Oh my, how you've grown...[May 26, 2014]

Hola todo,

Things are going quite well here in Puebla Norte. I first started here in a new area that had only one investigator and it has grown a bunch. It now is a thriving area and I feel great about the work we have done to grow it. I also feel like I have grown a bunch as well. I feel very blessed to be here and I know that there is no other place I would rather be right now.

Thankfully, the salmonella only lasted a couple of days and I am back to normal right now. I remember my days of working at Brick Oven and everyday seeing the handwashing signs that warned about salmonella. Lesson learned.

This week, I had the best hamburger I have eaten since I entered the MTC. It was made by one of our investigators. It was also the first one I have eaten in México.

Unfortunately, I still am a little bad at talking to people outside of lessons and contacts. This will be my main goal for the next little bit.

Other than that, not too much happened. I also can't send pictures where I am at, so you will have to wait until next week.

Have a good one,

Élder Seymour.

Earthquakes and the Fires from Heaven...[May 19, 2014]

Hola amigos y familia,

In the past letter I forgot to mention how we had the second earthquake since I got here. It was a bit of a surprise because I didn't think we got all that many here. It was not all that exciting. Mostly there was just a little bit of shaking and that was it. I guess it was a little more exciting because we live on the 4th floor.

The sun is also fairly oppressive here. I was outside the last Preparation day for 1 hour and got sunburned fairly bad. Always wear sunscreen. It was also a little funny because I always wear a CTR ring on my right hand, but I didn't have it on, so the only part of my hands that got burned was the little band on my finger.

Some other fun things we did were ride in the back of a truck that sells gas. It was almost like a Disney ride except without any safety bars. We also received a new investigator that looks exactly like the Mexican versión of Jim from The Office. Yesterday was my companion's birthday, so we celebrated by roasting marshmallows on the stove.

Friday, we had a fireside with the missión president where he taught about lesson 2 and answered questions. We had a lot of people that we wanted to bring, but our investigator that drives a bus was unable to come. We were worried about what we could do when he called us and told us he could come after all. We were able to bring a bunch of people to the fireside and had a great time.

I love getting your emails and I ask that you would please send more... Thanks!  

Have an awesome week,

Élder Seymour.

Internet Cafe where we send emails

Roasting Marshmallows

This is how it is done...

Salmonella Sucks... [May 12, 2014]

Hello friends and family persons,

So as you can likely derive from the title, I came down with a case of salmonella this last Saturday evening... just after I Skyped my family (not suggesting anything there). I will spare you of most of the gorey details and just say that I am so glad to have a loving companion that cleans up after me and a bishop willing to drive us to the clinic at midnight.

Once we got to the clinic, I was so out of it I only slightly remember receiving a shot and leaving after an hour feeling a bit better. We also went and got drugs so I would get better quicker (at least I assume so). Being in that clinic made me feel like I went back to the '20s... or maybe it was just because I was really out of it....

Anyways, the next day was Sunday and somehow we ended up going to church (possibly because I had just a day earlier discussed with my companion why it is important to always keep your promises. We promised our investigators we would escort them to church). My companion had also contracted the salmonella virus, but because of his powerful ecuadorian stomach, he was doing slightly better. However, right after that we went back to our apartment and fell asleep for pretty much the rest of the day because we were so wiped out.

However, today we were feeling pretty great. Almost no problems whatsoever, so I feel really grateful to God for that.

Also, I got to Skype my family on Saturday which was pretty sick (no pun intended).

Have a great week everyone!

Élder Seymour.

Cinco de Mayo Parade (giant cannonballs?)

Only waterfall I've seen...not exactly Multnomah Falls

Cinco de Mayo float

hueros is slang for white person

It's on the news (Cinco de Mayo parade)

Native costume

Victorian style dress

Qué dice el zorro?...[May 5, 2014]

Hola todo,

We had a great week this week filled with interesting events.

In one of our many rides on the microbus, a song started to play that I knew I recognized, but I didn`t know where. After a couple of seconds, I realized that the song was --What does the Fox Say?-- I felt like I was back in BYU for a little bit, except for the fact that I was the only person on the micro that had any clue what the person was singing....

Also, we had a miracle this week. We were finished teaching an investigator and we asked her to offer the closing prayer. She said in the prayer that she was really worried for her nephew who was sick. Afterwards, we offered to give her nephew a blessing of health. She agreed and we did it and left. At our appointment the next day, after we taught the lesson, her brother and sister-in-law and mother came in and they asked for another blessing for their son. Before we gave it, he looked completely better. I hope that their faith in Christ has really grown through this event because it truly was a miracle from Him.

Also we had the huge Cinco de Mayo parade here in Puebla. For those of you who don`t know, el Cinco de Mayo is for a battle that happened here in Puebla a while ago. They had a massive parade for it with a bunch of really inventive floats that the pictures don`t do justice. A great start to an awesome week.

Have a superb Mother`s day everyone.

Élder Seymour.  

Cinco de Mayo Parade

Be careful with your shoes...

Crowd watching the parade

Three months...