April 27, 2009

Friends,First off, thanks for your b-day emails. Yes, I am indeed going to be 20 years old….woa. In case you haven´t heard, the Swine Flu has hit Mexico hard and I heard it has entered the U.S. too. Well the State of Mexico (Ixtapaluca is in it) has been the area hardest hit, but worry not. Our President has assured us that if we follow precautions the Lord will bless us. This week will be hard, especially since yesterday and this Sunday, church was/will be cancelled. However, if all goes well and we are diligent this next week will be an incredible baptismal service because there are 7 people programmed!!! Missionary work is truly incredible and it is awesome to see how families are brought together and are given a hope that they can be together forever. I testify that this is His church and that I KNOW that He lives! Never doubt! Pray to Him every moment and your testimonies shall grow. Sorry if this letter is shorter but we have been cautioned to try and do everything a Little bit more quickly today because of the virus. I love you and thank you for all you do! Until next week…..(finals are over, be happy people)

April 20, 2009

Hey hey hey!Well this week was another great week in Ixtapaluca! The other companionship in my district have really been struggling with working together and because of that, they have not been teaching very much, but after a very good district class on Tuesday, I think they left a little more motivated and I guess it payed off because they baptized two people on Saturday. Needless to say my companion and I were quite happy. We had to sacrifice because they don´t have a baptismal font in their “house of prayer” so we had to stay and be the witnesses for the baptism and we missed all of our morning appointments. It all worked out because we too baptized on Sunday. I believe it was Wednesday that we put the goal of teaching 10 lessons that day. We wanted to rock it. We taught 9, but it was still probably the best day of the mission simply because of how tired we were and how good we felt. That night we ate these awesome pizzas that they make here and some tortas (huge sandwich with lots of meat)…we had canceled the food because we were trying to reach our goal. It was definitely a very satisfying day. The next day I had divisions with the Zone Leaders and I went with the American Elder which I thought was weird because I too am “American.” We had a pretty good time talking all in English and we found 4 new people and two families. We also taught 5 or 6 other lessons, so we were also pretty tired when we got home.It´s quite incredible how when you truly focus on something as incredible as missionary work, you are the happiest you could possibly be.I have been thinking a lot on the fact that these are the last days and that truly the “great and terrible day of the Lord” is closer and closer and closer. It´s surprising how many people are so scared and I try to tell them with all my might that if they do what´s right in the eyes of the Lord, they have nothing to fear. We have been studying the Book of Mormon as a mission and (I don´t remember if I´ve already mentioned this, but I´ll say it again because I think it´s that important) I have been absolutely blown away by how many times I´ve underlined the phrase “keep my commandments” and then the blessing that comes from doing so. As hard as it might be to be perfectly obedient, do it because the “reward” is the greatest gift God can give us.If I´ve learned something on the mission it´s the fact that Heavenly Father has truly given us all the tools we need to make it through this “small moment” of our lives. This earthly life is a blessing and we must keep strong so that we can receive exaltation.Go to church, partake of the sacraments because we are edifying on the rock of Christ (3 Nephi 18: 11-12, Hel 5:12) when we do so. Never forget that you go to church because you´re showing God, and no one else, that you want to follow Him.Read the scriptures because they truly testify of Christ and if we read and ponder we shall never lose our way!I know that Christ lives. I know it. I know that this is His work and that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is His church because He guides it through President Thomas S. Monson. I know that if we will do the small and simple things that are asked of us, we can overcome every trial of our lives. Hold on to each other because the times are coming when the world we will be even more against us and we will need each others support. Start now. If you don´t pray every morning and night, do it. If you don´t read the scriptures every day, do it. As a representative of the Lord Jesus Christ I testify that if you do these things, you shall be greatly blessed.I am grateful for all of you that have been my examples and that because of your friendship my testimony has grown and you have helped me stay on the right path. Know that I love you and appreciate you and think of you always. I hope you have an incredible week, good luck with finals (I think they start this week!) and anything else that may be happening in your lives. Until next week….

April 13, 2009

Hey friends! I have very little time today. But all is well in Ixtapaluca. The streets were pretty dead, starting Thursday because it´s Semana Santa…or Holy Week. Since the Catholic church celebrates a lot of the old Easter traditions still (like Good Friday, Saturday of Glory, etc), a lot of people left town and Friday was especially empty because everyone went to another town nearby where they have a reenactment of the crucifixion of Christ (broadcast to the whole country). However we still had a lot of people at church and we have many people on date for the next two weeks. This is the first week I don´t baptize in this area, but we´ll definitely be making up for it these next two weeks, and hopefully these new investigators that went with us to church progress so that we can keep bringing souls unto Christ.That´s all for today everyone! I know it isn´t the most exciting, but I promise next week´s will be! Have an awesome week

April 6, 2009

Hey friends,General Conference was amazing!!! Woo hoo! The last three talks of the Priesthood session were just…bam! Bam! Bam! Uchtdor, Eyring, Monson. Elder Holland´s talk on the lonely path of Christ was also among my favorites. So, sorry you didn´t get an email last week…I sent one, not sure what happened. Anywho, I´ll re-send it or something and hopefully you´ll get it this time.Ixtapaluca is awesome! It was indeed sad leaving Pachuca but being here is really a testimony that the Lord knows whats best for each of us, and that we should indeed accept change, as Elder Snow said and move on.Something I loved about Conference was that, several times they mentioned the scriptures where Christ says….”fear not, I have overcome the world.” Funny enough, about three weeks ago I found it and it really helped me a lot, and I was extremely happy that I heard it so many times from several speakers…it´s true. Christ has indeed gone down that truly lonely road, and because He´s done so, we never have to be alone. In between the Sunday Sessions, we had a baptism of an awesome young girl who came to church last Sunday for the second time and it was then that we found out she was not a member. She is truly incredible because she reads the things we leave her, and she remembers it all with such clarity and underlines and truly studies and contemplates the healing power of the Book of Mormon. Her mom went to the baptism even though she wasn´t very happy about it, but the Sister who gave us the reference was there, and it she bore a pretty emotional testimony and it was something I´ll never forget, and hopefully that Denise, will also never forget.This church is true. I know it with all my heart. I know that Christ guides his Church through President Thomas S. Monson and that holding fast to the rod of iron, “the word of God,” we shall have a sure path to follow. Have a great week, and I´ll write again next Monday!Elder Dan Israel Lopez

March 30, 2009

Hey friends!Don´t have much time because well, we had to do laundry by hand which took about 4 hours, so we have a little more than an hour to do all the things necessary. I did indeed have transfers and it was one of the hardest days of my life having to leave so many people I had come to know and love. The Gospel really creates such a distinct relationship with people and I know that I will one day return to the kind of small city of Pachuca.I am now in Ixtapaluca, also known as Bautizaluca….or in English (even though it doesn´t make much sense) Baptismluca….something like that. Ever since I got here, with my new awesome companion, Elder Hilario, we have had non-stop appointments. There are truly so many more people to be able to contact in the streets and I´m excited that we have such a strong base already. This week, I saw my first transvestite, we taught the “Elder” of the Jehovah´s Witnesses, I have NOT been sick in the stomach, and I rode my first bicycle taxi. It´s been a week full of new things and the fact that I´ve meet a lot of wonderful people, that I have a companion that is a LOT more cooperative and we get along WAAAY better, has made the transition more smooth than I ever thought possible. I hope things are going just as amazingly for you. Another semester is starting to end! Don´t forget to go to General Conference!!! It´s the best! Have an awesome week!Elder Dan Israel Lopez