Well this week went by real fast! Ester had problems and well didn't end up getting baptized...but we haven't lost hope! she needs incentive!

We had 3 new people come to church! Diego, Diego and Kevin! It's a dad and his nephew and his kid as well. they are really excited and it looks they will progress a ton! we are really excited to see them progress, right now they have a baptismal date for the 11th of July.

 Well today I do not have a ton of time because I will be going to Tezontepec to visit some converts.  however this week was really good our investigatores go really well in their progress. We asked President Egbert to come with us in some appointments so as you can imagine we had an incredible day. I learned a ton from his teaching style and am really excited to apply what I learned. Ester came and is excited but at the same time unsure of WHEN she will be baptized. The Spirit told us that it was this weekend, so she needs to do it this weekend!

Her husband Vicente came as well and accepted a date for the 4th of July!

This we totally contacted a legit pastor from a Pentecost church. He even studied his degree in the States. tonight we are going to see him and all we have planned is to testify about the Book of Mormon!!

I love you all!

Elder Paz

Hola familia!

Well sorry for the short email last week, we were pretty busy cooking an entire sheep in a hole. BARBACOA. One of the greatest decisions of my life. I saw and participated in just about everything. From the hole and fire, to the butcher, to the eating. I took enough notes and pictures and participated enough to be able to do it myself, so be prepared to party the Hidalgo style:)

But by far the greatest news was that Jazmin and Ediel got baptized! There were quite a few complications, no water, dirty water, cold water, just about everything:) But well in the end everything happened and they are very happy:) They have great plans to go to the temple in a year be sealed for all eternity as an eternal family:)

Ester is progressing really well, and is very excited about everything:) We had a really powerful lesson with her and her 2 kids, who are already members. As we all prayed in a circle the Spirit entered with a force and Ester started balling. It was awesome:) She is really excited about progressing in the gospel and baptism and the temple and everything:)

Enjoy the pics! Love you all!

Elder Paz

 Hey I don't have a ton of time but Jazmin and Ediel came to church so pray that they can get excited for this weekend!

we are making barbacoa right now. I'll explain later when there is more time and send a bunch of pictures. I love you all so much! I am doing fine and just enjoying Mexican life!

love you!

elder paz

 Hello!

Wow. I could write pages to you guys today. yesterday I had the great privilege of talking with an actual apostle of the Lord, Elder Bednar. He came and talked to our mission yesterday. We talked about several topics, but the biggest thing was about change. Basically change is the essence of life. We always need to be changing, learning, and then improving. That is what we are supposed to do in this life. Just keep n going and be happy about it!!

So Jazmin and Ediel came! They are super excited, just that Jazmin got a little scared because she was looking at websites about the Church. She needs a lot of prayers right now because some doubts have entered her mind. Please pray for her.

Mari also came to church! She is still not sure what she wants. She is praying but says that she hasn't received an answer. She needs excitement. She is really great but just needs to receive her answer. Please pray that she receives it!

our area is progressing and we are excited! please keep on praying for me! I need it sometimes!!:) just remember that I love you all!

Elder Pass

 Hey family and friends!!

Well this week we improved a ton in everything. This week Remigio, Ester, Mari, her daughter, Maria, 2 of her kids, and Brian all came to church! It was great except some really big problems:

Remigio fell big time. He was going really great, but this week he fell way back into the dumps with alcohol. We are not really sure when he will be baptized, because he had actually left us, but then out of no where he showed up at church this week. I am not really sure what we are going to do with him.

So everybody else is good, until we get to the church part. Never have I felt so awkward in a church service. The teacher, who just happened to be the same one for the second and the third hour was basically yelling at everybody, and the Spirit was definitely not there. It was more like a theatrical act, him trying to show off and put on a good show. I have been just trying to really pray a lot for everybody that came because they all looked pretty shaken walking out of church. We are all going to need a lot of prayers full of faith so that they have the desire to come to church this next week...

last week a member gave us a bunch of meat. Naturally we bought a charcoal grill for 100 pesos (like 7 dollars). It was a great decision. Sippin back on some Mexican coke while eating some Mexican carne asada and beans.

So yesterday we did some service. We were walking and we saw this lady that was a little older carrying about 20 pounds of weight. We starting helping her carry it to her house. It was interesting because she spoke Spanish really well, but she spoke a language called Automí a lot better. It was like a half our hike through the Mexican wilderness. Through small dirt trails and up the hillside passing cactus and big rocks. I can´t believe she does that. Because she had come from the center, and so she walked a total of 1 hour or so. And was only up until we had to go, because she told us that she was going to have to walk until nightfall to get to where she lived. She is a trooper. We tried teaching her, but she didn't understand our Spanish that well and told us that she understood Automí better. Maybe in the next life...still a cool experience though:)

I love you all!

Elder Paz

 Hey guys!

Well this week was a lot better than last week. 

Remigio got to Church! So he is still progressing, his biggest problem is just drinking, he hasn't drunk in about a week though, so I knw that your prayers are being answered:) 

We also found a wonderful couple this week called Jazmin and Ediel. They were some references from a member. They are a young couple with two little chilluns. They are awesome. They don't practice any religion right now, and are super receptive. They accepted to go to church and baptism for the 16th of May! They look like they could progress a ton! We only need to be really constant with them, we are just hoping that they are not going to have any big probelms...so please pray for them so that they can overcome whatever might come!

So this week we have killed like 5 cockroaches that were about an inch long each, not counting their antennas.

So this week we went to a part of our area that is called Pacula. It was about 2 hors away in car. Yeah. Pretty far. But actually there is a part of our area that is about 4 hours away. So our area is basically the size of the Kennewick mission maybe:) Anyway Pacula is way cool. I will send some pictures. It is just mountains and pine forests, just like at home, absolutely beautiful. I have never seen anything like it before. We went to go and visit someone that I never thought I'd see again. Turns out one of the families of members from Zumpango has about 100 acres of land out in Pacula and they decided to go and start to work. Weirdest thing in the world to see them at church, but it was really cool to see them all the way out here:)

Thanks fam and don't forget to pray, study the scriptures, and share your testimony with someone daily! I love you all!

Elder Paz

 Hello family!

So this week was a lot better than last week...we found a lot more and it looks like we have got some more solid investigatores.

So Remilgio is awesome. He has come to church just one time, but he really liked it. His biggest problem is getting over alcohol. He is going to need a lot of help with that. He is really good. He lives by himself and is a Mechanic. A member brought him to church and that is how we got to know him. We see a ton of potential in him!

Ester came to church this week, for like the billionth time. She really just needs to decide what she is going to do. She knows the Church is true. She loves going. She knows that God wants her to get baptized, she said so her self. Her kids are already members, and she is basically a member. 

I am just loving this area. Me and the comp are getting along great. The area is beautiful, there are actually a lot of treed areas, something I haven't really seen too much of in Mexico. The progress  is a little slow, but sure. We are making lots of plans with the ward council and the members are really good. all is well in Zion.

So other than that life is good. I love you all!!

Elder Paz

 Hello family and friends!

Wow, these last changes were huge! So my dreams have come true. Everything I ever wanted to do I am basically doing now. I once again came back to the Tezontepec zone, this time in one of the biggest areas in the mission, its called Ixmiquilpan. It was actually part of my district when I was in the area Tezontepec. We have about 4 or 5 municipios, which are like counties I think. We can go hours in one direction by transport and we are still in our area. One of the members told us, I don't know if it was an exaggeration or not, but he said that we can go 6 hours from the church and we are still our area. That's what I'm talking about:) It is country again, really similar to Tezontepec and Santiago. 

So my companion is Elder Garcia, he is a new guy, straight from the MTC in Provo. He is from California, but his parents are Mexican, so he already knows Spanish. We are getting along really well:) 

Also I am a district leader again:) We are just a little unit of 4 elders here in Ixmiquilpan:) Oh and obviously my companion and I are opening area...a lot harder than I thought. This week has actually been pretty hard, but through the exercise of a lot of faith, I feel like we have a foothold on everything. The area wasn't in a great condition when we got here, but we are getting to know the investigatores and members and it is going well. 

So we really need you guys to pray for Alvaro and Mayra. They were actually going to get baptized a few weeks ago, but for some weird stuff that happened, it didn't go through. lately they haven't even been accepting that the missionaries visit them. So the first thing we need that you do is pray that they will let us visit them:)

Esther and Vicente area another couple that are really good but have been having a lot of marital problems. They need to realize the blessings that they can get from living the gospel. They have already been to church, they just need to get back together, get married by the law, and then get baptized.

Well I thank you for all that you do for us! I love you all so mucho and hope that you have a splendid week while you study and apply your conference talk notes! I love you!

Elder Paz 

 Hey people!

So I am finally leaving my área...the truth is that its been a great almost 6 months here in Tecámac, and I'm going to miss this área and zone a ton.

This week Chucho got baptized!!!! But oh man was it a wild ride...never have I had so many problems with a baptism. So first of all he didn´t even have all of the required Sundays because he had to go with his dad a few times. So we had to ask permisión from president. Then his mom just about didn't let him for several reasons. But in the end everything went well. The service started over 2 hours late, but it was as beautiful as ever and Chucho had a great experience:) He is super excited and I am so happy that I was able to see him be baptized before I leave this área:)

I know I am not going to be here this week, but I would love it if you all could pray for Karina and her sister, Diego, and maybe the Perez family as well! They are all wonderful people and could use all the help that they can get!

Well I sure as heckfire hope that you all have a great rest of the week!!

 Hey everyone!

Well we had a great week! We had 2 new investigators at church this week! Their names are Karina and Diego. Karina is a 20 year old with a Little daughter that is about 3 years old. We found her through a member and she looks like she is going to progress a lot:) She is really interested in the message about the Restoration and about temples. What she really needs is to find peace and happiness by living the restored Gospel of Jesús Christ!

Diego is an incredible person. He Works as a security guard of a "privado". I do not know how to say that in English but its basically a Street that's closed in with a big gate and there is a security guard that will take your ID and let you in and out of the place. Anyways He contacted the sister missionaries that live in his Street. He got to church by himself this week! We didn`t even teach him and he got there! He loved it and is really excited to come again and has a baptismal date for the 18th of Abril. The only thing is that he has had a ton of problems with drugs, alcohol, and all that kind of stuff. He is really need a lot of strength so that he can stay out of all of that! Pray for him!

Chucho did not go to church this week because he had to go see his dad who lives in another town. We are not completely sure when he will get baptized, but we are really hoping for this weekend still.

I love you all!

Elder Paz

 Hey kids! Well this week was wonderful:)

I am just really excited for this week:) we had new people in church this week! Griselda, Israel. They are awesome! They need to receive an answer quick style!!! 

Also Chucho is progressing! HE came to church this week and his date should hold for the 28th! He really needs to have a lot of faith to get out of the family problems that he is having...but he has a ton of desire and we are really excited to get to teach him!

Also we found a new family this week. They are the Escamilla Perez family. They are wonderful. They have gone to church for years but have not gotten baptized because they need to get married. Pray for the dad to have his heart softened and his desire lifted!

As a mission we are reading the Book of Mormon and I read a really cool scripture in 2 Nephi 4 this week, I think verse 28. Basically it teaches us that if do not want to let Satan win, then its as simple as not giving him room to do so. If we are always involved in a good cause, a good thought, a good desire, then it will literally be impossible to sin. If we can control ourselves so that we are always doing good, then Satan will be conquered! I think that all of us can examine our own lives and look for more ways to serve the Lord, and if we do that, it will be that much harder to allow Satan to have room in our lives! Just don`t let him in!

I love you all!

Elder Paz

 Hello people!

Well this week was amazing and just alright at the same time...

It was harder because we didn´t see very much progress in the work. The new family and Chucho did not come to church...however I still have hope for them:) We are just going to have to see what happens:)

I think that the highlight of my week was when we had council of Leaders this week and at one point I had the great opportunity to talk to my mission President just one on one. He taught me a great lesson about fighting against Satan. I am going to explain what I learned: In this life there are a ton o challenges. And well some of them can be challenges that we will have for our whole lives. It could be anything. Now with all of those challenges, we are bound to fail several times in trying to overcome them. Some challenges are so hard for us that we will fail several, several times in them before we can overcome it. Every time we fail, our first reaction will probably be sadness. That´s fine, that´s natural. But what we can not let happen is lose our hope. It does not matter how many times we fail at something, the Atonement of Christ id  infinite. Satan wants us to think that we can not overcome our challenges, and every time we fail, he tries to give us that feeling that we will never win. That is contrary to the teachings of Christ. We can always win, we may lose a battle, but that means absolutely nothing for the war. We must always have the hope in Christ, and never let our determination falter. Every time we fail, we must analyze what has caused the failure, and then change it. That is what being perfect means. Always changing for the better, always progressing, and always becoming more perfect. When we give up and stop progressing, that is when we need to be worried. However if we are always changing and progressing, and becoming perfect in Christ, then we will be fulfilling the will of God. That is the point of this life!

Well I ate some delectable cow stomach this week. Then the next day some chopped up Habaneros. Not a good combination. Enough said.

I love you all so much!!

Elder Paz

 Hello friends!

Well this week was absolutely fantastic! 

So we met a new family this week, The Grimaldo family. They are incredible. They are passing through quite a few challenges right now, mostly economic problems. It is a family of 4. The dad got fired from his job a while ago and they are having a hard time getting up off their feet. There oldest son had to drop out of high school because they could not afford to have him in school, and the father had to find another job in a liquor store I think. Not the greatest occupation, but at least they are not dying. The whole family went to church this week, and really liked it:) They currently have a baptismal date for the 28th of this month. They are really special, and just need lots of prayers so that they can receive their answer and enter into this covenant with the Lord. What a joy this work is:)

So Chucho also came to church this week, and is super excited about his baptism, which is also for the 28th. He is also very special to me and truly has a great desire to be a good kid and walk in the footsteps of the Savior. There are not very many 12-year-old's like that in this world these days. He just needs to stay on the path! Lots of bad influences surround him and he needs to always use his agency wisely!

Mew and my companion are having an absolute blast and I am loving it out here!

So like I said we went to Teotihuacan this last week. It was amazing! I went  a year ago when I was in Zumpango, but let me tell you it is a whole different story when you go with a BoM guide. It is connected to the temple! It strengthened my temple a ton to see how everything was connected and real world evidence of the Nephites! The guide told us that the pyramids were part of the city of Ammonihah. It is so clear! Christ came to the Americas! I hope that all of you can come one day to see the great evidence of the temples of God here in Mexico!

Well I think that the most touching story of the week would have to be that of the Perez family. This week in ward council someone commented that they had seen them walking back from the chapel to get back home. That walk is about 20 minutes by bike, going pretty fast, and they have kids ranging from 8 months to 18 years, 6 of them. What a great dedication they have to the Kingdom of God. They do not even have 2 months as members. And I, being a member of the Church all my life, used to complain about going to church in our nice air conditioned van. It amazes me how much of an example this family is to me! What great sacrifices they make to express their faith to our Lord and Savior!

Well I love you all and hope that you and I can all dedicate ourselves completely to this great work! Always be a testimony of Jesus Christ in all that you do!

Elder Paz

 Hey family!

Well this week was a little harder...nobody came to church. However this time I do not think that I will let it get me down. This week will be different, I just need to use more mental tenacity. 

The great part of this week was that Elian got baptized:) Everything went well and the service was great:) Now we just need to help his mom out:)

So I am getting along just great with my companion. His name is elder Peña, he is from Oaxaca, Mexico. It looks like we are going to have a blast and I am super excited to learn from him:) 

Today we are going to go to Teotihuacan again, but this time with the Book of Mormon guide, I'm pretty excited to learn some cool stuff:)

I'll come back later I think but I have got to go!!

Love you all!

Elder Paz

 Well folks this week has been fairly exciting...

First of all...Donaciano got baptized this weekend!!!!! Now they can be sealed in the temple in a year and start their way to become an eternal family! Baptismal services of a family are way better that of an individual. I love this work and ministry!

Alsom Elian (family friend of the Perez family) will be baptized this weekend! As of Sunday we obtained all of the permissions that we needed, and now all we need to do is pray for everything to go well! Elian is an awesome 10 year old who asks us about every 5 minutes when he can get baptized:) He knows a ton and just wants to be enter into the fold of Christ! How wonderful it is to be able to teach such wonderful people and then see them enter into the Kingdom of God!

So this week is changes, I'm staying, companion is going. Its bitter sweet, but I am excited to be able to be here again:) I will be completing about a year in this zone after this cycle, between here and Zumpango, how cool is that!

So a guess who got to church this week.. Manuel and Maria!! So now they have a date for the 14th of march. They are great, and I was pretty worried because I thought that we were going to have to leave them, but by working with ward members it looks like they are going good! They just need lots of faith...pray for them!

Also Chucho, nephew of the Perez family came to church this week! He is also awesome, and also has a baptism date for the 14th. He just needs to stay on the track and stay away from bad influences...he is fantastic but please pray for him!

Well I love you all and hope that each and every one of you is sharing the gospel with someone right now and bringing many souls to Christ. If you are not, well then do it!

Elder Paz

 Hey family!

Well this week was another solid week! 

Donaciano has a date for this weekend!

Mexican culture: Lots of parties, a lot of passion. Lateness to church meetings.

Mexican Food: Let me tell you a Little bit about a thing called carnitas: Basically they take every single part of the pig and straight up fry it in oil or lard in a huge pot. Every part. Brains, skin, organs, everything. And then they dip the tortillas in oil before they give them to you.

Mexican People: I love Mexican kids. As Zack pass once said "there is no such thing as an ugly Mexican kid"

Well we had an interesting experience today. So our door lock finally broke (its been begging to break for a while now). So we had a fun hour with the neighbors:) We had to break in my slipping a neighbor kid between the Steel protection bars, and then jumping inside the house to take the whole entire door off. It was a good one:)

I am Reading a great talk right now called the blueprint to Christ's church. Its a great testimony builder:)

well I really really really have to go to the bathroom right now and ima bit distracted but I love you and here's a picture which is worth another 1000 words! Love you all!

Elder Paz

 Hey family and friends!

Well this week was busy and interesting...

So we had interviews with President this week, which were very eye-opening and I have not learned so much in a long long time. He helped me to enlarge my vision and give me a greater desire to achieve great things in the eyes of God. One of the things that we talked about was to allow time to solve our problems. Problems with anything. It could be school, work, friends, maybe your spouse, or just a frustrating moment of the day. One of things he said about that, and I add my testimony to his words, is that with time almost everything gets better. Sometimes we forget that temperance and patience are attributes of Christ, ones that we need to develop in this life. I feel that as we are diligent in doing our part, and patient in our afflictions, that we shall be tempered even as hot piece of mettle is tempered until a useful axe has been shaped and hardened. Through prayer and fasting, we allow God to shape us into what HE needs us to be. What a joy it is to understand the plan of our Heavenly Father for all of us! I invite all of us to meditate and ponder the problems that we might have, and then to think about what our part is in God´s great and marvelous plan for us as His sons and daughter, heirs to His Kingdom.

The Perez family was baptized was baptized this week! Everybody except Donaciano, the dad. Please pray for him so that he be prepared and ready son so that he can join his family in this eternal journey!

We had a more difficult week with investigators progressing and finding new people to teach...please pray for us to have that gift of discernment that we need to help God with this great work!

Well I love you all and hope that you are all progressing and having a ball of a time!!:)

Elder Paz

Hey family!

Well this week was another wonderful week. Low: the Perez family did not get baptized. High: they will be baptized this Saturday:)

So all of our investigators are doing just great. The biggest problem was that Guadalupe got really sick and had to go to the hospital. We are not really sure what happened but we will be visiting her pretty soon to see what happened. I feel like she could really use your prayers so that she can get well soon.

Manuel and Maria (the ones from New York) are doing fairly well. They did not go to church this week, we are still not too sure why, but we also be visiting them today.

So I do not remember if I had already told you about Carlos, but he also went to church this week! What he really needs is a firm desire to learn and know, because he really needs to receive an answer about the Church. He really does have quite a bit of potential he just needs that last little kick!

Also please pray for Elian, who is a friend of the Perez family, so that he can be baptized as well:)+

So I officially have a hammock. It is a little small, but is definitely one of the greatest things that someone has given me:)

I had a very spiritual experience this week where I realized the key to success in this Work: really all that God needs us to de is be constant and humble. If we are humble enough to allow God to work through us, and then we be constant in our part, applying everything that we have learned, then it will be impossible to not succeed. 

I love you all!

Elder Paz

 Hello family and friends!

Well this week was truly wonderful. We found an amazing family, the Perez family. They were in a Christian church, but for one reason or another they do not go there anymore. Anyways we contacted the dad in a bus, and then later we visited them and found out that they have 6 kids, ranging from just months to 18 years old. They are probably some of the humblest family I have ever met. They absolutely loved church this week and they pretty much are already members!!:) 

Also we should be having 2 baptisms this week! Erica and Nahum are their names. Erica is an eternal investigator for over a year, and Nahum a child of a family that we are reactivating. They are both so wonderful! Please pray that Erica can get moved out of her house and that Nahum can continue to learn so rapidly!

Well I am very excited for Christmas. "This is going to be metal"

We are going to do a service project and probably eat dinner at a members house and spread a little Christmas spirit by contacting the whole town and finding a golden family:)

I read an incredible talk this morning called "Approaching the Throne of God with Confidence". It basically talks about how to make your Celestial Crown sure. One of my favorite things that it said was that we need to make repentance something we do every moment, not just when we want to. A lot of times I get down thinking about all the stuff that I have done, and in the place of repenting in that very moment, I wallow in my misery...how much pain would we all save if we would just repent in the very instant that we sin! Well it sure was an answer to my prayers, and I sure hope that it was one to yours as well:) 

I love you all so much!

Elder Paz