Tuesday, June 2, 2015

earthquakes, baptisms and transfers... May 25, 2015

Worst part about transfers... Goodbyes
This is the coolest, craziest, funniest family in Monte Bello 
The Hermosillo Family

Hey everyone!

I am going to be transferred tomorrow to Henderson to the Black Mountain/Green Valley Zone! I will be able to go on exchanges with the Valley Verde Ward Elders where the Clarks' cousins the Edwards live!   It's going to be 2 English wards. My companion is Elder Rockwood.  He's one of my best buds here in the mission and he plays basketball for BYU-Hawaii so I'm pretty pumped cause we'll be gettin' buckets every morning. He's from Washington and has been out for one more transfer than me. Elder Felix is going wayyyy out to Needles, California for his next area.  The two missionaries that are replacing us are Elder Wasden (my companion before Felix) and Elder Lopez who is a really good missionary so Monte Bello is in good hands.  

On Friday we had an earthquake hit if y'all heard.  Elder Felix and I were in our apartment and we are on the second floor and the ground just starts shaking and our building starts swaying from side to side.  I guess it was like a 5.something… I can't remember that's what a member told us. 

We had 2 baptisms in our ward on Saturday.  One was a 8 year old boy named Juanito that Elder Felix and I have been teaching.  His mom and dad can't get baptized yet because they are not married but they wanted him to get baptized because he just turned 8.  The other was for the other Elders in our ward.  
My buddy Juanito got baptized!

On Wednesday we had a mission-wide conference with all of the missionaries here come to, even the out of valley ones in Arizona and California.  They brought in the big guns, Elder Clarke from the Seventy and Brother Donaldson (missionary department) came and gave us training.  Most of it was learning things for after our missions and how to develop good habits with technology because we are getting iPads in about a week.  He gave us dating advice too… which is kinda weird but one things he said was, "If you're dating a girl, take her to hike Mt. Timpanogos.  If she complains on the way up, drop her!" So yeah it was a very lively, funny, and great training.  I learned a lot.  It was also good to see all of my missionary friends again.  (Elder Thorne, Chambers, Wasden, Carroll, etc.)

Yesterday, we went to an appointment with a lady we just met and she said her brother lives there too and he's a member but doesn't go to church.  So we got there and it was just her brother there. We sit down and he starts talking about his conversion story and how he joined the church because he worked at a tv station in Las Vegas and one of the anchors was Mormon and introduced him to the church. Then he said his name was Dave McCann and I was like, "hold up, I think my dad knew him in High School!!" then he showed me a picture and sure enough it was that Dave McCann. True Blue Dave McCann.  He said that because we came, he is going to start going back to church! So that was a cool connection to make right before I left.

Yesterday in Sacrament meeting we didn't start the sacrament until around 9:45 because we had 7 confirmations. 5 were the Castellanos Family from last Sunday's baptism.  Juan, Miguel and Gustavo all got the Priesthood yesterday too! 

One thing I've learned on my mission is that probably the best part is meeting people, serving them, teaching them, and helping them see how the Gospel of Jesus Christ can bless them personally.  It is great to be able to love them and help them on the path that we are all trying to stay on back to our Heavenly Father.  IT'S A GREAT DAY TO BE A MISSIONARY!!! I love all of you and hope you have a great Memorial Day! 

Love, 
elder faldmo

Meet Marco Antonio. He recently moved here from Mexico.  Elder Conley and Salanoa were biking around the end of April and he yelled out at them but couldn't really speak any English so he pulls out his smartphone and goes on a translator and asks them, "do you know where the church of Christ is?" then the Elders responded through the phone and told him that we were.  They called us and we went to the chapel and taught him a lesson in the chapel and set him for a baptism date. He ended up living in the other elders area in our ward so they taught him and he got baptized on Saturday!! 

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