Riding my bike down a hill/mountain...

 and falling!11-23-11

 Our Thanksgiving baptism. 11-24-11

  Our Thanksgiving meal! 11-24-11

  Hola!

Just forgot one thing, the tie I'm using in the baptism...isn't that a great Thanksgiving tie? I thought it looked like a tie made just for Thanksgiving, haha. Let me know your opinion on it, but I think it is a Thanksgiving tie. My comp says it was just ugly, which it is kinda ugly, but it is really Thanksgivingish! I love you all!11-24-11

Dr. Pepper, need I say more?

11-28-11

Hey Family!!!
      I hope that all of you are doing great back at home and I hope that you all had an awesome Thanksgiving! My week was really good and I had a much better Thanksgiving this year! To start out, we had a baptism on Thanksgiving so that was awesome!!! Then, me and my comp had a Thanksgiving dinner at night, haha. A hermana gave us ham and we got some stuff to make mashed potatoes in the microwave and we bought Dr. Pepper! It was an okay little dinner, haha, but ya it was much better than last year! 

About my area, it is big but I haven't been to any other towns, we just stay in Maravatio. Maravatio is kinda big but, not really. It has like two big stores and then the rest is just all little stores, and we never take a bus or anything. We have bikes and we get everywere on those! We just have a casa de oracion. We don't have a church building. Right now there is like 50 people that attend but like less than a year ago when this became part of my mission, there were only like 10 members so it has grown a ton. They say if we can hold an attendance of 60 they will build a church here. So that is what we are working for right now! 

My comp. is Elder R. and he is native from Jalapa Veracruz but he is a cool kid. I'm glad you sent things for him because he won't get a package. His parents don't really even write him. So ya, just let me know what you put in it for him and I will make sure he gets it. We have both enjoyed the last package I got. We are always eating candy, haha. My comp. likes American candy! Haha!

We eat with members, but it is the same 6 hermanas that give us food every week. Each one is the same day every week because there still isn't enough to like pass a list around for our food. But, it's good I like it! We are looking for a new house to rent because the casa de oracion is really small and we don't really fit anymore! I like it a lot here. It's a small town, but it's awesome. I love it! 

I fell of my bike this week, haha. I was riding down this big hill/mountain and I fell at the end, haha. I got a picture of it, haha. Funny stuff! Not a bad fall at all, but it made me and my comp laugh for a long time, haha! I love you all and I hope you are all doing great! Miss you all a ton! Tell everyone hi for me! Love ya all!

Love,

Elder Despain

 I finally got my other shoe. These are the same kind of shoes, just one pair is almost 2 years older. Bet you couldn't tell at all. 11-16-11

Yeah, my package finally arrived! 11-16-11

 Our baptisms yesterday. 11-20-11

  The baptismal font? (Randall didn't say exactly what this is) 11-20-11

 Filling the font 11-20-11

Hola!! 11-21-11

Hola familia! 

   So this week was a great week. We worked hard and when it was Friday night, we didn't have anything to show for our work. But, on Saturday the Lord gave us miracles! We had two baptisms. It was really great. We were not expecting that. Starting the week, we had no one that wanted to get baptized, but it all turned out great. The Lord truly does miracles and blesses us for our efforts! I was supposed to go to Metapec this week, but we missed the last bus on Thursday, which is at 7:30 at night. We got to the bus stop at 7:35. :( We had to leave Thursday night to go to Zitacuaro, get there 2 hours later, sleep there in the night and then leave early morning to go two more hours to get to Metepec for the meeting I was supposed to have for District leaders. But, we didn't make the bus so I had to call the presidente and tell him I wasn't going to be there, haha. He wasn't too upset, haha. But he told me, "Since you aren't coming, that means you have to baptize this week." I said, "Okay I don't know who, but we will find someone, President." He said, "But Elder Despain, one doesn't count. I want at least two from you this week." I said, "Okay, I will do all I can. But, as of right now we have no one." Well, ending the week we had two baptisms - the second one at 8:30 at night on Sunday! Haha, it is great to be part of the work of the Lord because He truly does bless us! I love this work and I love where I am right now. It is a challenge, but I am loving it and what I love most about here is that I really get to see the members grow as well as our invesigtors, because almost the whole branch is new converts. Like this week, we taught 12 lessons to members which normally we teach at the most 5 a week but we have to teach the members here because they have to teach other members on Sunday. The teacher of Gospel Principles has about 2 months as a member, the teacher of adult class (Gospel Doctrine) has about the same and many other members who have big callings in the branch don't have much more time as members. But it is really cool to get to teach them and see them grow and to see their progress and see their knowledge growing! Also this week, I got stung by a bee in the armpit, haha, weird I know! Don't know what it was doing in my shirt, but when I got stung I put my hand in my shirt and pulled out a bee. It was weird, haha, but I guess now I have a little more sympathy for Julie and her Jamba Juice in the armpit, haha, because I don't get food there but bees just like to hang out and sting me, haha. I love this work and I am so grateful to be here and to be in the service of the Lord! I love you all and I miss you all! Stay strong and stay safe!!!

Love,

Elder Despain

 Me with a big donut. It was good! 11-10-11

Baptism of B. on Saturday. 11-12-11

 Familia C. S. saying bye 11-12-11

 B. y F.11-13-11 When I was saying bye to B. on Sunday, he said to me with a big smile on his face, "I'm mad at you because you convinced me to get baptized." Haha, but I have never seen him happier!

 M. y M. 11-13-11

 E. 11-13-11

B., S., D. y C. 11-13-11

Hola! 11-14-11

Hola Familia  
     Hola, hola!!! Well, this week went good. We had the baptism of B. It was really cool!!!! He didn't want to get baptized for a while and then he almost did last week when his mom got baptized and then this week he finally decided to do it and it was really cool! Also, this week came with a big surprise to me! I only have been in Culturas for 6 weeks, one change, so I was almost sure I was going to stay there. Well to my suprise, that was not what the Lord wanted! The president called me on Saturday to tell me that he had a special assignment for me and that I would be going to Maravatio, Zona Zitacuara, Estado de Michoacan (the farthest away area in our whole mission.) He told me that I will be working in the pueblo or small town of Maravatio. It is just a branch and the branch is just a part of a District. It still isn't part of a stake and there are no wards near by. He told me that I am in charge of making sure that everything is being done the way it should be and if there is something getting done wrong, to fix it, haha. Also, to keep baptizing so that hopefully in the next months they can choose a place to build a church building. But that will only happen if the assistance rate in the branch goes up, so that means we got to get baptizing! I'm super excited to be here and I hope that I will be able to do all that the president wants me to do! It is a very big change to go from the D. F. to a small town like this, but I like it and I think that me and my companion are going to have lots of success! My comp is Elder R. He is a really cool kid! I will also still be a district leader out here. I have two other elders in my district but their area is over an hour away from mine, haha. So that will be interesting, but it will be cool. Just means I will be traveling a lot to do interviews! So this will be a really fun a great experience for me! I think that I will probably be here until I finish my mission, but we will see you never know, haha. Anything can happen, but I feel like most likely I will be here till I finish!

Well, I miss you all and I love you all a lot, but I will have to cut this short because after 5 hours of traveling I don't have much p-day left, haha and I still have to wash all my clothes. And it's great I get to do it by hand again, haha. Good, good old fun!!!! Who needs a washer when you got hands, haha! I love you all and I hope you all are staying safe! Love ya!

Love,
Elder Despain

 F's baptism with the member who baptized her. 11-6-11

 J's baptism with the member who baptized him. 11-6-11

  M & M's baptism with the member who baptized them. 11-6-11

 The pink uniform I was dared to wear. And she didn't think I would. She doesn't know me very well! 11-7-11

 Our zone eating carne asada and playing futbol! 11-7-11

Hola =) 11-7-11

Hola familia! 

          Well this week was a great week! We baptised 4 people and it was really awesome! M. was especially cool for me. We have been teaching him for a while and he is going through some tuff things right now, but when his friend baptized him, he came out of the water and just gave his friend (the member) a big hug and started crying and the spirit for me was very strong and it was just a really special moment for me! It is the things like that and that feeling I had that makes everything we do worth it! It reminds me of why I am here and it reminds me of the great blessings that this gospel brings to our lives! I love this gospel and I know there is nothing that can help us more than this gospel! I'm so grateful to be here and I really and truly know that this is the work of the Lord! Today I got to go play futbol (soccer), and we had a carne asada as a zone like we made steaks and it was good! I told one of my converts yesterday that I was going to go play futbol with all the other missionaries today and she dared me to wear her old soccer uniform because it is pink, haha, so I did!!! Haha, it was funny! I'll send a picture. So ya, I took her up on her it, haha. I think she thought I wasn't going to wear it, haha. Also, this last week they took the Elders out of the area next to mine and so the president told me and my companion that we had to work there as well. So now we have two areas! But it's all good, it's more work and we have to be at church double the time on Sunday, but it's good! There are some problems with that bishop but I am working with him, so that we don't have so many problems! I love this work and I'm so grateful to be here! I hope that you  are all doing good! Just know that I am good and that I'm staying safe and that everything is great here! They told me that my package is in the offices, but I still haven't got it. I don't know why, but we will see if I get it this week! I love you all! Stay safe and remember that God loves us and that He does have a wonderful plan for each one of us! I know that Jesus Christ is my savior and I know that He really did die for me and I am so greatful for that eternal sacrifice! Daily I want to be better so that I can help Christ in this work because He really did suffer for every person but that sacrifice is in vain if they don't accept Him! I know that that is my job here to help everyone accept Christ in their lives and help them to receive all the blessings that god has waiting for each one of them! I love you all and miss you all a lot, but I know that I am were I need to be! I love you all!

 

Love,

Elder Despain

 Arizona!!! Haha!!!! 10-24-11

 Me in Centro last week! 10-24-11

Hola! 11-1-11

Hola Familia!

  I hope you are all doing good! I was very happy to hear from you this week and get your letter! This week was hard. The whole week went okay but then on Sunday, 4 people that were all getting baptized... didn't. They all fell through! We are hoping that this week they will get baptized, but it was very hard to have 4 baptisms fall through the same day! But it's all part of this work. I just hope that they all go through with their decision and get baptized this week and don't wait any longer! I love this work and I'm so, so, so grateful to be part of it in the good times and in the bad ones because everything is a learning experience and through challanges we can get stronger! I know that the Lord loves each and every one of us and that He lets us have challenges so that we can grow. Without the challenges, we wouldn't be able to become the person that Heavenly Father wants us to become! I'm grateful for the challanges that come to me, even though at times it's very hard to understand why! But God knows why so we just have to learn to accept it and become better through it! I just want you all to know that I know that my Savior, Jesus Christ, lived and died for me! I love this gospel and I am so grateful for the plan of happiness that God has for us! And I am also so grateful for the opportunity I have to be a part of this great work! I love you all. Thank you all for all you do for me! Mom, they said that they have my package in the offices so I should get it tomorrow! Thanks! I love you all! Stay safe and remember that great plan of happiness that God has for us!

Love, 

Elder Despain