Week 4

I need to explain to everyone that when I was pregnant with Shandra, Davin wanted us to name her "flu" - thus the name for Dall's sea monkey or brine shrimp or whatever it is.

I know I'm the mother but I just love these letters SO MUCH and hope you are all enjoying them too. :)

Hey familia,



Ok so this week hasn't been quite as eventful so I'm not sure what to include in the letter so if it's boring I apologize.


Mom wanted to know about the names of the sea monkeys and shenay wanted to know if they were still alive so: there are four alive, we don't know how because they all seemed dead, but four are alive so each of the elders in our room got to name one. My companion named his spok, elder tibbits named his james westfall, elder newell named his JK, and I named mine flu.


This week I've been getting much better sleep. At the end of our service projects we can take things out of a box of lost and found stuff that nobody has claimed for a long time. Elder tibbits found a box of nose spreaders, and it just so happens that elder newell and elder portuese snore really loud. They tried out the nose spreaders and they actually worked really well, neither of them snored, and everyone is much happier in the mornings.

Speaking of the service projects, every week is the same project. We go into the residence hall across from ours to clean bathrooms, vacuum floors, change garbages, etc. My favorite job to do is restocking the paper towel machines. I get a big cloth bag of new rolls of paper towels and throw it over my shoulder and whistle christmas songs like santa clause. It's pretty lame but it's a good way to relax.


There is an elder black in my zone, who I just found out is nate and chug's cousin. So gram you'll have to tell the blacks that Jay is in my zone.


The TRC last night went really well. We started with a spanish exercise. We had to help the people "move." They would give us instructions in spanish and we'd pick up pictures of what they told us to get and put them in a box. The family we had was really nice (the Jacobs family, a mom and dad with their daughter). After the activity we taught them about the Lord's plan for us and life after death. As I was explaining life after death I asked what they new about judgement etc. Sister jacobs said she had learned judgment day is when we are held acountable for our works whether we've done good or bad. When she said bad I looked at brother jacobs, just to see if he had anything to add, but he just said "why'd you look at me when she said bad?" he seemed pretty angry at first, but then he just laughed, but it still scared me pretty badly. They ended up accepting the message really well, they had alot of questions and said they were eager for our next appointment.


This week I've been doing a little thinking about what a diverse district we have. I realized that there are some missionaries who are new to the church, some who's families aren't members, some who's families don't support them in their decision, and some that have just come from difficult backgrounds. When I thought about this I began to wonder why my life has been so easy, and why I've been so blessed of the Lord, while these other missionaries have had such trials, and have had to rely on their faith to get to where they are. I asked brother catt about it during my weekly interview, and after taking his input and pondering for a while, I came to the conclusion that the Lord didn't just send me to be an example to my brothers and sisters and cousins, he sent me with the best family I could possibly ask for. He gave me a life that would prepare me well, teach me what I needed to know, and provide me with the opportunity to bring the gospel to others free of distractions, and with the knowlege that everyone back home is under His care and protection. The more I think about my calling as a missionary the more excited I become, and the more thankful I am that the Lord has trusted me with such a huge responsibility. I'm on His side, and He will help me in all I do, and provide a way for me to accomplish His will. We were told a little story this past week about President Packer. When he was first called as an apostle, he was sent by the first presidency to report to a big conference of church leaders. After he gave the message he was asked to share, many of the people in the congregation came to him with reasons of why it would be better to change certain parts of their callings, or to do things another way. He saw these as valid points, and brought the ideas back to the first presidency. The first presidency told him they had given him a message from the Lord, and that it wasn't going to change. They said if he ever wanted to succeed in his calling, he needed to decide which way he
was facing. In other words, he wasn't to report the will of the people to the Lord, he was to report the will of the Lord to the people. As I thought about that and how I can apply that in my life, I realized that I need to always remember that I face the same direction as my heavenly father. It's not my job to complain or follow the commandments in the ways that make most sense to me or make my life easier. It's my job to do His will always, and that is what will make my life what I want it to become.


We had a devotional on sunday and tuesday as usual. I can't remember the name of the sunday speaker, but he shared a scripture that I really liked. Acts 4: 8-13. The people see the apostles doing Christ's work. They note that although they weren't learned men (they even call them ignorant men) they were able to work miracles through the priesthood from God. They note that they were astonished to see they had been with the Savior. Many people in Mexico will see Christ's name on my nametag, and be amazed that I know the Savior. For some, it will be the closest they've been to Him yet in their lives. I can't wait to get out and start spreading the gospel.


Well I'm out of time sorry if the letter was a little sloppy. Thanks for the chips and salsa, the cookies, and the pie. They were all great! I love you all.


Elder Dallas Robert Aguilar