Tijuana 3

Muy buenas tardes, estoy aquí en Tijuana todavía!

Hey everyone, can I just say that life is good!  I don't know what it is, but i am really starting to settle in to things here in Tijuana. I am finding the joy in the work, and starting to really love these people! The city is still a disaster, but these people are just so humble and ready to hear our messages! Recently, we have been really trying to find new people to teach, and we have prayed so hard for it! and lately, people have literally been chasing us down in the streets to talk to us and invite us to our homes to teach!  We even had a guy come up to us while we were eating tacos this morning on the side of the road and make a meeting with us.  It really is just so cool to put all the trust in the Lord and watch it all unfold.  

This week i got pretty sick! The city is super dirty so people get sick here a lot. Especially Americans.  I got a super bad infection in my throat from breathing in all this stuff here in the air.  I lost my voice for about 3 or 4 days and was super sick.  But, we went out to work anyways.  The Lord heard my prayers and allowed me to talk in a very raspy hushed voice during the lessons.  And after the lessons, it was gone again.  I got a blessing from my companion and really started to get better much faster.  It pays to be with the only true church that has the authority of God ;) But, now I'm back to full voice and almost back to full health! 

This week haha, we had another baptism...so we come in on Saturday to have the baptism, i step into the chapel and SPLASH SPLASH! uhh oh. yep. the elders that went and filled of the font for us over flowed it and flooded the church.  So it took us about 3 hours to get the church unflooded and somewhat dry....there is a lot of wood work and wooden doors so we are hoping for the best that it didn't get destroyed...it also got into the bishops office. But i think everything is ok now, some what.  We baptized a little girl named Harim.  She is so cute and so intelligent! Her mom is a member, and her step dad is not. we are actually teaching him right now. his name is Pablo and is very interested, he lost 2 of his daughters when they were just babies, so he is very interested in forever families and the plan of salvation. but we got to kick the coffee and the cigarettes.  But he knows its true, you should listen to this guy pray!  Also, last week with Alexis, both of his parents are members, we worked really hard to reactivate his dad so he could baptize his son, we still have a lot of work to do with his mom tho.  Little, by little it will all be great.  

Uh, investigators. we have a ton!  One lady had a super scary experience this week, i wont say when went down, just know Satan works very hard to stop the work, but God works harder and is stronger. always. we have visited her and blessed her home and we feel much better now.  We started teaching a lady who was recently deported, her 18 year old daughter turned her into the immigration services just to get her deported because they were fighting one day...that made me so mad! she is progressing so well, we gave her a blessing to find more strength to deal with all that is happening. i think she will find a great family here in the church.  Each day i really am amazed at all the problems here, and yet, the people put on a smile each day, head to work and make the most of it.  

last week, for p day, we worked in the morning and then headed out to play in the afternoon, we went to a members house, all payed 100 pesos and made some incredible food! Carne asada! and more! i will send some pictures.  Also, to celebrate 6 months of mission life, i burned a tie. it was a really great experience to tell ya the truth. 6 of the craziest, fastest and most memorable months. it was great just watching the tie burn and looking back at it all, and looking forward to all that is ahead of me! 



i love you all. i really do. Family is thee most important thing in this world. Thank you for your prayers and support. Keep praying that i can get a Mexican accent. that is something this Guerro needs. Gracias.

Love, Elder Westbroek

ps. i found Bob Marley in Mexico... :) Every little thing is gonna be alright! 

The Grass Really is Greener

Hello one and all!

Hey guys, it was so good to hear from everyone this week!  Life in TJ is pretty good. I am settling into the city, slowly I'm getting used to it. Sometimes I just sit here and look at how we live, how the people live, i look at the city, the problems, listen to the stories of the people...and just wonder why God sent me here. I know why I'm here in general. But I want a better explanation. Its rough man. Also, It has been dubbed as 'The Ugliest Mission on Earth' haha. But that's not really what matters truthfully. 

The comp and i are doing pretty good. We get a long just fine! All he wants to do is speak English so that is really killing me, and my Spanish. lucky the president chewed him out pretty good this week in an email i guess. so now we are just going to be speaking in Spanish. which is what i have wanted for the last 6 months. Going from a companionship where i did every single thing, taught every lesson and lead the lessons ad planning and all to this kind of a lot stinks. i loved having to do it all. I LOVED IT.  This dude will hardly let me teach, share my thoughts, scriptures and whatever else i feel like i should do. So that blows. The other day he just talked for 1 hour and 12 minutes straight. the lesson was a disaster, i cut in to say something and got cut right back out. so as you can imagine i am frustrated. very. But life moves on. Also, we baptized again! whoo! his name is Alexis, he is 9 years old! it was great!

Transportation is super nuts around here. you could actually make a roller coaster ride out of these buses.  its fun haha, On a trip to our district meeting we hit a hole so hard in the road it threw the bus up and everyone about switched seats on the bus.  

Luckily, I went on interchanges with our district leader this week! Elder Watts, he lives down in American Fork Utah. The kid is awesome! we taught 15 solid, quality lessons in less than 2 full days.  We work so well together! It was great to see how this kid works and teaches, its a lot how i teach. so we just meshed like it was nothing! the spirit was so strong and the investigators really started progressing again he said! When we were headed back to the church to switch companions again haha he grabbed me and said "Elder Westbroek, don't leave me!"haha.  It was great to work in the sector of Urbi, we were hardly ever on pavement and we ate thee best tacos i have ever tasted in my life!  i couldn't tell you what kind of meat it was, but that doesn't really matter too much haha. 



hey i think i will start writing ya big email about every 2 weeks, i just don't have much to say recently haha. any questions? just remember, i need American candy.....

love you all!
Elder Westbroek

PS. i saw America this week...the grass literally is greener on the other side....well that's partially because we don't have grass over here. ha. 

Tijuana

Hey Family! How is life?

So yes, Tijuana. It is just as ugly as everyone says it is.  We live in, walk in, breath in, work in, run in, workout in, preach in, serve in....garbage. the city is filled with garbage. It is the nastiest city haha.  I think i would rather live in down town Ogden than Tijuana. Dad, you grew up in a sketchy area, i will give you that. But man, i think i would rather live there in Ogden haha. Just like Mexicali, the city is destroyed by graffiti, drugs, garbage and more.  There are literally piles of garbage 10 to 15 feet high.  it stinks so bad haha. but I'm adjusting fine.  Just like Ogden, there are very sketchy parts...just a bit more sketchy. ok, a lot more sketchy haha. Ogden is high class.  
The house, lets just say it ain't pretty.  its two floors but so so tiny.  in our bathroom upstairs you can shower, go to the bathroom and shave in the mirror all at the same time haha. its horrible. the other day we ran out of gas for a few days, and the water is so so so cold here! so what did I do? I did what any good Mexican would do! I cleaned out an old bucket, microwaved cups of water and slowly filled the bucket haha.  After about 20 minutes the bucket was about one third full and kind of warm haha so i lugged it up the stairs and showered using a cup. It was actually pretty legit. Do not take your bathrooms at home for granted!  It is just me and elder espino here in this apartment...you couldn't fit any more in there haha.  Elder Espino is awesome! he speaks basically perfect English because he lived in Texas and in Canada. He has about 3 months left in his mission so he is very experienced and a great teacher. But i fear the progression of my Spanish will be slowed down again with all these companions that speak English.....grrrr. The ward is HUGE! we have 6 missionaries in this ward! the usual attendance is 270ish. its so sick. total functioning. i love the ward.  
The new president will arrive this month on the 28th i think? that will be cool! i am very excited to meet him and see how he is going to help us out!  Also, the temple is looking amazing! still under construction outside, but is coming along fantastic! look it up on google! however it is not in my sector.  my sector by the way is HUGE also! we take so many buses, we get 400 pesos for transportation because we are always riding a bus or taking a taxi.  The work is good here tho! we are the highest baptizing zone in the mission right now, and we plan to keep it that way. its pretty legit. its hard tho being in a crazy busy city without any knowledge of the bus routes, colonies and all. but i will learn.  
well boys and girls. Wednesday marks 6 months. wow. you'd all be amazed if you were with me right now. i would say I'm a bit different than i was just 6 months ago. A better person. It has been an incredible road. full of thrills and spills. i have experienced more in these 6 months than many missionaries do in their two years haha. I look forward to many more. at times i get very overwhelmed by it all. but that is when we all must trust in the Lord. 
I love you all! i will have some better stories next week I'm sure! 

Elder Westbroek III

 " For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth." Romans 1:16

Home away from Home

Transfers

Hello Everyone! what a long and very short week it has been! this week has been very eventful! just so you know where i am, i am not in Tijuana! we had exchanges today! Tijuana is so great, not has hot, very busy. this Area is huge!!! My companion is Elder Espino, he is from a little city under Texas, but he lived in Houston and in Canada haha. Pretty legit this Elder.!

So this week, my last week in Mexicali and with elder Hilton. That was honestly really sad and difficult to leave Elder Hilton and Mexicali!  That place really is like home! i have to go back! i have a family back there who literally begging me to come back. one lady told me with lots of tears rolling down her face that she is going to write the prophet and tell him i cant leave Mexicali haha. it was awesome! i have some good pics for you all too!

So this week, i got bit by a dog has i was helping some people push a car, it didn't break skin, but i sure bruised really good! man it was so so so funny!!!

Also, had an interesting experience with casting out a spirit from a house, that was very very interesting, my first time having to do that. i wont go into a whole lot of detail on what went down there.  

The main even tho, We finally baptized Armando!!!! It was incredible!!!! after 3.5 months of working with this man, after he was hit by a car and robbed, we baptized him!  The newly set apart elders quorum president did the baptism. Armando cant walk, so we carried him, The president and i, into the water, it was so scary and slippery, we almost baptized him before we were ready by accident, but i know the lord gave us the strength to carry this man into the waters of baptism. It was literally thee greatest thing i have ever seen.  The look on Armando's face...still in the water he clasped his hands together and said "thank you father, this is happiness!" i was right there, waist deep in the water with the president and Armando, support his leg and hip so we didn't have any problems, it was INCREDIBLE!  As we carried him out of the font he continued to praise god and give thanks.  I visited later that day, as he laid in his bed resting, he took me by the hand and told me "Elder Westbroek, thank you for making my dream come true. I have found happiness." Man, my eyes filled with tears and did his.  I just love this man, he is so solid in his testimony and prayers. He is so blessed to be alive.  The last couple of weeks as i was fasting for the baptism of Armando, he didn't get baptized for a bit, and i thought that god didn't want to baptize him or answer my prayer.....how little my faith! through more action, which is more faith, elder Hilton and i did everything we good, talking to our leaders, calling the president, teaching and teaching and teaching, and wow, after the test of faith, god answered. in thee best way possible. i know he loves us and listens!

Also, we baptized the week past, Francisco, also that was beautiful.  I really am just so happy right now! And now I'm in Tijuana, escaping the skin damage a little bit haha.  

So life is really crazy sometimes, that i have learned here. you don't know what to expect. the only constant in life is change. we all have to come to accept it. in all shapes and forms.  I know that if we put our faith and trust in the lord we have no reason to fear.  Leaving Mexicali was bitter sweet...mostly just bitter. i love that place, but i am stoked to be here in TJ with such great missionaries! i really did settle in quite nicely here, and that's when god helps us unsettle, to keep growing haha.  

Just so ya know, the Spanish is coming in great! its a slow and literally painful process, but i can understand almost all of it and communicate with whoever, it makes the mission a lot more enjoyable and interesting! i have been truly blessed and i know the lord is mindful of me, just as he is of all of you.  

My thoughts are very scattered today with a lot of new thoughts, with now serving in Tijuana, Los Pinos 2, and new companion and leaving my first sector, everything in my head is mixed together. so i will make of list of things to talk about next week!!!  

Any questions? i will take pics of the house here in TJ....man its sweet! haha i lied. its pretty cool tho ;) oh Mexico. 

I love you all!!!! write me some questions!

love ya all! elder westbroek!!!!!

Faith Requires Action

Muy buenas tardes :)

Hey everyone! it has been another week! Can you believe it? SO FAST.

This week.  It was a bit pesado.  Meaning, heavy.

First off, we had our conference which was awesome! i learned so much about asking inspired questions and just following the spirit to figure out what questions to ask.  Also, during the practice, the President joined elder Hilton and I in our lesson! That was so cool and fun!  He is very very powerful.  We taught about our life hear on earth and the atonement, it went very well.  He gave us some very great advice about how to directly apply what we are teaching to the lives of the investigators.  I felt very good about how i taught with the President right next to me, it was a bit nerve wracking ha.  

Later in the week, is when it got heavy.  We had two baptisms scheduled for this friday.  So, i headed to work during interchanges with my district leader, Elder Jacome, he is from Ecuador.  We headed out teaching and had some great success.  But then we got to our investigators who were supposed to be baptized...Turned out they had changed their mind.  Elder Jacome and i took turns explaining doctrine of baptism and the atonement, we both felt that they are very ready.  One of them was worried, very worried about committing errors after baptism...That was his hold up.  And the other wasnt reading the book of mormon.  I have never realized the importance of this book before....until i started to really search the pages.  If this man had been reading and praying, he would not be able to deny the validity of this book nor the path that we all must follow, which is Jesus Christ.  So I poured out my soul in a testimony on two seperate occasions in a last effort to show they are very ready to enter into the waters of baptism.  

The next day, I was talking with my buddy, Elder Chappell, one of the zone leaders at another conference, he is from Mississippi, He and i both had a very strong desire to try again with these two investigators.  So we called the assistants and headed out of interchanges again.  Elder Chappell is a great Elder, he has 19 months, so i got some great advice.  We worked hard for the hours left in the day.  First off we headed to one of the investigadors who was supposed to be baptized...his name is Milton. He owns 17 miracles and has gone to church, prays like a machine, has seen great changes in his life with the church...but still didnt feel right to be baptized...man, come on!!!!  So we headed over to talk, and after a long process, we finally got to chat with Milton.  The spirit was strong, and we felt like we needed to do the interview for the baptism.  Elder Chappell took him to another room and talked for awhile, so i had a great opportunity to teach a mom and her son during the interview. We read Alma 32. It was so fun just getting to talk and teach solo for once.  Anyways,  after the interview, which milton passed.....we shared our testimonies and told milton...."We feel you are very ready milton, you have a strong testimony, you have seen a difference in your life, and you know this is the path god has for you. We will be at the church waiting for you if you feel the desire to still be baptized this night at 8." he said ok...and we headed off.  We hurried through the fields, abandoned houses and garbage to the church haha.  

This is why this email is titled "faith requires action"....we felt that if we did all we could to have a baptism, we wouldnt be guilty of anything, we must USE our agency to benefit others and show our faith in God. So we did just that.  First, Elder Chappell and I kneeled in front of an empty baptismal font and poured our hearts out to our Heavenly Father...we prayed that through our faith we could help Milton find a better life and obtain the blessings of heaven.  After the very humble prayer, we went to work.  Cleaning the font (filled with crickets, big spiders and who knows what), filling the font, setting up the chairs and all. We had speakers arranged, Elder Chappell and i had the baptismals clothes ready and we had prepared a musical number too.  It was 7:45 when we finished....now we will just have to wait. we waited. and waited.  He didnt come.  

Now, what is the lesson here? there are many.  First off, the conversion process is a very large process that cant be rushed.  However, with a testimony of the book of mormon, no one can deny that this church is thee only true church.  secondly, When we have faith, we do not always get miracles, when we have faith and demonstrate this faith, we do not always get miracles.  But, when you have faith, demonstrate it through your righteous actions and desires, you will get more Faith.  At times, yes, we do lack faith. Everyone does.  But we must remember that it is we who lack faith, it is not God who lacks power or love.  Milton was also worried about committing errors after baptism.  If we have sufficient faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and show it through our actions, we will not doubt his love or grace.  The atonement is infinite.  In the humble prayer of Elder Chappell and i, we asked that through our faith we could help someone, but if it didnt work out, we would find comfort in knowing we did what we could.  We recieved both.  Elder Chappell and i helped one another this night gain a strong testimony, and more faith.  Also, that night as i knelt down to pray, i talked to god a lot about milton and how i felt after all this work, and no baptism.  I felt comforted.  I had no stains on my shirt that night, metaphorically, because i had done all i could, i had demonstrated my faith.  

Brothers and sisters.  Faith requires action.  Action requires faith.  Trust in the lord, and if it doesnt work out, its because He knows better than you do.  Thats just how it is, straight up.  Already, i am seeing blessings from that demonstration of faith in this week, and its only monday.  

i am happier than i have ever been, and probably more stressed than ever too.  How stressed? I had a dream all my hair turned grey haha.  Yeah thats the real deal.  I am learning so so so much out here. it is awesome.  

fun facts this week, we hit 107 degrees, and our air conditioner broke that same day haha.  We ran out of water for 3 days too.  :)  Life is so good.

Thank you for the packages, paintings, letters and all! Keep doing what you should and you will be blessed!

I love you all, hopefully this email makes sense, and pardon my spelling please.  

The church is very true, and YOU literally have a father in heaven who loves you and knows you personally.

Mucho amor,

Elder Westbroek