Week 10

The kids look great!!!! They are getting so big :( STOP GROWING!! So I don't get mail until this upcoming monday the 26th. Well this week has absolutely flown!!!! I hope it flew for you!  We have some really happy news! Two of our investigators Raymond and Ernie are getting baptized on 09/21, they are super awesome!

We met Ernie over at the Moreno family's house and right away you could get a feeling that this guy was going to get baptized, it was kinda funny lol it was like a stud finder was going off lol! We taught him and he accepted to be baptized on the first visit! he is doing awesome! He is so excited to go to the temple to be baptized for his grandpa!

Now Raymond, we met him while he was running around at the park, and we got his information and we scheduled a follow up appointment with him. We went by and we started to talking to him but he said that he was atheist and that he didnt have an interest in what we were saying but that he was open to talking with us. He came to church on Sunday. We have taught him about the Book of Mormon and the Plan of Salvation.

Sorry that this email is lame, we only had 8 lessons because of meetings in San Diego and we couldn't find anyone home. Also, I was sick one day also this week so... Yeah It was a super slow week! So please forgive me! :P


Love you all,

Elder Hays

Week 9

Hello Family!
I love you guys so much! I love these people too! They love me too lol I already have 4 house to go stay in for free when I visit! I want to go travel Mexico so that would come in handy! The Lord has His hand in this work every second. I have come to love my Savior so much more and I am changing everyday into a Man of God. I just can't wait to see my future family and experience the joys of that! I teach about Eternal families everyday, and it is kinda hard not to think of mine (Us) and mine in the future! I have come to love my Scriptures, they have become my most precious item. I know that if you read from the scriptures as a family each day, even if it is one verse. We will all grow beyond measure and we will become able to enjoy the good times and the bad, because of that unshakable foundation. I have come to learn that if you guys ever need anything, CALL THE MISSIONARIES OVER!!! They SHOULD be willing to help you with anything. Also, please find at least one friend or acquaintance that you can invite over for dinner and a church activity, and then invite them over with the missionaries. Don't be afraid, if we open our mouths and our heart, the Lord will fill it. I know that the Gospel is true and that we receive insurmountable blessings as we seek them. We added 10 investigators this week and all of them were by miracles.

The Assistant to the President came out with us for a day. We talked to 30 people on the streets. We saw so many miracles. One was Adrianna and Jesus (Ironic right), we just got back from an awesome miracle and we saw them walking towards us. We went to talk to them and they brushed us off a little bit, but we just kept talking. They stopped in a shade spot (so it was about 110 there) and we continued talking to them. They are recently engaged and very young and Jesus looked like he didn't want to talk to us. We kept pushing. We shared the message about the restored Gospel and they opened up big time. You could tell they were feeling the Spirit. We shared about the Book of Mormon and Adrianna ate it up. She had tears in her eyes because she said that she had been searching for this her whole life. We invited her to say the prayer, she resisted and said that she was inadequate to pray. We encouraged her and so did Jesus (pun intended). She said this heart felt prayer right in the middle of the street with everyone watching. She closes and we totally felt the Spirit and had smiles on our faces. Jesus eagerly asks to say a prayer and tears streamed down his eyes and said one of the most touching prayers I have heard as he cried out to his Heavenly Father for help. Wow... this was such an amazing experience. Although they didn't have phones or an address I know that one day they will find their way back to the Truth.

Week 8

Hey ya'll Everything has been going great here the weather has really cooled down! It is only an average of 118 everyday!! :) with humidity! :) I saw the Devil on the street corner trying to hitch a ride outta here cuz it is so hot! :)  I drink a gallon of water a day plus water at peoples house! I have actually lost 20lbs since May 1st!

Anyways I am not on a bike! I have a car! It is only on occasion that I am on the bikes.  Now the way the money works is that I get $130 each month to pay for laundry, house supplies, and food. So it has been pretty tough trying to afford and budget everything.

I got your package! Thank you soo much! Could you also tell Aunt Denise thank you for my package that she sent me? I really appreciated it! Thanks you guys for all the yummy gatorade! and pies!

I have been exhausted lately, I don't know why, but I am still able to work hard. I have been getting those "mental blocks" again that I was having
back in February, not as bad, but really annoying when I am speaking Spanish.

With the Lord's help my Spanish hasn't been a problem, when people talk to me in Spanish I don't have to really translate to English, I just think in Spanish lol I AM TURNING MEXICAN!!! That would explain why my mustache has been growing super super thick!! Estoy bromeando. Pues, things have been going swell with all the people here in Calexico. I honestly love them to death an I can't wait for you all to meet them after my mission. YES WE ARE GOING RIGHT BACK AS A FAMILY ;).

Oh I was the one that baptized Damian. Brother Martinez baptized the Garcia family. I was the one that confirmed Junior and Norma (Brother Garcia had work) and it was all in Spanish and in front of everyone at Church! IT WAS SOOO SCARY!! They all had like 4 names. It has been same old same old, but I have some awesome news!

Norma Garcia already has a calling lined up! and is helping us teach our investigator!

Junior Garcia and Damian are getting the priesthood this Sunday!

Yanina is getting baptized on 09/01/13 and her family will probably follow soon!!

Ernesto is also getting baptized on 09/15/13 (probably sooner than that).

So here is the rundown on Ernie. So we see the Moreno family every night and they are members. We read a chapter from the Book of Mormon with them every night. The family is awesome! They are my favorite! (I don't think I am allowed to have favorites though.. haha) Uriel is 26 and Erika is 24 they have 3 kids : Jesus, Lindzi, and Jeremy and she is pregnant with their fourth they are such an awesome family! Uriel is preparing to get the Melchizedek Priesthood and to get sealed to his family in the temple! So Ernie is Uriel's friend and came over last night. So we taught him about the restoration and he said that he "felt God's presence" and had some really good questions. We invited him to be baptized. He told us that he had already been baptized in a different Church, we reviewed the authority part of it and he is really excited to be baptized!

I love you all so much and I am so glad that you guys are doing well. I wish you guys could be right here beside me, because through them I have had so much joy and tears come to my eyes everytime I think about having to leave them one day and also that April 14th 2015 is not far away at all and that I will be having to take off this black tag.

The Savior lives,

Elder Hays

P.s. Your homework assignment is to watch the mormon message "Mountains to Climb". It is absolutely moving :) Love you all.