Monday, March 28, 2011

Elder Jordan Keele- Mar. 28, 2011

Hello,

It's true, this week has really gone by quickly. When we're doing what we're supposed to, life goes by fast, and we want it to slow down. When we're not doing what we're supposed to, life goes by slow, and we want it to speed up. It's an interesting thought...

I didn't know Nicole was almost engaged as well, but congratulations to both of you! Life continues to move forward.

We taught a wonderful new mother and daughter. The mom is named Delfina and her 11 year-old daughter, Diana. They loved hearing about the restored gospel, and she really liked church. It was so fun to see them both excited about learning new things. It was a great experience.

Jose continues to progress. We're hoping this is the week where he can stop smoking for good. Also, Claudia and her 9 year-old son Jacob have their baptism scheduled for this Sunday between sessions. I hope they're able to stay strong, because they've experienced a lot of opposition. But the Lord will provide!

The experiences I'm having are absolutely irreplaceable. The miracles I see, and the number of times I see the hand of the Lord in my life are uncountable. I can't wait to share them in greater detail when I return. The Lord never leaves us, and it's amazing the closeness we can feel to Him. Have an excellent week, and I hope all goes well

Love, Elder Jordan Keele

P.S. Birthday wishes to Grant on Thursday :)

Hna. Jessica Keele- Mar. 28, 2011

Hola familia!

AH, I´m so happy for everyone!!!! Everybody is changing. Slow down!!! But it´s all good! Congrats Nicole and Tyler! Someone send me pictures. Congrats to Rachel and Danielle. Love every moment of your missions! And the MTC is amazing! I can´t wait to hear where and when they are both going! Derk and Nathan, congrats on the rugby games! And Nayfan!!!! Happy Birthday! =D

Miracle of the week. Luz...
Ah, Luz. We met her my first night here. :) Her mom Cristina is inactive and we were trying to visit her, but Luz (21 yrs old) said she was sick in bed. So we asked Luz if she´s talked to missionaries before. She said she had but she didn´t get up for church in time and the missionaries got mad and stopped coming to see her. She said that they left her something called "The plan of Salvation" and she loved it! So we left her with something called "The Restoration".

Next day, we stopped by and she told us that she read the pamphlet and again loved it. She also said that she did what it said in the back and prayed to find out if it was true. She said she prayed and knows it´s true!!! :) So we asked her, "Luz would you like to follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized by someone holding the priesthood authority from God?" She had a huge smile and said, Yes! I´ve never been baptized before. "That´s great because Luz, we´re preparing your baptism..." What?! My baptism!? What a beautiful surprise!!! Anyway she accepted a baptismal date for the 16th of April... But yesterday she didn´t wake up for church, so we have to postpone it until the 23rd.

Her problem is she takes a lot of pills for some psychiatric problem she has and they make her very tired. So she doesn´t wake up... The goood news is conference is this weekend, so she´ll have more time to get up this Sunday. So I´m hoping that something she feels during the conference will help her have more desire to get up the next Sunday. Also she has a problem with smoking but wants to quit. So again we could use your prayers :) so that she can learn to wake up and also be able to have the strength to quit smoking!

Anyway, we had an amazing week and it sounds like you did too!! :) I love you all so much. Keep your testimonies strong and keep learning more about the gospel to strengthen them! I love you all so very much!!

Love,
Jess

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Elder Jordan Keele- Mar. 21, 2011

Familia,

How are you all doing? I'm doing well here in Mexico. I love it here and wouldn't rather be anywhere else. I can't believe my progression, and I'm looking forward to continuing it. We had a zone conference last Friday, and everything that was mentioned by Pres. Hicken and the assistants seemed to be exactly what I needed to improve on. We've been doing lots of application, and we're able to see the blessings for it.

I don't know if I've mentioned Jose Contreras before. His wife has been less-active for many years, and recently they've decided to get involved in the church, so she called us over. Jose used to smoke 60 cigarettes a day back in December but wanted to quit. He did for two days, but his body just couldn't handle it, so he started smoking again. But recently we've been working a lot with him and this past week he's been down to 2-5 each day, which is a humongous improvement. His baptism is scheduled for April 3rd, but he has to quit completely starting yesterday. He could use your prayers to avoid the craving and remember our Savior always.

I'm way excited for conference too. Our zone is planning a ''bautizona'' for that day. All the baptisms for our zone will be held all together in the stake center. Our chapel is the stake center, and I'm assuming that's where we'll be watching conference.

A few weeks ago I sent with a member some letters. One was sent home, which included Nathan's stamps, another to Sis Alder, and a few others. I'm assuming you haven't heard or seen any of them yet...

Thank you so much for that e-mail. It's so true that there is nothing better than doing what the Lord wants, and knowing it. His hand is always in this work, and I see evidence of it everyday. It's amazing to have a front row seat to see the Lord work some of His greatest miracles. There's a lot of opposition, but that's a good thing. But with that negativity, we're blessed as we follow through.

When Elder Bednar gave a stake conference talk via broadcast several months ago, he said that the Lord sometimes allows us to walk in the darkness so that we can reach an even greater light. We'll always have the iron rod, but sometimes it won't be 'visible' because of our trials and difficulties, but it'll always be there, and we'll always be able to feel it, if we so choose.

I'm so grateful for the opportunity to serve as a missionary for my Savior. I can't imagine where I would be without it, but I know I would be totally lost. It's amazing when I actually apply these things I've learned from Dad and Mom, church leaders, the scriptures, etc.. The blessings just start to flow, and my eyes are opened so much more. It gives me a greater desire to share what I have with those who don't have it.

Thanks for your motivation, and for every effort you've ever put into teaching us the correct way to live our lives. I'll always be in awe of and deeply grateful for your consistent example.

Happy birthday Nathan and Mark! Nathan, don't get carried away with this dating and driving thing, all right? But, enjoy yourself!

Until next week, with all the love I have in my heart!

Elder Jordan Keele

P.S. Did the earthquake hit Guam? How's Diego?

Monday, March 21, 2011

Hna. Jessica Keele- Mar. 21, 2011

Hola familia!!

Thank you for your prayers!! Jesus got baptized Saturday!! :) It was a total miracle! As of Thursday he was still postponing his baptism for April. But my companion and I didn´t lose faith and still told the bishop and our ward mission leader that he was getting baptized Saturday! But Thursday we had a powerful lesson on the atonement and enduring to the end, and he shared his doubt with us. The only reason he didn´t want to be baptized is because he was scared of failing the Savior afterward not because his daughter wasn´t in town. He was scared that when he goes back to Peru next month he´d fall back into the habit of smoking and drinking with his brothers. But he resolved his doubt and he´s so strong!! He asked to share his testimony during his baptism as well, So many people were in tears! :) It was an amazing week! He is an amazing example of someone truly trusting in the power of the Savior and his atonement!!

Well, today were transfers, and I´m in a new area. It´s so hard to leave Almagro and all the people there!! But I know this is where I'm supposed to be now, no? This area is going to be very interesting. It´s where President Gulbrandsen lives. It´s very rich compared to Almagro and Campana and it's HUGE!! It is probably because the houses are big so there are less people than in Almagro. But apparently there are a lot of members from the states in the ward too, and they give talks in English sometimes when they feel like it. It´s going to be weird!! I saw a TGI Fridays also!

My new companion and I (Hna Campos de Chile) got lunch at a little sandwich shack (Sanwich de Milanesa :)) and (I´m not saying my accent is perfect) but the guy that came in behind us had the heaviest North American accent I've ever heard. No joke, the pronunciation was like this..."Dows Hamburrgayzes". Ah well, I´m excited to be here! And with Hna. Campos. I´ve heard a lot of good things about her :)

Oi, es cierto!! Thank your for wishing me a happy hump day. I can´t believe half my mission is gone! Soo crazy!!!!!!!! The Japanese students sound fun!! I don´t remember the names and I´m not going to try, but I hope all is well with them! I love you all! Keep working hard, being good, and staying strong!!

Love,
Jess
Hna Keele

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

I can officially say that I've eaten buffalo chips. The sad thing is I want more!

Elder Jordan Keele- Mar. 14, 2011

Dear all,

It's been a great week. We studied about the authority and power we have as missionaries, and that we need to be more frank with people. We were blessed to see the 3 less active families attend church yesterday, as well as 7 investigators. 3 of them are from one family, Fabiola (mom), Erik (14) and Kevin (10). They all enjoyed church, and this family is super solid. In the closing prayer on Saturday to finish the lesson, the mom said ''I think this is the answer I've been waiting for for a long time. I think this is what I've been missing.'' We hope to help them realize how many blessings are out here for them over the next couple weeks.

The days are just so packed with things that I hardly have time to write them all down in my journal. I love this work, and I know it's 100% true.

The first day of piano lessons went well, but there were only four of us there. I think it's mostly because people didn't think it'd actually happen, because at church a number of people came to ask me, ''did you teach yesterday?''. But this week I'm sure there will be more people. It's a lot of fun.

The other two elders aren't coming to this area anymore, so we still have the two wards. I don't know what happened, but whatever.

Sounds like life continues to bring new adventures to everyone. Learn all you can, because this is the only time you'll have the chance to have that experience. Thanks for your support. I can assure you that I'm doing my best, as hard as it may be at times. The Devil doesn't let up on anyone, so we always have to be on our toes. I love the scriptures and just having them with me 24/7 I feel very powerful.

Con mucho amor,
Elder Jordan Keele

Monday, March 14, 2011

Hna. Jessica Keele- Mar. 14, 2011

Hola Familia! :)

Okay, so I have a miracle to tell and also, we could use your prayers this week. :) We have a baptism for Saturday with a man named Jesus that we met last week. His daughter, Noelia, is a member in our ward, and we´ve been working with her husband, (an investigator) Cheryl, that I told you about a while back.

Bueno, Noelia´s parents are visiting from Peru for a month and are hoping to move here as well. We met them the first day last week. They made us a huge dinner, and we talked about faith. Then the next day we went with the intentions of talking with Cheryl but he had to leave so we decided to talk about the restoration with Jesus anyway. The spirit was very strong! :) He´s an active Catholic and has a strong faith in Jesus Christ, and for some reason we felt strongly to put a baptismal date for him. And he accepted!! He said he finally understands the apostasy. At the end we knelt down and he said the prayer and the first thing he said was, Dios, Te acepto! (God, I accept you) At the end of his prayers Noelia was in tears, She said "For thirteen years I´ve been waiting for my Dad to accept the gospel! Thirteen years we´ve been trying to help him see!" AH que lindo! I love the gospel!!

Okay, so why could we use your prayers! The next day we went back and talked about the plan of salvation and the atonement. It all went very well, but we smelled smoke. So we also talked about the word of wisdom. He accepted it and is trying to quit. Please pray that he has the strength that he needs to quit and follow through with his baptismal date! :) Also, they want to postpone it for his other daughter to come, but she was already supposed to be here by now. If you could also pray that she comes earlier and make the sacrifice for her dad! :) Thank you very much. I know that prayer is a powerful tool to see miracles!!

I also got more translating opportunities. haha Yesterday 2 of the people from India came to church and we had asked someone to translate for us, so I wasn´t worried about it all week. A girl named Michelle was going to do it, BUT she got sick! But it´s okay. The Lord helped me all the way. We´re going to go eat lunch with them today too! They will be cooking it. I´ll take some pictures!!

Well,l I hope everyone is doing well! I love you all! Keep strengthening your testimonies, and my dear younger brothers and sisters, prepare for a mission! :) Love ya,
Hna Keele

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Elder Jordan Keele- Mar. 8, 2011

Hola familia,

We visited Maria del Carmen on Saturday night and her 35ish year-old daughter handed us her Book of Mormon and all the pamphlets and booklets we had given to Maria, and told us that ''She's going to stick with the traditions of the family''. After thinking a second about the prophecies of the Book of Mormon, we figured it'd be best not to pressure her. Our mission president counseled us that we ought to ''Dejar y Creer'', or ''leave and believe'' her. She may not be ready yet, but if the Lord wills it, we'll run into her again.

Congratulations to Mitch on his mission call! I know it'll be something he'll never regret. And congratulations to Danielle too on starting her papers. It's an amazing feeling to be able to share this joy of serving a full time mission with so many dear families and friends.

Mom, don't fret about the package. I can't think of anything I need, but if I do I'll let you know next week, so if you wouldn't mind waiting a bit. Oh, I just thought of something. Marvin Goldstein has some prelude books I think called chains or something for piano. One of those would be helpful. I still play the piano every week, and our ward mission leader has arranged a weekly piano lesson starting this Saturday that I will teach. I think it'll be fun, and the teaching I did before the mission will really help me out. Thank you especially to the Wilcox family and the Goodmans for supporting me in that.

Transfers are this week, and the only change is that we'll be losing one of our wards, Jardines de Morelos, because there are a lot of new missionaries coming in. Starting tomorrow we'll just be in charge of one ward, Montes. It'll be such a relief and allow us to work a little more in depth and really find the people who are ready to receive the message.

Gracias for all the support from everyone. I hope you all have a good week and continue to be the best you can be.

Elder Jordan Keele

Monday, March 7, 2011

Hna. Jessica Keele- March 7, 2011

Hola Familia!

Well, last night was interesting. First of all, a member moved into our ward about a week ago. He´s name is Joel, and he reminds me so much of Paulo. They talk exactly the same except he speaks in Spanish. He´s from Bolivia and he´s here studying medicine. He lives in an apartment with a bunch of students and has new references for us every time we go! It´s a gold mine! Last night he brought 3 of his friends to a family night we had in the church. The problem is 2 of them are from India, and they don´t speak Spanish. The good news is they speak English pretty well with awesome accents!! So, I got to translate the whole thing! It was crazy!! But I´m grateful for the experience, and the Lord truly helped me and my Spanish has improved.

We've got two examples of people that were truly prepared to accept the gospel only they did not know where to find it. Magda looked up our chapel on the internet from no more than a pamphlet that missionaries gave her in the street. She´s now reading the Book of Mormon, Pearl of Great Price, and a book about Joseph Smith. She has so many questions, and the other day asked me about what we can do for the dead. :) I told her that was another truth restored from Joseph Smith that we can do baptisms for the dead. Her expression showed so much happiness and relief to hear that answer. We still haven´t taught an actual lesson with her because she´s always on the move. But we have an appointment this week!! :)

The other example is Alejandro. He found an old Book of Mormon in a bookstore about a year ago... ?! I don´t know how it got there but again, missionaries found him in the street. He told them that he already has a Book of Mormon and wants to know more! He´s all alone, no brothers or sisters, his parents have both passed away, and he hasn´t been in contact with any aunts or uncles for about 20 years. We taught him for the first time yesterday and have another appointment tomorrow! Also, he said the prayer at the end of the lesson and inspired me to be more sincere in my prayers. By the way he talked to Heavenly Father, you can tell that he knows He is listening and actually talking to Him. I think it has a lot to do with Alejandro being all alone for so many years. But you can tell he has a very close relationship with his Heavenly Father. I encourage all of you to build your relationship with Heavenly Father as well. Just talk with Him. All the time! Tell Him how your day was even though He already knows everything that happened. He wants to talk with us. :) I´m so grateful for the opportunity that He has given us to communicate with Him.

Well, time to go. We´re going to visit my companion´s trainer. She´s from Kentucky, but she´s living here for a few months and is going to give us a tour of Congreso! I love you all. Keep praying and talking with your Father in Heaven. And show your love for Him by your faith and actions! I love you all!

Con amor,
Hermana Keele