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 

Me up high!!! 7-20-11

 My companion, Elder Ross. 7-20-11

My room here. 8-15-11

These pictures are from the temple this Saturday. I got to go to the temple with Elia, who I baptized with Elder Higuera.

 It was such an awesome experience to get to go to the temple and feel of the spirit there! I haven't been in like 14 months to a session so that was just really awesome! It makes all that I do here worth it to see her enter into the temple.

 

Also, a few members I knew really well there also entered the temple at the same time so it was cool to be there for that as well. 8-27-11

 These two are baptisms that my district had so that was cool. I was able to interview all of them and also help to baptize a lady. 8-28-11

Waterfall pictures 8-29-11

Me with a recent convert, Irven!!! Cool kid. 8-29-11

My comp., Elder Ross,  jumping over a river. 8-29-11

Me after sliding/ falling down the hill, haha. It was the only way down and we all fell, haha, mud!!!! I just went to the big dirty early, haha! 8-29-11

Me drinking out of the river. Not sure if that was the best choice, but Irven convinced me that it was clean and that it tasted awesome. It actually did taste really good, like spring water, but don't know how clean it was. But I'm pretty sure that nothing really makes me sick any more, haha. But don't worry mom, even though I don't get sick I am still really careful! 8-29-11

My pants after! 8-29-11

 Another waterfall! 8-29-11

Hola 8-29-11

Hola familia!

   So this week was a pretty good week! In my area, we didn't have a ton of success but I got to go to the temple! Elia, that I baptized when I was with E. Higuera, went through the temple and I got to go. It was so, so, so, so awesome! I sent some pictures you should have already got them! It was just a really great experience and the spirit was super strong and it just makes everything I have been doing worth it! 

Also, in my district we ended up having 4 baptisms! But it was crazy. They all had their date for baptism but when we got to church on Sunday, 2 of the 4 that were supposed to get baptized that same afternoon didn't want to get baptized anymore! So I interviewed them both over again during the church services and then they ended up getting baptized when church ended. It was great! I also ended helping to baptize one of them because she was super nervous to enter into the water and was really scared of drowning. But ya, it went good! It was a true blessing from the Lord! They all were really cool experiences for me how they ended up getting baptized. First, like Thursday, I did an interview for one of them. I had already interviewed her the week before but I was just doing another one to keep her excited about her baptism and just get her more ready and excited. But the last week when I talked to her, she didn't want to get baptized because of her daughter, who is 11, didn't want to get baptized. Anyways, I felt like I should promise her that if she got baptized that her daughter would follow her example in less then 2 weeks! Well, this week, like Thursday, when I talked to her I interviewed her in her daughter's room. Usually when you do an interview, it just is you and the person. But in this case, we did the interview in her daughter's room, but her daughter was in there doing home work so she was listening to everything. Well, when I was talking to her and promising her lots of blessings and just getting her ready and excited for her baptism, out of no where the daughter turns around in her chair and said, "Mom, I want to get baptized as well!!!!" It was just a blessing from the Lord to have her accept and follow her mom's example. It was awesome. When she said that I just like started praying in my head and giving thanks because it truly was a miracle and it was just truly amazing! It is so wonderful the miracles I get to see as I'm serving the lord! But ya, all the baptisms just were really cool and I get to interview like each one of them a few times to get them excited and convinced to get baptized and it was just really amazing and lots of miracles! 

So today, we went to waterfalls. It was pretty cool, but the funnest part of the whole thing is when we had to go down this really steep hill and we were like trying to slide down on our feet but everyone was just falling and we got all muddy. It was great and super funny, haha. I'll send pictures! 

In my new district, because we had changes, one of the elders, E. Barajas, got a kid! (un hijo) He is American. He is from California and I am really remembering a lot about when I got here and now I can really, really see how much my Spanish has improved, haha. But he is a great elder and I have been enjoying getting to help him out and teach him and translate for him when he doesn't know what his companion is saying or when he doesn't know what others are saying, haha! We took him to eat tacos al pastor today, haha. It was cool! They call me a lot, haha, on the phone and I explain to him what his companion is trying to tell him. It's fun! 

Well, I don't have much more time! I hope you all are doing great and that all is well back at home! Dad, I hope that is going great for you. Let me know how you're doing. I will make sure to keep you especially in my prayers! I hope you have a great time and that you can always stay safe! I love you all and I miss you all, too. I hope you are all doing well and thanks for all you do for me! Mom, thanks a ton for buying those shirts. I know they will be a great help to this kid and that he will really be happy and it really is great we can help him because he is making a big decision. That must be hard without his family's support, but is what the Lord really wants from him! Thanks Mom, you're the best! I love you! Please try and send it as fast as possible because he leaves in Oct. and you know how great the mail is here, haha! I love you all!

Love,

Elder Despain

Temple Picture 8-13-11

Moroni with the gold plates in his hands. This is one of 3 temples in the world that are like that. One is in South America, one here in Mexico City and one in New York! Cool isn't it!

 Part of my district 8-16-11

A big torta I ate. It was so much meat, it wasn't even funny. 8-20-11

 

 Baptisms in my district 8-21-11

 

Yes, that man is wearing a dress but it's because there weren't any more overalls. So ya, he used that. He was a good sport about it!! He kinda looks like Pinocchio's dad doesn't he???  He is an awesome man!!!!  8-21-11

Irven!!!! Super cool kid! 8-21-11

Hola 8-22-11

Hola Familia!!!!!!!! 

  So, I'm really sorry that I didn't write last week. It was a crazy day and I was on like 2 minutes and I had to use/have that time just to write my president. So ya, I'm really sorry but I am writing this week :) haha!

 So, ya, wow! That is really crazy that Dad is going to Taiwan!!!!!!! But really, really cool at the same time! It sounds like it will be an adventure but a good experience!  So I got to go to the temple 2 Saturdays ago and it was really amazing. I got to see some converts (well, they weren't my converts but I worked a lot with them to baptize the rest of their family because when I got there they had just got baptized.) but ya, it was an awesome experience to get to go to their sealing. It was amazing and I felt the spirit so, so strongly!!! I love the temple and I miss going a lot but it was really cool to be there as they got married!

Also, last week and this week we got people at church so that was awesome to have people to go to church because here it is hard to get our investigators to church. Also, not last week but the week before we had house inspections by the presidents wife...... That was a first in all of my mission, haha. Our house is pretty good so it wasn't too bad, but I feel bad for lots of the other elders because some of the houses in the mission are so nasty, haha. But we just didn't have tables or beds or like anywhere to put our stuff so it was unorganized. But she made sure we got what we needed so that was good. So now our house is organized, haha!!!

Also, I don't know Mom if you already sent the package you were going to send. But, I was wondering if you hadn't sent it yet, could you buy two size 19 shirts and send them to me. There is a kid in my ward (he is a big kid) that is going to go on his mission in Oct. but he is the only member in his family and doesn't have much money and his family isn't too supportive that he is going. But any ways, he only has like 4 shirts so I was wondering if you could send me like two so we could help him out a little! He is a great kid with a great desire to serve the Lord! We took him out to work with us on Saturday and ya, he was just a little worried about the shirts. So that would be awesome if you could send me like two size 19, well the around the neck is 19 idk if there is another size on shirts, but I hope with that you can find one that will work! Thanks mom!

Also, when I went to the temple I saw tons of members from my first area and they all were so cool to see, like they all remembered me. I didn't think they would but they did and it was great to see them!! We also had a baptism this week. It was Sunday!!! Fernando!!! I'm not going to lie, it was a real miracle. I think Heavenly Father just felt bad for us and so he just sent him to us, haha. We didn't really even teach him. He is the son of a member and he just wanted to get baptized. We didn't do anything but it just shows that if you work hard, God blesses you :)

Also, I just wanted to share some scriptures with all of you! 2 Nephi 2:11, Opposition in all things! D&C 122:7, Trials are experiences for our good! 8-9, Even the greatest man, Jesus, suffered so much here on earth in His life, we are not better than Him so we shouldn't expect not to have to suffer a little, but fear not because God is with us!!!!! 1Corinthians 10:13, No temptation or trail that we cant overcome, God gives us an escape! I love that scripture, I use it a lot!! D&C 121:1-3, why, how long???? A question we always ask when hard times come. 7, just a short amount of time. Some times we want out now but we must remember that God answers our prayers, but on His time, but it will just be a short amount of time. 8, if we endure well, we will be blessed!  Alma 32:6, afflictions sometimes are to humble us. Alma 64:41, and also sometime are to soften our hearts!!! I was studying the other day and I just really got a lot out of that so I thought I would share it with you all!!! I love you all!! Thanks for all you do for me and for always being so supportive of me!!! I love you all and I miss you all too!!!

Love,

Elder Despain

 A hot dog I made with ham hot dog, onions, tomatoes, and cheese and catchup(aka here Ketchup haha) and mustard 

Where I wash my clothes by hand, haha! It's a great little room, haha, and know it doesn't look like a torture chamber at all, hahaha,

Hola! 8-8-11

Hola familia!

  Well this week was a lot better! We are really starting to pick up this area! We have quite a few people we are teaching now and lots that are close to baptism. Our biggest hold up now has been that like no one is married here, haha, but ya! We are working with many to get them married so they can be baptised! I'm hoping that we will have some baptisms this week. This past week I was able to help out my district a lot and they were able to get quite a few baptisms! So I was reading the Ensign, the new one from Agosto! There is a story that is called small and simple things and in Spanish it is on pg. 8, in English I don't know, but it is an article about the church in korea so I thought dad would enjoy seeing and reading that. It's really short but cool! This week, like two days, I was in Cuajimalpa which is like 1 hour and 30 min from our area. I was there working and doing interviews for the other district leaders over there! For Elder Rowly and Elder Monjaras! It was fun to get to work with them and get to do a few interviews so that they could be able to baptize this week! Also, I think that this week I am going to be able to go to the Mexico temple and see two people get married in the temple! They are two members that lived in my first area and they had just got baptized like a couple months before I got there and I was able to teach the girl's mom and then baptize the guy's little sister and teach his mom so I got to know them really well and now they are going to get sealed in the temple and I am probably going to be able to go! I'm super excited! If I get to go it will be like really, really awesome! Well, not much more is new. We are just working hard to get everything going here still and I really feel like we are going to have a lot of success this week! I love you all and thank you all so much for all you do for me! I truly have the greatest family ever! Thanks for everything! I love you all and miss you all as well!

 

Love,

Elder Despain

 My Area 7-28-11

 

The view out my kitchen window this morning. We were like in the clouds. 8-1-11

Hola!!!!!!!!! 8-1-11

Hola familia!

  Well this week went a lot better, haha, but it's still not very easy here, haha! I love it here in my area, but it's still very slow for us. We are still contacting and knocking doors almost all day. But now we do have a few people with baptism dates and we are starting to get this area up and going again! This area was really dead when we got here but it's picking up for us! It's taking alot of work but it is getting there! The picture I'm sending is out our kitchen window this morrning and we were like pretty much in a cloud, haha! Oh, our bishop said he was living in Arizona for a while before he got married and he said he lived with Gary Flake. So I figured he is propbably related to us but I don't know if you know him or not dad, but you should let me know because the bishop here lived with him, Bishop Esparza, so you should ask him if he knows him! So this week was really cool. We didn't know any members, so on Monday we had to wash all our cloths by hand. It's not the first time I have done it but every time it reminds me of how grateful I am for technology and that we have washers, haha. Because it's not to fun to do by hand and it takes a lot time! Haha! So it's rainning here a ton, like every day at like around 5-5:30, it just pours, haha.  I use like two jackets and an umbrella and I'm still getting wet, haha. It's making my shoes wear out a lot faster, but they are still doing all right! I'm hoping they will make it through these last 8 months! So this week we were still doing a lot of exploring because we don't know all of our area yet! Haha, we went to this pueblo like 2 hours away and then we got so lost trying to find a reference we got, haha. But it was good because when we get lost it makes it easier to contact people because you ask them first how to get where you're going and then contact them to see if they want to listen to us, so it works out good, haha. But there are some really far away pueblos in our area and we still haven't even visited all of them, haha, but we are getting there! I love it here. Even though it is a challenge here, it is helping me grow a lot! I'm loving the ward and the members. They are all really strong and really active. I mean, of course, there are still tons of inactives but the members that go are very, very strong! I admire them a lot because they make a big sacrifice to go to church every week because many have to travel very far to get to church. But, I think that sacrifice has made them into the strong members that they are! In my district meeting this week, i taught about sacrifice and about the story of Abraham and what a sacrifice he had to make to go and sacrifice his son. As we know, he ended up not having to do it. But, just all the desire he had to be obedient and show that he was willing to do whatever the Lord asked of him! I compared that to us as missionaries how the Lord askes us to make sacrifices and some times we don't understand why but what we need to do is to be like Abraham and do whatever the Lord commands us to do and if we do that, the Lord will always provide for us! In the mission, we must make sacrifices to receive blessings! Some times that is working harder than we think our body can take, some times that is fasting and giving up food or many other things that some times we must sacrifice. But, what I have come to find out is that these sacrifices are just us showing our faith so that the Lord can bless us. I know and I have seen the miracles that come from these sacrifices. I know that the Lord loves us and wants His work to go forth but we must first show Him that we are willing to give up everything for Him! I love this work and I know that it is the work of the Lord! I'm glad that I get to sacrifice things because I get to see the blessings in the lives of those we teach and as they accept the gospel, I get to see miracles take place in their lives! I am so glad that I have this great opportunity to serve the Lord! I know that what I do is not much compared to the sacrifice that others have made to help this work go forth or like the sacrifice that our Savior made for each one of us, but I am grateful for the small part I get to do for the Lord! I love you all so much and I thank you all for all that you have done for me to get me here to this point in my life! Thanks for all you have done for me! I hope that all is well back at home! Just know that I'm doing great and that the Lord is watching over me! I love you all and I miss you all, too! Thanks for all you do!

Love,

Elder Despain

 Map of my new area, Huixquilucan, 7-22-11

 My new area 7-22-11

My shoes, haha, after working just one day here. Well, half a day the day I got to this area. 7-22-11

Hola Familia 7-25-11

Hola!!!!

  So I hope everything is going great for you guys! Things have been really crazy this last week, haha, really crazy! First, at the start of the week, we went to a members house to see if she could let us use her washer. But, it ended up when we got there that she was having some big problems and needed our help. I felt really bad because a lot of bad things have been going on in her life. Well anyways, it was one of the moments that you just don't even know what you can say because it's just really hard and there isn't much comfort you can give well... Through this experience I came to love the spirit and the promptings of the spirit a little bit more. First a few scriptures in the Bible came to my mind, so I shared them with her and then she asked if we could say a prayer for her. Normally that is when I would look at my comp., because most of my mission I have had Mexican comps and they can say and put things in better words that can help more. But this time, my comp is also American and speaks less then me and he looked at me. So I was like "Okay, I'll say it" and I really didn't know what to say. But, I was just praying the spirit would guide me and I said the prayer. Well, I don't know what I said in the prayer but the sister was crying at the end. It just made me really love the spirit more and be very grateful that I can rely on the Lord to put the words I need to say in the time I need to say them!

Then, we had a Zone conference this week and that was really good! Our mission the last two months has baptized more then any other mission in Mexico and I think in May we baptized more then any other mission in the world, so that was kinda cool! Well then, on Wednesday I got a surprise call from the president and he just said "Elder Despain, I have been praying and I have received a confirmation that I need to do a special change. You and your companion, Elder Ross, will be going tomorrow morning to Huixquilucan and you will be a district leader out there. But, it won't be the same as any other position as district leader because you will have the biggest district in the mission!" So, I said "Okay President, I will do whatever the Lord wants me to do." So that was at about 8 at night and so we had to pack up all of our stuff and be ready to go by 8 in the morning.... We didn't sleep much that night, haha.

Well then, we got here to our area and our area is so, so, so, so big! It is just all mountains and little towns like some are really, really far away. In our area book, it has names of people but there aren't any houses that have numbers on them, so you just have to find that street and then just ask everyone on the street if the know that person, haha. And, you go off of that, haha. It's really hard to find the people! Haha, so we are pretty much starting from zero here and just contacting everyone we see and knocking lots of doors. Although the people here are really, really Catholic and some times are really mean, but there are also great people! I love the people here, even the mean ones, haha. We found this one lady on Saturday and she is really cool. We were just asking her if she knew some person that we were looking for and she said no, but we contacted her and said "Well, we can't find this lady but we would like to share the message we have about Jesus with you." and she said yes! It was a cool lesson and she is a super cool lady. We think she will probably get baptized, not this Sunday, but the next!!! My whole area is just hills but it is really pretty. Just full of like pine trees and just really pretty!!! Although we are kinda dying going up and down all these hills, haha, more my companion then me but, haha, it makes you tired! Some roads are like straight up, haha. I have found a couple houses here that in the place of a guard dog they have a lamb outside and they can be kinda aggressive, haha. We call them Garden lambs, haha. Some times they try to attack you, haha! Although because its a pueblo (small village or town), they don't really always give us very much food. So, I am starting to cook a lot more in the house, which means I have to buy a lot more food, which means I'm spending a lot more money! Plus, the transports are really expensive and we use them so much to go from pueblo to pueblo!! And, the area is just kinda a hard area. Not very many elders baptize in Huixquilucan, but I know that the Lord put me here for a reason and that He will provide for me and we are going to have success and baptize!!! We are just doing what the president told us to do and that is to find escogidos or the choosen people and we will and are finding them and they are the people that progress very fast! Although, the ward here is great! It's the biggest ward I have ever had. There are lots of active members! Sacrament meeting was so big, haha. It was awesome! It still doesn't compare to our ward, but for Mexico it's huge!!! I talked on Sunday, so that was cool. Although he only told me like 2 min before the meeting was going to start, but it was good! I'm glad I'm here. I know it won't be easy, but I know I'm here for a reason and that there are many people here waiting for me and my companion! I love this work and I'm so grateful to be here!!! I love you all. Thank you for all you do for me! Thanks again for the money, it will be of great use!!! I love you all so, so much and I hope that all is well back at home! Know that I love you all and that I'm doing great and I'm staying safe! Although, I would love to give you all some of the rain we are getting, haha. It rains everyday and we get so, so, so wet every day. I am using two jackets and an umbrella and I still get soaked, haha, but it's okay! It helps to get people to open their door because they see that we are gettting really wet, haha! But I'm doing great !!! I love you all and miss you all as well!

Love,

Elder Despain

 Nasty Oatmeal I made, Haha. 7-11-11

In the night time taking off my shoes and water running out. You can't see it too well, haha, but it was funny.  7-11-11

 

Different day, but raining really hard! 7-12-11

My wonderful breakfast the other day, haha. 7-13-11

  

New pants. I have been saving them in my suitcase so that later in my mission I could have a nice new pair of pants. Well, I finally used them. They are great. I'm actually using them right now! Also, my new hat I bought, although, you can't really see it in this picture! 7-15-11

 Cool Graffiti 7-15-11

 

 

Me and my comp in our cool hats -  note our ties match our hats! 7-18-11

Hola familia 7-18-11

Hola familia

  This week was great! We baptized this guy named Abraham!! He is really cool. I'm sending a picture of the baptism! I felt like I hadn't baptized in forever so it was really sweet to be able to get a baptism and especially one as cool as this one. He is a super cool guy! My comp got to baptize him and it was the first person he has ever got to baptize in his mission because before his companions always baptized them! So that was a super cool experience for him! It was awesome! So my first day in this area, like Lunes (Monday) in the night time, we went out to work and it was raining really hard. We got super wet and right before we got to our appointment we had to cross this road to be able to get there and there was tons of water. It wasn't really like a road by that point from all the rain, it was more like a river. We crossed the street and the water almost came up to our knees, haha. It was pretty crazy! Then we crossed another street the same and to get into the house where we were going, we had to walk through more water up to our knees because the person lived in this like place were you go in the door and then there is like 8 houses inside that door. Well, the entrance was all flooded so we had to push through all that water to get to his door, haha. It was crazy but worth it because he was the one that ended up getting baptized this week! When we got into their house, I tipped up my shoes and water ran out of them like in movies, haha. It was really funny! Also, this week I was pretty hungry one day and so I got up and made eggs. But ya, some of the eggs had gone bad so I had to throw those out, haha. Then I got some good eggs made them but we didn't have any salt or pepper, haha. So they didn't taste too good but the only thing we had was salsa and pechuga de pollo, haha, which is like chopped up chicken breast in a can, haha. So I made that, haha, and put it with my eggs. But I'm not going to lie, it was pretty gross, haha. I don't know why I did that, haha! In this area, we also get to shower out of a bucket, like I have almost all my mission. It's great, haha. I love nice, cold bucket showers in the morning, haha. They're not too bad, haha. I also bought a really cool hat for 15 pesos the other day. It is neon blue and says Virginia Beach on it, haha. I will send a picture of it! Haha! Well, that is some of the stuff that has been going down, haha! I am loving being here and getting to work hard! I love having American companions, haha. I get to work so much harder and I have a ton of fun doing it! I love getting to be a missionary! I also love getting to baptize and see people accept their Savior Jesus Christ! The man we baptized, Abraham, was so happy after his baptism. He just kept saying "I feel so great! My knees are shaking because I feel so good! I feel clean!!!" It was awesome. It makes the work we do more than worth it! I love this work! I know it's the work of the Lord and I know that Jesus is my Savior and that He truly did suffer and die for me and for every person on earth. And I am so grateful I get to help other people know of the sacrifice and help them to come closer to Him and accept His sacrifice by being baptized! I love you all and miss you all a ton! Stay strong and stay safe! Love you all! Know that I'm doing great and that I'm always safe!! I love you!

 

Love,

Elder Despain

Hola 7-11-11

Hola familia!!!

  I'm doing great!!! I did get changed and I am now in my new area! I got changed to the D.F. (Districto Federal - which is like Mexico City) my area is called Las Armas! There are a lot more people here, haha, then in Toluca, haha! It is a big change, but I'm so pumped to work so, so, so hard here! My new comp is Elder Ross!!! He is from Payson, Utah! He is a cool kid. I already knew him because he was in my zone when he got to Mexico like 6 or 7 months ago. It was while I was with Elder Jamie in Tlalli! I'm so, so pumped to work so hard. It's going to be awesome! I love having companions that want to work and want to do everything the right way!! No fighting, just lots of work!!!!!! :) 

 

I did watch that video. It is really crazy. I can't belive you guys had that big of a dust storm. That is super crazy! I'm glad to hear all is going well back at home and that Kimi got moved without any problem! I'm sure it will be great to visit them! I'm guessing you're there right now mom visiting them??? I hope that you have a great trip! 

 

So it has been raining a lot and they say it rains here in the D.F. more then in Toluca, so it will be interesting to see how hard it rains here! I had changes today! I came from Toluca by myself, kinda weird. Then I got to observetorio, the like main bus station in the D.F., and then I had to take a taxi to a church building. But then it ended up that they told me to go to the wrong building, so I had to take another taxi to a different church building and then I had to take a taxi with my new comp to my new area!! It was an experience, haha, but I got to make friends with lots of taxi drivers, haha. I like talking to them and the greatest part is that when you talk to people, sooner or later the conversation always gets changed to talking about the church and why I'm here as a missionary and then I get to teach them and talk about the church. It's cool! I love being a missionary and I love talking to people about the church! Although I spent like 700 pesos today, haha, that is like a ton, ton, ton! Haha, I'm just really glad that you were able to send me some money because without that I would have never had that much money to pay for all my transports! 

 

I can't belive that Braxton is already learning to crawl. He must be so, so big now! Well, I'm sure that all the kids are so, so big! Tell them all I love then and that their Uncle Randall misses them like crazy! That's super cool that Tate got married. It seems weird for me but it's super cool! And please tell him congratulations for me and that I wish I could have been there! 

 

I am also very grateful for our Heavenly Father's plan for us and I know that as we live as He wants us to live that we will have all the happiness we need in this life and eternal happiness after this life! I'm grateful to be a missionary and to be able to share this plan that I love so much with all the people I serve here! I love you all and I miss you all!!! Just know I'm in the Lord's hands and that I'm safe and doing great!

 

Love,

Elder Despain