Los Tres Mosqueteros

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Ryan Mecham	Jul 7 (4 days ago)
to Ali, Amanda, ashley.mecham, Austin, Dallan, Isaac, Jake, Kess, me

I don´t know if I have ever told you that I love working in trios (I do... a lot). I have learned so much this week it is just about almost believable. One of the greatest blessings I have enjoyed on my mission is the constant opportunity to serve others. And now I have twice the ability to serve my companion... because there´s two of them! I made tacos for them on Sunday with a not so secret ingredient... you guessed it.... CHIPOTLE!!! Well too be honest I think I used a little bit much of the secret ingredient (or maybe they were just really tastey) because Elder Amador started to cry while eating them (I really love chipotle).

Well this week was the best week I have ever had on my mission. Which is not really a suprise because they seem to just keep getting better and better. This week we worked almost exclusively in Las Colinas. That originally made me really nervous, because I know what it´s like to leave an area untended for a week (Cue flashbacks of sick companions and Dengue). Nevertheless, I had faith in the Lord and that all would turn out allright. In fact, one of the things I learned this week is that it really doesn´t matter where I work, because where ever it is I am doing the Lord´s work. One cool way I learned that was that we were teaching a new investigator named German. He is really smart and super interested in the church and prays and reads and keeps almost all his commitments and works on Sundays :( and.... we found out... lives in SANTA FE!!! Yup thats right, new investigator for when I return to work in my area.

Thats all the time I got folks, Love Ya.

Elder Mecham

Hey Y´all!

Personal/Ryan's mission

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Ryan Mecham	Jun 30 (11 days ago)
to Ali, Amanda, ashley.mecham, Austin, Dallan, Isaac, Jake, Kess, me

Well this weeks email comes with a surprise!

My companion, Elder Teves got a call from the AP´s and will be flying to Curaçao tomorrow. Ya... well I will have the opportunity to work in a trio again! I will be working with the Elders in Las Colinas (the area next to our area). It is only temporary, 5 days or something until I receive my new companion. Well goodbye Elder Teves. 

Well this week went quite well. We went on companion exchanges with the Zone Leaders because one of them is sick. I ate a coconut bigger than my head... delicious. We all had them and we only broke one of the kitchen knives we tried to use to open them. :)

We tried to contact in one part of our area that we don´t normally visit because it is really far and not a lot of people live there. We had to explain to every person we talked to that we DON¨T worship Joseph Smith, and that we use the Bible just like everyone else. It is not that odd to have to explain these types of things to people, being it is one of the most common misconceptions of our religion here. The part that was odd is that we taught an entire neighborhood of people that had the exact same doubt and expressed it with the exact same words. I think there is a local pastor or something that clearly hasn´t had the opportunity to speak with the missionaries before, we shall find and speak with him.

Did I mention that my companion is leaving tomorrow by surprise and that it feels really weird.

Well I know that I am here on the Lord´s errand, serving with someone the Lord wants me to serve, and serve with. I am reminded every day that ´my thoughts are not his thoughts´ and that I do not know all things that are to come. But I do know how to prepare for the unknown. That is after all, my dear friends, one of the purposes fundamental in this life: to establish a foundation of Faith in Jesus Christ and to follow His gospel.

Well I don´t have much time this week, and I was going to send some pictures... but I forgot my card reader in the house :)

Until Next Time!

Elder Mecham

Next Week On: ´The Emails from Elder Mecham´

How do you make tacos and trios work in the Dominican Republic...

(spoiler alert -- it involves a lot of chipotle)

(no subject)

Personal/Ryan's mission

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Ryan Mecham	Jun 23
to Ali, Amanda, ashley.mecham, Austin, Dallan, Isaac, Jake, Kess, me

This week was amazing. It seemed to have gone by so fast! Time flies when you are serving the Lord. It is a bit weird to me to think that I have been here for 8 months already, and how that is really no time at all. I worry sometimes that I won´t have enough time out here. I mean, I´m already 1/3 of the way done with my time as a missionary, and feel like I still have so much to do! I´m just glad I get to serve for 2 years instead of only 18 months ( Ashley :P ).

Lately we have really been focusing on a part-member family. The mother is a member who hasn´t gone to church in something like 6 years. Here is the catch: her daughter, Leiby (9 years old), has come to church by herself every week for the past who-knows-when. Leiby wants to be baptised. We are trying to use this opportunity to show her mother (remind her really) that she has a testimony of the restored gospel, and that she can help her daughter progress toward exhaltation. Teaching them together gives an excellent opportunity for her mother to be testified to, and testify of, divine truths.

I love finding and teaching people how they can follow Christ. How they can follow Him as He wanted. How they can be baptized in His name, by His authority, and enter His church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I know this is His church, and through His name only we can be redeemed from our fallen state and become like Him.

That´s all folks!

Elder Mecham

TRANSFERS!

Personal/Ryan's mission

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Ryan Mecham	Jun 16
to Ali, Amanda, ashley.mecham, Austin, Dallan, Isaac, Jake, Kess, me

Don´t worry. Everything stays the same.... Except for the fact that President Hernandez is going home. We will all have interviews with President Corbit in the next few weeks. Welcome to the DR!!! (hope you brought some sunscreen)

As with always the hardest weeks are the best weeks. This week we had a lot of trouble finding people in their houses that weren´t sick with the cold or something going around. As a result we had a lot of appointments fall through. We were determined all the more to achieve our goals. As a result we did a lot of contacting.... a lot.

One evening, I believe it was Thursday. We had not had found a single investigator in their house. We began walking as we frantically reviewed our planners. We had already tried our back-up back-up plans; but with an overwhelming desire to teach SOMEONE the gospel, we turned and shouted at the first house we passed (you don´t knock on people´s doors here, assuming they have a door). A man walked out, clearly busy with a house full of teenage boys rough-housing, playing what appeared to be a makeshift game of baseball. Refusing to be rebuffed, we began talking with him. We came to discover that his name is Pedro, and he was very interrested in what we had to say (and had a lot of questions) but he really did not have time to share with us. We placed an appointment for a few days later. I walked away from that house with an unusual feeling of joy in my being. I turned and looked at Elder Teves, he felt it too. I have as of yet felt so good to be basically regected trying to contact somebody.

Returning at the appointed day and time, we found a house that was empty... not a single person.

We decided to pass by a few days later, remembering the feeling experienced when we talked to Pedro the first time. A young man came to the door and informed us that Pedro had just barely left, he turned and entered the house. Discouraged, we began to turn and walk away. Just then the young man shouts after us, ´wait! He is right here!´ 

What followed was one of the most spiritual times I have ever taught the restoration of the Gospel to somebody. Returning a few days later, we gave Pedro and his grandson (who was there when we taught the first lesson) a Book of Mormon. They promised to read it, ponder, and pray. They also promised that they would come to church on Sunday. I don´t doubt they will do all those things.

It is for experiences like this that I KNOW that I am doing what the Lord would have me do, in spite of - borrowing the words of Nephi- ´mine abilities´

love you all,

Elder Mecham

Here Comes The Sun...

Personal/Ryan's mission

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Ryan Mecham	Jun 9
to Ali, Amanda, ashley.mecham, Austin, Dallan, Isaac, Jake, Kess, me

doo doo do dooo...

It is SUMMER TIME! here in the DR. You guessed it time to work on that half-neck missionary tanline. Summer is my favorite season here in the DR because it is MANGO SEASON!! I love mangos. I happen to be sitting here at this computer with a mango that I just bought, and fully intend to devour when we finish here (I don´t wan´t to get mango on the keyboard). Anyways, on to the good stuff. I cleaned the house this morning. Finally. Kidding here is the good stuff:

VVV Here VVV

Remember the Rijo family (from last weeks email)? Well they are the best. The members of the family that weren´t sick, came to church on Sunday! The daughters always ask the best questions. Angie (the youngest) has started reading the Book of Mormon. She read the introduction and all of that part before 1st Nefi. And she did it before our next visit. That never happens. I am so excited to continue helping this family understand the Gospel of Christ.

This transfer is only 4 weeks long... It is really short because we are changing Mission Presidents next transfer. When the new president (Pres. Corbit) arrives, we will have a transfer of 8 weeks. Según lo que me han dicho, it is so that he can have time to adjust to things and settle in a little, and so there aren´t so many hiccups. 

We played soccer as a zone this morning and I got to show of my newly (under)developed soccer skills. I only kicked the ball over the fence a few times! Yes!

Well. I´m off to go eat that mango now.

Elder Mecham

no subject)

Personal/Ryan's mission

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Ryan Mecham <ryan.mecham@myldsmail.net>	Jun 2
to Ali, Amanda, ashley.mecham, Austin, Dallan, Isaac, Jake, Kess, me

This week was pretty....normal. It was pretty much a normal week. All except for we contacted a FAMILY and they are PROGRESSING!!!

One morning there were two young elders walking down a long dirt road in the heat of a Summer morning. They pass a house where they see some children doing chores. Mopping, putting the laundry out to dry... They pass the house thinking nothing of it. Looking at each other they decide to turn around and ask if the children need help with their morning chores. 

This is how we found the Rijo family. A relatively small family: a single mother with her 4 children -- 3 daughters: Angela, Angela, and Rosangela; and a 5 year old son.

We began teaching them, not really thinking that they were very interrested. We returned a few days later to a list of questions longer than a christmas wishlist of a kindergartener. We taught this group of jovenes, praying silently that this would finally be the family we had been waiting and praying to teach.

The day came of the real test of the commitment of an investigator, Sunday. They had commited to go to church with us and we hoped and prayed that they would come through. Unsure if they knew how to get to the church building we passes by their house early Sunday morning. To our suprise we find 2 of the daughters, bathed and dressed for church. They had even invited one of their friends to come with them (I think he is the boyfriend).

They walked to the humble house-turned-chaple with us, and even managed to stay the whole three hours. We have to wait for more Books of Mormon to arrive from the Capital, but we are prepairing ourselves to answer the millions of questions I´m sure they will have as we help them progress in their conversion.

It is not every day you find someone the Lord has prepared for you; not every time that they come to church the first Sunday; not every Sunday they stand up and bare testimony to the congregation (yeah, Angela bore her testimony - simple, but sure).

It is because of miracles like this that I know that the Lord loves us. I know that God loves all his children, and that I have the blessing to find the ones that don´t know where to go. I know that this church is true and I am truely grateful for the opportunity that God has given me to share that knowledge with the people here in the Dominican Republic.

Sincerely,

Elder Mecham