Learning the Price of becoming a Follower of Christ

This week has been a little harder than most. Last transfer was hard because of the companion, and this one is a little hard for the work. I think this week has put me on my knees more than ever. We had very little visible results from this week. The constant image that was in my mind was that I was Atlas, and that I was trying to lift the world. Frustration: When you try to do things that aren't in your hands. Oh well. I just finished a fast. President told us that we should all fast and think about what it is that we still need to change in ourselves to be better. He told us to then study the attributes of Christ and ask ourselves the question that the rich young man asked Christ. What are the "possessions" I need to sell? What are the things that I need to change? What are the attitudes, teaching styles, disobedience, etc. that are holding me back from fully experiencing the spirit? So. I started my fast. This last week has been very humbling and this next week will be even more humbling. I've gone from thinking that I've always been a good leader to realizing that I have so much to learn. It seems like every decision I make needs a higher level of understanding that I still haven't gotten to. 

   We had a small handful of lessons this week. Lessons to members included. No one had time. We walked and walked and walked. We've prayed and prayed and prayed. One night we didn't know what to do-plans A,B, and C had fallen through, and so we went to a corner and prayed. We agreed to go in one direction. We then paused. I went down another road, and my companion said that we should talk to the people that lived in a green house there. I was feeling the same thing. We talked to them, the man responding from behind his door, and told him that we were looking for someone nearby. My companion said it was a woman. They asked for her name. We, only following revelation said that we didn't know. My companion said "her last name is Martinez." The man paused and said "We're the Martinez family." He then asked for her first name, but we didn't know. They were probably too scared to open the door, said goodbye. We returned the next day, and they said that they were Catholics and would not receive us.   

   What's the point of the story? Well. Obviously people have their free will. The point of that experience was that God taught two missionaries that they could listen to and receive revelation in any moment. Although that family did not accept the message, God lead us straight to them and taught us their name. What a marvelous experience! As Joseph Smith says in Joseph Smith history-that he had received one vision and that he could expect to receive another- so we, as representatives of Jesus Christ can receive and follow divine direction again and again. We just have to be ready to receive. Hopefully as I "sell my possessions" (rid myself of qualities Heavenly Father doesn’t want me to have) I can be even more receptive of the Spirit of the Lord.

   Anyway. I know this week will be better. We found an investigator this week that might go a bit slow, but we think she'll get baptized. She is really nice. Her name is Manuela and she works for a member in our ward. :D We've been praying hard. The miracles have begun, and they won't stop.

   Well, I love you guys. We climbed the hill that's in our area today and took some pictures  :D

Love,

Elder Dazey

I love my new companion!

Yeah. I have learned some good things already being district leader. We have awesome Zone Leaders. Like really. My companion and I love them. I'm going to print your letter so that I can think more about the ward council. It's crazy to think of church back home. It's like a whole ‘nother storyline that is somehow part of me. It really is a strange feeling, almost like I've lived two different lives with two different identities. ;D I love the Idea that we all have a little bit of God in us. I think that's awesome. It makes you think about what parts of you are like God, and that those parts can grow and grow until you know Him perfectly, because you will be like Him.

  Well this week has been great. I'm getting a little bit better at being a district leader. It's not as easy and not as hard as I thought. Honestly, it's really awesome. I feel like I'm gaining a confidence that I didn't have before. Also, I've been able to serve my district a lot. (They're all sisters) They're awesome. They are such hard workers.  I tell yeah, Elder Portillo is a good Elder. He is always ready to improve. We've been able to learn a lot together, and I often council with him about the decisions that I make as district leader. Our relationship is doing great. We were able to find a new family this week, and they seem really great! (German, Jema, Roberto, and Alejandro) The mom seems really interested, and also her son and grandson. The dad doesn't seem like he has much interest, but I think he could open up. It was a great experience teaching them. Elder Portillo and I were very happy. We decided this Thursday to set the goal of only having a lesson without a member present if it was the first lesson. We prayed and felt that we needed to take a chance and not have lessons without members present. I think that we will learn a lot of discipline from this, and that the investigators will progress much more. We haven't met our goals this week, but we have somewhat of a vision, and we are starting to work more with the bishop and with the members. We will continue praying and searching for guidance. We had a great exchange with the Zone leaders this week. I learned a lot from Elder Urbiola. He taught me a lot in the study and a lot through his example. We did a baptismal interview practice, he taught me about district meetings, and he taught me what it means to work out on the mission. (He's ripped and does a ton of excercise.) It's been great here, and they have been such a great help. Elder Portillo and I are super happy, and the work continues on. I'm learning so much. I've never been so happy on my mission. Elder Portillo understands obedience, and we are getting so much better together. He is always willing to take a chance and a new step. Maybe we aren't the best, but there is nothing stopping us from reaching our potential. It's like shooting for the stars was never so easy. 

   Anyway, I love you guys a lot. This week ends school, right? I hope everything keeps going well, and I'll be praying for the wedding. Sorry I didn't get back to the computers last week.

Love,

Elder Dazey

Missionary life is good!

Things are great mom. I'm in Atlixco :D Still in an area close to the mission office, and still living it up in the city. My companion is from Torreon, Coahuila. His name is Elder Portillo. I don't know if you remember those two missionaries that stayed in the house with Elder Hale and I when they got here their first night? He is one of them :D He's awesome. He's really caring, loving, and spiritual. He works hard, and he just finished his training. I do like him :D He's my bud. We live in a house in a department building right next to the city center. It's the nicest house I've had so far. Safe as can be. Do we have any Investigators?- not any that progress, but we're working on that. My companion is the companion of the District Leader. The ward is nice. The people are good, and it looks like the Bishop works hard. Most of the members are very helpful. This area is great. I'll try to take some pictures and send them to you later on. We have to meet up with the Zone leaders for a very important meeting in a Chinese restaurant :) To answer your question, I have taken showers out of buckets many times, but only when the boiler didn't work or the water didn't get to the shower. I'm scared, because in my setting apart as an Elder,  it said that I would be humbled by many experiences on my mission so I imagine that I'll be sent to some of the worst areas at some point ;D

   I'm so happy that everything turned out fine with your wreck. I'm glad to see the hand of God protecting you all. Stake Conference this weekend! Wooo! Tell Zack and Victoria congrats on their graduations and tell them to write me :D 

I love you! 

-Elder Dazey

Thriving in "Zion's Camp"

(I sent Elder Dazey a story from Lds.org about having charity when things are difficult on your mission and how Charity and using positive reinforcement can help.)  And his response was:

Thanks for the help Mom. It really is good. It is something that I need to apply more in my mission. I will have transfers. I think this companionship could have gone a little bit better if I applied that more (Although I honestly did apply it a lot) I will try to apply it more, to be able to help my future companions. It is a great principle, and I am very grateful that you shared it with me. Thanks  :D

   This transfer has been really hard. My companion and I have been in the mission the same amount of time, (He actually has 2 weeks more), I'm the senior companion, and he was already in the area. More than that, he had a history of not being obedient. He had a firm belief at the beginning of the transfer that he and his previous companion had already done almost all the work there was to do and that we couldn't really get more done.  The Mission President told me that I was here to find this area's potential, teach my companion, and knock off some of my rough spots in the process. As you can probably guess, there were a lot of bad feelings from the start. It's been a lot easier from the many prayers that I have received. What I can say is that I have been obedient, I have not given in, and I have hope for the future. God has blessed me with power beyond my own. We are ending with many new investigators that we didn't have before and 2 Investigators with baptism dates set. The area has progressed slowly despite opposition. I've felt a little bit like a babysitter. But! God has been there every step of the way, and you can never be unhappy with your personal actions if you are doing what is right.

   So I feel like this was my own Zion's Camp. I feel like it's been a test to see if I would be obedient and do the will of God. Ultimately, I'm glad for this transfer. It has firmly placed a lot of principles of obedient living in me. I've learned to persevere. I've managed a disobedient companion. I've seen what it is like to have every lesson be a lesson were the spirit is waiting on the sideline for the teaching to be good. I've felt what it is like not to have unity. I can now appreciate the good. 

I wrote this to President Stellmon:

    Yesterday we did exchanges with the Elder's Quorum President and another worthy Melchizedek priesthood holder. I was with our Elder's Quorum President and had the best lesson that I have had this whole transfer. We sang. We had unity. We had the spirit. It was so strong. I haven’t felt this good since I was companioned with Elder Hale. I've missed having the Holy Spirit so strongly in lessons.

   I feel strengthened. I have been blessed with spiritual power, and I have matured. 

The General Authorities who came to visit were awesome. They had a question answer kind of talk and answered a lot of our questions. Thanks for your love mom. It always helps me have good cheer when I think that I have parents and a family and friends who love me, and that the Lord loves me.

   Time to kick some butt in my new area! I'll know tomorrow and I'll let you know next week.

LOVE YOU!

-Elder Dazey

Footprints in the Sand

We've been working a lot with members. I have been a little bit stressed with Elder Diaz. The ward missionaries are working more and hopefully are starting to get more excited. We're probably going to get a new ward mission leader soon :/

(In Elder Dazey’s last area they organized the members into a missionary force and called them The …name of the town… Army. So he said..)  Maybe we do need to form a Cholula Army! (Cholula is where Elder Dazey is now)  I sure hope we can get these members nice and organized for some hard work.

Yeah, like the footprints in the sand, God's been carrying me for a bit here. Every next step I receive the strength I need to keep going. It's like receiving my daily bread. I need to be of more good cheer :D I love you too mom. Thanks for your confidence. 

   ( I shared a section out of Mosiah 18 about bringing people to the waters of baptism) Thanks for the scripture. I love the dedication and love for the people that they had then. It is a great example for me as a missionary now.

We got to see Elder Pino (a seventy) this last week. His message really touched me. I am starting to have more effective personal studies for what he told us. He was awesome. He spoke a lot about the Spirit, which is also something I started to work on. I love you guys. I don't have too much time to write because we spent a lot of time walking around down town with the district. I love you mom. I send you an internet hug. I'm praying for you guys.

Love, 

Elder Dazey   :D

I will trust in the Lord

I love you too  :D Sorry that I'm probably a little awkward on the calls. I think the next time we need to set up 5 minutes per person at the beginning to help out with that. I'l give you a hug in 16 months  :D It will be wonderful :D  

**In my letter to Benji, I shared with him the following story that a return missionary told us on Sunday from his mission. “Jordan was saying that where he was serving in Brazil, there are a lot of high rise apartment buildings. They all had doormen and the missionaries were not allowed in a lot of the buildings. So they figured they would start in their building because they could get into that building. So they prayed and started knocking on doors. They came to one apartment where when the woman opened the door, she just stood there staring at them like she couldn't believe her eyes. She invited them in and told them that she had had a dream that two young men like them would come to her door to share an important message and she should let them in! She, at first, thought that they were angels standing there! I believe that as you both pray together, that you will be lead to those who are prepared and that they will find a way to receive the Gospel through baptism no matter what their circumstances are. And Benji’s response was: Thanks for sharing what you said about Jordan. I was able to receive a lot of revelation this week, and I am trying to receive it with Elder Diaz. Hopefully we can get some good things done in this next week.

   

   Today we had a sweet Zone Activity. Something about zone activities get me pumped. It feels like there you can be exactly who you are. I felt like a total goofball. We played tag football and some different activities, and I got to be a total ham :D It was fun.

   :D One of the Elders asked me today how old I was in the activity. I told him I was 18. Everyone freaked out :D  It was kind of funny. 

   We had exchanges this week and I learned a lot from my district leader. We are going to work more with the members and hope that we can get some good things done here. I'm excited for this week. I HAVE HOPE! I'M WORKING HARD! I'M BEING OBEDIENT! I can say that :D Really that's all I've got to do. I felt a bit down last week, and so in response to last week’s letter to the President, he said " You are doing all you can. That is all we ask.   He said that he trusts me, and that the Lord trusts me. So I figure that I really just need to endure, and keep working hard, and if I just keep going, every little thing will be alright :D #dontworrybehappy

I love you too momma. The home sickness didn't hit me this time after skyping, but that doesn't mean I love you less :D

-Elder Dazey

And the Work Progresses

Thanks for the prayers. Things have been going better, little by little

 (This following is in response to stories that I told Benji about people from my lesson on Sunday who bore strong testimony of the Gospel as led by the Spirit. They were Defenders of the Faith.) There are  times  during my mission, I have felt the need to say something very clearly and powerfully in lessons. In one of the first lessons with Maria Elena from my last area, we talked about the "ice cream man authority" example (If you don't know what that is, ask Chellie. I felt that I should say directly that the person who had baptized her in her previous church was like the ice cream man, and that he had no authority and that her baptism was not valid. Only those people who have been ordained with Priesthood Power, have the authority to do baptisms. They took it well. She was one of the sisters that got baptized.

   I love you too mom :D  .  I get to skype for one hour. Yeah, My companion is excited about skyping his family too. In answer to some of your questions: My companion doesn't speak english that much. He is not excited about the work, but we have been able to keep going. We got the ward missionaries set apart. We'll see if they come to the training meeting today. The Bishop is weird. But, he is starting to do some good things. We do have a new Elders quorum President that seems very organized, and I think he'll get a lot done. I hope everything is going well. I pray for you guys every day.

    We went to go see that pyramid today. We went through a tunnel inside of it and then explored outside. It's the largest Pyramid in the world for its base. I'll send you more pictures, but I have to do them in different emails. These are pictures of us at the pyramid. The last one is of me and Elder Cruz. He's from Merida :D Which Ward were you guys in? And who were some families that you knew? I would like to see if you knew his family.

Love, Elder Dazey