Feliz Navidad

Hola Todos,

So there was not a whole lot that went on this week. We had a lot of really good first lessons with people at the beginning of the week, but then everyone left for Christmas. 

The rest of the week has been pretty blah. We had a baptism to go to in my comps old area on Saturday, so we got to go on a little bit of an adventure. We went to Chimalhuacan for the baptism. This was a little scary because this is a much more dangerous area than La Paz. There are Santa Muerte´s everywhere, and that is what makes the crime go up. The belief of the Santa Muerte is that if you do something to someone and they get injured or killed, it is because it was there time to die. If they live then the Santa Muerte was not ready to take them.

So that was a little interesting being there. There were a lot of cool members, and my comp had a wonderful time visiting his old area. This was the area that he got shocked in and I was able to visit and meet the family at the house he was zapped.

Other than this, the only other exciting thing this week was the new investigator that we got yesterday. Her name is Fatima, and wow is she prepared. She was a referral from a friend and we met here at the church last week when she attended for her first time. We met with her this Sunday and taught her her first lesson. The crazy thing though is that she already had all of the folletos and has started El Libro de Mormon. She set her own baptismal date for the 31 of January, and says that she has already prayed and knows that it is true. She is awesome and I can't wait to teach her more!!!!

Other than that, the week has been pretty normal. We ate some good food and talked with lots of people. And on the metro I found Reese´s and bought 10 of them because they are very rare to find here. 

All is well, and the Spanish is continuing to progress. 

I love and miss all of you and can't wait to hear and talk to you on Thursday and next Monday. 

Con Mucho Amor,

Elder Mason Millar

12-15-2014

Wow, was this week an eventful one!!!!

So starting last Monday after I had to leave, the 4 missionaries in my area went out and got pizza from Pizza Hut. It was wonderful, but not the same as in America. After this we had a district meeting and then went out and worked. 

Starting Tuesday is where the craziness begins. Driving in a combi (small taxi/van) to a zone meeting at about 9 in the morning, we are rear ended by a car. This car was doing about 60 mph and we were doing about 25. It was a pretty solid impact, and of course we were in Mexico and none of the cars have seat belts. Both my companion and I smacked out heads pretty good and were really sore the next day, but we were in a pretty big combi and nothing happened to it. The car that his us though was completely totalled and the two passengers in the front seats hit and broke the windshield. It was pretty nuts. 

Then on Wednesday we had the mission Christmas party. This was a lot of fun. We started out with a devotional and then had a talent show. The talent show kind of turned into a joke though. There were a bunch of elders, (The ones from the Dominican Republic) that were just being dumb and ruining it for the rest of the missionaries. But whatever. After this we had lunch and then played sports or watched Frozen. I decided that I would watch the movie, because you don't get to do that on a mission. It was so funny when Elsa changed when she was singing Let It Go. All of the elders went nuts!!!! It was really funny. 

Thursday was a normal day of work and nothing really exciting happened. But Friday we weren´t allowed to work. It was the Day of the Virgin for the Catholics, and it was not safe. So I bought Monopoly and the four of us played it 6 times. 6 times is was to many times to play Monopoly in one day. But is was fun. Friday was really hard though, because we all got homesick because we weren´t allowed to do work. It was nice to have the break though. 

Saturday was also another very interesting day. We didn't have anything planned because we didn´t work of Friday, but we had a ton of lessons. We didn't have a lunch appointment because the sister wasn't home. So we had an hour and a half that we just walked around. We went and sat on these stairs that were like super tall, and were sitting there for about 15 minutes and then four guys came and started to smoke weed in front of us. They started talking to us and then they had more friends show up. By the end (about 45 minutes later) there were seven of them, and they all had a lot of question about the church. It was so crazy. They were there blazing up on the fattest joints that I have ever seen, and asking us question about the church.

 

Later that night we were walking home, and someone yelled at us, so we stopped. At first we thought that he was going to come and rob us, but then there was a girl that was following him. He came and was talking to us about how his friend didn't believe that there was a god, and asked us a bunch of questions to help her understand that there is one. About this time I watched both of them put their hands up to their noses and sniff. Yup, they were huffing. (sniffing glue to get high) But he then looked at us a asked us to give her a blessing. It was kind of weird because it was just on the edge of the street, but Jesus gave blessing in the street, so why can't we! 

And yesterday was just a normal Sunday. It was busy and we had 5 lessons, but is was just a normal day. 

The Spanish is coming along well, and my companion is so much better that my old one. 

Thank you all for the letters and have a wonderful week. 

Love you all so much,

Elder Mason Millar

12-8-2014

Vaca Santo,

Where has the last month gone? There has been so much that has gone on it just seems like a bit blur!!!! 

So this last week has been a good and crazy week. I love my new area, and love my new trainer!!! (Most of the time) He is an increadible missionary, and knows exactly why he is here. He likes to push buttons though. That is for sure!!! He is a great guy though!!!! 

So this last week was very eventful. We had 35 lessons this week, and contacted like a bazillion people. I am not very good at it. As most of you know I talk to lots of people, but I don't like to preach, so it is a little bit of a stretch of my comfort zone. 

Also this week we had a pet dog for a night. She was what looked to be a golden retriever, and we named her Sage. She came up to us one night freezing and hungry, so we bought some food and gave her a warm place to sleep. (I will attach a picture or her)

We also had a pretty crazy lesson last night. We were knocking doors and came across this pastor and his wife, and they invited us in. It was a wonderful lesson, but I didn't understand anything, because it was mostly deeper doctrine. But at the end of the lesson he asked if he could give us a blessing, and he put his hands on our shoulders and asked God to convert us to his religion, or make it known to him that the Book of Mormon is true. If he actually reads the Book of Mormon, then man he is going to be strong in the church, But we will see. We have another appt on Thursday 

So later tonight I am going to a sister's house who is a chiropractor to have her fix my ankle from the MTC when I rolled it. She looked at it the other day and said that it is out of alignment and if it is not put back I will end up tearing my tendon. So that will be nice to have my ankle feeling and looking better. 

The spanish is coming along great for all that are wondering. Everyone I talk to says that I am way ahead of where they were when they were llearning so that is good. I just don't talk much, because I haven't had the opportunity to get to know and open up to the investigators and members yet. But it is progressing, and the Lord is helping me to learn it quickly. 

Other that that, all is well, and the work down here is crazy!!! It is Hot as all get out during the day, and Cold as ice during the night. Dressing for the day is really difficult!!! 

I miss all of you, and love you all so much!!!

You are in my prayers,

Con Amor,

Elder Mason Millar

12-1-2014

Hola todos,

Wow, So I can't even believe that I have been gone for two months. How is that even possible? 

So we will start off with the big news for the week. I had my first transfer. I was transferred on Saturday to the area of La Paz. It is increadible!!! It is like a completely different country. 

So many of you are probably wondering why I was transferred. So last week on Tuesday I was at the mission offices with all of the other non-native elders to go to immigration. After we got back President came and asked me how I was doing, and then asked me to come into his office after I responded with ´´fine´´. He is a truly inspired man. After talking to him about what my trainer was not doing he asked to speak with both of us. He asked us to do a couple different things, and then said he would call in a few days to see how things were going. 

So on Friday, he called me and asked how everything was going so I told him. Later that day we received a call from the Zone Leaders telling us that we were going to be having changes and that I was going to be leaving. So that night I had to go and pack my bags and left the lext day. 

So my new trainer is probably one of the most increadible missionaries in the mission .So about my new trainer, His name is Elder Robertson, and he is from Las Vegas. He has been out for 10 months, and absolutely loves to work. He is very very kind and is one of the most increadible missionaries in the mission. About 6 months ago, he was electrocuted by 23,000 volts. That ammount of electricity should have killed him, but all that happened was he got third degree burns on his hands and when he fell he busted his hand open. He was in the hospital for 5 days and was not able to work for 3 weeks after because he had to let the skin on his hands grow back after the plastic sugery. He had more of a reason than anyone of the entire mission to go home, and he felt that he needed and could stay out. He is out here for the right reason!!!

I have not been happier on my mission than I have been for the last 2 days with Elder Robertson. He is truly an answer to my prayers, and I feel like I am going to be able to learn so so much from him. We do not share a house with any other missionaries, but they live in the same building. Their names are Elder Sorenson from California, and Elder Escalante from El Salvador. They are awesome missionaries, and Elder Escalente got into the mission the same day as me and is also in training. 

So other than that there is not much more that went on this week, other than the fact that in our church building we have a real piano, and I am playing in the Mission talent show at the mission Christmas party. 

I love you all, and Love hearing from all of you!!!

Con Amor,

Elder Mason Millar

So this is my new companion, and just a part in my mission. The whole area doesn´t look like this. Just a small part in the mountain. It is the coolest thing, because it feels like I am walking through a video game!!!!