Monday, April 27, 2015

Week 24 - Sleep walking, a cat, a chicken, and Little Caezars?

A young member of the church and his chicken in their backyard
See bottom of this post for a video :)
Hey Everybody!

Oh man things are just so crazy and so great here! Let me just tell ya!

So Joaly got baptized in my old Area! It was actually last week....but I just found out today! WAHOO! I was super excited for her, she is so great! I don't have a picture sadly but I'll try to get one! So that was just great news :) Her uncle is a member and she is 11 years old and she is just so great! I think I talked about her before a bit!
Kelson got this picture after he sent this email so I am adding it now (Dad)
This is the baptism of Joaly from his previous area.
So this week I got to do my first Baptismal interview! That was so cool! I don't know, it was just such a super spiritual and special experience, and the Brother I interviewed was so prepared and so excited to be able to take this step. I actually got to be in his baptisms because I had to bring a signed baptismal record for the interview and get my missionary planner I left with the Elders there when we did Divisions! It was awesome!

Speaking of Divisions, holy cow! I did 3 this week with my District. I stayed one time in our area, the other two times I left. That was super awesome! So funny story, I used to talk and walk and do a lot of things really in my sleep and I thought I didn't do it anymore...but I guess I do! I was on divisions with Elder Tolli, a Brazilian Elder that came on the mission like a month after me and he said I was like talking and walking around the house and stuff hahahaha and he said he woke up at like 3AM and I was sitting on the edge of his bed just look around and breathing really hard hahahahaha he was laughing so hard when he told me in the morning...well now you think I have like emotion problems or something but I just am so active I can't even sit still in the night! Haha! And I asked my comp if I talk in my sleep and he said...uhhh yeah pretty much every night! He said just this week at like 12 I was like, "Elder! Elder Pesantez! There´s a cat in the house, right???!!!" There was no cat...I don't remember any of this...haha great times!

Little Caezars Pizza Ad from Mexico City "No Calling. No waiting. Ready!"
We had a meeting with the Ward missionaries to teach them how to go out and visit the Members and get references and help make the ward really strong and that was awesome! And you won't believe what our Ward Mission Leader brought to the meeting...yep, LITTLE CAESARS PIZZA!!!! I was like WHAAAT?!?! I almost died. It was great!

So we finally met and talked to this guy who we ran into once who was talking to the other Elders and he seems really great. His name is Erick, and his kids names are all SUPER American...Bryan, Stacy, Ashely, Brandon hahaha that's awesome right? Well he lived in UTAH! And he is not a Mormon...so we are working on that! He is great but he works a lot and doesn't know when he can come to church. We are praying he will come and that his family will want to listen, his wife isn't really excited to hear us, but he is! He really wants to get baptized, he actually told us before we mentioned it! Great stuff.
Elder Pezantes apparently doesn't get enough sleep as he finally told Kelson
That Kelson talks alot in his sleep - and even walks around!
This picture was taken as they were leaving the apartment for the day
Now lets talk Mexican security. So lets say you have a house and a little driveway (a lot do) and you have a wall that goes to the street, like 15 to 20 feet high. If you DON'T want people to get into your house, simple. All you do is put a wet layer of cement on top of your wall, then place shards of broken glass from old windows or bottles, cups whatever you want really and let that stuff dry. Bam. I wish I had a picture of this because it is the most horrying image but hey, great idea right? You gotta do what you gotta do! Also I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, I think so, but if that's not enough security you put up a barb-wire fence above the wall. And if THAT doesn't satisfy ya, you just take a wire from the power line and straight up splice it with your barb-wire fence creating what would destroy and simultaneously electrocute you. AWESOME! #MexicanMoment
Here is a picture of what Kelson is talking about: Glass on top of tall walls

Well things are great here, we are working very hard and I love this work. I am growing to have such a love for this people and for this place, and I'm so grateful for the opportunity to get to serve this mission. I love and miss you all, take care and thank you for all the love and support!

Elder Davies





Monday, April 20, 2015

Week 23 - Jump starting a city bus? Yep. That happened.

View from their apartment in Mexico City
Hello Family and Friends!

Wow how the time flies! Another week already! I already have half a cycle with Elder Pesantez, that's crazy! Things are just going super great here!

This week on Friday we had interviews with President Anaya, those are always super great! He is such a great guy and he has such love and concern for each and every one of the missionaries. I always learn a lot when I talk to him, even if it's only a few minutes. When I was about to leave my area to go to the Stake Center which is like 20 minutes away on the Bus the Zone Leaders called and told me that it was Sister Anaya's, the President's Wife's, Birthday!! So we like ran out the house and got off the bus at a big market that is like Walmart but more Mexican and I bought a cake real quick to surprise her! She is so sweet and takes such good care of us all as missionaries so I was happy to be able to get her something and sing that Mexican Birthday song I still not don't know the words to...I'm gonna print them out and learn them because I'm tired of looking dumb during this song hahaha!
Jump starting a bus in Mexico City
Couple great things that happened this week. I saw a lady walk out of a house with a Pink Utah Jazz Jersey, it was a #8 Williams Jersey and I just thought that was crazy. We should probably teach her now and baptize her, I know where she lives because she was leaving her house...haha maybe we will go knock on her door haha! Also we were in the bus on the way to District Class and there was the other bus across the street that had died so of course our bus driver is cool and it was probably his buddy so he crossed the street and we very gently rear ended him, and then he took off pushing the other bus so he could pop start his engine. I was very happy to be part of that beautiful process! I can honestly say I have never seen a giant bus pop start another giant bus. Gotta be a first time for everything right? That counts as a Mexican Moment.
OH! I went into this bathroom of one of our investigators and you would not believe what he had in there! A BATHROOM VENT! It was a little fin in a hole in the wall and you just plugged it in and BAM! American Bathroom vent. I think he has been to Arizona a lot because he has a daughter here, that's probably where he got that idea. Bathroom vents are a real thing right?! Those are such a good idea. 

A Toucan like the one Kelson is talking about. HAHA!
We are teaching a guy named Angel and he is in a wheelchair because he lost his leg a few years ago in an accident. He is such a cool old man, he really gets around and he is super self reliant. He has his own little business on the corner of his street where he has an old Walmart shopping cart and he has a bunch of cleaning supplies. On Monday to Saturday he is out there selling all morning and into the afternoon. He was a bus driver and a mechanic before, so we always talk about mechanics that's a fun thing for me! OH! And he has this super awesome TOUCAN in his house! Like those crazy birds that are always in the pictures he has one! I don't think that's legal...but also he has like 10 other super beautiful tropical birds and an iguana that is just...creeping around!

He is a great guy. Other missionaries had talked to him but he is a little difficult so they just kinda stopped visiting him. But from the first moment I saw him I did what President Monson talked about and imagined him in his white baptismal robe and I was thinking how we were gonna baptize him (because he only has one leg and his other is a little weak). It's gonna be very hard to get him to church, but we are gonna work hard and pray harder because this man needs the Gospel! This man and ever man and every woman! Pray for Angel please!

The work is unstoppable. It is rolling forth and will continue to do so until it has filled all the earth. I am humbled to be part of this work and to see the Gospel of Jesus Christ light up the lives of people who had lived in darkness all their lives, a darkness as real and cruel and miserable as is (wonderful) the light of the One who came to save us. If you haven't seen the video of Christ that was made for Easter, I invite you to see it! And SHARE it! Share the love, share the light. The Gospel is true, I know it!


Élder Davies


This is a video of Kelson's Handywork fixing a sink in their apartment

A new building being built in their area

Kelson's 2nd Companion - Elder Pesantez from

Elder Pesantez preparing for the day

Monday, April 13, 2015

Week 22 - Notes from his second area: Jardines

Wallet Kelson got from his Great Grandpa Spencer after he died (his mother's grandfather)
Grandpa Spencer got this wallet many years ago on a trip to Mexico. Kelson didn't even ask for this.
He asked for other things, but this just showed up. Grandpa telling him something?
Hey everyone!

Things are just going so great here in Jardines! I love this area, there is so much work to do here. Thank you all so much for your love and support, it always means so much to get such wonderful emails from you all!

This week was our first week in our new ward (because last week was general conference), and it was great! We have a really great ward and some really good leaders. We are excited to start getting everyone pumped to do missionary work with us! 

This week we have just been contacting SO many old investigators, new contacts, and Less Active members. It has been so crazy, I really don't think I've ever walked so much in my life! My foot is really being a trooper, it's awesome. It gets to where it is a little sore at the end of the day sometimes but other than that it is great and I can tell it's getting a lot stronger! My left leg looks pretty much normal now, you can't even see a difference! Haha I still remember looking at my own leg and it was like half the size of the the other and it was so weird...haha!
Kelson's fixes the laundry sink in their new place.
With the new white pipes, the water goes into the side with the drain!
So our house is great and actually pretty nice, it's just a little small and we didn't have a real good place to wash our dishes I really don't know what the other Elders did but I'm super stoked about what we did. So right by our door to leave the house there is a little cement sink thing for washing laundry, the problem is next to the big sink thing there is a little one without a drain, so all the water would just fill up in there and just sit...forever...and Mexican water isn't pretty when it sits. So what I did is I bought some little pipes from this little tienda (store) on the corner right by our street and made a sweet pipe to redirect the water over the sink! It's something so small and silly but I really do miss this kinda thing especially mechanics, whenever I walk by a mechanics shop I just wanna just jump in and work with them...someday I'm gonna teach a mechanic so I can work with him in his shop while I teach him XD I'll attach a picture of my beautiful plumbing.

Another really cool thing this week is I found in my suitcase a Wallet that I inherited from my Great-Grandpa Spencer after he died a few years ago. I don't know how I got the wallet, it was assigned to me from a few of his things as memories we could have of him...the crazy thing is the Wallet is a leather wallet from Mexico! It is beautiful, not a cheap wallet, and I just found it! I remember packing it thinking it was cool but I had forgotten how significant it was. I carry it on my now wherever I go and it is a great reminder that I'm not alone and I have a lot of great legacies to live up to of brothers, parents, and other family members and friends.

I have always known I was going to go to Mexico on my mission, I just never told anyone because in case I didn't go and I went to Orem, UT or something, I didn't want people to feel bad for me hahaha! But I don't think it's a coincidence that this wallet fell into my hands. Parents do you know if he visited here or something? Maybe you could do some digging and let me know :)

Well things are super great I'm loving life and learning lots and....
I COMPLETED FIVE MONTHS IN THE MISSION! Whenever I tell people I have 5 months they first say, "WOW, you speak really good Spanish!" then they make fun of my because I just started and I'm never gonna go home haha but these have been the busiest and fastest 5 months ever, it's pretty crazy.

Love you all so much, hope you are all happy and healthy :)

Elder Davies

Monday, April 6, 2015

Week 21 - The Church Is True!

He wrote someone a private message here - But Dad edited for him HAHA!
Hey all you wonderful people!

How are you?? So there is just so much going on right now I just don't even know where to start!

My companion and I are getting to know the area a lot better now. We kinda get it and we can make our way around so that`s super great! I actually really really like this area. There are like 5 different colonies which are like...I guess you could say neighborhoods but they are super big! There´s a couple that are just super fun! The one I really like has little alleys between all the buildings and there are tons of bushes and grass and flowers and it is really pretty beautiful surprisingly...so I really like that! On the east side of area there is a giant Canal full of the most disgusting water I've ever seen, it makes me want to drink the water out of the Mississippi river if that gives you any perspective of how gross it is. I have seen open sewer just flowing into it. It is pretty big, the bridge that goes over it is like a few hundred feet and like 50 feet up, and because part of our area is across the Canal I get the great pleasure of crossing once a day or so! Haha its pretty great.

Dad: I found this on the internet of a canal in Mexico City. Yuck!
Source: http://janetjarman.com/portfolio/view/aguas-negras
So when we got here because we were opening the area we had NOTHING and new NO ONE so the first few days were pretty crazy! We took the area book which had investigators registered from 2010 and had like NEVER been cleaned, and wrote down the name and address of EVERY person who had ever talked to the missionaries and we just started contacting them all like crazy. The missionaries were not good at leaving very clear directions, we get a lot of blue house on this street, and the street is 10 miles wide but its a good excuse to knock on every door that's a blue house and contact them so hey, not that bad. We have really only found like 5 of the old investigators, and they are pretty nice. The one I think we will have the best chance of teaching is Mario Diaz. He is an older gentlemen and he has kids in Arizona and his wife was there visiting and hurt her knee, so shes been there for a few months.

Haha funny story this random lady contacted us in the street and was like I used to be a Mormon! I got baptized! And then she said she loved the day when we all got to go in front of everyone and tell all about our problems and I almost started laughing when I realized she was talking about Testimony meeting hahaha.

General Conference was SOO awesome! I felt the Spirit SO strong during the whole thing! One thing I did miss though was the voices of the prophet and apostles. I have grown to know and love their voices and it was a little sad to only get to hear their words, but still very good! (Note from Dad: He is referring to the Spanish Translation that talks over their actual voices) I'm gonna download the talks and start listening to them so I can learn even more, I'm excited about that!

I encourage all of you to take the time to listen to these talks. Even if you watched all of conference, listen to them all again. A lot of times the inspiration we need comes after when we get the chance to study each individual talk with time to ponder and pray about the things taught in them.

I know these men really are called of God and this really is his church. I had a very strong affirmation by the Holy Ghost when President Monson was addressing us that he IS a prophet of God and that we are in the Church that Jesus Christ has established. I invite you all to search for a divine witness of this thing for yourselves!

I love you and take care! Thanks for all the love and support and I can sure feel the prayers!

Elder Davies

A picture of his new apartment - Cement floor.
He also says they have to use a bucket of water to flush the toilet :)


Thursday, April 2, 2015

Week 20 - Transferred! New companion & new calling

New companion: Elder Pesantez from Ecuador!
Family and Friends,
Oh my goodness there have been some big changes here!!

First of all, I got a new area AND a new companion! Oh my goodness! They called us Monday night and said that I had transfers and we were all super confused because we were sure I was gonna stay and my companion was gonna go, but nope! I am opening an area in the stake Xalostoc (pronounced Halostalk) with Elder Pesantez! He is a great missionary, he is really funny and is from Ecuador. The literal translation of his name is "FishBefore", so that's cool. Also this keyboard only sometimes works, and some of the letters just don't work at all so I have to copy and past them from other emails and now I have the whole alphabet and punctuation marks so I think we are good. Although I couldn't find a good pair of quotation marks to put around "FishBefore" (added by dad :) ), so yeah. Also we live in what translated to be Gardens of the Fat Hill. Also a very cool name. I'm just here in the Gardens of Fat hill with my companion, Elder FishBefore. Spanish is AWESOME!

I got to visit a few investigators and converts Tuesday Morning and then I went to the Stake Center next to the temple for the changes! I was one of the last to get called of like over 100 missionaries so I was freaking out a little bit I had no idea where I was gonna go and even less that I was gonna get to open an area! I am so stoked! I was called to be the district leader so that is pretty crazy. I am excited for the new opportunity to learn, grow, and help other missionaries, should be an adventure.


Last Picture before he is transferred

Missionaries at a family's house before he left his first area
Just wanted to have a little throwback to one year ago when I I had my surgery. It's hard to believe that a year ago I couldn't walk and here I am on a mission walking all day long on the high quality streets of Mexico! Amazing what the Lord can do and the change in me is even greater than being able to walk or not, I feel like a different person. Maybe better said not a better person, but a different person. I have learned and grown so much and I am thankful for every trial that I have.

Martha, our convert from my other area, got to do baptisms in the VERACRUZ TEMPLE last week!!!! I was so excited for that! She went with a family in the ward on Wednesday night last week, drove all night, and got back Thursday night. Elder Rodriguez and I were just so happy for her to be able to enter and do 12 vicarious baptisms.

Getting to know the new place in his new area

So we don't know anyone here, we tried to meet the members and investigators yesterday but the area is big and the map is missing like half of the street names its just such an adventure I'm having so much fun! I am super nervous because I feel a lot of responsibility and we have a LOT of work ahead of us, but I'm working hard and praying harder.

I love you all so much and thank you for the prayers and support!

-Elder Davies
Kelson will miss some of his favorite people like this family!



New House in new Area - A typical street in his area
Posing with his first companion Elder Rodriguez



More pictures of the new place in his 2nd area

Transfers and moving!

Checking out his new Apartment!

New Room in New Area (Nice Purple - HAHA!)

Kitchen in new Apartment (cozy!)