E-mail from March 19th

hey everyone, good stuff in mexico, maybe even an investigator to go with us to church tomorrow! oh ya by the way, to family, sorry for blindsiding you with a saturday email day, we had p day today cuz the mission president invited all of us to eat at his house today, so we all took our pday today instead.anyways.  not as many investigators as id like but yanno what, the Lord gives us trials to work with always, and i know as long as i keep faith ill find some people to listen.  I have one person in mind though since i got here, well like my first day i met her.  Her name is Cristina. shes a sister of two members, one inactive and one active.  cristina is pregnant, and were trying to teach her but shes skeptical.  shes had it pretty rough and what not, but last night we ended up talking to her again after about a month, it was funny cuz she thought i didnt understand anything she was saying and she looked at me after i said something and asked, you dont understand any of this do you? whats going on tell me.. and then all of a sudden Elder Day who hadnt said much and had been thinking what to say tapped in and told her what was going on, and i saw a change in her eyes, that maybe we do care, and that she might want to listen. after she went inside and helped her mom who is sick, and then she sat on the couch right inside the door and quietly listned as me and Elder Lopez talked to her sister.  i think shes starting to get worked on in her heart though, cuz right then i saw a change in her eyes, that she might want to know more, i dunno really honestly i feel an attachment to her, not like girl and guy attachment, but that im supposed to help her into this gospel yanno, and i have felt that since my first day, so i think that is one potential that i will keep working on, cuz i really just want to bring people into this gospel.  it was funny, cuz i had to contact a Jehovas witness this week, and she went on to tell us that we were confused about everything that we were talking about, man those guys are hard to crack really. lol.  but what im getting at everyone is that if i didnt believe in what im preaching, i wouldnt be here on my mission, its a lot of work, but its fantastic. so as i go on i want to let you all know that my testimony is growing of all this. the Lord has blessed me with miracles already, in spanish and everything, and i know that this is the Lords work and His restored gospel, and that he loves every one of us, even so much that he sends out missionaries around the whole world to preach this gospel, i believe it with every part of me, and i have felt the Lords love work through me to testify to people that He has a restored church on this earth for all of His children. i love you all! and i hope that you know im doing great!  sorry everyone once again for blindsiding with a saturday email cuz you all werent able to email me this week, but i miss you all and hope its all good.  and also... Tre Barnes where the frick is your letter you promised me on my mission!!!! quote "no dude dont worry im better at writing than answering the phone" .... fool imma kill you!  write me fool! and RJ, and Jackson, Email me, cuz first off, RJ i think you sent me a letter via dear elder, but you didnt put your name or your address you clown, and i could only guess by your language in your letter that it might have been you.  fool.  jackson. sorry i didnt write you back bro. but do you have an email that i can email you on or something? cuz i think by now if i send you a letter it will take forever to get to the US and you will be on your mission by then.  so ya.  ok i miss all you guys and hanging out with you.  ok everyone i want you to know you are in my prayers as much as i remember! and i love you all and all of your prayers for me too they really really REALLY help.  talk to you all next week!

 

Love Elder Day

E-mail from March 14th

Hey everyone.  not too much really this week.  just straight work.  dont really have investigators.  its really hard to get people to go to church here. theyll say one thing and do another straight up.  we even have inactive members here that are in the zetas gang.  how nuts is that. its hard not to find someone who straight up lies to you to get you to just leave them alone.  but thats that.  and also this area is dangerous so its hard to get people to even leave their house to come to church cuz its so crazy.  but its cool down here. spanish is fantastic at this point. speaking and understanding well.  need a ton more improvement though and am working for it. but its only through the Lord that i can even think of speaking spanish.  im amazed at how fast ive learned it though and i take absolutely no credit for that.  its all the lord.  anyways not too much else.  i have pictures for you all next week. and im sorry if im not responding to you very fast its hard to write and send letters with as little time as i have.  also Katie Brown and Nicole Polashek if you are somehow reading my blog id like your addresses.  Katie you send me a dear elder without your address on it so i cant really respond lol. and Nicole i have a ton to tell you!  Sis if you can contact these people on my facebook and tell them that thatd be sweet. ok everyone i hope its going good at home and know that im safe and happy and enjoying life.  missing america but enjoying life.  love you all!

 

love Elder Day

E-mail from March 7th!

Ok everyone. hows it goin in the US. i miss it a ton. so what i have goin on is a mix of just a ton of pictures from my mission so far. i have a lot more.  but its really hard to upload that much on the computer.  so i just have bits and pieces.  so one of the pictures is a house made completely of pallets which a ton of houses are like that around here.  and then the one with spiderman was actually just two guys running around climbing buildings trying to act like spiderman lol.  the one where i have my oakleys on and were underneath a ton of blankets we broke a rule or two and made a giant blanket fort in our room the last day we were together and had a giant sleepover with my district.  it was sweet. and then theres stuff like new years and what not.  its pretty cool.  anyways.  life is good down here. spanish is taking off.  i had a full out conversation with someone in spanish last night it was way cool.  and its just really good.  not many investigators.  apparently my area is known for being really hard to get people to commit to appointments cuz theyll just lie about it.  but ya. its ok anywyas.  this week has been pretty spiritual and despite the failure in investigators i have faith well find some.  its going great and i cant believe how fast time is flying down here.  i hope all of you are doing good too!  Mexico is always crazy too.  usually by about 9 o clock all the streets are dead cuz no one wants to be out that late cuz its  so dangerous because of the gang activity.  oh ya by the way theres one picture that i took that i attached. and its of the police here.  were not supposed to take pictures of them cuz well just get arrested so i sneaked one from our house window.but if you look closely, the guy in the back of the truck which is a police truck has an AK-47 a common sight around here in good ol Torreon mexico.  lol.  its crazy.  but dont worry.  i feel totally protected as a missionary and i know that the lord is looking out for me as i do this work otherwise he wouldnt call me down here yanno.  so anyways. i miss you all and hope all is well not too much else really.  oh it was pretty funny the other day i saw a mexican gangster obliviously wearing a shirt that said in english, best mother in the world.  pretty great lol gotta love it!  lol well talk to ya next week!  everyone write me i love gettting letters especially dear elders. www.dearelder.com ok.  love you all!

E-mail from February 28th!!

whatsup everybody.  mexico is pretty nuts this week lol.  if you havent somehow heard on the news by now, about 20 people got killed in my area. its way crazy but i totally feel peace about being here and i know that the Lord protects his servants.  if you want to read a scripture that conferts me about it Doctrine and Covenants 35 verses 13 and 14.  way  way cool.  i was walking with my companion at about 8:30 at night on saturday and all of a sudden we heard gunshots from the other street it was pretty surreal.  but kinda felt like we were in a movie yanno?  but its good here. no investigators yet.  but i know that well find someone soon.  there are some really cool families here for sure i really like the people here a lot they are really supportive and feed us really well and what not.  its amazing how much respect you get down here as a missionary, even from the  non members.  every one on the streets refers to us as brothers, its really cool.  not too much news really though.  no investigators or anything so far.  its hard to commit people to appointments and going to church  down here cuz a lot of people in mexico will just tell you they want to hear your message and then blow you off when you come back for a return appointment.  so ya. 

 

Spanish is going great.  its hard but im understanding more and more.  people talk friggin fast down here its a joke.  but every day i can understand more and more, day by day yanno?  i hope all is going well at home though.  at times i miss it.  but im having a really great time here.  i love it.  not too much more than that though.  really this week has been pretty slow refering to investigators and what not.  so i hope that this week can be  a lot more productive.  if any of you dont have my address still its:

 

Elder McKeon Jacob Day
Mexico Torreón Mission
Calle. Ernesto Breede #301
Col. Ampliacion Los Angeles
27140 Torreón Coahuila Mexico

 

so if any of you guys want to write me thatd be sick..  i miss you all and hope its all going good. this week flew by.  i cant believe how fast it went.  i know that in a few days itll be 2 years if you know what i mean.  thats how fast time is flying.  time really flies when youre working.  but ya anyways i hope everyones doing good on the other end and i look forward to getting letters from people!  miss you all a ton and dont worry about me mexico is treating me good as crazy as it sounds.  i have peace about everything!  love you all!

 

Love Elder Day

Week 1 In Mexico! E-mail from February 21st

Well this week has been great! and friggin nuts!  lol Torreon is just as dangerous as everyone said itd be.  but its cool im not even worrying about it really.  so the police around here drive around in trucks and in the backs of the trucks theres at least 2 or 3 guys with bullet proof vests on and AK-47s always at hand its friggin nuts.  so its remotely safe.  the spirit of discernment is a great thing to have.  so dont worry i'm fine!  i'm dead in the center of torreon though.  like right in the city area.  its really busy during the day.  tons of taxis driving around and what not, buses.  everything is really cheap here.  like a bus ride is like 4 pesos for a person which evens out to about 40 cents.  its nice.  we get 1400 pesos a month allowance which is about equivilant to about 130 bucks maybe less.  but its enough.  spanish is TOUGH.  i mean its really hard.  the people talk like 10 times faster here.  ok probably like 100 times faster.  im starting to be able to pick out words and figure out what people are talking about.  the members here are super nice.  in my area, Colón,  {i actually cover 2 areas i dont remember the other name} but the church i went to yesterday had about 25 people go.  it was cool.  the people are way nice and understanding about the language.  elder lopez helps me out a bunch.  he can speak a little english so he helps me as best as i can.  we finally got a couple lessons set up for friday and saturday,  its different here.  i thought itd be contacting a ton of people but you really have to rely on the gift of discernment and understand whats going on around you.  it was cool though yesterday a guy just walked up to us and started asking us questions and now were gonna teach him a lesson its pretty sweet how God just delivers people into your hands.  it made me happy.  ok so if you want to know the other truth of the mission that i wasnt gonna say,  you all pretty much already know so i may as well just tell you.... there are two gangs here.  i dont remember their names but they own quite a bit of houses in my area.  now i dont want you all to freak out. especially you mom! cuz its ok... we really stay off of some of the streets and actually even the bad guys have respect for the missionaries.  a lot of people when we walk by call us hermanos or brothers in english.  everyone is pretty friendly here.  we say hi to a lot of people at least.  i like it.  ok another story that was pretty funny... we were standing on the sidewalk at bishops house, and this lady we walked past is like on the corner like 30 feet from us.  and she just starts going ballistic.  like i think she had schizophrenia which i felt bad about.  but she is just yelling cussing in spanish i mean crazy, she starts punching walls, and walks past us and just punches me in the shoulder.  i mean my first reaction was to flip but i just let it go cuz i knew she was just having a moment.  ok the funny part.  she keeps walking, just yelling at everything she sees, trees, walls, doors, you name it.  bishop gets out of his chair, starts chasing her, grabs a twig of a tree and starts going after her with it.  lol it was pretty funny to see bishop doing that.  anyways thats my funny story for today.  tons of cute girls down here freakin A.  its pretty nuts.  very city like though.  the food here is great. i love gorditas especially, theyre like these kinda pita bread things cut open and then stuffed with whatever you want its great.  i had a chili the other day it was so hot lol.  way good though.  the food at the members houses is fantastic though.  the rice is amazing.  beans are great.  there hasnt been one time where i didnt like their food.  theres also this drink they sell at stores here called Del Valle its just pure nectar of fruit its fantastic.  usually at the members house though its either purified water or coca cola lol.  i hate coca cola but i swallow it down anyways cuz i dont want to insult them.  i use my water filter bottle at home but for the most part the tap here in the city is good, but i dont drink it anyways.  but usually if i werent able to drink it the people couldnt either.  mostly everyone has bottled water in those 5 gallon bottles.  so its good.  the people are poor here its so sad.  their houses are friggin tiny.  i mean mom and dad imagine maybe our kitchen in our house.  that is like big here.  but theyre all totally fine with it.  it isnt bad to them at all.  so i dunno.  its cool.  i like it here though.  its crazy.  but the people are actually pretty nice. i really like the members a lot too.  so ya anyways thats mostly it.  kinda get spanish.  had an experience with the gift of tongues my first full day here.  we were talking to 3 sisters, two of them members and one not.  and we busted out the scriptures and then all of a sudden i could understand and speak spánish.  it was way cool. it just goes to show that if God needs you to do something he will have you do it.  and thats for sure i have felt it this week.  spanish is getting better and better each day.  i know the basics.  its just really hard cuz the people here talk friggin fast.  anyways thats it for now.  hope everyone at home is good and i love all you guys. miss you! time is flying! youre all in my prayers too!  love you all and hope all is well!  

Love Elder Day

P.S. my address is:

Elder McKeon Jacob Day
Mexico Torreón Mission
Calle. Ernesto Breede #301
Col. Ampliacion Los Angeles
27140 Torreón Coahuila Mexico

iif you all want to send me dear elders again thats fine.  but to my family its better if you send me emails.  i only get letters once a month at zone conference.  ok thanks

In Mexico!!!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH im in mexico!!! im here!  and i couldnt figure out the phones in mexico city for the life of me! it was way hard lol.  i totally had to rely on my spanish skills though.  it was frustrating and fun at the same time.  anyways torreon is sweet.  had some authentic mexican with the mission president and his wife they are really great people i love em already.  authentic mexican is great though!  anyways i cant email for too long but just letting you know its all good.  p day is on monday.  and i have a native companion i{m meeting tomorrow.  Elder Lopez!  so ya.  love you guys and it was so great to hear from all of you.  love you guys.  youre in my prayers!  im so excited this weeeeekkkkk ahhhhhhhh.  oh by the way contacted 2 people on the way in spanish it was great =) love ya!  gotta go!  i{m doing fantastic.  jfsdaklñfjsdañlfkjsdalñfjk =)  talk to ya next week in email!  mission president says we get mail about every month ok?  and email is at internet cafes so im good on that.  ok love you guys!  =)

Love KikikikIKIKIKIKI

February 10th E-mail! 4 Days Until Mexico!!!!

Ok yesterday was crazy.  CRAZY! really this week has been.  so first off Elder Ragland spranged his ankle in gym two days ago and now has to wait at the MTC for an extra month now before he can go out to any field.  that was tuesday.  monday our district went to the travel office even though we weren't supposed to and asked for our status.  we figured out that we were getting reassigned for a while.  so yesterday i'm sitting in the doctors office waiting for elder Ragland to get checked up and get his x ray results.... and my district comes storming in "Elder Day! they called you to the travel office!"  i'm like what???!  thinking since i'm the leader they are going to have all our visas yanno?  i get down there while Elder Mullen waits at the office for elder ragland.  and they said where are you going?  and i said my district is going to mexico.  and they're like. "ok Elder Day your visa came through you need to go to consolate tomorrow at 1 o clock to get it signed.  only me.  HOLY CRAP!  apparently the visa list has like 89 people on it.  and out of that only 6 elders are going to consolate today with me.  i can't even believe it.  i am so blessed!  i'm leaving the MTC on time! and am going to be in mexico on monday or tuesday!  hopefully monday. my district was a little bitter, not too much but i could feel the energy lol and it was a tid bit bitter.  but ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhHHHHHHHHHHHHH!  i'm going to Mexico i'm so excited!  a little nervous but i know its going to be great!  the rest of my district is getting reassigned though we don't know where yet.  crazy though huh?  i'm going to probably have a native mexican companion right off the bat i heard from my teacher who served in Guadalajara that theres like a 90% percent chance i will!  Can you believe it!  how blessed am i?!  i know for a fact i have to find someone immedietely when i get down there thats the only reason i know i'm going on time.  i can't wait its going to to be great!  ok so thats that! ok yesterday was crazy.  CRAZY! really this week has been.  so first off Elder Ragland spranged his ankle in gym two days ago and now has to wait at the MTC for an extra month now before he can go out to any field.  that was tuesday.  monday our district went to the travel office even though we weren't supposed to and asked for our status.  we figured out that we were getting reassigned for a while.  so yesterday i'm sitting in the doctors office waiting for elder Ragland to get checked up and get his x ray results.... and my district comes storming in "Elder Day! they called you to the travel office!"  i'm like what???!  thinking since i'm the leader they are going to have all our visas yanno?  i get down there while Elder Mullen waits at the office for elder ragland.  and they said where are you going?  and i said my district is going to mexico.  and they're like. "ok Elder Day your visa came through you need to go to consolate tomorrow at 1 o clock to get it signed.  only me.  HOLY CRAP!  apparently the visa list has like 89 people on it.  and out of that only 6 elders are going to consolate today with me.  i can't even believe it.  i am so blessed!  i'm leaving the MTC on time! and am going to be in mexico on monday or tuesday!  hopefully monday. my district was a little bitter, not too much but i could feel the energy lol and it was a tid bit bitter.  but ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhHHHHHHHHHHHHH!  i'm going to Mexico i'm so excited!  a little nervous but i know its going to be great!  the rest of my district is getting reassigned though we don't know where yet.  crazy though huh?  i'm going to probably have a native mexican companion right off the bat i heard from my teacher who served in Guadalajara that theres like a 90% percent chance i will!  Can you believe it!  how blessed am i?!  i know for a fact i have to find someone immedietely when i get down there thats the only reason i know i'm going on time.  i can't wait its going to to be great!  Just wanna let everyone know that i won't have the same address in about 5 days!  ok? cuz if you send me stuff after i leave i'm pretty sure it will just get sent back or i dunno what exactly will happen to it.  so ya.  just lettin ya all know!  and i'll probably only get mail every 6 weeks.  to all family in the vicinity of my parents!   make sure you're at my house the 14th at night if the parents are ok with that of course =)  including you Bert you're family too.  so it's either monday or tuesday i'm leaving.  i'm thinking monday maybe so maybe the 13th.  just make sure you communicate with my parentals about it all!  they'll tell ya what to do.  i dunno how much time i'll have to talk on the phone though so just family is really all i can do.  love you all i hope all is well!  i am super excited to see the culture in mexico!  and to talk to the people down there and share the gospel.  you're all in my prayers as you know and always will be!  lookout for my new address on my facebook and my blog so just keep a lookout for it cuz thats the only way i'll get mail from you all!  ok well i gotta go i hope its all well and that life is treating you good!  i love you all!  Kierra and Bobby i need your emails ok!  or just make sure you're on the forward list i hope you are!  hope you got my letter!   love you guys!  hope the kids are good!  give them loves for me!  just want everyone to know that the Lord's hand is in all your lives no matter how apparent it is i promise He loves you and is always looking after you!  dear elder me ok?   cuz that works a lot better!