2.20.12 -- Huatabampo

Hey,

Andre, thanks for writing me. My response from your last email was sent today. It cost 3 bucks, by the way. I love to hear about home--I´m really thankful for the news, man. Say hi to everyone for me, and tell Axel BOOOYAAHHHHH GO GIANTS

2 things. The first is that I got to go to Villa Juarez to teach the youth in E. Cheron´s branch how to make pizza. It was great, even though everything went crazy when the youth started grabbing the dough and tried to make everything. Enthusiasm is cool, but we finished with E. Tovar saying "I only want 3 kids now. That´s it." Unfortunately, my memory card is full, so I´ll have to get the pictures later. But it was great. The church in Mexico is different--E. Cheron is the president of the branch, the youth, and almost every other organization. Crazy.

The second. We had gotten home one night and we were planning. We heard a knock on the door. It was 9:40, or something, but there on our doorstep was the husband of one of the sisters from the branch. He´s Catholic (just like almost EVERYONE in Mexico), and likes us, but isn´t too excited about listening about the gospel. But he looked worried. He told us to come out with him, so we went. He had come with his wife from the hospital--she was sick, and needed a blessing. She and her mother were both there. She couldn´t move from the front seat of the minivan (she´s walking now, though), so we climbed in and gave her a priesthood blessing, with E. Olguin arms and mine trying to find a way around the head cushions. There, in the middle of the street at night. I anointed and E. Olguin blessed. When we started, everything seemed like it went silent. We finished, and we both glanced over at the husband and mom. The mom is a member, by the way. They were both silent, but both had tears on their faces. They thanked us, but didn´t say very much more before leaving. We all felt the Spirit. The husband still isn´t the most receptive, but everyone there either received or renewed their testimony of the priesthood that night. She´s doing fine now.

"Therefore, in the ordinances thereof, the power of godliness is manifest. And without the ordinances thereof, and the authority of the priesthood, the power of godliness is not manifest unto men in the flesh;" -- D&C 84:20-21

Adios

Elder Humbert

2.13.12 Huatabampo

Hey,

You know what else I miss from home? Football and the comic strip "Pearls Before Swine."

And as for the pictures, we had a multi zone conference this week. E. Paustenbaugh and E. Jarman got to testify, since they´re going home in two weeks. E. Paustenbaugh knows more Spanish than any other white guy I know, but he can´t seem to get rid of his Oklahoma accent. I saw E. Jarman many times when I was at BYU but I never talked to him. E. Paustenbaugh shared something I enjoyed a lot.

"My comp and I were walking in the street when a car passed by with a couple people showing us a few things with their hands, especially with one of their fingers. My mind immediately began to think of what I could have said to them when my comp turned to me and said, "This is when it´s really hard to love people and desire their salvation (PMG p. 6)" I was surprised. I was thinking of things to tell them, but my comp was thinking about loving people that obviously didn´t love us. I´ve realized in the mission that to really change, the most important things are love and diligence--I would advise all of you to think about that. Love for the people will be rewarded with success and people."

He continued. I enjoyed it a lot. Oh, he trained E. Roberts, by the way.

One more story. We went to a bike shop to get my flat tire repaired when a young man came over and sat near us. He had a small container filled with paint in his hand. Here in Mexico (along with the US), when the drug addicts can´t afford their normal addictions, they buy paint and inhale the fumes to get high. He was 23 years old, and completely wasted. He was harmless, and just stared at us with empty eyes. "Elders, los elders," he would say, along with random shouts of, "Gloria a Dios!" He asked us to pray for him. We told him we would. He would open the paint jar and take a few breaths. After a few minutes, he got up and left. My bike was repaired and we continued on. I don´t know why, but remembering E. Paustenbaugh´s story, I left loving the people more. Pity, love, I don´t know, but there are so many people in the world that need the gospel.

Time. Adios.

Elder Humbert

Yup, we have electricity. But no fridge. Oatmeal with water in raisins in the morning. And Odwalla bars (THANK YOU)

2.6.12 Huatabampo

Hey,

I made pizza last week during a FHE. It took really long (since I made 5), but everyone liked them. Especially the cream cheese filled crust. I still do my exercise every morning, but Mexico is pretty much killing my diet.

We went to Hermosillo and we got to go through the temple. So great. I understand a lot more in Spanish now than the last time, but it had been so long I felt like it was the first time again. Also, while walking around outside, I saw a few flowers that look exactly like the ones at home. That was cool. I miss Hermosillo a lot, I´m going to be honest.

I also got a letter from the family that I found and left in Hermosillo. I had written them a while ago, but I was so happy when I got their response. I won`t write everything, but let´s just say that my favorite part was, "Our favorite missionaries are Humbert, Rivas, and Mckenna. . ." Haha. I love that family. My other converts are doing okay as well.

E. Rivas is still in Hermosillo. He´s doing very well. I hadn`t seen him for a while . . . He doesn`t like smiling in pictures very much, but he´s a very good missionary. He´s with E. Roberts right now.

What I enjoyed the most of the week was learning about "Learning by Faith," and using one of the examples in a lesson we had in the week. The talk was given by E. Bednar about 6 years ago and it´s great. When we teach, we must do so by the Spirit. When we learn, we must do so by faith. That has 3 parts--assurance, action, and evidence. We learn and feel assured that something is right, which leads to the action, followed by the blessings as part of the evidence. I´m sure everybody understands this, but E. Bednar organizes it much better than any missionary I`ve met. We have to understand how people learn before teaching effectively.

In the week, we taught using an example from the Bible--in Matthew 14 when Peter jumps out of the boat to walk to Jesus, as he walked towards them on the water. At times we`re the people who see miracles, but do nothing about them. At times we`re the people that use that faith and knowledge that has been acquired through learning to jump out of the boat and experience the miracles firsthand. We just have to make sure to keep having faith afterwards, instead of being afraid and sinking.

I´d like to explain more, but out of time. And I don`t teach anything new, anyway, since you`ve all learned this before anyway, I´m pretty sure.

Elder Humbert

1.30.12 Huatabampo

Hey,

Football face.

And by the way--everything we learn is just a reminder. We all learned everything in the Spirit world about God´s Plan and knowledge, we just get reminded of it by the Spirit here on Earth. But the difference is that we have bodies and we´re not in the presence of God (or right now we´re in the field instead of the MTC), so we learn a little bit more than before.

I was thinking about the Spanish ward the other day as well. I´m going to be honest, the Gospel is never going to sound the same in English. I plan on attending the Spanish ward at least 2 times a month when I get home--I also do NOT want to forget Spanish. That is a massive blessing that I do not want to lose.

The week--E. Cirne and E. Garcia baptized a small family this week. The family is super excited and is going to help the branch in Etchojoa a lot. Along with a woman that E. Cheron baptized in Villa Juarez--I interviewed her, and she passed with flying colors.

I taught Gospel Principles this week, on agency. It was cool--and also doubled in size because the teacher of the youth didn´t come. It´s strange, teaching so many people and having them pay attention. I love feeling the Spirit.

Oh, and I haven´t had a fridge for a month. But we do have electricity. And hunger.

We had Zone Conference with Pte. this week. He all invited us to breakfast beforehand--fish tacos (Mexican breakfast normally isn´t cereal--it´s more like bacon and eggs). We were all eating, with the waitress going crazy because she had never seen so many people in her . . . I guess the right word would be restaurant. And because we were eating so much. Pte. was eating, looked around, and suddenly said, "E. Humbert, you´re the only American in the entire zone!" Yeah. Kind of weird. I´m outnumbered. Good thing I´m not racist.

We got to teach in the meeting--E. Olguin about the role of the Spirit in conversion, and me about setting a baptismal date-- and were also interviewed. I won´t say everything, but Pte looked at me at one point and said (I don´t know what we were talking about before hand), "If you look for it, I promise you that you will see the semblance of Jesus Christ in the face of the people. Do you love the people?" I nodded and said that I did. "I promise you that you can do it. Look for it. Don´t see people. See their potential." (See D&C 67:10)

Spiritual week. Talk to you all later--

Elder Humbert

Also look up 1 Nephi 14: 12,14. We are few, but we´re fighting