Like No One Ever Was!

Written By: Stuart - Jan• 23•12

I wanna be,
The very best,
Like no one ever was… DUN DUN DUNN,
To catch them is my real test,
To train them is my cause, DUN DUN
MORMON-MON!

Hurr.  Sorry.  It just fit.

I´ve been having some really good experiences this week.  Elder Rodriguez has therefore also been having some remarkable experiences as well.  The photos I included are, firstly, when Elder Rodriguez arrived in the offices, after his training by the President.  He was super tired.  Isn´t he adorable?  He learns fast and does what´s necessary to improve.  It´s really helpful to me as well to review the basics with him.
The rest are the two of us trekking to and from Ke Casas, at which to arrive we must traverse a large ridge of hills.  Elder Rodriguez is funny in that he´s so not used to physical hardship and discomfort.  Climbing the first hill, we had to stop like three times, which surprised me because I wasn´t even breathing hard.  All the walking and biking has given me a decent physical condition, I suppose.  Afterward, it rained on us, and he wanted to head back to the house to change clothes.  I almost said no, because we had to hurry, but he really seemed to need it.
The mission is full of physical difficulty, including weather and food.  Because of this, we develop a certain lack of caring for these things, because the only solution when the urges to eat or take shelter arise is to just deal with it, as there are people to visit.

I´ve noticed that everything falls apart on Sunday when people don´t show up for church.  A full week of hard work can disappear in an instant when nobody progresses toward baptism because they didn´t go on Sunday.
To meet this problem, I´ve realized that we haven´t really been doing our part by preparing things for them to have a better experience at church.  Maybe if we do all the things outlined in Preach My Gospel and other sources of guidance, God will intercede.

This is all I have time for.  I didn´t think I´d be writing to Ben, so I had to write less experiences to you all, but I´ve read your letters and appreciated them fully.
Dad, reading your letters (and the ones from Mom) every week is something that helps me maintain my English.  It´s 100% ok to write me in English, though it´s fun to communicate in Spanish too.

Con mucho cariño para todos, familiares y otros,
Elder Stuart Mayo

 

Cue the Rocky Theme Song

Written By: Stuart - Jan• 18•12

I’m going to be training a new missionary during these next three months, and thus we need proper theme music.  Rocky will do.

Elder Minquiz se fue, y le extrañaré. (Elder Minquiz left, and I will miss him.) I am reminded of many extremely important truths while serving with him, whether through my own studies and the Holy Spirit or through the various good examples that Elder Minquiz gave me through his actions.  Nevertheless, I am really excited to train a trainee.  His name is Elder Rodriguez.  He seems nervous.  Heh, who’s not nervous their first day?
I’ve definitely enjoyed the counsel that the president gave us as new trainers.  There’s pressure, but not too much to handle.  I’ve been thinking off and on about how to train trainees since Elder Roque.
I’m happy to hear that all is well at home!  I don’t have much time, so I will say that all continues similarly here in Pinos.
I have realized that if our motivations for doing this work are wrong, we will not have success.  I’ve been trying to figure out why we haven’t been baptizing (with Elder Minquiz, we only baptized one), and I realized that we can’t count the success as our own, and we can’t say that they’re “our baptisms, our converts,” or anything like that.  If we do, the Spirit leaves us to find “our converts” for ourselves, and if we aren’t working with the glory of God as our primary focus, our priorities are out of line and why would God then help us to have success if we aren’t doing the His work in His way?
Mom, your comment about public transportation is so true.  I remember taking the bus from Chico to Paradise when I worked in the Bishop’s Storehouse, and there really were a lot of scary looking people.
Here, the people are not so scary, but the method of bus-driving definitely is.
That’s all the time I have!  I love you all!
Elder Stuart Mayo

Sugar Is Conquered!

Written By: Stuart - Jan• 11•12

That is not to say that I have broken my habit of eating sugar, as it tastes good.  Rather, it is to express that I have finally almost finished off the confections found in the boxes that you and the Gilbertsons/Izatts sent me.  (Thanks Gilbertsons and Izatts! ) The other food I´ve not yet been able to prepare, as I have no pot to boil water in.  The other elders that buy stuff for new houses don´t seem to think about necessities so much as a sort of ¨Wouldn´t it be awesome if…¨ mentality.

No importa.  Se encontrará a alguna caldera en las sobreruedas magias.
I´ve learned a valuable lesson this week as we slaved away and had good results.  One piece or day of work well-done gives me more satisfaction than a hundred games won or entertainments appreciated.
¨Hey, I thought this was an Email from Stuart!¨ you exclaim.  But it´s true.  We found a plethora of persons to teach that all have the potential to progress and grow in the Gospel.  Or, as Elder Johnson put it, the Chosen.  Huh.  That actually sounds a little melodramatic in English.  Thankfully there are a bunch of scriptures about that particular topic to de-program the videogame terminology connotation.  It´s a really cool topic for study, especially as applied to missionary work.  By focusing on finding those prepared to receive us, we don´t lose so much time with those who are never going to take action.
Well, with regards to the question I sent you last time, I know that one´s testimony doesn´t ¨cap off¨ in this life, but I am happy to know that the conviction of the knowledge of truth doesn´t need to fade.  I look forward, then, to learning more and having some time to study topics of personal interest in place of the missionary lessons or scriptures for other people.  I also look forward to deepening my understanding of the basic principles of the Gospel, which really seem to be the most advanced or versatile.  I really don´t want to plateau and be lame after my mission.  But that´s not for another 15 months, so I´ll think about that later.
Faith, for example, really is the least understood principle in the world.  I´ve learned a little about it, but there´s a mountain more that I just haven´t been able to grasp yet.  Every time I study faith, repentance, baptism and conversion, the Holy Spirit, the priesthood, or the attributes, mission, and purpose of Christ, I always feel as if I was looking down into the depths of the ocean.  I see the shallow-dwelling fish the most easily, and the most rare or profound fish farther down are only rarely glimpsed for an instant before they recede into the depths again.  I´m always reminded of 1 Corinthians 13, where Paul remarks that now we see through the glass darkly, but it will not always be so.
I suppose that because we learn the things of God little by little (1 Nephi 28:30…I think I remember the citation correctly), I´ll have to settle for Nephi´s response at times: ¨I know that God loveth His children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things.¨
Thankfully, the knowledge and feeling of God´s love is the basis of all spiritual knowledge.  So I´m set.
I hear Florida is very full of crocodiles and really big crustaceans this time of year, Mom.
Con mucho cariño por todos, hasta mi hermano quien no me escribe sino cada vez en cuando,
Elder Stuart Mayo

Ketchup is the Opposite of Good Food

Written By: Stuart - Jan• 02•12

I ate some meatloaf with ketchup on it the other day.  It was a culinarily horrifying experience.  It was like eating solid death.  I speak not in vain, for without flavor save that of Heinz chemical, and with the texture of rubber, what life hath such victuals?

In other words, I miss my momma’s down-home good cookin’.
I never thought I’d get tired of Mexican food, and I’m still not tired of the good Mexican food, and likely never will be.  The problem is that most other variety of Mexican food is some kind of greasy meat taken off a heat source and put next to rice or beans, or an imitation of American food.
Not that I’m complaining.  If it doesn’t blacken my innards with infections, I’m ok.  I’m all better from that, by the way.  The only lasting effect is an intense fear of posole and birria, and disgust for flautas de pollo.
Dad, you’re almost 50!  What’re you doing smacking shoulders with your *cough* meatloaf *cough* high-muscle-density son?  Ten cuidado, porque todavia tenemos que andar en las montanas diez anos desde ahora (I don’t have a tilde key.  Blast).  Those are some nasty bruises.  You should probably still go for the ball with the same fervor, though.  That’s the cool thing to do.  Did you dress your wounds in ketchup?
Mom, The Influenza is a nasty thing.  Please don’t be sick.  It is requisite that you regain your health in a rapid manner.  In other words, sleep and rest and take whatever the doctors give you.  Hey, at least you have lots of free time, right?  Geheh.
L, you tank, careful with your poor, frail, aging, grey papoose!  He’s grey, for goodness sake!  Your mad soccer skills seem to be some kind of impressiveness, if you play with the Hunters.  Those guys are nuts.  Also, are you reading Preach My Gospel, together with the Book of Mormon (to check all the references in chapter 3), yet?  Du eet.  Naough!
I wrote down my testimony in my journal to commemorate the new year (which I welcomed while sleeping), and it surprised me what I’ve come to know and believe about the Gospel, and the plan and love of God.  I have a question for my two returned-missionary parents.  Does this testimony stick after the mission, or does it fade with the calling and with time?
I’ve found when I sit in Sacrament Meeting and pray, focusing on the sacrifice of Christ and my own repentance, that somethimes I receive personal revelation.  It gives new value to Sacrament Meeting, and the ordinance of the Sacrament itself.
A bunch of my paisanos came down this week to do acts of service, the largest of which were house construction.  The chapel was a mess of humanitarian goodness.
They asked us if we could do divisions with their mission-age youth, and we said, “Sure!”  So it was that Elder Minquiz went with Zach, and I went with Hunter, to contact and give them a good spiritual experience.  They asked a thousand questions about silly stuff, and I remembered what it was like before my mission, wondering how the mission would be.
Neither of them spoke any Spanish, so Elder Minquiz had a tough time of it, but I think his English improved afterward.  It was funny in the lessons, as I had to teach everything and Hunter just sat and smiled.
That’s everything that I have to share today.  I love you all, very much.  Missions help with that, too.
Con mucho carinyo,
Elder Stuart Mayo
P.S.  Oh, hey, I wrote Chris a letter.  I’m sending it today.

Elder Minquiz kisses his giant Hershey's kiss!

Elder Minquiz fell off his bike (they arrived quickly), and thus has a battle wound.

Photos from the Field

Written By: Stuart - Dec• 26•11

Elder Benson says the brother of someone in his ward put that particular declaration upon the mountainside. It is easily visible from all of Tijuana. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to have much effect on the spiritual state of things here.

This is me, standing in front of a river of processed human waste, on top of a somewhat large rock formation.

Our sector is big.

Our sector is still big. We have adventures exploring new paths to get to different colonias faster.

Elder Guevara is our leader of district. Also, he seems to be a fish. Elder Mann is one of our zone leaders. He seems to be rather thoughtful. These are good personality indicators of them both.

This is Auryl and her family. Elder Minquiz bought them a cake to celebrate Auryl's baptism.

We found Mama Lucha in the street on the 22nd of December, 2011, at roughly 1:11 in the afternoon. It was a memorable experience. Mama Lucha is the mascot for Bodega Aurrera, another version of Stuff-Mart.

This is Elder Stott and Elder Benson, two friends from my MTC district. They are still cool.

This is the one and only Presidente Armando Carreon.

This is Hna. Jiminez and Hna. Palma, who are in our zone, and are highly nice people. Also, I am in this picture.

We ran into a manly jacket for Elder Minquiz for 30 pesos, and so it was that we took a manly picture. Are we very masculine looking?

The mighty hunter glories over his prey. I killed the pinata too fast, unfortunately. They guy moving it around couldn't get it to go high enough to avoid me, and therefore the party was rained on by my lightning reflexes and iron resolve.

What? You didn't know that missionaries can summon elemental spheres to the palms of their hands by focusing their chi? Where have you been? In any case, it is useful when dogs try to get us.

 

Merry Christmas everybody!

Trying to Write Spiritual Profundities in Twenty Minutes or Less

Written By: Stuart - Dec• 21•11
Dear Mr. Potato Head, Wonder Woman, and L,
Charity is a grand topic for study, and I´ve learned a lot about it in the obra misional.  Also, I was impressed by Moroni´s wordsconcerning charity, in that after all other things pass away, charity never will.  In that way I understood that it gives our otherChristlike attributes eternal value, because we exercise them for the right reasons, recognizing the eternal potential of everyone elsearound us.
But gosh darn it, Dad, I can´t respond fittingly to your miraculous spiritual insights in twenty minutes.  Herp…
Actually, it might be nice to send the spiritual insights in snail-mail form, so that I can prioritize on P-day and respond with my owninsights that I have punt´d in my study journals (I´ve filled almost three notebooks already.  Missions are cooool).  Really,
they´ll help me to review and revise my own observations, quitando apostasía que quizá ha entrado.
I actually tried to remember my home phone number the other day, thinking of the coming Christmas, and almost couldn´t.  Yeeh. That´s Scarry like Richard.  And if you didn´t get that reference, Googl´it.
Tell Chris to fear not, for behold I bring cool tidings of great noise.  I´ll send him a letter soon!
My companion and I have had a really cool faith-building experience this week.  We set goals at the beginning of the semana, andweren´t sure that we´d be able to achieve them, because our numbers had been hideously low the week before (eight lessons and nothing more).  We decided to aim for the revised standards that Presidente Carreón nos mandó that night.  To achieve those goals,we had to teach at least 3-4 lessons every day.  Our sector is so enormous that transportation is difficult, and it´s nearly impossible topass by all the houses of the investigators every day (Presidente Carreón me mandó un correo hoy que dice que están mandandonos bicicletas ahorita.  Nos ayudará muchísimo)(President Carreon sent me a letter today that says that they are sending us bicycles now.) A pesar de todo eso, (in spite of all this) we tried to exercise our faith and diligence, with patience in ourafflictions, and it seemed like even when the day was rough or our plans fell through, we always had at least three lessons.  We tallied up all our various numbers for the week, and they show an enormous improvement.
I know the goals are not the objective, but achieving our goals sure helps us to invite others to come unto Christ by helping themto receive the restored Gospel.  We found several people who were very interesting this week.
Leonardo.  We were walking along a road, going to an appointment with Auryl (who by her own 12-year-old strength of will achieved her baptism this week.  She´s probably the coolest 12-year-old girl I´ve ever met.  The coolest 12-year-old boy I´ve ever met isthe deacon who called the whole ward to repentance on Sunday in his three-to-five-minute discourse.  This is a rather long parenthetical comment), and Elder Minquis and I both paused at the same time and looked at a house across the street, withoutsaying anything to each other or even realizing that the other one was stopped.  At almost the same moment we said ¨Let´s gocontact that house,¨ (jynx style, though we used different words to say it).  We crossed the street and called out our greeting, and outcame an older man who let us in welcomingly.  Leonardo lives by himself in this small house on the side of the freeway, and has studied the Bible throughout much of his life.  Despite this, he´s never been affiliated with any church, though he´s tried the [another church] and didn´t like it at all.  In our first lesson with him, all his doubts and questions became evident, and they were allanswered by the Plan of Salvation, which we taught in the second lesson a couple of days later.  He was in some kind of awe, and confirmed that all that we were teaching out of the Book of Mormon was found in the Bible too, though it was more obscure or difficult to understand.  We agreed, and we said ¨Nobody else has ever had the answers to these questions I´ve had, and nobody wants to admit that they don´t have them.¨  He came to church this Sunday completely on his own (we didn´t have to go get him),and enjoyed the lessons in Sacrament Meeting and Gospel Principles.  He just keeps finding answers to his questions because the church has a modern-day, living prophet that receives these things directly from God.
Cool, huh?  Leonardo es escogido, por seguro.  Él has sido preparado por nosotros, por su propia lectura y el entendimiento mediante el Espíritu Santo. (Leonardo es chosen, for sure.  He has been prepared for us through his own study and understanding through the Holy Spirit.)
De todos modos, ya tengo que irme.
I will call sometime in the afternoon, probably later rather than earlier (after two-thirty, most likely, and maybe after three), as ElderMinquis has to do some kind of preliminary call to set things up with his family and he doesn´t know exactly when they´ll be available.  He actually has to compensate for time zones, being from Veracruz.  How exotic.  We´re going to try to get a camera to use, but we almost assuredly have Skype and a microphone.  If worst comes to not so good, I´ll just call y´all.
I love you all, and will talk with you shortly.
Con mucho cariño,
Elder Stuart Mayo
P.S. Tell Kevin he´s pretty cool too.  As for a white Christmas…with faith, anything is possible.

Hail From the Land of the Ice and Snow (y Chilis Habaneros y Jalapeños y de todos otros typos)

Written By: Stuart - Dec• 18•11
The first bit of news is that I can use Skype to call you guys, and I’ve not yet received the packages (and I really want that sweater).
I had a really happy dream last night that I had finished my mission and was a super sanctified and spiritual RM, being an all-around good person with my family.  Don’t worry, I’m not trunky, but that really is a happy dream.
I’ve been studying the Plan of Salvation quite a bit recently (it was my weakest lesson of the four that we teach.  I’ve already gone in depth studying the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which continues to be an incredible experience in understanding, and we get a lot of practice teaching the Restoration).  Studying with the Spirit as a teacher is a wondrous and electrifying, and in that Plan there is a great sense of eternal purpose that we can obtain.  Everything gains sense and reason, and the mechanics of the Gospel begin to show through.
And stuff.
(Translated from Spanish) My experiences this week were good.  Los Pinos 2 area  seems to be a good area, full of support from the ward and referrals from the members.  And even though our work time was limited this week, we still found a few chosen ones, all from referrals.  Our area is like something… really big.  We lose a lot of time waiting for the buses, and when we walk we are even later.  It’s strange that we don’t have bicycles.
In truth, we could use like four more missionaries in our area, and even then we would have extra space for all of them.  Elder Minquis in my companion.  He is very cool.  He teaches effectively without teaching too much, and applies everything to the investigator.  I have already learned things from him in our time here.  When I arrived, my teaching was, in truth, a little rough, after 6 weeks of not being able to get better or change very much.
Elder Minquis has been out for 9 months, and I have been out only 8.  Nevertheless, I know that President Carreon put us together for a good reason.  Elder Minquis is a quintessential Mexican — he is short, is always telling jokes, and has a very strong testimony.  He taught seminary before his mission, and was baptized at age 16.
Right now we have 4 new investigators.  Auril will be baptized this week.  She is a 12 year old girl with a testimony of iron.  Why are the little girls always like that?  Her parents don’t have testimonies as strong as her’s, but they support her in her decision to be baptized.  Her mom is a member already, but her dad isn’t.  Nevertheless, her dad has also been experiencing the joy and peace that comes from reading the Book of Mormon.
Another is Angel, who has had contact with the church since 1994, when he began investigating, and now he is ready to change his life.  He has been forced to be humble recently, so we have a lot of hope for him.
L, I got lazy and wrote the bulk of this thing in Spanish.  Get yo´ papoose to traducir.  He´s a Spanish teacher.  Battlefield 3 sounds cool, but the only way I´m touching it after my mission is if I´m playing it with you or other people I know in real life.  That condition is the same with pretty much every other game too.  I think with that limiter I can realistically limit my electronic recreation to reasonable levels. Capture the flag with an awesome RM?  Que suave!  That´s the life, that is.  Cuate, ¡léalo Predicad Mi Evangelio ahorita, especialmente capitulos 1 y 3!  That thing´s going to help you out a ton, señor.
Mamá, ese cerro al este es el cerro Colorado, y tiene ¨Jesucristo es el Señor¨ escrito bien grande en el lado.  Fanaticismo…Ja.  ¡Estoy bien celoso porque está cerca de mi lugar favorito!  Mom, that hill to the east is Colorado Hill, and it has “Jesus Christ is the Lord” written really big on the side.  Fanaticism, huh?  I am a bit jealous because it is really close to one of my favorite places!

Papá, tambien he sentido ese renovación cuando no hemos tenido sueño suficiente, pero está bien difícil mantener una actitud buena cuando estoy dormiendo en las visitas con investigadores a veces.  Dad, I have also felt that renewal when I haven’t had enough sleep, but it is still hard to have a good attitude when I am sleeping during my visits with investigators. Also, parlance is an excellent word.
Con mucho cariño, y muestras de mi habilidad con el idioma,
With much affection, and demonstrations of my language proficiency,
Su hijo primogénito,
Your first-born son,
Elder Stuart Mayo

To My Potato (Papa)

Written By: Stuart - Dec• 05•11
Also, this letter is to everyone else.  I just liked that title.
I´ve included the other pictures that perhaps Salvador didn´t put in.  I am so very happy!  I was happy yesterday too, even though I said goodbye to so many people.  Serena Quintana, Iram’s girlfriend, made me the scarf.  Iram was baptized on Thursday, pictures included.  He was so incredibly ready to be baptized.  He gained faith in Jesus Christ and repented of his sins, in accordance with the counsel of Elder Holland, which led him to the obvious step of baptism rapidly and directly.  It´s súper,  Padre.  Bien chido, se puede decir.
I shared my testimony rather than playing a musical number (as it was testimony meeting), and it surprised me.  I really do know the things I said I knew.  I bore testimony, one by one, of every principle of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and briefly of the Plan of Salvation, Gospel, and Commandments, and realized something marvelous.
I didn´t know these things were true before my mission.  I believed them, and wanted to know that they were true, but I still didn´t know.  Now I know.  I´ve felt the Spirit testify countless times already, and I finally know what knowing feels like.  I always wondered what it would be like to have a sure knowledge of the Gospel truths, and now I know how something feels when it´s true.
That means I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Plan of Salvation, the Restoration, and the Commandments are all true, simply because of the undoubtable feeling that wells up in me when I take the Sacrament, or teach an effective, well-taught lesson, or perform a baptism.
As for my new sector, (the remainder has been translated from Spanish into English) it seems like a very interesting place. I have learned a lot in Aguacaliente, and I feel like the lessons from that place are going to help me a lot here. I don’t know anything about Los Pinos, but I can see that at least there are all of the material things that make the work easier. Yes, it is a more affluent area. Where we live is almost pure subdivisions and private homes, but I suppose that we can jump the walls to tract.

There aren’t any bad areas in missionary work, it doesn’t matter what the people in San Quintin say, hee…
Now that I have earned bad karma for future transfers (may the mission president not send me to San Luis R.C., please!) (editor’s/translator’s note: the area mentioned, San Luis Rio Colorado, is the farthest east that you can go in the Tijuana mission) I’ll finish the letter now. I have to finish P-Day chores and it looks like we’re going to have a lot to do. My companion is Elder Mínquis. Elder Portilla went directly from junior companion to trainer. He was very discouraged to hear that, haha. Also Elder Stott will be a trainer. My new companion has more time in the mission field than me. We’ll see how it goes.

 

Mis oraciones están consigo, pero no mis pensamientos. :-) (My prayers are with you, but not my thoughts.)
Su hijo y hermano,
Elder Stuart Charles Mayo

Personal Apostasies and Dispensations

Written By: Stuart - Nov• 28•11
All you wonderful people,
Observations on Dispensations and Apostasies:
When a dispensation of the Gospel begins, the blessings go not only forward, but backward in time, with the blessings of the temple blessing those who have already died.
Also, personal dispensations could be considered to be whenever the Spirit gives us personal comfort, revelation, and counsel to progress and improve.
Personal apostasies are when we’ve let the Spirit become clouded by something else: it could be anything, from philosophies of school, work, or mistaken friends, or sins that we’ve tried to rationalize or cover up.  The gospel can only be dispensed to us personally when the Spirit is uninterrupted.
I have had a personal dispensation this week, to end weeks of apostasy.  Don’t worry, it wasn’t apostasy in the commandment/rule-breaking sense, but rather in a broken line of spiritual reception due to pride and…un-charity.  Whatever that is.
I read in Helaman 10:1-11 this morning.  It’s the story of Nephi the missionary as he tries to invite the apostate Nephites to live the Gospel.  It illuminated for me that even though I am having difficulties right now, I should continue teaching repentance and baptism with all diligence, of accord with the Spirit of God which I strive to have with me.  I’m trying to be united with the will of God, so that I can gain the loaned power of God which the aforementioned scripture speaks of.  Matthew 10:39 (I think it’s 39) also applies well, in that if I lose the focus on my own life and my selfish pride, I can find a life worth living through the miracle that it is to serve the Lord.
Dad, the advice you sent in your long, long letter is extremely useful.  Don’t worry, I’m writing a reply!  I have been very blessed to read and re-read both the main sections of it (coping with difficult companions and applying faith the the plans we make and the things we do.  In other words, who wants to get advice all the time from home?  Me!  It’s wonderful that you can still receive revelation for me even though I’m so far away and not in constant contact.  I’ve found it very useful to disconnect myself from my companion, working with him but not like him.  I can follow the Spirit without pressure from the world in that way.  This week has been consistently better when I apply that idea.
I wish I could find hipster Swedish medical bags here.  The Sobreruedas are kind of lacking in really cool bags.
I am finally feeling better after that absurdly bad gastrointestinal infection.  I couldn’t stand the sight or smell of anything fried or topped with cream for a few days while my body arranged itself properly.  That was quite the problem, as I’m in Mexico, and it is rare that one finds food that is not fried and topped with cream.  As it is, salsa still doesn’t appeal to me at all.
But hey, I got to eat a ton of pumpkin pie the day after Thanksgiving!  We stopped by the house of the Stake President while contacting that neighborhood, in order to share a message about praying for positive missionary experiences (sound familiar?), and it turned out that they had bought a pumpkin pie from Costco and nobody had liked it as much as the other stuff they had, so guess who got to eat all the pumpkin pie he could handle?  Elder Mayo!
This week I will try not to worry about our dismal numbers (less than half of what the mission standards indicate) and instead focus on the people.  I have developed the capacity to love the people we teach, even without knowing them very long or very well.  Still, it’s difficult to not think, “Wow, if they progress, our numbers will be higher!”  Guh.
We’ve been teaching a young man named Iram, who works with the Mexican Air Force.  He’s so well prepared and receives everything so well in our lessons with him that we don’t want to leave, and this Sunday he came to chuch without any calls or door-knocking on our part.  He just said he felt the need to go, despite having been up most of the night with a friend who was leaving for Veracruz.  He’s going to be baptized this Saturday.  I’m understandably very excited, after the drought of receptive people we’ve had recently.
That is all for this week, then.  Many thanks for your support and love!  Oh, and money.  Thanks for the money too.  I’ve not received the packages yet, Mom.  The Zone Leaders haven’t gotten them yet either (I just called and asked).  That probably means they’re sitting in the offices on the mail wall.
We’re going to Costco today with a member.  Maybe I can find an umbrella there.  Thankfully, it hasn’t rained this week.
Sinceramente,
Elder Mayo

Just The Way The Galleta Crumbles…

Written By: Stuart - Nov• 21•11
Querido familia y familiares,
My piano performance with the missionary choir went well on Saturday, but unfortunately my gluttony got the better of me, and caused a digestive ruckus.  I had to leave the meeting rapidly with the mission secretary sitting closest to me (Elder Monsalvo), in the middle of one of the Seventy´s talk, due to extreme nausea and fever.  I was remarkably blessed to have immediate access to a medic, who was on site due to the presence of so many missionaries and an apostle, and he diagnosed it as a gastrointestinal infection.  That was Saturday.
I now understand what people mean when they say, ¨You won´t die, but you´ll wish you could.¨  A severe fever, crazy-colored green vomit (I think it was overkill with green salsa that did it), and excessive diarrhea make for an unpleasant Stu.  Hee.  Stew.  Heehee.
I slept most of Saturday after that.  Sunday I felt a little better, but after we did the rounds for our investigators I went back to bed.  I never ever want to have terrible digestive diseases ever again.  Elder Stott, our district leader, came over to watch me so that Elder Portilla and Elder Loya could go to church.  He´s super cool.
Enough of that, though.  I already sent you gross pictures of my feet.  You don´t need nasty digestive details, do you?
Mom, your questions!
Are you staying warm enough?   Did you get my packages yet? Do you think you will be transferred this month?
Yes, I am staying mostly warm enough, except when it rains.  When it doesn´t rain, my leather jacket is super warm.  When it does, I can´t really use that one, and my paragua seems to have disappeared.  That´s ok though.  It builds character.
I have not gotten your packages yet, but after I finally got the retention sheet to the ZLs, they may stop holding them ransom.  Heh, kidding.  I don´t know if they´re here yet.
I do think I will be transferred this month, or rather next month, on December 5th.
Thank you for the reminder of your experience before my birth.  It really is a good reminder that God cares about little Stuart.  I love you very much, Mom.
Dad, I have printed out your novel and will respond by hand when possible (today if there´s time), but for now, suffice it to say that I have read and appreciate all of it.  Although my situation has not changed and has possibly worsened, I am learning how to have the Spirit with me regardless.  I have learned some things from your letter by my own experience, and I have been trying to use the Eye of Faith when we work and when I pray, but much of the rest is a very healthy reminder or instruction on what I can do to improve.  Thank you.
Elliot, your life sounds full.  Or at the very least your Sunday.  It sounds like you´re having some really excellent preparatory experiences in your church service and elsewhere.  Don´t freak out.  Be cool, but not too cool.  Everything has a happy ending.  Blah blah bashpit.  Etc.  No, seriously though.  Be an excellent priest, and everything else will fall into place.
Con todo el amor de un hijo y hermano tierno,
Elder Stuart Charles Mayo