P-Day update week 10, 04/25/2022

 ¡Hola!

It has been a very strange week for us here in Zacapoaxtla, the majority of the week was us being very sick, so it won't be a particularly long and/or thrilling ride this time, but there were definitely some good things that I'll touch on!

Last week from me outside and inside the huge cathedral in Cuetzalan

Inside the cathedral

So like I said, we were sick for the majority of the week and weren't able to work, which was a huge bummer, I felt pretty useless. But Elder Nielson told me it would be weirder for a missionary to come here from the United States and not get super sick, than for one to come and be sick, so I suppose that gave me some comfort. Let me tell y'all the great story of how we got sick, so on Tuesday we started our day like we normally do (study, prayer, plan breakfast) and around midday we decided to make our way over to this restaurant that we like to get tortas, we have eaten here before and can attest that the food is clean and very good. But when we got to the location we discovered it was closed! But the idea of tortas was still firmly implanted in our minds, so us being the wise young men that we are (not) decided to stop at some random taqueria to get food. Not a great decision on our part looking back on it. We ate there and had a fine rest of the day, we went out and met with a man named Greg and his family, we actually worked in his field with him and did some real work. We thought all was well when we went to sleep that night. We woke up the next morning not feeling well, we slept late trying to give ourselves a boost and were able to get out for a lesson and our District Council, but we promptly returned home after that. We later came to find out that we had gotten infections from the food that we ate, so from that day on Wednesday even until now on Monday, we have been having a rough time. We haven't been able to do any real work, which has been frustrating, but Elder Nielson told me that Heavenly Father isn't going to challenge me with things that aren't a challenge for me, so I will work through this like I've worked through things before, moving forward in faith!

Presidente Luis and his wife made us these HUGE tacos from Oaxaca called Tlayudas

Besides being sick we also had the opportunity to baptize Dayanna on Friday, it was a wonderful day and a wonderful service for a wonderful new disciple of Christ. Dayanna has been receiving lessons from the missionaries since January, so it has taken a little bit but she came to the conclusion herself with a fair few promptings from the holy spirit I'm sure. So we were very excited for her big day, and it was something to behold, the temperature was a little cold but the sun came out and just warmed everything up, it felt almost symbolic of the way a person can change when the light of the Gospel is shown upon them! Elder Nielson shared his testimony of baptism and I shared my testimony of The Holy Ghost, the spirit that was in that service was almost tangible, it's hard to describe the joy a person can feel when someone they have grown to love makes the decision to be baptized and you see them just glow, indescribable joy!

Baptism of Dayanna

The next big thing that happened this week was that we went to the temple!! We were not at 100% but we went and had a wonderful time, we had to get up VERY early on Saturday morning to make the 4.5Hour drive to the city of Veracruz in time for our 8-12 o'clock block. So we had to get up at 1am and be on the bus in a nearby city of Atempan by 3am to get there in time. We were definitely tired and definitely sick but we made it in one piece and had a great day! The climate there was different from Zacapoaxtla by a good bit, we were at sea level, it was hot, and it was humid, it actually reminded me a lot of home haha! and the temple was beautiful! it has the same kind of layout as the Birmingham temple but the grounds are different and I feel like it doesn't use the same kind of material for the building and it looks very cool!! Inside was amazing as well, we didn't have time to do an endowment session but Elder Nielson and I were able to do a lot of confirmations and a fair bit of baptisms as well, and that was more than enough for me, especially since this is the third time I've gone in only about a one month time frame! 

Nielson and I with the wind messing up our hair

Our branch at the temple with our five new converts in attendance!

After the temple I didn't sleep a whole lot on the ride back so I got to see the landscape change from tropical beach to mountainous...well mountains! and when driving through Xalapa I saw a few familiar places like Chili's and Costco, Walmart, and Little Caesars! It was nice to know I'm not in a completely different world right now!

View of the temple from the side

That's about it for the week, to be honest it has been a week full of frustration and sadness, but I know the Lord knows far better than I, so I will keep trying and I know I will begin to notice that his hand of mercy is still extended towards me and all his children, that is my advice this week. Actively look for the signs of his mercy in your life, and you will find it, it may be hard, but I promise he is aware of you and your struggles and is helping you in ways you can't notice right now because the hard things are easier to focus on. He lives and He loves.

-Elder Garnica