This week was pretty good for the most part, as always.

This week was pretty good for the most part, as always. Its getting hard to know when a certain story actually 

happened, like if it was this week or the last week or what not.

Story one: 

We had a stake activity which was a bunch of the 16-17 guys and girls in the ward all go to a different ward and act 

like missionaries for three days. Well we were told that we would be receiving 4 guys and 2 girls in our little group, 

so we planned out what we would do and a bunch of citas for the week as if we were going to have splits. 

well Saturday comes around and it turns out that we got 5 girls and no guys. so the problem is we have a 

bunch of citas and we have no time to get to any of them. what made it worse was that the bishop had 

set up an activity for the missionaries and all of the girls to do, go to all the MA houses and invite them to church 

and the ward activity that night. so we actually had no time to visit any of the people we had planned to visit. So we 

started coming up with of plan of how we were going to make it all work out so we could at least figure out and 

visit a few of the people. so the plan was let the girls go and visit two of our progressing investigators who we 

have been teaching for a while and he will go with the bishop to a remote part of the area to look for members. 

and I was left with visiting all of our citas for the day which was a ton. hah  So me and HNO Pedro went out and 

nothing was clicking like nothing. we went to every single visit that we had scheduled and 0 answered the door 

and if they did they didn't want to talk to us. so within an hour we had visited all of the people we had planned to 

see, or at least tried to see. So I told Pedro that we needed to go to his house and get his Insulin packs and sugar 

packs, cuz he is diabetic like majorly, and bring them with him cuz I'm gonna work you like no other. hahaha so 

we started contacting and looking for some of our old references that we had recieved. one of our contacts was 

a lady named Judid and we started talking and teaching her about stuff. and she too has a bunch of health issues 

and stuff and we were just talking. and then Pedro tells his conversion story and how the first time the missionaries 

knocked his door he had just gotten back from the hospital, and the doctor told him at best he has only got like 

two weeks to live. so he tells the story and then he tells her that its because of the elders and the priesthood that 

they hold that he is still alive and actually doing well today. He told her about how he had received a blessing from 

them and followed through on all of the compromisos during the lessons and when he went back to the hospital the 

doctor first was amazed that he was still alive and two that he didn't have any of the problems he had in the first 

visit that was like three weeks earlier. He then told her that this day was the first day that he has actually walked a 

lot (I assure you it was a lot) and he felt like his old self, he didn't have any issues at all. And his heart only 

functions at half the rate it should. So boom--power of the priesthood.

Story 2:

We had another baptism this week, Alfonso, he is 13 years old and is actually a pretty awesome kid. Also has a 

lot of social issues but hey that's okay. Another thing is he also received the priesthood yesterday as well as 

Armando from last week. But anyways we believe that he will be an example, and we want him to be, to his 

mom who also will be getting baptized but we just don't know when. His mom has a pretty big issue with stealing 

stuff from everyone, and says its justified by the law. we have been teaching her that just because something is 

justified by the laws of men doesn't mean its justified by the law of God. And that she is breaking the law of God 

and that is much worse than man's law. So president told us that he can't hold an interview with her until she 

shows that she has actually changed and repented of the things she has done. That means reconstructing the 

wrongs that she has done. 

And finally that crazy lady from last week. Remember her? Yeah she isn't all the right in the 'noggen'--and she 

blew her house up! haha. But its all good she--still lives! haha. 

Hope all is well with everyone. Love you all. Church is true!   Go be awesome!! (Anne Bagley)

This week has been pretty good...

This week has been pretty good, just like always, that's why I start out every email the same way. Not really a whole lot has happened this week though. 

Story one:

So there's this crazy lady in our town--like straight the screws are gone! haha. So anyways, my first day here she stopped us and asked us if we were those Mormons. We obviously said 'yes'. and then she went on a rant of how "I know one of your men who is a bad man. And he beats all the people in his house" and a bunch of other stuff. So then we said, 'Oh really? That's not good.  What's his name?  And then she made up a name and we said, 'Yep, that person doesn't exist sister.  Gotta go-we have an appointment'. So anyways on Tuesday or Wednesday (not really sure), she once again stopped us. She asked a question, which we answered, and then went on a rant about how her dad was murdered in a drug cartel. and then her mom died somehow. And then she starts talking about how "I smoke weed everyday, and drink everyday, and I'm perfectly fine in my life. I'm completely normal, and stuff." We may or may not have laughed and said very sarcastically, "Yeah you're completely normal hna."  It was funny in person--not so funny over text.

Story Two:

So we had another two baptisms this Saturday (which was awesome). And these people had to make some changes in their lives before they could. They were the couple that got married the week before last. Well anyways you can clearly see the love and the Spirit in the home has changed drastically. They lived together before but after their wedding there was a very clear change in this house--you can feel it. Well anyways, after the wedding you-know-who started to go to work on trying to stop the baptism. First, the husband told us that we would have to wait a week because he didn't have money to buy the clothes for baptism. This was an easy fix--we simply told them, 'hermanos you need not to worry about that.  You aren't going to buy clothes. We have a bunch of clothes that you can wear. So 'boom'--check that off. hahaha   And then Mother Nature started to take her monthly course. So we pass by on Friday to ask about how they were feeling for the following day. Well the wife said very directly told us, "I cannot be baptized tomorrow because I'm on my period and I don't want to have an accident in the water."  Haha--My comp was feeling really uncomfortable so I took over (cuz 6 sisters--this isnt weird).  And I said,  'Well there are many things we can do Hermana. And I kindly explained what we could do such as like no one but the two Testigos and Elder Flores will see the baptism. She didn't feel comfortable. So then I said let's call the bishop's wife--maybe she'll have an idea (cuz the other option wasn't gonna come from me). Well anyways, the bishop's wife gave a different form of hygiene product, and 'boom'-got this all figured out. So we got over all the hurdles in this week, and they were baptized the next day. It was pretty awesome changing in the bathroom after the baptism. We were talking with Armando and he asked us how many generations our families went back in the church.  I honestly have no clue with Grandma's family by the way. And anyways he starts talking about how he wants to be a legacy in his family to come. And how he wants to be a standard to them all. And they wanted him to go and be the first of many generations to come, and help with his generations that have already come. 

Oh yeah also during a lesson with a new investigator the people got a phone call. It was a person that had taken their aunt hostage. He was demanding some stuff. So we just said, 'yeah so we gotta go cuz we shouldn't be here'.  We went to a park and just started to pray.  We went back the next day and they were all safe and nothing happened--which is pretty rare here. 

So yeah--that's all I got for this week. 

Church is true--go be awesome (Anne Bagley). 

Love you all.

This week was pretty good as always. I had my first transfer of the area so what's up. Nothing too big has happened though. I got transferred to Aeropuerto, which is called that because the Aeropuerto is in our area. Its still technically in the port so that's not fun, but hey--oh well. My new companion is also the lider de districto, so we are constantly leaving the area for interviews--so that kinda blows a little. His name is Elder Flores, he is pretty cool and we are having a lot of success so far this week. Not really sure how long I have left with him due to the fact that transfers are in a week (I was part of a special cambio of like ten missionaries for some reason). So he could be leaving in a week and I'll be left in this area--haha--not really knowing a whole lot. 

Story one:

Today I had my first wedding. The lucky couple were two investigators-Rita and Armando. We got a call on Wednesday with the news that they were getting married the falling Monday, today. So we happily excepted the invitation to go and we also obtained permission from the President.  So the wedding was an hour and a half away in Jamapa, and we had to figure out how to get there. Saturday we finally found a ride with one of the ward missionaries and we thought we were all set. Well yesterday she said she couldn't make it and we would have to find another ride. So we were looking and looking and looking and finally Armando invited us to ride with him. We happily agreed. So we showed up at seven at his house this morning and figured out that we would be riding in the back of a mini Uhaul trailer. haha   Ahh--yeah. So we crammed like ten people in the back of this trailer and we had to shut the door. It was pitch black and extremely hot and humid. It was also a very hard floor. However it was actually extremely fun and I thoroughly enjoyed myself haha.  Mhey made the comment  (not me) that we were just crossing the border. The wedding was pretty fun--just in a little room signing papers--but hey, oh well-- it was a happy day. And they got to officially start a marriage and a family and not break the law of chastity. This Saturday the will both be getting baptized--so whoop whoop.

Story Two:

The teaching here is going a whole lot better than in my last area. We are teaching as companions and not as different people. Our chemistry is pretty darn good I like to believe. The Spirit in the lessons is actually a lot stronger as well. We are focusing heavily on the Book of Mormon and obtaining a testimony of it. We tell all the people we teach and every lesson they need to gain there own testimony of the book, and if they don't there is a very large risk that they'll go inactive or be shaken by things in the world. This is because they haven't built their house on the rock of the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon never changes and it never will change. The teachings are the same and the Spirit and love that you feel is also the same no matter your age, gender, or time of year. However, if you build your testimony on the branches of the church like on the classes or the people, you are building your faith on the sand. this things are constantly changing, and they will never stay the same. So when the sand shifts your house runs the risk of falling over and collapsing. When this happens a lot of people don't want to rebuild this testimony or house back up, so they move and they change everything completely. And in a lot of cases these people don't know where to look, so they unavoidably build on more uneven, insecure ground. And this process repeats over and over again. This is for people in and out of the church. However there is a very, very simple fix. Just turn to the thing that doesn't change--the Book of Mormon. Build your testimony on this and nothing else. And then you can start adding some more rooms to this house--like classes and people and other stuff. But when those things start to shake and waver and change it isn't important cuz you know you're safe cuz you built your house on the rock. Boom--primary song. 

That is all I got for this week. I hope all is well with you guys and I love you all.   Keep up the good work.  I'm proud of all of you. 

Church is true--go be awesome (Anne Bagley)

Love, 

Tanner

¿Que pasa calabaza? 'Oh--getting pretty good at this whole Spanish keyboard stuff!  So I have to tell a lot of

people that I'm actually Mexican or they won't talk to me cuz they think I don't know Spanish.  It usually goes 

like this (but in Spanish):  'Where are you from?'  'Oh, hermana--I'm not from the USA, I'm actually Mexican. 

I know I'm really white--that's just because my parents are both gringos but moved to Mexico when 

I was a baby.'  Them: 'Oh really--so you know Spanish?   Me: 'claro que si hermana'. 

This week was pretty good as always, cuz hey--I'm in Mexico on the Lord's errand. 

Story one:

Well, its two stories in one.  Man oh man--you guys are lucky. So Jorge Alvarez, who is getting baptized 

this Thursday, had a reference for us.  So we went with him. It was on the opposite side of our area close 

to the hermanas de camino real--like a 40 minute walk on straight camp ground. But anyways she is a pretty 

good lady, pretty religious and all that good stuff.  But what happened is that she was robbed by a bunch of 

guys from her church.  Their excuse for taking everything was that "I'm Christian and God told me to take all 

of this from you." Doesn't make sense, but whatever.  So she went to pray for help and she got her answer in 

our investigator. He was passing by on his motorcycle selling some sort of food (like everyone does in Veracruz) 

when he stopped at this lady's house. Well, they got talking and he pretty much teaches her the entire restoration
lesson and sets up a follow up appointment with her to bring us. So we go and we are just talking about how 

God puts trials in the paths of the faithful to test them and to grow their faith and other stuff. Well, we keep 

talking and Jorge Papa goes off and just shares an unreal story from his life and shares his short testimony, 

but the Spirit was so, so, so, incredibly strong while he was talking and sharing all of this stuff it was great. 

And it was so awesome cuz this guy isn't even a member yet, but he is a better member missionary 

than everyone else in our ward.

The second part of this story is actually pretty sad--and really got the LZ, LD, and myself extremely distraught. 

Same guy--but this story happened yesterday right before his interview for baptism (which he passed with flying 

colors).  So what happened was he was on his moto and a taxi ran an intersection and completely ran the guy 

over and wrecked his bike. Keep in mind this guy is like 54, so he doesn't have too great of shape of a body to 

begin with, but after this he just couldn't walk or really move his body on the right side. On top of all of that, 

his son was on the back of the bike cuz he was taking his son to work in the port. So anyways, they wreck and a 

lot of people saw it--including the bishop!   Thank goodness, right?  Well no.  The bishop pulls over and does 

not help at all. Jorge asked him if he could give his son a ride to work and he said 'no'.  He then said, 'Well, do 

you have like 10 pesos for a taxi to take him?'  He flat out told him 'No', he wasn't here to help; just to see how 

he was. The thing that irked us is the fact that the bishop has a bunch of money and carries a load of money 

at all times, but when someone in his own ward and his investigator dad got ran over by a car, he wasn't 

even willing to give 10 pesos (which is 50 cents) to help for a taxi. Here comes the cool part--we go to interview 

him for baptism and he doesn't say a single mean thing about the bishop and makes reasons of maybe this is 

why he didn't help him and other stuff. And then he just said, 'I'm not getting baptized for the people in the 

church.  I'm getting baptized for the doctrine of the church and the teachings of the church'. This guy's testimony 

is extremely strong and he is the definition of enseñamos arrepentimiento y bautizamos conversos. 

Like you, I too enjoyed conference like no other. Believe it or not, you actually learn stuff from conference if 

you listen and look for answers to your life questions. But boy, was it so incredible?  I believe this was one of the 

best conferences (if not the best conference) that I have ever watched. That could be thanks to the fact that I'm 

on a mission and only doing spiritual stuff (so I'm getting closer to the Spirit).  I just loved how all of the talks 

were so direct and they didn't hit you with a soft pillow but with a brick to the face with a lot of the stuff said. I 

loved all of the Seventies talks--they were the best ones I have ever heard. Also like always Thomas S. Monson, 

and Holland absolutely killed their talks. Also the prophet and Oaks (I believe its him), look a lot better than 

last time. One thing that I loved was the thing said multiple times about how we need to sacrifice short term 

goals for our long term goals (the talk about goals by Elder Ballard).

Some other general information for the crowd. I have transferred the bladder of my Camelback to my Nike 

backpack--this has been a huge blessing and a genius idea cuz now I'm never thirsty and drink close to 

4-6 liters of water every day. I have also traded a tie for a nice little cowboy hat that I now wear everyday (cuz 

its allowed)--this has shielded me from some of the sun. Not all of it though. Fun fact--it has been over 

40 C this week and its only suppose to get hotter--so what's up?!? 

That's all. 

 

Church is true--go be awesome (of course Anne Bagley) 

If you aren't Mormon let's go get baptized in the Church and become Mormon!