A Ministry in Mexico: Floods, Beetles for Lunch, and Loads of Pics

AAH! Pure insanity!

Elder Goodrich

So, basically, nothing has changed on this end. :)

The first big story of the week took place Sunday. We were working in our area looking for some new investigators when President called us.

Elder Kennington sweeping water out.

He had left that Friday for a conference in Toluca (Toluca! :D), and had left some maintenance people working on his house. He got home Sunday morning to find that one of them hadn't put something back right in the plumbing in the upstairs bathroom, and the entire house had flooded. They got home to water dripping through the floor, having deposited about 4 inches of water over the whole basement. The wood floor was literally floating. All the carpets were saturated and under-water. Everything was just ruined.... And it happened to be President's birthday. We felt so bad.

So my companion and I went over and spent the day cleaning everything we could out of the house, salvaging all that we could manage, and moving it somewhere safe. I must admit that through all this I was so impressed with President. He was the most lighthearted of all of us, not allowing one even mildly complaining comment escape his lips. He kept things going without fail. In the evening he tracked down some pizza and made milkshakes for everyone who came over and helped, and we celebrated his birthday properly.

Since then it has flooded twice, but each time a little less. They are still trying to find exactly what was the problem. I am pretty certain the Vincents understand these kinds of difficulties. :)

Also in the same época we witnessed the passing of our beloved apostle Elder L. Tom Perry.

Here in the mission I have come to appreciate the Quorum of the 12 and the First Presidency a lot more than I ever have in my life. Every day I testify to someone new that these are men called of God to guide us back to Him. Our Prophets and Apostles are men called of God to hold the keys of the church in this last dispensation, that can see and speak with God face to face as the prophets of old did. That, when the swirling clouds of worldy doctrine assault testimony and confuse the the children of God, can keep us away from the wolves in sheep's clothing.

And then all of a sudden one isn't there.

He's not here anymore.

I loved Elder Perry's talk on the family this last Conference. It is interesting to see what the last words of each prophet and apostle are. Nephi said that he must obey. Moroni exhorted us to gain a testimony through prayer. And Elder Perry testified of the importance of our families.

I testify that Elder L. Tom Perry was an apostle of Jesus Christ no different from Peter, James, John, or the other nine that Christ called in His time. He was a man of God, and now is a man with God. He is not resting; he is not passively awaiting the Second Coming. He is actively engaged in preparing those who too have passed for the glorious return of the Christ, and we should be doing no less. We have the blessed opportunity to continue building the kingdom of God here in the earth. I personally answer that call with all my heart.

I know that answering that call brings the greatest joy and strength into life. Whether our calling has been to the streets of the mission field as a full time missionary, or inside the walls of our homes as a full-time parental missionary, and everything in between. To stand as witnesses of Jesus Christ in ALL things, sustaining His apostles. In the open, and ESPECIALLY in secret.

"Whatever thou art, act well thy part."

I hope that this coming week is a little better than last. I love you all so very much.

Hasta el próximo.
Elder Kennington

Preguntas Bien Rapidito
Q: Does Mexico celebrate something like Memorial Day, a day set apart to honor our war dead?
A: They have September 15th, which is their Independance Day. And they celebrate and honor all those who have passed away October 31, con el Día de los Muertos. Halloween is a lot less scare-you-with-blood-guts-and-gore here in Mexico than it is in the U.S.

Q: You’ve mentioned a couple of brushes with the gay community down there...is it as vocal or prominent as it seems to be here?
A: It is a lot more prominent here than over there. Over in the Unites States the media makes it seem a LOT bigger than it really is. Out here it is so commonplace that the media doesn't make any money reporting anything about it.

Q: What is the silliest thing that happened this week?
A: We had beetles for lunch. That was tasty. They keep them in this large tupperware that they can't crawl out of, and feed them lettuce and the like. To eat them you just scoop 'em up in your had and go to town. Crunchy and wiggly without too much flavor. I would have taken a photo, but I think the sister would have gotten offended.

Q: Tell us a little more about Elder Goodrich and the AP’s. Do you guys play practical jokes on each other?
A: Elder Goodrich is really good. He is very focused, very loving, and has a great sense of humor. He is very cinematically cultured (for example, I overheard him quoting the Court Jester under his breath while he was working on reimbolsos :) ). The AP's are good. They are good at getting things done and "making it happen." They are accustomed to getting what they want in the moment that they want it. I have learned a lot being around them.

Celebrating President Whitehead's birthday, pizza-style.

Fotos! My companion and I got to go to an museum this last P Day. They had all sorts of old artifacts from Mexico right at the time of the conquistadors. Some really cool spoons, keys, and pocket watches. The figure of Christ bleeding and all that stuff was one of the images that they worshipped. ... I must admit that that focus always makes me a little sad. If you ever see picture with anything to do with Christ here in Mexico, and you see a TON, Christ is always suffering and crying and being tormented. Rarely is he even pictured as complacent or content.

The white sculpures are really cool. They are all carved from elephant tusks, and came from ancient China. They are all solid carvings; they didn't carve the individual bits and then piece them together. That is why so many of the sculptures are curved because the tusk does the same. There was a really cool chess set (Elder Wiersdorf, one day you and I shall meet on the glorious field of mental combat with this wonderful board). And outside you see the Museum itself. It was super cool!

Elder Kennington LOVES pocket watches...

Beautiful ivory carvings from China. You can see Elders Kennington and Goodrich in the background mirror.

The carving of a ball that you see has several smaller spheres that were carved underneath it that moved independently. It is INSANE. Ball-ception.

Fotos from when we went out to go and work. We got super wet. Not that it shows in the pictures. I literally pulled off my boots and poured water out of them. :)