Mateo in MEXICO: Thriller, imaginary clapping, and ward parties are the BEST!

You start to screeeaam... THRILLLER THRRILLLLER yayaya.

So that is almost appropriate because tomorrow is October and also because Michael Jackson’s Thriller is playing right now in the internet cafe. Love that Mexicans love MJ. Makes Lunes a little bit funner.

Well, another great week passed its way. I really enjoyed it... It had some twists and turns, which made for some interesting stories, but all in all it was just another week in the life as a Mexican missionary.

#beachboysrightnowareswinging #igetaround

Okay. So I will just jump to the juicy baptism story. Well actually I need to fill you in to let you know how we had a baptism this weekend. Okay. FINE. I’ll say it. So you know how we were four missionaries in Quetzal? Well we aren’t anymore. Elder de la Cruz got really sick on Sunday and then on Monday he was rushed to the hospital and got surgery for appendicitis. So after his operation I guess something ruptured and what he has now is called peritonitis and it is super dangerous and sketchy so just please remember ELDER DE LA CRUZ in your prayers (mom leave his whole name so people can pray for him) and ya. Just do it. I don’t know if he will be able to work for a few weeks or if he will just go home. So they had a baptism planned for this weekend and we had to finish teaching him and get him prepared for everything because they weren’t able to teach all week. The investigators name is A.! He is an old man and is just wonderful. He was Elder W.’s best friend and just was so excited and ready to get baptized. I guess he has three kids. One is a Mormon and her kids are all in our ward. They served missions and are super great. The other sons he has are Christians and put a bunch of ideas in his head about the Mormons and I guess a few weeks ago he totally changed his mind about baptism. But the Elders worked with him really well and helped him truly pray to receive his answer. Well he received his answer and decided to be baptized! So he was going to get baptized on Saturday but then we realized that is was the Women’s General Conference and so he decided to wait so that more people could come and attend the baptism. So then he decided to do it Sunday after church... I told him that he would have to wait two weeks to get confirmed as a member and receive the Holy Ghost because new converts have to wait to be confirmed in Sacrament Meeting. It is a rule. But he was good with it and was fine with waiting two weeks, since we have General Conference next week. So we had the baptism and it was super beautiful. I sang a hymn for him after the ordinance and I could just see him tearing up from everything that had happened and where he was now. So that was great to see the spirit touch him immediately. But right after the song, the counselors came in and were like "hey we just got permission from the Bishop to give him the Holy Ghost" and I was like uhhhh........ Elder W. and I looked at each other like "is this allowed?????" and we just felt super awkward because its not like we could’ve just stood up and yelled "WE REJECT" in the middle of the baptism. So we just let it happen.... and so yeah it happened. Later that day when we were reporting numbers to our District Leader, the Zone Leader was like freaking out and got mad at me because I let it happen. So I am a little bit worried what President will say. I emailed him today and told him the story. I am expecting a call soon..... hahaha. Eeep. Hopefully he doesn’t buy my ticket home.

I will let you know what happens with that situation. We have other baptisms planned for October 12th and I am stoked. They are both older men and they are so ready and have such strong testimonies. One came to the baptism and was like clapping during the baptism and it was hilariously awk because everyone was like "who is this old guy?" haha so I had to explain it to him that we try to be reverent in church and in baptisms... So we do imaginary clapping. He was down with that. Then his son finally came to church and is suddenly getting super interested in the Restoration and everything. He is loving it and I am sure that once he comes to church again we will put a baptism date down for him. Four more weeks... Hopefully he can come!!

We taught another new group of people this week. One is a young couple with two young sons. They are super great and just need the Gospel in their life. The mom wants her sons to have a good example and direction in their life. So CHURCH IS JUST PERF. Haha. Her husband had actually talked to the missionaries earlier in his life when he lived in the US and loves what we teach. I think NOW is his time. But first we have to get them married. I think they have money so that shouldn’t be a problem! #icanhearthebellsbby

Another new guy we are teaching is the boyfriend of a young 17 year old girl in our ward. He is super intelligent and receptive to the lessons. Like sometimes it is rare to find someone that actually can repeat what we say back to us. And he CAN. I was like so impressed and just so happy that he was catching on so quickly. He is golden. In the end we asked if he had questions and he was just like "no, that was really clear and just makes so much sense to me!". Hopefully he will find time to come to church. He says he has lots of homework... but let’s be real? Haha jk.

OMG AHHAHAHA I FORGOT. We had a "Noche Mexicana" this week with the ward and it was HILARIOUS AND SO PERFECT. Like ward parties are just they best.. In ALL PARTS OF THE WORLD. So awkward and perfect. This was Mexican themed and all the little cute kids danced Mexican dances and it was so funny and hilarious to watch them. Some were really good and others were just those cute kids that you see in dance recitals that do what ever the heck they want. Or they just can’t dance and fall. All in all it was a success. Except for they started two hours early so we had to leave super fast so we would get home by 9 o clock (which is our curfew here) without trouble. (Later we watched videos of all of our wardies dance together and I peed.) Everyone made their Mexican Independence dishes and they are soo rico. Loaded with mayonnaise and cheese and chile. Pozole, Pombasos, and then like 50 other things. We grabbed all we could fit in our hands and ran to the street to try and grab a taxi so we could get home on time. #taxisarecool

We had a Zone Conference on Wednesday and I was in charge of teaching time. I got super nervous but I think it went pretty well. Whatever. I learned a lot from President that night. I love that man!

Love you guys so much. I am freaking out that it is almost October. GENERAL CONFERENCE. I've been here for more than 6 months. I have 8 months in total. Why so quick, time? I am glad to know all is well where you guys are.

Con Amor,

Elder Macdonald