Big Changes
Hey so last week were changes! Elder Gallardo and I are stickin together in Central but nearly half of the zone has been changed. The districts have been rearranged so now we have 3 districts in the zone instead of 2. Also, tomorrow President and Sister Adams will be coming in and President and Hermana Hintze (or rather Brother and Sister Hintze) will be leaving on thursday. The mission is going to change a lot but we are all looking forward to the work and miracles we can perform with our new president. Right now in our area we are facing many trials. More specifically, the ward itself is facing many trials. We are now on about 2 months without a bishop and the toll is becoming heavy in the ward. As members, we really dont realize just how much the ward and we ourselves affect missionary work. I am not saying that our work is not good or putting any blame on the members, but there are great consequences that come from the spirituality of the ward. The missionaries work in a specific area. This area most often are the ward boundaries of the assigned ward. As such, if the Spirit is not thriving in the ward, neither can the Spirit thrive in the area. We as members must realize how much we really affect the work of the Lord. It is time as Saints to put off all that is petty, prideful, vain, and vulgar. To think that salvation is personal is ignorance. We know, through sacred ordinances, that true salvation comes from temple blessings and sealing to a family. But what are all of we? Nothing more or less than one big celestial family. So it is time to put down pride so that we have more capacity to carry one another. Service and love. Understanding and compassion. Repentance and forgiveness. Nevertheless, my companion and I were blessed to be able to see and perform a number of miracles in these last few days of our work. I say that not to boast of ourselves but rather, as Ammon, express how the Lord really does bless us and pour out the possibility for us to recognize and perfom miracles. It is my hope that all of you as well can begin to recognize and maybe perform miracles, especially in the times of deepest trial. Trials are temporary. Happiness is forever. I love you all so much and hope you have a great week full of miracles!
Elder Abilez
Pupusa Count: End of Last change: 30
Grand Total: 423
This change: 4
Tuesday, June 28, 2016
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
Week 48 Layco District, El Salvador (Zone Leader)-June 20, 2016
The End is Near
Heyo! So this last week was crazy because we had our multizone/farewell for president and hermana hintze! its just the strangest feeling to think that they are going to be gone soon. This week is cambios. I assume I will be staying here as zone leader at least for a little while longer so there is nothing to worry about. President and Hermana Adams arrive on the 28, the hintzes will leave on the 30th, and then we will have yet another multizone next week on july 1st to meet our new dad. The whole mission is changing and its just so strange. Today is the day that the missionaries bound for belize leave and as of now a good majority of my group from the mtc is in belize. I dont know when, but soon enough i will be off to belize as well. Whether I will end my mission there or here I cant tell at this point but its kind of a scary, sad thought. I love El Salvador. But for that reason I am really going to make what time I may or may not have left here worth it. This past Saturday we had a big activity in the church where a bunch of investigators came. Many were brought by members! It was a great experience. We are looking forward to the new change to keep working hard with the people we have progressing so we can really bless their lives. I, as well as many of you, am a witness of how this gospel can truly bless lives. For that reason I am always excited and happy to go out and see the changes that others, even strangers, can make in their own lives. I love you all! Have a great week!
Elder Abilez
Pupusa Count: 30
Heyo! So this last week was crazy because we had our multizone/farewell for president and hermana hintze! its just the strangest feeling to think that they are going to be gone soon. This week is cambios. I assume I will be staying here as zone leader at least for a little while longer so there is nothing to worry about. President and Hermana Adams arrive on the 28, the hintzes will leave on the 30th, and then we will have yet another multizone next week on july 1st to meet our new dad. The whole mission is changing and its just so strange. Today is the day that the missionaries bound for belize leave and as of now a good majority of my group from the mtc is in belize. I dont know when, but soon enough i will be off to belize as well. Whether I will end my mission there or here I cant tell at this point but its kind of a scary, sad thought. I love El Salvador. But for that reason I am really going to make what time I may or may not have left here worth it. This past Saturday we had a big activity in the church where a bunch of investigators came. Many were brought by members! It was a great experience. We are looking forward to the new change to keep working hard with the people we have progressing so we can really bless their lives. I, as well as many of you, am a witness of how this gospel can truly bless lives. For that reason I am always excited and happy to go out and see the changes that others, even strangers, can make in their own lives. I love you all! Have a great week!
Elder Abilez
Pupusa Count: 30
Tuesday, June 14, 2016
Week 47 Layco District, El Salvador (Zone Leader)-June 13, 2016
Goin back to school
Hey! So this week was cool! So a few of the missionaries in the zone are in the process of moving houses (roof leaks, rat infestation, general disorder, the usual) so we had to go and verify the house and all that stuff. The owner of the house is the director/principal of a school so we had to go in there to find and meet her to see the house. Schools here are crazy. I thought I had walked into the worlds first zoo for humans. and by humans i mean crazy salvadorean children. but it was a funny experience. But right now we are teaching these two kids named Michelle and Dennis. We found their uncle contacting and met them the next week in a visit. Theyre sooooo cool! Even though they are young they are really smart and understand a lot of what we teach. On Saturday we invited them to play soccer in the church with us with the other ward kids and they came and loved it. The next day they came to church with us and were only gonna stay for sacrament but stayed all 3 hours! Afterwards Michelle told us that she really liked it, she got some ´homework´ from the young women´s leader that she´s gonna do, and that she is gonna invite her mom to come next week! We are also doing a ward potluck and missionary activity this next saturday and she said she was gonna bring soda! This girl isnt even a member! So yeah we are super excited to work with them. they had denied baptism before because they just were so unsure about the whole thing but we are hoping with all of this progress with the members we will be able to help them out. We also found through a reference last thursday this lady named jacklin. she is super super cool too. she wasnt able to come to church this week but she is really interested and already knew a few things about the church beforehand. after a lot of time of searching we are stoked to be able to have a few really good people to help and focus on. Pray for them! I hope you all have a great week and remember to trust in the Lord always in your trials. Love you all so much!
Elder Abilez
Pupusa Count: 23 (i actually ate my 400th pupusa a couple weeks ago but it was unplanned with a member so there was no celebration...)
Hey! So this week was cool! So a few of the missionaries in the zone are in the process of moving houses (roof leaks, rat infestation, general disorder, the usual) so we had to go and verify the house and all that stuff. The owner of the house is the director/principal of a school so we had to go in there to find and meet her to see the house. Schools here are crazy. I thought I had walked into the worlds first zoo for humans. and by humans i mean crazy salvadorean children. but it was a funny experience. But right now we are teaching these two kids named Michelle and Dennis. We found their uncle contacting and met them the next week in a visit. Theyre sooooo cool! Even though they are young they are really smart and understand a lot of what we teach. On Saturday we invited them to play soccer in the church with us with the other ward kids and they came and loved it. The next day they came to church with us and were only gonna stay for sacrament but stayed all 3 hours! Afterwards Michelle told us that she really liked it, she got some ´homework´ from the young women´s leader that she´s gonna do, and that she is gonna invite her mom to come next week! We are also doing a ward potluck and missionary activity this next saturday and she said she was gonna bring soda! This girl isnt even a member! So yeah we are super excited to work with them. they had denied baptism before because they just were so unsure about the whole thing but we are hoping with all of this progress with the members we will be able to help them out. We also found through a reference last thursday this lady named jacklin. she is super super cool too. she wasnt able to come to church this week but she is really interested and already knew a few things about the church beforehand. after a lot of time of searching we are stoked to be able to have a few really good people to help and focus on. Pray for them! I hope you all have a great week and remember to trust in the Lord always in your trials. Love you all so much!
Elder Abilez
Pupusa Count: 23 (i actually ate my 400th pupusa a couple weeks ago but it was unplanned with a member so there was no celebration...)
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| giant flying ant |
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| zona layco |
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| the working life |
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| in school |
Tuesday, June 7, 2016
Week 46 Layco District, El Salvador (Zone Leader)-June 6, 2016
Lots of Meetings
So this week was pretty normal all things considered. For us anyway. We had a lot of meetings this week. a ton really. unfortunately, that means we also lost a lot of work time so we are trying now to think of how to better manage our time and also considering the possibility to talk with ward leaders to reschedule some of our regular meetings so we dont lose time to work. boring, practical work stuff. but, right now we have a lot of investigators that we have found that have a lot of potential. we have had a lot of great experiences with several of them and hope now to just get them more excited to go to church and accept more commitments. Now that we are in june i am starting to hit a bit of a midlife crisis on the mission. the mission really is short. no matter what anyone says. i havent hit a year yet but there is a definite sense of urgency when you think about how much time is left and how it only become less and less. anyway, i am looking from this point on to just continue working harder and harder so that no time is wasted. in all things we much counsel with the Lord so that we can have true success. I love you all very much and hope you have a great week!
Elder Abilez
Pupusa Count: 10
So this week was pretty normal all things considered. For us anyway. We had a lot of meetings this week. a ton really. unfortunately, that means we also lost a lot of work time so we are trying now to think of how to better manage our time and also considering the possibility to talk with ward leaders to reschedule some of our regular meetings so we dont lose time to work. boring, practical work stuff. but, right now we have a lot of investigators that we have found that have a lot of potential. we have had a lot of great experiences with several of them and hope now to just get them more excited to go to church and accept more commitments. Now that we are in june i am starting to hit a bit of a midlife crisis on the mission. the mission really is short. no matter what anyone says. i havent hit a year yet but there is a definite sense of urgency when you think about how much time is left and how it only become less and less. anyway, i am looking from this point on to just continue working harder and harder so that no time is wasted. in all things we much counsel with the Lord so that we can have true success. I love you all very much and hope you have a great week!
Elder Abilez
Pupusa Count: 10
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| I'm a missionary again! |
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Tuesday, May 31, 2016
Week 45 Layco District, El Salvador (Zone Leader)--May 30, 2016
A week in the life as a zone leader
so i have now finished a whole week as the zone leader of layco. elder gallardo and i are new to it (though he had a week and a half head start) so we still dont quite feel like we are zone leaders haha. pretty much we just have more numbers to do more than anything. but its fun. this week we had a little multizone so its always good to see other missionaries and receive counsel from president. this week we were really busy and really working hard to find people to teach and get to know the area. we have been determined to set ourselves to strive for and reach the standards of excellence set by our mission president. we were able to accomplish several points this week and now have the drive to change how we work so we can improve in other areas. setting goals is great. one great satisfaction of working is being able to set high goals and reaching them. and then, we can keep working to improve so that we can really reach our potential as missionaries, workers, members, parents, friends, or whatever really. and, even when we fall short of a goal, we can then have the chance to reflect and start again even better. setting goals is a great way to master self discipline. as i have gone out to set and reach goals in all of my time in the mission, it has made me come to realize all of the times in my life before where i wasnt able to quite accomplish what i wanted because i wasnt properly setting or striving for goals. mostly, i just went through the motions of working and hoped for the best. i may have wasted a lot of great potential in many aspects of my life. for that i am grateful to now be learning how to become the best me. and in all this self discipline and potential-reaching, there is nothing more important than relying on the Lord. Remember the scripture in Ether in that we all have weakness, but that all of those weaknesses, every single one, can become a strength if we just rely on the Lord. thank you all always for your love, prayers, and support. i hope you all have a great week!
Elder Abilez
Pupusa Count: 2 (Woooooooooo!!!)
so i have now finished a whole week as the zone leader of layco. elder gallardo and i are new to it (though he had a week and a half head start) so we still dont quite feel like we are zone leaders haha. pretty much we just have more numbers to do more than anything. but its fun. this week we had a little multizone so its always good to see other missionaries and receive counsel from president. this week we were really busy and really working hard to find people to teach and get to know the area. we have been determined to set ourselves to strive for and reach the standards of excellence set by our mission president. we were able to accomplish several points this week and now have the drive to change how we work so we can improve in other areas. setting goals is great. one great satisfaction of working is being able to set high goals and reaching them. and then, we can keep working to improve so that we can really reach our potential as missionaries, workers, members, parents, friends, or whatever really. and, even when we fall short of a goal, we can then have the chance to reflect and start again even better. setting goals is a great way to master self discipline. as i have gone out to set and reach goals in all of my time in the mission, it has made me come to realize all of the times in my life before where i wasnt able to quite accomplish what i wanted because i wasnt properly setting or striving for goals. mostly, i just went through the motions of working and hoped for the best. i may have wasted a lot of great potential in many aspects of my life. for that i am grateful to now be learning how to become the best me. and in all this self discipline and potential-reaching, there is nothing more important than relying on the Lord. Remember the scripture in Ether in that we all have weakness, but that all of those weaknesses, every single one, can become a strength if we just rely on the Lord. thank you all always for your love, prayers, and support. i hope you all have a great week!
Elder Abilez
Pupusa Count: 2 (Woooooooooo!!!)
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| zone leader trio! |
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| staircase selfie |
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| i collected all the state quarters... |
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| despedida para hermana ramos |
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| workin with fernando |
Tuesday, May 24, 2016
Week 44 Layco District (Again!), El Salvador (Zone Leader)--May 23, 2016
That Was Unexpected
So this week was a bit nuts. I have some bittersweet news for all of you. My time with Elder Kaufusi and being there in San Julián has been cut short. On saturday in our morning english class we suddenly received a call from the assistants and so i quickly handed the class over to kaufusi to go answer. I got emergency changes. And so i was called out to be a zone leader in another zone. And, by an ironic twist of fate, I am back in Layco. So now I am here in the area Central with Elder Gallardo as the zone leaders of layco. Gallardo is from orange county and hes actually 24. he came to the mission a little bit after me so ive known him for all of his life. the area is super good and has been progressing a lot lately so we are excited to continue this work here (he is actually new to the area as well) so saturday right after the english class i left and had no time to say bye to anyone but a few members and javier and catherine. we were all pretty sad but we understand how these things work. this weekend was actually stake conference here in layco so i have already been blessed to be able to see just about everyone from here, including my convert gerson. it was great catching up with him. its a bit overwhelming to just suddenly become a zone leader. also strange considering all of the great plans we had in motion for san julián. i was really wondering about all that that has happened and funnily (is that even a word?) i found a humbling answer in one of my favorite talks from the october session of conference. elder renlund spoke in his talk about his calling to be an apostle. i wish i had the actual issue with me to quote exactly what he said because he definitely is more eloquent than a 21 year old kid from california who only speaks spanish now...but anyway, in regards to his apostolic call he said that his older brother had called him when he once was called to be a bishop (or maybe stake president, again i wish i had the issue) and admonished him that his calling most likely had nothing to do with anything that he had done or achieved, but rather that the Lord had something planned to do through him. elder renlund then continues to say that the circumstances are probably similar or equivalent in his calling to apostleship. and now, I, as the sudden new zone leader, can say the same. I know that this call that I only just received to have this leadership responsibility has nothing to do with what I have achieved or done. I can name numerous missionaries in this mission that are more deserving or qualified to hold this position. But in these last few days i have tried to keep my thoughts in the fact that I am here so that the Lord can accomplish some work through me. And perhaps, to also teach me a lesson. We all know I have a lot more learning to do. In any case I have a great amount of feelings in regard to these changes in the mission; anxious, excited, sad, humbled, confused, surprised, happy. but we all need to magnify our callings in the church no matter how big or small, and that is what i plan to do with mine for however much time i have to stay here. love you all so much!
elder abilez
pupusa count: 0...........some people in layco said i lost weight while i left, others said i gained. i, however, feel the same
So this week was a bit nuts. I have some bittersweet news for all of you. My time with Elder Kaufusi and being there in San Julián has been cut short. On saturday in our morning english class we suddenly received a call from the assistants and so i quickly handed the class over to kaufusi to go answer. I got emergency changes. And so i was called out to be a zone leader in another zone. And, by an ironic twist of fate, I am back in Layco. So now I am here in the area Central with Elder Gallardo as the zone leaders of layco. Gallardo is from orange county and hes actually 24. he came to the mission a little bit after me so ive known him for all of his life. the area is super good and has been progressing a lot lately so we are excited to continue this work here (he is actually new to the area as well) so saturday right after the english class i left and had no time to say bye to anyone but a few members and javier and catherine. we were all pretty sad but we understand how these things work. this weekend was actually stake conference here in layco so i have already been blessed to be able to see just about everyone from here, including my convert gerson. it was great catching up with him. its a bit overwhelming to just suddenly become a zone leader. also strange considering all of the great plans we had in motion for san julián. i was really wondering about all that that has happened and funnily (is that even a word?) i found a humbling answer in one of my favorite talks from the october session of conference. elder renlund spoke in his talk about his calling to be an apostle. i wish i had the actual issue with me to quote exactly what he said because he definitely is more eloquent than a 21 year old kid from california who only speaks spanish now...but anyway, in regards to his apostolic call he said that his older brother had called him when he once was called to be a bishop (or maybe stake president, again i wish i had the issue) and admonished him that his calling most likely had nothing to do with anything that he had done or achieved, but rather that the Lord had something planned to do through him. elder renlund then continues to say that the circumstances are probably similar or equivalent in his calling to apostleship. and now, I, as the sudden new zone leader, can say the same. I know that this call that I only just received to have this leadership responsibility has nothing to do with what I have achieved or done. I can name numerous missionaries in this mission that are more deserving or qualified to hold this position. But in these last few days i have tried to keep my thoughts in the fact that I am here so that the Lord can accomplish some work through me. And perhaps, to also teach me a lesson. We all know I have a lot more learning to do. In any case I have a great amount of feelings in regard to these changes in the mission; anxious, excited, sad, humbled, confused, surprised, happy. but we all need to magnify our callings in the church no matter how big or small, and that is what i plan to do with mine for however much time i have to stay here. love you all so much!
elder abilez
pupusa count: 0...........some people in layco said i lost weight while i left, others said i gained. i, however, feel the same
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| we bleed blue! (kaufusi and i made custom dodgers jerseys and shared with the familia baires. unfortunately kaufusi and i never got the chance to take a picture together with em or to show the backside...) |
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| Elder Gallardo and I! as of about 2 minutes ago... |
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| quick goodbyes with the mancia family (below) and the familia bonilla avila (javier and catherine) (above) |
Tuesday, May 17, 2016
Week 43 Izalco District, El Salvador-May 16, 2016
Now What?
Heyyyy! Changes were this last week! And we didnt get changes! kaufusi and i are gonna keep working together here in san julian and we are both stoked about it. We are making a lotta plans to be able to improve the work in this area. the members are excited to help us out and are always asking us when we are gonna have another activity in the church so its good to see that they wanna support us. our focus right now is to work smarter and more effectively. we have a few families and a number of people to focus on specifically so that they can also be baptized in this change. javier received the aaronic priesthood yesterday so that was a great experience! This past weekend we decided to do a little more exploring in our giant area. we had a couple of references for some people that live in a town called Cuisnahuat. We just call it Now What. Its especially funny cuz we missed the bus to go there on saturday and we just stood there for a second and finally said, Well, Now What? Luckily we were able to still make it there for the day. The town is way bigger than Ishuatan (but smaller than san julian) and like 5 times prettier too. it was super cool and we met a lot of cool people there. didnt find the references though...overall we are looking forward to making san julian a strong, spiritual area for missionary work. kaufusi and i have been talking a lot and have realized that no matter what happens in the mission, the most important thing always is the people. the people that we meet and especially the people that we bless with the gospel. a lot of missionaries try to focus just on the numbers. how many lessons we got in a week, how many invitations we make for baptism, or even just how many people we baptize. but if i have a day where we only sat down to teach even just two or three people in the whole day, but if those people felt the Spirit and felt a desire to change to make their lives a little bit better, thats real success. thats better than a high number. when i come back home i will never remember the numbers. i will never find significance in having the highest number of contacts in the mission. but i will remember the people who blessed my life. and i will remember the people who changed their lives as well. we are all God´s children. For that purpose, missionary work is the most important work we can be engaged in. I love you all and hope you all have a good week!
Elder Abilez
Pupusa Count: Last change total - 34
Grand Total: 394
This Change: 0 (we dont eat that many pupusas here...)
Heyyyy! Changes were this last week! And we didnt get changes! kaufusi and i are gonna keep working together here in san julian and we are both stoked about it. We are making a lotta plans to be able to improve the work in this area. the members are excited to help us out and are always asking us when we are gonna have another activity in the church so its good to see that they wanna support us. our focus right now is to work smarter and more effectively. we have a few families and a number of people to focus on specifically so that they can also be baptized in this change. javier received the aaronic priesthood yesterday so that was a great experience! This past weekend we decided to do a little more exploring in our giant area. we had a couple of references for some people that live in a town called Cuisnahuat. We just call it Now What. Its especially funny cuz we missed the bus to go there on saturday and we just stood there for a second and finally said, Well, Now What? Luckily we were able to still make it there for the day. The town is way bigger than Ishuatan (but smaller than san julian) and like 5 times prettier too. it was super cool and we met a lot of cool people there. didnt find the references though...overall we are looking forward to making san julian a strong, spiritual area for missionary work. kaufusi and i have been talking a lot and have realized that no matter what happens in the mission, the most important thing always is the people. the people that we meet and especially the people that we bless with the gospel. a lot of missionaries try to focus just on the numbers. how many lessons we got in a week, how many invitations we make for baptism, or even just how many people we baptize. but if i have a day where we only sat down to teach even just two or three people in the whole day, but if those people felt the Spirit and felt a desire to change to make their lives a little bit better, thats real success. thats better than a high number. when i come back home i will never remember the numbers. i will never find significance in having the highest number of contacts in the mission. but i will remember the people who blessed my life. and i will remember the people who changed their lives as well. we are all God´s children. For that purpose, missionary work is the most important work we can be engaged in. I love you all and hope you all have a good week!
Elder Abilez
Pupusa Count: Last change total - 34
Grand Total: 394
This Change: 0 (we dont eat that many pupusas here...)
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