First Baptism!!

Hey Family!

It was so good to hear from you guys this week! Sounds like everything is going well there. I can’t believe it’s almost Thanksgiving. Makes me a little homesick. And I am super jealous of the weather, but the weather is really good here. A little hot during mid-day and nice and cool at night. Dad asked about terrain, there is one mountain here and some kind of hill type things. This letter might be a little short, I don’t have a ton of time and I had like 9 different people write me!

So this week was really good. I felt really up and down with the language but I can definitely see progress which is good. I have felt a little homesick, but at the same time I have been really happy. It’s kind of hard to explain, I think it’s just rough because I cannot really communicate with people. Although it’s fun to see the English speaking Elders sometimes and have a conversation, even if it’s only for 5 minutes.

So big news of the week we had a baptism! We baptized Hernan. There is a photo attached with his whole family. It was a really special experience; there was a good spirit there. He really wanted me to baptize him, which I was kind of surprised. But when we did divisions with people in the ward I always taught him so we knew each other better than Elder Valdes. But we had a brother in our ward who we are reactivating baptize him. I was a little disappointed but I knew it was better that way. One question you might have is why Hernan’s dad didn’t baptize him, he has some drinking problems but we are working on it. I really love the kid; he is so funny and always has funny stories and comments. As well as being smart and receptive to the gospel. He reminds me a lot of coop.

Speaking of coop tell him congrats on his soccer and keep working hard. That’s really cool dad got out the telescope for him and his friends. I do remember doing that and I absolutely loved it! It’s been a long time since dad has gotten it out though.

So I tried a new food this week. It’s called Menudo. It’s basically pig fat and skin cut right of the pig, cooked a little, thrown into a bowl and covered in kind of a soupy salsa. To my surprise, it wasn’t actually that bad. The taste was pretty good but it was the consistency that got me. I have to admit I gagged the first bite, but after that it was okay. I ate a lot of tortillas with it. I think that’s one of the reasons they eat tortillas with everything, a tortilla will pretty much mask the flavor of anything. But menudo is a typical dish of Mexico, and the famous one that missionaries from the US usually cannot get down. So I am glad to know I can eat it no problem.

We encountered two families this week that we taught. One of them is really great and they have already been to church like 3 times, well the mom and son, the dad needs some work but that’s why we are here. The other I’m not so sure about but with the help of the Lord anything is possible. We also have like 4 more really good investigators who should baptize within a month or so. The other girl who had a baptismal date this weekend we moved to next weekend. She didn’t quite feel ready but I am almost sure she will be ready this weekend. Elder Valdes and our ward mission leaders want me to baptize her, so that will be great if it happens.

I have learned even more this week the importance the Holy Spirit. It is always with us, it guides our paths, and all we have to do is listen. And I like a quote from Elder Bednar to the missionaries, (I can’t find quote buttons on this stupid Mexican keyboard so I will use /s) / Quit your whining, quit your fussing, quit worrying about it, be a good boy, be a good girl, keep the commandments and be where you need to be, even if you don’t realize it the spirit will guide your path/. That’s not exactly what he said but it’s really close. And it’s so true, if we are doing the things the Lord asks He will guide out paths. A prompting isn’t always distinct and clear, we don’t even always know at the time, but the Lord will guide our paths. This week we had that happen about 5 different times, it wasn’t a prompting that we recognized to be somewhere but we were there and we found a family, or taught a really good lesson, or helped a member of the ward in need. I have also had a few really cool experiences in lessons where I had a prompting to say something and followed it, even if I didn’t have the Spanish for it, and I was able to say it and it really helped in a few different lessons. I challenge you all to look for the Lords hand in your life, listen for the promptings of the spirit, and like Elder Bednar said be a good boy or a good girl, keep your commandments and you will have the spirit.

Love you all

Elder Utley

PS: if you could send some photos of what you guys are doing and have each of the kids write for Christmas that would be the best Christmas present. I will make sure to get some more time to write that week. And a photo of the house; I know that’s weird but a lot of people want to know what my house looks like ha ha.