Week 20 - December 17, 2012 - Just when I thought it couldn't get any harder...

Hola!

So on Saturday during one of our lessons Elder Silos and I get a phone call from President. He asked to speak to me. This doesn´t happen very often. When I started talking to him he was very nice and just started telling me how proud he was of the success of Elder Silos and I over these past few months. He then told me how well my spanish is coming along and how much potential he sees in me. Then he gave me the news...Ëlder Payne. I have a leadership position for you. I want you to be a trainer this next transfer. YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!  So yes... I will be training this next transfer. All the new missionaries are flying in today so I won´t know until tomorrow who my companion is. I hope I get a native companion only because my spanish is getting pretty good, and I don't want to lose it!

Then on Sunday the zone leaders called everyone in the zone for a group call. They usually do this when a bunch of changes are being made. They went through everyone and told them where they were all going to serve. They got to Elder Silos and told him that he was going to serve in Morelia. He was super excited because that is an awesome part of the mission. Then they got to me and I responded with a very fearful 'ëstoy aqu'. They then proceeded to tell me that I was also going to be district leader this next transfer. THIS IS SOME SORT OF SICK JOKE!! haha  I mean I´m nervous but I know I can do it. I read the scripture, 1 Nephi 3:7 and it says that "I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded for I know that he giveth no commandment unto the children of men save he shall prepare a way for them.¨  I know that I will probably pray more than ever in this next transfer and I will be relying on the Lord A LOT!! 

Although I am a little freaked out I am happy that President trusts me enough to train and lead my district. This will be an opportunity for me to learn a ton about myself and to serve others around me! 

Well on Tuesday elder Silos and I almost got arrested! hahaha So this story starts off a couple months ago when some drunk guy stopped us on the street so that he could tell me his deportation story. Anyways a couple weeks ago we saw him walking down the street and he stopped us again...this time he was sober. He didn´t remember talking to us so we just acted like we didn´t remember either.  He told us that he was baptized 3 years ago and that he wants to go to church with us. He asked if we would go by his house to give him directions how to get to church.

So Elder Silos and I went to his house last Tuesday. He was super high and extremely drunk. He told us that he wanted to walk to the store a couple houses down and asked if we would walk with him. So Elder Silos and I accompanied him to this ¨tienda.¨ After he bought two beers, we started walking back to his house. We heard sirens and turned around and the cops were there to arrest him for being drunk in public hahaha!! It was funny until the cop started yelling at me!! He thought that Elder Silos and I had been drinking too and he started to inspect me haha!! Another cop got out of the car and said, ¨They´re missionaries! They´re not doing anything wrong!¨ I was so scared, I thought I was done for! 

So pretty much everyone here is catholic and one of their main beliefs is in the Vrigins Mary and Guadalupe. They praise these two people just as much as they praise God. So on Wednesday was ¨Dia de los virgines¨ here in Mexico. Everyone walks around the streets and chants all these prayers! In the centro here in Guadalajara there´s a huge catholic temple and over 1,000,000 people went to chant and do ceremonial things.  We got so many weird looks that day, but it was pretty entertaining!

We had a lesson with Rosario and she told us that she isn´t ready to get baptized yet but knows that she needs to. She is trying super hard to stop smoking and it is awesome to see her desire. I hope she doesn´t lose interest in the church now that Elder Silos is gone. She loves us, she told Elder Silos that he needs to return to marry her daughter and that when I finish my mission to return and marry her. hahaha Kinda freaked me out but they are hilarious! They just love to mess with us so I hope my new companion will be cool and that her progress will still keep on going strong!!

So this week I lived off of 50 pesos. I wanted to see if I could do it (50 pesos is about $3.50).  I lasted all the way up until Saturday hahaha! I was pretty proud of myself!!

Well my brithday is coming up this Saturday!! Thank you to all 43 people who gave me a happy brithday shout out!! Sorry- there is no way I can write you all back so there is your shout-out! hahaha  It's so nice to know you care!

Well next week I will be SKYPING you guys!! I am so excited to talk to you guys in person (kinda) to see how you are all doing!! You can all open my box that I sent on Christmas Eve so that I can explain everything to you when we talk! I didn´t have time to organize it very well but I will explain when we talk!!

Well I love you guys and I hope you are all doing well! Pray for me hahaha I am going to need it next transfer!! I am working as hard as I can and I know that I am doing the Lords work!! As missionaries we are establishing the kindom of heaven here on this earth. We don´t need to be called on a 2 year mission to do that! Everyone can help fulfill the Lords work by being an example. You can say all you want about what you believe but to LIVE those beliefs makes you who you are!! 

Stay classy,

Elder Mike Payne

(Here are some of the pictures Mike sent this week with captions he attached!)

"This is Rosario and the fam!  If we can get Rosario baptized there will be a lot of baptisms in the future!"

"This is one of the streets on 'Day of the Virgins.'  They decorate the streets and it looks super cool!"

"This is the cutest ever!  haha I love her so much!"

"I made Elder Silos and I a super good breakfast for our last breakfast together."

"This is my last picture with Elder Silos.  This is when we dropped him off at the bus station."