Monday October 30th, 2017

Hey guys! 

Elder Brown and Elder Radmall

This week was pretty good! Dad, just so you know that I read your emails, the first thing that I'm gonna do is respond to your question. En nuestra día de preparación estamos bién ocupados con limpiando la casa, lavando ropa, haciendo las compras, escribiendo, etc. que no tenemos tanto tiempo para hacer otras cosas. También, mi compañero no le gusta hacer muchas cosas entonces, pues ánimodo jaja.  (In our day of preparation we are well occupied with cleaning the house, washing clothes, shopping, writing, etc. that we do not have so much time to do other things. Also, my partner does not like to do many things then, because encourages haha.)

This week we had splits two times. The first time, I went to San José with Elder Brown. Splits with him were pretty good. He's from Utah. He's been out for about 7 months and speaks pretty good Spanish, but still has a little bit of fear to talk to the people, so we worked on that a little bit. I made him take the initiative on every contact that we made. We also had their meeting with their Ward Mission Leader which was really interesting. He believes that aliens come and visit us, goes to conventions, tries to take pictures of when the come and visit, and lots of other things. He's kinda weird, but it sounds like he helps a lot with missionary work.

The other time we went on splits, I went with Elder Calvo here in my area. We had a great time. I really felt the Spirit a ton while he and I were teaching and contacting, which I've had a hard time feeling with Elder Antonio, but we're working on that.

Gregorio went to church yesterday and hasn't had anything to drink at all this week. He's really been strengthened by the mistake he made. He feels really bad about it. He´s also started sharing the gospel with his wife.

Ermilo and Socorro also went to church with us yesterday. They are two of the new investigators that we had this week. We´re wanting to put a baptismal date with them this week. One difficulty that we have with Socorro is that he doesn't know how to read.

But all in all it was a pretty decent week!

I love  you guys! Have a great week!

-Elder Radmall

Questions:

Dad: The ward is quite a bit bigger than in Navolato, but the members don´t seem to be so excited about sharing the gospel. It´s a difficulty that we´re having. For the leadership meeting, yes we flew on a small plane. It had a propeller in front. (What is the ward like in this area?)

Mom: The Primary isn't super big, I´d say about 15 or so kids. and what happened to Bryan, the last I heard he was still in the mission?  (Does the ward use the missionaries much?  Tell how.  Also, how big is your primary?)

Holly: By really focusing on their needs, and really listening to them when they´re talking, even when it doesn't pertain to the lesson.  (How can you show love to those you teach?)

Sam: nope.  (Do you guys get to watch the Face to Face videos?)

Dylan:  We get to listen to music every day. Just music produced by the church haha  (Do you get to listen to any music on p-day?)

Monday October 23rd, 2017

Hey guys! Dad, that sucks about your bull. (Hunting, Matt didn't get his bull elk.)  Are you gonna put in again next year, or for your goat?

Elder Meadows, Elder Burkholder, and Elder Radmall were all in the MTC together.

Elder Meadows, Elder Burkholder, and Elder Radmall...members of the 7B (They dubbed their district at the MTC the 7B).

 

More with Elder Radmall and Elder Burkholder

This week was pretty decent. We walked a ton!  We were super busy!  We had to do two baptismal interviews, which is awesome, but takes time away from working in our area. But, you feel really good after an investigator passes an interview.

Elder Radmall and Elder Atkins...went to high school together and both from the Twin Falls South Stake!!

Elder Hernandez, a former companion, and Elder Radmall

During the week we were eating with a member, and there was a less-active, ex-missionary in her house as well. He returned not too long ago and told us that he's inactive because none of the young members wanted to be his friend so he went with other people and started drinking. He now has a job were he could go to church in the morning, but chooses not to. I was super direct with him explaining about how he already knows about the judgement day, and who he's fearing more. Hopefully he comes back to church soon. He's a pretty cool guy and told us that we could   call him if we were ever hungry or needed anything.

So, Gregorio was progressing super fast! He'd stopped drinking, he's reading the scriptures, going to church, and everything. But on Sunday morning he called us super early telling us that he had been drinking, feels really bad, and is a little sick. We tried to help him realize that he needed to go to church, but he didn't want to. Later in the day we passed by his house and he was still a little drunk. There were a ton of beer cans all over the floor, so we cleaned it all up and started talking with him. We taught more about the Atonement of Jesus Christ and how it's important to have good friends that help us become better. He has often expressed to us how his friends just want to be with him to drink. So we encouraged him to put his foot down and tell his friends that they're welcome at his home, but without alcohol. We're also gonna teach a lot more with members from the ward to help him overcome this habit. His baptismal date fell threw, but we're gonna keep moving forward with him.

We have some other investigators that are progressing, but time is running out, so I'll have to tell you about them next week!

Have a great week!

 

(Good to see all those years frying food at "Shake Out" coming in handy!)

-Elder Radmall

Questions:

Dad: In Navolato, yes, we were exceeding our goals. Here it's a little more difficult because the area wasn't progressing like we had hoped. So we're basically starting from ground zero. But we're getting there.  (So your Mission Goals changed, I wonder...were you making your old goals? So often we want to make big goals without ever making our old lesser ones. I hope your goals are achievable.)

Mom: It's more expensive for the tourism. There are a ton of taxis! My companion has been out for 18 months.  (How is the transportation system in Cabo San Lucas?)

Holly: hmmmm... I would have to say Charity. Just because it's so extensive, but it's also the most important. Because the scriptures teach us that if we don't have Charity, we don't have anything. (In your opinion, what is the hardest Christlike attribute to develop?)

Sam: I'm not reading the Book of Mormon from one end to another. I studying more specifically for my investigators. But do you think that you can finish the Book of Mormon before I get home?

(Do you think you can get through the Book of Mormon again before you come home?)

Dylan: hmmm not sure what it's called...but there's a little green lizard that's always in the house. It eats bugs and makes little noises.  (What cool animals, that are native to Mexico, would be fun for me to research?)

Monday October 16th, 2017

Hey guys!

This week was pretty good! On Wednesday we had to take an hour plane flight to Culiacan for a Leadership Meeting. On Wednesday we worked with the Assistants to the President. One of them, is Elder Meadows, so I got to work with my companion from the MTC which was really cool. We were able to find quite a few people ready for the gospel, and we were able to commit 3 people to baptism. It was a lot of fun working with him again, but this time in Spanish haha!

On Thursday we had the Leadership Meeting. It was awesome! I really liked it! We discussed and settled some problems we've been having in the mission and made new standards of excellence. The old standards of excellence were: Baptism & Confirmation- 2/ month, Baptismal Dates: maintaining 4 every week, Investigators at Church: 6 every week, New Investigators.: 12 every week. The new standards of excellence: B/C: 4/month, Baptismal Dates: maintaining 8 every week, Inv at Church: 9 every week, New Inv.: 12 every week. It took several hours and lots of discussion to come to a conclusion on the new standards, but I really like them and believe that they are accomplish-able, but only if we rely on the Lord and put forth our best effort, and stay obedient.

Gregorio now has a baptismal date for the 28 of this month and is super excited for it! He's been drinking alcohol for over 40 years and has stopped cold turkey. Even his friends are surprised at the changes that he's making. We're super proud of him and we know that the only reason that he's able to change so quickly is through the power of the Book of Mormon. He's reading every day, including the pamphlets that we leave him.

Here are a few scriptures that have stood out to me this past week: Moroni 10: 32, Alma 13: 28-29, Mark 1:17- We're all fishers of men, but sadly we're not all fishing. I hope that we can all drop a line in the water and share this great message.

I love you guys! Have a great week!

-Elder Radmall

(The internet is slow, so I can't send the pics, sorry!)  

Questions:

Dad: Yeah, it's there, it's just kinda expensive. (Can you get peanut butter at the Costco, or is it still hard to come by?)

Mom: All the things we bought at Costco we can buy in a regular store, but the thing about Costco is that we can buy things in bulk, so we save money in the long run.  (What kind of things did you buy at Costco that you hadn't been able to buy before?)

Holly: No, we're so busy with our area and the zone we don't have time.  (Do you play any games with your companion...if so, which ones?)

Sam: Share and help more people.  (What could you have done to be more Christlike while growing up?)

Dylan: Bull Elk, Mule Deer (South Hills), and Antelope (South Hills) (What animals are you going to put in for on the hunt when you get back?)

Monday October 9th, 2017

Hey guys!

It's getting cold in Idaho, and still burning hot here. The nice thing is that it's not humid like in Sinaloa, but the sun is more intense. This week was pretty good. We were able to find 15 good new investigadores. One of them is named Gregorio. He's about 50 years old and says that it´s time for him to stop drinking. He was actually drinking when we contacted him, but when we went back, he was sober and waiting for us. We talked a little about faith and repentance, and left the Plan of Salvation pamphlet for him to read. When we went back a couple days later he had read the entire pamphlet and understood pretty well. We clarified some points and answered his questions and it turned out to be a really good lesson. He also went to church with us and really liked it.  We're planning on putting a baptismal date with him on Tuesday.

When we got to the church building, there were two rows of Americans haha!  A family from Utah, and 2 elderly couples from Meridian, Idaho.

My companion and I are still getting along pretty well. It started off pretty rocky, but we're doing great now. We didn't get lost at all this week, so that's good. This area is pretty big, and there's a ton of streets made out of dirt and sand which sucks to walk in.

I'm feeling almost normal, I don't know if I have lost any weight.

I love you guys! Have a great week!

-Elder Radmall

Questions:

Dad: I feel safer here in Cabo than I did in Navolato.  (Do you feel safe in Cabo, does it feel different than Navaloto?)

Mom: Driving a car! jk ... walking :(  (Are you driving a car, riding a bike, or walking in this area?)

Holly: No, that's the duty of the priests.  (Do you ever get to take the sacrament to people that are unable to come to church?)

Sam: It's awesome! I really like it. I feel more like at home.  (What is your new ward like?)

Dylan: I don't know. I guess we'll find out in 8 months haha  (Do you think that you can still do a back flip on the trampoline since you are so out of practice?  (Dylan just learned how to do a back flip.) )

Monday October 2nd, 2017

This week was decent. I was actually really sick for most of it, so we didn't get to work like we wanted to, but oh well. I had to go to the hospital to have some tests done. Not sure what the sickness is called, but it was a bacteria. I´m taking 1240 mg of pills every day. I'm livin' the high life haha!

To add on top of the sickness, our apartment didn't have water for 5 days, which sucked! It made life quite a bit harder, but we now have water, which makes the apartment seem even nicer.  I'll have to take some pics of the apartment so you can see it.

I brought most of my stuff out here to Cabo.  Church is at 10:00am.  I was not able to eat my birthday cake.  A family in Navolato made the cake, but then I had to leave early.  The weather is super hot...I really miss the cold.

Snake skin

 

While we were contacting the other day, a drunk fell down to the ground and started waving his hands and arms up and down worshiping us and grumbling some words that we didn't understand. My companion felt pretty uncomfortable, but I just thought it was funny. haha!

Since my companion has a Costco card, we went to Costco to buy food for the month, which was pretty cool. It's been so long since I've been to Costco. We made sure to sample a lot of stuff, and eat a foot-long hot-dog with refillable pop for only $1.75 in dollars. It was awesome!

While at Costco, I saw more Americans than I have in my entire mission. I felt really weird hearing a ton of English. But I met a guy named Stanley, who's from Washington State, but is retired and living here in Cabo San Lucas. He's been living here for 33 years, and has been married for 65 years. He said that I was a good boy, and that I reminded him of his grandson.

I also ran into a fishing guide, and made sure to get his business card for some future day :)

The work is going ok. The elders that left the area to us left it pretty broken. But we're putting on our duty boots and goin' to work. We're ready to go with all we got this week!

Have a great week!

-Elder Radmall

Questions:

Dad: The nice brick one. My ward is called Cabo San Lucas 2. This Zone is pretty big. There are 10 Sisters, and 10 Elders. Stop laughing at how many sisters there are and start praying for me hahaha!  No, President doesn't come over here too often. Which means that a lot of missionaries aren't being super obedient. But we'll fix that.  (Cabo has two church buildings, that I can find on Google Earth.  Which one to you go to? Old white one or nice brick one?)

Mom: I really liked the talk by Dallin H. Oaks. Because he talked about rejecting any and all things that are not up to God's standards, and that Exaltation is a family matter.  (What was your favorite talk in General Conference and why?)  Link to that talk below...

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2017/04/the-godhead-and-the-plan-of-salvation?lang=eng

Holly: Having to call all of the missionaries and to help fix their problems.  (What is the hardest thing about being zone leader?)

Sam: I was sick on my birthday, so we didn't do much.  (How was your birthday?  Did you get your cake?)

Dylan: No, we didn't have cake.  ( Did your face get shoved in the cake on your birthday again?)