1/21/13 6 months out &1/28/13 Transfers

1/21/13

Hey Family!

So it’s been kind of a crazy week at home? Sounds like everyone is just super busy. I am jealous of the shooting you guys got to do with the Briggs’s, we will definitely have to do that when I come home. Tell Brooke congrats on her award, and for working so hard. What is Mary up to? When does Coop start soccer again?

So to answer your questions yes when I say ex missionary I mean he is a return missionary, that’s how they that here and I guess I just wasn’t thinking about it. They are both really great. Also we did get moved into our new house, with light and water, and we have everything to get the hot water going but we haven’t been able to connect it yet. And I don’t want to try and do it because it’s a tank of gas, and if I do it wrong we could have some real problems. So until that’s connected we are still showering out of a bucket... fun stuff. We also won’t have the stove working until that gets connected.

Dad it sounds like everything’s going really well at work! That’s exciting. To answer some of your questions we teach about 10 lessons a week to investigators, and about 10-15 more to less-actives, recent converts or to families in the ward. I do make my own breakfast and dinner, right now since we don’t have a stove I have just been eating cereal and making sandwiches. I found a couple stores with peanut butter, I was pretty stoked! But when we have a stove working I am going to start making oatmeal or eggs in the mornings.

So this Sunday we have transfers and next Monday is the traveling day. I really don’t know what’s going to happen, if I will leave or stay. And I don’t really know if I want to leave or stay. So I will just leave it up the president and revelation and hope for the best! I have been feeling a lot better about my Spanish, I can pretty much communicate anything I need to and I understand almost everything too.

This week was a good week of work too. Angel had his interview and he passed, which is really good because he had a couple of things that made us nervous, but he choose to stay with the date we set in the first place for the 26th, so we will have his baptism this week for sure. We also found Pati and her kids again, they were the family we were working with when I got here and decided not to get baptized and stop taking the lessons. But we taught them 2 times this week, the mom went to church, and the oldest daughter asked when she could be baptized. So we are going to put a date with all 4 of them that can be baptized for one of the first two weeks in February. I am really excited, the family is awesome, so that’s kind of the reason I would like to stay here for another transfer. We also received some referrals, finally, and we are going to work with them this week!

I hope you all have a great week. Remember to read the book of Mormon, I am about to finish for my first time in Spanish! I am in the end of 3 Nephi. I know it’s the word of God and his prophets, and our lives are just better when we remember to read it. I love it and I cannot get enough of it.

I love and miss you

Elder Utley

Side note that came with pictures:

Hey you asked for some pictures! I have been taking them, contrary to what you might think, they are just a pain to send.  So this one is one of the activities we did as a district, we went to a buffet for breakfast. Actually one week we did a buffet and this one is we ate carnitas, it’s a type of pork that the Mexicans love, it think its okay. I will send two more of the buffet. I am planning on just sending the memory card home in a few months. I have actually taken like 100 or more pictures. And I will try to be better about it because I have missed some pretty cool stuff too...

1/28/13

Hey Family!

How is everybody! Sounds like you have all had a good busy week. Me too! This week was really good. It went by really fast. Well first of all Angel got baptized this Saturday!!!! I was so excited for him and his family. He still can hardly walk, to the baptism was interesting. Elder Valdes baptized him and I got all dressed up in white and helped with his leg. So there were three of us in the font. Kind of weird but I think the pictures are pretty cool. (Which I don’t have time to send today, I will explain later). His wife gave her testimony after the baptism, about how much the church has helped their family and changed their lives. It was so cool, and so rewarding.

Today we had transfers. Elder Valdes left and I stayed here in Irapuato. My new companion is Elder Alveres, I have only known him for a couple hours but he seems pretty cool and I think he is a good missionary from what I can tell. We will have to see. He is from Oaxuaca, and is about to finish his mission too, he has 20 months here in the mission. I am pretty excited for this transfer, we found a few really good investigators over the last couple weeks and we could potentially baptize a lot!

The weird part about this transfer is that I have heard it will be only 3 weeks instead of 6 weeks. So who knows what’s going to happen with that, I might only be here another 3 weeks or another 9. It’s really unusual for someone to be in an area for more than 6 months though so I’m thinking I will leave after this half transfer.

The other big news is I finished the Book of Mormon in Spanish for the first time, today! I am pretty stoked. I read from the beginning of Alma all the way to the end in this transfer of 6 weeks. I know without a doubt it is true, it changes lives, and helps us become closer to our heavenly father in a way we cannot get from any other source. Read it every day!

I love and miss you all, have an awesome week!
Elder Utley