The Year of the Elder

January 2, 2019

The Year of the Elder

General Información

The problem of servers being closed for holidays continued this week as on New Year's Eve all them were closed, and then on the 1st the entire city of Celaya was closed, so we are writing today. But this week and a half has been eventful! The highlight was that on Christmas Eve I got to call my family, which is the best present I could have gotten. We called from a family in our ward's house, and then spent the rest of the nigh with them. The Dad gifted me a USA Olympic basketball jersey, which I find humor in. After we had dinner, and I proceeded to eat 24 tacos. Partially because they were really good, and partially because the last time we ate there my comp made the mistake of not eating a lot. I didn't understand all of the Spanish screaming, but I did understand that I wasn't taking any chances with how much I ate. We got home, I slipped into a peaceful food coma, and then was revived in the morning for our party in Querétaro. Good day, and we even watched Mr. Kruger's Christmas in Spanish during the party! Never has a chapel felt more like home.

A Different Type of Family History

Before the party started, I was lead to a corner of the chapel to meet my great great grandpa, Elder Garcia. It was here that I learned about the strange and wide world of "the family" in the mission. So, my trainer, Elder Reyes, is considered my "Dad" and I am his "Son". As you would expect, this pattern continues as more and more people are trained or train someone else. I learned that Elder Garcia is my great grandpa, while Elder Valiente is my great grandpa, Boyer is my grandpa and Reyes is my Dad. If you think this sounds confusing, try getting it told to you in Spanish. I felt like I needed to start taking notes, or at least have someone who could speak English tell me. But, smiling, nodding and saying the occasional "sí" seemed to convince everyone that I knew what was going on. Why this exists, or why I took the time to explain it, I don't know, but I do know it's time you or I are never getting back. 

An Eternal Gift

The week ended with another high as we baptized la familia Diaz Mendoza this week! They were actually the first people I contacted on my first night in the mission, so it's really cool to have seen their progression in thier testimony and the church. I did the baptizm for Hermano Diaz, and although it took me 5 times to say the prayer correctly, we got him under eventually, and I know him and I both felt the Spirit's presence. Now we are working to get them to the temple, so I am excited for that. 

El Fin

With all the holidays recently, it's very easy to feel a little tinge of sadness with every Christmas song I heard in the mall about family and snow, which Mexico has neither of. But, the same reasons why I miss home are the same reasons why I am here, and experiences like the baptizm of la familia Diaz Mendoza are just testiments to me of the importance of this work. And that's what kind of hit me as I stood on our roof on New Year's Eve, wathcing and hearing all the fireworks and gunshots go off (they are the basically the same thing here in Mexico). This starts the year where I am gone for the whole thing, but it´s 2 years of being gone from the ones I love at home in exchange for an eternity of blessings for the ones I now love here in Mexico. Not a bad trade if you ask me. Wishing you all a happy, and successful 2019, and can´t wait to see what´s in store for me, and you. ¡Nos Vemos¡

Elder Jackson 

1. Christmas Eve breakfast

2. The "family" (guess who's the youngest)

3. Baptizm of the Diaz Mendoza Family 

4. New Year's Eve (it's a martinelli okay don't worry)