Being a conduit for the Lord.

Hey family!

Okay, so this week was a little in the category of mas o menos (not much). Our investigator that was going to be baptized and confirmed this week got sick on Thursday and didn't get better so we had to reschedule the baptism for next week. That was kind of a bummer. But it is okay, it is just one more week. And it gives me another week to prepare. He said he wanted me to baptize him, but he weighs a good 260 lbs. Yeah, a big dude. It isn't that he is fat, he’s just he is big. He was in the military and is strong, but has let himself go a little. He looks like he would be a good linebacker if he got back into shape. I don't know how I am going to be able to lift him out of the water. It is nuts. But what happens, happens!

This week something really cool happened. On Thursday, we had some plans fall through so we were just walking around talking to people. We passed the house of Martha because we still had another hour before we had an appointment with her. Then we stopped on the corner. I had planned on visiting a contact that we had had that lived on the adjoining street. But for a reason unknown at the moment we just stopped and stood at the corner for a minute or two. Then we were going to leave when Martha's husband came out of the house and motioned for us to come over. He told us that Martha wanted to talk to us real quick. When we went in, she was real bad. She was sweating and crying a little. She had a heartbeat of 120 beats per minute. She had a little monitor thing that said that and I was like, "No way" so then I took her wrist and did it myself, yeah, it was that high. It was a little scary. She told us that she was going to go to the hospital but just wanted a prayer first. We had just taught her about the priesthood so I reminded her of what a blessing of health was. Then we gave her a blessing. My companion did the anointing and I did the sealing of the anointment. As soon as I placed my hands on her head, I was filled with the Spirit. I felt like a bottle that you put on a hose and there is rapid fill and then the pressure for a minute and then it bursts. I felt this pressure and I couldn't speak for a minute. Then as I gave her the blessing, I felt such calm and it felt like all of this that I was feeling just flowed into her. I knew with a surety that she was going to be okay. I don't know exactly how to describe how I felt or what was going on inside. But I am sure that that is how a power conduit feels as electricity surges and then it passes that energy on. I have never felt more like the conduit of the Lord in all my life.  There was such tranquility after the emotions of pain and fear. And then, within 20 minutes, we were having the lesson that we had planned on as if nothing had happened. I kind of walked out of the house with a "What the crap just happened. Is any of this even real?" kind of feeling. As a missionary it is always your goal to be and "instrument in the Lord's hands". That is your whole purpose, that is what you should strive for every day, that is what you should live for. From the moment I walked out of the house, being and "instrument" took on new meaning for me. It is one thing to have the saying on your wall, it is another to be living it. It was an experience that I will never be able to forget. Not in this life nor the one to come. It was just really special, and words don't really do it justice. 

Well, life is good, things are going good. If we focus on what our Father would want of us and we forget the rest, nothing really matters. When we spend less time focusing on our lives and how we can arrange them, the more things just fall into place. That is when we find true happiness as well. The more good you SEE in life, the more good there will BE in life. And then you just become a happy person and go to heaven! :) Ha-ha Have a great week and keep looking up!

-Elder Morris

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY MÉXICO!!!!!!!!!!!

 Well, tomorrow, but it is going to be nuts!!! SO many drunk people, SO many parties, and (Hopefully) SO much food!! It is going to be great!!! Today for our zone activity we are going to have a noche Mexicana!! (Mexican night) You pretty much just do all things Mexican!!!! Food, games, friends, the whole sha-bang!!! All within the comfortable standards of the church!!! :) Ha-ha But I will take some pictures so that you can all participate. It will be awesome!!!! 

This week was good! We are still having trouble finding investigators but the ones we do have are great! Martha is a warrior!!!! So the doctor tells her do be completely rested ALL the time because only HALF of her heart works!!!! Are you following, don't get that mixed up. Rest always, half heart. Okay, so, we have told her time and time again to call us and tell us if she needs something and if she feels able to go to church that we would get a taxi for her. So we are walking to church yesterday and we see a woman way out in front of us about to enter into the church. This is pretty much how the conversation went between me and my companion. "Is that Martha?" "No, it can't be." "Yeah, you're right. She lives like 15 minutes away walking. She would be crazy to walk all this way." Then this lady turns into the church. "Holy crap!!! It IS Martha!!" She is awesome!!! A little crazy for pushing it, but completely awesome. She is a huge example to me of her faith and of her dedication to the Lord. From her, we are now talking with her daughter and grand-daughter-in-law. She is a perfect example of how when we have faith, the Lord will give her the strength of many hearts. I know that her half heart is stronger and has more faith than most whole ones.

Also this week, we are going to have a baptism!!! Ramiro passed is interview yesterday and is all set to be baptized on Saturday!! He asked me to do it! I don't know how cause he is a pretty big dude!!! But I will manage. So that is pretty great!!! Oh and Martha is set for baptism on the 27th of Sept. GOOD STUFF!!!

This week we had a visit by one of the Area Presidency! It went really well. So the teaching requirements have changed a little. We now have to teach the Laws and Ordinances part, lesson 5 of PMG, to all of our investigators before baptism. Elder Pieper pretty much told us it was because the people we are baptizing are some of the future leaders of the church and they need to know it better because the leaders now don't know it well enough. There is too much truth in that, as evidenced in my ward right now. But that just means that we have that much more responsibility and it fills up a little bit more of the teaching schedule. 

All in all, things are going. Sometimes not as quickly as I would like, but they are going. Everything happens in the Lord's time and we just have to adjust our timetable to His. Thanks for the love and the prayers!!
-Elder Morris.

Ice bucket Challenge completed!!!  Felt good.

Getting ready for Mexico's Independence day! 

Hey Family,

So this week was just like the previous week. Things have slowed down a lot lately. We are having a rough time finding people to teach. But there were some good things that happened this week.

This week we found a new investigator named Benigno. He is from San Luis Potosí so he comes from a real rural and farming background. He is really confused about his church and really doesn't like the fact that they make you pay for EVERYTHING. So he said he is willing to listen to us and come to church and find out what it is that we are so convinced about. His next door neighbor is one of our investigators and he says that he sees our investigator's desire and hears the way he speaks about the church. When we met with him he could tell that there was something different about us. The only problem is that sometimes the roots are really deep with the whole religion thing down here in Mexico and even more so in his home. We will see how that goes.

We also had a contact that was pretty cool. We stopped to see if we could help him put the rims on his car. He said no, but we got to have a pretty sweet conversation with him about the importance of following the Savior and the benefit it will have on his family. I don't really know what it was but there was just something different about him. Like his light of Christ was burning just a little bit brighter than other people's. It was actually really neat to see how his face just changed when we were talking about the gospel and the family. We invited him to the ward night this week on Tuesday and he seemed really excited to go. We will pick him up tomorrow for it. I really think that he could be a person prepared by the Lord.

Well, that is pretty much the things that happened this week. This next week we are getting a visit from one of the new area presidencies, Elder Pieper. So I think it is like a mini multi zone conference or something like that. I am looking forward to training with one of the Seventy.  It should be really good! Well, that is all I have for this week. Have a great week!! Keep looking up, because that is where the answers always are. I am learning that more and more every single day.

-Elder Morris

This is for the celebration of my one year mark. I about got sick

I found Jesus in Mexico!

Letters from 8/25/14 and 9/1/14

8/25/14

So, another week down. Officially one year in the mission!! Wow. It is kinda weird. Anyway, there was some sweet stuff that happened this week.

First off, something not so sweet, we didn't have a baptism yesterday cause our investigator was in the hospital. Good news, it was just precautionary. She had open heart surgery a while back and was having chest pain early on Saturday. So she just spent the weekend in the hospital so they could keep an eye on her. She will get home later today and, with all according to plan, she will get baptized on Sunday. She is a trooper.

This week we found a young kid. He is super prepared! He was taking lessons from missionaries 2 years ago. We were talking to him and he was telling us about all this stuff that has happened, his faith in Christ, and how he wants and feels like he needs to get to know God. He is super ready!

And Ramiro is getting ready for baptism and is super excited and dedicated as well. I don't have much time. Bad planning on my part. More to come next week!! Thanks for everything.

-Elder Morris

9/1/14

Well, nothing new has happened. Life is still the same. Things just seem to be dragging on. There aren't any transfers for us so I am going to hit 7 1/2 months in this area. A change of scenery would have been nice, but if it is what the Lord wants then I can't complain. I just have to learn whatever lesson that he has for me.

Well, we passed with Martha today. She told us that the doctor told her that she can't do any sort of physical activities in the slightest. Only half of her heart is undamaged. We are waiting for the go ahead from her to have the baptism. It was awesome because the first day she was home we went to visit with her. As we were getting ready to go she said "And my baptism? What happens now?" Her faith is SO big!!! It is a huge example to me. I can't wait to see the blessings that come with that kind of faith in her life.

Ramiro is also progressing really well. He is changing a TON of his lifestyles and a ton of his choices to better align himself with the will of the Father. He is going to be getting close to baptism real soon! It is great! 

We have started a Work of Salvation project. In our ward, if you go with the missionaries to a lesson or an activity, then we take a picture with you and then put it on the board. It is a good way to take pride in participating in the work of the Lord and then members will feel of the love and of how great this work is and be even more excited to continue doing it without us having to drag them by the ears!!

Sorry, nothing new is going on right now. We have to find lots of new people so these emails are more interesting!!! Ha-ha But the work is never boring, just slow at times. That is where enduring to the end (of the transfer) comes in. Anyways, I hope all is well and that you all have a fantastic week!!! 

-Élder Morris