Week 36 Izalco District, El Salvador--March 28, 2016

Easter in the Temple!

Okay so we actually went to the temple on saturday but here they celebrate the semana santa so saturday was technically part of the "easter" celebrations also...anyway, so we went to the temple with a couple investigators, members, less actives, and recent converts to learn about the temple and just enjoy being there. the el salvador temple doesnt have a visitors center so we turn the chapel into a type of visitors center for everyone. it was great to not only be there with our zone but also see all the other missionaries and the investigators that they have progressing and planning to enter into the temple some day. i also got to see elder ostler, piñeros, kaufusi, and harris! layco and companion reunion! as well as other people from layco so that was really great. anyway, while we were in the chapel we watched a video about when the el salvador temple was first dedicated nearly 5 years ago. it was a big deal. members and youth from all over the country came to a large center to celebrate having elder eyring come to dedicate the temple. they literally threw a party and planned all kinds of typical dances and performances to celebrate the coming of the house of the Lord in their country. it was incredible to see just how much the temple meant for these people. and i know that it still means a lot for them. let us remember the significance of temples and how blessed we are to have them in our lives. even more so if we live near the temple and have the opportunity to visit often. let us also dance and sing in our hearts and spirits to know that the Lord loves us so much that He has given us these holy places to be closer to Him. With this easter season we can reflect on the sure fact that our Savior lives. and if for any reason we need to be reminded or just want to feel more strongly of this fact all we must do is go to the temple to have Him reassure us. I love you all so much and think of you often. Have a great week!

Elder Abilez

Pupusa Count: 46 (i dont remember if i ate pupusas or not this week...)

dis is lemun

Week 35 Izalco District, El Salvador--March 21, 2016

So I didn't make any plans to write this week

usually i note down things in my agenda for what to say in my letter. i opened my agenda today to see and there was nothing. so sorry if this letter ends up being lame i forgot to plan stuffs. anywho, this past week we went to the temple! it was obviously a great experience and i learned a lot there. then, on thursday we had a multi zone conference where i was able to see  lots of friends there and catch up on how the work is going for them. this friday i was also able to go to izalco on an intercambio with elder ballantyne (the zone leader). we saw a lot of miracles that day and met a whole lot of really cool people. it was a successful day overall. also, we found a new family to teach somewhat near our house and they already accepted a baptismal date! they werent able to come to church yesterday but they still really want to learn about the church and visit with us because they know that the gospel can help improve their lives. so pray that everything will go well for them! also, we were going to have a baptism this next saturday with our investigator Blanca but it seems that we wont be able to do it just yet. pray that everything can go well so that we can get her baptized the next week. shes super great too. this week is actually already the last week of the cambio so we are planning to work super hard to end the cambio strong. hardly feels like ive been in san julian more than a week but already its been almost two months. time is crazy. alright well i hope you all have a great week and think more in the Savior this easter. Remember that because he was resurrected we too are going to have the chance to have a new life! Go watch the easter videos online! okay love you all thanks for writing always bye!
Elder Abilez

Pupusa Count: 44

zona izalco en el templo

elder ramos caught a scorpion in the patio

and then a centipede in the shower

multizone selfie ft. elder davis and elder austin

Week 34 Izalco District, El Salvador--March 14, 2016

Let's talk about love

so maybe ive mentioned a few of these thoughts before but i dont remember anything about anything ive said ever. so here we go. one of the things that people hear a lot from returned missionaries when they get back is how much they love the people from their mission (country, state, etc). and i always thought (for a while anyway) how weird it was to say that you could just straight love every possible person from a country. but then you go on a mission. so lemme preach for a second about the workings of love. at first in my mission i thought man i just need to be out on the mission for x months and i will just automatically love the people. i mean after so many months you just magically know a language and love people right? wrong. love comes, not just from time, but from knowing. think about all the people you really love in the world. and notice something, you know them pretty well. and think about all the people that love you. they know you pretty well. the ability to just love all the people in my mission doesnt come because its just more convenient to work and say that i love these people but rather because we develop the ability to recognize all these people for who they are. now its impossible to say that i know all of these people really well to be able to love them. but i look at a man and know that he is a father. he is a son. he is a brother. he is a worker. he is a dreamer. a woman is a mother, a sister, a daughter, an aspirer, a laugher. a child is a brother, sister, future father or mother, future leader, soccer player, student. and how many people do we know that are like that? i am a future father, i am a future worker, i am a leader, i am a dreamer. and so is just about anyone else i know. i am not here to brag and say that i am now an amazing person that can love just about every darn person i meet. some people are certainly harder to love than others. but there has never been a person that ive known really well (their trials, their hopes, their past, their present, or their possible future) that i have hated. its impossible. and that is exactly why jesus christ loves all of us, every single one, so perfectly as well. because there is no one else that knows us better then He (our trials, our hopes, our past, our present, and definitely our future). that is the reason He can love so purely. so let us practice this pure love with more of the people we meet. if we can begin seeing them as they are, children of God, and just get to know a little bit about them, we can develop this perfect Christlike love. that is something that i have been learning and, in my new area here, have realized as in only a few short weeks in San Julián i feel a great love for these people, some that i may only be just getting to know. i love each and every one of you and hope for the best in this next week. imma pray for you all in the temple tomorrow!
Elder Abilez

Pupusa Count: 30

WE BOUGHT BANANAS

Week 33 Izalco District, El Salvador--March 7, 2016

I don't have a clever title

so really nothing of great significance happened this week. our investigators are working towards baptism little by little. they all have attended church the required 3 times so now its just a matter of helping them receive a testimony and the desire for baptism. we had a busy week and were going between san julian and izalco often but it was nice to be able to see a lot of the two areas. yesterday we had a stake conference in sonzacate so we got to travel there and see even more of the country. its been a good time. i am going to try to send a number of pictures so that is just about all for now (also the videos i took dont fit unfortunately). love you all so much have a good week!


Pupusa Count:  28

companionship unity

typical fried banana breakfast (more typical to have friend platanos but this day i only had bananas)

las granadinas ft. volcan izalco

this pic doesn't do it any justice but this tree over in the bebedero is HUGE! also I took advantage of the setting sun. enjoy

la semilla de un zapote that i ate for breakfast one day as well

con palomo

Week 32 Izalco District, El Salvador--February 29, 2016

I guess I will just talk about the area

Hey! so not much to say this week or anything extraordinary to report so imma just talk about the area. so its huge. normally there are 4 missionaries here but there arent that many missionaries in our mission right now so its just us two. but its cool. in our zone theres the volcán izalco y santa ana. izalco is the tallest and santa ana is the biggest so we hope to go to one or both of those at some point. our branch is itty bitty in this little church building that is actually super cool. not too many members that attend but there are plenty of less actives to work with here. we have, up to this point, 4 baptismal dates that we want to be focusing on. Katia, Karla, Blanca, and un anciano que se llama chesperido. theyre all really great and each have their own little demons to conuer before being baptized. we hope, however, to get them baptized in this month of march. pray for them so that we can see some miracles! its a bit hotter in this area but its not bad at all. lots of coconuts, bananas, mangos, and just big tropical trees in general. its a great, beautiful place. cows and horses, goats and chickens. its way fun. alright cool i hope i have successfully painted my area into your minds. love you all! go read the ensigns! messages from our prophets are the best and i have already read all of the march issue and it was super good! (well i read the liahona but same thing really) okay have a great week!

elder abilez

pupusa count: 22