Week 11 - God loves His children

Hola! 

I had such a wonderful week! Each week I grow to love the missionary service more and more. I absolutely love the people and opportunity I have to dedicate all of my time to the Lord for two years of my life. There truly is no greater happiness than the joy found in serving others. 

I have many experiences this week have increased my faith in Christ and my love of this Gospel. One: this wonderful old man. He is 96 years old! He was just baptized a few months ago, but he already has such a strong testimony of this Gospel! He can still walk, but uses a walker. We got to his house just as his daughter was dropping him off, and we walked with him to his door. Its a few hundred feet away, and Elder Padilla told me it would take 15 minutes, and I thought it was an exaggeration, but it was no lie! It was incredible to see. But he is so happy. He told me of how much this Gospel has changed his life, compared to what he was before. And I just felt so grateful for his example to me. There is really no time to worry about the littlest things in life that so often bother us. The purpose of this life is to have joy! Why live life unhappily? 

I also have truly grown to love the time I am given to study the scriptures each morning. It is one of my most anticipated times of each day. I love it so much and am always disappointed when I have to stop. I was reading in 2 Nephi 31 in the Book of Mormon this week, and I was pondering about the importance of enduring to the end, or being faithful to God and His commandments for our entire lives. I began to think about it as a marathon (yes I miss running a lot). Just as marathons have a starting line, boundaries, race officials, and water and snacks along the way, God has given us many tools to help us in this life. The thing about this marathon though, is that it doesn´t matter how many times you fall, how many times you lose your way, how much help you need along the way, or how long it takes you to finish, the reward for all who finish the race is the same. If we run the race God would have us run, he promises the same gift to all of us, which is the greatest gift any race official could give, which is the gift of eternal life. To be able to return to live with God, Jesus Christ, and our families, in complete happiness, for all eternity. 

God loves His children. We are all children of a loving Heavenly Father. This simple knowledge changes lives. God is aware of all of you. He knows your struggles, weaknesses, and circumstances. We tried to find a family this weekend that is in our church records, but nobody knows them. We went to their house and they did not answer. As we were about to leave, a car pulled up. It was them! They said they didn’t have too much time, but invited us to come back on Saturday! So we came back, and again they weren’t there. We were kind of bummed, we thought that they actually wanted to talk! We walked a couple hundred feet down the road, and guess what. There they were, driving home again! They apologized and allowed us inside. We were able to talk about when they were baptized a few years ago when they lived in Mexico City, but when they moved here, they didn’t come to Church. They just got busy with this crazy life. The missionaries here had never found them. But both times that we came, we ran into them at the perfect moment. God is aware of us and He loves us all perfectly. I felt prompted to invite them to not only come to Church, but as I testified of the truthfulness of this Church, I felt I should invite them to prepare to be sealed together in the temple for time and all eternity as a family. Doing so allows them to be a family not only in earth, but forever. The Spirit was so strong there. I know that God has prepared my companion and I to contact this family and bring them back to His Church. They came to Church on Sunday and loved it! We are going to have a Family Home Evening on Thursday and I am so excited for it! They have a 9 year old daughter that is not yet baptized and so we will also get to prepare her for baptism! 

The experiences I have had this week have not only answered my prayers, but gone well beyond what I could have expected. I know that God is our Heavenly Father and that He loves us all. He wants to bless us all, but we must come to Him! By obeying His commandments He will bless us more than we can possibly imagine. I am so grateful to be a full time representative of Jesus Christ. I know that this is His Church. I know it is true. I know that this Gospel changes lives. 

-- 

Elder Daines

My companion: Elder Padilla

My new sheets! 

Our house! 

Week 10 - La Paz

Howdy!!

It has been an awesome week. Some news to start off: I got transferred mid-transfer! I left from Culiacan on Friday morning to the Baja California, and I am now serving in La Paz. I truly came to love the people in Culiacan, and right when I started to feel comfortable, I got moved! But in the last couple days I have been here, I have already come to love the people here! Here in La Paz it seems more like home to me! The people here are so incredibly loving, everyone. When we are waiting to cross the street, the cars stop for us, literally like every time! Everyone is willing to take time to talk to us. The members here are also so great!!

My companions name is Elder Padilla! He is from Barranquilla, Colombia. He has 20 months in the mission already. He was baptized in the church three years ago! He left on a mission just over a year after he was baptized. It is so crazy! I love him so much already! We are already becoming like brothers, and we really have a strong connection. He is a really loving and caring person to everyone we talk to, and is a great worker. He is such a wonderful example and trainer to me. I’m now living in a house instead of a teeny apartment, which is kind of nice! It feels more home-y. Sadly though, there are still cockroaches. But I have gotten better at not freaking out every time I see one. Still trying to gain the courage to kill them.

We had a great experience on Sunday to see the children in the church here sing and talk about their faith in Christ, as part of a Primary program. It was so amazing and spiritual to see these little children bear simple testimony to know that God and Jesus Christ live, and that they love us. So simple, but so powerful. We also had an amazing first lesson with an investigator yesterday. She read a church magazine and loved it, and she wants to learn more. We were able to talk about how God knows and loves her, and wants the best for her family. She is so receptive to our teaching and she gave an amazing prayer at the end. We are going to return to teach her again this week!

We also have an investigator with a baptismal date in a couple weeks! Her and her little brothers came to church for the 4th time this past Sunday! She is doing great and we are having a lesson with her and her family tonight. The members are so willing to help us with lessons, it is so great!

I also had a great personal experience in the past couple days. I miss home a lot and all my friends and family, and sometimes it is hard to think I wont see them for so long, so I prayed for help, and it came. I felt love and comfort from God to know my friends and family are doing well and my companion talked to me and helped me. The time we have as missionaries seems long as 2 years, but compared to eternity, it is nothing! I need to serve with all my heart, might, mind, and strength, and I will be blessed for it! Just like all of us. This life is so short, but it is our time to prepare to return to live with God. We need to continually try to follow the example of Jesus Christ, and if we have faith in God, he will pour out blessings upon us. I would like to reemphasize what I talked about last week. This life is meant for us to be happy. There is no reason we need to dwell on the struggles we have, just be happy! Just love life. 

I love you all so much, and I am loving being a missionary, and loving life!

¡Hasta luego!

Elder Daines 

Culiacan Tomateros

My district in Culiacan

They tell me I have already gained weight....

Week 9 - Finding Joy in the Journey

¡Buenas tardes!

I can´t tell you how many times I have said that this week. I love saying hi to people. I may be a little nervous still to tell them about the Gospel, but I can always be a good reflection of what a missionary is like by simply saying hi and smiling at them. I say hi to just about every person we pass. But don´t worry, when we see people that we feel we can talk to about the Gospel, we jump at the opportunity. I have taken the lead on some of them this week and it is really pretty awesome. Wh
​en people say yes to accepting a time to hear our message, it makes me so happy--because I know this message can change their life, no matter who it is.

This week in my companionship study, we sang Yo sé que vive mi Señor, or I Know that My Redeemer Lives, and I just felt overcome with the Spirit. I know that He lives. I can´t see Him, but I can feel His presence when I testify of the truthfulness of this Gospel. It´s such a simple statement, but it is so powerful. And because He lives, I have such comfort to know that I can live with my family forever. I testify that Jesus Christ lives today. 

We focused more on involving members this week, and so we did quite a bit of visits )(or trying to visit) members this week. We testified to several families in the ward the importance of member missionary work, and we were ale to invite them to find friends or family members with whom they can just show more love! The best way I can show my love for others as a missionary is by being like Christ. Always serving others. There is no greater joy or happiness that comes than from serving. And the best way I can think of to serve people, is to teach them that they have a Father in Heaven and a Savior who loves them, that they have purpose in this life, and that they can live with their family forever.

I had an eye opening experience this week. I haven´t been able to run hardly at all on the mission, which I expected, but I translated my love and drive for running into the missionary work. For any of you know that know me, if I put my mind to something I am going to give it 100%. So that it was I have been doing. I have been trying to be 100% obedient and be the best missionary I can be, but I kept finding myself displeased with myself, or just unhappy. I talked to my companions this week, and they advised me that I need to allow myself to be happy. I need to enjoy this work. I was so focused on being so serious and focused, that I was forgetting the central part of what we teach: happiness and hope! I have found in the last couple days that as I allow myself to be happy and to enjoy the journey, that I love the work that much more!

Don´t get so focused on doing everything you have to in life, that you forget the central purpose of this life--to have joy. Be happy. Smile more. and Have fun. 

I love you all so much!!

Elder Daines

"Late night stretches" 

Week 8- Member Missionary Work

Howdy y´all!

This week flew by! It seems like just a couple days ago I was writing about my first week in Mexico.
I have learned a lot this week about my duty as a missionary. It is kind of hard for me to get the courage to contact people in the street and ask if they would be willing to meet with us and learn more about Jesus Christ and His teachings. It is so much easier to say ´Buenas tardes´and just let them go by! But I realized this week, that that is exactly what I shouldn´t be doing. I have felt so much peace, happiness, and even joy from the blessings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and there is no reason that I shouldn´t want to share that with others. I have gotten better this week at getting the courage to speak to people and bear simple testimony about God´s love for us, and the blessings that can come from this restored Gospel of Jesus Christ.
On a less formal note, every night when we get back from our proselyting, it has become habit for me to drop my bags in our study room, then begin the search for cucarachas (cockroaches) in the kitchen. Its normal to find about 5, and so sometimes I get the courage to kill 1, maybe 2; but most times I say, "Elder Velez, tengo un trabajo para Ud.! " And then he kills them, then I sweep the dead devil up and put it in the garbage. It is a nice little system. I repay Elder Velez for his services in quesadillas. 

We had some really good lessons this week! We stay busy with visiting less actives, having lessons with investigators, and doing contacting in the streets. But I´d like to share a short experience I had in one lesson with a great lady. She has two young kids, and her husband serves in the military. We were able to share a lesson about faith in Jesus Christ. I was able to testify of the blessings that come from having faith in Jesus Christ. I know that as we show our faith, He will bless us. He always has His hand extended, we just have to come to Him.

I also had a really neat experience in sharing a spiritual thought with a sister in our area after eating lunch in her home. I shared Mosiah 4:9, which describes that we simply must believe in God, and believe that He knows better than we do. As humans, we tend to rely so much on ourselves. But we must humble enough to recognize that God knows better than we do. God has a plan for each and every one of us. All we have to do, as the scripture says is believe in Him. Believe Him. Believe He has a plan for you. He will bless you as you do that, I promise you. I have seen the blessings from doing so in my own life. So much happiness in relying on God!!

We had Stake Conference this weekend which was way good! Elder Ortiz from the Area Seventy spoke, as well as President Velez and his wife. We had an adult meeting on Saturday night, and then the normal one on Sunday. It was really really cool because the whole focus was on missionary work, ESPECIALLY member missionary work. I want to share a couple paraphrased and (attempted) translated quotes. ´Missionary service allows us to feel the love that God has for each of His children´. President Velez talked about all of the RMs (returned missionaries) in our stake, speaking directly to them. He was relatively straight forward when he said, "Great, you´re a returned missionary. What are you doing today to continue this work?.....Members have an equal duty to do their part to share the Gospel with others....Missionary work is not completed in this world until the Second Coming of Jesus Christ." Elder Ortiz talked about the importance of having members work with missionaries in going to lessons with investigators, and loving the investigators. That is so huge. If members don't do their part, so often the investigators don´t feel included. The work is supposed to be hastening, we live in the last dispensation. What are we all doing to be a part of hastening the work? It is our duty to share the Gospel with others. We should want to share the blessings we have with others. We have no right to deprive people of the blessings of this Gospel. D&C 123:12 says, 

´For there are many yet on the earth among all sects, parties, and denominations, who are blinded by the subtle craftiness of men, whereby they lie in wait to deceive, and who are only kept from the truth because they know not where to find it—´.

I promise you that you strive to come closer to God you will be blessed! For those of you reading this who are members, share your beliefs with others. It is not just a suggestion from God, it is a commandment. And a blessing. For those of you who aren´t members and always dread reading me saying these weird things about what I believe: yes I know they are weird. But I know that they are true. God loves you. Jesus Christ is the Savior. He died for us so that we can be clean and be happy, not just in this life, but forever!

Love you all! Have an awesome week. Seek to find God´s love for you each day this week.

Elder Daines

"I've still got it."

"The missionaries in my ward (area)."

"My companions Elder Velez, & Elder Henderson"

"First haircut in the field! At home!"

"I felt so cool walking through here!" 

Week 7: Saludos!

¡Saludos, Familia y Amigos!

Just finishing up my first week in México, and it has been awesome so far! I love it. The culture is a little bit different and it is hard at times to adjust, but I am getting there and I know that with the Lord´s help I can do things that I cannot do on my own. 

My companions, Elders Henderson and Velez, are pretty great! They are both really focused and hard working and are a great example to me. They have really helped me get used to the changes here. Just want to share a couple interesting things that I have learned here and some cool experiences I have had! First of all, people love to sing here! We sing at pretty much every lesson, and we also sing in our studies in the morning. Also, the food is incredible! I love it so much. We are able to eat with members every day, and they feed us really well! Interesting thing is that we eat at like 2 every day, and then people don´t really eat dinner! That has taken a bit of time to get used to, but I just eat a bunch at lunch then make it through the rest of the day okay. For any of you that know me, that is hard to believe that I can eat a lot at one sitting, but I´m doing it! I´m still the last one eating at the table though haha. 

The members here are really great!! Elder Henderson in the past few days has brought us around to pretty much every family´s house in the ward! They are very kind and loving, and are excited to help with missionary work. The only big difference here is that we do a lot of walking here, and it is super hot during the day! I use that ´toallita´ probably 100 times a day to wipe off sweat.

Funny story: I was writing in my journal a couple days ago on my bed, and all of a sudden I saw a giant cockraoch next to me! I jumped out of my bed faster than I get off the start line in races! I ran to the bathroom to hide from it. Elder Velez killed it and then chased me with it.  Don´t worry, I´ve gotten a little better though. 

I learned a great lesson a couple days ago, again on the reliance on God. The mission is clearly already the hardest thing I have ever done, I did not think it would be this hard for me. But I was studying Christlike attributes, especially faith, and charity, and I was filled with so much love to know that I am being strengthened to do things that I cannot do on my own. 

We also do a lot of contacting here, it´s funny sometimes because people say they are too busy to talk to us, when they´re just sitting out on their porch, or watching TV, and I just feel bad for them! Because I know how much happiness this Gospel can bring to their lives. It´s like a story I read, as missionaries, it´s like we´re going around trying to give out $100 bills to everyone we see, and if they don´t accept it, we just go on and try to give it to someone else! The only difference is though, that our message is worth so much more than a $100 bill. This Gospel has brought me so much peace, comfort, and knowledge, and I would truly be lost without it. I know that this is the true Gospel of Jesus Christ on the earth today.

I gave my first talk in the mission field yesterday (where we speak in our church service), and I decided to speak on the importance of faith and prayer. I was able to share the example that Nephi is to us in having such great faith to be led byh the Spirit, not knowing beforehand what he should do. I know that as we follow God´s commandments, especially baptism, and renewing the promises we make with God at baptism, we are promised that we can have the Spirit with us at all times. I know that as we have faith and follow the Spirit, we can trust that God will answer our prayers. I know that God answers prayers, especially through the Scriptures! I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God. 

Love you all!!

Elder Daines

"My first Coca in Mexico. (You might want to send this in to Coca-Cola for their next ad)."

"Washing clothes by hand. Surprisingly kind of fun!"

"Leaky toilet."

"The view of the city from our rooftop." 

Week 6: Viva la Mexico!

¡Hola Hola Hola! 

This week was a great last week in Citrus Heights. I had to go to the Mexican Consulate three times! Which was kind of frustrating but we finally got my visa finalized and taken care of. Even though I was only in California for like three weeks, I grew to love the people and the ward so much. 

One experience I had this week, which was big for me-- for the last couple weeks, we have been teaching this older man, but he hasn’t been very accepting of our message, and sadly last time, he told us that he does not think the Book of Mormon is the word of God and he doesn’t think that our message is true. He was baptized in the church a few years ago, but he said he never believed it was true. So we went to his house on Thursday to discuss the situation, and he was standing outside all alone. He has been fairly rude to us at times, but I saw him out there and I just felt so much love for him! I felt so sad that he was rejecting this message. During our visit with him, I was overcome with this feeling of sadness, which I am sure that Jesus Christ feels, when people refuse to come to Him. This man ultimately accepted that we would no longer visit him, but we were there to help if he ever needed service. I was able to testify of the truthfulness of this Gospel, and I don’t think I have ever realized how strongly I know this Church is true, until this time. I think to some degree, I began to feel charity for this man, who I so greatly desired to see accept our message. Our message is a message of hope, of eternal happiness, and especially of love--the love of God. I know that this is the true Church of Jesus Christ on the earth today.

We also had three great lessons with a familia where we got to discuss the Plan of Salvation in greater detail, because they had lots of questions! They have been keeping their commitments to read, and we are hoping that they will be able to come to Church (even though I am already gone), and eventually be accept an invitation to baptism! They are such a wonderful family and I already miss them so much. 

I said goodbye to my companions, Elders Soto y Escalante on Sunday night, and slept at the mission home! President Marston took me to the Sacramento airport Monday morning early, early, early. Monday was a long day. I met two other Elders in Salt Lake, who are in the Culiacan mission! Elders Erickson and Finkner. We flew from Salt Lake to Mexico City to Culiacan. My first meal in Mexico was great...Subway haha! It’s so weird seeing a sub cost $87...but it’s in pesos. So weird. ALSO! I sat next to the sweetest lady from Canada on the plane from Salt Lake. We talked for like two hours! We talked a bit throughout the flight, then about the church, but very little, and as we were beginning to descend, I told myself, ¨I have to talk to her about the Church,¨ but I got nervous! I finally got the courage to bring it up, and I was able to bear my testimony to her about the Restoration and the Book of Mormon, and she accepted my invitation to accept the Book of Mormon and learn more about the Church! I’ve been out for a few weeks already, but it can still be tough to open up. But the Gospel should be preached to everyone. And we should want to share the happiness we feel, with everyone! 

Culiacan is so incredibly beautiful! It is so great to see how green it is, it reminds me of home! And it is right on the ocean. AND there are mountains. It’s perfect. It has everything.

So funny story, I arrived at the Mission Office where we meet the Mission President, and I found out that they didn’t know that I was coming today! Apparently they thought I was coming on the 14th of September (when I was originally supposed to leave the MTC), then the 23rd, and then they had no idea! So I didn’t have an assigned companion or anything, so I will be in a trio again for a couple weeks until I get my more permanent companion. 

It is so hot and humid here in Culiacán, one of the first things they gave us at the Mission Office was a hand towel to wipe off sweat! It will take getting used to, but if other people can live here just fine, so can I! I already saw a scorpion, it was right next to my foot and I didn’t even freak out. And I’m eating tomatoes.

I am so grateful to have the opportunity to be serving here in the Culiacan mission; I know that it is where God wants me to be. I cannot wait to begin sharing my beliefs with the people here in Culiacan. I know that this is the true Church of Jesus Christ. I know that everyone can come closer to God by reading the Book of Mormon. It truly is the word of God. I have received answers to my prayers each day I read, no matter where I read. It truly is Another Testament of Christ, as it claims to be.

¡Les amo y les extraño mucho!

-- 

Elder Daines

"I'm in heaven!"

Culiacan! 

"My first real meal in Mexico."

"The Master Chef! Homemade tortillas!"