Monday, December 8, 2014

Solo somos dos! [We're just two]

Dear Family,                                                                                      July 14, 2014

First, I never explained my dog story. My companion is extremely slow, unnecessarily slow in most things.  I help him stay motivated and working at pace.  We were climbing down some stairs, I was in front, and we found a dead end. There is dogs everywhere, and their barks and yaps don't bother me. We turned around to climb up, and one dog charged at me. I was on a tire stair beside a wall, and couldn't turn around nor step up because my companion was still taking his next step up, and it didn't matter that I was pushing him up. By the time he bit me, ran away, and I checked to see if it was anything urgent, he had climbed the ONE stair and asked me, "Did he scare you?" in Spanish.  My mind flipped to English in this moment, and was responding, "No, he bit me!" and "That's what I said, he bit me!" "Como?" was his response finally, and I explained what happened in Spanish. 

Hey, scout camp was one of the funnest weeks of the summer! Where did you go with the scouts? And did you go fishing by chance?

I am getting used to the major streets, roads, and alleys, but there are still areas that we haven't even touched. Colorado Hill esta media chafa y feo, (Colorado Hill is mean crappy and ugly) but it's a better sight than dozens of power lines over my head. I have spent nearly three months here in this area, and I love the members here, and wish to see them progress spiritually and receive of the blessings God has in store for them.

Mutual these past weeks have been very fun. The Relief society finished making decorative binders for their Family history, and this past week was a fun summer activity with water balloons, potato sack races, and volleyball. I was able to see this because our ward mission leader could not attend these weeks.  It is very nice to see several people assisting ward night, and the attendance has increased more substantially there then in the Sunday services.

As for food, I am still trying to figure out the difference between gelatin of water (jello), milk gelatin, and flan. Besides that, the ground sausage here tastes delicious! In this ward there is not many fancy or special foods, but those members who are willing to serve us give us A LOT. Yesterday, we drank three pitchers of watermelon lemonade. Yeah, there are a few recipes and ideas that I can bring home to the kitchen.

I only need four (4) generations, but thank you very much for doing this for me. Hnita. Patty Lara is in charge of the family history in the ward, and is very effective in her work and supportive in our work as missionaries.

This past week the bishopric and the youth were very centered on FSY, which is being held in our church this week. As an assignment from the bishop we invited multiple less active and recent converts to participate in this activity.  We have plans to visit their families this upcoming week to help them apply this spiritual experience in their homes. Alex is progressing very well, and we are currently finalizing his baptism. Also to serve the bishop, we are preparing four members to receive the Higher Priesthood and encouraging temple attendance. Two of the men are less active members that we found ourselves, and the other two are ward missionaries right now. We have made invitations to every family, and are animating them to join the ward as they journey to the temple in the next state over for the last time before the dedication of the temple here.  The bishop asks various things from us, and although we are only two, we can accomplish all.

This week we found a senior couple who are beginning to listen to us, one of whom could be an uncle of my deranged companion. Oh, and is anyone else besides Ryan Hall watching Mundial, or the soccer world cup? We heard the final goal passing by in a taxi, as several houses erupted with noise. As for my soccer skills I still play like an amateur. Last night I helped a less active member with her car, thank to my skills working with the truck at home.

The Lord requires sacrifice in all that we do. Our ward mission leader is still amazing and helping us with our most confident investigator, but is passing through storms in his family, They can't find his son, and it has been nearly two weeks. His wife is acting like a headless chicken, and his other kids were already battling to go to church. But I know that the Lord is watching over his and is very prod of the changes and service he has done in order to follow the Lord. That kind of service is what we need from every member. If you are willing to sacrifice just a little more, we shall receive of the blessings the Lord has promised us. I love my family, and I am very grateful for this opportunity to serve My Master. I know that if it weren't for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we would we worthless, life would cease to have a purpose, and we would be lost. I am grateful for the chance to partake to the Love of God, and to share this love through my service to God's Children here in Tijuana.

Sincerely,


Elder Tobler

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