Week 51 (Riberas, Mexico)

I got to see the baptism of Javier. He was an investigator that Elder Neumann and I contacted in my last area. He got baptized this last week and they invited me to come back to my old area to see the baptism.

We just contacted him in the street one day by a gas station. We went with him the next day and taught a lesson. He said that he had been praying for help from god to make a decision to take a job promotion or take a new job in the U.S. and he said that when my comp asked if there is anything we can do to help before heading out. He said that he felt like that was god answering his prayers and saying I will help you with whatever you decide. He came to church with us that next Sunday without hesitating.

This last Tuesday I got to play soccer in the street with a bunch of kids. We started off juggling and then we played a game in the street. It was pretty fun and we got a bunch of contacts out of it. 

On Thursday I completed one year since I entered into the MTC. What better way to celebrate that with a giant bowl of cow stomach soup. It is called menudo. And the members fed us menudo this last Thursday. The worst part about it is the texture. Really slimy and slick. To get it down I ate like a million rolls. I would stuff a bit into the roll and then eat it. I bit into my cow stomach sandwich one time and by accident pulled out the whole square of stomach and it flopped right onto my chin. 

This lady that we contacted this last week named Caren, is going to get baptized this next weekend. We had just left the house and we were walking towards our area and we saw her struggling with a tank of gas to get it to her house. So we went over and helped her carry it home and we contacted her and she has come to church with us these last two weeks. 

My comp has been really down lately. I talked to him about it and he wants to go back home. Before he was a member he smoked, and here on the mission he has found that it is harder than he thought and the stress gives him the desire to smoke. He says when he smells it makes him sick but it is just the stress that gets to him. He had an interview with President Chaves today and talked to him about it so I guess we will see what happens. 

Apart from that everything is great, the area is growing and we are getting more work and finding more people.

Love Elder Blanchard