July 28, 2014

YOOOOO--What's up fam!!!

I feel like it must be just super hot everywhere in the world right now.... I open up my email and all I see in every message is that it is just the hottest thing ever. Can anyone say global warming?

And ya..... it's pretty dang hot here, too..... in case you were wondering.

But forget the heat, we're chillin out here!! haha seriously though we're having a good time in this place and working really hard. I've never sweated so much in my life. Even all those summers working for Keith Wilson at his house or at his ranch don't compare to what I'm experiencing everyday! But I'm loving it. 

We had a good week this week! We taught a lot of people and are still finding a lot of new people to teach every week but we struggle a bit to get them to come to church and progress towards their baptism. But yesterday, our investigators Abimael and his wife Angelica and also Jesus went to church! it was great to see them there... and they really like it! At this pace, all three of them can get baptized on August 30th! They're showing a lot of faith and desires to change their lives and follow Christ's path. There's nothing more rewarding as a missionary. Last night, we went to visit Abimael and Angelica at their house to teach them. It's always a fun time to visit those guys. They're a young couple, and are just the nicest people in the world. They've been married for 6 years, and have always dreamed of having a baby, but up until now they haven't been able to. For whatever reason, even though both of them are very healthy. So last night they explained that to us, and then they asked us to give them a priesthood blessing, that their desires might be fulfilled according to their faith. It was a lesson on faith that I'll never forget. They said, "we've made the mistake of searching for answers from men and doctors, but now, we want to put our trust and faith in God, and we know that you two are sent from God." It was a sweet experience.

Dad, that golf analogy was perfect. I loved it, and I had never thought of it in that way! Thanks a lot, that will really help me along. For those who might read this message, and assuming that I was the only one who saw Dad's email, He explained to me that golf is a lot like life and missionary work. In golf, it's all about making as few mistakes as possible. Recovering is key to being a good golfer and always "focusing on the next shot". In life and missionary work, as well as in golf, there is never a need to play alone. The Caddy is always available to help us see the obstacles and give us advice on what we need to do or what would be best to do. But, we always have to take our own swings. I know that as long as we listen, our Caddy will always be there at our side, guiding us every step of the way to help us become the best players we can be. Love you all, thank you for everything that you do for me. Have an awesome week this week!!!

Elder Webb

(first pic is elder hernandez and I eating lunch the other day...... SUPER BURRITOS)

(second is me opening the package ya'll sent me :) )

July 21, 2014

WHAT UPPPPP FAMM!!

Those are some sweet pics.... I always love to see what's goin on with everyone back home! I'm surprised Dad and Scott and Trent never thought of the tube things before. I mean, it's only been like 20 summers straight that we've been camping with them. Yes, I am using the music books a little :) and no, the toffee wasn't melted, it was delicious :)

This week was SOOOOOoooooOOOooOOOOOoooOo hot. We were dying the whole week. And for like every other appointment we have to climb the side of the mountain. It's great :)) No but this week really was a good week. We were able to find a lot of new people to teach this week, that have a lot of potential! 15 to be exact! Yesterday, we spent like a half hour scaling up and down these rises and falls and through the thicket (is that a word?) and what not but we found the family we were looking for, and we taught all of them! Haha there were like 13 of them present! Not all of them wanted to keep listening to us, but still, I think we picked up like 6 new investigators from that appointment alone. We have a lot of investigators that are showing a lot of potential, the only problem is that they don't go to church. Ha--so we'll be working on that.

At times I've missed being in the big Utah wards... right now I'm in a little branch with only 2 Melchizedek priesthood holders. Last Sunday, we (there are 4 of us missionaries in the branch) lead and played the music, blessed and passed the sacrament, gave all 4 talks, taught gospel principles and sunday school classes, and taught priesthood the third hour. Haha it's nuts. But I'm gaining a ton of experience. And it, honestly, just makes me more thankful for where I come from and what I was blessed to experience at home. Don't take for granted what you have :)

Love you all, thanks for everything!! :)

Elder Webb

July 14, 2014

YOOOOOOOO

Hey wasssupp everybody!! First week in the new area in the BAG! Absolutely loving this place. My companion is great, his name is Elder Hernandez. He's an awesome guy, and super excited to get to work. He has less time than me in the mission but he is a smart kid, man I'm tellin ya! And he knows how to work and teach well. We're gonna tear it up here!! :)

I got your package this week!! Haha it was awesome. I loved it! Thank you sooo muc--I don't think you realize how awesome it is when a missionary receives a package from home :)

We had a really good week this week. We worked really hard and found a lot of new people to teach! We have a few really solid investigators here that are progressing towards baptism. We are teaching a married couple, Abimael and Angelica. They are just awesome! So prepared! They are set to be baptized like the middle of august. I'll keep you updated on them! One of the other guys we're teaching here is named Jesus. He's like a 22 year old guy who has been struggling with drinking problems and is battling schitzophrenia, too. But he is looking to change his life, and is willing to do whatever it takes. The other day, we taught him something really short and he promised  to read the Book of Mormon. We left, and about an hour later we passed by his house just on our way home, and through his door we could here him reading aloud his Book of Mormon to his 2 nieces that he has there. I couldn't help but crack a smile :) 

Yesterday, we had an appointment to go and visit Abimael and Angelica but we went a little early so we could talk with Abimael's Dad. We started teaching him about the restoration and stuff like that, and he was paying attention and stuff, but he wasn't super interested. But we started talking about the Book of Mormon and he started to lighten up! It was crazy how interested in everything he got after we started teaching about the Book of Mormon. And when we mentioned that Jesus Christ had come to the Americas, he was like, "no way, Christ came to the Americas?? How have I  not known that my whole life!" -- it was soo cool to see how excited he was. When we finished, we told him how to pray and asked him if he could help us with the closing prayer. He didn't want to at first, but we insisted. Reluctantly, he started praying. It was one of the most heartfelt prayers I had ever heard, and he struggled to say what he wanted to because he was fighting back tears the whole time. But after the prayer, he mentioned that he hadn't prayed in such a long time. And that he felt like a kid, talking to his dad after he hadn't seen him for years. It was a special experience.

Hope y'allllll have a great week this week!! Love you all to death!

Elder Webb

July 8, 2014

HeLLLLLOOOOooOoO

Can somebody get me Jake Ambuehl's email address?? I gotta write him and let him know that I'm thinking about him. I'm so sorry to hear about his accident!! I'll be praying for him.

Well well well.... I got transfered! I'm in one of the cooooolest places in the mission. It is sooo beautiful here!! I'll send pictures next week... This week the computer is weird and won't let me attach photos. But mom, thanks for always having such a soft heart and being willing to help :) but I honestly don't know what's gonna happen to that guy. We were teaching him a little bit this last week, but he wasn't really coming around. But who knows! I hope and pray he does, but even if he doesn't, we still can say that we did all that we could. I'm gonna miss it out there in my last area... I really enjoyed that place and made some awesome relationships with some of those members and investigators there. It was the toughest area of my mission.... We had a lot of difficulties and struggles but I think that what I learned in that area was really what I was sent there for:

 Everything happens for a reason. Not every missionary is sent to baptize 10,000 people like Dan Jones, some are sent to lift the spirits of a fallen companion, some are sent to plant seeds. For missionary work to be successful as a whole, you've got to have every single part working. It reminds me of a scripture in 1 Corinthians when Paul is comparing members of the church as one "body" in Christ. And he says in verse 19, "Because if all were only one member, Where would the body be?" and he continues saying, "The members of the body that seem most weak, are the most necessary." (rough translation from Spanish to English). I really believe that's true... We've all gotta find our place and, like President Uchtodorf said, "Lift where you stand".

I don/t know if you remember my old companion, Elder Delgado, that I trained? The crazy one that was dancing behind me on Christmas when I skyped you guys? Haha well he got transfered here with me. He's not gonna be my companion, but he's gonna be in the branch here. So tight! Love the kid to death. Well anyways.... I love you all to death. Thanks for everything!! Here's to a speedy recovery for Jake Ambuehl. Hang in there buddy. Ciaaoo!

Elder Webb

June 30, 2014

Bonjour?

Heyyy ya'll hows everyone doin?! I've realized that the more I start out my letters like that, the less responses I actually get. But anyways... the WOW campout continues! Ha It's a good thing I'm only gonna be missing one of those. Next year, I'll bring a little more life to the party. Don't worry about it. But glad to hear everyone's doin well. It makes me really happy to know that Jim got baptized! I never really knew him... but he always seemed like a fun guy. My congratulations to him and everyone else in the ward!

Things are going well here. Still struggling in many aspects but we're seeing a bit of progress. We weren't able to find the guy that eats cactus this week... we had a couple appointments with him but he wasn't there. And yes, mom, I have eaten cactus before. I don't love it, but it's not so bad. This week we worked really hard and were able to find a few investigators that we hope will be able to progress. 

But we had an unbelievable experience yesterday. Maybe the best of my mission so far. So We were in a lesson with a new investigator that we had found about a week ago, and at one point in the lesson he says, "hey, there's a guy around the corner here that's not doing so well. You guys should go and visit him." And in that moment I felt something telling me that we needed to go and visit him. As we left the lesson, I looked at my watch and noticed we were a little late for our next appointment so I thought, "We'll catch him the next time around" and we kept walking. About a block away, the feeling that we needed to go and visit him was undeniable, and so I told my companion, and we turned back around to go and contact him.

 We arrive at this humble house, and we see a man sitting down in a chair. But we can't see him completely because he was behind a tarp of some sorts that they probably hang up for a little bit of privacy. We call out, "Good Afternoon!" No answer, nor movement from the man. So we call out again, a little louder this time, "Good afternoon!" And all we here is, "Good? Good?? What good can there possibly be?? You think I'm having a good afternoon? No. There's no good at all." We both kind of looked at each other and I think we knew in that instant that we were brought there for a reason. We told him who we were, and asked him what was wrong or what we could do to help. He commented, with desperation in his voice, that they didn't have anything to eat. And haven't eaten in a while. He pointed to his mother, who was very elderly, and told us how much they've been suffering. I was overcome with a desire to help this man and his mother. So I asked him, "Brother, and if we bring you some food?" I dont think he was expecting an offer like that. He thought for a second, tried to form a response, but before he could say yes or no we said "We'll be right back", and left.

It had crossed my mind that an active family was just barely starting to eat lunch so we went and told them about the situation, and they were more than willing to fill up a few cups of meat and rice with a pile of tortillas on the side. So we took the food, as well as one of the members of the family to come with us. We get back, and to the man's great surprise, there we were with a whole bunch of food for him. He didn't know what to say. I didn't know what to say. He was so overcome, he couldn't even speak. But he accepted the food, and he hurried inside and grabbed a toolbox and came running out. Turns out, he's a shoe shiner, and to thank us he wanted to shine our shoes for us. As he shined our shoes, we testified of Christ. We testified of God's plan for us. And every one of us felt the spirit of the Lord in abundance. I couldnt help but think of how Peter must have felt with the Savior washing his feet. It was an experience that I'll never forget.

Wellllllp. Hope you guys have an aweeeesome week this week. Say hi to Greg and Miriam for me! Love you all :)) 

Elder Webb

June 23, 2014

FAMM

Whats up, everybody! Good news: The foot is cured!! Pretty much. Mom, I know you would like to know how I got the infection in my foot.... and so would I. The doctor told me that something may have bitten me. Needless to say, he didn't exactly shed much light on the situation. But hey, things are better now. There are no worries here. I'm good to go. We did lock the key in the house this morning, and are still tryin to figure out what to do about that...... but if worst comes to worst we'll just go sleep under the bridge over the canal. :)

This week was a good week for us. Kind of. It had its up and downs. I still had to rest my foot the first part of this week, but since Wednesday, I've been up and about and out working. We found a few new investigators this week that really have a lot of potential. One of them is named Eduardo. He's just the most humble guy ever. He lives in a little concrete hut and eats cactus all day every day, because that's all he can afford. For a living, he sells pineapple on his bicycle. He's just a stud! He wasn't able to go to church with us yesterday but he wants to be baptized and wants to get closer to God and have a better relationship with him.

It's been raining a lot here this week... Man, gotta love that Mexico rain! Ha it kinda puts a damper on things (ha get it?) as far as work goes. Because it rains for about 10 minutes, and all the streets fill with water and it's like impossible to get around. It started raining really hard on Thursday after lunch and we were walking by the house of one of our old investigators that we hadn't seen in about 2 months. But they invited us in for some shelter from the rain. While we were there, we talked to our investigator, Alicia, for a long time about everything. At the end, she accepted a baptismal date and was super excited to read the Book of Mormon. What a blessing the rain can be sometimes! :)

Elder Martinez and I are enjoying ourselves. I've really loved having him as my companion... He's such a chill guy. He makes me laugh all the time. We're working hard and trying to stay dry! But between the rain and the humidity, It's almost impossible to stay dry! I love you all so much and hope that you have an amazing week! :) HAPPY BIRTHDAY,  DAD!!!!!!! (4 days ago... but hey, I couldn't write you on Thursday)

Elder Webb