Swine Flu: don't worry, just pray

This is Golaith, our next door neighbor.  He loves the missionaries...especially those previous ones who let him sleep on their beds!  He's huge... no one messes with Goliath!

The cute new addition to the Missionary Apparel! 

Hey just so you all know. This swine flu is pretty bad here. There are a lot of people sick and dying, and as lot more of fear. It seems like the world is ending, there was even a small earthquake the other day. But the Lord protects His missionaries if they are obedient. We are pretty much on lock down and cant leave the houses. They even canceled sacrament meeting. If we leave we have to go with the masks on. We are returning from the store and buying Clorox, mops cleaning stuff. Partly to make the house super clean and partly because I'm super bored... I hate sitting in the house!  I’d much rather knock doors the truth be known, but I know it’s for my protection.

 I finished the Bible the other day. I started when I entered the MTC. So one year - not too bad. Ok, well I better go. Don’t worry just pray.

 I love you all, take care.

 Elder Solomon

Pay Off!

Cuautepec by night

The cell phone was no match for my disappointment in no-show baptisms.

The family Santiago

My humble home.

Notice anything wrong with the street?  Great engineering to put a pole in the middle of the street!

Hey everyone, well the hard work finally is paying off! We baptized 3 kids yesterday and they are super sweet. After they got baptized and the doors were shut, they jumped back in the font and started swimming! I was laughing pretty hard. And there are definitely more to come. I'm glad you all had a good Easter; mine was quite different.  There at home it’s a peaceful calm time, here it’s all super sad and gloomy. All over the place they have reenactments of the crucifixion. They seem to forget that He resurrected!

 But anyway. Tuesday we had zone conference, which was super good, and afterwards my comp got sick just like I was! So I had to stay inside all afternoon. Got some good study in! The more and more I study the more and more I realize how much I need. The Lord taught me a lot of lessons in humility this week. We were going to have a baptism on Friday, so we went Thursday for the interview and the sister told me that none of her family wanted her to get baptized. So we did the interview and I talked to the daughter (the main pain in the ---) and felt pretty good about myself like "yaw I handled the situation" so the next day we were there, the font full, members and other investigators waiting and the didn’t show up so I called and the sister said they weren’t coming because she wanted more time and the family acted up right after we left. Thus the picture of the broken cell phone….it happened after I hung up. I humbled myself; actually, the Lord humbled me. It has been a theme on my mind a lot lately. It’s not really a good theme to lecture on nor give a talk on. Its one of those things that has to be experienced between someone and the Lord, that’s the only way to know what it is.  After a humbling day Saturday the Lord truly blessed us. One investigator showed up with her two little girls and her husband who we have never seen before, he had a super good experience in Elders quorum talking about Joseph Smith in Liberty jail and we haven’t even taught him the first lesson!  I’ve had  a few other tender mercies, including the baptism of the boys. I'm glad to hear you are all so well. I deal with so many people every day who don’t have the light of Christ in their lives and I want them to have what we all have, I hope we don’t overlook what we have. Ok well let me know if there is ever anything I can do for anyone! Ill do the best I can (which might be a letter cuz that the best I can;)) take care and love the Lord, D and C 82:3 has been the scripture of the week. 

Love you all!    

Elder Solomon

Cool beans!

Celebration day at IHOP

I really wanted pancakes....but they made me eat this!

Well, good prediction mom… after another all out 30 lessons week my body couldn’t hold it up anymore. About midday on Friday it started with a headache moving to fever, chills, stomachache you name it. By the time I woke up Sunday I was SICK. We went to church, went to eat and I slept until the meeting at 6. I think it was a combination of heat, exhaustion and stress (my district is not doing too good...) I feel a little better but it comes an goes, I couldn’t lay down last night cuz my back just kills... anyway I'm tired, BUT we should finally have a few baptisms this week. One lady that has been an investigator for a couple of months and for the last few weeks we have been reading a lot out of the book of Mormon, so last week I asked her if she knew it was the word of God and she said, “yes”, so I asked here what is keeping her back from being baptized and she told us "well, nothing".  Cool beans!

 There are a few other really cool investigators we’ve got. Just hoping they keep progressing. There are a few who want to baptize their kids but don’t seem to realize that it’s for them too! Oh well. Just gotta keep on working.

 That’s really funny to hear about your April fools jokes. I kinda forgot about that. The only days I remember here is the 14 of every month which is tomorrow, which means tomorrow I will complete 11 months in the mission, almost a year, wow the time just goes faster and faster. I just hope when I get back in a year and a month there is a pool in the backyard to jump in:) 

Ok, well not much more to report, I love you all. 

Take care,

 Elder Solomon

Formula for Success

Hey everyone. Hope you watched and enjoyed general conference and were inspired half as much as I was, I don’t know if its just the stage I am at in life but there was so much there that just penetrated me so intensely.  This last week has also been unique. Everyday [I’m] on the brink of physical collapse, just so tired.  But I have never received so much spiritual insight either.  The scriptures came alive, random thoughts and then listening to GC   wow... so much stuff.  Anyway part of the exhaustion has been because it’s really got pretty hot here. The people always say. You’re from Arizona! This should be nothing for you” the difference is air conditioning, which doesn’t exist except in Walmart. And on top of that I'm climbing and going down hills with a 45-degree incline. Obviously I’ll get tired... but the work goes on. We were excited to bring a lot of people to general conference, but not a single one went... that was a stab but oh well what can you do? Just keep on trucking along.

 I want to share something I found in my personal study on Saturday that was so cool to me. I was reading about Ammon and his mission to the Lamanites and what he did for his success. Among many other things obviously and I call this my formula for successful leadership, and leadership in whatever part of our lives, with other missionaries, investigators, children, coworkers, church callings, sport teams you name it. Ok the first part was from the beginning when he went before king Lemhi, he first EXPRESSED LOVE: he said he desired to stay with them and be their servant maybe until the day he died.  Second, when the flocks were scattered and the servants frightened he MOTIVATED them and CHEERED them on. Saying, “My beloved brethren (expressed love), be of good cheer. Then thirdly, and the most important, he put the EXAMPLE. He didn’t say, " Go get the sheep you" he said we, he even did some things for them that they weren’t capable or willing to do such as chopping off arms. Then in a few verses latter we find the result.  It says they followed him. If we go the second mile, the ones we have in our responsibility are likely to follow. Expressing love plus motivation, times example equals successful leadership. Apply the attributes of Christ found in Preach MY Gospel and bam! Anyway, if anyone gets a chance to put it in practice let me know how it goes. I've gotten super excited about this all. My heart is full of joy, I cannot wait for the day to put off this limiting mortal body and put on the perfect glorified one with endless possibilities. I can’t wait to stand spotless before my Savior and tell Him I did all that I could and hug Him in inexpressible gratitude for his love for me. And then walk in the Celestial Kingdom and see you all there.

 I love you all,

Elder Solomon