Letter #15 - Cuerpo, Alma, y el Espiritu

 ¡Buenas!

I had an awesome week. I hope all of you did as well! Let me know!

Let's hop in.

 This is when Elder Bunker and Elder Walkins
 picked me up from the airport my first day here in Dallas.

Monday, May 8th - we talked with this preacher in the park who had no idea what he was talking about. We asked him what he thought happened to all those people in Asia who never got a chance to hear about Christ. Did they go to heaven or to hell? He told us that everyone has the chance to learn about Christ and that it says his name everywhere.... in case you didn't know, no, it does not say Jesus Christ all over the place in Asia. And also for those of you who don't know what happens to those people who never got a chance to learn about Christ in their lifetime, email me and I will gladly answer that.


This is when Elder Bunker and Elder Walkins
 picked me up from the airport my first day here in Dallas.
 Elder Bunker took a selfie
Tuesday, May 9th - we got four new investigators! We also ran into the same preacher guy at the park. We taught him so much doctrine straight from the bible and he still wouldn't accept it. He would explain his beliefs and we would ask where it says that in the bible and he would say, "umm... well... it isn't in the bible... I just know it...." he also tried to tell us that we have a body, spirit, AND soul... a soul IS a body and a spirit combined. He got really mad and left to go on his run. At the end of his run, he passed by one more time and yelled, "CUERPO, ALMA, Y EL ESPIRITU! SOLO HAY UN MEDADOR, JESUCRISTO!" (Body, soul, and spirit! There is only one mediator, Jesus Christ!) it was so hilarious to Elder Judd and me.

Mosquito bite.

Wednesday, May 10th - We cut the Cadenas family's yard! If you want to know how big it is, it took 3 and a half hours for two Elders to mow and weed whack it all. It was definitely a large task. It was fun though! I didn't think I would miss yard work, but I guess I do! I love the smell of freshly cut grass.

Thursday, May 11th - we had interviews with President Taylor! Wow. I love that man. the interview with President Taylor was crazy. Each missionary got 8 minutes. Before mine, he told Elder Nguwa, "Could you make this one 12 minutes? I want some more time with this one." We talked about having undeniable faith, striving to be exhausted at the end of each day, and how our Book of Mormon topical guide study just made our Book of Mormon Reading clarified and focused. At the end of the interview, he said, "I see you doing incredible things in your mission here." He also talked about how he is jealous of the new incoming president for getting to work with me and the other new missionaries, but then he said, "Don't worry, we will keep in touch" so cool. Elder Cox talked to Elder Judd and I about how and when we wear the plaque, we wear Christ's name. We represent Him and this church. He told us that we shouldn't be passive aggressive with people. When we get down to business, we show them that we are serious about this. It creates a better image for the church. During some of the last interviews, i was sitting outside of the room with Elder Nguwa. He is from the Congo. He told me his incredible conversion story. After that, there were only 5 missionaries in the building. Elder Judd had left on an exchange with Elder Cox. So it was me, Elder Watkins, Elder Nguwa, Elder Buford, and Elder Del Angel. Elder Buford was the last interview. It was his exit interview since he goes home this transfer, so it took 50 minutes. Elder Watkins and Elder Del Angel left to go teach a lesson. Then when Elder Buford came out, he and Elder Nguwa left to go do something really fast. I just got to stay with President Taylor alone for like 5 minutes! It wasn't that long, but it was so cool to just be with him and talk outside of an interview setting. After all, he is a general authority...

Friday, May 12th - we had lessons with all 4 of our new investigators from earlier this week. Minerva is moving faster than we are! We taught about priesthood authority and baptism. While we were teaching, she interrupted and said, "Wait, so if someone is baptized by someone who doesn't hold God's authority, it is invalid!" We told her that was correct and then asked her if she would be baptized by someone who holds that authority. She said absolutely. She had a baptismal date for the 10th of June! We also taught the Ramirez Family. They are our other three new investigators. We taught them about repentance and baptism. We extended the invitation to be baptized to them and they said that it is something they will need to think about. They told us they have a lot of struggles in their family right now. We promised blessings for following God. We also got two new investigators.

Saturday, May 13th - we helped move a piano. Pianos are heavy. we had a branch party for Mothers Day. It was really nice. Not a ton of people were there, but it was fun. There was singing, Latino music, and lots of food. Latinos aren't that good at karaoke... after the party, we taught a lesson to Lucero. This was our last lesson. Do or die. We taught her more about the importance of baptism and why she needs to be baptized... she ended up leaving really mad. She told us that she doesn't sin... which means that Elder Judd and I have failed at teaching it.

Sunday, May 14th - Happy Mother's Day! In church, all of the youth got up and said nice things about their moms. It was really sweet. I also got to skype, my wonderful family. I love them infinitely. It was so good to see them and talk with them! We went teaching with Hermano Mynor that night. We got a call from Minerva's husband telling us to never come back... never gave us a reason, just told us to stop coming by and that they have their own religion... it broke our hearts.

That is all for this week! I hope all is well! I love you all,
Brandon