Thanksgiving and stuff...

Last Sunday!!! So to set up this story: We tried to visit the P______ family like almost every week of our fist transfer here and we were never able to find them. But one day like three weeks ago we had an 8:30 miracle, which is when at 8:30 you decide to try one more family, one more house, or talk to one more person instead of going home. Its 8:30 we don't know what to do but we don't feel like going home yet so we are sitting in the car and thinking trying to figure out what to do and suddenly we get the idea to go try this family one more time. So we head on over and we get there and guess what happens!!!! Hermano P opens the door and lets us in. He is actually a really cool guy. He is a priesthood holder, he loves his family, and he has even been to like five temple dedications!! He just hasn't been to church in like years because he got a job and he works every Sunday. He's just a cool guy and it was nice while we were there because when he heard how new I was he did his best to focus on me and ask me questions so that I could practice my Spanish. But it was like 9:10 and like the latest we can be home is 9:30 so we pulled out Nefi 3:7 and shared with him an experience that Elder C. had about the Lord providing a way for us to keep the commandments, this one focusing on going to church, and then we left. And we just felt good that we had been able to find and meet this guy but we weren't feeling very good at the same time because we didn't know if we had actually done anything to help him. But two weeks went by and we are at the church greeting people and suddenly I'm shaking hands with Hermano P!!!! Elder C. and I were SHOCKED!!!! He hasn't been to church in years and then he is there with his 2 kids. We asked what had changed and how he had managed to get the day off. He told us that after we had shared Nefi 3:7 he experienced a great change in his heart and that he decided he was going to actually do something about the work situation instead of just pray about it and hope something happened. So he went to his boss and said he didn't want to work Sundays anymore, I’m sure he said it differently to his boss but this is what he told us, and then he got a call 2 days later and his boss fired him. At this point we are like feeling awful because we lost this man his job and we start to like apologize and he stops us and says there is more to the story. He said after the call he had felt worried but that in an instant he suddenly felt peaceful and he knew that everything would be ok and that this was good because it meant he could be where the Lord wanted him and so that’s where he was. He was at Church. It was super cool. I wish I had that kind of faith!!! 

Our days seem to be filled with a lot of driving and not a lot of like teaching. I’ll talk to Elder C. about that so we can work to fix it. Our investigator Juan is coming to church every Sunday and is singing in choir and he plays volleyball with us on Tuesday nights and he is just super solid and it’s awesome!!! It’s not a question of if he gets baptized it’s when he gets baptized. Which might be a while because it’s been hard to have lessons with him cause of his work schedule. But we are going to keep trying. 

Wednesday we were driving home from dinner and we called C., the youth in our ward who we are trying to prepare for a mission and find out he is at the bus stop so we are close and we go pick him up and take him home and we teach him the Restoration and it’s in English so it’s like the first lesson I can really participate in because I know how to express these concepts in English but it was really good and C. was grateful. He is such a cool kid.  

Also one of the less actives we have been working with, M., has been doing a lot better since we have been going over so often to read The Book of Mormon with him. He seems more alive. He comments a lot and he reads louder and talks louder and he just isn't the same man we met that first or second week we were out here. It’s totally awesome. He even said on Saturday when we last saw him that I could read in Spanish better then he could!!! And asked how I was getting so good and I said, "pues. practicamos mucho. cada dia leimos de El Libro de Mormon durante nuestro estudio de idioma". (well. we practice a lot. every day we read from the Book Of Mormon during our language study) and we told him that he would get better and better to as he read more and more. 

It rained on Thursday!!!!! It was soooooooooo awesome!!! Nothing serious. But it was good. We got to wear our jackets.

Saturday was Hermana D. Birthday. So we made her a cake. (I lost the pictures but I’ll try to get some of the ones the sisters took so that you can see it.) But we made it to look like the Mexico City Temple and like it was pretty lame but we tried and Hermana D. loved it so it doesn't really matter. I even made a little paper Angel Moroni to go on top!! It was sooo cool!!!!

Soooo Special Shout Out to my Dad!!!! It’s his birthday today he is now... I'll just say old. I'm just kidding!! He's only 47. Not that old at all!!!! But thank you dad for supporting me and helping me get ready for my mission and teaching me and for everything you have done to help me get here and keep me alive. You’re the best dad ever and I hope someday I can be as good of a father as you are!!!!

Well that’s it for this week!!!

The Church is true and this Gospel is Amazing!!!! I'm so glad to be a missionary during this great hastening!!! Its sooooo awesome!!!

Well with that..

Love you all!!! Your the coolest!!! Write me letters!!!

Elder Zachary Gore :)