause while we were teaching the lesson they asked if we wanted sandwiches and we quickly say yes.. they brought out the food and i literally wanted to cry... from the bottom of my heart i was so grateful... i told them how great they were and how much it means to be fed.. they were like eh its nothing.. from then on people were feeding us a lot.. i want to cry everytime i dont eve know why.. also im serving in Westlaco know and i cover 3 little cities, Donna, Westlaco, Mercedes, oh also this place called Ed Couch haha.
later we went to go visit this member and she really wanted us to give her son and his gf a blessing. So the girlfriend is sitting down and we are about to give her a blessing and then all of a sudden this door busts open and theres a tall old man with a walker wearing just a diaper.. ahh!!! it was the hermanas husband!! it was hilarious!! she quickly ran to him and shut the door.. ah! im still crying about it. the valley is crazy awesome. I tell everyone that i came from Laredo and they all see laredo as literal hell. like such a bad place. Im like dang that place is awesome! also the weather down here is amazing!! there is cool wind always. So i live with seth anderson, the anderson that elder acosta and i dumped cake on for his birthday. and alos E. Pierce he was in my district when i first got to laredo. The members here are amazing!! ahh the mission is the best but thats all that i can remember from this week. Mijo Elder Scott stayed in Laredo. I hope he is doing well. 

a bomb Rusa i had!!:)

Elder Brady Anderson and i @ Penguinos

final district picture before people got transferred..

snacks while everyone packed.. my dad will be so proud..

apartment homies!!

my dad and I, he went to Harlingen to be a ZL

its kinda weird but our conversations are like as if we are father and son. hes a homie.

3 generations.

i lived with this guy for a little bit before i left. lol Elder Packer i went to jr high and highschool with him.

gordito and i!!

cotton fields

in their natural habitat

little gated place community

 on our way to visit a member. adventures.

Ed Couch

 just cut it out guys.. come on!!

the field is white already to harvest

lol he has hair now!

brothers!

so do not send anything to Laredo. i am no longer in laredo!!

200 W La Vista Ave

McAllen TX 78501-2131

United States

just send everything to this address from now on. thanks guys!!

I Heard Him Come

another nice hot week in Laredo. transfers are today and i found out that mijo and i are staying another one! sick! it'll be my 5th here in laredo its gonna be dope!
Ariel is doing super good and he is already a missionary. all of his friends are asking questions and he answers them and we are even going to start teaching his friends from work. it was a super fast transfer and i cant believe that its already the next one. I've been called here for a reason to be around certain missionaries, members and investigators just everyone. Its always a great feeling of comfort when you remember your why. why youre out here doing missionary work. This gospel is the best ever and i wouldnt change any of these experiences. I'm not really sure what to write about right now. Scott is growing and progressing and im learning lots from him. I remember when my old president maluenda gave me a blessing before he left. he talked about being as humble as a child so i can learn and grow as they do.. and for reals idk why but being a trainer is a great humbling experience. not only do they learn from us but we can from them as well. its important to remember that. not just the greenie but everyone in general. Ariel was confirmed on sunday and later we were helping set up for a baptism and the elders quorum president walks up and says "so that guy that was just confirmed today,,, yeah in priesthood we was ordained a priest.. presidente solis called it and wanted to do it today.. Elder Scott and i were like no wayyyy!!! lets go!!! we had no idea!! ahh it was so sick!! later we talked to Ariel and he is super pumped to start helping out in sacrament. its so dope! he is so happy. it got to about 111 a few days ago. Laredo is awesome and im excited to see how this transfer goes. I just want to leave you guys with something. idk why but this verse stood out to me today..JUST BE THE EXAMPLE OKAY!! Jacob 2:35 read it!!

pretty hot day in Laredo. 

the song is our apartment singing divina luz at the fireside a couple weeks ago.

Orinoco Flow

had a super rad week. i forgot my journal so i wont be able to write all of the cool stuff that went down cause since ive been on a mission i forget a lot of things.. well to start everything off. MIJO GOT WET ON SUNDAY!! our investigator Ariel was baptized!! it was mijos first and i was super proud of him. hahaha it was to be honest the greatest thing ever. Elder Scott is going to be a great great and he is a great great missionary. sooo right as soon as we open the doors for the faunt we realized that the water was super low.. and there was no time to fill it up... sooo elder scott continues and as soon as he says amen he just slams Ariel down super hard it looked like a Randy Orton RKO vine or something like that. just slammed him in the water and water got all over the mirror thats how big it was. but Ariel was soo happy ahhh he loved it and his mother was crying the whole time she was so happy. it was truly a great experience. but elder scott just had no chill. he didnt even have time to hold his nose. it was beautiful. so that happened. then later on sunday after church we went to have dinner at the Jeppsen's house. they are the senior couple here and while we were prepping everthing. sister jeppsen put a cloth bag of onions on the stove cause she was going to cook them... well she also turned on the stove.. and then all of a sudden there was smoke every where and then elder olsen yanks the bag off of the stove and onions go everywhere and there is a hole burned into the bag hahahah i was laughing so hard it was hilarious haha and sister jeppsen had no idea hahahah. oh my gosh what else happened. oh yeah i got hit by another car. mijo and i were riding to our next appointment and then im passing an intersection and this mercedes decided not to stop at a stop sign and he just coasted right into me.. bam hits my bike and i jump off of it.. he backs up and i get my bike and start walking toward him.. he gets out holding his little chihuaha.. in my mind im like nooo wayyy hahah. he says oh my goodness im sooo sorry.. i didnt even stop... are you okay sir... i say.. yes im fine.. is your chihuahua okay? he says oh yes yes she is and then goes off on about his chihuahua.. haha i couldnt believe it. but yeah that happened and im alive so its all good. its been a good 108-109 all week. i got so sweaty you could see it all the way to the back of my knees. it was gnarly haha que mas que mas... um we had a missionary music fireside and we sang lots of different numbers, as quartets and solos it was super great. mijo is learning a lot. we met our new mission president Torres. it was super awesome and we had interviews with him. he is an amzing guy oh man.! he became a stake president when he was 25 and was in the high council as soon as he got back from his mission. He is really going to boost the work in the mission its so great and he was also offered to play professional soccer in Honduras but he left on his mission. so i cant wait till we get to play with him. Man this week was super great and its only getting better:) this is all i know there is more but i cant remember it right now. i love you all be safe! and i hope you had a super fun 4th of July!

super hot day and it was only noon, mijo and i.

after the first door contact.

it was a great day!

a package for the elders

mijo fell asleep while we were planning haha glam shot.

came across this at a contact

new pres

on an exchange with holt

Ariel!! 

ariel with his mom!