Hey family, things are going great righ tnow, I had my my first baptism this
past Saturday, i was nervous though because all of it has to be in spanish, all
of the words and it has to be perfect, but I did it! And there is no other
feeling that is better than a baptism, knowing that I have helped someone to
come unto Christ and receive the blessings of the atonement. WE had another
lesson with Alfonso, but this time things didn´t go so well, he had some strange
questions, we gave him a pamphlet of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and he told us
that he can´t be baptized because his nose is different, or something like that,
all these weird questions. I hope that things will turn out well with him
though, he has his agency though, all we can do is keep on teaching to the best
of our ability. Spanish is getting better too, I´m starting to learn how to
teach, and how to listen. The food is great, I am enjoying it so much, it is a
little spicy, okay a lot spicy, but I´m starting to like this spicy food. Still
though, the coolest thing, was that we invited all of the ward to come to this
baptism of two of our investigators, and the whole ward, basically was there, it
is always awesome when the ward shows support to converts. One of the converts
who my companion baptized, Carlos, is 12 and next sunday he
will get to receive the priesthood, he is so excited to receive it. I got to
baptize Melanie, his older sister, they were so excited. The ward is so awesome
here, we had a ward activity about family history, and they invited us(this was
right after the baptism) and there was some good food there, hamburgers, they
were delicious! It was just like being in a bbq back home.
Benjamin, I
hope that things go good for you with your new crazy schedule, but yeah, just
keep praying and studying the xcriptures and working hard and everything will
work out well. Here, in mexico city, there are always tons of people in the
streets, so we usually just do street contacting, we haven{t received many
referrals from members, but we´re working on it. We also knock doors, and this
is fun, because you have to be creative, one approach that I tried that was fun,
went like this, we knocked the door, the people who answer always say "Quien"
(Who) and I said, we are here to give you money, she answered the door and I
started to explain that it was spiritual money, that it was worth a lot more
than all of the money put together in the world, she took our passalong card,
but we didn´t get an appointment with her, I´ll have to try this tactic another
time though, it´s fun. If you say you are missionaries, they usually don´t want
to listen or will say they don´t have time, so it´s fun to be creative to try
and get them to answer the door, and sometimes they want to learn
more
This week, we found someone awesome, hopefully she will get
baptized, but we started talking to her, and she said that she only believes in
God, that she doesn´t believe in any religion because there are people who don´t
live their religions, we actually had a lesson with ehr, and have another
appointment with her, she said that she felt warm and good inside during our
lesson, we explained that this is the holy ghost and that we are here to help
her, because she had been looking for something, it was awesome, but she has her
agency, we will keep working with her to invite her to be baptized.
Today, in the morning, we
got the chance to go bowling for a Pday activity with the rest of my district,
this was so fun, I´m starting to feel like I belong in Mexico, i only have 3
weeks here, but i am learning to love it, and enjoy it. it´s also fun to ride
the metro(subway) you always see interesting people there, I wish i had time to
tell more about the people that I saw.
The work is going great, we have
two investigators who will be baptized this
saturday, so I´m way excited for that, and the week after that is
general conference, thank good ness I get to watch it in english haha, writing
in spánish is difficult for me, but I´m getting better at listening. I can´t
believe that my first transfer is almost up, two more weeks, time flies by,
especially when you are working hard, and that is what me and my companion have
been doing. There are so many people here to teach, the members are so nice,
they feed us every day, and I´ve had oppurtunities to try all kinds of food, to
be honest, half the time i can´t even remember what the food is called, but I
love it. I love seeing investigatros progress, as they accept the gospel and
gain their own testimony. This is one thing that makes up for every time that
I´ve been rejected, but seeing the one investigator progress and accept the
gospel makes up for the other rejections. I don´t have time to say much more,
and mom, I received your pouch mail letter, but I don´t have much time to write
hand written letters, I´ll try to get some, maybe this next week, the work here
is busy, we´re working hard, and I love it. I have felt so much help from the
Lord in my teaching, learning of spanish, and finding. I love missionary work,
I know I only have 3 months in the mission, but it feels like longer, and I´m
going to work hard every day, to enjoy every second of my mission, thanks for
writing me, I really appreciate it, keep me updated on how life is going. Next
week I´ll write more, if you guys would like, I´ll answer any questions that you
have, thanks so much for your love, support, and prayers
Love, Elder
Daniel Limb
Monday, September 24, 2012
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Dear family, things in Mexico are so busy! Missionary work is busy, but I love
it, i have learned so much in such a short period of time, i know that I am not
perfect, but I sure try my best. This week, i have a really awesome awesome,
beyond awesome story that I want to tell to you all, it goes like
this:
So this week, saturday the 15th of september( a holiday in Mexico) we were out tracting, me and my companion, and we had a back up plan to teach a man named alfonso, he was under the list of future investigators, so we had no idea what to think about when we showed up to teach him. But, our first lesson, our actual plan didn´t fall through, so we went to teach Alfonso, we didn´t know if he would be home or not, but he was home, and here is where the story literally gets awesome. Alfonso started off by greeting us by saying, i already read the book of mormon, it´s confusing and it isn´t true. We weren´t sure where to go from here, but he kept babbling on and to be honest I didn´t understand everything that he said, but I understood the majority of it. But eventually, me and my companion asked him how he knows these things, and he said he just does, so we asked him if he had prayed, he said that he hadn´t.... there´s the reason why he doesn´t know that it´s true, but anyways, I´ll continue with the story. So he said that he hadn´t prayed, and that he didn´t feel worthy to pray, because he felt like God was punishing him because he has a heart problem or something like that, but we got teaching him and he really didn´t believe that God loved him, at all. So, I started baring my testimony, and the spirit helped me to say what he needed to hear, and hear is where the cool part of the story is. My companion started talking, and he´s awesome by the way, but he started teaching and he also bore his testimony and taught Alfonso that heavenly father really does love him, and then, the cool part comes. Alfonso said, and I quote: "How is it that you can know the thoughts in my heart and mind" it was just like the story of Ammon and King Lamoni, he then asked if me and my companion were apostles, we said no, but we have been called by a prophet and apostle of God to come to this country, more specifically to your home Alfonso, to teach you a message, to tell you that there are things on this earth that you need to do before you can prepare to meet God again after this life, that even though you have a heart problem, that there is still time for us to help you. Then he asked both of us to offer a pray in his house, which was good because we started teaching at his door step, but my companion prayed and then I prayed, and our prayers were very similar, and then he decided to pray. Which was a miracle, because at the beginning of the lesson, he said that he was unworthy to pray and stuff like that, but he prayed and the spirit was so strong during that lesson, I literally can understand why I am called here, because there are people like Alfonso that need the gospel, to help them understand their purpose in life, why they are here, where they are going, what they need to do, and stuff like that. We have another appointment with Alfonso this week, and I am hoping and praying that he chooses to get baptized, because he needs to, and if he does, this will be the coolest story ever, I´m telling you it was just like in the book of mormon, it was awesome, and I want to help Alfonso to understand the gospel. Well, there you have it, that is the story that was just awesome that I just had to tell this week, I literally love being a missionary here in Mexico, it´s hard, but I love it, and I am going to do my best to be a good missionary, to live for every second of my mission, and right now, I´m so excited to teach.
The food here is different, this week, I tried grasshopper..... no surprise, but it tasted like dried up grass with lemon flavor, it was weird... but yeah I like the food for the most part, they actually have a walmart here, so most of my breakfast and stuff is pretty much american food, like cereal and stuff like that. But the cool thing is that here in Mexico City, the church is pretty strong, there are enough members where we have a pretty large chapel, and as missionaries, we get to have food with the members every day, one meal a day, and they usually feed us good! I have tried so many new foods, I can´t even remember the names of them, but I haven´t gotten sick yet, which has been a surprise, but I´m, loving it.
The people in Mexico are so nice, they are just awesome, they are so willing to listen, there´s a word in mexico that is kind of like a magic word I guess you could say, the word is "disculpe" which basically means excuse me, but when you say this to someone, they will stop and listen, no matter who you are, and a lot of the time they are interested to know where they will be going after this life. It´s different in America, but here in mexico, everybody is willling to listen, which is awesome. But yeah, they are so nice, and patient with my spanish haha, but to be honest, my spanish has progressed rapidly, my companion said that I speak like a missionary who already has 6 months experience in the field, I don´t know if he was just saying that to be nice, or if it´s true, but either way, I have improved so much, especially while teaching.
Thanks so much for taking the time to write me, it really means a lot, I love letters, and if you want to, you can use the mission office address posted in my lastweeks email to write hand written letters. Another thing that I want to talk about is the 15th of september. Here in mexico, this holiday is huge, they have been having fireworks for every night the past week, it´s basically like new years and 4th of july put together, it´s crazy! But awesome, they celebrate so much, there was costumes of people in the street and stuff like that, plus tiendas that were selling mexico souvineers and stuff liek that, it was so awesome!
Keep me posted on how things are going, I´m sorry I don´t have much time to try and answer every question, and keep up with everything, but I´m trying.
Oh yeah, another thing, we have 3 baptisms this week! Yessica, y sus hijos(children) Carlos and Melanie, will be baptized this saturday. It´s so awesome, to feel the change in their lives, when they realize that the atonement can make them clean tand that through baptism they can receive forgiveness of sins, and join the church. But they are just such an awesome family to teach, I´m so excited, we already had one baptism, but this one will be differente, because it will be the work of me and my companion more, we actually taught them the lessons, really it´s all the work of the spirit, but we helped with this one. The last baptism that we had, the missionaries who were here previously taught him and prepared him, but yeah, it feels good. It makes up for all the times that i have been rejected or anything like that, but it is just awesome to be a missionary. I love this mission and everything about it, yes it´s new, and the streets at night are a bit scary, but I´m learning and loving it, spanish is coming along great, and I can´t wait to teach and work.
thanks for you love, support and prayers on my behalf, I´m out of time, but thanks for writing and I hope I answered all of your questions. Thanks for everything
Love, your son and brother,
Elder Limb
So this week, saturday the 15th of september( a holiday in Mexico) we were out tracting, me and my companion, and we had a back up plan to teach a man named alfonso, he was under the list of future investigators, so we had no idea what to think about when we showed up to teach him. But, our first lesson, our actual plan didn´t fall through, so we went to teach Alfonso, we didn´t know if he would be home or not, but he was home, and here is where the story literally gets awesome. Alfonso started off by greeting us by saying, i already read the book of mormon, it´s confusing and it isn´t true. We weren´t sure where to go from here, but he kept babbling on and to be honest I didn´t understand everything that he said, but I understood the majority of it. But eventually, me and my companion asked him how he knows these things, and he said he just does, so we asked him if he had prayed, he said that he hadn´t.... there´s the reason why he doesn´t know that it´s true, but anyways, I´ll continue with the story. So he said that he hadn´t prayed, and that he didn´t feel worthy to pray, because he felt like God was punishing him because he has a heart problem or something like that, but we got teaching him and he really didn´t believe that God loved him, at all. So, I started baring my testimony, and the spirit helped me to say what he needed to hear, and hear is where the cool part of the story is. My companion started talking, and he´s awesome by the way, but he started teaching and he also bore his testimony and taught Alfonso that heavenly father really does love him, and then, the cool part comes. Alfonso said, and I quote: "How is it that you can know the thoughts in my heart and mind" it was just like the story of Ammon and King Lamoni, he then asked if me and my companion were apostles, we said no, but we have been called by a prophet and apostle of God to come to this country, more specifically to your home Alfonso, to teach you a message, to tell you that there are things on this earth that you need to do before you can prepare to meet God again after this life, that even though you have a heart problem, that there is still time for us to help you. Then he asked both of us to offer a pray in his house, which was good because we started teaching at his door step, but my companion prayed and then I prayed, and our prayers were very similar, and then he decided to pray. Which was a miracle, because at the beginning of the lesson, he said that he was unworthy to pray and stuff like that, but he prayed and the spirit was so strong during that lesson, I literally can understand why I am called here, because there are people like Alfonso that need the gospel, to help them understand their purpose in life, why they are here, where they are going, what they need to do, and stuff like that. We have another appointment with Alfonso this week, and I am hoping and praying that he chooses to get baptized, because he needs to, and if he does, this will be the coolest story ever, I´m telling you it was just like in the book of mormon, it was awesome, and I want to help Alfonso to understand the gospel. Well, there you have it, that is the story that was just awesome that I just had to tell this week, I literally love being a missionary here in Mexico, it´s hard, but I love it, and I am going to do my best to be a good missionary, to live for every second of my mission, and right now, I´m so excited to teach.
The food here is different, this week, I tried grasshopper..... no surprise, but it tasted like dried up grass with lemon flavor, it was weird... but yeah I like the food for the most part, they actually have a walmart here, so most of my breakfast and stuff is pretty much american food, like cereal and stuff like that. But the cool thing is that here in Mexico City, the church is pretty strong, there are enough members where we have a pretty large chapel, and as missionaries, we get to have food with the members every day, one meal a day, and they usually feed us good! I have tried so many new foods, I can´t even remember the names of them, but I haven´t gotten sick yet, which has been a surprise, but I´m, loving it.
The people in Mexico are so nice, they are just awesome, they are so willing to listen, there´s a word in mexico that is kind of like a magic word I guess you could say, the word is "disculpe" which basically means excuse me, but when you say this to someone, they will stop and listen, no matter who you are, and a lot of the time they are interested to know where they will be going after this life. It´s different in America, but here in mexico, everybody is willling to listen, which is awesome. But yeah, they are so nice, and patient with my spanish haha, but to be honest, my spanish has progressed rapidly, my companion said that I speak like a missionary who already has 6 months experience in the field, I don´t know if he was just saying that to be nice, or if it´s true, but either way, I have improved so much, especially while teaching.
Thanks so much for taking the time to write me, it really means a lot, I love letters, and if you want to, you can use the mission office address posted in my lastweeks email to write hand written letters. Another thing that I want to talk about is the 15th of september. Here in mexico, this holiday is huge, they have been having fireworks for every night the past week, it´s basically like new years and 4th of july put together, it´s crazy! But awesome, they celebrate so much, there was costumes of people in the street and stuff like that, plus tiendas that were selling mexico souvineers and stuff liek that, it was so awesome!
Keep me posted on how things are going, I´m sorry I don´t have much time to try and answer every question, and keep up with everything, but I´m trying.
Oh yeah, another thing, we have 3 baptisms this week! Yessica, y sus hijos(children) Carlos and Melanie, will be baptized this saturday. It´s so awesome, to feel the change in their lives, when they realize that the atonement can make them clean tand that through baptism they can receive forgiveness of sins, and join the church. But they are just such an awesome family to teach, I´m so excited, we already had one baptism, but this one will be differente, because it will be the work of me and my companion more, we actually taught them the lessons, really it´s all the work of the spirit, but we helped with this one. The last baptism that we had, the missionaries who were here previously taught him and prepared him, but yeah, it feels good. It makes up for all the times that i have been rejected or anything like that, but it is just awesome to be a missionary. I love this mission and everything about it, yes it´s new, and the streets at night are a bit scary, but I´m learning and loving it, spanish is coming along great, and I can´t wait to teach and work.
thanks for you love, support and prayers on my behalf, I´m out of time, but thanks for writing and I hope I answered all of your questions. Thanks for everything
Love, your son and brother,
Elder Limb
Monday, September 10, 2012
Elder Daniel Ian Limb
México México City South Mission
Av. Progreso 106, 3º Piso
Barrio Santa Catarina, Coyoacán
04010 México, Distrito Federal
Mexico
Hello to everyone, from Mexico! It is so different here than the usa, im trying hard to learn spanish, but it is still difficult. the address posted above is the mission office, you can use that address for basically my entire mission. This week has been crazy, crazy fun, and crazy hard. i have never done something like this before in my life, but i know that heavenly father is there for me to help me, ive felt stressed, but my companion told me to not worry so much, that my spanish will progress with time and that eventually I will learn it. Oh, a little bit about my companion, his name is Elder Beatty, he is from Lehi, Utah. He will be training me for the first 12 weeks, the church has a program for new missionaries to do, basically it is where we get more time to study and stuff. Want to know something cool? We already had our first baptism! The missionaries before us were teaching him his name is johan, but we finished the teaching and got to watch him get baptized by his uncle. Another awesome thing
Another awesome thing, we already have 5 investigators with a baptisimal date, and 4 of them showed up at the chapel yesterday, it was such an awesome experience. The name of my area is Nativitas, it´s not exactly in the downtown area of Mexico City, but it`s still huge. there are literally like 1 million people in this area, so many people to teach and contact. I`m starting to feel like I belong here, because this is where I was called to go. But right now, we have a mom and two kids who we are teaching, their names are Yessica(the mom) Carlos(son) y melanie(daughter) they are pretty much awesome investigators, they accepted all of the commandments and were at church yesterday, I`ve only taught them two times, but already I feel a special connection towards them, because that is why I`m here. The people here are so awesome, they are some of the nicest people I have ever met, they always are willing to listen, and a lot of them are interested in the gospel.
How are things going at home? Keep me updated on how work is going for you and dad, and how school is going for everyone else. It is so different here, I remember the first time i saw mexico city from the plane, it was huge! It was like a sea of buildings, there is so many different things that I wish i could have time to tell you about, but I`ll try my best. One thing that is different is everyone pretty much walks in the streets, so it`s a little different, but it`s alright. The members here are so nice, they feed us everyday, we have what is called a comida(meal) where we get to talk with the members and teach them a little bit. My mission president is awesome! The first night we arrived, he took all the new missionaries to McDonalds here in mexico. It was a little different, they actually had jalapeno peppers at the mcDonalds, i tried one and..... that`s one thing that I need to learn, the food is a bit spicy, but I love it. Another thing is the culture, i`m still trying to learn, but i`m getting there.
This week, there is going to be a huge celebration on the 15th of this month, it,s basically like their 4th of july, you can look up information abou tit, i don`t totally understand it, but what I do understand is that there have been fireworks every night! They are so loud, they sound like gun shots, but their just big boomy majigs or something. But yeah, I am starting to love this area, I know that me and my companion will be able to have a lot of success here. Time has also flown by, I`ve already been here a week! it`s also different using pesos, but a lot of stufff is really cheap. like food and bottles of soda and juice, one dollar is basically equal to 10 pesos. It`s different, but I`m starting to adjust.
I`m still working on spanish, but at church, all of the members were so nice to me, even though I couoldn´t understand everything that they said. The food that I have eaten so far, has been delicious, they use tortillas a ton, they are basically like bread for them. But yes, I have been working hard to learn and grow. I can remember feeling a little scared at the beginning of this week of the great responsibility that being a missionary is, I was also scared of the culture, because there have been some pretty scary things that I have seen, but i have prayed for comfort, to know that I can overcome all of my doubts and be happy and have a good mission, and my testimony has been strengthened so much, I know that heavenly father wants me here in Mexico and althought there might be challenges, I`ll overcome them to the best of my ability.
I know that you guys probably have a lot of questions, so please send some questions in your next email, and I`ll answer them to the best of my ability. Still though, I honestly am so grateful to be here in the mission field, I have an awesome companion, he only has 6 months left in his mission, but we will do good things together, I know this. I would like to share my testimony with you in español with you guys
Yo sé que la iglesia de JesuCristo de los santos de los ultimos días es verdad. Yo sé que atraves la expiación de Jesucristo, que podamos recibir perdon por todos de nuestros pecados. Yo sé que tenemos un profeta viviente aquí en este mundo, presidente Thomas s. monson. Yo sé que el libro de mormon es la palabra de Dios, y tambien yo sé que el evangelio de Jesucristo puede cambiar las vidas de todos las personas quien escuchan he visto milagros aqui en Mexico, la iglesia es fuerte aquí, esté yo sé. Yo digo estas cosas en el nombre de JesuCristo Amen
One other thing that is kind of cool, but an interesting story, there was this one guy, who we walked by and he started talking to us in english, so we talked with him. It turns out that he is actually a very less active member, he lived in new york for 14 years, did some bad stuff went to jail, but in jail he read the bible, then found the missionaries and was baptized. But now he told us that he is back to his old ways, this is something that we are going to work on. We are goign to visit with him this week to try and get him back to church.
Also, there are tons of dogs here, there are dogs in the street, dogs everywhere. There was this one huge dog, who started to lunge after me, but he was tied to a chain, my heart started racing, but hey, welcome to the life of a missionary. The people here are so humble, they don`t have all of the luxeries that we have, today, I learned how to wash my clothes by hand, it´s different but kind of fun. I guess you could say I`m living the life of a pioneer in a way, but yeah, it is definately different. When I arrived, one fo the first things <i said was, i`m not in kansas(utah) anymore. Everybody stares at me funny when I speak, but hey I´m trying and I will learn with time, I´m still a rookie, but soon I´ll get to be a senior companion. I´ll try to keep you updated as best as I can. Oh yeah ,they have a walmart here, and the prices are pretty low,
I´m so excited to work with the investigators who have baptisimal dates though, when they said yes that they wanted to be baptized on a specific date, that was one of the coolest things that I have ever felt, it makes all the people who have rejected me worth it, I´m trying my best, and working hard. Our mission has a goal to get 900 investigators to come to general conference in the capillas(chapels) so that is a goal that we are working on as a companionship. We need to get 15 investigators to conference to do our part of this goal, I´ve literally learned so much in just one week. <missionary work is honestly one of the biggest miracles in all the world, I´ve seen miracles here and felt the spirit, please pray for me to learn the language, and also to become a good missionary. Also, I don´t know how often I´ll be able to write letters with stamps and stuff, but I´ll try to figure that out, when <i receive letters, so if you send me a hand written letter, I´ll reply. Thanks for everything that you do, I love you guys and am thankful for everything
Love, your son and brother
Elder Limb
Hello to everyone, from Mexico! It is so different here than the usa, im trying hard to learn spanish, but it is still difficult. the address posted above is the mission office, you can use that address for basically my entire mission. This week has been crazy, crazy fun, and crazy hard. i have never done something like this before in my life, but i know that heavenly father is there for me to help me, ive felt stressed, but my companion told me to not worry so much, that my spanish will progress with time and that eventually I will learn it. Oh, a little bit about my companion, his name is Elder Beatty, he is from Lehi, Utah. He will be training me for the first 12 weeks, the church has a program for new missionaries to do, basically it is where we get more time to study and stuff. Want to know something cool? We already had our first baptism! The missionaries before us were teaching him his name is johan, but we finished the teaching and got to watch him get baptized by his uncle. Another awesome thing
Another awesome thing, we already have 5 investigators with a baptisimal date, and 4 of them showed up at the chapel yesterday, it was such an awesome experience. The name of my area is Nativitas, it´s not exactly in the downtown area of Mexico City, but it`s still huge. there are literally like 1 million people in this area, so many people to teach and contact. I`m starting to feel like I belong here, because this is where I was called to go. But right now, we have a mom and two kids who we are teaching, their names are Yessica(the mom) Carlos(son) y melanie(daughter) they are pretty much awesome investigators, they accepted all of the commandments and were at church yesterday, I`ve only taught them two times, but already I feel a special connection towards them, because that is why I`m here. The people here are so awesome, they are some of the nicest people I have ever met, they always are willing to listen, and a lot of them are interested in the gospel.
How are things going at home? Keep me updated on how work is going for you and dad, and how school is going for everyone else. It is so different here, I remember the first time i saw mexico city from the plane, it was huge! It was like a sea of buildings, there is so many different things that I wish i could have time to tell you about, but I`ll try my best. One thing that is different is everyone pretty much walks in the streets, so it`s a little different, but it`s alright. The members here are so nice, they feed us everyday, we have what is called a comida(meal) where we get to talk with the members and teach them a little bit. My mission president is awesome! The first night we arrived, he took all the new missionaries to McDonalds here in mexico. It was a little different, they actually had jalapeno peppers at the mcDonalds, i tried one and..... that`s one thing that I need to learn, the food is a bit spicy, but I love it. Another thing is the culture, i`m still trying to learn, but i`m getting there.
This week, there is going to be a huge celebration on the 15th of this month, it,s basically like their 4th of july, you can look up information abou tit, i don`t totally understand it, but what I do understand is that there have been fireworks every night! They are so loud, they sound like gun shots, but their just big boomy majigs or something. But yeah, I am starting to love this area, I know that me and my companion will be able to have a lot of success here. Time has also flown by, I`ve already been here a week! it`s also different using pesos, but a lot of stufff is really cheap. like food and bottles of soda and juice, one dollar is basically equal to 10 pesos. It`s different, but I`m starting to adjust.
I`m still working on spanish, but at church, all of the members were so nice to me, even though I couoldn´t understand everything that they said. The food that I have eaten so far, has been delicious, they use tortillas a ton, they are basically like bread for them. But yes, I have been working hard to learn and grow. I can remember feeling a little scared at the beginning of this week of the great responsibility that being a missionary is, I was also scared of the culture, because there have been some pretty scary things that I have seen, but i have prayed for comfort, to know that I can overcome all of my doubts and be happy and have a good mission, and my testimony has been strengthened so much, I know that heavenly father wants me here in Mexico and althought there might be challenges, I`ll overcome them to the best of my ability.
I know that you guys probably have a lot of questions, so please send some questions in your next email, and I`ll answer them to the best of my ability. Still though, I honestly am so grateful to be here in the mission field, I have an awesome companion, he only has 6 months left in his mission, but we will do good things together, I know this. I would like to share my testimony with you in español with you guys
Yo sé que la iglesia de JesuCristo de los santos de los ultimos días es verdad. Yo sé que atraves la expiación de Jesucristo, que podamos recibir perdon por todos de nuestros pecados. Yo sé que tenemos un profeta viviente aquí en este mundo, presidente Thomas s. monson. Yo sé que el libro de mormon es la palabra de Dios, y tambien yo sé que el evangelio de Jesucristo puede cambiar las vidas de todos las personas quien escuchan he visto milagros aqui en Mexico, la iglesia es fuerte aquí, esté yo sé. Yo digo estas cosas en el nombre de JesuCristo Amen
One other thing that is kind of cool, but an interesting story, there was this one guy, who we walked by and he started talking to us in english, so we talked with him. It turns out that he is actually a very less active member, he lived in new york for 14 years, did some bad stuff went to jail, but in jail he read the bible, then found the missionaries and was baptized. But now he told us that he is back to his old ways, this is something that we are going to work on. We are goign to visit with him this week to try and get him back to church.
Also, there are tons of dogs here, there are dogs in the street, dogs everywhere. There was this one huge dog, who started to lunge after me, but he was tied to a chain, my heart started racing, but hey, welcome to the life of a missionary. The people here are so humble, they don`t have all of the luxeries that we have, today, I learned how to wash my clothes by hand, it´s different but kind of fun. I guess you could say I`m living the life of a pioneer in a way, but yeah, it is definately different. When I arrived, one fo the first things <i said was, i`m not in kansas(utah) anymore. Everybody stares at me funny when I speak, but hey I´m trying and I will learn with time, I´m still a rookie, but soon I´ll get to be a senior companion. I´ll try to keep you updated as best as I can. Oh yeah ,they have a walmart here, and the prices are pretty low,
I´m so excited to work with the investigators who have baptisimal dates though, when they said yes that they wanted to be baptized on a specific date, that was one of the coolest things that I have ever felt, it makes all the people who have rejected me worth it, I´m trying my best, and working hard. Our mission has a goal to get 900 investigators to come to general conference in the capillas(chapels) so that is a goal that we are working on as a companionship. We need to get 15 investigators to conference to do our part of this goal, I´ve literally learned so much in just one week. <missionary work is honestly one of the biggest miracles in all the world, I´ve seen miracles here and felt the spirit, please pray for me to learn the language, and also to become a good missionary. Also, I don´t know how often I´ll be able to write letters with stamps and stuff, but I´ll try to figure that out, when <i receive letters, so if you send me a hand written letter, I´ll reply. Thanks for everything that you do, I love you guys and am thankful for everything
Love, your son and brother
Elder Limb
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Alright, this is my last email in the United States of America, on Monday I
will be in Mexico!!!
Here is my address in Mexico, I would love to receive some letters, even if
they''re only short, every little letter means so much and has helped me so
much.
Elder Daniel Ian Limb
México México City South Mission
Av. Progreso 106, 3* Piso
Barrio Santa Catarina, Coyoacán
04010 México, Distrito Federal
Mexico
This week has been so awesome! WE had infield orientaion yesterday, which
was just awesome! It was basically like an alll day spiritual feast, I learned
so much about how to do missionary work and how to find investigators and how to
work with the members. I´´m excited but also a little scared, because the first
Sunday that I´´m there, I will have to bare my testimony and speak in front of
the whole ward in spanish, I hope I don´t accidentaly say something bad or
anything like that haha, my spanish has gotten a lot better though, but I
sometimes mess up on words and they sound like other words, but I know that the
most important thing is that I teach by and with the spirit, and that is what I
am going to do. It´s so crazy to think that I am leaving on Monday, but I´m
ready, 9 weeks in the mtc is a long time! One really important thing that I
really learned about was the importance of having faith, you have to have faith
to do miracles, and faith that the Lord will help you in your work. Another
thing that is muy importante es tener un positive attitude. Having a positive
attitude is very important, if you have a positive attitude, miracles are so
much more likely to happen. Just today, elder Baker and I had an awesome
lesson, it was with a member, she had a great story about receiving revelation
through the scriptures, because that was what we were teaching about. I feel
pretty confident about my teaching skills now, I have gotten better, there is
still so much more that I need to improve on, but I am ready to do it. I am so
grateful for the oppurtunity that I have to be a missionary, and I have already
felt the Lord´s help and love in my time at the mtc, he has helped me to get
through times of frustration with the language and just times when I´ve needed a
pick me up or something, but prayer really helps. Also, the devotional this
past Tuesday was awesome, it was by Elder Perkins of the seventy, it was pretty
sweet, he talked about the importance of being positve and to just have no fear
and just go at the ¡missionary work and do the best that you can do, and he also
talked about how we can help investigators come unto Christ. I´m excited for my
flight though, and my two hour layover in TExas, because I bought 100 pass along
cards from the mtc book store, and I´m gonna try to give out all of them, I´m so
excited, hopefully at least one person will accept the message and who knows,
maybe they´´ll join the church, that wouldl be just awesome
I´m so excited to go on Monday, and I´ll do my best to keep you guys
updated on the mission, but I know that I´ll be way busy with mission work, but
I´ll try my best
Friday, August 24, 2012
It''s hard for me to send my email to two emails, because I only have 30
minutes in the MTC, plus I have a lot to say, so I might not answer alll of your
questions in the alloted time for me. First of all, I have some excellent
news!!!!!!!!!!! I got my visa!!!! I''m so excited, I have my travel plans, I
will be leaving form salt lake to mexico city on a direct flight September thir
at like 8 in the morning, I''m so excited, but that's noteven the best part.
The best part was how I got my visa, here it comes, get excited. so, it''s
Tuesday and me and Elder BAker are doing service, when Elder BAker sees one of
his friends who is going to the same mission as us, and his friend tells him
that he has to go all the way to Boise just to get his visa. So, me and Elder
Baker ran to the travel office and sure enough, we also were on that same trip.
I have so much to say about this little trip, especially because we actually got
to spend the night in Boise, with the Boise missionaries! It was just so cool,
it got me ready to go ou tin the field, but I stilll have 9 days more, so tell
everyone to use dearelder.com
while they still can, before I get into Mexico. But yeah, want to know the
crazy part, we got to take an airplane there, but wait it gets better, we
actually flew from Salt ""Lake City, to Oakland California! And we had an hour
layover there, and then we flew from Oakland to Boise! It was so awesome, I got
to try placing a book of mormon at the airport, but I got rejected like 7
times.... but it was still an awesome learning experience, it was just so crazy
when I found out that I was actuallly goin to the consulate in Boise to sign for
my visa, but I have it, I''m beyond excitement. Once we got to Boise, two
senior missionaries picked us up at the Boise airport, it was so awesome! They
were so nice, they took us out to lunch at a pizza buffet, it was so weird being
in the ""real world'' again haha, it felt weird because there were televisions
and music in the airport and stuff, but it was so fun, this pizza restaurant was
so delicious!! I loved it, it was such an awesome trip, it was especially coo,l
because I have never been to Boise and it''s been so long since I flew in a
plane, but we flew over lake taho, it was just so cool. Another awesome
thingswas, that after wer got our visas, the senior couple took us out to dinner
as well!! They took us to this place, westside Drive in, it was so delicious!
The fries were heavenly and the burger was amazing, it was so cool, best
experience in the mtc by far was this week, with this boise trip and the fact
that an apostle came and spoke to us on Tuesday, the night before me and Elder
BAker had to leave for the airport at like 4 in th emorning, but Elder Andersen
came and talked, and he said some really cool things, which inspired me to
becopme abetter missionary. But seriously, the trip to Boise was so fun, I
actually went with 6 other elders, 5 of which(including my companion) are going
to the same smission in Mexico as me, and I get along awesome with all of them,
so oit would be cool to be their companions I think. It was so cool though
talking to people on the airplane, I got to go on 4 different flights, in two
days, I''m kind of plane sick haha, because my ears pop funny and stuff, but it
was still so cool and so surprising to go all the way to Boise just to get my
visa. Oh yeah, one of the coolest things was that we were in the airport at
Oakland and we decided to buy jamba juices, so we were waiting in line and
someone comes up to us(he was a member) and says here, this one is on me and he
gave us 24$ to spend on jamba juice, which was awesome, the mtc actually gave us
30$ money for food, but we didn''t even need all of it, because of this nice
awesome memberin Oakland, and also because of those wonderful senior
missionaries. Missionaries really do receive blessings, and lots of people know
who you are. Tons of members in the airport came up to us and asked us where we
were going for our missions or if we were going home, it was kind of funny when
we had to tell them the whole story, that we actuallly were going back to the
mtc, that we just needed to get our visas... but it was cool with all the
members that talked to us on the planeand at the airport. I really wish I could
tell you everything, but I don''t have sufficient time, so I'll just keep on
babbling on and on about the Boise trip. But to answer one of your questions
real fast, yes I do sing in the mtc choir and I love it, music is a great way to
invite the spirit and to feel great. My spanish is improving, and it was weird
trying to explain the book of mormon in english for me, because I have gotten so
used to using it in spanish and teaching in spanish, some of the english gospel
words are starting to disappear from my mind and get replaced by spanish ones
hahaha, but yes this trip was so fun,m it was weird coming back to the mtc, I
feel like I should be going to the field right now, I''m ready(except for my
spanish) but it was so exciting, staying with the Boise missionaries was cool
because I got to watch them plan and talk about their day, and then they gave me
advice and talked to me about their mission and it was just great. Oh and by
the way, the plan that we flew in was Southwest Airlines, it was cool, it was
funny when I first got the airport thrugh, because of all the music and news
around me and stuff, but we met some aweome people, like a guy named roy who is
19 who came up to us because he had been ta king the discussions in texas, he is
actuallly getting baptized soon, but he came up to us and talked to us about how
he appreciated us and stuff, and it was so fun and so spiritually uplifting, I
love being a missionary! I can''t wait to get in the field. This is the last
week of the mtc for me, but I am going to make the most out of it, and I''m
going to learn a lot, one thing that will be hard for me is to say goodbye to
one of our ""investigators'' here at the mtc because it feels so real, and we
have actually became good friends, and we only have one more lesson with him
today, which I am excited for , because he already had his ""baptisim'', at
least there would have been one if we were in the field... it still feels so
real though, but I was so happy to teach him yesterday, and I am loving
everything right now about being a missionary, i still miss yo u guys and would
love to hear from you soon, but I am 100 percent focused and am going to do my
best to deliver the message of the atonement of jesus Christ to all the world.
It was crazy having the layover all the way in Oakland, but it was awesome, I
got to get some real infield experience, one guy I thought would accept the book
of mormon, but he said he wasn''t interested, I was sad inside because I know
what happpiness the book of mormon can bring into someone''s life and I want to
share it with everyone! But we had a great conversation and maybe I planted a
seed, who knows. Man, time flies by though, that trip was so fast, we left
wednesday morning for oakland-boise, and then thursday morning, we left for
boise-oakland-salt lake. It was so weird driving along I-15 back to the mtc
though, seeing all the billboards and all the changes and stuff, but I know that
I shouldn''t worry about all that, because my purpose is to invite others to
come unto Christ, and not to have any other worries about anything. It was a
nice trip though, I learned a lot, and I learned alot from Elder Andersen, who
spoke abou tthe importance of following the prophet, and that if we do follow
the prophet, we will receive blessings and be protected as missionaries. I hope
things are going well at home and I'm sorry I was''nt able to anser all of your
questions, but I just wanted to talk about my trip to Oakland/Boise. WE got to
drive by the boise temple. it''s almost done and also go into the mission home
in Boise. I had so much fun there, I get a little airplane sick, but esta
bien. I also can now pretty much start to think in spanish, sometimes I''ll
speak spanish when I should have spoken english, like at the airport, I spoke in
spanish when I ordered my food at the jamba juice(we went twice) and it was
cool. Still, my favorite part was all the members who came up and said how much
they appreciated my choice to serve a mission, it was such an uplifting
experience for me to know, that even though I faced rejection from some people
in the airport, that I am not alone. That I always have the spirit to be with
me, that''s one thing that Elder Andersen talked about, we have to do our duty
and we will find all happiness and blessings that we need. I have been keeping
my journal updated, I actually am almost done with one! I bought another one in
the mtc, and will probably get another one before I leave, it is so cool out
here in the mtc, and just going to boise was so awesome, I''m sorry I can''t
tell you everything, and if my thoughts are really scattered and stuff, but
there is so much I wish to say, but yes, i will be goign to Mexico on time and
will be calling from the airport that monday morning at like 7:30 or something
like that, so enjoy your day and remember me in your thoughts and prayers
Love, Elder Limb
p.s. thanks for the letters and everything don''t forget to
write
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Things are going great in the MTC, I still have two more weeks left, but I
want to go out into the field and share what I have learned and put myself to
the test. Don't worry mom, I've been taking vitamins, and drinking plenty of
water to prepare my immune system for Mexico. We got a new teacher in my class
this week because my old one had to quit so he could go to school, but our new
teacher is from Mexico City, so she was able to tell me a lot about the culture,
I'm beyond excited for the oppurtunity to teach and work with the people down
there. I already feel a connection to them and just can't wait to serve them.
This week, our mission district got smaller... 3 of the elders who were in our
district had to transfer to the MTC in Bogota, colombia. It was sad to see them
go, but happy because I know that they will be great in their missions down in
Colombia. It's so different only haveing 6 missionaries in my district now, but
it's still good, I have learned so much from them. This week, my district made
a new goal that on Martes(Tuesday) and Jueves(Thursday) that we would speak only
in spanish the whole day. It actually went pretty good, I was able to make it
through, I can understand a lot more spanish than I can speak though, but I'm
getting there, slowly but surely. My speaking abilities are slow, but is
progressing and starting to get faster and more confident. Thanks so much for
sending that package, It was perfect, I should be good on everything now, these
next two weeks are going to go by fast, but I'll try to enjoy every second that
I can while I'm still here in the MTC. It's been sad yet happy to see other
missionaries in my zone leave for their missions, it's weird too now because now
my district is one of teh more senior districts in the zone, I actually feel
like I understand pretty much everything about the MTC and stuff. It's been so
much fun teaching progressing investigators here, it's different here than it
will be in the field, but it's still the same in a way. Me and Elder Baker have
two baptisimal dates for two investigators who we havebeen teaching, it just
feel sso aweome to see these investigators progress and change their lives
because of what you have taught them. How are things going back at home? You
can still use www.dearelder.com to write me while I'm here in the MTC for
two more weeks, but after that it will be more difficult to get letters to me in
Mexico. I haven't heard about the status of my Visa, I wont worry yet though,
but if it doesn't go through they'll let me call home to tell you guys. This
week has been so awesome though, because we got to teach each other. I had the
oppurtunity to play the role of an investigator, it's different but good
practice because you get to think of every possible problem that the
investigator might have and it makes it easier to solve when/if you run into
that problem in the mission field or with your investigator. The devotionals
have been awesome, as usual, but one of the most aweome things that happened
this Sunday was that we got to watch an old talk given by Elder Bednar at the
MTC last Christmas, called the Character of Christ. This talk was literally
life changing for me, it made me realize that I need to turn outward and help
others all the time and stop worrying about my own concerns so much, I need to
put the investigators needs first, because that is my responsibility as a
missionary. This is exaclty what the SAvior did, he always looked to help
others, Elder Bednar told some pretty cool stories about this too, it made me
really commit to always think of others first, the words he used were so
powerful, and the spirit I felt was so strong. Another really totally mind
blowing quote that he said went something like this: "Who you are is far more
important than whatever it is you will say" If you think about it, it is so
true though, especially in the mission field. Investigators can only know of
the truth of your message by the witness they receive through the holy spirit,
you have to live all of the commandments that you are teaching so that they can
feel the power of your testimony. Words without spirit behind them are not very
powerful, and the investigators will be able to feel the spirit of your words,
if you don't have teh spirit or live all the mission rules, the investigator
will be able to feel that, and they will be less likely to want to hear more
about the church, so i commmiteed myself to never have that happen, I committed
myself to always live every rule, because I truly want the people of Mexico City
to be able to feel of my love of the gospel and the savior and of my love of the
people of Mexico City, I'm so excited to share what I know to be true, I can't
wait! I have learned so much this week, it;'s difficult to try and explain it
all in one email, but I just have one more totally lifechanging quote that I
want to share: "Don't worry about how inexperienced you are or think you are,
but think about what , with the Lord's help you can become"-President Eyring.
I really love this qutoe, I found it and realized taht it was an answer to my
prayers, the Lord has already helped me more than I even realize in becoming a
good missionary, and although I am far from perfect, as long as i do my best and
obey every rule, I know that the Lord will be able to help me to be an
instrument in his hands in bringing others to the restored gospel of Jesus
Christ. It's so awesome when I find other missionaries from Mexico, I've found
like 7 this week alone, and they have told me about the culture and stuff, its
going to be different, but very fun. I'm also starting to like talking in
spanish more than english jajaja, cuando I get back from mi mission, it will be
difficult for me to talk in english, already I've noticed that my grammer in
english has gotten worse, but that's not important, just a little side note.
What is more important is that I am trying my best, and although there have been
times when I have been frustrated with teh language or with others, I've learned
that the Lord cares about me and has provided all the resources that I need to
overcome any obstacle in my path, I know it will be difficult and hard work, but
I honestly can say that I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. I've never felt
this much joy before, to be able to share the happiness of the gospel with
others so that they can have the same blessings that I enjoy, that of an eternal
family and the blessing of the atonement. It's been different because one of
our teachers is on vacation right now, so we always have a different teacher
everyday, but it's been good because I've been able to learn different teaching
methods and ways to learn spanish and stuff and I love it so much, i've also got
to teach different investigators, which has been awesome, well my time's just
about up, I hope to hear from you guys before I leave for Mexico at least one
more time, I love letters, they truly make a day go by so much better, hasta
luego
Love,
Elder Limb
Things are going great in the MTC, I still have two more weeks left, but I
want to go out into the field and share what I have learned and put myself to
the test. Don't worry mom, I've been taking vitamins, and drinking plenty of
water to prepare my immune system for Mexico. We got a new teacher in my class
this week because my old one had to quit so he could go to school, but our new
teacher is from Mexico City, so she was able to tell me a lot about the culture,
I'm beyond excited for the oppurtunity to teach and work with the people down
there. I already feel a connection to them and just can't wait to serve them.
This week, our mission district got smaller... 3 of the elders who were in our
district had to transfer to the MTC in Bogota, colombia. It was sad to see them
go, but happy because I know that they will be great in their missions down in
Colombia. It's so different only haveing 6 missionaries in my district now, but
it's still good, I have learned so much from them. This week, my district made
a new goal that on Martes(Tuesday) and Jueves(Thursday) that we would speak only
in spanish the whole day. It actually went pretty good, I was able to make it
through, I can understand a lot more spanish than I can speak though, but I'm
getting there, slowly but surely. My speaking abilities are slow, but is
progressing and starting to get faster and more confident. Thanks so much for
sending that package, It was perfect, I should be good on everything now, these
next two weeks are going to go by fast, but I'll try to enjoy every second that
I can while I'm still here in the MTC. It's been sad yet happy to see other
missionaries in my zone leave for their missions, it's weird too now because now
my district is one of teh more senior districts in the zone, I actually feel
like I understand pretty much everything about the MTC and stuff. It's been so
much fun teaching progressing investigators here, it's different here than it
will be in the field, but it's still the same in a way. Me and Elder Baker have
two baptisimal dates for two investigators who we havebeen teaching, it just
feel sso aweome to see these investigators progress and change their lives
because of what you have taught them. How are things going back at home? You
can still use www.dearelder.com to write me while I'm here in the MTC for
two more weeks, but after that it will be more difficult to get letters to me in
Mexico. I haven't heard about the status of my Visa, I wont worry yet though,
but if it doesn't go through they'll let me call home to tell you guys. This
week has been so awesome though, because we got to teach each other. I had the
oppurtunity to play the role of an investigator, it's different but good
practice because you get to think of every possible problem that the
investigator might have and it makes it easier to solve when/if you run into
that problem in the mission field or with your investigator. The devotionals
have been awesome, as usual, but one of the most aweome things that happened
this Sunday was that we got to watch an old talk given by Elder Bednar at the
MTC last Christmas, called the Character of Christ. This talk was literally
life changing for me, it made me realize that I need to turn outward and help
others all the time and stop worrying about my own concerns so much, I need to
put the investigators needs first, because that is my responsibility as a
missionary. This is exaclty what the SAvior did, he always looked to help
others, Elder Bednar told some pretty cool stories about this too, it made me
really commit to always think of others first, the words he used were so
powerful, and the spirit I felt was so strong. Another really totally mind
blowing quote that he said went something like this: "Who you are is far more
important than whatever it is you will say" If you think about it, it is so
true though, especially in the mission field. Investigators can only know of
the truth of your message by the witness they receive through the holy spirit,
you have to live all of the commandments that you are teaching so that they can
feel the power of your testimony. Words without spirit behind them are not very
powerful, and the investigators will be able to feel the spirit of your words,
if you don't have teh spirit or live all the mission rules, the investigator
will be able to feel that, and they will be less likely to want to hear more
about the church, so i commmiteed myself to never have that happen, I committed
myself to always live every rule, because I truly want the people of Mexico City
to be able to feel of my love of the gospel and the savior and of my love of the
people of Mexico City, I'm so excited to share what I know to be true, I can't
wait! I have learned so much this week, it;'s difficult to try and explain it
all in one email, but I just have one more totally lifechanging quote that I
want to share: "Don't worry about how inexperienced you are or think you are,
but think about what , with the Lord's help you can become"-President Eyring.
I really love this qutoe, I found it and realized taht it was an answer to my
prayers, the Lord has already helped me more than I even realize in becoming a
good missionary, and although I am far from perfect, as long as i do my best and
obey every rule, I know that the Lord will be able to help me to be an
instrument in his hands in bringing others to the restored gospel of Jesus
Christ. It's so awesome when I find other missionaries from Mexico, I've found
like 7 this week alone, and they have told me about the culture and stuff, its
going to be different, but very fun. I'm also starting to like talking in
spanish more than english jajaja, cuando I get back from mi mission, it will be
difficult for me to talk in english, already I've noticed that my grammer in
english has gotten worse, but that's not important, just a little side note.
What is more important is that I am trying my best, and although there have been
times when I have been frustrated with teh language or with others, I've learned
that the Lord cares about me and has provided all the resources that I need to
overcome any obstacle in my path, I know it will be difficult and hard work, but
I honestly can say that I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. I've never felt
this much joy before, to be able to share the happiness of the gospel with
others so that they can have the same blessings that I enjoy, that of an eternal
family and the blessing of the atonement. It's been different because one of
our teachers is on vacation right now, so we always have a different teacher
everyday, but it's been good because I've been able to learn different teaching
methods and ways to learn spanish and stuff and I love it so much, i've also got
to teach different investigators, which has been awesome, well my time's just
about up, I hope to hear from you guys before I leave for Mexico at least one
more time, I love letters, they truly make a day go by so much better, hasta
luego
Love,
Elder Limb
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