Monday, January 14, 2013 - It Is Too Dang Cold!

Hola Mi Familia! This week seemed to go on forever! I'm not sure why, but it was quite a slow week. This week has been COLD!!! Specifically, the last few days. A cold front has come through and I am suffering. My hands are chapping and the skin is breaking and my feet can't seem to get warm even with 2 pairs of socks. The temp goes from about 35ish in the night to 60 in the day, but with no indoor heating it is pretty painful. I like cold weather until I came to Mexico. Now, I want nothing to do with it. This week has been kind of rough in the fact that some days we didn't have set appointments and so we have a bunch of time where we don't know what to do. So we just set out and find less actives, but this is so hard and gets boring really fast. We have luckily had a few neat experiences finding less actives and have been able to find a few new investigators because of this as well. This week we had companion exchanges? Well, I don't remember what it is called in English, but for a day we switched companions with the Zone Leaders to give us a chance to work with them and for them to evaluate and help us as well. I stayed here in our area with one of the Zone Leaders and my comp went to their area with the other. We had a fairly decent time. There was a neat experience we had at lunch time asking for a reference. After eating, we shared a lesson with the family and then asked who they knew that could benefit from the message of the gospel. They said that all they people they knew, the Elders had already visited and that nothing had come of it. Well, we did something. We had this sister write down 3 names of people she would like us to visit or think would accept the gospel and we said a prayer together asking Heavenly Father to help us know which of the 3 we should visit. We said that after the prayer the 2 of us missionaries were going to think of one of the person and this sister was going to think of one. Well, after we did this she said that she felt that we should visit X person. After we left, both myself and the other zone leader shared with one another that we felt that another name on that list should be visited. So that was kind of neat how we were both in harmony in that aspect. And we received 2 references. Our investigators are progressing I guess....this week we have a baptism planned for one girl --the girl that won't talk for anything! I am playing with her more and more and am getting her confidence and trust, but she still doesn't say anything around us. I did hear her speak yesterday for the first and only time and it was just a few words. Her mom asked her which she likes more, the cold or the heat and she said the cold and that was all she said. That was all, but it made me so happy! The other lady is still going. She is advancing in her Book Of Mormon reading, but still wants to read it all before getting baptized. This is hard, but we are respecting her decision. Hopefully we will be having a Family Home Evening with her and another family in our ward this week. So we received word that this week a General Authority will be visiting the mission. Elder Cornish of the Seventy (he spoke in this past conference) is coming from Salt Lake and we will be have a conference with him this Wednesday. Elder Melchor asked me to perform a special musical number for this conference and he asked if I could do the song from 17 Miracles, "Savior Redeemer Of My Soul" , and I said of course and that I had sung it a few times before and had the music with me. So that has been happening. I was happy to know that someone in the mission plays violin so that we could do all 3 parts with piano, voice and violin. But it was so fantastic to actually sing today and full out! Of course in church and lessons and stuff I hold back, but I was actually able to perform and practice today like I haven't done in like 7 months. It felt fantastic and made me really happy. So that is what is up and let's hope it goes well. I can't really think of too much else that has happened that is too exciting, but that's about it. Well, I love and miss you all tons! I hope you are well and survive this next week. ¡Yo sé que vive mi Señor! Con Mucho Amor, Elder Joyner