In the Zone

Sorry time got away from me.... I just sorta...read everything you sent me and that was fun..... so yeah,sorry in advance.


So um fast.... miracles are happening. I second what Lindsay said about the simple act of opening one´s mouth. We found like 5 people this week who are willing to listen to us. kinda cool.

*I read missionary emails from 5 different missionaries today and every single one of them talked about the miracles of finding people to teach over the past week…more people than any of them had previously come across in any given week in their missions. I just found that very intriguing –Lorene Williams

What else.... OH! right I have a new companion... Elder Villasboa... he reminds me a lot of Elder Grant for some reason. He is fun to be around even though he doesn´t talk too much. He is very direct and very new in the mission(7 months) but that doesn´t mean anything. I always learn a ton from my younger companions... we actually haven´t taken a picture together yet but I will say this: he looks real young.....

on a side note: he says I look like Jim Carey(...the dude in Ace Ventura)

The work is going well. I did sorta got a slap to the face this week... we saw saw the President the other day by chance(digo {or in other words} the will of God) and he told us a lot of things about the Zone. He told us very clearly that our zone has to become the zone that baptizes the most because we have the ability to do so. He also told me that I am a great missionary (cool right?) but he followed that by saying, "you still aren´t an excellent Missionary. Work on that" and that´s what i am doing=) I won´t be saying much about investigators this week . Just know that we need to help a ton of people and that it is only possible with our Heavenly Father´s help, something I learned yet again this week.
I love you all tons, more than argentines love meat (they reallly, really, REALLY...reallly. love meat)

Elder Ben Williams

PS sorry for the lack of pics....

Photog; A day in the life of Elder Williams

First things first....
changes...
Elder Cuevas is leaving me. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!! i don`t want him to go cause 1) he`s awesome 2) imma miss him 3) he is chileno!!!!!!
My new companion will be elder Villasboa de Argentina. fun right... still haven`t even met him yet....they changed the way changes(aka transfers work) and now they are on Tuesday. so pictures and info about the new elder next week. anyway that`s fun. oh and did i tell you that there were 6 missionaries in my ward (up until now...) And like 200 members. awesome. doesn`t even touch the 9 missionaries that are in Lindsay’s ward of 60 but whatevs... elder Perkes and Elder Percino are also leaving. they are going to close one of the areas of El Sol which means my new companion and i will be making new area changes soon.... that will be way interesting and kinda tough but doable and exciting really.

Fast before i get into other stuffs.



I. i am pretty sure they moved.

M & M. did i tell you about them before? just know that they are awesome but can`t come to church because monse`s kid gets gravely ill way easy when its cold out and since chuch is at 8 am its tough. bleh.... we just pray that something will work out.

R. working out concerns and progressing.


and now for the most normal day ever in pictures....

Enjoy!

Love Elder Williams

P.S. Love ya`ll more than Steve jobs loves technology

My Neighborhood

He wants to eat me...

don't climb in there #mexicansecurity

Street Art

Daily

Taste of Colombia for lunch

They feed the whole district....THANK YOU!

Doctors orders...ewww.

Forging a river

Dog on roof...still there

Sometimes plans fall through and you take a takis break and regroup.

This is Lupita and she gives us free guajolotes every night.

Guajolotes are turkey sandwiches. Yum!

Short

so um... i did something i haven`t done in a long time....I read every single one of the emails i got before starting this one so um...its gonna be short... but next week imma make up for it with a ton of pictures just like you asked mum=) anyway... quick rundown...
R. didn`t come to church this week.
I. Is currently lost, we can`t find her she is not at her house...
B. speaks only English. Doesn`t want anything else. luckily elder Cuevas and i HAVE THE GIFT OF TOUNGES (oops caps lock) so its not that bad.... he is awesome(elder Cuevas...and beto too)
C. went to church and told us she just wants patience. we are going to have to take it slower than normal with her but at least she goes to church.
M. & M. New this week WOOOHOOO!

cool um we sorta have to go and well.. um... sorry this is a terrible email.

funny story: I hit my head on the ceiling in the house. got bored and decided to jump. Mexican ceilings are really low. and i jump way high (even as overweight as i am) i may have a concussion(just kidding ma don`t freak out)
Yep that is all.
I love you all
Elder Ben Williams

Feliz Dia De Reyes!

Weren`t expecting that were ya? =) Let me explain. the (Mexican) catholic tradition is that the three oriental kings got to the Christ child the 6th of January. so its a day of celebration. and Santa doesn`t come to some houses here, but los Reyes get to the kids who Santa doesn`t. So basically its an excuse to give more gifts! woohoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I`m not gonna say happy 2014. every day is another day to form our eternity. the new year doesn`t change anything. we are the ones that have to change. and change is a daily thing. if not, its not fun. President told us that we need to wake up in the morning and say "today determines my eternity. What am i going to choose to do?" Boom! So I`m sorta just stealing that and applying it to me, making it mine(which is a key. If the doctrines of the church aren`t OURS first, How on earth can we expect to share with others.) President always says that you can`t share what isn`t yours. So make IT yours. whatever it is.

For me IT is the Salvation of Souls; the message of the Gospel of the Resurrected Lord Jesus Christ.

Anyway, this week was betterish. R. has some things to work out in her personal life in regards to marriage...however, she is doing great and every time we are with her i feel like she is progressing well. Just keep her in your prayers.

I broke one of I.'s cups. That was bad. she was really mad at her husband for some reason and didn`t actually come out to talk to us. We were awkwardly talking to her husband until we figured out it was a bad moment (it only took us like an hour or so... we are way smart right?) There seems to be some relationship challenges and that`s where the gospel comes in.

Yeah that`s the fun stuff that`s happening right now. M. ( an investigator that we haven`t seen in forever) told us that she wants time to figure things out before continuing in the lessons of the Gospel. She was really nice about it and all....which just makes it worst. I would rather have people yell at me and kick me out of their houses than have them tell me nicely that they feel like it "isn`t their time". Its like being stabbed but in slow motion....it hurts. but that is ok. everyone has free agency. I love that about God`s plan. He leaves it to us to decide what we want, even when he knows what is best and constantly tells us what He wants. at the end of the day the choice is ours =)

I love you my Friends and Family and wish the best for you all. I love you!!!!!!!!!!!!

Elder Ben Williams

Ps i love you more than Messi loves soccer=)

Best. Week. Ever.

Dec 30 2013
this week was like last week...only a little bit better. mostly cause i got to speak to y´all.... but other than that it was sorta tough....Elder Cuevas was sick when you saw him the other day. he was sick for three days so i was there in the house for three days straight. best. week. ever. let´s just say staying with a sick companion is great and not great at the same time. The sick one gets to sleep all day. I CAN¨T SLEEP UNLESS ITS TEN THIRTY AT NIGHT!!!!!!!!!!! so i just sorta looked for personal revelation. it was a good time i guess. i learned a ton and i felt like i was a little bit closer to knowing God. Why? because as i learned from a good friend this week the tough times help us grow.
so i decided to ask My Father the first day of my companion´s illness WHY?. and i got an answer. i had to learn some things. so i did =) I listened to john Bytheway and Elder Holland as they explained and helped me see what i needed. i like the whole ask and ye shall receive seek and ye shall find thing... that sounds borderline weird....but anyway its way true. all we have to do is ask with our hearts and He will answer. I know it.
Good news is that elder Cuevas is doing fine =) he is almost 100 percent himself again. but we only worked on Saturday...and we had a ton of success. taught some new people.
C. and B.
They are family too a member and we just barely started teaching them. C. went to church Sunday. They both have a catholic background and have tons of questions about the saints and Christ and tons of other things. But i think its their time.
R.
Girlfriend of a member in our ward. SHE WANTS TO BE BAPTIZED:) wantsto get married first.... no biggie. she went to church even though she was sick and is progressing slowly but surely...

cool stuff right...
suggestion. this year make one or two big goals, nada mas. anything more is way too much... and we all know that half of the goals we make are....just....there...they actually never happen. don`t make that kind of goal...
I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!
Elder Ben Williams

The Greatest Gift Ever

It was a difficult week really. but that doesn´t bug me. i´m pretty sure that hard weeks are a test. in fact i´ve got a goal to read El Libro de Mormon en tres meses. today and nefi told me that the Lord lets tough stuff happen to us to let us show how faithful we will. be so i just sorta said "get thee hence satan(or as elder hyde says´kick satan in the face) " and get to work. so that´s what is happening.... so um letters are in process....i feel super bad cause i have not dedicated time to those things. so I think i will just sorta repent and then get them to you all one day.... soonish. like next year(haha)

anyway um yeah. i got a bad case of the "its Monday, what do i write”s. that is a missionary disease. it comes and goes.

i think i´ll just talk a little about some people.....
1. M she has told us the past 2 weeks she was going to go to church. she also said she would go to the ward activity... and she just
doesn´t. no bigs. but it is annoying when people commit to do something and then don´t. I just hope she will understand what she is missin out on.

2. R. is not from our area. osea, she doesn´t live in our area. but she is always here in the area cutting hair(her job). its tough to teach someone who has customer´s and all.

3. I. and C. C. is a less active member.his wife is not a member. they are open to listen to us and they went to church on Sunday...yesterday.... they have potential.... just pray that we can keep the Spirit in the lessons

ok so that last phrase sorta reminded me of some stuff. Please pray for myself and Elder Cuevas so that we can teach by the spirit. I feel like there are moments that we start relying on our own words and forget that we cannot teach unless its by Him. its touch sometimes but it is so worth it. I think that´s what´s happening to me. I´m trying to apply so much at the same time and forgetting the Spirit. grave mistake on my part. wow. that was nice to recognize. thanks for listening to me everyone =)

Did i tell you that i don´t feel like Christmas is on Wednesday? i feel weird. i know what time of the year it is but its like i don´t want to accept it.... no biggie though.

can i ask something special from you all? will you pray for me to become the missionary i should be? will you pray that i can change whatever necessary in me so that i can truly become converted? that would be the greatest Christmas gift ever.

God lives. He is Eternal and Perfect. He loves you and I more than we can understand. We are nothing in comparison to Him but that doesn´t mean that we aren´t everything to Him. He sent the Savior to the earth because of that great love. And that is the greatest gift ever. I can´t think of anything that is worth more, there is nothing that compares to what Christ did for us. No one should think of Christmas without remembering what He did. I love my Redeemer. He has given me the perfect example to follow, and even though i constantly fall short i know that through Him i am being perfected. That is the greatest gift ever. the best part is that it never ends. I know that He lives. Don´t forget the reason we even celebrate Christmas.

I give you all my love (all that i own) to each and every one of you. Merry Christmas=)

Elder Ben Williams

Barrio El Sol...the greatest place on earth.

if you aren`t here.....i am sorry....cause its like the best ever =)
seriously, what everyone told me about this ward is almost true... it has a lot of potential. the ward is huge. the capilla is beautiful. . In the most "dangerous" part of queretaro i felt like i was walking in a park. can you say paradise?
anyway.... i think i will start with my companion, what i love here and what elder Johnson told us =)
Elder Cuevas is CHILENO!!!!!!! he is the only elder from Chile and seriously i think he is the best elder i have ever had the honor of being the companion of.... he is really funny speaks english better than i do, plays volleyball sings and is basically the best. He has 10 months in the mission( i have one month more than what he has left...hope that has meaning) We have had a fun time together and i`m excited to get to know him even better..... More random stuff about my companion. he is the youngest of 3 and has two older sisters. he falls asleep faster than anyone i know and is addicted to tops(the spinning kind...)
Mom asked me for something i love to see every day..... that is seriously a tough one..... i miss the cholos! it was fun to here them yell things at me in english(not really but i do miss them) i love seeing tacos. that sounds funny but in the whole physical aspect its just fun..... they always have tacos de a pastor(look it up cause i don`t have pics of that yet... pero soon don`t worry....)
but there is something better. i love seeing the faces of the people we teach change as we teach them. I can`t explain it, or at least i can`t do it well but lets just say its like lehi when he was describing the fruit of the tree of life.... they sorta glow. best. thing ever.
ok what else.... Elder johnson talked to us and the conejos del barrio about refererrals(wow....that just look s wrong...) he said that is impossible for us to enter into a home of whatever person without having done 2 things before leaving. 1 teach something by the Spirit. 2. gotten the name and direction of someone new to teach.... he said that members don`t need to prepare their friends so that they can receive the Restored Gospel. We(missionaries) just need to know them. We need to be in contact with them and start teaching asap. he taught that missionaries are only in a ward to help the ward with missionary work. We(members) should do eveything possible to fill the planners of the missionaries with names and dates to be able to teach people. in a word it was splendid =) I feel like every time i talk to someone that there is a connection that we make that i try to use to help not only that person but many, many others in the same instance. I feel like the Hastening is rolling on and that we have a great responsibility to keep it going =)
so what else ....
um. i think i will talk about the people we are teaching sale?(that is not sale in english. its like ok in spanish, sale?)
R
she is a barber(does that even apply to women?)
she contacted my companion a week or two ago. she says that we have things in our gospel that whe had never heard before. she had questions that literally go right along with the restoration.

A
she still hasn`t gotten an answer about the truthfulness of the gospel but we are helping her recognize how God answers prayers....

M
he is the grandson of a member. he is 16 and was about to be baptized but his parents said no.


F
is a dentist. her dad just died and she has known church members 5 years. we haven`t been able to teach her because she is so busy with her work =)


that`s all folks gotta go! I love you and you know It =)

Elder Ben Williams