Week 47 (08/16/2016)

Hello everyone!

Well, once again I have come to the end of the change. That makes seven changes in the field. It sure has gone by quickly but I still have a little bit more than a year to go.

This week was a little difficult but still good. I worked with some of the other elders on short changes because Elder Domiciano was sick a few days this week. On Saturday I went with one of our zone leaders to cover the appointments for the afternoon while Elder Domiciano stayed with the other zone leader. It was only for the afternoon but I learned a lot and I feel like those short divisions got me way more pumped to work and teach. I've seen that good divisions can really change someone's whole mission.

On Tuesday we had our last zone meeting for this change and we talked a little bit about how there was potential that some areas might be closed or "white washed" (where a whole new companionship comes in) and that's exactly what happened with my area...Our area was merged with the other one and three out of the four of us are going to different zones. Elder Muñoz, my trainer, is staying and is now in charge of the whole ward in terms of missionary stuff.

I'm going to Allende tomorrow which is part of the Acuña zone. It doesn't really make sense to me because Allende is a lot closer to Piedras Negras than it is to Acuña, but I don't make the rules so no problem. I'm pretty excited for my next area because apparently it's kind of like ranch country. I think it will be a little more calm and whatnot. Also, I've met my new companion before and he is pretty cool. He's named Elder Antonio.

There's not a lot more to report specifically this week. One of our investigators is finally starting the divorce process. Her name is Patty and she has been going to church for a long time but hasn't been able to be baptized because she is married to someone else. We finally were able to get the process started yesterday and I am confident that she will be baptized next change.

This week I didn't see many birds apart from the usual. This morning apparently there was a barn owl outside of the house of the member we were with but I couldn't see it. I sat at the window for about 20 minutes waiting for it to come out but it never did...

That's about it. Thanks for everything! See you next week!

-Elder Steiner

Week 46 (8/09/2016)

Happy pday!

I don't have my agenda today because plans got changed a little but I'll do my best to tell you about what happened this week.

This week has been kind of tiring. Piedras Negras is really hot and we're going through the hottest part of the year right now. I think that walking around in the sun all day makes it a little harder to go the extra mile while contacting and looking for new investigators but we're working hard and trying to find people to teach and bring to baptism.

Thursday some of the zone came and did a contacting activity in our area to try and find new investigators. We used the whole afternoon after lunch knocking doors and contacting. We ended up with about 8 new investigators in one day and Elder Domiciano and I have been giving follow up to have lessons and appointments with the contacts we all made. It was really helpful for our area because we have been having trouble finding new people to teach.

On Saturday Elder Muñoz and Elder Ray, the elders that share our ward, baptized one of their investigators so we helped them out with the service and to get some baptismal clothes.

On Sunday we had an interesting class by the ward mission leader. He taught all of the priesthood and Relief Society and basically told them all that the member missionary work in this ward was basically dead and then presented our ward mission plan. I think it was pretty good because if the members are helping us it makes the work a lot easier and a lot more efficient. I expect that as we apply our ward mission plan there will be a lot more work with the members and we'll start to see a lot more baptisms.

Sorry that this email is a little shorter. I can't quite remember all the stuff that happened this week and I don't have my bird list. I hope that all of you are well and that you have been having a good summer. :)

Thanks for your support and your love.

¡Les amo y les extraño!

-Elder Steiner

Week 45 (8/2/2016)

Hello everyone!

I don't have a lot of time to write so I'm sorry if this one ends up a little short.

This week we did divisions and I went to the outskirts of Piedras Negras for the third time on divisions. The area I went to is called Villa de Fuente and it has a weird stretch of desert that goes through the middle. We had to cross that deserty part four times on Tuesday. The cities here are kind of weird sometimes.

On Wednesday we helped the Relief Society president cook for the youth conference. They had to make a bunch of sandwiches so Elder Domiciano and I went to help them out. We made about 150 to feed all the youth and leaders. I didn't help a lot with making them because there were a lot of people helping but I was in charge of putting the sandwiches in the cooler. I was complimented for my good arranging skills. I feel like that's a good thing but kind of a lame thing to be complimented on. Haha!

On Thursday and Saturday we ate with some members who live in a tiny town outside of Piedras. It was pretty cool because there were all sorts of goats and chickens and whatnot. They also made really good food. We had carnitas on Thursday and then carne asada (steak) on Saturday.

On Friday we helped out with youth conference. Each missionary companionship did an activity and taught a little bit about the Book of Mormon. We also did BoM jeapoardy at the end. It was fun to help out and do some games with the youth.

The two investigators we were going to baptize this coming Saturday, Ana and Arlene, went to Dallas with their mom. I don't think we will  be able to baptize them now but we are going to put them in contact with missionaries over there. It's a little rough having them leave just before their baptism date but I think it will all work out.

Here are the birds!

-Green Kingfisher

-Great Kiskadee

-Fulvous Whistling Duck

-Snowy Egret

-Double-crested Cormorant

-Chihuahuan Raven

Sorry it's shorter this week but thanks for everything and thanks for your support!

Les amo y les extraño!

-Elder Steiner

Week 44 (7/25/2016)

Hello everyone!

This week was good. Only a few things to report but basically same old missionary work. It's a little different with President Cahoon but not much has changed.

On Wednesday we had interviews with President Cahoon. It was a little different than a regular interview because he was trying to get to know each of us. He asked about family and what we like to do and stuff. He also encouraged me to study Preach My Gospel more profoundly so on Thursday I started, and I got through two pages the first day. One of our zone leaders told me to take my bird book to show him I like birds, but at the end of the interview he told me "It's good to like birds but it's better to like Preach My Gospel."  Thanks Elder Bermudez... He was just joking but I still felt a little dumb. We also talked to Sister Cahoon while our companions were being interviewed. She can't speak Spanish so I helped her translate with a few of the other missionaries. They're both really nice but it's different to have an American mission president.

Wednesday was also Elder Domiciano's birthday. Early in the morning the elders who live next door came over and sang and played the guitar. They also brought cookies. Later that day we visited some members and they had a cake for him, and President Cahoon brought a package that Elder Domiciano's family sent. By mission birthday standards it was pretty good. We also had cake on Saturday and Sunday with members again. The members here like to feed us which is pretty nice. Even with that I still don't think I'll gain any weight. I'm still as skinny as ever. Haha!

Today we went to the border. Here in Piedras there's a really big flag in the plaza by the bridge. You can see the flag from all over the city. I was telling Elder Muñoz that Eagle Pass should get an even taller pole and flag. Haha! I looked over at the US with my binoculars and I saw a stop sign in English. You've got to love the little things as a missionary. This morning we also went to get our haircut. While we were waiting for our haircut a rabbit ran out into the street in front of us so we had to go save it. A few minutes later the owner came and got it but we just sat there with it on the curb.

We have two really good investigators now. They're named Ana and Arlene. They're the granddaughters of a recent convert and they're planning on being baptized the 30th. They are the best investigators that I've had so far because they do all their homework and go to all of the youth activites. If only everyone could be that way...We're also working with a sister named Patty. We're helping her to get a divorce and then married so she can be baptized. We hope she can be baptized next month.

Here are the birds!

Greater Roadrunner

Ring-necked Duck

Common Merganser

Common Nighthawk

Black-chinned Hummingbird

Even though it's really hot here I like being in Piedras Negras again. If I can get through the heat here it should be a piece of cake next year. Haha!

Thanks for everything! I hope that you're all well and that it's not too hot wherever you are.

-Elder Steiner

Week 43 (7/18/2016)

Happy Monday everyone!

First off, it's really really hot here in Piedras. It is way hotter than when I was here in February (obviously). It's about 41 C every day...In the shade. :) Regardless, Piedras is where I started the mission so if I end up dying of heat stroke here I think that's okay. Haha! I think this will be an interesting next six weeks especially because it's the hottest part of the year.

The other day we were walking to lunch and it was really really hot. I was looking forward to getting into the members house because it is usually cooler inside because of the fans or cooling. I was very wrong. It felt like a furnace in the sister's house. I asked to use the bathroom hoping that it would be slightly cooler but it was the opposite. I think someone must have just taken a shower or something because it was really humid in there. Gladly, most members have better fans and AC which helps a little.

My new companion's name is Elder Domiciano and he's from Brazil. He has a four more months than me in the mission. He's pretty cool, but it's still a little weird changing from Elder Bauer where we almost only talked in English and we liked a lot of the same things to a companion who's primary language is Portuguese. I'm excited to see what I can learn and how this change goes.

It's kind of weird getting back here after three changes because all the Elders here have changed. No one in this zone was with me other than Elder Muñoz because he came back to Piedras with me. I can't remember if I said but Elder Muñoz and I are sharing a ward now. It's kind of weird to be spending so much time with my trainer but I can't complain. It's good to be around Elders I'm familiar with.

Our house  is pretty nice. We don't live above members so there will never be surprise cake or pineapple juice at the end of the day but it's still good. We live in a duplex with the other elders. There's a washer and dryer but we have to pay in quarters to wash :( We have a good cooler and it's a comfortable house. We are also able to spend a lot of time with the other Elders because they live next door.

This area is pretty cool and it has a lot of potential investigators and baptisms. We found 10 new investigators this week and that's without working at all on Tuesday. I'm confident we won't have much trouble finding people to teach here. I just hope we can find those that are ready for us and will be able to be baptized. We already have several progressing investigators but Elder Domiciano and his previous comp basically cleaned out all they had before I got here.

This area is also really nice because there are several areas with standing water. That means there are a lot of water birds that you don't see very often! This weeks birds are:

-Mourning Dove

-Great Egret

-Killdeer

-Double-crested Cormorant

-Rufous Hummingbird

-Black Vulture

-Common Poorwill

-Black-necked Stilt

-White-faced Ibis

-Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

Well, that's about it for this week. If you have any questions or concerns or whatnot just write me. I'm having a good time here and I feel comfortable aside from the heat.

Thanks for all your support and love. I love and miss you all!

-Elder Steiner

P.S. If you want to send me a package or letter tell me and I can talk to a brother from the ward or stake to get it from Texas rather than sending it to the mission office. Thanks!

Week 42 (7/11/2016)

Hello everyone and happy birthday Ameirca!! 

This week has been pretty good. We have mostly been preparing area so that if we were changed the next elder(s) could baptize this month. It's been a little hard with no progressing investigators but we changed up our contacting methods and we very quickly got several lessons. In this tiral I think God was letting us figure out what we needed to change. It took some time and lots of knocking doors but I think I learned what I needed to.

On Thursday we had our first zone conference with President Cahoon. We saw him briefly on Tuesday after our district meeting but we actually got to learn a little bit about him and his wife. Sister Cahoon spoke to us briefly but she doesn't speak Spanish so a sister missionary was assigned to translate. After that we started making a list of things we want to improve on so President could learn a little bit more about the mission. He seems really cool and I'm excited for the next half of my mission.

On Saturday we taught Alejandro, Jose Garcia, and Pedro Mata with the bishop and a high councilor to help them receive the Melchizedek priesthood. It was kind of last minute but we got them all interviewed and ready so they could be sustained in the priesthood meeting the next day. I was really happy to help them especially for Alejandro because his baby is coming next month and he'll be able to bless his own son.

Yesterday we had a pretty regular Sunday. It was a little hotter than usual which was pretty bad but I'm getting used to it. But the best thing that happened was with Jose Rocha, the investigator who can't leave his house very easily because of anxiety. We went with the bishop later in the day to see if he could come with us to help Jose. I think we woke him up but he was happy to help us. Haha! We ended up making it all the way to the church with him! That's the farthest he has gone from his house in 12 years! We didn't go into the church but I was really happy we could help him arrive and see the goal.

Today we ended the change. Elder Gallegos (my comp from Piedras) is now the new assistant so his companion, Elder Johnson, spent all day with us. We left early in the morning to find out where the president assigned us and I'm leaving Saltillo and headed back to Piedras Negras!!  Elder Bauer is staying here and then goes home in August. I'm not sure how I feel about being sent back to Piedras in the hottest part of the year... I'm excited to hopefully see some of the people I met while I was there and to get to know a new companion but I'm going to miss this ward and Elder Bauer. I think these two last changes have been the most fun of my mission even if they were the hottest and sometimes hard. I'm really happy to be here and I hope that I can make it in Piedras.

I leave for my new area tomorrow in the morning. It will be my eleventh bus ride between Saltillo and Piedras. I wish I could have been in Piedras today because you can see the fireworks from the other side of the river.

Well, that's about it. I hope everyone is well and that you enjoy your fourth of July!

Thanks for everything. 

-Elder Steiner

Week 41 (07/04/2016)

Hello everyone!

This week was kind of boring. Not a lot happened and we've just been going nuts contacting people.

This week we were supposed to have two baptisms this Saturday so we finished up the lessons and did a practice interview. The two are daughters of a less-active member and their names are Casandra and Careli. We arrived at their house with the zone leaders on Friday in the afternoon for the interview (basically a miracle because we're all out of money and we still managed to have enough coins for the taxi) and then they said that they didn't want to be baptised on Saturday. They had said they wanted to that morning so I was sure they would be all good for the interview. The funny thing is that right before we went in I was talking about how rough it would be if they said the didn't want to be baptized.

It hit us a little harder than normal because this week we have lost almost all of our progressing investigators. We've found several new ones that have potential but we were kind of in a slump. We had an activity at the church Friday night and I ended up sitting on the floor, cutting plastic leaves for the activity. It probably looked a little sad. Haha!

I feel fine today. Sunday and Pday are pretty good refreshers. Today we did a deep clean of the house. After that we played chess and then went to the mall. We ran into some other elders there and looked at ties for a little bit. Then Elder Bauer bought a hat and some bread. Normal pday stuff. :)

The best thing about this week was that we almost got José to the church. He still has trouble leaving his house but the bishop has helped us and José's anxiety is getting better and better. He knows and believes everything but he just can't get to church. :/ I think we'll get him there this week, though! He's made a lot of progress and It's so great to see the Atonement work in someone's life.

Here's the bird!

Scott's Oriole

Once again, not many cool birds this week...

Well, that's about it. Thanks for everything! I hope everything is good there. I feel good here even though the baptisms fell. :) We're working hard.

Oh, this was also President Rodriguez's last week. President Cahoon gets here tonight and we'll meet him pretty soon. I think Thursday.