CARNIVAL IN CALKINI - FEBRUARY 27, 2017

La Casa de Maria

Hello from Calkiní once again! This week it was super crazy to be back here again in this pueblito. I just want to share a quick experience that happened to us this past Monday. The first day we got here we needed to go to buy food for the week. So we got to the store at like 7pm and it is about a 30 minute walk from our house if not a little bit more. We got out of the store at like 8pm and we had a ton of bags of food and a super lame thing here is that the grocery bags they give ALWAYS break so we were waiting outside the store for like 40 minutes waiting for a mototaxi to take us to our house. After waiting that long I asked my companion, "do you have the faith that a mototaxi will pass by to take us home? It's late already." But we realized in that moment that faith is ACTION. So instead of just sitting there doing nothing we decided to start walking with all our stuff. We kept walking and walking and we got to the center of town and still... nothing. So we were super tired and we sat there in Centro where there is usually always taxis or at least tricis (bikes that people ride with two people in front) but there was literally nothing this time. So we stayed there and we were super tired and it was 9:20pm already and we were still about 15 minute walk from the house and in the moment we got up to start walking again, the branch president shows up and parks his car right in front of where we were sitting. I learned so much through this experience. God cant give us miracles until we have faith. Not until AFTER we walked so much and suffered a little did he give us the miracle. But the thing I learned is that God will always give us a miracle, but sometimes it isn't the type of  miracle that we are looking for. Obviously it would have been better not to walk so far and just go straight home from the grocery store, but we had to demonstrate our faith before he could give us the miracle. The branch president took us home and even though we were super tired and got home late, it was a cool experience that I learned, and we didn't even have to pay the 15 pesos for the mototaxi :)

Elder Capulin 

My first day here in Calkini was super crazy weird honestly. We studied a lot the area book and the map to try to see in what state the area is in. It was super awesome this week to see a ton of people that I already know. Being here 3 months last year was great. Honestly even when I saw people, some of them screamed when they saw me. It has been really humbling to be here again. It is super different to be here in the Calkiní zone too. We are only Elders, there aren't any sister missionaries here and we are a tiny little zone haha. Also all the areas are super far away too. But I really feel like I am going to be able to help the missionaries in this zone.

Well like I said, this week we spent our time searching for the people that the missionaries used to be teaching!! We have a lot of baptisms set for this month coming up. We found a lot of less active families that we are trying to help come back to the church and in 3 of these families there are kids that are 9 years old and haven't been baptized yet! There names are Johann, Mayté, and William! They are great kids and should be baptized this March! Also we went to Dzitbalché and found a GOLDEN investigator. His name is Andres. He is from a tiny little pueblo like 2.5 hours from here where there isn't even phone service. We were with his sister that is an investigator and we met him. He came to visit but turns out now he will be doing it every week. We started teaching him and he said this is exactly what he has been looking for. He is 18 and wants to be baptized in 2 or 3 weeks! He says he has already received his answer and that this is what he wants. He is literally the type of person that missionaries dream about. He has questions and does what is necessary to get answers. He is super awesome!! His sister is named Marisol and we taught her. She is 27 and her boyfriend is a member but they live together and together have 10 kids in the house. She said she prayed about baptism and wants to be baptized and is willing to do whatever is necessary to do it! I feel really blessed to have this success this week because honestly Calkiní is known as one of the hardest areas in the mission. This area hasn't baptized since i was here over 10 months ago, and I really want to help it be baptizing again. Also speaking of the last baptism here, her name is Gloria. She is someone I helped be baptized and she has a calling and comes every week and is getting sealed in the temple April 28th with the first counselor in the branch and Ill get to go to the sealing :)

Nacho's de Pastor....greatest meat ever

Honestly it is super weird to be in a branch again in a small pueblo. It is such a different life. In a pueblo, i have the opportunity to make myself as consecrated as possible. The people truly depend on us and if we don't do our part, no one will do their part. Also it has been hard on me to get used to the food again. In Merida they always gave us SO much food till we couldn't eat anymore and here it is a more humble circumstance so they give us little food and I eat like 3 plates but it never fills me up haha. Everyone here tells me I am skinner than  i used to be 1 year ago. Also below is the picture with Maria. She lives in such humble circumstances and when I saw her again I asked her if she remembers me and she goes "Yes! You re the one that baptized me!!" It touched my heartl Her situation is so hard, but she pushes through it.

Maria

How I found Maria

I love this work and it is always hard the first week in an area, especially with both of us having it being the first week  learning the area again. But I have felt the love of Jesus Christ in my life and I am learning so much. I love y'all and have a great week.

Elder Plowman