Semana Santa (Holy Week)

Personal/Ryan's mission

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Ryan Mecham	Apr 21 (7 days ago)
to Ali, Amanda, ashley.mecham, Austin, Dallan, Isaac, Jake, Kess, me

Bueno,

This week was interesting. Holy Week here in the DR is... well... nuts. Basically everyone has vacations from work and school so the streets are a little interesante. Most of our investigators and many of the members went to the campo (which means the parts of the country that aren´t the Capital/City) to visit family and spend the week there. So we spent a lot of time trying to find new investigators. But hey, it gave us time to check up on some less-active members that we normally can´t ever find.

So they have a tradition of everyone putting swimming pools up and just hanging out in them all day, every day. Not a problem. They also have occasional water fights with plastic bags full of water. Not a problem. There is also not a ton of people. Actually a good thing. Some people have cars with really nice/loud speakers. Alright. Alcohol sales from Wednesday to Sunday are probably the highest of any time in the year. Also everything is closed on Friday. What does this all add up to you may ask: PARTY TIME! It suficeth me to say that I did not get much sleep on Friday.

On the up side. We were able to visit a few times with Clarisa. She is one of our investigators. She is 8 years old and reads better than her dad and her uncle, who are also kind of investigating the church (really just allowing us to teach Clarisa). Anyway, Clarisa asks the most inspired questions I think I have ever witnessed. We were teaching about the restoration and she stopped us and asked ¨what if I don´t know which church I want to join?¨ (her grandma is trying to force her to be Evangelical) She asked it right as we were about to explain how Joseph Smith received an answer to that very question. Luckily I managed to choke down the tears as I shared the Joseph Smiths account of The First Vision. She committed to pray.

I know that Joseph Smith saw God the Father and the Resurrected Lord, Jesus Christ. I know that he restored the true church on the Earth once more. I know that we are here as missionaries, as members, and as mortals to testify that the Lord is risen; He overcame death; and that we will do the same.

Elder Mecham

Umm... 6 months already...

Personal/Ryan's mission

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Ryan Mecham	4:25 PM (4 hours ago)
to Ali, Amanda, ashley.mecham, Austin, Dallan, Isaac, Jake, Kess, me

This week was pretty great. We had zone conference this last week. Learned a lot. Well actually a learned a ton, but that´s not the point. We also celebrated me having 6 months in the mission. I´m going to be honest... It feels like I just got here still (except that I can actually understand people now). 

Well I spent a fair amount of my email time explaining who me and my companion are to the lady next to me. so let me be brief.

This week Elder Maya and I were called to speak during sacrament meeting. No problem, we speak all the time it is really all that we do. So, we were sitting on the stand and watching... waiting... hoping... praying really, that any of our investigators would show up. Well none of them did. Discouraged I began looking over my notes for my talk. Elder Maya nudges me and tells me to look at the door. Just then walks in Alex. YES! Alex is a less-active member that we have been working with for the past 2 months... He finally showed up to church! He sat next to the Bentances family, another less-active family that we had been working with for almos 3 months. We also were able to see many other members that we had been strengthening show up to church on Sunday.

10 Weeks ago when Elder Maya and I asked the Bishop who he wanted us to help in the ward... These were the names he gave us. Finally after working for almost 2 transfers, we are starting to see the blessings that come with following the leadership of the Ward. It just goes to show that we are really only here as missionaries to be tools in the hands of the Lord, and of the Wards and members that we serve. It is the Bishops ward, he has the keys, I am glad I was able to help accomplish what he wanted. Because we are not here to make the members help us, but to help them.

I am so glad that I have been called to strengthen and develop Zion here. I am still learning how, but I am glad that I can work with all my might, mind, and strength. I find it a pleasure to serve him indeed.

Elder Mecham

Dengue Dengue Dengue

Ryan Mecham	Apr 14 (2 days ago)
to Ali, Amanda, ashley.mecham, Austin, Dallan, Isaac, Jake, Kess, me

HA, I´m totally kidding! My companion got better from dengue and we could leave the house as of Tuesday. I felt so excited to go out and teach that may have almost dragged Elder Maya out the door.

This week we have seen so many miracles. Especially with finding new investigators. For example: this week we were walking to the house of a less active member. We had been trying to get in contact with her for the past week or so, to no avail. We didn´t know why but the other day we felt that we really needed to pass by her house. So we did. She wasn´t home. We left. After teaching another lesson we decided to take a detour and pass by her house one more time. Still not home. Confused and discouraged we begin to walk away from the house. At that moment we hear ´´¡MORMÓNES!´´. We don`t look back (we generally ignore that, being that it happens all the time). But this time was different. We turned to discover a man and his neighbor waving us over to them. They weren´t holding beer bottles so we figured: Why not?  One of them, Wascar, tells us that he has seen us passing by that house a lot and wonders if we only visit certain people... because he would like to talk with us. We answer some basic questions about the church and try to set a return appointment. His schedule for work, he tells us, is ´´whenever the phone rings´´ bueno... that usually means that they don´t want us to return. We get a time and day. We pass by his house at said time and day. He is not home. We decide to pass by while we are in the neighborhood for the next couple days. 4 days pass by. We haven`t found him. Saturday night we decide to give it one last try. His mom (who knows us by name at this point), knows why we are there and searches for Wascar. We teach a very interested investigador The Plan of Salvation. He tells us that he knows our church is the true church. We will see where this goes.

That is only one of the examples of the awesome new investigators that we received from the Lord this week. While Elder Maya was sick, and I was sitting there all day worried about our area... The Lord was preparing his sheep to be found, and teaching me to have the patience to find them.

I know that everything that happens, happens for a purpose. Sometimes those purposes are to help us; or to help us help others. Sometimes we can see the fruits of our labors, sometimes we are simply planting seeds for a later harvest. I know that as we continue to work in the Lord`s vineyard He will always be there guiding our efforts; for this is not [our] work, but that of him who sent [us].

Love you all,

Elder Mecham