16 Nov 2015 - Loving Mission Life- One Year Done!!

Hi Family,

The mission is so great right now!

We're struggling with a few families, trying to get them married but they're doing good!

We celebrated the year mark of both Elder Reyes and I and it was HOT! (if you know what I mean ;).. haha no, you'll understand when you see the video

He turned one on the 11th and I still got until the other week but we're both very happy to have completed the first year.

So Matt's home or what?

I guess I'll be able to see him in the video chat that we have on Christmas,

But yeah about the car wash, it was super successful! We only washed one car but we had a lot of fun!!

I didn't remember what type of soap to use or if it even mattered so we mixed hand soap with tap water and we made that baby shine. It was a bit crazy, the guy just gave us his keys and took off. haha 

That's cool that Tim is campin' out with you guys, tell him I say hi!!

I saw the picture of my new nephew, what a card.

Well we're doin' great and enjoying the weather! 

Love you guys,

Elder Padilla

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OsNJDhN_9k&feature=youtu.be

( This link may not work as it is restricted to family only)

1 Year down, 1 to go...

9 Nov 2015 - Photos Week

Only Photos This Week.

Partners in Crime. We went on splits with the home teachers.

 (This is the brother that is running for Bishop. Don't forget to cast in your votes)

Hammacas!! 

Hammacas!! 

2 Nov 2015 - Busy November Planned

Dear Family, 

I'm so pumped for Ricky, that's so cool that he was able to be baptized by the famous Bishop Padilla. Tell him I said Congrats!!

Thanks for the Halloween pictures, I'll be sure to send one as well.

Luke thinks I'm soft?...''Hey Luke, how's having to wake up for seminary each morning going?'' hahaha Poor guy.

Well this week, was super nuts but super fun!

We're working hard but having fun a lot of fun. Elder Reyes and I are finding a ton of new people to teach and the families that we're with right now are progressing really fast.

Man the other night we were with a family and when we got there they had just finished yelling at each other and they were talking about separating so we thought the best thing we could do was pull a ''Doctor Phil'', and sit down with them and have a chat. We started with a prayer and then asked a few questions to understand what the problem was. We talked about how important it is to have good, healthy, communication between husband and spouse and that there is a level of trust needed as well. In the beginning they didn't want to speak to each other but towards the end they were more open and understanding towards one another. We ended the visit talking about the blessings that the families receive when they endure (together) to the end. and then to finish the husband gave the closing prayer and he said ''thank you heavenly father that we're not mad at each other like we were before'' it reminded of how a kid would say a prayer but that's exactly what Heavenly Father wants of us, to return as a ''little child'' in humility. 

We really learn so many things as missionaries where if we hadn't come out we could've never had these experiences.

We threw a little party for Elder Vallejo. He's in our district and he's been in the mission field for about 2 months. haha So the tradition, and I think I've mentioned it before, but the tradition is that when its someones birthday and they go to take a bite of their cake, you shove their face into the cake hahaha so that's what one of the other elders did and man he got cake up the nose hahah I'll send a picture, poor guy.

But yeah, we're so excited for November because we have a ton of things planned (activities, baptisms, car washes) 

Yes, we can do car washes in November, Mexico rocks!!

Love you all and hope you have a great week!

Elder Padilla

The last district meeting from last transfer.

There he is, the birthday boy.

Halloween day with the neighbors. 

We got lost in a grocery store so we took pictures to remember where we'd already been. 

In Angostura, of the only areas that has a beach! 

26 Oct 2015 - 11 months

Dear family,

Today we had transfers, I'm still here with Elder Reyes and we're so pysched!!!

We're teaching a family of four and yesterday we watched Meet The Mormons in a family home evening that we had with them and we felt the spirit so strong and were about to challenge them to be baptized but the drunken father in law showed up and ruined the spirit that was there.

He asked if I could help him recieve ''benefits'' from the United States. I understood the words he was saying but at the same time I had no clue what he was trying to tell me. But we're going to return tomorrow with them! They're so great. The dad, Martin, reminds me of Collin.

So we had stake conference this past saturday and sunday and there was some good parts and funny parts. One funny part was one lady that got up and spoke and the first thing that she said/read was the scripture in Doctrine and Covenants 58:26-28 hahaha and then she was like ''Home teachers I'm talking to you, clean up your act and magnify your calling or God's hand will not be held back to smite you.'' hahaha I just about laughed out loud when she said that. 

There was another funny part where a young couple of the stake was getting on the case of every young single adult that wasn't excited about marriage. The girl talked about how there's ''many fish in the sea.'' And her husband talked about how when Laman, Lemuel, Nefi, and Sam were sent to take the daughters of Ishmael to wife there's no record of them murmuring about this commandment. They murmur about almost every other commandment that they were given but this one they went and ''murmured not'' hahaha

I feel really good to be a missionary and I'm doing really well!

I love you guys!

11 MONTHS!!! WOO!

Elder Padilla

Our trip to MOCORITO!

Our trip to MOCORITO!

19 Oct 2015 - Bishop Campaign?

haha Luke had pink eye?

Didn't Matt say something about pink eye one time when we played the spray bottle game in family home evening. 

poor guy.

Dear family,

this week was so killer.

we're working by force now with the members and we've been doing pretty good. 

there was only one day that we didn't have a member with us and it was because we had interviews with the president and had to take an hour ride bus trip to get there. 

Our investigator this week was struggling a little bit to believe that the Book of Mormon is the word of God.

He lives with his sister, whose a member, and he told us the other day that he believes that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God but he just hasn't received his answer yet. So we've been praying a ton for him and I think our prayers were answered in the Gospels principles class that we had. The Bishop taught the class and the topic was ''The Scriptures''. it was perfect.

There was a bunch of new members that bore there testimonies of The Book of Mormon and the power that it has and the change it has made in their lives! BOOM!

We have an appointment with him tomorrow so we'll see what happens but my comp and I both feel like he's ready. WOOHOO!

These weeks are flying. Someone once told me that the first year is pretty slow but the second is really fast. But man if the first year is slow? I'll be coming home next week. 

So the sisters in our district are having trouble finding new investigators because their Bishop has been less active for 3 years, haha not sure why they haven't called a new one, and so our district went to their area and contacted the people in the street for a couple hours. haha We found some guy fixing his motorcycle and he said we could share something with him. Haha we was so funny.

He said ''look I've read the catholic bible, the Jewish bible, the Mormon bible and the Jehovah's witnesses' bible..and you know what? Tithing is a lie. If you guys study a little harder you guys can know for yourselves as well.'' hahaha. He was really funny but it was not a minute later that he had opened his mouth to tells us that than we were up and out of there. Bless his heart.

Hahaha there's a brother in our ward named Julio and he's super short but super funny. And since our Bishop is going to move he's started a ''campaign'' to run for Bishop. I don't think he understands how it really works, someone should probably tell him. 

I'm enjoying the mission but the weather still isn't cooling down too much. We've got our fingers crossed for this next week.  

Love you guys mucho

Elder Padilla

 

12 Oct 2015 - I'm doing really well and learning lots of good knowledge.

Dear Family,

This week and month we've been really focused on how we can work better with the members. We've tried planing activities and encouraging them to have the ward counsels but if an area 70 comes i'm not going to be surprised. 

Some of the members still have this crazy idea that the missionaries do everything. 

We watched a video this past week in our zone conference that talked about how the missionaries are here to help the members fulfill their responsibilities to activate, baptize and find, not the other way around.

So this week its our job to show this video to all the members and let it cut where it cuts. I'm not bashing because there are those who are super excited to help us but what we're learning right now is that if we're not 100 percent with all the members working together, the work can not move forward.

We're teaching this lady and she's super funny and super ready to be baptized, she just doesn't know it yet. 

When we asked her if she'd ever prayed to God to know what is the truth she said ''No, and you wanna know why? Its because if I do, he'll send me trials of my faith and I don't want that.'' hahaha

shes super hilarious and super honest with us but we just need to help her find a beginning to learn to trust in God. Because we explained that no matter if we ask God or not, we're going to have challenges in our life, the only thing we're inviting her to do is accept God's Holy Ghost in her life to help you through these difficulties.

It was a little sad this zone conference because a few of my good buddies are heading home for mission impossible 2 ''Temple Marriage''.  One is Elder Ramos, one of my comps and the other is Elder Juarez, my second district leader.

I'm doing really well and learning lots of good knowledge.

I've started to read the Jesus the Christ book again. It's pretty cool the few sentences that I've understood. 

Oh man hahaha almost forgot,

So we were eating lunch at a members house yesterday and her husband isn't member. They're both 25 or 30 years old, not really sure, but we start to talk about the Gospel of Jesus Christ with them and she leaves because the baby starts to cry and so we continue. When we get to Endure to the end, he asks ''Endure to the end? Does this include if, for example: one person who is married goes off to dance with another man or woman who his or her wife or husband doesn't know and returns like nothing happened..is this enduring to the end?'' and I said ''I think there should be unity, communication and understanding in every relationship.'' nothing more. And he yelled ''I knew it!!! HONEY (yelling to his wife) Get in here! You need to hear this!!!'' So without knowing I'd started a family feud and he thought that I was siding with him and wow was that uncomfortable hahaha. but we explained everything and I guess we'll see if we have food to eat this next Sunday. pray for us. haha

I love  you all And I hope you are ''milking it for all its worth'' to have a temple close by. :'(

Elder Padilla

They both leave 24 of Oct

We had a birthday party/zone conference. Woo!

The baptism from a few weeks back. RICHARD!!! aka Ricardo

 

5 Oct 2015- Loved Conference!

Dear Family,

This week was crazy. We are working a ton. we are changing a lot of things to have better results.

I loved the conference. I watched about half of it in Spanish and then when Russell M. Nelson started talking about girls I think was when I started to watch in English.

Elder Padilla

I love you all.