I'll be honest, this week was a little sparse on the interesting stories... There were no doctor's appointments or anything super exciting, but when you are a missionary every day is a good day, regardless what happens.

We met with an investigator named Hector on Tuesday and it was a pretty good experience. Hector loves the book of mormon, and everything about the church, the only reason he hasn't been baptized already is because he smokes. We read Alma 24 about the Anti-Nephi-Lehis and how they buried their weapons of war. We applied it to him and how he can quite smoking. He felt really motivated and said that he would quit. The next day he left for a vacation and we haven't seen him since, but I am really hoping that everything has been going well.

Enrique has still been doing really well. He usually comes to church in a brown polo and jeans, but now that he is a confirmed member of the church, he wanted to looks like one. I gave him on of my white shirts and a tie and he was pretty excited. He came to church yesterday and was really happy with how he looked and felt. He was so proud of himself that he wanted to go to the restroom and look at himself in the mirror for a little bit before church started. He is also working on his family history and plans to be baptized for his dad soon. He loves the temple and is holding on to his goal of attending the Salt Lake City temple.

I was reading about Nephi and his family's journey in the wilderness. We all know that Laman and Lemuel were constantly murmuring and we often think of them as bad people. However, how often are we like Laman and Lemuel? As I read about them this morning, I thought to myself that I would probably be right along with them complaining about having to leave a comfortable home and wander in the wilderness for 8 or so years. It doesn't sounds like a very fun plan to survive off of raw meat and suffer "all manner of afflictions" either. As we know, Nephi was always strong in his faith and never complained. In fact, he mentions "how great were the blessings of the lord". While his brothers complained and felt sorry for themselves because of their trials, Nephi took the same circumstances and found the good in them.

I was able to apply this principle to me in my life as a missionary, but I also know that it can apply to all of us in all aspects of our lives. It isn't always easy to stay positive and faithful, and I'm sure it wasn't easy for Nephi to keep that attitude either, but we can all strive to be more like Nephi when trials come. I love the Book of Mormon and the messages it brings. I learn something new every time I read. I hope you all have a great week!

Elder May

Some members made us a cake with our names on it

The solution to our bug problem

First off, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to my mom and all of the moms reading this. You are all amazing and very much appreciated.

This week was a little different. I hate to say it, but there wasn't a whole lot of missionary work going on because of some unexpected doctor trips, but that is okay. To go to the doctor here it is about an all day trip, so we ended up having to go on Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday. It was a little frustrating that it took up all of our time, but It made for some good stories.

The "Mission Doctor"'s office is in a building right next to the Mexico City temple, so we got to enjoy that a little bit. We aren't allowed to go in to the temple (mission rule) until our last transfer in the mission so that was a little sad, but it was still really cool to see the temple. The Mexico City temple is one of the coolest-looking ones to me. On saturday, we finished with our appointment and we found a Little Caesar's restaurant nearby and we ate there for lunch. I wasn't very hungry so I ended up carry the pizza in the box with me on our way home. My companion wanted to try a different route that he thought was faster to get home, so I trusted him and followed his lead.... We ended up getting pretty lost. When the bus started driving down a dirt street with storage boxes and nobody around I was pretty sure he had no idea where he was directing us. I asked him and he admitted that he had no idea where we were. So for a couple hours we wandered aimlessly around Mexico City with only my Little Caesar's pizza to comfort me. Needless to say, we ended up finding our way back. I feel pretty confident that I can navigate myself to any part of the city now.

The work has been a little harder lately. It seems like all of our solid investigators are dropping like flies. We have one named Miguel who is pretty golden. He reads everything and he understand everything. He quit smoking and drinking coffee on the spot and loves the church. He is almost finished with 2 Nephi and is still just on fire. However, he informed us that he will be moving to Venezuela on saturday. We were pretty discouraged because he would have been getting baptized already if he didn't have to move. He asked that we send the missionaries to his house in Venezuela when he gets there, so I hope they will find him.

We had another investigator who was also pretty golden but texted us out of nowhere saying that she doesn't want to meet with us anymore. she said that she is too busy with her job and school and everything. That was pretty hard for us to see her grow so much and then suddenly decide to stop progressing, but we are still praying for her.

There have been other instances as well with investigators not wanting us to teach them anymore, so we feel like we are starting all over again here. I suppose that is just how missionary work goes sometimes and all we can do about it is work more efficiently and think of a new plan to find some new people. Hopefully next week we will have some good new investigators.

It was hard not to get discouraged at first when all of the investigators started leaving. I studied a lot trying to find an answer about what we could do better and how we could help the area. One of the most distinct answers that I received was that I just need to keep moving forward with faith. I have learned that when we have faith in Christ and in our Father in heaven there is nothing to fear. As we live obediently and keep moving forward with a desire to serve the Lord we will see the Lord's hand in our lives. I know that to be true. Have a great week!

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Elder May

Another great week here in Espartaco. We have transfers next week so it is likely that I might leave the area. I would love to stay here though. I love this area and the people. They also have tacos de Al Pastor on just about every corner. If you don't know what Al Pastor is, don't worry, nobody else does either. It is some form of meat that is super delicious, but I have yet to find out what exactly it is. My companion gets a stomach ache every time he eats it, but I never have a problem and I feel pretty proud of myself. I am also developing a stronger tolerance to the spicy food. The members are often surprised at how much salsa I use. I just tell them that the more salsa I eat, the more Spanish I learn.

We haven't had too many exciting things happen this week. We had a exchanges with the other elders in our district and that was fun. We had an appointment with a deaf lady who they teach in sign language. Unfortunately, she wasn't home and we didn't end up teaching her. The missionary I was with knows sign lanuage so he was teaching me some things. Hopefully I get the chance to meet her another day.

Enrique's baptism is still scheduled for this saturday and he is very excited. He has been inviting all of his friends to the baptism and even invites them to listen when we have teaching appointments with him. I don't think I have ever met someone more prepared to receive the gospel. We have another pretty solid investigator named Miguel. He loves the book of mormon and writes his own little notes and marks things thaet he likes. He really just gets it and it is really neat to see him progress. He had a baptismal date for May 27, but he just informed us that he will be moving to Venezhuela on the 20. We told him we would send the misisonaries to his house down there to continue teaching him and he was pretty excited. I was a little bummed that he has to leave though.

I have loved serving a mission here in Mexico. It is been the hardest, happiest, most fun, and most exciting thing that I have ever done. I love meeting so many people and being called "Guero" every day. I will try to have some better stories for you all next week. Have a great week!

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Elder May