Fantastic Week Down Here In Ensenada!

Hey how are you all?

Fantastic week here down in Ensenada!  The weather was perfect.  We worked hard and we had a baptism.  We just about taught 40 lessons this week.  Elder Vargas really knows how to plan and have success.  He does the planning and I push him up and down the hills ha.  He is doing better though.  

First thing is first . . . the baptism.  We had it Saturday morning.  It was super sweet.  Her name is Yurina (pronounced Judina).  She is living with a member right now and wanted to chat with us.  We invited to baptism the second visit and after some talk, she accepted.  She had to drop coffee but she dropped it.  She dealt with headaches and headaches but she said when she read the Book of Mormon it helped her.  That book has power.  So she got baptized and it was super nice.  

We had a cool experience on Tuesday.  We were up in the hills at about 1 in the afternoon and our appointment at 1 fell through.  Lunch was clear down by our house and we started walking to the food.  I felt bad because we were wasting that hour.  I remembered a referral that a member gave us of a less active and her family.  So I decided to pass by there.  While we were walking I was thinking about my farewell talk.  I was thinking about how I had heard a million stories of missionaries saying they just randomly showed up somewhere and it turns out the person had been praying for them to come...well this happened to me finally :)  We showed up at the house and the sister had been super sick.  She has a stomach sickness and during the appointment she had to run to the bathroom and we heard everything hahaha.  She was super embarrassed but I laughed :)  Anyways she continued to tell us how she needed a blessing and had been praying that we would come and we finally came!    Wow! When she said that I just about started bawling because I knew we had been led by the Spirit to someone that needed help.  We gave her the blessing.  I did the first part and Elder Vargas the second.  After the blessing, the sister told Elder Vargas that some of the words he had used were written in her patriarchal blessing.  Cool huh?  I was amazed at the what the Spirit can do and how He works :)  Just a cool lil story from the week!

Ha another story but I had to turn down fish yesterday.  I did it on Monday too...we ate with the bishop in another ward as a zone and he cooked up a bunch of fish.  They made me a sandwich so we didn’t have any problems :)  This family yesterday made us this salad sort of thing that is eaten with tostadas.  It looked super good but I had a feeling to ask if it had fish in it.  They had put a little bit of tuna in it the last second . . . they tried to get me to eat it but I refused ha.  The dad got mad and started telling me how I needed to let them know before hand and this and that.  We told the RS Pres my first day here so they should have already known.  So they ordered me a pizza and I enjoyed pizza for my Sunday lunch ha :)  We ate in silence as I was frustrated and so was the dad.  Needless to say I couldn’t care less...ha I CANNOT eat your fish sorry.  It was an awkward lunch appointment for sure!

We went to the blowhole last Monday.  It was gorgeous!  I hope you enjoy the pictures!

I got 2 packages from Grandma and Grandpa Mangelson and Roper.  I didn’t get yours but they will come down here eventually!  I am still excited to get them!  Please tell Grandma and Grandpa M and R thank you for sending them!

Tuesday marks six months...where does time go?  Ha I’ll get you pictures of the party we will have next week!  Can’t believe I am a quarter of the way done with my mission...hijole :)

Love,

Elder Roper

A Solid Week

Hey how are you all?

Fantastic week this week!  I received Elder Vargas from Torreon Mexico on Monday in Tijuana and we came back down to Ensenada Tuesday morning.  I was super nervous Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday because I had to plan everything and direct the work by myself while Elder Vargas is getting to know the area.  It was a rough couple of days with a lot of walking, trying to find people but since then it has been great!  He really knows a lot how to plan and how to set goals.  Not only for the week but for every 3 days we set goals for the number of lessons we will have taught.  I was glad he taught me how to do that – it’s so simple.  Just set goals and then plan your day around your goals so you can accomplish them.  I wish I had learned that a lot earlier in the mission but I guess there is a time for everything right?

Elder Vargas has been out 15 months now.  He is from Torreon, Mexico.  He has been a member his whole life.  Kinda chubby and none of his shirts fit him anymore but it’s all good!  He asked me Monday night if there were hills in our sector and I just laughed and nodded my head.  Ha he wasn’t too excited but he has survived until now.  I was worried he wasn’t going to want to work but he wants to work just takes a little while longer getting up the hills.  I am probably killing him because whenever we get to the top of a hill he is sweating a ton and I haven’t even broken a sweat yet...hahaha he told me that he needs to lose weight so I guess this is the way to do it.  Sometimes I get to the top of the hill and Elder Vargas is back 40 or 50 feet...I cruise up the hills!  Maybe I am just used to walking up hill now. He worked in a bakery before the mission so he knows how to cook quite well.  I still haven’t tried anything he has made just because of the lack of time but I am sure one day it will happen!  He talked with Hermana Dora - she got baptized two weeks ago - for an hour strictly about food!  Ha I just laugh.  I will have to get him into shape!

We have another baptismal date for this Friday with a lady named Yurina.  She is a friend living with a member here in the ward that was having problems and wanted to hear us.  She always tells us that she feels so clean when she takes the Sacrament so when we told her she can have that feeling for the rest of her life she was super interested.  She has a big problem with coffee but has resisted for 4 days now.  It’s funny because when we introduced the Word of Wisdom with her she said she could do it all minus the coffee.  After some discussion, she realized that in order to have the Holy Ghost with her, she has to give everything up so she agreed to do it for 24 hours.  We returned the next day and she agreed to do it for 24 more hours. Ha that’s how the mission is.  We are going to take away all the coffee she has on Wednesday so she doesn’t even have the temptation. Ha the stories and the people we meet here are amazing!

Oh and the assistants told me that Elder Castellan should have went home...he had his bags packed and everything.  The President let him stay though.  He got shipped to Mexicali and is in a trio with the zone leaders....pretty embarrassing that he was a zone leader and now he is getting babysat by the zone leaders.  With everything that happened with him I am glad to have experienced it when I did.  I sure learned a lot!

So the pictures of the castle...at the top of one of the hills here is this castle.  There have been rumors that cartels lived there, or members or no one really knew who it was.  We were passing by when the guy that lives there called our names.  Turns out it’s a member who hasn’t been to Church in years.  He has problems with drugs, alcohol and doesn’t really want much to do with the church now but it is still fun to say that we go to the castle to teach.  I thought you all might think that was funny :)  The castle is cool...super junky on the outside. I am sure I haven’t even seen half the house.  The member is super friendly though and told us whenever we are hungry just to stop by real fast.  They want us to teach their son who is 6 so we spend about 10 minutes every lesson with only him.  It’s kind of funny some of the stuff the kid says but oh well . . .

The picture of the cruise ship is from the top of the hill by the castle!  It was beautiful that day.  Who knows, maybe someday I’ll bring you all back here on a cruise!  You all would love it :)

This is Elder Vargas and I with a kid named Julio.  Julio got baptized in March with some other Elders but I have become pretty good friends with him.  He speaks really good English and wants to head to BYU...I tell him the U is better but the people here don’t understand the rivalry at all!  Elder Vargas asked me if I was going to go to BYU after the mish and I told him no because I don’t like BYU :) ha he started laughing and thought that was pretty weird.  Anyways Julio got ordained an Elder yesterday in Stake Conference so this is the picture with him afterwards!

I will keep an eye out for the packages this week!  We have zone conference Tuesday so hopefully the President has picked them up by then!    Summer has arrived here in Ensenada.  Not as hot as home and we always enjoy a nice ocean breeze.  This next transfer ends in July and I have a feeling I am headed to Mexicali and the hottest time of the year to burn...ha I am just enjoying the nice weather here while it lasts :)

We clean the apartment every Pday.  We can’t leave to write til we have cleaned.  We just have to wash the dishes, sweep, mop and clean the bathroom.  We got it all done pretty fast today.  We are headed to the blowhole later this afternoon...looking forward to that!

Well, I hope you are all doing well!  Looks like you all enjoyed Hayden’s party and saw Jenny off to the MTC!  

Thanks for the updates on the high school...best of luck to them!  Take care and have a good week! 

Love you and miss you all :)

Elder Roper

Another New Companion Already?!?!?

Hey y’all,

Sure was good to chat with you all yesterday!  It seems like a dream and that hour went by so stinkin’ fast.  Ha I woke up this morning with a smack right back to reality and back to work ha.

 

Hey I don’t have a whole lot of time because with the *recent events (see below) of Elder Castellan, Elder Jacome is getting transferred today up to Buenos Aires with Elder Newell and I am receiving an Elder named Elder Bargas.  I sure hope he is a good Elder and ready to work.  I am nervous because I will have to direct the work here in the zone for the next little bit but I will be just fine :) gotta learn these lessons somehow...why not start tomorrow ha?  So I think I am headed up to Tijuana again for the day and headed back here tomorrow with my new companion.  Please keep me in your prayers because I am super nervous!!

Hey so I hope you all enjoy these photos!  One of the Book of Mormon and me.  I explained why in the Skype session.  The other is with a turtle one of the members had when we ate Sunday.  I thought it was pretty cool.  The others are of the luggage that broke.  It’s the biggest one and the handle just snapped right off one day ha.

Well, I hope you are all doing well!  Wish Hayden a happy birthday for me!  I hope you enjoy it buddy!  I’ll try and get another email out tonight in Tijuana but I can’t make any promises ha.  Wow! the mission flies right by!

Take care and I love you all!

Elder Roper

*So Elder Roper referred to the recent events with his trainer Elder Castellan.  This is what has transpired with that companion.  

Jackson told us the following as we Skyped on Mother's Day.  He got a call Saturday night - really late and it was the zone leader.  He wanted to talk specifically to Jackson.  Jackson said it was alarming because his companion is the senior companion and they usually talk with him. The zone leaders wanted to hear more about the stories that Jackson would tell them about his first companion - Elder Castellan. So Jackson told them everything! Interesting  that they will listen and want to talk to him now . . . I guess Elder Castellan got a little overly friendly with a girl and was forcing her to do things she did not want to do.   She called the cops as well as the mission home. They also found out that Elder Castellan is a leader of a inner mission gang. I guess there were about 4 Elders that didn't want to obey by the rules and he headed the gang up. They had phones and would communicate with each other and who knows what else - probably better that we don't know!  The leaders were apologizing to Jackson and told him they were sorry he had to deal with him. I guess the mission president is really sorry about Elder Castellan and can't believe it.  Prayers are heard and answered! Thanks for praying for him!

It Was A Fantastic Week This Week!

Hey how are you all?

It was a fantastic week this week!  Can’t believe how fast it flew by.  Every week goes by faster and faster ha. 

Well, let’s see, what happened this week?  Sometimes it’s hard to remember because the days mesh together.  Time is already flying by.  Granted some days are forever and others are super fast but I guess its all just part of the mission right? 

We had 3 baptisms this week and the services were super sweet.  The family is made up of Hermano Fito, Hermana Dora, and Hermana Belem.  It’s the family that is currently building their new house.  I met this family my first day that I got here in Ensenada and right when we walked in their little shack I felt the Spirit so strong.  You could see it in their eyes that they were ready baptism and ready to receive the Gospel.  One of my favorite parts of the mission is seeing the new members in all white their baptism day.  They look so clean and it’s almost an evidence of the Atonement that you can see that has taken place in their lives. 

Although the days are long, hard and often times super frustrating, bringing people is super worth it.  I wrote in my journal that I would go through hell and back just to bring people to Christ.  I figure that He had to suffer the sins of the world for all of our salvation so I can suffer a little bit here and there in the mission just to bring people to Christ.  Elder Jacome always says its the fire in our bones that keeps us working and I have to agree. 

Funny story and I know you will all die laughing when you read this.  Often times we eat a lot of beans here and often times we have a lot of gas.  Bodily functions -  so it’s normal.  Ha no I didn’t poop my pants so don’t ask but I went Friday night with Elder Cepeda from the Dominican Republic. (BTW - he looks exactly like President Obama) to do the interviews of Fito, Dora, and Belem.  The interviews went well and they all passed.  We explained how the baptism happens and the confirmation the following Sunday.  We finished with a prayer and Fito asked if I would pray.  We were all standing when we prayed and at the end of prayer Fito asked Elder Cepeda to pray.  I don’t know why but we did it anyways.  Elder Cepeda wanted to kneel this time so right as we went to kneel.....I farted hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!  I don’t know if anyone heard or what happened but I went super red.  I just bowed my head and listened to the prayer.  No one said anything and I was super embarrassed.  It totally slipped ha.  I didn’t ask Elder Cepeda until the morning if he had heard it.  He said he had but he thought it was my shoe or something hahahahahahah.  He died laughing when he realized what had happened.  It was so hard not to laugh during this prayer ha.

We had zone conference this past Tuesday.  They are always very good and President Carreon said something that I loved.  He said that about 95 percent of the missionaries who get hurt or find trouble are in places where they aren’t supposed to be or doing things that are contrary to the rules.  If we are obedient, we are promised that we will be okay.  He said that here as missionaries we are more safe under the rules of the mission than if we were in our own countries.  It was hard for me to understand at first but now that I think about it, it totally makes sense.  So Mom, don’t worry because I am in the places where I am supposed to be, doing the things I am supposed to :)  we are literally in the Lord’s hands!

I have had a few encounters with fish down here.  One time it happened in Tijuana.  I told Elder Jacome my first day here and he called the Relief Society President to tell her.  So the ward and the Bishop know not to feed us fish ha.  On Saturday, one sister made us fish tacos and they looked so stinkin’ good but yeah I just have to say yeah I can’t eat that.  I am sure the sisters get upset that I am turning down their food but I don’t care ha.  I carry my epiPen everywhere in case something happens but I will be fine :)  I am sure to ask what’s in the food so they aren’t any surprises. 

Like the missionaries at home, yes I am super tired.  Friday every appointment that I had planned fell through so I walked the whole area twice trying to find people to teach.  I was super tired that day but its all good because I survived :) 

My shoes are holding up great and we made a good buy there.  I get blisters every now and again but my feet are starting to callus up so it’s all good. 

We have an appointment to Skype home on SUNDAY MAY 12 AT 4 O CLOCK in the time zone here.  Be ready for two hours or so because I have no clue who will go first.  Try to do it on the computer as well.  Thank for your account info.  I am looking so forward to seeing and talking with you all!!

Thank you for all the updates from home.  I love hearing from home and all the sports updates. 

Well take care and I will see you all on Sunday! :)

Elder Roper