Week 39 - Mexico City Temple Open House Starts Friday!

McDonalds - Almost like home :)

Hey everyone!

This week has been really busy but I have learned a lot this week.

We had a Zone Class on Wednesday and a Multi-Zone Conference on Friday and both were fantastic! We were talking about the Open House of the temple a lot because that´s like the most important thing happening in the church in Mexico right now...this week is crazy! Today they are giving VIP tours to people who live right by the temple and the regular tours will start Friday! We printed cards to give to the ward and investigators and random people to invite them to go! This week we contacted a few micros (busses) and that´s always a blast! You just get up in front and ask if you can give out cards then you just preach in front a bus! That's a fun thing.

We have a really high goal for baptisms thanks to the flood of references we are going to get during the open house of the temple, so we have put an even higher goal of baptismal challenges! On Saturday we did splits with the Zone Leaders for a couple hours so I could do some baptismal interviews for them so we were in the Visitor´s Center doing the interviews and such for a few hours...we didn't know how we were gonna reach our goal of 3 baptismal dates but while I was doing our last interview they said that there were 2 people there from the Zone Leader´s area (which actually includes the temple and visitor´s center) so we talked to them after and invited them to be baptized! Then we got in a taxi and we were like oh man we got two dates and we weren't even able to be our working, that is awesome! God is definitely a God of miracles! We were a little sad though that we didn't get the 3 dates we wanted to...but then we took a taxi home and put a baptismal date with him too hahaha I love putting baptismal dates! I got a cool idea from another Elder to put the picture of Jesus being baptized by John folded up and glued in the back of my Agenda so I can just whip that thing out in the street and that's been working. We are gonna have a fun next couple months, I hope I can stay here a long time because we are gonna be CRAZY busy.

Today we had a Zone activity so we went early with the Zone Leaders to help them get everything ready and bought. I went with Elder Hicks to Walmart and then we were waiting for an art store to open up to buy some thread and needles for the activity (we made our handkerchiefs for the temple dedication), so we went to Mcy D´s for breakfast! I bought a Mexican style sausage burger and it had beans so that was a different experience...but the other burgers I bought tasted just like the states so #VivaAmerica! Also Ronald McDonald just scares me even more and more...(enjoy the picture below!)

Mommy... That creepy man scares me. HAHA!

Whenever you are a missionary you learn to immediately spot other missionaries so wherever I go I know when there are other Elders...but today we went to the mall and I got on the Metro and I took a quick look and there weren't any other missionaries but then someone was like, "Davies, what up dude?!" (in PERFECT English) and I was like what?! And then I realized it is a young man from a ward in our stake I had met that had lived in Alabama for 2 years with his cousins haha I was so confused...haha but it was fun to see them I just kinda flipped out from hearing English!

Well things are really good here in Mexico. I am loving this work and I love you all and thank you so much for your love and support! Have great lives and go out and have a blast!

Love,

Élder Davies

Week 38 - Hola Familia y Amigos!

Transfer day - Elder Mulia is headed to a new area. He served in the same area

Hola Familia y Amigos!

I didn't type that in Spanish to be cool, that really just came out. I've been in Mexico for many moons.

This week was great! We had changes today! And a couple yesterday! I'm staying here with my companion to finish his training WAHOO! Elder Maluia got transferred and Elder Jensen is the new Elder in our ward. He is from Las Vegas, and he was actually the Elder I shared a ward with my first cycle in Bosques! Also got two new Elders in an area that was closed last cycle, it's Elder Tolli the Brazilian from my last District and an Elder that he is training named Elder Duran! They are all fantastic and we are excited to work with them! We are gonna have some busy days up ahead.

Yesterday we went to clean the house that is literally like across the street from the Temple where Elder Tolli and Duran were gonna live, and it's a good thing we got to that because it was pretty gross...but it's all good now, they were excited!

Today we went to Sam´s Club to buy all the food for the month because I´ve found it's just cheaper that way...ran into some A&W Rootbeer so you bet I bought a 12 pack! I started crying a little when I saw it. Our house is full of food, I love the beginning of the month! You missionaries know what I'm talking about! #Budgeting

Transfers! Elder Mulia is headed to a new area

This last week was really good, the family we found last week had a daughter get sick this week and was in the hospital so we didn't get to teach them all week and they didn't make it to church! I talked to some of them in the week when we passed by, they are so perfect. I love them so much! Last Sunday when we had that lesson with them I felt the Spirit so strong and I felt the love our Heavenly Father has for them. We sang them the hymn "The Lord is My Light" to finish and one of the little boys was crying because he felt the Spirit so strong. I got to saw the closing prayer and all ten of us kneeled down in their little room and I felt SO much love for them and just wanted to hug them all for the rest of forever and bring them all to church! I'll see what I can do this week, hope all is well!

Elder Perez in our ward hit his 6 month mark so we got him a soccer ball and ate ice cream, that was fun, we had changes after. Actually, funna story. My companion put on a Santa Claus mask and sang "Melodies of Christmas" by David Archuleta and at the end gave him the soccer ball. It was one of the funniest things I've ever seen in my life. I'll show ya´ll the video someday haha!

You know what game is fun? DOMINOS! #Desperate

I saw a watch today at Sam´s Club that can make phone calls, us GPS, keep your heart rate checked, and go on FaceBook and a bunch of other things...things are getting pretty crazy right? All the kids here have tablets they get in the school, it's crazy how cheap tablets are! I saw one the other day someone was selling for $60 USD?! What? I'm not gonna recognize the world when I get back.

I love this work and I don't WANT to be in the world though! This work is even better than any watch or phone or car or spaceship. Our purpose here on this earth is to get back to our Father in Heaven and take as MANY people as we can with us. I love you all, have a FANTASTIC week!

Love,

Elder Davies

Week 37 - The Miracle of the Tacos and 10 kids

"Yup. We're Mama's boys. You got a problem with that?"  HAHA!
This was taken at a District Activity on their Preparation Day

This week has been fantastic! I don’t know where to start!

We had the BIGGEST miracle this week, I’m so excited to tell you about it! We have received a lot of references here and whenever we don’t have people to visit we search for them. There was one in particular that we got that we went 4 times looking for a guy named Manuel, but he was never there. Actually, the last time we went they said he didn’t even live there! Yesterday at 8:30 we went with a reference and put a baptismal date with him and it was great! After that we were about a half hour from the house so we decided we should probably just go home! Before we went though, I felt we needed to stop by Manuel´s house (even though supposedly he didn’t live there!) So we went. (Epic pause)

This is a road near their apartment they walk down a lot

We knocked on the door and a lady answered and  she asked who we were and then she was like, “Hey, it’s the guys from the church!” and then the next thing she said before we even said our names or even really explained who we were she asked us, “Do you want a taco?” I don’t say no to tacos. So we went in! Manual was excited to see us and then invited us in the kitchen and we ate some delicious food that Sandra, Manuel´s wife, had made. Then a kid came in! And he was 8 years old! You know what that means. Then another kid came in. And another. They have 10 kids. 9 of their kids are older than 8 years old. We put a lot of baptismal dates yesterday. I've never put that many dates in a day...actually, I don't think I've ever challenged so many people to baptism in a week. I am stoked! My companion and I left that house floating on air like you wouldn't even believe! I'll keep you updated on this family, they are fantastic!

Here is the Dog he was talking about that laid down and wouldn't leave

Today we had a District Activity and it was a BLAST! We went to a park really close to the temple and grilled hot dogs, ate a bunch of food, and played a bunch of fun games together! I love my district so much, they are all so great! There was this dog that followed us from the moment we entered the park and the sisters got really sad when we started yelling at it to try to get it to leave so it just stayed with us...the whole time. Actually, when we took our group pictures it just went and layed down in front of the camera and we were laughing pretty hard about that! Haha the dog followed us like half way back to the temple haha!

I want you all to know I know this is the work of the Lord. I know that God lives, and that he loves us! Like it says in 1 John 4, God is love, and we love him because he loved us first, and because we love him we love our neighbors. We are all sons and daughters of God and he loves us so much. I know that Jesus Christ is the son of the God, the Savior and Redeemer of the world. He loves us, and thanks to him we will some day be able to have an eternal family and be able to return to live with our Father in Heaven. I love him so much for what he did, even though I can't and will never be able to fully understand his sacrifice, I am eternally grateful for it. I invite you all to search for him, and I PROMISE you will find him. Pray to God and you will feel His love poured out upon you. You are NEVER alone, you will NEVER be forgotten! In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

With Love,

Elder Davies

Week 36 - Julio's Baptism & Nacho Libre Corn

Julio's Baptism!

Hey everyone!

This week was absolutely incredible!

Julio got baptized on Saturday and confirmed on Sunday! He'll be getting the priesthood this next week! (See week 34) He is so fantastic and he was SO ready to be baptized! After his baptism, his wife (who is a member) came to us and said we would always be part of their lives! That was so great! We did the baptismal interview on Friday night at 8 because it's SO hard to find another time with him, so our Zone Leader, Elder Mejia, came and he was on divisions with the Assistants, so one of the Assistants came too! It got really late, so they ended up staying with us in our house because we have 4 mattresses! Sleepover! They are some really great Elders, we are blessed with some incredible missionaries in our mission!

So last week I was walking with Elder Maluia who is also from Utah in Walmart and I was like are those pop tarts and he was just like,"That's not funny, lets go check out!" BUT THEY WERE! THEY GOT A SPECIAL IMPORT OF POP TARTS TO WALMART! We got so stoked when we saw it was for real and bought a bunch haha! Also they had Sour Skittles which we bought! WOW! It was like Christmas all over again.

So after Julios baptism we went to drop off all our stuff at the other missionaries house we used for the baptism because our house was further and it was gonna rain an we had an appointment, but on the way home we bought Nacho Libre corn to celebrate. It is so gross when you know what it is, it's just mayo and chile but it's pretty good! I can't believe I just barely tried that for the first time!

"Nacho Libre" Movie had corn like this. Thus the name "Nacho Libre Corn"

I got permission to go with Elder Rodriguez to Bosques so he could say goodbye to the members and our converts! Things are going really well there! Some other people I was teaching got baptized there, that is always the most exciting news! The things you actually get to see that happen in the mission are so little, the results are 10, 20, 30 years from now when the 10 year old kid you baptized is Stake President or someone goes on a mission! I love this work because we can't even comprehend what we are doing. This work is just SO much bigger than any of us think! I love meeting members that have lots of time in the church that are converts and they have the coolest conversion stories and the missionaries that taught them don't even know how dedicated they are to the church and the effect they have had on so many other people! I think that will be something so fun in the next life when we get to see each other and see how the Lord worked through every one of us to bring us all home safe and sound! I look forward to that!

Family from Bosques they taught. Kelson was given permission to go with
Elder Rodriguez (1st companion) to visit people before he want home.

We went to Jardines (my second area) after we went to Bosques and ate with a family and they are SO amazing! Sister Perales cooked us SPAGHETTI! Like it tasted AMERICAN! SOOOO delicious! Then we ate Chicken Cordon Bleu. Wow. They love me! The Perales family also got me a jar of chocolates and a SWEET pen with Elder Davies engraven on it! It is the nicest pen I've ever had. It makes me want to sign my name on everything.

My companion is learning lots! He is a convert of 3 years and he is the only member in his family, so I bet that has got to be so hard but here he is! He will be a great a missionary (and already is!).

We are getting all buckled up for the Temple Open House, we are gonna get SOOO many references, and we are gonna be RUNNING from house to house, I am so excited, I can't even tell you! The Cultural Celebration is going to be broadcast so I will get to see it from our Stake Center I think, I'm excited for that too!!

Well I love you all, I hope you are doing well!

-Elder Davies

Kelson bought this Ukulele and loves to play it now and then

The Baptismal Font at Julio's baptism

KFC... Kanzas Fried Chicken. Everyone knows that, right?

Pen given to Kelson by the Xalostoc Family in Jardines.  They apparently heard
he was coming back with Elder Rodriguez and made some special food for them too!

Xalostoc Family in Jardines

Week 35 - Diana got baptized! Nauvoo & Elder Packer

Ukulele!

Hey everyone!

Diana was one Kelson and his companion found in his previous
area that was baptized shortly after he left. He was allowed to
return and witness the baptism in Jardines.

Diana got baptized! I don´t know if you all remember her, but she was from my last area! We found her 3 weeks before I left and she was SO excited and always read and just was GOLDEN! I got a call Saturday that she was gonna be baptized and they gave my companion and me permission to be there when she got baptized! That was SO great! I really have gained a testimony that this is the Lord´s work. I didn't baptize anyone in Jardines but I got to see a bunch of people at the baptism and a lot of people I was teaching are progressing towards baptism! But they aren't my converts anyway, they are the Lord´s and it doesn't matter which of the instruments in his hands gets to baptize them, right? This work is so great!

This week´s highlight...I bought a selfie stick! It is fantastic. I haven't used it a lot, but I'm sure I will!

So my parents are in Nauvoo right now...I have to admit I am a little jealous, but like Elder Kody Hughes said we are out here doing what we learned to do in Nauvoo. For those of you that know me know that Nauvoo is part of who I am! I wouldn't be half or a tenth or a hundreth of the missionary I am today without Nauvoo! I hope all of you serving the Lord there are loving it and always remember we are doing the same work, I'm just doing it here and you're all doing it there!!

This week I had the chance to listen to Elder Boyd K Packer´s last conference talk, and it is SO inspiring. I invite you all to listen to the eternal and beautiful truths taught by this faithful apostle of the Lord.

I love you all so much, sorry I'm so short on time again have a GREAT week! The Church is true!!!

-Elder Davies

Week 34 - Hey, I'm a Pioneer!

Kelson with his new companion

Hey everyone!!

So I don't have a lot of time to write this week but here´s a little update!

Our house here has a sink to wash clothes in so I get to wash my clothes BY HAND! I'm like a pioneer. Hahaha I just never thought I would have to do that, but here I am learning that! I'm going to come home a different guy.

This week we were just contacting like crazy trying to find new investigators! We got a referral from the Visitor´s Center for Ian Carlos and he is GOLD! He just got out of Rehab and he is wanting to put his life together! His Uncle is a convert and has a year in the church, so he took him to the Visitor´s Center and he loved it! He came to church too and he really likes it! I'll keep you updated on him. We also found Julio, who is married to a member and he is just a dry Mormon. We met with him the first day (it is SUPER hard to find him, only can see him once a week) and he expressed his desire to be baptized and sealed to his wife. So, yeah. We are gonna baptize him in like two week she has been going to church for a year he just needs to be baptized! We also found a lot of other people...sorry don't have tons of time to write about them!

Today for our Zone Activity we got the the stake center (which is like right beside the Temple! Yeah!) and we played RUGBY! There were only 8 of us, but it was a blast! The Zone activity was great, we did a picture scavenger hunt where we had to take selfies with people and things and doing things haha! Then we had two tables full of cookies and we had to crawl to the table and eat them as fast as we could hahaha Elder Maluia in our District somehow managed to eat 5 at a time so we won. Haha! That was hilarious! Then we just did some skits with old clothes we all found in our house, it was a great activity! Fun to be with the sisters from the Visitors Center, we have a bunch in our Zone!

Sorry it's so short, things are great here I love you all so much!

-Elder Davies

Here is a picture of our Zone and a Selfie with my District and the Temple. Also some pictures from the Zone activity in the Stake Center.