Lots of stairs! 9-20-11

More stairs 9-20-11

Me and my comp (Elder R.) on rail road tracks. We walk on those stairs and those tracks every day. 9-20-11

 A baptism in the district 9-25-11

A big flag in Zòcalo, 9-26-11

 

A member from my first ward that met me at Zòcalo today to just chill and look around. He is a cool kid! 9-26-11

Catholic church in Zocalo, 9-26-11

A big bell, haha. Me and Elder B. 9-26-11

 Me and my companion, Elder R. 9-26-11

 Inside the Catholic, 9-26-11

Baptism of R. 9-25-11

My pants I burnt for 18 months! 9-25-11

16 of September Independence Day in Zocalo 9-26-11

 Building in Zocalo 9-26-11

 Flag in Zocalo 9-26-11

 A church in Zocalo with a bunch of us elders out in front of the flag and church. 9-26-11

Hola Familia 9-26-11

Hola Familia,        

  Well, this week was great! We baptized this girl named R.! She is really cool. We have been working with her for a long time and this week she finally got baptized! Every baptism really is a miracle and I'm so, so grateful to have the opportunity to see so many miracles! It was such a great day to see her get baptized! Also in my district, we got 5 baptisms so that was another miracle I got to see this week. Although four baptisms weren't in my area, I still got the opportunity to interview them and see them progress! It is trully amazing to see so many miracles! This is the work of the Lord, I have no doubt about that because there is no way that any person could do this work alone. These miracles only happen because this truly is the Lord's work and we are just instruments in His hands!

It was also really cool to get to go to the center of Mexico, Zocalo! We saw lots of really cool old buildings!!!! Also we went into the Catholic church there, which is like one of the biggest in Mexico and it was really pretty. It was just full of cool paintings and like just all the building was really cool like with gold and stuff! Then, we got to go to some small stores and stuff and it was cool to get to buy and see things! So it's crazy. The streets there are all like hilly because after so much time, the weight of the buildings have made the ground seep in, in different parts which has made it all hilly and not level any more. It's crazy! So it was a great week and a fun one too!

So next Monday is cambios, changes, which is really crazy because I feel like I haven't been here long at all and it already has been two changes. I have no clue if I will go or stay because me and my comp. have been here the same amount of time so will just have to see. My letters next week may be short because of the changes, but we will see how it goes! I wanted to ask if you all had time to read the articles I said you should read. I hope you did, if not find them and read them!

I love you all and I hope you are all doing great! I'm doing great and loving what I'm doing! I love being in the Lord's service and I'm so grateful I am here! I love this work and I love these people and I'm just so happy and grateful I get to be here serving each one of them! I love you all! Stay safe!! I miss you all!

Love,

Elder Despain

 Me and my companion, Elder R. 9-15-11

 The whole zone 9-15-11

The whole zone and the members that let us use their house to have the activity. 9-15-11

Todo los gringos! All the Americans! 9-15-11

Hola Como Estan!!!! 9-19-11

Hola familia!!!

   Thanks for all your letters last week and this week. I was worried that last week I wouldn't get any letters because I wrote a day earlier then I originally said, but thank you all for writing me! I love you all and I hope that you are all doing well! This week was a good week! It was Independence Day and so on Thursday we had a zone activity and we did a carne asada or like grilled meat! Then we watched "Remember the Titans," which was cool. The last time I saw a movie was Christmas, haha, so that was cool. The pres. wanted to watch it because it has a message about being one and being united!! It was good. Then we took some pictures with the flag, haha! It was cool. Then the next day we played soccer... like always, haha. It's fun! We also had a good week of work. We had a lot of success. Like, we didn't have much time to work this week becaue we had that activity and two juntas (meetings) and two p-days. So, it really only left us Wednesday and Saturday to work a full day, but we did have a lot of success. We were going to have a baptism but it ended up that her brother couldn't make it to see her baptism on Sunday so we ended up pushing it back till this next Sunday so that her brother can be there becasue that is really important to her. Although we were sad to have it fall through, we are really excited to have her baptism this Sunday! I love this work and I love seeing all the miracles I get to see here! I had the chance to do a lot of interviews for lots of different people in different areas this week and I just really love it. I love to get to know new people and I love helping people and I love being an instrument in God's hands! That is what I love most about interviews becasue the spirit is always so strong and I always feel like the things I need to say just come to me in a steady stream so that these people can make the decision to follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptised in His church! I love this work and I know for a fact that this is the work of the Lord it isn't our work, but it really and truly is His work and we are just instruments in His hands! I'm so grateful that I am here and I am so grateful to be able to see miracles every day! I love this work and I love these people! Tell Mike "Happy Birthday" on Friday for me!!! Tell him that I love him and that I hope he has a great day!!! I love you all and I hope that you all are doing great! I'm doing great and like always, I'm staying real safe!!! I love you all! 

 

Love,

Elder Despain

 Pictures of K.'s baptism 9-11-11

 

 

Another baptism in my district! 9-11-11

Hola Familia! 9-15-11

Hola familia!!!! 

 

I hope everything is going well for all of you! Don't worry about the package, I will call the secretaries and see if they can get it figured out. So I have been doing great! We baptized this Sunday!!!!!!!!! It was a true miracle, it is truly amazing to be a missionary because you get to see things like this! So we just were having a hard week we were working our hardest but every possibility we had to be able to baptize fell through, and we had made a goal in our district of 3 baptisms and one of those had to come from us. 

 

So, we were working and working but nothing until Saturday afternoon we went to eat with the hermana that had signed up, I had never eaten there before but we found the house and went in to eat. Well turns out, this hermana hasn't had the missionaries over to eat in like 2 years and has been changing houses a lot. But anyways we went in and she has 3 daughters and we were waiting because the food wasn't ready yet so we were sitting there waiting and her little daughter came out and was talking to us! I asked her, her name and how old she was and she said her name was K. and she is 9 and I said, "Oh that is sweet. Did you like your baptism like a year ago?" And she said, "I still haven't been baptized...." and I asked why and she said "I don't know..." So then we eat and as we eat I was just getting to know the family and the mom and we found out that her oldest daughter isn't a memeber and neither is the youngest, K., and so when we finished eating we asked if we could share a massage with them. They said yes. We taught about my two favorite things to teach, the atonement and baptism! At the end, we invited K. to be baptised the next day which was Sunday! She just lit up with joy and had the biggest smile I have ever seen and said, "Yes, yes, yes! I have been waiting so long to be baptised and we asked the mom and she said, "Yes, that is fine. We were talking about this the other day and asking why she hadn't been baptized and we couldn't figure out why. There just has never been the opportunity!" So we were able to teach her and then she got baptised on Sunday! I haven't seen many more happier people in my life! K. was so, so, so, extremely happy that she was finally getting baptized!!! It was awesome and we asked her who she would like to have baptize her and she said me. So I had the opportunity to baptize her. It was a really awesome experience for me! I know that this is the work of the Lord and that is why miracles like this happen, and I can truly testify to the scripture in Ether 12 that said that mircales and blessings come after the trial of our faith. This past week me and my comp. both felt that our faith was tried many times but we kept pushing forward and on Saturday we saw a true miracle!!! I know that the Lord hears and answers prayers and I know that this was an answer to me and my comps. prayers! I love this work and I am truly grateful to have the opportunity to be here in the service of the Lord! 

 

On Sunday, I had to give a talk, haha. It went okay I guess. I went a little over on time but it was alright. I think I am getting use to giving talks now, haha. Also, I was reading some things this week that I really liked and wanted to ask for all of you to read but I really, really would like for my sisters and their husbands to read these. The first is an article that I liked a lot by Jeffrey R. Holland called "An High Priest of Good Things to Come" (October 1999 Conference). I really liked it and I really would like you guys to read it! Also, two more things I enjoyed a lot. They are in this months Ensign. First, by N. Eldan Tanner called "The Eternal Nature of Marriage", Second, Robert D Hales "A Part of Heaven on Earth!" Those are really good talks. I translated the titles because I read them in Spanish, so they might be a little bit different the titles but ya I'm sure you can find them! Hope you can read them. They are really great! I love you all and I hope all is well. I will write again on Monday! Love you all!

 

Love,

Elder Despain

 My Comp, Elder Ross, at a waterfall. 7-20-11

 Me and my comp.,hahaha! 9-1-11

Some food I eat. It is called an huarche. It is like a tortilla or like a tostada with beans, meat, cheese, salsa, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and ya its good! 9-2-11

Christmas in September, haha. Mexican colors are Christmas colors, haha. They have stuff up like that everywere because the 16th is Mexican Independence, haha. Christmas in September, it just kinda looks weird, haha! 9-4-11

Hola Familia!!! 9-5-11

Hola!!!

   Hope all is well for everyone!!!! I'm doing really good!!!! This week was a great week, although it ended a little sad. We had a lot of success during the week but then all the people we had that promised to go to church didn't go.... sad. But we will have more success this week! I feel like we are finally finding good people to teach, like people that really actually want to progress! We are finally finding "los escogidos" or chosen people, like the people that God has prepared for us, the ones that are ready now to accept the gospel!

So just to let you all know, this next Monday I won't be writing home but I will be writing on the 16th! Because of the Mexican Independence, they are switching our p-day because everyone will be partying that day and we won't have any success so it will be a better day for a p-day and that Monday we will just work like any other day!!! I love you all!!! Thank you all for your letters. I love hearing from all of you!

Dad, I haven't gotten a chance to read your emails but thank for emailing me. I will read them tonight and write you next week! Also, thanks a ton Mom and Julie for sending off my package! My shoes are getting really bad, haha, but they will last until I get my new ones. The good thing is that my Eccos are still really good, but I can't use them every day because they usually get soaking wet after one day so I have to switch off so that the other can dry a day. Haha, it rains a lot here! alot! And in these last couple of days, it has started getting colder! Here it is already going into winter. Well, it seems like that any ways. I don't know where the time goes. I feel like we were just starting summer, haha. Every day more that I have here goes by quicker. It is crazy. The time just flies! But I'm so grateful to be here. I love serving the Lord and I love getting the opportunity to see miracles every day! This work truly is the Lord's work and I am so grateful to be a part of it! 

So the president told us that they are going to be sending emails to all of our families along with some videos so if you get those you should read it and watch them! I love my president. He is a great guy and really, really knows what he is doing! I know he was called of the Lord, every time I hear him speak to us it just amazes me the power and authority he speaks with! Also, you should get one video called La Expiacion (The Atonement). I don't think I have had any video impact me more then this one did when I saw it and every time I watch it, it still gets to me! You should definitely watch it as a family if and when you get it!!! It's amazing! Like I said, I love this work!!! It's not easy. At times it is really, really hard, but I love it and I'm so grateful to be here doing this work. Even when times get really hard, I'm still happy!! and I know it is because I'm in the service of the Lord!! There isn't anything that can make you happier! I know that Jesus is our Savior and Redeemer. I know that He lives! I know that the sacrifice He did for us is real. I know He really did suffer for each and every one of us! I know that He knows how we feel in every moment of our life and is always there to help us, we must only ask for that help! I know He paid the price of sin for every person who has ever came to this Earth! But I also know that He will not force us to accept that sacrifice but that each one of us must accept Him in our lives through living the Gospel of Jesus Christ, through our Faith in Him and in God, through repenting every day, every time we mess up or make a mistake, through being baptized and accepting and taking His name upon us, through receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and listening to the promptings that we receive and through following His commandments until the end!!!  I know that that is what we must do to accept what He did for each one of us! I know that God wants to bless us because He loves us. But I also know that we have to do our part to receive the blessings He has prepared for us. But I have a firm testimony that when we do our part God always, always does His part and gives us all the blessings we are in need of! I love the Scripture in D&C 82:10 because it is so, so true! I know that this is the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that this church that I am representing for these two years is the church of our Savior, Jesus Christ! It isn't the church of any other person or of any man but it truly is the Church of Christ and is established exactly how He established it when He was here on the Earth!  3 Nephi chapter 27 I love that chapter because it really does show why and how this is the church of Christ! I know that God loves each one of us and that is why He sent His only son to die for us. I know that wouldn't be an easy task for any father to do but because He loves us, He was willing to do it for us!!! I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God along with the Bible and I know that as we read and ponder the scriptures daily, we receive more of a testimony and grow spiritually! As I have been here in the mission, that has been a great blessing to me to really pray, read and ponder the scriptures and it has been a true blessing to me! I know that the scriptures are the words of God and that is why it is so important to study daily so that we can know what it is that God wants us to do! I know that this church is true and I know that what I am doing here is what God wants me to be doing right now and I'm so grateful for the opportunity I have to be here doing this great work! I love you all and I miss you all a ton! I hope all is well and I hope everyone is staying safe! Thanks for all you do for me!!! Tell everyone I say hi!!!

Love,

Elder Despain

One more thing I forgot to say. I had a cool experience yesterday well and last Sunday! Last Sunday, I got to confirm some one in church, so that was cool. I have always known how to do it but usually some one in the ward does it. But this last week they asked me to do it, so that was just really awesome! Then this Sunday I got to give the priesthood to this 18 year old kid that the other elders in my district baptized two weeks ago! We were in priesthood meeting and they were about to give him the priesthood and he was like I want Elder Despain to do it and I was kinda shocked because I have never done that before and I didn't think he would pick me. But it was really, really awesome! I have gotten to know him really well because I interviewed him a few times before his baptism and then he has gone with us to lots of different missionary activities, like the waterfalls. I have a picture with him up on the waterfall. I sent it to you all last week! He is a cool kid and it was a really cool experience for me! I love you all. Stay safe! Love ya!

Love,

Elder Despain