HOME - 10-28-15

Much to our joy Hayden (Elder Redford) made it home on 10-28-15 from a successful Mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

2 Days :) - October 26, 2015

Well today I was able to spend my last P day in a really fun way, we went to hike up to some cascades and some waterfalls on one side of the big mountain that we have in Monterrey. It was so much fun, running around in the woods! I missed it. 

Well, it is so hard to say goodbye to people. That is the hardest part. I hope I can help them see that I really do love them. I just have a lot of people that want me to come back and visit! I don’t know if I will or not, I don’t want to make promises.....That is the hardest part about leaving, saying goodbye. I am almost packed, I am thinking about putting my medium suitcase inside my big one to only take two, I hope it doesn’t weigh too much. 

From what I understand, the flight will come in at 4:10 on Wednesday... not 2:00..... 

Well, I am excited as well. Tomorrow I get to share my testimony in front of the whole mission, so that will be fun. I hope I speak loud enough (there is no microphone).

Also, I need an appointment with the Stake President Wednesday evening, so that he can release me :) Wow, that will be so weird! 

Also the Luz´s nephew Elder Velazquez is coming home the same time I am, and he is going to go to BYU, so he will be in our ward. How weird is that? 

Well, I hope that everyone is doing well, I will see you all soon! 

Love you all,

Elder Redford

Marriage Counseling :)‏ - October 19, 2015

Well this was a good week, looking for new people, with a little bit of success. 

We are having to be basically marriage counselors for a companionship in my district who aren’t getting along... it is hard and a little awkward. They just do not feel they are compatible, but it is just a little pride on their part. The world would just be so much simpler if everyone was humble!

Well, honestly I don’t know what there is to write, since I just wrote on Thursday... let’s see, well my companion spoke in church on Sunday about being modern day pioneers. Basically he invited us to take initiative to do what we know needs to be done. Be a pioneer by being the first in the quorum to do their home teaching, or first to turn off the TV in Sunday, or to do their family home evening, things like that. 

Also I ran into sister Serna, a beloved sister that I met in my first area. She found out that I had little time left, and encouraged me to make the most of it. She was almost a mom for me in my fist few months of struggling to learn the language and culture when I first arrived, so it was really good to hear what she said. That family is a great example to me. So, I want to make this last week count, because it is what my Mom would want too :) 

I know that the blessings come when we are obedient, so I want to make this last week the best that I can :) 

Like I said before, don’t kill yourselves building the basement! I can help you know :)

Love ya all! 

Elder Redford

Elder Redford at the Monterrey, Mexico Temple 10-15-15

Temple Today :) - October 15, 2015

So, we went to the temple this week. Sorry, I forgot to mention that I would write late this week. It was my last time attending the Temple in Monterrey in Spanish! It was, as always, very spiritual. 

On Sunday we had a lesson on Family History work for our new converts and investigators, which was really good, and reminded me that I really need to work on that :) 

Sounds like everyone is pretty excited back at home. That is awesome to hear that Megan is doing such a good job in Orchestra. I have seriously been thinking about learning to play the guitar when I get back home :) It will be fun to play together.

Well, this was a good week, lots of new people that we are teaching. A few are really excited to keep learning more. I know that I don’t have time to see anyone else get baptized, but I can find as many new investigators as I can before I leave to sow a few seeds for my companion to nourish :) 

Hno Nelson went on a trip to Mexico City, which he said was a lot of fun. They invited me to go with them next year. It would be pretty fun, so I will need to see if I could.... But he also got let go from his job when he got back..... but within like 2 days he had already found another one, which is great :)

It is crazy to think how little time I have left! 

I am trying to get everything done that I need to get done, and today I am going to try and make some cards to pass out to people so that we can stay in contact. Hope that they turn out! 

And it is good to hear that the basement is getting pretty close. Thank you to everyone who has help with it! 

Well, really we are going to be seeing each other pretty soon, in less than 2 weeks. But I gotta keep my torch lit 'til the end! 

Well, love you all! 

Elder Redford

Exchanges and Conference - October 5, 2015

This was an eventful week. Intercambios with the Zone Leaders and Intercambios with the other Elders in my district. We spent the week talking about Conference with everyone. Sadly though, we didn’t have much turn out by way of investigators. 

The inercambios with the Zone Leaders was great, Elder Canalizo and I made a poster for Elder Alvarez because he completed a year on the mission, to congratulate him, with some candies and things :)
The Intercambios on Friday were great as well. E Jepson (from Midway) is having some problems with his companion, he feels his companion is too bossy, and he is struggling with the language. So, I decided the thing to do was to lay back, and showed him all the support I could while I let him run the reigns in his area, and it was just what he needed to feel more confidence in himself and his capacity to make decisions. 

We ended the Intercambios On Saturday, but basically stayed together because we went to see the sessions in English. At the end of Saturday and the end of the Sessions on Sunday, I noticed that my companion was upset. We got back to the house and I honestly did not feel we were good to go out and work, we needed to talk something out. And we did, we had a very serious conversation. Basically, My companion doesn’t like E Jepson , and with all the time I spent with him, he didn’t want me to act like him. So, with the help of the Spirit, I was able to help him see the great need that he had to learn to love E Jepson. That a lot of the time his comments to him were degrading. And that it is always better to lift than bring others down. It was a very intense conversation. I asked him to stop making fun of him. So after a lot of silence, he called our companions, they came over to the house, and he apologized to Elder Jepson. I know that the Spirit had touched my companion’s heart, He never speaks seriously enough to do such a thing as ask forgiveness. But now he does. 

This has really made me think about a lot of things... how the Spirit is the true teacher, about how we need to see others with God´s eyes and his perspective, and seeing potential in others rather than just their faults. It was a very humbling experience for the two of us.

On Wednesday the Sister Missionaries had a baptism, and Dominic, a 9 year old son of a less active, asked me to baptize him, so I had that privilege this week :) It was good to see the Spirit had touched his mother, as I saw the tears in her eyes when she came around with a towel to receive her son and hug him. 

By way of the Conference, I was touched by the talk about Obedience, and the Grandmother buckling in her granddaughter.´Grandma, you want me to wear my seatbelt because you love me¨ Heart melting :) I could really relate, and I learned a lot about the answer that she got from the Spirit while trying to keep her in her seat : Teach Her. People have to understand the reason that we do things is because we LOVE THEM. And I desire to be a better instrument of the Lord's love. 

Also, I loved the invitation to Ponderize. I would like to put that in practice. And I challenge all of you to do the same! Pick one verse of scripture per week, and study that verse each day, putting it in a place where you will see it often. That was a great idea!  

It was also cool to hear Elder Bednar talk about why the Lord calls old men to be his leaders. I really liked what Elder Hales told him : When you can’t do what you once could do, all you do are the things that really matter. It is very true that our time here is very limited, and we need to spend it on what really matters most. And that that is something that these inspired leaders understand. 

These men are called of God. 

Thanks for all the support and see you soon! :)
Elder Redford

Hola - September 29, 2015

Wow. That is sad to hear about Christian... I hope that everything turns out ok with his family...  I have been praying for you guys so that everything can be good between them and us. Good to hear that he wanted to talk to Dad. 

Good to hear that you were able to have the missionaries over! Sounds like they were a lot of fun. That is quite the prayer though :) 

No way that Mikaila already had her farewell! That is absolutely crazy. I know that she made the right choice, and especially for the blessings she will see in her family. I know that I have seen so many!

Well, this was a pretty normal week. What I liked most was that a few members got excited about coming out with us to teach, and that was pretty cool. Things always turn out better when we have a member with us, and it gives the investigators a chance to make friends so that they feel more comfortable in church. I would like to keep helping out the missionaries when I get back, but it’s just that there are so few! 

Lots of people are basically sending me home, always making comments on how little I have left. I really don’t feel that I have that much time, or that it is almost over! I need to wrap up some loose ends still, like sending some letters to some converts and making sure that my journal is all up to date ;) (and if I am lucky, I might make it in time to go to Betty and Valente's sealing in the Temple!) , and I am working on the Life Plan and after mission goals that President asked me to make. So yeah, I guess the time is short. I am trying to work though like nothing is different :) 

Please, don’t kill yourselves trying to get the basement done. I can totally help out. after living here in a few of the houses, I don’t mind much. I mean, there aren’t cockroaches :)    Like Shelby, one really does learn a lot about humility being in another country. She even more, being in Guatemala. I showed Helaman and his family our house on google maps, and they say that we live in a mansion. 

Well, thanks for all you do and I send my love, 

Elder Redford

Good Week - September 21, 2015

This has seemed like a long week. We had Transfers and our Zone Conference with President Bird in the same week!


I have been called as District leader again. It’s a little extra push to work harder, and I think it is because President doesn’t want me to get too relaxed on my last Transfer :)


The Conference was good, we talked about keeping the Sabbath day Holy and how we can do it as missionaries and how to help our investigators, and some other stuff about planning and being organized with the our records and things like that :)


This week I am most excited because of our investigator that we found, whose name is Eber. He owns a little store in our street, and we have boughten there a few times, and this last week he talked to us and said that he had been thinking about us, and gave us the name of his brother so that we could pray for him. we said one together with him, and then the next day came back and he gave us some free juice and doughnuts from his store and asked us if we had prayed for his brother, and we said yes. Then he told us that he had been dreaming about his brother, who had died, and that he saw him as very unhappy and that he couldn't find rest. But, that night, he had drempt his brother again, but this time content. Wow, there is totally someone on the other side that wants him to do his work for him in the temple! So we are teaching him the Plan of Salvation and it is going well. I am actually writing from his store right now, on some laptops that he rents out :)

We also have felt super guided to some good people this week, and I am excited to keep teaching them and to keep looking for new people :) I read the story of Ammon this week in the Book of Mormon and it helped strengthen my testimony that the Lord prepares his children to receive the gospel.


So, all is well. I think that is all I can write because I am out of time :)

Thanks for everything, love you!

Elder Redford

Helaman and Rededication - September 14, 2015

Yesterday they told us about Transfers, and no surprise, my companion and I are staying. This is my last area, my last companion, and my last Transfer!

So, not much time has passed since I last wrote on Thursday, but I would like to tell you about two super cool events this week end :)

One was the baptism of Helaman. We spent like half the day cleaning the church and trying to fill up the font. We got there early to help Helaman´s mom decorate, but they didn’t arrive until the very hour, so we kinda got started late. She brought like a snack table! Cupcakes, fruit tacos, watermelon, candy, chips, and a bunch of green decorations, because it is Helaman's favorite color :) There were only a few extended family members that came, and a handful of ward members, so it was a small group. Elder Alvarez and I gave the talks and his Dad, Hermano Carmona, baptized him.

The other was that we got to see a session of the dedication of the Mexico City Temple. It was closed for a time to remodel. That was a cool experience. President Eyeing Presided and Elder Holland and Elder Piper were there. And since they didn’t all speak Spanish, they would say a line or two, and pause for the translator. It was cool to understand the two of them :) They were great talks. Elder Piper reminded us of Sacrifice, and all the sacrifices of members in order to have temples, Elder Richards talked about the importance of doing family history work, and Elder Holland talked about how the prophecy of Elijah the Prophet is happening before the great and terrible day of the Lord. It was a great talk. He said that all of us, being those who live in the last days, promised in the council of heaven in the premortal life that we would do the work of our ancestors who lived during the dark ages. He said that they did their part in helping us come to the earth, and now we need to do our part and be Saviors for them .It was such a good talk, then to top it off, Elder Holland shared his personal testimony in Spanish. It was one of the most special experiences. Just hearing him pronounce the words: Yo sé que jesucristo es nuestro Salvador. and Yo sé que la iglesia es verdadera, just flooded me with the spirit. Let’s just say that I was bawling when he said amen, and then it was followed by the dedicatory prayer, and we sang the Spirit of God as a congregation, which we all sang at the top of our lungs. It was just a wonderful experience.

Well, now I just need to finish strong. President sent me a packet with talks about creating a Life Plan, and wants me to make one and set some goals to talk about in my exit interview. The end is drawing near! I just need to find a whole bunch of awesome people for my companion to teach, to leave the area strong. 

¡Les quiero a todos un buen!

Elder Redford 

Helaman and Rededication‏ - September 14, 2015

 Helaman's Baptism

Temple Week - September 10, 2015

Hola Todos,

So we went to the temple today, and my p day got changed :) It was good because it felt like a long time since I had gone.

This was a good week, we have been working a lot with Fatima, and recent convert who is getting a little rebellious, we were able to share about the Atonement with her and it really was a great lesson. Her parents aren’t members, and are worried about her because she doesn’t want to go to church anymore, so they decided that they would go to church with her so that she would go! It was funny that her nonmember parents were more excited to go than she was. It was Stake Conference too, so they really like what they heard (they had to leave early because they had plans with the family, but they really liked it :) So, that was cool :)

I had two Companion Exchanges since I last wrote, both were really good.

We are getting ourselves ready for Helaman's baptism this week! It will be really good to finally get him baptized! We had it set two weeks ago but they moved the date. So yeah. He made his program as well, he wants to sing follow the Prophet and wants Elder Alvarez and I to give the talks :)

Last night we tried to make flour tortillas... they turned out really hard, so we did something wrong... we learned that a Kilo of flour makes a TON of tortillas, way more than we thought..... We will need to ask what went wrong, because they just break when you try to fold them in half :)   

Well, it is great to hear that Megan had a Happy Happy Birthday, and Cello for a gift isn’t too shabby :)

And, I am super excited to hear that my cousin Mikayla got her endowments! I know she will be a great missionary :)

Well, I will let you know how the baptism goes, love you all!

Elder Hayden Redford

                                     Elder Redford & Elder Alvarez at the Monterrey Temple

                                                                   Making Tortillas

News from Monterrey - August 31, 2015

Sooo basically we are just trying to find new people to teach and find people who will accept a baptismal date. We had some good success the past week.

On Monday we had a surprise family home evening. we had asked a the Garza family to go with us do have a FHE with a less active family, but when we called the family, they weren’t home.... so we stopped by to visit Helaman (9) and his family, and had an on the spot Family Home evening with them. We talked about the temple and how important it is that we go.  

On Tuesday we tried to teach an active member of and Adventist church (who have their Sabbath Day on Saturday). We were able to teach him about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. He tried to do a little bit of Bible Bashing, as to why we sanctified Sunday instead of Saturday, which is the seventh day of the week. We basically just had to tell him that that is the revelation that the prophet received, and that he would have to pray and ask if Joseph Smith was a prophet. We gave him a Book of Mormon and he gave us a book called the Conflict of the Centuries to read. We will see if he progresses.... 

We decided to work in a colony where we hadn’t worked much and found Ramon, who has been listening to the Jehovah’s witnesses but hasn’t decided on a religion yet. So it was good to talk with him and we hope to keep working with him too. 

We are also teaching a young man, who is kind of in a gang, named Angel. He came to church with us this past week. His mom is super worried about him...we passed by to visits and he wasn’t there, but we were able to talk with his mom a little and we shared with her the first vision to teach her what we have been teaching her son, and she really liked it and had some good questions. She works Sundays, but is going to try and come this Sunday. 

We found a family of 4 who all accepted baptism, a single mother and her 3 children, and youngest is 8, so there we go. We were excited to see them in church, but they didn’t make it... we asked a member to pass by, but in the chapel they told us that they passed and that they said they couldn’t come....

We had Hellman’s baptismal interview this Sunday, and we were planning on this Wednesday for the service, but now they are thinking about changing it to two weeks later.... we don’t want to wait so long, so we will see what happens with them.... but at least everything is ready, we just need to set the exact date :) So, we might have a baptism this week, or we might not :) 

We are planning to do a Car Wash activity to wash the members` cars and so that they can bring a friend so we can wash theirs and invite them to listen to the gospel. My companion kinda threw it together last minute and announced it in priesthood and invited the young men to help us out. So, we hope that we have a good turnout. 

So, those are the happenings. I am still learning lots and am excited to keep working while I can. Elder Alvarez is good company.

Thanks for all the support and hope all is well, with school and everything. Keep up the good work!

Elder Redford

Hola! - August 24, 2015

Well it was a good week. I was able to have two interviews with President in the week, one on Wednesday the usual, every 3 month interview, and another on Thursday to renew my Temple recommend! It was been 2 years since I have gone through the temple! 

Since this would be our last interview before my exit interview, he asked me what my plans were for after the mission, and encouraged me to keep myself busy, because nothing good gets done with idle time. And he also encouraged me to take what I have learned here and to take it home with me. It was a different interview that I expected. He told me to just keep being diligent to the end and to be a good example for my companion. 

This week we decide to work in a few areas where we hadn’t really worked yet, since our area is really big, and we found the Elizarraras family who are members that haven’t gone in almost a year. They were really friendly and expressed a desire to come back. The dad is just having some road bumps with the Word of Wisdom, but their 9 year old daughter wants to go, and get baptized. It was really good that we were able to find them and the dad said that it was good to see that we hadn’t forgotten about them. So it was a good thing that we decided to work over there. 

 Hermano Nelson was feeling a little overwhelmed with having received the Priesthood the same day that he was confirmed. The bishop didn’t say anything to us or to him, but just sustained him in sacrament meeting for it and then sent for his wife during priesthood so that she was present, and they gave it to him. So this week we explained to him what the Priesthood is and how to bless the sacrament, so he feels a little calmer now. 

On Sunday I guess I needed to learn to improvise. I wasn’t sure if the bishop asked be to speak this Sunday or the next, so I didn’t prepare too well, which is my fault, and  I was announced as the first speaker. It went alright, but it wasn’t very organized, it was on following the prophet. Then the teacher didn’t come gospel principles, so we taught that as well on the spot, and then I was asked to give the spiritual thought in Priesthood. Maybe the Lord wants me to participate a little more =) But it was all good. We were able to have various people come to church, which was a blessing .

Well, that’s about it. Hope you have a fabulous week! 

Elder Redford  

Baptism! - August 17, 2015

So, this week had a lot of happenings.

A Baptism, a Confirmation, an Ordination to the Priesthood, 2 Companion Exchanges, and 9 new investigators. 

So, lots of good things happening. 

I really like the Exchange that I could have with the companion of my district Leader, Elder Jepson. He is from Midway and is 26! I didn’t believe it at first. He and his two brothers left on a mission the same day, all to a different place. kinda cool. I really like being able to get to know him better, and we were able to have a good day as well. 

On Wednesday was the baptism! It all turned out really well. I was really scared that there wouldn’t be much attendance, as we weren’t able to let everyone know on Sunday, but my prayers were answered, and the room was full. I lent him a shirt and my white pants so he could get baptized, since he is also pretty tall. The member who helped us teach him, Hermano Martinez baptized him, and it was really good to hear his testimony and the testimony of his wife, who is a member, at the end of the service. After the service, his wife shared a piece of cake with everyone, and luckily there was enough for everyone :) 

On Friday we had Exchanges with the Zone Leaders. I went to work in their Area with Elder Jess, who is from Salt Lake, and from my same generation (we came over here on the same plane) and we are ending on the same day (in less than 3 months!). He was able to remind me that we have progressed a lot since we started, but that it was possible that we might be tempted to be pleased with who we have become or accomplished, and then to just coast until we end. He told me that he didn’t want to do that, but that he wanted to use the rest of the time that he has to keep learning and working hard, and use the time to its fullest. He helped me to see that I was starting to get kind of relaxed in a few things, and that I need to keep on being diligent and using the time that I have left to its fullest. It was a good lesson that I was able to learn from him. So, in these last few days we have been a little more diligent, and the Lord blessed us with 9 new people to teach. So, We just have to keep at it :)  And that is a true principle for every member, sometimes we feel good with what we have accomplished and we think that Enduring the End is just coasting until we finish, but it is really being diligent in keeping the commandments and learning more and doing more. Our purpose here in this life is to progress. And to become more like Christ. so that was a good thing that I learned once again this week. 

On Sunday, Hno Nelson and another investigator of the other Elders who also got baptized on Saturday (Jorge the Taxi driver) were confirmed. Hno Nelson´s wife Letty was also sustained to be the new Primary Secretary, and Hno Nelson was ordained a Priest that same day in the opening of Priesthood. Wow! 

I was also able to say hi to some dear friends, the Serna Family, from my first ward, who were in the stake center after church. It was so good to see them. Sister Serna told me not to get trunky. hehe :) 

Attached are some pics of the baptism, the cake, my district, and the programs that I made for the baptism. Hno Nelson for some reason doesn’t smile in pictures, but he was much more smiley after the service :)  

Well, that was my week. It was a good one. 

I pray that all is well at home and abroad! Good luck with school for all those who are starting this week! 

Elder Redford

Baptism! - August 17, 2015

 Programs I made for the Baptism

 Hno Nelson's Baptism with wife Letty

 Elder Redford, Hno Nelson, ElderAlvarez

 Letty, Hno Nelson, son, Elder Alvarez, Elder Redford

My District

Elder Alvarez, Unluckiness:)‏ - August 10, 2015

Alright, so my new companion is Elder Alvarez, from Puebela. 

He is a pretty cool guy :) He was once very inactive and made some bad decisions, but has been able to turn around and serve a mission. We get along well :) I was one hundred percent sure that I was going to train for the last 3 months of my mission, but as always, the Lord surprised me :) Elder Alvarez has 10 months on the mission already, but its ok, it has been a fun week. He likes to joke around a lot. And for some reason (in a sarcastic tone) he things that I am one of the unluckiest people ever. Let me just tell you why :) 

So, the first day once we got to the house, we went shopping for food. And, since you can’t enter the supermarket with a bag, we had to leave ours in the front desk before we could enter (which is normal in just about every big store here). So, we bought our food and everything, got back home, and realized that we had left our bags back in the store! so, we had to walk all the way back for our backpacks, and that was the morning. 

Wednesday morning, the power went out. We have to pay it with a card, which we pass by the power meter of the house, and then have to take the card to a supermarket to pay the power bill. And since it is far away, the idea was to pay it Wednesday after a meeting we were going to have in the church, as there is one close by. But, it was a day late, and we they cut the power in the morning. Once we pay and pass the card, it comes back right away though.  We went to the meeting, got back, and found that the fridge was all wet for the melted ice from the freezer, because it had been off. Everything was wet. So we had to wipe it down and mop up the water, which made us late to an appointment. 

Thursday wasn’t too bad with the bad luck. Actually, it was good, because Fatima and Javi asked us if they could come out with us to teach, and it was good. We were able to contact a lot of people in the market and visit a young lady and encourage her to go to church, so it was a good day. 

Friday, our bad luck was that almost all of our appointments fell through. 

And Saturday we helped Helaman's family move (they are still in the ward), which was good. But when we got home, we found out that we had no water! We thought it was just our house at first, but then found out it was the whole block, and that it would be back the next day. ok. But in the night, at about two in the morning, the sound of running water woke me up. We had left the faucet on! And since it is somewhat clogged, it overflowed onto the kitchen floor. I thought, well, I clean it up tomorrow and went to bed. In the morning, we found out that it not only had flooded the entire kitchen, but also our study room (it’s all tile floor), and everything on the floor, including our backpacks and one of my suitcases, got super wet. My scriptures are now dry, but super wrinkly..... so we spent the morning sweeping out and mopping up the water, and taking things out to dry. 

So yeah, lots of bad luck :) Maybe it is because I broke the bathroom mirror last week. Who knows :) But it is a good thing that I am not superstitious ;) But, I am learning patience and perseverance :)

On Sunday Hermano Nelson was interviewed for baptism, and all is good to go. We just need to polish up the program and invite as many people as we can. Elder Martinez is going to come back for it so it will be good to see him. It is Wednesday. I pray that we can get everything all ready and that it turns out wonderfully :) 

So, those were our adventures this week. The Secretary called me to ask which Airport I would arrive at to buy my plane ticket. Salt Lake City. Wow! That means I am finishing up here soon:) 

Well, I hope things are fantastic for everyone. I know that our Savior really is aware of all that we do and all that happens in our lives, and that we can find peace and strength as we trust in Him and the Atonement. 

Love you all, 

Elder Redford

August 3, 2015

This was an interesting week.

Elder Martinez was for sure that he was going to leave the area, and, it was affirmed in the phone call from the district leader on Sunday. So, my companion and one of the Elders in the district, Elder Oliveros, are leaving.

This week Elder Martinez wanted to visit his convert and a few members as much as he could before he left.

This week we have focused a lot on Hermano Nelson. He put his date for the 12 of August, and is all for it, so we have picked up the pace. We have been teaching him almost daily. This week though, he went to a doctor’s appointment and had some really bad side effects from a test that they did. He was without strength and with a fever and coughing up blood. I think it was a CAT scan or something like that? We decided to dedicate our fasts to him. Then we had an interesting turn in one of the lessons, which made things a little complicated. But he is determined for this day, so we will see what we can do.

The computer I am on is super slow, sorry, I don’t know if I will be able to write much. J

I think I will finally have the opportunity to train! Tomorrow I get my new companion. I wish Elder Martinez the best. He really was a great companion, and I know that he will continue to do many great things J

It is great to hear the good news from home, hope you can enjoy the last bit of vacations!

Love y’all

Elder Redford

Aldo - July 27, 2015

Ok, so this week we found a ton of new investigators, 12 :)

And, it is really hot, nearing 100 almost every day....... I am really hot, like all the time ;)  

From the very first visit, we are talking about Eternal families and the temple, and we are inviting people to baptism as preparation to enter. It is having really good results :) 

On Tuesday my District leader came to work with me in my area, and we had a good day, for the most part. A lot of walking and some very talkative investigators, but we able to get a fair amount done :) 

On Wednesday night a man came up to us and told us that we had put an appointment with him to see him the next day, and asked if it would be alright to change it to another day. We said of course, because that NEVER happens. It was good to see that he really had the interest to stop us and change the day so that he would be there. On our way to that second appointment, we saw them (him and his wife) again in the Market. They told us to come by at 8:00 instead of 6. Ok. That night we finally found them: Aldo, his wife Ana, and their two kids Candi and Shiru (it’s Japanese). It was a good visit, Aldo is really looking to find the truth, and Shiru his son, who is 14, is an ´´I believe in science´´ guy, and has really sophisticated questions. They said yes to baptism but didn’t feel ready yet. 

We were able to visit Aldo and his son again yesterday Sunday and we had a really good lesson with him. We taught the Restoration. He had read the pamphlet but only until the Great Apostasy. He told us that he hadn’t known about that before. So, we talked about that a little and taught about Joseph Smith. After reciting the first vision, he paused and said, hey, that sound like Paul! And then a little later asked, Wait, this really happened? We said: Sí. And then when we showed him the Book of Mormon, he was dying to read it. We know that he felt something as we talked about Joseph Smith, and we know he will read it. He just might have a few trials with going to church for his job. But, it was a very spiritual lesson :) 

Then on Friday went to teach a less active that we found in the market (We do lots of contacting there). She is living with a non-member. We asked the question, What blessings could you receive if you were to grow closed to God? Her answer was perfect; she said: an eternal family. We were like, Yes! We taught about the temple, and that maybe they still lack quite a few things to get there, but we promised them that if they made the effort, that God would help them find the way (He has to divorce his wife to get married with her so that he can be baptized). But, it was a good lessons and it taught me that this message really is one of hope. 

Well, those are the highlights of the week. 

This is probably the last week I have with Elder Martinez. Transfers are this Sunday, so we will see if I will finally get to train or not. I will have 2 transfers left; the same time it takes to train a new missionary (3 months!). But we will see what happens. Elder Martinez already has like 9 months here in this area, and it is his first! 

So, Hope all is well, you are in my prayers, thanks for the support!

Love, Elder Redford