Transfers - San Pedro

Hello everyone!

So this week has been pretty noteworthy! So even though I was positive I wasn't going to change I was wrong. I am now in the Area La Fama A in San Pedro! Its one of the richest areas in Mexico! It's not Sierra Madre which is right by our area but it kicks my old area out of the park. There's only one downside, Its in the mountains and I honestly have never seen more steep hills in my life! Ill have legs of steel by the time Im done here! My new companion is named Elder Diaz. He is from Uruguay and this is his last change of his mission. He's an awesome guys and I know that I can learn a lot form him. The only problem is that since he is so close to being home he's pretty trunky (lazy). He doesn't like to do much. And being in a new area its kinda hard to plan by myself so the first few days were full of quite a bit of contacting! Oh and one of the weirdest things happened! The first day I was here I was homesick but not for home. For my other area! Not that this area is less cool or anything but I miss the members that I knew for 12 weeks and investigators and my old comp that actually worked...

Elder Diaz honestly speaks a good three words of english and I love it because I have learned so much already! At times its hard to explain things and trying to quote movies forget it! We don't talk about home ever because our lives were so different and thats nice keeps me more focused. Things have already gotten a little tense between us as we plan for the next day and when I have to drag him around everywhere but we get over it! At times he has a hard time paying attention during lessons so Im really learning how to teach now! Its helped my Spanish a ton but It still would be nice if I could get him to contribute a little more… He's sick right now at the house and Im on devisions with a member. 

Okay the new area is pretty sweet! Our new house has an awesome view and the sunrise is so sweet every morning! But even more importantly we have a heater! So I don't spend all night trying to survive! The past few days have been crazy hot though! I really cant believe that its December! Yesterday Im sure mom was running around the house singing "December 1st is here at last and Christmas soon will be here." Cant say I don't miss that! 

So this week Ive been hitting the Area book pretty hard trying to find something to do and we came across a non active family that we have been working with to activate. They have a 9 year old boy named Alan that since he came last week and has been a bunch of times were going to baptize him this next Sunday! Not only that but their daughter who has 18 years wants to serve a mission now. We are doing all we can to keep them going strong in the church. We have had some amazing lessons with them and I know that we can keep them going strong in the church this change! Yesterday was an open house for the temple and we all as a ward rented a big bus and went it was a crazy cool experience and we got to bring Alan and his family and a couple investigators! Things are really moving along in this area! 

So this Sunday I met a Returned Missionary that just got back from Uruguay and guess what! He was the trainer of Elder England! Small world! I was so shocked when he said his name I didn't really know what to do! His mom is a Mama Gilleta so she gives us food like no other! Its like she's trying to make me fat! But also with my sick comp I got to experience some of her natural medicine stuff.... She like shakes his legs and asks questions and uses her arms for answers it's the weirdest thing ever! Then she taped a bunch of chi balancers (magnets) on my comp and kept on moving them around for like an hour… It was pretty weird but I guess Ill have to see how my comp is by tomorrow… 

Well, thats all for now! 

Elder Ahlmer

New Companion - Elder Diaz

Elder Maldonaldo and Frost

Elder England's Trainer Elder Marroquin - Small World

Elder Ahlmer's Lesson

I have taken a long long time to prepare this simple message. The life of a missionary is quite busy, but I have felt the need to send this kind of a message since General conference.  I hope you read it with a prayer in your heart. 

John 4:35-38 

35 Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the ^afields; for they are white already to ^bharvest.

 36 And he that reapeth receiveth ^awages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may ^brejoice together.

 37 And herein is that saying true, One ^asoweth, and another reapeth.

 38 I sent you to ^areap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: ^bother men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.

Alright, in this story we hear that there are 3 Different things going on here:

The Field

The Sower

The Reaper

Okay Shelf that.. This week I had the opportunity to teach the class of Gospel Principles during the Sunday School hour of church. The theme was about the Spirit world and the second coming. I realized something that was pretty important...

“At some moment in the world to come, everyone you will ever meet will know what you know now.  They will know that the only way to live forever in association with our families and in the presence of our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, was to choose to enter into the gate by baptism at the hands of those with authority from God.  They will know that the only way families can be together forever is to accept and keep sacred covenants offered in the temples of God on this earth.  And they will know that you knew.  And they will remember whether you offered them what someone had offered you”  - Pres. Eyring

We learn something important from this quote. It´s that there really isn´t any excuse to not sharing the Gospel with everyday people. And how dumb we feel later, when we are standing next to someone we could have introduced to the Gospel, in the Judgement Day. 

This is the work of salvation, the fruit ready to be harvested (the everyday people), the sower (the everyday member), the reaper (the everyday missionary). This is the Lord´s work, and this is his Vineyard (Jacob 5). He knows which fruits are ready and who needs to go to work to bring to pass his mighty work. We are his Brothers and his Sisters, We are all part of this eternal family. Everyone has a spot in the Kingdom of our Father. A throne save especially for each one of us. We just have to earn it, preform our labors... today (Alma 34:32).

So let´s get to work. 

We are not alone in this grand cause. God has an Army of angels, those that already know the truth and have passed on, guided by their captain the Holy Ghost. They are their ready to prepare the way for you as you embark in the war against this dying world, this carnal world full of sin, reined by the adversary. Our job right now is to polish up, put on that armor and save souls, as much members as missionaries. And if you work for it this Army will be their to prepare your path. Prepare your thoughts, your feelings, the questions you will ask so that you can bring the Gospel to one of Gods children. 

Imagine yourself being the perfectly polished instrument that the Lord chooses for the child of God that is being prepared to accept the Gospel. He will put that child in your path because He knows that you are ready, because He knows that only you are the right kind of tool to change their life. 

I would like to dwell on what Eyring taught us earlier... Imagine the joy you will have, if not now, later, when you have brought someone into the light. The Gospel is the only thing that guides us through this world. It is the only thing that can get us through this life. 

John 1:1-5

 1 ^aIn the ^bbeginning was the Word, and the ^cWord was with God, and the ^dWord was^eGod.

 2 The same was in the ^abeginning with God.

 3 All things were ^amade by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

 4 In him was ^alife; and the life was the ^blight of men.

 5 And the ^alight shineth in ^bdarkness; and the darkness ^ccomprehended it not.

It is the light in the darkness. 

D&C 88:49

49 The ^alight shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not; nevertheless, the day shall come when you shall ^bcomprehend even God, being quickened in him and by him.

Everything... Everything we do in this life is to get back to our heavenly Father. Everything that has to do with that will bring closer to him and thus bring us closer to untainted joy. The real kind of Joy that the world doesn´t have to offer. 

So its time to go to work,

A letter is good for nothing unless the reader does something about it. 

Its time to Polish up:

Read your scriptures like they are the air to your life and you are drowning. 

Pray like you´ve only got one day left.

Polish every aspect of you're being.

Your abilities are unique and specific to bring about this mighty work. Every tool is different just like every child of God is different. If you haven´t watched Ballard´s talk from Conference You should probably get to that. Or watch it again to refresh what he challenged us.

http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/10/put-your-trust-in-the-lord?lang=eng

Put your trust in the Lord. and bring 1 person into the church.... Before Christmas. 

Love you so much!!

Elder Ahlmer

The Ferraris in Mexico

Minuto Para Ganar

Hey everyone! 

This past few weeks have been great! We had a ward party playing minuto para ganar. Its like huge here! Almost every single house we walk into is watching it! But it was so much fun and basically the whole ward showed up! We managed to bring a couple inactive members and some of their friends. I think that had a good time because we've been teaching them ever since and the lessons are going really well. We are also having English classes every Tuesday night and that's always so much fun hearing the peoples accents but then I start to realize that that's probably how I sound to them....

This week has had the weirdest weather! We have gone from freezing to death to being cooked alive. The cold here is different like I don't know how to explain it but I think it has to do with the humidity. And it probably doesn't help being walking around all day. 

This week we had interviews with the president. That was pretty awesome getting his advice and opinion on things that I should do. Im thinking that my next companion probably wont be able to speak English... That'll be interesting but I know it'll be good because I really want to be more smooth when I talk. We went into the mission offices to work more on my visa as well. Turns out Ive been illegal this whole time that Ive been here! 

So a missionary kinda went a little crazy this week. Okay a lot crazy. Saturday night we got a call that all the missionaries in the mission were supposed to report to their houses as quick as possible lock the door and don't take unknown calls. That was pretty weird. I wanted to know what was going on so badly but nobody really knew. The next day we found out that a missionary had faked his own kidnapping to get money from the church.... Yeah crazy. But nothing really happened after that the president had a bunch of interviews with him and he finally confessed. He got sent home and thats about it.

This Sunday we went to the baptism of Louise and that was so cool because we got to know him pretty well as the other missionaries taught him in our ward. He's 17 and now is preparing to serve a mission as well! Im so excited for him he's a really cool kid and the gospel has changed his life so much! 

Keep me updated about whats happening!

Elder Ahlmer

Addee's Twin

The Gloria Family

Hey everyone! 

This week was a little different because we had Halloween and Day of the Dead. Halloween is basically the same here as it is in the states. So naturally on Halloween all we planned on doing is nocking doors. People were a little disappointed with our costumes.... Day of the Dead wasn't quite as big as I thought it was going to be. Its kinda like our Memorial Day, everyone just visits their ancestors and they have sugar skulls all over the place along with the same things to honor their ancestors. Nobody really painted their faces I guess thats something more people do in the South. We went to a menos activo house that night and ate this type of bread that they only make during this time of year that was really good! We ate it with some weird hot chocolate but it was good! 

Im still sleepwalking just about every night but its has been a little more mellow except for Thursday night. I guess I yelled something and ran into the the room tripping over a bunch of chairs and tables. I don't really remember it but I've got some solid bruises on my knees so its hard to argue! 

My comp and I are getting along really well and Im just counting my blessings because I know it wont always be like this with every comp I have! It's so weird being with someone 24/7 when you've never met them before! Whenever we got home for the day I make sure he takes his shoes off outside because man I didn't know someones feet could ever smell that bad! He could use that stuff as a weapon! I guess we don't have to worry about being kidnapped anymore because all he has to do is take of his shoes and everyone will pass out. He kinda gets a little crazy at night time. Its like the second we get home for the day his brain just shuts off. I just hurry and shower and get into bed as fast as possible ha ha. I guess I cant complain too much I wake him up just about every night sleepwalking!

We worked a lot with menos activo families this week and that went pretty well. Its pretty crazy to see all the people that the week they got baptized was the last week they ever attended. We met this family that is really cool. We call them the Gloria family because all of their names are Gloria. Theres The Grandma and mom and daughter that own a store just in front of their house. Their daughter has 5 years and she reminds me so much of Addee. Ive even slipped and called her Addee once! She always has so much energy and is just going 100 miles an hour. We brought them to church this sunday and trying to get her to sit still was nearly impossible! I finally let her use my puzzle that I have to teach the plan of salvation to at least keep her distracted. But they liked church and we are going to make sure that they keep coming! 

I was lucky enough that Craig got to come down to Monterrey a few weeks ago to work on the temple here. Naturally my mom gave him a huge package to bring with! I don't think she realizes that they have stores here too ha ha. But I really appreciate the snacks that they don't have down here! Craig took us out to dinner which was really nice of him. It was crazy funny watching him try and tell the taxi driver where to go in English. Im pretty sure he scared the poor guy for life! It was great hearing about the states! Its weird to think that life is actually going on up there! 

Keep me updated about whats going on!

Elder Ahlmer

Monterrey Temple at Christmas

110th Operating Temple

Announcement:  21 December 1995 
Groundbreaking and Site Dedication:  4 November 2000 by Lynn A. Mickelsen
Public Open House:  8–20 April 2002 
Dedication:  28 April 2002 by Gordon B. Hinckley

Site:  31,466 square meters.
Exterior Finish:  White granite from Vermont.
Ordinance Rooms:  Two ordinance rooms (two-stage progressive) and two sealing.
Total Floor Area:  16,498 square feet.

Temple Locale

Aggrandized by a backdrop of beautiful mountains and hills, the Monterrey México Temple stands in Valle Alto—located in the southeastern section of Monterrey—along the National Highway near the famous Cerro de la Silla. Sharing the grounds, and built at the same time as the temple, is a lovely stake center open to any visitors wishing to join Sunday worship services. The lush grounds around the temple are also open to the public for reverent walks.

Temple Facts

The Monterrey México Temple was the twelfth temple built in Mexico, though it was the second temple announced for Mexico.

The Church originally selected a site for the Monterrey México Temple adjacent to Colegio Labastida on Avenida Vasconcelos in San Pedro. The Church won an ensuing three-year legal dispute initiated by opposing neighbors but, in the end, opted to select another site.

The site of the Monterrey México Temple was chosen in March 2000. A building permit was issued on June 27, 2000, and ground was broken for the temple a few months later on November 4—nearly 5 years after the temple was announced.

The design created for the Monterrey México Temple was substituted with a smaller standard design when the location changed to Valle Alto. The change allowed for more green area and necessary parking.

The Plumber

Hola!

Winter is here or that's what the people are telling me.. The weather is just crazy different one day like yesterday is like 95 and then theres days like today where its probably a good 60. So basically everyday is completely different! That's always nice because the food here doesn't vary much. Basically beans rice tortillas and some weird kind of meat for every meal. 

We finally got out boiler hooked up this week! I guess the added cold weather gave us a little more of an incentive! Hot showers are pretty amazing. After 2 months of risking hypothermia every time I get into the shower it was pretty weird taking my time and just relaxing. 

This Sunday was daylight savings.We knew it was daylight savings and we thought we were so on top of it until Sunday morning we knocked on a nonactive members door to bring them to church at what we thought was 930. We were a little surprised when she came out grumbling why we came at 730. Yeah we changed our clocks the wrong way. So we woke up at 4 instead of 6. Since walking to our house and back would have taken a good hour we decided to study in a nearby park for two hours as we waited for the rest of the world to wake up. We felt pretty stupid after that. Luckily she wasn't too mad at us! 

Later on that Sunday at about 7 we went to the church to go to the bathroom. Nobody was there but us. When I went to flush the yurnal all the sudden the pipe started shooting water straight up into the ceiling! I honestly felt like I was in a movie like that never happens! I tried to fix it but then the whole pipe just fell off and the water started shooting straight out and into the other wall! We had no idea what to do! We panicked a bit and ran around the building to find the main shutoff valve. We had no idea where it was so we ended up calling the bishop and he said he had to shut it off and he was on his way. We ran around a little more and tried to fix it again. I grabbed the pipe and somehow managed to put it back into the wall and the water stopped. Just about this time the bishop pulled up to two soaking wet missionaries and water soaked bathroom. We shut off the water main and mopped up as best as we could. Luckily in Mexico everything is cement so nothing got ruined. The bishop told us that it had happened earlier that week as well but hadn't had the time to fix it yet so that made me feel a little better that it wasn't really my fault! But I don't think Ill forget that 20 minutes of panic for a couple years! It was a solid movie moment!

It was Elder Robinson's birthday this week so that was pretty exciting! Well as exciting as it can be on your mission! We went to go pick up a member to bring to a lesson named Juan Pablo. Hes 21 and served in Tampico Mexico for 6 months but came home early. So he knows a little English but not much. When he found out it was Elder Robinson's birthday he wanted to go out to a restaurant and celebrate when we told he we cant we need to work he looked up at elder Robinson and said with really strong accent Grow some balls Elder. It was pretty funny hearing that in his accent. But later on that night we bought some steaks and they were crazy good!

This week we were meeting with a lot of part member families and met with a really cool girl named Frida. Shes 18 and he brother was baptized a few years ago. She has a kid and sometimes its a little difficult for her to focus but she has been reading everything we ask her so we cant complain too much. She couldn't come to church this week because she went to visit the father to her baby   in some other part of Monterrey but I'm hoping she will be able to come this week! We also met this man named Jesus and have been talking to him. He told us that he lived in the states for 2 years but was deported because of his drinking problem. But he has been turning his life around so that hopefully one day he can return. He has a wife and a baby boy now so he feels more of a responsibility but hes still pretty new were deciding in our lesson with him today if were going to keep or drop him. 

Well thats all for this week. How are the States?

Elder Ahlmer