The Good
When you hear that a desert had a monsoon season, you probably would start to laugh. I did to when I first got here and hear people talking about monsoon season. I even took note that every single neighborhood street is designed and built in such a way that water will flow out quickly and in vast quantities. I thought to myself, "Man these Arizonians cant handle all couple drops of rain." I am no longer laughing. Monsoons here are no joke. One night when it was raining especially hard, there was a knock on our door. When we opened it, there was a distraught lady speaking in broken English to our landlady that, well to put it this way, isn't the most sympathetic lady in the world. When I looked down, the Hispanic lady was, I kid you not, ankle-deep in water which stretched all the way too the parking lot. The water was less than an inch away from coming into our apartment. The next day, we drove by and saw that 3 electric poles on a main road had fallen, several trees and cacti were uprooted, and several roads were closed because of damages. If Noah lived on the earth this past week in Green Valley Arizona, you best believe he'd be building an arch as fast as he could right now. It was wild.
When you hear that a desert had a monsoon season, you probably would start to laugh. I did to when I first got here and hear people talking about monsoon season. I even took note that every single neighborhood street is designed and built in such a way that water will flow out quickly and in vast quantities. I thought to myself, "Man these Arizonians cant handle all couple drops of rain." I am no longer laughing. Monsoons here are no joke. One night when it was raining especially hard, there was a knock on our door. When we opened it, there was a distraught lady speaking in broken English to our landlady that, well to put it this way, isn't the most sympathetic lady in the world. When I looked down, the Hispanic lady was, I kid you not, ankle-deep in water which stretched all the way too the parking lot. The water was less than an inch away from coming into our apartment. The next day, we drove by and saw that 3 electric poles on a main road had fallen, several trees and cacti were uprooted, and several roads were closed because of damages. If Noah lived on the earth this past week in Green Valley Arizona, you best believe he'd be building an arch as fast as he could right now. It was wild.
Speaking of wild, I was in the most interesting Bible study of my life this past week. Well we passed by José Ángel's place Tuesday and didn't find him so we went on Wednesday. He seemed really happy to see us and told us that we came on the day of surprise. He invited us in and not too long after sitting down, a bunch of people from his church started showing up. He was like "Yeah we have Bible study every Wednesday and it is my turn to host. You guys are welcome to join us or would your rather leave?" Of course we told him that we would love to stay and join him, so there we stayed not knowing what to expect from Mexican Bible study. For the most part, it was actually really good. We talked about how we should love and serve our neighbors. The weird part for me was when the pastor started praying and then everyone started praying at the same time except for Elder Medina and I. Hearing 15 different voices raised up in a prayer, chant, murmur, exorcism, chatter-like manner was...well...different. The other wild thing was when the pastor told us that the Bible says we shouldn't eat tamales hechos de beef of a cow that drowned. If you find that verse in the Bible please send it to me because I have a feeling I won't be able to find it on my own.
Something really awesome is that Ben Gil came to church yesterday! He is someone that Elder Medina and his previous comps started teaching, but then stopped for a time because we went off for an army training. Well he is back now and progressing really well. We think we might be able to set a baptismal date this upcoming week with him so keep him in your prayers.
Last good thing I will tell is that I gave my first talk in Spanish during church yesterday. It was extremely nerve racking, but Elder Medina said that it was good (I think he says that out of obligation) and others said I did well as well (again most likely pity compliments but I'll take them😂). What I did feel is that my Spanish has improved since I started the mission and several people yesterday told me so. Thank goodness for the gift of tongues.
The Bad
This past week the bad thing is that I kind of got sick for a couple days. Being sick while being a missionary is kind of the worst, but all is well now. On day 2 of being sick I wasn't hungry during lunch so I ate a small thing in 5 minutes, set a timer for 36 minutes, said a prayer that I would feel better when I woke up, and then woke up 2 hours later feeling better. When I woke up Elder Medina asked me if I was good enough to get up. I hesitated for a good 5 seconds and said yeah. "Puro mentira" me dijo and so we did weekly planning while I laid down with a pillow and blanket.
The Beautiful
I know I have said weather and nature for my beautiful section in the past, but if you know me I'm an outdoorsy kind of guy. The good thing from the monsoons is that it is way green (well compared to here, not necessarily compared to Kentucky) here now. I absolutely love the green and the weather has been super nice. Cloudy and in the mid to low 80s this whole past week. A true blessing from on high.
The Funny
So on Friday the Sisters asked the district if we could all go over for a service and help a lady move everything in her house to the house right next door. Yes I know, a big new chapter and spectacular change in perspective for her and her family. Well anyways after 2 hours of helping her move and clean and pretending to be a basketball hoop to entertain her little boys here and there, Elder Medina and I had a dinner to get to. I asked her if we could change in her new house and she starts telling us that we can shower if we want because he had gotten somewhat sweaty. Before either one of us could respond (and poor Elder Medina only understanding probably 60-70% of what she was saying in English more confused than I), she leads us to the bathroom, gives us towels and soap, and closes us in the bathroom together. The funniest part looking back on it was probably the fact that the Sisters walked by and saw the end of the interaction and started laughing. I managed my best "help us" face and Sister Bytheway just exchanged a look as if to say "sorry Elders but you're on your own on this one". I have never before snuck out of a service project because I didn't shower after, but I guess there is a first for everything.
The Spiritual
This past Tuesday, we went to look for José Ángel, but he wasn't there. We did however find a good friend of his that we are also teaching and that lives with him. He sat down with us and we started talking like normal, but then he starts going deep into some personal stuff and about his really cool conversion to God. He told us about a pretty dark time in his life when he wasn't doing the greatest things and some crazy and terrible things were happening to him because of it. Despite all the darkness in his life at the time, it is evident that the Lord delivered him through it all and because he was able to recognize that, he is now doing what he can to be the best person he can and get closer to God. When we first walked in, Elder Medina and I quickly planned to share John 3:16 with him and not stay there too long (the lesson we had planned was specifically tailored to José Ángel's needs). I literally had my Bible in hand ready to share said scripture throughout his telling of his conversion, but by the time he finished, the spirit was really strong in the room and a different scripture was brought to my remembrance. I got out my Book of Mormon and shared Alma 7:11 which talks about Christ's atonement. We bore testimony to him that Jesus heals us of all infirmities and temptations and I know it was the message that we needed to share with him that night.
Thank you for reading. You all are the best! Remember that God loves you and listens to you every time you pray. He is aware of your situations and wants everyone to know that only in Him can we find true and lasting happiness. Have an amazing week all of you!
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