Letter #45

I did receive the package, I love the music and I have started reading the family history stories. Thank you so much! I have started using the warheads.... :)

If you could send sunscreen it would be nice. The sun just burns here. And it costs a lot of money.

What I like about my mission president is that he really does care for every missionary. You can feel that every time you talk to him. My favorite smell is when we walk past a tortilleria (where they make the tortillas here) it smells really good. Least favorite... I don't like the smell of beer and tobacco everywhere.

Cool story. So I have now tried chicken feet, and this week I added on to the list eating cow head and cow hoof. (cow head is delicious, cow hoof is disgusting). (I asked him how he ate it. He replied the cow head was in a taco and he wasn't sure what part of the head. The cow hoof was in a tostada and he said the texture was what got him. It was a cross between jello, hard meat fat and something else. He said it was really nasty.)

So the rainy season has begun and that's always fun... jumping rivers and walking in the mud of Xahuento. This week we were able to find more people to teach, but the thing is that nobody progresses. People just like to learn, but not act. I will focus this weeks letter on the visit from Elder Bednar. It was awesome. He starts explaining to us how God is hastening the work and that they have ipads for missions in 3 continents in the world and that soon they will have iphone 6+ instead because its lighter. He explains how it will be so much easier to serve with the new technology and then tells us that "it is not our time". I understand that it would be bad for us to have items like that because it could put us in danger, but he kind of got our hopes up for a second. He then taught us about the pattern of revelation. That we have to be agents to learn. He didn't do a talk or anything. He was "planching" everyone.(I asked him what planching meant and this is what he said, I don't know in English. It is like he burned us all. He told us what's up. Something like that ) He said that when you write a talk you cut out the spirit during the talk. In that time you are more worried about giving a good performance instead of teaching by the spirit. He said if you give a talk maybe do a 3x5 card and that is it and to prepare yourself, study the material so that the spirit can tell you what to say when you are at the pulpit. 

I also learned that we have to be our own agents. He asked us, "How many of you have said that a church meeting was boring?" That statement says nothing about the meeting, but a lot about us. It means that we are there as objects to be acted upon and not agents there to act and to learn. As we seek the spirit and go to church, read the scriptures and pray as agents, we will learn by the Holy Ghost what God wants us to learn. 

We also went to Teotihuacan today. (The pyramids) but I don't have my cable with me so I will send pictures later. 

The invitation is to go to church as an agent. Constantly "asking, seeking, and knocking".

Love you,

Elder Finlinson

                       Mexico City North Missionaries and Mission President with Elder Bednar