Beaches, Trees, Tomatoes and Missionary Work

So this week we took the Hermana's to a few beaches on P-Day. One of the Hermana's is going home next week and this is her last P-Day so we wanted to spend some time with her and her companion. While we were there we took the opportunity to take some pictures of our nametags in cool settings. This is something the missionaries here do and it is pretty cool. Here are some of the pictures we took.

Here is a great picture of the Hermana's showing their love for all of us ; )

I forgot to share a cool thing that happened a few weeks ago. Elder Nonu was transferred to the city to lead another zone there and so Elder Dominguez and I were Comps for a day until his new companion, Elder Orosco, arrived. We went to the bus station to pick him up and while we were waiting a young man looked at me and said "hi Elder" I went over and asked his name and he said "Helaman" He didn't speak much English  and after asking him if he was a member in Spanish  and he said no, I then called Elder Dominguez over to talk with him. Turns out someone gave his Mom a Book of Mormon years ago and she named him after the Prophet Helaman. He had no idea who he was other than he was a person in the Book of Mormon. He told us he was on his way to Salina Cruz, about 3 hours away, to get married. He said that he was an alcoholic and wanted to change for his new wife and asked us if we thought we could help him. We told him that if it was OK with him we would have the missionaries in Salina Cruz call him. He gave us his number and we passed it on. Forward a couple of weeks and your Mom gets a call from a sick missionary in Salina Cruz. After she helps him he says "Tell Elder DeWolf thanks for the referral, Helaman is a great contact and is on track to be baptized soon" It is crazy how the Lord works and what he can accomplish through us if we will just let him.

Another cool story. We had a young man who is preparing for a mission as soon as he finishes school this year come to our house Sunday after church for lunch. He is the only member in his family and so we asked him to share his conversion story with us. He said that when he was about 10 years old he started asking questions about the Lord and why we are here and where do we go after this life, etc. He had some other christen missionaries at his house and he asked them "what happens when we die?" They told him our spirit leaves our body and our body stays here and that you will be a spirit in heaven. He said that didn't feel right to him. They invited him to come to church with them and he told them he would keep looking. So he did, he talked with many other people from different churches and it just never felt or sounded right to him. He then started praying for the Lord to send him two people to teach him. He was in the park one day dancing, he is a break dancer,  

and he saw a pair of sister missionaries. He then heard a voice say "don't talk to them" so he didn't. He kept seeing them and kept thinking the same thing. Then one night after praying for help he had a dream and in the dream he was told "These are the two you asked for, talk with them" The next day the Sisters came by the park again and this time they walked up to him and introduced themselves and asked him his name. He asked them his question, What happens to our body when we die? He knew the answer they gave him was the answer he had been praying for and so he agreed to meet with them. The Sisters couldn't teach him at his home because his parents were not to happy about him meeting with them. They finally let them come over and when he asked his parents for permission to be baptized they said no. He continued to pray and then went to his parents again and they said if that was what he felt he needed then they would approve. When the Sisters went to get the form signed by his parents, you need the parents permission if the child is younger than 18, they were talking with his Mom and told her he was very special. She quickly said "No, he is not special" Later they asked him why his Mom would say that and he told them that before he was born his Mom was visiting Mexico City and a stranger asked here to follow him somewhere. He took her to a beautiful white building surrounded by flowers and asked her to wait there by the flowers a little while. He then returned and told her that she would have a son and that he would be "very special". She went home and soon after was pregnant with this young man, who by the way is named Samuel. I can tell you from spending a couple of hours with him that he is indeed a very special young man and is very wise for his years.

 
Last story, we had our friend Mario and his family over for dinner last night and the Elders taught them and set up a follow up appointment for this Saturday. This our first "real" experience with the missionaries teaching someone from the start. It is exciting and we have no idea where it will lead but we would appreciate if you would keep Mario and his family in your prayers.
 
Three weeks and three days ago we planted some tomato plants from seed and they are now over 10" tall. It is amazing living in a "greenhouse"

 

 

Lastly. I promised to provide pictures of our driftwood Christmas trees. Here is one of the two we have. It is about 5 1/2 feet tall and has a starfish as the star. The first picture is the tree with no lights and then the tree with lights. The other tree is not quite finished yet so it will show up in a blog after Thanksgiving.

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving to all our friends and family in the US and Happy Mexican Revolution Day to all our neighbors here in Mexico. We are looking forward to the parade, and of course the public service announcement by loudspeaker around 6:30 am again ; )

We love all of you and thank you once again for all your prayers and support.

Elder and Hermana DeWolf