Thursday Night Lights'

Dear everyone,

Well, the truth is that this week was much better than last week. Some of the highlights include an increase in contacting and acceptances, more lessons, and some new investigators. But the biggest highlight of all was definitely Thanksgiving.

Our assistants to the president are both from the U.S., so on Wednesday, they asked President Zapata for special permission to play football on Thanksgiving! A classic thanksgiving morning turkeybowl at the stake center!

It was extremely fun. Almost all the Elders came, and we played football for four hours straight. All the gringos (and a decent amount of the latinos) split up into four teams, and we held a tournament! And my team won! Probably the best part, though, was getting to spend time with all my friends. I got to play on the same team as my two companions from the CCM, Elder Child and Elder Chischillie. It was so nice catching up with them, and it was so refreshing to have a break from routine to go play some turkeybowl.

After the tournament was over, Elder Ramirez and I went to go get breakfast with our good friends Elder May and Elder Castillo. Elder May is our district leader, and probably Elder Ramirez's best friend in the mission. It was bittersweet though, because this is Elder May's last transfer; He goes home in two weeks. But it was still really nice.

Now onto a funny story.

I like to tell Elder Ramirez stories from my life and whatnot, and one of my favorite topics to talk about is my crazy football coaches. Well, one time while we were walking, I related to him Coach Johnson's story about the saying you can lead a horse to water but you cant make him drink. Coach Johnson used to say "You know how they say you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink? Well I'll tell you how I'll make him drink; I'll grab that horse by the mane, and submerge him in the water till he nearly drowns, then I'll pull him back out, and you better bet that horse will be ready to do whatever I want at that point". Classic Coach Johnson. Anyways, the next day we had a lesson with a less active member, who has a kid who doesn't like going to church. Long story short, Elder Ramirez told my story about coach Johnson to her, and effectively told her that she needs to make a better effort in teaching her daughter the gospel and taking her to church, even if that involves a little tough parenting. I was dying of laughter. It was so funny.

Well, that's all for this week. Life is going well, and the language is getting better and better. I miss you guys so much. I can't explain it.

With love,

Elder William Jacob Long

Fast Times in Huehuecalco

Hey everybody!

First request of this email, feel free to send me some witty ideas for email subject lines, because I'm starting to run out!

Also, whosoever desires to email me in Spanish, please feel free. I would love that!

Anyways, onto my week!

The truth is that it hasn't been very eventful. The most difficult part of my mission now (besides the language) is getting investigators to attend church on Sunday. The church building here is literally walking distance from all but two of our investigators, and they always commit to attend on Sunday mornings, but when push comes to shove, they don't come. Pretty frustrating for a missionary.

Well, the language is improving. This week has proved to be my most spiritual week in the mission so far, despite the lack of success. As Ive had the Spirit as a constant companion, Ive witnessed my aptitude for Spanish increase. Ive been able to communicate better, and understand people better! But its still difficult, and more humbling than ever.

I have a wealth of spiritual experiences to choose from for this week, and its very difficult, so instead I think I'm going to share a quick scripture, D+C 82:10. It basically says I the Lord am bound when you do what I say; but when you do not what I say, you have no promise. As Ive worked hard to stay obedient and maintain the Spirit, the promised blessings of learning Spanish have really occurred.

Well, that's all for this week. I don't have much more time to write, because I have to hurry over to a district meeting. I love you all so much. I cant begin to describe just how much I miss you all, how often I pray, and how much I care.

With love,

Elder William Jacob Long

The Past Week

Hey everybody!

Sorry, I don't have much time to write today. P-day has been running late, because we had a zone conference go two hours late this morning. Its been crazy.

Anyways, I want to apologize for the lack of photos! I haven't had a chance to take many today, or this past week.

I only have time for a quick spiritual thought, so I want to share one of the many miracles that occurred this week. My companion lost his phone on Saturday evening, and we didn't realize it until we got back to the house that night. Well, we didn't have time to go search for it, so we said a prayer that it would be preserved. earlier that day, we had to stop by a cyber cafe to print of a copy of President Uchtdorf´s talk from this past women's conference. Anyways, we figured it was there, so we went to bed. We had the special stake conference that Sunday, and we had invited one of our investigators to attend it with us. But since it was in an unfamiliar place to her (the stake center), we offered to walk with her. Well we got to her house that morning on the way to the stake center, and nobody was home. We waited a while, but to no avail. We were sad, and we decided to say a prayer. After the prayer, we didn't know what to do. So we decided to stop by the Cyber Cafe on the way to the stake center to look for the phone. Well, the ciber cafe was closed, but as we were passing it, we saw our investigator on the street taking a walk!! We caught up with her, asked if she remembered that we were gonna go to church, and she said yes and accompanied us. I was so happy, because she had a very spiritual experience. What a miracle. Later that day, we returned to the ciber Cafe, and the phone was there, preserved and fine.

I know that the Lord blesses us when we diligently work and follow his commandments.

That's all for me this week. More to come next!

Love,

Elder William Jacob Long

Livin la vida loca

Hey everybody!

So I don't know how to begin. The last two weeks have been a whirlwind.

The hard work and contacting has finally payed off! We now have some investigators, and we've set some baptismal dates! The only problem is that the dates are in the next transfer. But it's been a good turn around from last week. When we first arrived at our house, Elder Ramirez and I checked the area book. Investigators, Progressing investigators, and Investigators with baptismal dates were completely blank. I guess it shows huge trust by my President in my trainer, to give him an area that has not been successful in a while, and give him a training assignment at the same time. Elder Ramirez is the man. Well, we finally have investigators, and we work hard to teach them everyday. It's been an adventure. One day is super good. I understand what people are saying, my Spanish is good, etc. Then the next day, I can't understand a thing, I can't speak, etc. Learning this language has been the most humbling experience of my life. But everyday is better, and I'm getting very fluent. I study the language every day, and I speak Spanish as much as possible.

The highlight of my week (aside from the lessons of course) was probably last p-day. I made a meal plan, went to the store, and bought lots of groceries. i work hard to eat healthy every day, and it pays of.

A spiritual experience I had this past week was we were contacting, at about 7 at night or so, and we were able to teach a lesson with a guy named Juan. during the lesson, it started pouring rain. Afterward, we ran back to the house to change into rain gear. While we were there, it was already late at night, and it was raining, so it was very tempting to stay indoors and just call it a day. But we know that we have to follow the rules to exact obedience, even if it's pouring rain and we're tired. So we changed, went out, and started contacting in the pouring rain. God really does bless us, especially when we are following the rules exactly. Within fifteen minutes of contacting, someone agreed to let us teach them. In the span of two hours, we were able to find two new investigators, and teach them both the first lesson. What a blessing.

Now, onto the good part; Photos!

This is our street in Amecameca! The town is very tranquil and calm. The people are extremely friendly, and contacting here really isn't that bad.

This is one of the large volcanoes in the area. I can't remember its name unfortunately. I am also sorry I don't have a good photo of Popocatepetl, it's very difficult to get a photo of it without clouds covering it. It's crazy to comprehend that this volcano is over 17,000 feet tall.

This is our chapel. It's very strange. The actual chapel is on the second floor, and the classrooms and font are on the bottom floor. There is a separate building to the left for the offices of the bishops.

This is the main street in town. it is named Miguel Hidalgo. It seems like everything here is named Miguel Hidalgo. That's probably how Mexicans feel when they go to Austin or Houston.

Elder Ramirez and Me doing some hardcore laundry. We have to hang out all of our clothes to dry on top of a roof of a member's house. It's loco.

This is their house (the picture didn't come through). They are honestly the nicest family. They live in the next town over, Huehuecalco, so every Monday, Elder Ramirez and I load up on a bus and drive out to their house. They let us use their washing machine, and we often have lunches here. It is like a home away from home, and I am so grateful for their kindness.

Well that's all for this week. I love you guys, and I miss you all so much. I pray for you all all the time.

Love,

Elder William Jacob Long