110 degrees in Monterrey!!

And now, here is today’s letter.  Once again, sorry that I was late with last week’s but this letter gets you all caught up with the latest and greatest news from Monterrey. Again, Justin sounds great and is in good spirits—even playing pranks on his companion—brings back some very cool memories. Also, it sounds like Justin is developing some skills for a future as a wedding planner.  After next week, he’ll have welding, wedding planning, and rail car repair experience under his belt—and he’ll be able to do it all in Spanish.  In seriousness, he sounds amazing. I’m very, very proud of this son of mine.  As always, I wish you all the very best that life has to offer—lots of love in your lives and in your actions.  Until next week…Dan

Hola Familia y Amigos, ¿Como están? Well I am doing great! It is a hot day in Mexico today and the temperature will just keep rising. It already reached 110 degrees last Friday. Well it’s alright because we just drink a ton of water at that point. Well some pretty great news that I just found out and it is that Apostle Elder Bednar is coming in April to speak to our mission! I will get to meet him in person!!! I´m very excited! And pretty intimidated as well... haha But it will be a very neat and awesome experience. Also we have had a pretty good week this past week. Since we lost some investigators due to them being baptized, we have been doing a lot of contacting in the street. There have been some good people, but then there have been some interesting people. But we will keep looking for new great investigators. So something funny that happened between my companion and I is that we were contacting, but in the morning I cut out a picture of this lady´s face out of this coupon and taped it in his planner in the part where we write down new contacts info, well I forgot that I did that in the morning because I was expecting him to open it during morning study, but we contacted this guy and he opened it and there was the picture, and I almost died tried to hold in the laughter. Luckily the guy didn’t see us but that was a funny story in many that have happened on my mission. Seriously, I wish I could have time to write in my journal, all the things and stories that happen.

For the last couple weeks we have been wedding planners. Haha Juan and Paloma are now getting married and I am so excited for them. The plan is that they will have the paper filled out and Juan wants that Elder Perkes and I are the witnesses. And on Saturday, March 24th at 430, we will have their baptism, and then at 5, a wedding celebration right in the cultural hall. Pretty much the bishop and us put our heads together to do something very cool for them and I’m excited. Juan came to church yesterday in his new suit, he looks very changed and very sharp. I was very impressed when I saw the change in him. And he said that we are definitely invited when they enter the temple on March 24th 2013! I am soo, soo excited and it made my day when I heard that he wants to be at the temple to marry his wife. They are a young couple and like 2 weeks ago, they didn’t have a desire to really get married or change. But 2 weeks later, they have changed extremely. I am so proud of them and they are a great family with their 1 year old son. Well everything is going well, I hope everything is well with everyone over there and please keep in touch. I love you all and take care!

Elder Justin Powell

Hola Familia, ¿Como Están? Yo estoy muy bien. Todo aquí en Monterrey está muy bien y espero que ustedes estén haciendo bien. Pues, el trabajo es un poquito lento ahorita porque no tuvimos mucho éxito en encontrando investigadores de oro, pero tenemos un plan bueno para esta semana para tener mucho éxito.

¿Party Rock, huh? Hahahahaha! ¡Eso es muy chistoso! Yo estaba riendo (laughing) cuando yo leí ese parte! Pues yo necesito ir ahora pero yo espero que todo está bien y felicitaciones Joshua con tu decisión a estudiar psicología! Envía fotos y yo espero que yo puedo enviar fotos muy pronto! Probablemente la próximo semana. Te amo a ustedes muchísimo! Y también, está bien si yo envío un paquete en el verano? Lo que pasa es que no tengo mucho, mucho tiempo ahora para hacer eso. También yo sé que Kate y Noah necesitan algo de Navidad y ya es Marzo! Pero yo prometo que ellos van recibir algo muy chévere de México, y también todo ustedes. Gracias por su paciencia! Te Amo,

Elder Justin Powell

Translation:

Hello Family, how are you? I am great—everything here in Monterrey is great and I hope that you are all doing well also. Well, the work is a little bit slow right now because we were not able to find any “golden investigators” but we have a plan for next week to have a lot of success.

Party Rock, huh? Hahahaha!  That is so funny! I was laughing when I read that part in Dad’s letter (about Noah and Kate dancing to LMFAO on Just Dance).

Well, I need to go now but I hope that you are all doing well and congratulations Joshua on your decision to study psychology. Send me photos and I hope that I can send some to you soon—probably next week. I love you all so much! And also, is it OK if I wait until summer to send a package home? The problem is that I don’t have a whole lot of time to do this.  Also, I know that I owe Kate and Noah a Christmas gift and it’s already March! But I promise that they will receive something very cool from Mexico—also something for the rest of you. Thanks for your patience.

I love you,

Elder Justin Powell
(From Dan)  When I wrote to Justin, I told him about how Kate and Noah dance to LMFAO music on Just Dance, and also about how they love the song "Sexy and I know it".  I thought it would give him a laugh and sure enough! Cheers!

Leia Mais…

Justin performs and baptism and plans a wedding!

Once again, here is another letter from Justin and once again, Dad is late in posting it.  I’m so sorry—my time just flies away from me. In fact, I do well just making sure that I send Justin a letter each week.  I will try to do better in the future, OK?

This letter sounds great, in a couple of ways.  First, that Justin performed a baptism and is so excited about sharing Christ’s gospel. That is an amazing transformation that has taken place in him and I’m very proud.  Second, his Spanish is really coming along and I’m very impressed with him. And finally, he actually tried SEAFOOD!! And liked it. That just might be the greatest miracle of them all.  LOL! 

Well, enjoy the letter (as well as the newest one that I’m about to post) and blessings of peace and love and service in your lives. 

Dan

Hola Familia y Amigos!

How are all of you doing? Well I am doing great! These weeks just become a lot quicker and quicker with the work increasing. I can’t believe how fast the time is flying because it feels like I was just typing on this computer yesterday. The work is great here, the Spanish is getting a ton better and we are having a lot of success in my area. The biggest news is that I performed my first baptism yesterday. Her name is Brenda and she was sooo excited to be baptized and when I baptized her, she was sooo happy. It really made me happy because of the transformation we saw in her. Only 2 weeks and now she is going to be a strong member in this church. It’s so weird to look back on the history of people that are converted and the transformations. All we did was talk to Brenda in front of her house on the way to a lesson and now she is a faithful member of this church. That’s why it’s important that we all open our mouths and preach this gospel of Jesus Christ. Because what we learn is that there are people that God is preparing and that we will meet but all we need to do is open our mouths. But this doesn’t only happen to missionaries, this happens to everyone that has a testimony of this gospel. Everyone in this church has a responsibility to be a missionary and open their mouths to preach this gospel. And it really is special to think wow, all I did was open my mouth to preach and now she is where she is, with much happiness, just because I opened my mouth. Well that is what I learned this week. All the people are great here; they just love feeding us food. Haha.

One interesting story that happened is that my companion and I went to teach this family, Juan and Paloma with their 1 year old son. Juan and Paloma are not married and young, and they had really no desire to be married. Well Tuesday we went to teach about the family and how they can be together forever, and also about the blessings that families can receive in the temple. Well they were pretty happy with our lesson. We prayed that they would soften their hearts and decide to get married. Well the next day we went, and they broke a surprise for us. They set a date for their marriage and their baptism! And now Elder Perkes and I are wedding planners! Haha The whole ward is going to cook food, bring piñatas and we are going to have a party at the church. And Juan wants us to be the witnesses for the marriage. We also lent him a suit to use for the wedding. I am so excited for them! That little family will be complete!

Well I’ve got to go but be safe and good luck with everything! I love you all and write me some dear elders! I want to hear how everyone of you is doing! Oh and BTW, I am sorry if my English is getting sloppier, I am seriously forgetting my English because I am getting fluent in Spanish…haha Take care

Love,

Elder Powell

Hola Familia, ¿Como están? ¡Yo estoy muy bien! Yo fui al neumológico (lung specialist) y el dijo que yo estoy muy bien y que es un stress que yo no puedo controlar. Solamente yo necesito hacer ejercicios en las mañanas con más intensidad para que mis pulmones puedan trabajar duro. ¡Pero todo está muy bien! Este área es muy bueno, Me encanta donde yo estoy ahorita. ¿Cómo están Jack, Noah, Kate, Joshua, y Brianna? La misión está muy bien y el tiempo está volando muy rápido. Hay veces cuando yo siento un poquito triste como esta semana, nosotros estábamos contactando al lado de una casa que tenía música muy alta. Esta casa estaba tocando Hot N Cold- Kate Perry, y yo estaba pensando cuando Kate y Noah bailaron y que papi grabó en video este baile de ellos. jajaja Y que Jack bailó en frente de  la televisión cuando él estaba solo en la media noche! jajaja Y también hay veces cuando este pasa, pero toda está bien con mis ánimos y deseo para seguir adelante con este trabajo. Con las fotos, no sé que yo voy a hacer... Yo tengo muchos para enviar, pero no sé como yo puedo. I will let you know. La comida está muy buena! Yo estoy probando mucha comida, aun camarón me sabe bueno ahora! haha Cuídense bastante y los amo a ustedes muchísimo! Espero que todo esté perfecto con ustedes.

Elder Powell

Translation:  

Hello family, how are you?  I am very well.  I went to the lung specialist and he said that I am well and that it is a stress on my lungs that I can only control by doing more intense cardio exercises each morning so that my lungs will get stronger.  But, everything is great with me. My area is very nice and I love where I am a lot. How are Jack, Noah, Kate, Josh and Brianna?  My mission is going great and the time is flying by very fast. There are sometimes when I feel a little bit sad or homesick, for example like this week, we were tracting next to this house that had loud music playing and the song was Hot and Cold by Katy Perry.  I was remembering when Kate and Noah danced to this and Dad recorded it on video.  Haha! And then Jack was caught dancing in front of the TV when he thought he was alone.  Haha! And also, there are other times when this happens but everything is great with my desires to continue on in this work. Well, about pictures—I don’t know what I’m going to do…I have a lot of them to send, but I don’t know how I can. I will let you know.  The food is delicious and I am trying a lot of new things.  I even like shrimp now!  Haha! Take good care of yourselves—I love you all a ton. I hope that everything is perfect with you all.

Elder Powell

Leia Mais…

Justin's first baptism

And here is this week’s letter.  Justin has performed his first baptism and is doing great.  He is working hard and staying very busy and appears to be being obedient.  I’m so proud of this kid and can’t wait for his further adventures.  Please keep the letters going to him—I know that I ask this all the time, but it is a very nice boost to hear from home and I know that Justin would love all the letters that he can get.  Let’s take a moment from our busy lives and send him some love in letter form. 

Peace and love in your lives.

Hola Familia y Amigos,

How are you all doing? Well I am doing fantastic! I love my area and our investigators are great! And the people here are so great! The members are very good members who really want to serve just like us. Well I had my very first baptism yesterday! I was sooo excited! Her name is Josefina and she is a mother to a daughter who is a recent convert. It was such a spiritual experience because she is so shy and, but all the members in the ward were so welcoming and friendly to her as she entered into the ward family. And that´s the thing that I love about our ward here is that it is one big family and whoever enters into this family, is welcomed very warmly. So it is much easier to invite members to lessons with our investigators and the thing is, is that it’s not awkward between the investigator and the member. They become friends right away. Well Josefina is very excited to start being a member of this wonderful church and now she wants to continue and reach the temple. As missionaries, we are taught that our main goal is that all new converts can reach the temple, that our work with the investigators or new converts doesn´t stop at the moment when they are baptized. We must continue to push them until they reach the temple and become very firm members in this church. That’s why we teach so much about the family history to the investigators now. So Josefina now has her daughter and husband as members and now we are working with her other daughter and her boyfriend. They want to be baptized, but they need to married first. That is our challenge with them. We have another investigator named Brenda who is great! We contacted her briefly on the restoration, and she accepted a baptismal date for this coming Sunday. Our next appointment with her was very special because she was telling us that all about the beginning of the Book of Mormon and the history of the church, more information than what my companion and I know. She was pretty much teaching us some facts for a while! Haha. But I asked her yesterday if she’s ready for her baptism after she watched Josefina's, and she said that she is more than ready! Very strong member she will be. I´m excited for her and afterward, we will be working with her very large family who have some interest but first want to see Brenda´s change. Well I don´t have much time but I love you all sooo much and I miss you like crazy! But the time definitely flies on the mission! I have countless stories to tell you all when I get home! I wish I could have time to write them all, but a time will come when I will be home and then can tell you all my stories. Very special mission that I am in and I am grateful to be here. Yes it is hot here, but the people here are amazing. And the food is great as well!! Haha Keep in touch everyone! Love you all!

Elder Justin Powell

Leia Mais…

First letter home in Spanish

I’m very sorry that I’ve been a slacker in posting Justin’s letters these past two weeks.  I promise to do a better job in the future.

In this letter, Justin includes a note to his family that he wrote in Spanish and I’m posting it here to show just how well this youngster is doing in learning (or re-learning, as is the case) the language.  I’m very proud of him for putting in the work. 

It’s also great news that he’s been moved from the “front lines”, as it were, and is now in Monterrey.  I’m going to certainly rest much better now.

On to the letter…

Well Hello Everyone! How is everyone doing!? Well I’m doing pretty good! I´m in Monterrey right now and things are going very good! I´m in a new area called Lomas De Pedregal, Apadoca, Monterrey now with my new companion Elder Perkes! This place is right in the city and not like 4 hours away like Matamoros. I changed because of my breathing condition that I picked up in Matamoros near the sea. Well I went to 2 doctors now and both have a different theory and so now the mission president moved me because there is a hospital here with a lung specialist and I have an appointment with him tomorrow in downtown, Monterrey. Well I love my new area! Things are going very well here! My companion and I have so much in common and he´s from Logan, Utah. He´s been here for 1 year and a half and he´s been so helpful to me and a great example of a great hard working missionary! I have learned much more last week than during all the rest of my mission. I miss a lot of families in the Matamoros area though... There were a lot of great people over there. But this area is great and my confidence is a lot higher here—more than ever. And things are a lot calmer here as well! So don´t worry about safety and such. One thing that President Walker said that I will always remember is that he promised that nothing will happen if we are 100% obedient to the rules and with 100% diligence. He said nothing dangerous will happen to us and those were very powerful words and I really like what he said. Very assuring words and there are so many great people here. And the food is awesome! Oh and right now I can say that I am fluent in Spanish. Just some words, but I can converse with anyone now and understand completely. Well work is great, no baptisms yet but we have many on the way and so many investigators! So many loving people here and they are an awesome example to me. Well the weather has been cold as well and lots of rain! But things are great and I love you all! Please keep in touch and wow does time fly! Crazy how that happens! Congratulations Justin Basset on your mission call to McAllen, Texas! I have 2 great friends there that I met in the MTC. Great mission! Love you man and keep in touch! Take care and much love!

Elder Justin Powell

Hola Familia, ¿Como están ustedes? Yo estoy muy bien y me encanta mí nuevo área también. ¡Espero que ustedes estén muy bien! Gracias por los emails también, Suena que ustedes están muy bien y Papi, ¡tú necesitas tener cuidado también con su motocicleta! jajá. Pues mi nueva área es en la ciudad ahora y más cerca del hospital. Presidente Walker quería que yo estoy cerca del hospital para hacer examines y esas cosas. No se preocupe mucho sobre mis problemas con mi respiración porque yo estoy en manos buenas ahora con un hospital de los estados unidos. Yo estoy muy bien con las cosas yo tengo y gracias por la ayuda con mi carro. Yo espero que él puede pagar pronto porque él dijo que el va a pagar cuando enero termine. Y esta ciudad es muy bonita. ¡Me encantan todos los edificios y las montañas también! La comida es muy buena, pero yo tengo problemas en el baño ahora. Jajá Este pasa mucho. Jajá. Pues, cuidase mucho y gracias por recibir ese llamado de la Hermana Sandra. Ella quería que ustedes no preocupen mucho sobre las ballezeras y malas cosas porque solamente es entre la mala gente. Tenemos el espíritu guiando a nosotros y ese ayuda nosotros mucho. Gracias por su amor y ¡cuídense bastante!

(Translation)  Hello Family, how are you?  I am very well and I love my new area.  I hope that all of you are doing great! Thank you for the e-mails—it sounds like you are all great and Dad, you need to be careful on your motorcycle.  Haha! Well, my new area is in the city now and much closer to the hospital.  President Walker wanted  that I were close to the hospital so that I could go to my appointments and such.  Don’t worry now about my health problems in my lungs because now I’m in good hands with a U.S. hospital so close. I am doing really well and thanks for the help with my car. I hope that he can pay soon because he said that he would have it all paid off by the end of January.

This city is beautiful! I love all of the buildings and also the mountains.  The food is delicious but now I am having some issues with my stomach—Haha!  I guess this isn’t uncommon—Haha! Well, take care of yourselves and thank you for receiving  that phone call from Sister Sandra.  She wanted that none of you worry too much about the gun fights and other bad things because it was only happening between people involved in the drug wars.  We have the guidance of the Holy Spirit and this helps us a lot.  Thank you for your love and please take good care of yourselves.

Leia Mais…

Pics of Justin's last day before his mission

                                                                                                      

These pictures were taken on the day that Justin left for the MTC. My thanks to the very talented and generous Duston Todd for giving so freely of his time and talent in order to capture this great day.

Leia Mais…

New letter from Matamoros--8 February 2012

This week’s letter is here and all of the news from Matamoros is good.  Justin sounds like he is doing really well.  It’s fun to hear about his experiences and makes me remember my own.  I’m so proud of this kid of mine.

I hope that you are all doing well. Please keep writing to Justin—remember that using dearelder.com is still the best way and ensures that the letter get to him in about a week, which is far better than standard postal rates and times.  Missionaries love to hear from home so let’s keep this hard working boy happy.  

Blessings and peace to you all.

Hello Everyone! Well I am doing very well now. I feel accustomed to this place and everyone is sooo nice here. And my Spanish is pretty much fluent. Just some words/conjugations here and there. But everything is going well. Well I am still in Matamoros and there is still tons of work. This week flew by like a breeze! We were sooo busy. We taught many lessons and we also received quite a bit of new investigators. We had a zone conference this past Thursday as well and got the privilege to be taught by President Walker about how to contact more effectively. And then we went to work after that. And then on Saturday we went to the Temple! It was such a great experience because not many elder's get to visit the temple during the mission until the end of the mission. My companion has two converts that went to the temple to be sealed and so I got to go with him to the temple. It was such a great experience that I will never forget. The temple is so beautiful inside and outside. It was raining like crazy but it was a great experience. Well I don't have that much time... haha. I am doing pretty well. The people here are soo nice and all they want to do is feed us food! Haha They don't have that much to offer, but they offer food and we are so blessed to have people like them in our mission. Very busy week this past week and this next week will probably become a lot busier.

An investigator gave you a call dad, right? I knew that you guys would be worried about the news that 2 missionaries died in Monterrey and also about all the gun fire and battles happening here. Well these 2 missionaries were from a different church and had connections with drugs and so that's why they were targeted. Really it has calmed down here in Matamoros. And the soldiers are here protecting the people. It is shaping up well here in North Eastern Mexico. So don't worry too much. I hope she explained that to you. Well I love you and take care and I will do the same.

Well I love you all and I hope everything is going well. Take care and please keep in touch. God bless you all

Elder Powell

Leia Mais…

Another letter from Matamoros

Here’s the latest letter from Justin, in Matamoros. He sounds great and is working hard.

If any of you have seen the news from Matamoros or from Brownsville Texas, it isn’t good.  There is a battle for territory going on between two rival drug cartels—the Zetas and the Gulf cartels. Last week there was a gun battle and the news article that I read said that the residents of Matamoros “went to bed Tuesday night to the sound of automatic weapons fire and grenades.” Suffice it to say that I’ve been concerned, to to say the least. Tonight I got a call from a strange number, a woman speaking in Spanish, saying that she was from Matamoros and a parent. She said she knows that all the news from her town is bad and scary—killings, shoot-outs, drugs, gangs, corruption—and she wanted me to know that though it is a scary time there, her family and others have come to love Justin and are looking out for him and she wanted me to be at peace. I still worry about my boy, but this stranger brought much needed peace to my heart and I’m grateful for small acts of kindness.

Once again, please add your thoughts and prayers to mine. I’m going to be positive, especially thanks to having received this special phone call from a concerned parent.

Peace and love to you all.

Hello Family and Friends,

How are you all doing? Well I am doing alright, just still trying to get accustomed to this very new culture that I am now completely surrounded in. The work is going well, a lot of investigators that we have and many that are interested in baptism. We work countless hours each day and it is crazy how fast time flies each day! The thing is that I feel like I have been here for years though! Haha The weather here is sooo up and down! It is one day blazing hot, and then it's chilly and rainy. I have heard that the weather here is just always extremes and that's it. The food has been great here as well; I haven't gotten sick yet. And also the people here are so nice. It's a good place to serve.

On Thursday, I had to travel to Monterrey on a charter bus to sign papers for my Visa because apparently our Visas expire every 6 months. I returned on Saturday to start the work up again. We met with this one sister who has a tough life because her son and husband don't want anything to do with her for some reason. We talked to her and she really does want to become closer to God. She said, before we extended the invitation for baptism, that she wants to serve a mission as well and we were very surprised by her words. We had to explain to her that there are steps that you take before you can serve a mission, but it is very possible that you can. Pretty cool experience. And at church we had 4 investigators come and attend! It was great because in my area, there is a lot of poverty and with that, no cars for the majority of the people here. The church is very far away, so it has been challenging for investigators and many members to make it church, but 4 went to church and it was great. The only bad thing is that during a class in Sunday school, the brother that was talking was pretty much very direct to everyone about the ward not paying tithing and that they're not going to be with God... We were sitting there like “Nooooooo!”, because our investigators don't understand tithing yet and I hope that this lesson didn't scare our investigators off! My companion and are a bit all right. He and I have our difficult times because he and I are leaders or a bit controlling—type A personalities, as my dad would say. Like I want to do some things and he wants to do some things. Well since he is senior comp, I have to follow pretty much… But oh well. He is a good teacher. Well I hope everyone is doing well and I love you all! Write me and keep in touch. Take care!

Elder Justin Powell

Leia Mais…