P-Day update week 52, 02/13/2023

¡¡Buenísimos Días amigos!!

I've officially hit my year mark on my mission, one year ago today I was set apart as a missionary and representative of Jesus Christ! The past year has been amazing, I have seen myself grow so much, not just physically as I've gotten older, but mentally and spiritually! This service has been one of the most important things I've ever had the opportunity to take part in, and I'm so glad I still have a year to do it!!

Breakfast with Vicky and Dayanna!!

We have been working super hard this week, we are almost finished with the transfer and we want to finish strong, so we've been putting in the work! And we've been able to see great fruits! We were able to schedule 5 baptismal dates this week and had 6 people in church!! It was a great week, even though it was also a hard week in some aspects!!

This week we had a special meeting at the stake center, it was a devotional titled "mission emphasis". This meeting is for prospective missionaries form ages 17-25 for males, 18-29 for females, and those senior couples that are preparing to leave as well. In this devotional it was all about one thing, missionary work! It was actually really neat, we had a good amount of people come and we had a missionary panel where the prospective missionaries had a chance to ask a question to the missionaries! It was a really neat experience, and we finished the meeting off with all the full time missionaries and the return missionaries singing We'll bring the world his truth! It was awesome! I am so excited for the next generation of missionaries who are getting ready to leave and serve!

Elder Ely and me after walking straight up a mountain on our divisions!

And while I was there I saw someone that looked familiar to me, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. After the meeting I went to go greet them and I realized it was some of my converts from Zacapoaxtla!! She was one of the first people that we baptized there when I arrived! AND SHE'S GOING ON A MISSION!!! Hearing that was probably the greatest joy I've ever felt, someone that I taught and baptized is going out to teach and baptize!! Since we saw her we told her that we plan to visit her and her family tomorrow (which was Monday)! So the next day we got up bright and early and headed to Zacapoaxtla! When we left the house it was brutal trying to find transport, there were almost no taxis on the streets and there were a lot of people waiting, and of course, no one respects the line so they just jump in front of us when the taxi comes! But after waiting and fighting every little old lady and child in our path, we eventually got a taxi to Teziutlan, then a sprinter bus to Zaragoza, then a taxi to Zacapoaxtla! When we arrived we headed straight to the house of hermana Vicky, it was so weird walking those streets again, I felt like I was serving there just yesterday, but it's already been almost 8 months since I was in Zacapoaxtla! It was like walking the streets of my hometown, I still know where everything is, but some of the things have changed a little bit, it was super weird, but really cool! Eventually we arrived at the house of hermana Vicky and had a great reunion! We talked about what they've been up to, and a lot about the mission! And of course we ate great food!! She gave us her classic pancakes followed by an omelet with hot chocolate!! It was soo good!! It was nice to also just talk with them, I grew very close to them when I was there and I was so happy to have the chance to see them again and just chat with my old friends! But eventually we had to go, we said goodbye and headed back to San Juan! But in the short time in which we arrived to Zacapoaxtla they had blocked the streets, and the taxistas didn't want to go in, so we were stuck waiting in Zacapoaxtla for like an hour just hoping a taxi would stop by! Eventually we found one and were able to head back home! It was a great little trip down memory lane! I hope I can go back soon!!

Horse sign. Need I say more?

I bought these cool Pikachu socks in the street today! I love Mexico!!

Like I briefly mentioned, this past week was great, but as we finished it off we were hit with a major curve ball. On Saturday morning we got a call from President letting my companion Elder Nuñez know that he needs to call his mom right then. So he calls his mom and I leave the room, but it's a small house so I couldn't get too far to not hear. On Friday night at 12:00am my companion's father past away. We knew that his father was in the hospital because he had a stroke right before Elder Nuñez started his mission, but the last we had heard was that he was getting better. After he talked with his mom we just hugged each other and cried for a while. It's not anything any missionary should have to go through, especially just starting out. It's been very hard for my companion the past couple days, he's been trying to keep working and lose himself in the work, but I can tell he's hurting. On Sunday morning the first councilor of the Mission presidency, President Morales, came by to visit him, and give him a hug for President Day who was stuck on the other side of the mission and couldn't visit.  President Morales talked with him, shared scriptures, kneeled in prayer, and was the person that Elder Nuñez needed at that moment. The biggest thing that I've seen these past couple days, is that I have an incredible companion! I don't know how I would react if my dad died today. But Elder Nuñez did not let it distract him from his work. That day when we were informed about his father, President Day gave him the option to go out and work if he wanted to, or to stay home and meditate on his father. I didn't even have to ask before my companion helped me plan a day full of missionary work! My companion decided to leave his own thoughts and desires behind, and magnify his calling! That day we put a baptismal date, and had three great lessons! I am so proud of my companion, he had been a picture of consecration and devotion. He has been thinking about one thing and one thing only, serving the lord. Any missionary would've stopped working, blamed God, maybe even have gone home to support their family. But my companion knows where he needs to be, and for that I am truly amazed!! It's not gonna be easy, but my companion and I are going to move forward and try our best to serve well, Elder Nuñez told me that this is exactly where his father wants him to be, so we're going to go out there and do our best! But please pray for Elder Nuñez and his family, they need all the support they can get right now!!

It's been dropping below 20 degrees about every other day here, so 

Blurry cat!

That's it for this week folks! My spiritual thought this week is about The Plan of Salvation! I know that this life isn't everything, our Heavenly Father loves us too much to keep us here alone. So he put together a perfect plan so that we could prepare ourselves and make our way back home! I testify to you all that you will see your families again, that in this life death truly has no sting, thanks to the sacrifice of our savior Jesus Christ. He makes the whole plan possible. Trust in him, but also trust him! 

I love you all, please take care of yourselves this week, and please pray for my companion! Adiós!

-Elder Garnica