Weddings, Babies, and Ghost Towns!

Hola Mi Familia! My inbox was quite full with all kinds of interesting news about a variety of different people... Well, congrats to Brice and Charlotte! I always liked her and hoped that they would get married. Yay!!! How exciting! So exciting thing: just walking down the street and randomly saw some guy wearing a "University of Georgia" T-shirt...ugh What!?!? Haha! It was pretty awesome though! So first week in the house and I'm still with the cold showers.... :( So the family that was living next to us in the last house had the mission's tank of natural gas and had been using it since there wasn't gas in the house we were living in. So when we left we took theirs so that we could have gas to hook up to the boiler. However, when we tried to hook it up, we came to find out that the tank is American and the connections are Mexican so we haven't been able to hook it up. It has been quite a headache dealing with this going to different stores asking what we can do. The family said that when our tank that they are using runs out they will fill it up and we can make the exchange. However, little do they know we are living without gas and hot water still! Sucks! This week we had a nice lesson. Our investigator, Luis, the young kid about 19 years old wasn't at his house one day, but his dad was there and so we taught him. It seemed to go really well the lesson and when we testified of Joseph Smith, the Spirit was so there! Like the experience you told me of, mom, from your mission, and there is something they told us in the MTC choir that anytime you teach about Joseph Smith or testify of Joseph Smith, the Spirit is ALWAYS there! I have put that to the test in the past 7 months and have found that to be so true! Whenever we testify of Joseph Smith, the Spirit is always there. I could tell that this Hermano was touched by the Spirit. In the end he was really quiet and I couldn't really tell if he was humbled and believed it or if he was offended that we said that we had the true church. I'm still not sure, but he said we could come back if he doesn't get transferred to Hermosillo for work. We will still stop by to see Luis, (whom we haven't talked to at all this week--he has never been there) and see if he is there or not. This week we also had the opportunity to bless a new house of a family in the branch. The Elder's Quorum president gave the blessing, but it was still a neat experience to participate in. Yesterday was probs the highlight of the week! A couple in the branch invited us to go to Pilares de Nacozari, an abandoned mining town about 30 minutes away in the mountains that was inhabited by Chinese immigrants in the 1800s. They Chinese were then forced out around the time of the Mexican revolution when it was commanded to kill all Chinese in the country or something like that. It was really interesting. The Hermana had made shish-ka-bobs and we took those and found some fire wood on the way and cooked them there. It was a really neat little place and a fun time! The drive was about 5 minutes on paved road and then 25 minutes on dirt roads in the mountains. It was a pretty drive and reminded me a lot of the Utah Mountains and at times even the Georgia Appalachians. There was a time when we could see the mountain tops and they had a blue tint to them like the Georgia Blue Ridge. Everything was so beautiful and on the way driving back we watched a lighting storm in the distance to one side and the other side a sunset! I couldn't help but think about how big, grand, and amazing God is and we are really nothing compared to Him, but mean EVERYTHING to Him. Something I think about a lot! All in all it was neat afternoon! Dayne responded to a question from his mom: After being out for 7 months now - What is your favorite part about being a Missionary? Being a representative of Jesus Christ and teaching people about the lessons of Jesus Christ and everything about God. Although, they may not accept it and may have hard hearts, I still love teaching! Well I think that about does it for me this week. It is crazy to think that we are half way over with this transfer and there are only 2 more P-days until the next transfer! Crazy! Hope all is well on the home from! Miss and love you all like crazy! Yo se que vive mi Senor! Con Much Amor, Elder Joyner