Monday June 26th, 2017

It was a pretty decent week. On Tuesday we had splits with our District Leader and his companion, so we spent the night at their house on Monday after our District Meeting. In their house they have a barbell, and they wanted to have a competition to see who could do the most curls with 40 lbs. Elder Muñoz went first and got 21, then Elder Buitrago who got 56. Elder Arzate didn't want to go, so it was my turn. I wasn't gonna let my District Leader beat me, so I knew that I had to at least get 60. Well, I got to 60 and felt like I could do a couple more so  I kept going. I decided to stop at 150 reps ha ha! Needless to say, my arms were very sore for a couple days, but I won!  ha ha!

During splits, I went with Elder Muñoz and it was alright. He been in the mission for about a month, so it was like training from the beginning again, but he did pretty good. The only thing that sucked was that he had one appointment on one side of his area, then the next appointment was on the other side, then we went back to the other side for the 3rd appointment. But oh well, he´ll learn.

On Wednesday we had our Multi-Zone Meeting which was pretty good. It´s nice to actually know the majority of the people that are there now. The Multi-Zone Meeting was also on the day that we completed one year in the mission, and Elder Meadows and Elder Mockbee were there. We only missed Elder Burkholder which was pretty cool! This year has gone by so fast! The Multi-Zone Meeting was pretty focused on finding new people to teach, and making sure that we invite everybody that´s in the house to hear our message. 

(When missionaries reach their 1 year mark of service, they burn a shirt...)

                                 

German has his baptismal date for this Saturday, the last Saturday of this transfer, but he hasn't gone to church the last two Sundays, and he hasn't been in his house when we pass by. He´s working in the farm fields, so hopefully the reason that he hasn't been home is because he´s working, but we feel like he´s not ready for his baptismal date, so we´re gonna have to change it which is sad.

My companion is walking a lot better. We went to the Chiropractor today, and he told us that in these next two days he wants Elder Arzate to walk without his crutches. And if everything goes good, we´ll be able to use the bikes again this Thursday, which will be really nice. Without the bikes we can´t go around our area like we need to to visit our investigators. So hopefully this week is almost a normal week!

I love you guys! Have an awesome week!

-Elder Radmall

Questions:

Dad: It's really helped me realize what's really important in life, especially with the Gospel.  (How has a Mission changed your perspective on life?)

Mom: Right now my companion has to do some exercises with his ankle, and I have to help, so getting to bed on time right now is a little tough.  (What part of your schedule is the hardest to keep?)

Holly: I would say the story of Joseph Smith. We get told that it's a fantasy a lot.  (What is the hardest part of the gospel for your investigators to comprehend?)

Sam: Lots of mosquitoes... (Have you been stung or bit by anything yet?)

Dylan: So far no, but I've heard that they have some strange animals in the mountains.  (Have you seen any strange animals there that are not in Idaho?)

Monday June 19th, 2017

HAPPY FATHERS DAY!

(This is the tree's natural colors!!)

Hey guys! Well, it was another week in the house. We were able to go out and work a little bit, but not a ton. I'm kinda thinking that it's a blessing that we can't get out and work like we want to. In these past couple of weeks, Navolato has gotten quite a bit more dangerous. They're killing a person or two every day, and not just at night. A week ago today, they killed a guy at three in the afternoon downtown. They shot him 8 times in the head. They're also kidnapping a lot of kids, which makes contacting a lot harder, because the "bad guys" are impersonating other people, so people are staying in their homes more.

We have a new investigator, who's a really good guy! He has lots of questions for us, which I love. 

On Wednesday we had special splits. We went with the elders from Nuevo Culiacan. Elder Gummow and Elder Cardona. Elder Gummow is writing a new song for the mission, and needed to be in the church building all day. Since my companion can't work very much, we went to Culiacan so he could be with Elder Gummow, and I went with Elder Cardona to work in Nuevo Culiacan, that way there weren't two areas not working.

Helping a pregnant sister in their ward move her water business to a new location.

I bought a new study journal this week, so now I can study more how I want to. I really encourage you to write down what your studying, where it's found in the scriptures, and your thoughts. It makes your study a lot more meaningful, and you learn a lot more!

Yesterday, we ate with the Abitia family. They're awesome! They were making Carne Asada for Father's Day, so we helped them cook. Ricardo Abitia, the dad, had saved steaks for the end, and since we helped cook all the food, he gave us a big steak. It's the first steak I've had in a year! It was awesome!!!!

Not a ton happened this week either, hopefully this next week we can work how we want to.  

I love you guys! Have a great week!

-Elder Radmall

Questions:

Dad: Lots of bread and some bracelets  (Are there many hand made goods sold in the area?)

Mom: I'm studying the Plan of Salvation in depth. I'm at the Judgement, and I have 12 pages of notes. It's been awesome! (What are you studying in the scriptures this week?)

Holly: One of them actually called me a Prince hahaha  (Any ladies hit on you yet?)

Sam: pics are your answer from last week. This week: First, great questions bud! In the Spirit World there's a division: Spirit Paradise, and Spirit Prison. The Spirits in Spirit Paradise are the Spirits who have a knowledge of the gospel, made covenants with God, such as baptism, and were firm in the faith. These Spirits are teaching the gospel to the Spirits in Spirit Prison so they can have a chance to live with God in the Celestial Kingdom. Here's my question for you: If a person has the opportunity to accept the gospel in this life, rejects it, but accepts the gospel in the Spirit World, will they live in the Celestial Kingdom?  ( What do our spirits do after we die?)

Dylan: Rumikub  (What will be the first game that you want to play when you get home?)

Monday June 12th, 2017

Casi un año en la misión!!!  ( Almost a year in the mission!!!)

This week was quite a bit better! My companion still can't leave the house very much, so not a ton happened. Haha!  On Tuesday we had interviews with President Gabaldon, which were pretty short this time. My last interview was about 30 or so minutes, and it was awesome! But this interview was only about 10 minutes. Super short! It was really weird. 

  

 We've been pretty bored in the house. It's now been 2 weeks that we can't leave and work. Hermano España gave us all of his church movies to watch, which has been nice. We rearranged the house as well, I'll have to get pictures of that.

On Wednesday our district leader, Elder Buitrago and his companion, Elder Muñoz came over to help out. Elder Muñoz stayed with Elder Arzate in the house, and I went and worked with Elder Buitrago. We had a great day! We had 5 new investigators in just that day, and we were able to place a baptismal date with German. German was a reference from Isabel, and is progressing a ton! He has lots of desires to change his life. His baptismal date is the 1st of July. We placed it a little ways off because my companion still isn't allowed to ride  his bike because of his ankle, and German lives quite a ways a way. We would go in bus, but we don't have a ton of transport money, so I need to ask for more so we can work more. On the back of German's pamphlet we wrote 1 July 2017 for his baptism. When we gave it to him, he wrote "My baptism". He's an awesome guy!

That's about all that happened this week. I've just been studying a lot. I found a lot of scriptures in the Bible for the Restoration of the Gospel which should come in handy. 

I love you guys! Have a great week!

-Elder Radmall

Questions:

Dad:  Great question. I'm not exactly sure. It was really weird.  ( Why can't you do splits when your comp is hurt? )

Mom: I don't know. I have a lot. I really miss just messing around in the yard with family. Like playing games and such. ( What is your favorite memory from home?)

Holly: Tacos :)  ( What's the most common food that you get you get fed?)

Sam: I'll try to answer it next week with scriptures and everything.  (How were our spirits come to be? )

Dylan: Enchiladas suisas.  It's more of a lunch here, but I really like it haha  (What's your favorite dinner that you make?) 

Tuesday June 6th, 2017

Hey guys! 

This week was the hardest week of my mission so far. On Tuesday we left on the bikes as normal to go work. We´d only been riding for about a minute, and we saw a guy trying to push start his car by himself, so we went to help him. He got in his car, and we started to push. After a little bit of running, my companion stepped bad and rolled his ankle. That part sucked, but the cool part was that I push started the car by myself. Haha!  After the guy drove away, I went back to see how my companion was doing. His ankle was super swelled up, and couldn't put any weight on it. So slowly we sat on the bikes and went back to the house. We called Hermana Gabaldòn, and she had us call Hermano España, who is a Chiropractor. He came and picked us up, and we went to the hospital to take pics of my companions ankle. He has a 2nd degree ankle sprain and stretched one of the tendons. He has to do physical therapy with Hermano España for 2 months! 

He was put on bed-rest this entire week, and into this week as well. President Gabaldòn told us that we can´t do splits with the members while my companion is on bed-rest, which was really weird, because he´s always telling us that we need to work with the members as much as we can. So, this week was spent in the house. Needless to say, the house is really clean, all the dishes are washed, and I can now do more push-ups. Haha! It was a difficult week. We didn't really do anything, so I don´t have a lot to say. The picture of his crutch is because I got it to stay free standing in the evening, and it was still standing in the morning. 

That was probably the most exciting thing this week. I couldn't write yesterday because we were helping a member move homes, so we were pretty tied up with that.

The other night, at about midnight, we woke up to the sound of gunshots! About 7 or 8 of them. Not sure exactly where they came from, but they were pretty close to the house. After the shots, a car sped away. I haven´t heard anything about it since, so I guess they just shot into the air, but it was pretty sweet to hear for the first time so close! My companion was pretty freaked out! Haha!

I hope all is going great! Have a great week! I love you guys!

-Elder Radmall

Questions:

Dad: Yes. I want to take a video of the one here in this area. I don´t know if you remember, but we watched a video of one before my mission, and I´m pretty that´s the one here in my area. (Are there open markets where you are?)

Mom: Not too much, but yes.  ( Do people suffer from allergies in Mexico?  They are really bad here right now.)

Holly: The scariest part.... hmmmm I guess you could say some of the street dogs are pretty aggressive at times.  (What's the scariest part about your mission?)

Sam: I wish I would´ve spent more time in the mountains. (Now that you have been out year. What do you wish that you had done before you left?)

Dylan: no (Is there anything in mexico that you were allergic to there but not here?)