Hey everyone! It’s been a really good week here in Tizayuca! Very eventful Haha. And I finally have some time to write a longer email!
Tuesday was pretty regular, but It rained SO HARD!! Kinda fun but also not super fun to ride your bike in. We were soaked through by the time we got home. This storm was much stronger in other parts of the state and has caused some really severe flooding but luckily not anywhere in the mission.
Wednesday we went to Pachuca for Elder Garza’s 2nd dose of the Covid vaccine. There were some other elders there as well, so it was fun to catch up with them. And when Elder Garza was in getting the shot, I taught a lesson almost all by myself! In Spanish! One of the office elders helped but it was probably like 85% me which I was super excited with. Also, I got atole in the morning, which is like hot cocoa but way better. There are definitely hard things about living in Mexico, but the food is not one of them! Also Wednesday evening I was reading a pamphlet about the temple, and I was kinda bummed I don't get to go for the next 2ish years but then I had a thought that I am doing the same work here in the mission field as I would be in the temple! Helping people start their covenant path with baptism and learning the gospel. That was a cool experience.
Thursday was pretty regular except for an EARTHQUAKE! The epicenter was pretty far away, in Acapulco but we could feel it! It was a 7.1 which I think is pretty high. But we only felt a little bit. We happened to be praying when it happened, and I just thought I was dizzy, but it was actually the ground moving. Very weird. Luckily not very bad here but I think it was pretty bad in Acapulco.
Friday I realized that my wet shoes from Tuesday had grown little mold spots from not being able to dry out, so I spent a while cleaning them. That’s the closest you get to a pet on the mission hahaha. Also, I ran a 5:40 mile on the route that I'm pretty sure is a mile. So take that with a grain of salt but I was really excited about that. We've also been out of gas for like 2 weeks so it's been cold showers. We are getting some delivered today though!
Saturday was pretty rough, not sure why. I just had a really hard time focusing. But one of our recent concerts Nuevadehli came by with her family and gave us Mixiote, which is chicken prepared with carrots and cactus and onions. We were fasting so we couldn’t eat it till Sunday but it was delicious. That family is so awesome I love them so much! They've brought us paletas also which are so good. And they just treat us like family. They invited us for dinner on Mexican independence day, which is the 16th, but we can't do anything in person because of covid, so we can't go to their house which really stinks. It's hard to get to know people only through the phone and if they come to church on Sundays. Also we went to the tianguis which are the flea markets here and got some really good tacos and fried plantain. So good! Like I said, the food here is not an issue with me haha
Sunday was a really good day! I could focus which was great. We finished our fast with the mixiote from Nuevadehli and some leftover tacos from yesterday and then had a zoom meeting with all the recent concerts from the stake. A few bore their testimonies and it was just a really cool experience! There were like 15-20 people in the meeting which is more than I expected. Also, we had like 75 people in church which is the most I'd seen yet. And I got to play piano in church on Sunday, but also for a while during some free time we had at the church. I love playing the piano because it's really the only thing I can do to relieve stress, since I can't ski or bike or listen to music. We also helped this very drunk guy in our neighborhood get home. That was very fun and eventful. He told us to call him to teach him about God so were gonna call him on Tuesday. We will see if he remembers us haha.
Today we went to the big catholic church in Tizayuca. It’s like Europe-cathedral style. Super cool! I’ll add some pictures
My favorite scripture from the week is Helaman 5:17-19
17 And it came to pass that they did preach with great power, insomuch that they did confound many of those dissenters who had gone over from the Nephites, insomuch that they came forth and did confess their sins and were baptized unto repentance, and immediately returned to the Nephites to endeavor to repair unto them the wrongs which they had done.
18 And it came to pass that Nephi and Lehi did preach unto the Lamanites with such great power and authority, for they had power and authority given unto them that they might speak, and they also had what they should speak given unto them—
19 Therefore they did speak unto the great astonishment of the Lamanites, to the convincing them, insomuch that there were eight thousand of the Lamanites who were in the land of Zarahemla and round about baptized unto repentance and were convinced of the wickedness of the traditions of their fathers.
I love this scripture because it talks about the power that missionaries can have if they teach with the spirit and the awesome results that can come from the work.
Sorry for the really long email this week but all the others have been very short, so it makes up for it haha.
I love you all and hope you have a good week!!
Elder Stevenson
Pictures
Flooded street during the big storms last week
Tianguis (flea market)
Food
The Catholic Church
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