This week was full of lots fun and crazy things!

Hey everyone, Wow this week was a long week full of lots of fun and crazy things! I had food poisioning last week and I was in bed almost all day Monday and Tuesday. We were finally able to go out and teach on Wednesday and I am now finally feeling all better! It was a horrible sickness and I am just glad that it is over now. Arturo seemed to be doing pretty well this week. He has continued working to not drink, but I know that it is super hard on him. The other day we had an appointment to go visit with him and we arrived at his house and his son was there and told us that Arturo had left to go to Guadalajara for awhile, but didn't tell us exactly how long. We ended up visiting his mom a couple of days later and we asked her why he left and she said for his own benefit and didn't tell us much more. We think that he is probably in some sort of rehabilitation center but they haven't told us that directly. Whatever he is doing and wherever he is though I really hope that it is for his benefit and that it helps him. It was just kind of a bummer because they didn't tell us anything and we don't know when he will be returning! Other than that on Friday night Elder Raya, one of the Assistants to the President called me and told me that I have been selected to train a new elder for the next two transfers. Honestly it didn't surprise me to much but it was a little unexpected for the timing. I am excited to be able to train a new elder and we will be staying in our area of Tizapan. My son (that is our language for the elder whom we train) is Elder Muñoa from Chiapas. He is 18 and seems really excited to share the gospel. I hope that I can do a good job training him how to be a hardworking and successful missionary! I hope you will all pray for me! I need all the help I can get in doing this. Honestly I think it is a great blessing and responsibility and I just hope that I do a good job teaching him and being a good example! On Saturday night we had a miracle happen. We went to go visit with Hna. Lorena to let Elder Menchu tell her goodbye, but she was visiting her mom in Guadalajara. It surprised us though because Francisco, her husband, invited us in to talk to him. He told us that he is ready for us to teach him the lessons so that he can be baptized. Honestly it was a huge surprise because before he pretty much didn't show interest in our lessons. He told us though that he has felt that for a long time God has been trying to talk to him and that he is ready to change his life! I am super excited to start working with him along side with Elder Muñoa because I was at first worried to train an elder here with so many challenges in finding people to teach! Really I know it was an answer to my prayers! I just want to share with you my testimony of the work of the Lord. I know that missionary work is His work because it is helping Him with His work of "bring[ing] to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39). I know that He is preparing the way for His children to accept the Gospel. I am so thankful that I have this wonderful opportunity to work alongside Him in the greatest work on earth. Honestly I have a sure testimony that this is His work and He guides us in it. "Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life." -3 Nephi 5:13 I hope you all have a great week! Love you all and take care! Love, Elder Mitchell J Condie

I have food poisoning, but we survived the Hurricane okay!

Hey Everyone! This last week was a pretty good week until last night. I got food poisioning from some chinese food that some members gave us. I feel horrible today. Thankfully though it was just me and Elder Menchu didn't get sick. I hope that within the next couple days I get feeling better because I don't feel great right now. Other than the food poisioning it was a pretty normal week. We traveled a lot in the last week. First on Sunday we went to Ajijic for our district conference. It went really well we had the theme "To the Rescue" it was focused on working with the less-active and inactive members more. I really hope that it helps us to better work with the members here to re-activate those who are not actively coming. Then on Monday we had a trip to Guadalajara with the Eye Doctor, and that went pretty well except that we returned home so late. Then on Tuesday we went to Ajijic again for our District Meeting. Thankfully we don't have to travel this week until Friday to Ajijic for our Zone Meeting. The Hurricane Patricia a week ago didn't actually do very much damage where we are at, so that means we didn't really get any service opportunities at all. I am thankful though that it wasn't worse because everyone was expecting a huge disaster. It did cool down the weather last week and it rained a couple of more days. I am hoping that the weather stays a bit cooler, but at the same time last night with my fever I was freezing and I don't have extra blankets. Overall we are doing pretty good here. Next week are transfers and we really don't know what will happen. In a way I hope that Elder Menchu and I get to stay together again, but I don't know if that will happen, we already have three transfers together. Anyway whatever happens I am sure it will all end up fine. We haven't found any new investigators still. We have been searching a lot still, but they just haven't shown up for us yet! We were trying to visit with one lady for like six weeks and it just never worked out and now she is in the U.S. so we lost that chance. Hno. Arturo is pretty much our only investigator that we have at the moment. He is struggling quite a bit with his addiction. For like three weeks he didn't drink but then he relapsed a couple of weeks ago and has been struggling since then. Sometimes it is frustrating trying to help him because he has only come to church once and doesn't read in the Book of Mormon much. We have tried to help him to learn that those two things along with prayer are the keys to having strength to overcome! Hopefully we can help him to keep his commitments so that he actually can progress. We have still been trying to teach Leslie (Lorena's Niece). She is really smart and knows a lot about the gospel (missionaries visited their family before). She has a desire to do what is right and to live the commandments. The biggest challenge with her is that she goes to school in the afternoon and we only really get to teach her on Saturdays. She is only thirteen, but she is super smart. The other challenge is that her mom let's her listen to us, but I think it will be hard trying to convince her to let Leslie be baptized. We are going to keep working with her though! I just want to tell you all that I know that the Gospel is true. I know that God loves each and every single one of us! I have truly been able to see the love that God feels for each and every single one of His children through my service as a missionary. I want so badly for all to have the same joy and happiness that I feel through living the gospel! I am so thankful for this opportunity I have to share it with everyone else. I know that He is guiding and directing this work and I have learned more to trust in Him. I hope you will all trust in Him as well I know it will bless all of your lives! I love all of you and I hope you have a great week! Take care! Thank you for all of your continued prayers and love towards me! Love, Elder Mitchell J Condie