Cookie dough, new investigator family, ward conference

May 19, 2014

There has been pure freezing cold water this week. So every morning I iron my garments to get them nice and toasty.

This week we made the cookie dough, and it was a glorious, glorious experience. Thank you mom for being a great mom.

This week was a bit tricky, because pretty much none of the investigators were home all week, so there was lots o' working with less active members this week, but that is all right.

We had a very spiritual lesson with a family yesterday - a family with two kids, parents are not married. They have tons of desire to go to church and to get to the celestial kingdom. So we taught them about the law of chastity and that those cats need to get married. We went with one of my favorite members to teach with, and the lesson was stellar. The investigators participated a ton, and actually understood, (the majority of the people just ignore Gods commandments). We´ve got tons of hope going into them so they can keep on coming to church get married and baptized.

Things were a bit rough with Eduardo this week, again..... He re-found a job, for the 3700251202th time this month, but I think that this one is more stable. We went to bring him to church Sunday morning and his face was crazy swollen, as if someone had jammed a loaf of bread into his cheek and his temple. He doesn't know what happened, just that he woke up and it was good and SWOLL. woo.

We had ward conference this week, which was super sweet. Our stake president and his counselors came, and shaped up the ward a bit. It is a bit frustrating that everyone waits for a royal planch from the stake pres, but at least they learned some things. Also we were able to get a ton of less active members to go to church which was goody good.

Elder Mar and I are super well. He is a stellar elder and I like working with him a lot. It is super fun to train and we is way good killer friends. I think I made him mad this week, because I wouldn't go to the store because we were going to be late to get home, but it is alllllllright. 

All is super grand, and Mexico toasty warm.

Pokemon Squirtle.

Mother's Day Skype 5/11/2014

Here are three 2-minute videos of our Skyping with Oli.

The people here look for every excuse to get drunk, mothers day was a day full of plastered children of god.

We have been visiting a few of the past investigators, in the last couple weeks, three of them are investigating the church once again, but once again to our surprise, every single one of them lives with their boyfriend or girlfriend, so that makes it al a mess, again.

Talking with you guys yesterday was the happiest, you all look like 1000000 bucks (that is a million).

My companion asked me how to make tea this week. I explained that after you get the water hot, you put the bag of tea in the water, and wait until it doesn't burn you. we are all learning lots together.

Mom sent me dark chocolate and I don't know if there has ever been a more holy substance that has entered into my mouth in the past few weeks.

You cats already know that all is well because we talked, yesterday.

I Love this gospel and more than anything that we can share it with the whole world. Every day I am blown away by the miracles that God gives. And all the ways that we can see and feel his love

Love you all tons.

have weeks that are the best ones YAY

Mole & Veggies, Volleyball, Gossip, Package Received

HOWDY. Partners

This week was a good one, all went well. I bought some mole and made it, and put it on a carrot, cucumber, tomato, and cheese, and it was tasty good stuff.

This week was good for us. Things in Eduardo's life is crazy difficult right now. Everything with his girlfriend/wife is just a mess, and she is quite possibly one of the most miserable persons on the planet. But we will get there. He lost his job again, but then found a new one. Pretty much things are going as a fat man on a trampoline. They go really high, and when they hit the mat, they go really low, then higher, then lower. Hopefully all well get caught up in one of the highs.

Today we had a zone activity, and we played some volleyball. Sister Taylor played volleyball her whole life, and whooped our butts. It was super funny. I got sunburnt (mom is going to hate me). 

Right now the whole ward complains a lot about our bishop, the missionaries have become the new source of gossip, because everyone just unleashes on the bishop when the missionaries, get into town. We try to help everyone love one another, but lots of times they do not want to love one another, unless the others love them first. We teach them what Jesus taught, and they don't apply it. (Be teachable people).

This week we had a zone conference, and I got a package. It was the most glorious thing in the whole wide world - loaded with chocolates and goodies, and socks. I love my new socks. Also the painting from noah z j is super great. Also I loved the photos from Xanders and Ari's wedding. Honestly, everyone looked absolutely stunning, and the photos turned out stellar. 

Not too much has gone on this week, but all is well. I love you all 1 ton (2000lbs)(lots).

Read your scriptures, do your prayers, serve the other people that are not as blessed as you are.

elder hULME (all the peeps here say elder hulk becasue of the H U L)

********* Info for mothers day. We will be calling through skype on SUNDAY, May 11. I will be calling at 3pm, Mexico time. (Everyone runs late so please don't go nuts if I call a bit later). I will dig up my old skype account from Christmas and we will do it the same. I'M EXCITED TO SEE YOU KIDS.

Elder De Jesus, he gets it done

Elder Gonzalez, one of the best

The zone as of this week

Elder Mar and Elder McClellan (from Pocatello and goes home Monday)

Baptism postponed, "You are God?", McLoving Abinidi, carrot/walnut yogurt

Monday was probably one of the trickiest days of my life. We were absolutely estatic, because we had E.'s baptismal interview all scheduled. On Monday, we had to have the interview with one of the counselors of President Camarillo. Everyone got to the chapel on time and all was well. We were so pumped, because he is doing so well, going to church, and reading a ton of his Book of Mormon (about to finish Helaman).  In the interview, they decided to postpone the baptism for another two months. So pretty much that was a rough night for me, and if you ask my companion, I was a wreck.

Luckily, on Wednesday, we all had our personal interviews with President Camarillo. Pretty much, the dude is one of my all time favorites in the whole world. I love that man so much, and he helped me out a ton. At the end of the interview we were chatting and I told him thanks, because he had helped me a lot. (He always talks to me half in english and half in spanish, because he likes to practice) and he said "I am glad". But his accent is hard to understand, and I thought he said, "I am God." I questioned him "You are God?" because that is what I heard. Needless to say, it was funny and awkard, but all is well.

Today we had to go to the mission offices, because Elder Mar is in his 12 weeks training, so we were on the buses all day and there is no time to write stuff.

Read the Book of Mormon lots. I blew myself away, because I was studying the life of Abinidi in Mosiah, and there was tons of stuff that I had never noticed before and I was McLoving it.

I bought a very delicious homemade yogurt, that is carrot and walnut flavor. It has carrots and walnuts and we are friends.

All is well, I find life ever so lovely because Elder Mar and I are such good pals - it really makes a huge difference, and time is flying by too quickly. Also I learned that Elder Mar has been a bit shelterd in his life. I taught him how to clean a bathroom for the first time, and we have plans to make pancakes. He has never done either of those two things.

I came here to serve God, and that is all I want to do right now. I am loving it here in Mexico and I love you guys even more, I pray for every single one of you on the daily. 

Realize that the gospel has the things to answer our questions and doubts and what not, but we have to search it all out.

Love you all tons

Elder Hulme.

SON.

Shrimp octopus cocktail, bounce house, King Benjamin's grand speech, large iguana

April 21, 2014
This week was a killer one for food. Especially on Friday, I think it was Friday. For our lunch / dunch appointment we ate molé. My body has made this rule:  I wait until I am nice and full, and then I usually eat double.... It was mole oaxaqueño, which I  don't like as much as poblano, but it was tasty tasty.

Then we went with and had a lesson with Eduardo, and his dad made us the tastiest hot shrimp cocktail. It had shrimp, octopus, avocado, tomato, cilantro and other herbs, and it was so tasty I wanted to cry.

This week was a good one, Eduardo is doing super well, but his wife is about the most awful creature. (I should be nicer, but it is hard.) All she does is cause problems in his life. I don't fully understand the situation, but when Eduardo is with her, she makes him sad, for no good reason.

Yesterday Elder Mar and I gave talks in sacrament meeting. I was asked to talk about why the sacrament reminds us of the atonement. It was a really easy topic, and I liked studying it. I love how the mission has made it super easy to prepare a pretty good talk in 45 minutes.

Mexico is getting really really toasty warm, and it has also been quite humid lately. We do our fair share of sweating.

Here in Mexico they don't celebrate Easter, but they have other crazy traditions. They have semana santa, or holy week, in which they have some wack job traditions, but they just use every excuse to get drunk. Which makes for interesting missionary work. Also when parents and all their friends want to get drunk, but everyone has 4 kids, they just rent a huge blow up bounce house, and plop it in the middle of the street so the children don't interrupt the intoxification.

Elder Mar still eats a lot, but only at night right before bed. Last night was yogurt, 2 sandwiches, a banana milkshake, granola, and fanta soda. He honestly doesn't do anything that bugs me, except he never cleans up after himself, but I have learned to clean up after all my companions because none of them do.

Right now I am reading in Mosiah, when King Benjamin is giving his grand speech. Honestly I don't know If there are chapters of the Book of Mormon that I love more.

Last night we taught some investigators how to do a family home evening. It doesn't work out so well when the people teaching didn't really do family home evenings growing up, but we made it work.

I sure love missionary work, and I sure love you all so much. I have some really good photos to hook you cats up with, so be on the lookout.

Hulme

Elder Hulme, Elder Rey

Elder Rey and I had divisions, and we traded ties, and I draped it upon my brow, and it has bikes.

The family of eduardo captured us a large iguana, it took me a minute to be able to touch it,
but i did it.  i did it guys. elder mar did as well.

Chinese buffet, ceramics

April 14, 2014

Coolest ceramic stuff in Tonala. It costs a ton of money.

Add caption

We had an interesting experience with an investigator who is a Jehova's Witness. We were talking about their church after the lesson, and the LDS member said, if the Jehova's Witnesses had priesthood power, I'd be one of them. It was one of the funnier things I have heard in a good while.

This week had its fair share of ups and downs. Big down, The family of five is passing through some major problems right now, in which they are without work and searching for it all day, and when you have a family of five, and you are living day to day, every day gets harder. So pretty much they have told us to give them a lot of space, which was probably the most heartbreaking thing in the world. I felt like I had just been dumped by a girl - hard...

BIG UP. Last week, after Eduardo's wife left him, and we had a lesson with him, we gave him a blessing of comfort that everything would be alright. The next day he found new work in which he doesn't work on Sundays and he finishes working at 3pm every day. There is probably not a man I love more than him in the mission, (I will send a photo, he does not look happy, but he is!!!) He came to church yesterday, and bore his testimony. It was powerful.

Elder Hulme, Mini Eduardo, Eduardo, Elder Mar

Little Eduardo. Cutest kid.

There is a guy who helps us out a ton in the ward named Ivan Diaz Pacheco. He is the best. His wife lives in Indiana, and he lives here. He helps us out a ton coming with us to appointments and is super funny. He is a convert and I love his guts. 

Me, Rudi, HNO Ivan Diaz

Elder Mar and I are super good. The kid eats a ton in the night. Last night he ate 2 sandwiches, 1 cup of noodles, 1 mango, some orange juice, some little candies, and something else. But I like him lots. We don't have a ton in common, but we get along great, have a good time, and he likes working hard. Also, he runs with me in the mornings which is grand.

I am ever so jealous of your Oregon trip. It seems like you guys do tons of trips together these days. I like that and envy that. But I am glad you got to have fun. Also, I think I like reading now, ever since the mission where you read and study for 3-4 hours every day, you learn to like it or hate it. I like it lots now, and want to read cool books some day, when they are approved.

Today we went to the Chinese buffet to eat. It was not very good. But what is better than a small Chinese lady speaking English? A small Chinese lady speaking Spanish.

Glad to hear that all is well.

Things to do.

Buy your preach my gospels, because it is now commandment, because it came from an apostle. study it.

Also your scriptures are important.

Also your prayers.

Have the best weeks ever. Love you all tons. and tons.

E.Hulme

Tortas ahogadas, 1st week with Elder Mar in Tonala, Conference, sweat is abundant

April 7, 2014

One of the foods that is native to Jalisco (the state) is Tortas ahogadas. Or drowned sandwiches. They are nuts tasty. I have had them before, but today was a good day to write about them. They take your sandwich, put it in a bowl sort of thing, put a lot of onion, and a special super-easy-to-make tomato soup-like sauce and literally drown it. The beauty of it all is they use a nice bread that is pretty tough, so when you drown it, it all just comes out tasty as can be, WITH, half a liter of mexican coke, you are good for the day. That is what I ate today.

Fresh out of the womb of the MTC. On Tuesday Elder Mar, from Veracruz Mexico was greeted here into Tonala. He is super great, and is not afraid to work hard with me. I imagine with every new elder there is tons of having to teach them the rules that they don't know and stuff like that, but he is very open to obeying all the rules. He gets really stinky really quickly, but that is alright because we love him. He is very very open to sharing, and really kind. The only problem I have run into is he mumbles everything into 1 long word. If he were to say. ¿a qué horas salimos para ir a la capilla ? it sounds like ¿okaoraslimosa lucupiya? So i am having to listen very, very intently. But all is well. He is 19 years old, and eats mayonnaise like a wolf.

Conference was super killer. I only fell asleep for about 17 minutes in total, a little bit in both of the morning sessions. It was really great because I watched every session in English, except for the priesthood session. I understand everything in Spanish, but let's be real, Boyd K. Packer should sound as crusty as he is. (not meant to be harsh, just reality). I enjoy how pretty much all the talks on Saturday were directed to the youth. I hope that a lot of the youth can realize that if they don't shape up right now, they´s a be in big trouble. I really really loved Elder Bednars talk about carrying around a spiritual load, and that we should not worry so much about the things that do not matter. and that we need to push through all the loads we have. Also Pres Uchtdorfs Sunday morning. Really I was loving Sunday morning more than everything else, but they were all really good. I took a ton of notes but I forgot them in the house, so the next week I will throw some more notes in. EVERYONE FOLLOW THE INVITATION OF THE ONE ELDER AND GET A PREACH MY GOSPEL AND STUDY IT.

This week was a bit tough for the Pacheco family and Eduardo. Lets just say that the lord is hastening his work, but unfortunately the devil is as well. Yesterday Eduardo's spouse left him, and I have never felt so bad for a guy. I don't know if I know anyone one else who is so whole-hearted, and humble, but yet it seems like everything turns against him. We had a very spiritual lesson where we explained that if we are obedient to the commandments of God, after this life we will live in pure joy, so we should do everything we can to endure the trials and do everything to get to the celestial kingdom.

This week was really good with Elder Mar. Things are good here in Tonala. It is toasty warm and sweat is abundant.

I LOVE YOU GUYS

Elder Hulme.