What Happened to the Two Years I Was Supposed to Have Here?

Wow I don't really know quite what to say!  I don't think there are really any words that can describe the way I feel right now!  All week people have asked me how I feel and I just say normal! It really doesn't feel all that much different!  I guess we will find out here in a couple of days how I feel!  It has all just been so weird! It was good that I was just working hard all week and so I never really had time to sit down and say wow I am going home!  We didn't get much time to work in the area but we sure did get a lot of work done!  Time just flew by way too fast honestly!  It is pretty crazy to think that on Wednesday I will be seeing you guys again!!  I don't really know what to think! Hopefully I didn't forget too much English in my time gone!!  Things this week were pretty normal honestly! It was some hard work but we saw a lot more blessings again!!  We found this awesome new family and there are like a gazillion of them!  Okay just 11 but still that is a whole bunch!  I ripped my last pair of pants on the last day!  I think that brings my total up to every pair except one!  I gave a talk that they gave me zero notice about!  And I ate a whole bunch of good food!!  Had to finish strong right!!

Tuesday was a long day! We had interviews out in Los Reyes and it took us a little while to get there! This is also our biggest zone and so we were there until about 3 ish! Then we went and ate with pres at burger king! 

Sent dad the picture for his birthday and we headed out to Ixtapaluca to do an interview.  While we were out there we had to get all the stuff ready for a sister to go home which meant picking up her bags.  the only problem is the sisters that had to let us in didn't answer their phone and so we just waited for hours Elder Alverio and I had to just leave we got sent home in an uber and we went and worked for a little bit! Most of the ward had invited us over to eat but we just couldn't go with everyone! We taught the family cervantez and that was super good! They are progressing really well we have seen lots of cool things with them!  They read everything we leave and they pray like champs and they love going to church! The only problem is they can only go every other week and so that has really kind of hurt us a little bit! She has to work every other Sunday but I know that she will soon be baptized and be an amazing member of the church! 

Wednesday was a fun day we went to capacitate the trainers and the people that have six weeks and that was alright! We were really impressed about the trainers but the six weekers I thought could have done a little better!  They are great kids but they could have used a little bit of work! But they still have six more weeks to be able to be amazing missionaries!!  Then we had lots of appointments today to go out and have a successful day! We contacted quite a bit which was nice! gotta try and leave some things in the area so that way the next assistant doesn't hate me! This was the day that we found the huge family! Last week when we contacted the grandma she said come over I will give you pozole since Elder Orchard is leaving and you can talk with my daughter that had talked to missionaries before!  We obviously were stoked because pozole and possible news!  Well we get there and there wasn't pozole!  Sad moment! they had made tacos dorados instead! Still good but not the same! And what was suppose to be two news turned into ten!  I don't know how but there are ten people that live in that little house! And every single one of them is super super chosen!!  They will be a fun family to work with that is for sure!  We put a cita to go back on Saturday! Then we ran to the consejo de barrio which went pretty well!  Then we headed to the offices because we were going to go to the temple the next day early and we had to get there to be ready! 

Thursday was temple day!!  It was fun! My last time going to the temple here in Mexico!!  It was super cool!  I love this temple!!  I have been able to see so many cool things here!!  Like the Family Macedo sealing!  The open house and dedication! So many spiritual experiences in this temple!!  It was cool to be there for the last time! It was all so weird!  It was kinda sad but amazing all at the same time! 

Then I came back to the offices and had my final interview with Pres! It was super sad! I honestly had been dreading it!  I am sure going to miss him!!  He is an amazing man! I have been able to learn sooo much from him in these two years that I have been here! It has been amazing to be able to work so close to him for more than half of my mission!  There will always be a special place in my heart for him!  Then we ran to the tianguis juntos and we headed off to our area to get a couple citas done!!  We went with alejandra and taught her! She is awesome! I am so happy that we could get her married! It was a great success for us honestly! we sure got blessed with that!  Then we went with one of my favorite families from the ward! They gave us pizza which was good! Then we just kinda chatted and such then called it a day and went home!  It was nice!

Friday we worked all day we had tons of plans but not many of them came through!  WE were able to find another new but I am not sure she will progress all that well! It was funny though because she was kinda deaf and so we were litterally like yelling the whole time and it was realy weird!  Kinda hard to have the spirit when we are just yelling at this lady!  jajaj It was funny none the less!  Then we went with a cool family that made us quesadillas! They were so good! I love Mexican food! I was so nervous before the mission as to if I was going to like it or not! And 20 pounds later I think it was pretty good!! 

Saturday we had to take beds out to a house that we are going to open this cycle! So we met up with beto and started to get things takin to all the places! It was a good day we finished pretty fast honestly!  Then we headed back to our food and had a cita with the family valencia the news that we found! Taught them about the book of mormon and they loved it!!  A whole lot! They will totally read it and progress pretty well!! This was also the day that I ripped my pants!  It was not all that fun but we won the game of street soccer so that is all that matters!!  Then we went with another great family and they gave us mole! i love mole! It is dangerous but always soo soo good!! 

Sunday was church and ward council again but with a seventy so that was cool! WE got a whole lot done that is for sure! It was super productive!  WE went to the food and then came to the office and reported and all that good stuff!!  I guess you can say now at this point my mission is done!  The next few days are just capacitating the news and then having the goodbye dinner!  So I guess this is about it!!

I don't really know what to say!!  This is kinda my last whorah space to have!!  I guess here is what I can share, Ever since you get to the mission you talk about the day you go home! Whenever you get to a new area you tell the members you have a little more time than you actually do so that way they think that you are older in the mission than you actually are! I mean you practically are just sitting here saying only 23 months and two weeks to go!!  But when you get to this point you don't want things to end! You think back and say what happened to the two years that I was suppose to have here!  You think about everything that has happened and you realize that it has all past!! I kinda am at the point where most of the memories I have are in the mission and it is hard to even think about life after the mission!!  However I know that everything that I have been able to see in the past two years will be a huge blessing in my life!! I know that Missionary work is so important and I have been able to learn so much about the gospel and about myself these past two years!  I know that the book of mormon is true and that it changes lives!  I know that when we keep the commandments we are happy and blessed in all things!  Temporally and spiritually!  I know that if we want to get closer to God and Jesus we can do it! It isn't hard and it is something we all can do!!  They love us! Christ came here to this earth to suffer for us and show us the pathway back to heaven!  He loves us! He will always love us!  I know that He lives! God loves us and wants us to be happy! He would do everything for us! He hears our prayers and blesses us with all that we need! Thank you so much for all the support that you have all shown me in these past two years!  Thanks for always being there when I needed you!  The church is true!  I know that it is!!  I will see you all on Wednesday!

Love,

Elder Orchard

On Monday, Elder Orchard and his companion along with the Nebekkers went to the Mexico City MTC to pick up the "news".  They took them back to the mission office for some training and out to pizza for dinner.

Enriquez family

My Last Week in the Mission

Well this week was pretty crazy that is for sure!!  We are just going 200 miles an hour it feels like!!  Just finishing off strong!!  Things got a little more crazy when we found out that Pres isn't going to be here for the changes since he will be with his wife in Texas! So we are just trying to hurry and get everything all wrapped up and ready for all the craziness that is about to happen!  So we are just preparing all that we need to get done! That is why I am writing so late!!  I tried to get Sister Nebeker to write for me but she told me no! So I guess here I go! 

Tuesday we had a good day we went out to Pantitlan and we had the interviews there.  We talked about the fundamentals again and that was good! We were really satisfied with how it turned out!  We then went with some recent converts to give a blessing to her daughter! She has had tons and tons of health problems! She is pregnant and so that doesn't make it any better! Well about a week ago they said that something they saw in one of the ultra sounds wasn't right and they were really scared about the baby that there would be lots of complications and didn't know if the baby would makeit all the way the 38 weeks or whatever!  So she asked us for a blessing because she knows that we have the priesthood power and that it would really bless her! Well the coolest part of this whole thing is that she isn't even a member..... yet. She will be soon! So we gave her a blessing and the next day she went with the doctor again!   The doctor was just so shocked to see that everything was normal with her pregnancy so that was a super cool moment for her!! She was like I knew all I needed was for you guys to give me a blessing and then everything would be fine! Then we went with Alejandra!  She is progressing really really well!!  We are so stoked for everything that she has been able to do in the past little while!!  She is doing great and we hope she will be baptized soon! 

Wednesday we had interviews out in Paraiso! That was a pretty long day! We took a long time training and then when we got done we went out and got medicine for a misisonary that was feeling kinda sick and all that good stuff! Then we headed back to the offices with Elder Johnson who was going home on Thursday so he could get all packed and do all that good stuff!  So we got a pretty late start on the day! But we made it out to see the Family Aguilar Santiago! I have been pretty sad with them! They do a lot but they just haven't been able to make it to church! It is sad! If they would go they would be progressing just great but they just are using their agency to not do it!! Pretty sad! 

Thursday we went with another great family! They are so nice and they are really great honestly! They have been progressing pretty well! Except the Grandma but we finally realized a little of what she needed! She hasn't been going to church because of her husband so we are going to hit that really really hard to see if we can get her to come! So we will be working really really hard with them!  Oh and we went to the interviews out in Oriental which went pretty good!  The best news is we are almost done with them!  So we are just going to keep pushing along and see what happens!! 

Friday we didn't have any interviews or anything and so it was just a day for us to work hard and see some success! And we were really really blessed! WE did a lot of contacts that is for sure!!  But we saw tons of success!  WE got invited over this week to eat Pozole so we are super super stoked! And we saw all the people we needed to see in the day! Then we went to a family home evening that was awesome! This family kills it! I swear if everyone was the types of members these guys are the whole world would be baptized!!  They work so hard! They give us tons of references and so it has been really really fun just to work with them so much!  We also found two super super chosen people!  They kill it! They had so many great questions!! They are getting ready to move but I am sure that they are going to get baptized at some point! They were really really prepared! 

Saturday we were able to work hard as well!!  We started out trying to find ourselves a new house! We were really really unsuccessful in that though is the saddest part!  We however did find these two cool investigators touching doors!  It was super cool!  They have lots of potential!!  The food was super super dank today too so we can never complain about that!!  Then we went with Enrique who is doing really really good!  He told us this story about how he loved drinking but ever since he started listening to us he hasn't had a single problem! It was a super cool testimony builder that is for sure!  Things are going really good!

Wow I can't believe that this will be my last week in the mission! It is pretty crazy!!  I can't believe that the two years have already passed!  It has just kinda flown by!  Just got everything planned for the last week with Pres and so we are just going to be here working hard all week! All up until the last day!!  Just the way it should be!! Have an amazing week!!  Next week I will try and send you a little something but no promises since we will have 16 news and Pres. won't be here! But I will get something sent don't worry! 

Elder Orchard

Fasting Miracles

Having fun with President Stutznegger!

Wow this week was something special!!  We saw one really cool miracle this week!  I mean it all kind of just started on Monday!  We left the offices and went to a meeting out in Ixtapaluca which are always fun!! But the real story is that we had three appointments on Monday night!  It was going to be at 7, 8 and 8:30 but then the one from 7 changed and so we had to find someone to do divisions with! So we called everyone! It was such a show trying to find someone that could go with us!  So after about 30 minutes of looking we finally found someone that could go with us! So we sent Elder Shumway with the Joven (young man) and we left!  Well I call Shumway and he was  like yeah we are done I will see you at the Joven's house!  so we get there and he calls and he is like change of plans just meet me at our house! So we get there and we are waiting and waiting and he just comes walking in by himself and we are like dude what happened?  He was like well I am talking to Fernando and he was like oh yeah this is my first time with the missionaries! Well they finish the lesson and Shumway was saying goodbye and the joven totally just left him and so Shumway walked home by himself!!  Now that is just funny to think about but that is totally Shumway! he just doesn't really care about anything he just kinda goes with the flow and whatever happens happens!!  jaja I mean he left with a little suitcase on tuesday and we didn't see him until friday morning because he just was the traveling assistant out there roaming the whole time!! Just pretty funny!  Great kid but he was funny!  

3 out of these 4 Elder's are going home within weeks of each other.  A little Italian soda farewell get together.

Goodbye Elder Shumway

Well I don't have much time so I will just tell another little story and then call it a day!  But on Sunday enrique didn't go to church and we went and saw him and we talked a lot about fasting and stuff like that it was good! Well he decided he needed to fast to be able to find a JOb! He needed a little extra help to overcome that!  To get a job! So he fasted! Well they called him back about a job right as he ended his fast!  So that was cool! BUt here it wasn't just that he got the job they just said that he had to go back for interviews and such so he did that then on thursday during his baptisimal interview they called and said that he was hired! His testimony was made so strong and he just continued with everything he had been doing and he was finally baptized! It was super cool! It was an amazing experience since the first time we contacted him to his baptism five weeks Later!! It was something I will never forget!!

Well that is about it for this week! SOrry I cut it short we have been working on changes and all sorts of stuff today!!  Have a great week!!  Love you guys!

Elder Orchard

Will they make it 2 more weeks?

A New Comp, Mission Interviews and Chapultepec

This week was pretty slow for us! It was really hard to get everything done! Right now because of the interviews we are basically working from about 4 on but the problem is we have lots of things we need to do! We really need to start to find some more people but we have so many people that it is hard to do all the visits that we need to get done and find new people and find time to do some good contacts! It started to get hard but I guess it is good I know we will see lots of great blessings!  It was super super cool to be able to see the ways that the Lord would bless us when we would work hard!!  We also had a lot of fun! I was able to get a new comp! We will be in a trio for a week until Elder Shumway heads home! It will be super fun! We are exhausted tired because of how much work we have been doing but hey I am getting close to the end! We are at the point where it is just work now rest later so that is good! 

Tuesday started out in Ixtapaluca we went there for the interviews! They went really really good and we were able to capacitate all about the 8 fundamentals of preach my gospel! The coolest part is when we capacitate on this stuff it helps us know what we can do better in our own work!  So we did that and then we went out and found some new people to teach! They are a reference that we got and it was super super cool! They have the potential to really really progress!  Then we saw some people that we were hoping would go to church but they didn't end up making it there! 

Wednesday we went out to Ixtapaluca 2 Which is probably the best zone in the mission right now as of work! They find tons of news and have lots of fechas really really consistently! Well the zone leaders did a really really good job with their part of the capacitation!  We were really excited about all of the things that they did there! Then we came and saw a few investigators and headed home to get ready for the next day when we would get a new comp and have another day of interviews!  

Thursday we got the special changes done to be able to get everything figured out! I have to teach the new assistant the area and the mission because he really doesn't know all that much of here!  He has only been in two zones in the year that he has had here! So we are working hard to know people and do divisions! Then we went and saw two of the families that we have that are really progressing really well!!  We saw them and they are just killing it!  they are reading and say they are going to go to church this week and so we have been really really pleased with what they have been doing! And we saw the Family Aguilar santiago which is looking like they will be my last baptism here in the mission if everything goes as planned! They are doing really really well!  They have been really really chosen since we first found them and the things are just kinda being put into place since we found them! 

Friday was a really good day! We saw the other people that we had had lots of hope for and so that was really cool!  They are doing good but sadly they didn't make it to church this week! Her case is pretty hard because her husband has to get divorced before she can get married and so that has been really really hard for us! She also just hasn't progressed all that well! She seems excited and reads and stuff but it has been really hard for her to progress and go to church and all that stuff! 

Saturday we went to chapultepec which was alright! I was expecting to see a little more but ya know museums aren't really my thing!  But it was alright! 

We saw some pretty cool things so that is okay!  Then we went and had tacos with the Nebekers at a good taco place here by the offices and so that was really fun! 

All in all it was a pretty good week!  We worked hard and we are hoping we can see some more blessings and lessons this week! But we will just be working hard and whatever happens we will be happy! 

have a great week!

love

Elder orchard

The Coolest Analogy

Elder Shumway and Elder Orchard.  If I am not mistaken, Elder Shumway is the tallest Elder in the mission:)

Hard at work...

...or hardly working??

Wow this week was sure something else!!  We worked really hard and we were really really blessed!  We were able to see lots of things that we had been waiting for!  I think one of the biggest miracles of the week was we had a wedding!  Kinda crazy right!  It was super fun to get them there and FINALLY get them married! They have been debating it for about three years now and so we finally have got it done! Be looking for a baptism of her here really soon!

Tuesday We did divisiones with someone that was going home so we were able to take care of him and get all of our work done!  That was really needed and nice!  We were able to find a new little family too that we hope can progress!!  I also had gone to an appointment on Monday night and found a new family which was good!  but apart from that it was a pretty chill day!  We also had mentioned getting the family married on Saturday but there wasn't really any bite there on that! 

Wednesday we had a very eventful day!!  We worked pretty hard and saw a lot of blessings!  We had our families that are doing well!!  We also had all sorts of fun on Divisions again with someone else!  Also here is a funny little story from the week we were teaching this family and I had mentioned that one day when the son gets married and I don't really even remember what I had said after but he was like no not me I am never going to get married!!  If I ever become king that is going to be the first thing that I change! Nobody else will ever get married!  It was pretty cute!  Then we went with a few other people we are hoping can progress better!  We also went and had some tacos that were five tacos for ten pesos, and I still ask why I have diarrhea?

Thursday we started our crazy times!  We started capacitating the people that are in or just finishing their training!  It went really well!  We had some really really grate missionaries there!  We also had the food just at our house that day and it was a really really slow day honestly!!  I don't really remember everything that we did but it was really pretty lame!  We didn't have tons of success with finding the people and all that stuff

Friday we had a pretty good day! We went to the interviews and that was alright! We had a lot of people help us teach and they took way more time than we wanted them to so that was kinda crappy!  We also just didn't know how to help everyone the best way there!  But then in the afternoon it went really really well!  WE were able to see some families that went to church! We also were able to find some news and teach a family we are really really hoping can progress! They are contacts that are really doing well! They read and pray and all that stuff!  but they have had a family member that is in the hospital and they are taking care of them on the weekends since they work so that has been really hard! But they just got out and now we are hoping they will be able to go to church and really progress! 

Saturday was a really really good day!  We had such a crazy crazy experience!  We had to go and take some stuff out to a house in Ixtapaluca and we dropped some beds and such for some special changes then we had the wedding! Well they just called us on Friday night and said Elders we are ready to get married!  It was really really cool! So we took them out to the judge and got them married really really fast!  Then we came back and went to our food and got all that stuff taken care of and went and started teaching the people we had lessons with! Then we went to English class which went good kind of! and then we went and saw Enrique! We learned something really really cool! We were talking about the plan of Salvation and everything and so we got to Adam and Eve and how it was necessary for them to eat the fruit and he was like yeah that makes all sorts of sense! It is like a child in the womb of the mother! There it is comfortable and it gets all the food it needs! Life isn't difficult and they don't learn all that much! They get to a point in their progress that they just can't be there anymore! It is better for them to leave and be able to grow a whole lot more! It was the coolest analogy I had ever heard! It totally worked too and we were just like wow I learned so much more from you than you learned from us today! It was a super super cool experience! Then he said I have heard a little bit in the church about the priesthood and blessing and I was wondering if you guys could give my wife a blessing so she can be more patient in work and get blessed by God! It was super super cool! They are awesome! He is definitely a future bishop!  Then we ate tostadas de tinga which were so good!  I am really really going to miss Mexican food! Hopefully people at home will invite me over to eat! 

well have an awesome week! I will talk to you again next week! I got the pictures uploaded so hopefully you understand them!

love

Elder Orchard

Elder Shumway