Elder Tyler Plowman - Mexico Merida LDS Mission: ELDER ESCOBAR...TAKE 2

Elder Negrete last week

Hello there everyone!!! What a crazy week this was! We started it out last Tuesday getting a call from President Ruiz that we need to start looking for a house for sister missionaries in our area! That was a super crazy thing. Basically they told us that they are going to divide my area into 2 areas! So we spent a lot of the week looking for a house for the sisters. I will mention more of that later!!

So remember Gaspar? The new investigator we found last week? Well he is doing super well. We taught him the best lesson ever on repentance and I loved it so much. The thing about it that is always so hard is I feel like I always find investigators who are super powerful and have lost everything, but then within a week of talking to us they find a new job. Gaspar found a new job as a driver and he is gone a lot. It is definitely the test of his faith to say the least. But he is doing great :)

So more about the Sister missionaries house. We found a good house for them and made an appointment with the landlord for Friday morning. We went and it was the craziest experience ever. We were there with like 3 lawyers and the landlord making the contract and it was a really big learning experience about the real life, and to think that I was there doing all the negotiating in English was super funny. But we got a house for them and we are super happy!

So I want to tell you a couple of things that are happening here in Mexico. Basically everyone is super depressed here in Mexico. The prices of EVERYTHING are going up... gas is now to 16 pesos a liter, the bus is now 8 pesos instead of 7... and most of all, Coca Cola now costs 12 pesos instead of 11. It is really sad here to see how everyone is so worried about it all, when honestly something that truly gives me peace is how much it says in the scriptures "if you keep my commandments, you will prosper in the land". It is literally the secret recipe to a happy, prosperous life!

So on Thursday I got two new pairs of shoes that my mom sent me. Lets just say that getting new pairs of shoes is the best gift a missionary can ever get... the only hard part is getting past the blister phase... but I feel like a whole new missionary with my new shoes :)

On Friday it was the holiday here called El Dia de Los Reyes, or the day of the kings. Here in Mexico it is supposedly the day that the Three Kings showed up in Bethlehem to meet Jesus! We spent the night with the Quiroz family. They have a huge bread thingy (pics attached) and if the piece that you cut has a little plastic baby Jesus, you have to buy tamales for everyone! This year I am happy to say that I am good to go :) But I love being able to learn about their little traditions here, it is fun to be a part of it!

Dis de los Reyes

On Saturday we had our meeting with President Ruiz and the stake president and it was super awesome to talk about the missionary work with them! I learn a ton from the leaders here. Also on Sunday in our sacrament meeting, President Ruiz came, also every stake president in Merida, and the temple president, and the area seventy... it was kinda crazy. Like we say here in Merida, in Maya, they are NOHOCH. Or to say... big or the boss.

So can we talk about how it is actually a little cold here now?? It is getting down to like 76 degrees and I genuinely feel like it is cold... but it is so amazing to feel the coldness haha... i am going to try to enjoy this month the best I can!!

Yesterday was transfers... last week we closed an area called Zazil Ha 1 so we had to help them take their stuff out of the house, and they came to work with us Saturday and then on Sunday I got two phone calls and they go "Elder Plowman you are going to stay in Arboleda as Zone Leader 1 and Elder Escobar is going to be your companion". I LITERALLY FREAKED OUT: Do you guys remember Elder Escobar!?! My comp I was with for 3 months in Calkini last February-May?? He was literally one of my favorite companions and I have always been so excited to see him when i can and I am SO happy to be with him again :) When we started together last year I had 5 months in the mission and he had 10 and now I have 17 and he has 22... so crazy. Also the zone changed so much. They opened Arboleda 1 which means there are sisters in HALF OF MY AREA so I am a little sad because where I spent so much time these last 4 months I now can't go to half of my area. The sisters have the nice area that is like a city and I am in the little pueblos now... but it will be fun :) The zone is now 10 sisters and 8 Elders, when before it was 12 Elders and 4 Sisters. This is now my 7th transfer as ZL and I am still learning so much! Today we got a call that they decided to open Zazil Ha 1 again so we had to go to the house there and the offices and help the sisters move in which is why i got on late today! But wow what a great transfer this will be. I love you all :)