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

Another Week

Hey Everyone!

So, once again i cannot believe it. Another week in the books!

This week, honestly, not a whole lot happened. The usual stress, running from appointment to appointment, rides in wheel chairs and so on.  Elder Hilton and I may have crashed a wheel chair right in the road one day hahaha. turns out pot holes and wheel chairs don't go together.    

Uh, to answer some questions....When we were out of water for a few days, I used a filter bottle and we "made water" haha bottle by bottle.  It still tastes kind of weird tho.  I'm not sure whats up but the water here smells so bad.  We still are without air conditioning in the majority of our house, it was supposed to get fixed last week, but they never came by to repair it...so, its still hot.  Back where we sleep, we have one, but we only run it for an hour at a time to save money, so when we wake up, its back to 90 degrees, usually more ha.  

But, more importantly, the work.  We have been super busy, and i love it. I'm working on 6 months and I'm still not fluent, but my Spanish has started to get a TON better.  i have learned more Spanish having an American companion than i thought possible ha.  Its great tho, the days are enjoyable because i am part of all the conversations and i direct every lesson.  It really is so cool!  Milton....Man, its been rough, after the experience with Elder Chapel, Milton hasn't come back to church. not sure what happened there.  We have visited and just been super friendly and relaxed trying to gain back his trust.  But we just cant quite find what he is so scared of....I will let ya know what we find out.  

Remember the investigator who was hit by the car and jumped?? HE IS OUT OF THE HOSPITAL!!! The morning of his previously scheduled baptism, he was walking home from work.  A car came up to him and ran him over, then they got out, hit him in the head with a bat and continued to beat him.  He woke up later in the hospital.  I looked at his x rays yesterday and wow....he has got some work done.  He has metal disks and 4 or 5 very large screws holding his hip and femur together.  The doctors said that from the looks of the hits and all the cuts on his head, they were trying to kill and he is lucky to be here.  Armando really wants to be baptized, more than anything. So we are going to rig up something to help him get to church and also to baptize him next week! after about 3 months of working with this guy it is finally going to happen! its been so cool to watch his progress!

Also, this Wednesday night we will baptize a brother named Fracisco Amador, he is so solid and so ready.  He was kicked out of his house once he told his family he was going to be baptized, luckily this church is like a big family and he was quickly taken in by a member.  Francisco literally has one of the strongest testimonies i have ever heard.  If i didn't know better, i would think he is already a member.  

Nothing too crazy happened this week tho...just enjoying the work honestly.  I have started to finally love it, i have learned this traslado that it is actually possible to work very hard and still enjoy it....the first 3 months of the field was nothing but pain and stress.  When dad asked me over skype the other day if i was actually enjoying this...i started to ask myself that every single day, am i enjoying this? and now, honestly i can answer, "yes i love this work."

The church is true ladies and gents.  any questions.  i am in my last two weeks here in Bugambilias so i will start taking pics of my sector :)  any questions or requests? 

Mission life, good life.

Elder Westbroek

feliz cinco de May

Muy buenas tardes y feliz cinco de Mayo!

I hope everyone is doing so great!

This week was awesome, so stressful. But awesome.  Elder Hilton and i are doing great!  We teach very well together, and he lets me take the lead in every single lesson...which is a huge change from my training haha.  So finally i feel like i will start learning Spanish! Elder Hilton knows how i feel because he has been there before.  So he is easy to talk to about my situation and frustrations! And we talk completely in Spanish which is really cool. He is a great Elder! I am very happy. finally.  

This week, bad news first.  My buddy Armando, who was supposed to be baptized but then disappeared...Was involved in a hit and run. He was hit by a car and then beaten and then robbed.  He is currently in the hospital with a shattered hip, and many cuts, and a large gash on his head.  He was walking home from work at night.  They took everything from him.  He was found at 3 AM unconscious on the side of the road.  Man this just broke my heart.  He will get surgery tomorrow. Next bad news, the young man of 15 years, I talked to his mom and just begged for me to help him.  Alejandro is currently going through some troubling times in his teenage years...the bad thing is, i know how to help him.  But i cant, because i am not catholic.  The first time i met this kid out on the street, i had this feeling that i just had to help him.  it is so frustrating.  I talked my heart out with his mom, fighting tears and all, but she just wouldn't let us help.  Alejandro knows our messages are true and will bless his life....But i guess right now just isn't time.  

Alright, time for the miracle of the week. There are a few.   So with this week being fast Sunday, as a zone we fasted for success in baptisms to start baptising every single week and baptize in the month of may.  I prayed and prayed that we would find people ready to receive the gospel.  First off, fasting here in Mexicali is difficult.  You dry out really fast, an elder asked the president how long we should fast out here in Mexicali for our safety, he said, fast according to your faith.  So i did that.  After a full fast, i ended it with a prayer. For a miracle of course.  We didn't have many safe baptismal dates.  But, i have faith in our Heavenly Father.  After lunch with the members, i was talking with a young man of 10 years about his life and his vacations.  Something prompted me to invite him to be baptized (note:we have taught him for months, and other elders before us, and nothing.  he has 20 or more times at church but isn't interested.)  So instead of preaching to him, i told him about how i have been praying for him every day, and that i feel the 16th of May is the day he will be ready to be baptized....He just stared at me straight in the eyes...and said "yes, yes lets do it" ha.  not what i was expecting! then his grandpa said "and i will do the ordinance" and Damian, the 10 year old, just got a huge smile on his face! yay! Finally!

Next, the grandma of Damian told us she has a friend who wants to know more about us.  We walked in to her ever so humble home and introduced ourselves, within 5 minutes of talking to here...i had a very strong prompting and a voice that said "fecha, ponga una fecha." meaning date, put a date for baptism.  This is the first time the spirit has prompted me in Spanish. Finally! i have prayed for that, over and over and over. for a prompting in spanish.  I immediately turned to Elder Hilton and said, "I'm putting a date ok? ok"  haha his face was priceless, complete surprise.  I invited the woman to be baptized...and she accepted "yes, i will follow Jesus Christ", with a huge smile on her face :)  We have an appointment with her tonight! What a great experience.  oh and her name is Palmira.  

I'm not done....another investigator who we have been trying to teach for about 3 months too came to church the other day again and I immediately went over and grabbed him, but an appointment for that night.  Finally, we got him. That's not all.  We taught him the restoration?(restauración).  The spirit was so strong.  Once again, i felt that i needed to place a date. i was going to say 16th, but i was prompted otherwise.  the 23rd, my great friend Fracisco Amador will be baptized! When i invited him to be baptized, he just smiled and smiled. and said "of course, i know these things are true."  success.  I was about ready to just go run through the streets i was so happy haha.  still am :)

So yeah, that is basically my week.  After a rough week of a lot of walking, lots of appointments falling, we finally had success. in a huge way.  Hopefully all of this makes sense.  sorry for my spelling.  

The bishop is doing well, his hand isn't quite back to full function tho...and i visited the family of the fight.  They aren't doing so great, but we are working with them.  and dad, good news! they caught one of the people! 

Anyways, life is good here in Mexico, we are working very hard!

The church is true! Christ lives. 

-Elder Westbroek

Last Week of Training

Que tal le va!?

Hey everyone! I hope all is well!

This week has a little rough, Its getting hotter so everyone is hiding inside plus, they do easter down here a little different. its a week of partying and vacations.  so all week during the semana santa We looked and knocked and hardly found anyone haha.  

Mom you wanted to know more about praying for silence...it is exactly that. Here in Mexicali, everyone plays their music at full blast at all hours of the day, everyone has 1 or 10 dogs, their are always fights and whatnot so its always loud.  So i actually pray for silence a lot...especially during lessons.  the spirit is so soft and subtle its hard to listen to when there is so much disturbance, for the investigators.  But when we ask in faith and act, we receive :) i can testify of that!

Dad great job on the award! that is so sick! 2.5 million! atta boy! hey did you get your 17000 dollars back yet? ha.  The letter is on its way, the bishop thing was a little bit more exciting that an argument.   Uh the area i live in is desert. not a lot of trees or anything. sand and sage brush.  I have some very sketchy areas, in one area where we have a lot of success, Condor is like the Projects...a year ago you couldn't even walk in without getting jumped, says one of our neighbors. if you watch the abandoned buildings and people you see some pretty wild stuff!  I haven't seen much of Mexicali, just my little area haha.  transfers are next week! kinda a lot excited, i will stay here and elder martin will leave.  but i do believe i will be here in Mexicali for awhile ha. yes in the heat! man its hot. 

The young man on the bus was doing so well, went to the activities and to the church with us! but his grandma and mom started saying some really horrible things about us...and he is super shy so he doesn't want to stand up to his mom....he was almost in tears the other night, he gave me a hug... i said "Alejandro, i know these things will help you", he said "these things are true huh?" i said "yes, and they will help you so much in your life."  he has a lot of issues with his family, he doesn't know his real dad, and i don't think he has a good relationship with his step dad either...we are trying to help this kid. man he is so ready to receive this gospel in his life.  The other little family came to church with us :) but then went out of town...we are trying to find them again. 

we have a baptism this week tho! i am so excited! Armando! this man is so ready! i will send pics maybe next week or whenever i get my package haha.  

sorry I'm out of time! i will write more next week i promise!

 love you all so much! the church is true!!!!!

Elder Westbroek

Lucky Number 7!

Buenas Tardes,

Alright! Where to begin!?

Mom and dad! you're so close to me! Sounds like San Diego is treating you well! Whale watching sounds like a riot haha.  Nothing better than being on a boat! Let me know what goes down with the trip and the Big O convention. Dad i met a guy last night who thinks he knows you, do you know a Ricardo who works for De Anda Trucking? haha really random.  

Mom i know the feeling about being the only white kid on the block haha. Because i am!  And people let me know it. I am the end of many racist jokes and they all have many nicknames for me.  Haha the other day, a guy yelled to me in English "Hey what are you doing here white kid?" haha i introduced myself and told him about missionaries... he said "man, you can die in the USA, but it is more common here in Mexico! But i respect you for preaching the word my man." We had a conversation for about 20 minutes and it just got better and better every minute.  I really hope we get to teach this man.  

I think those skeletons are for the day of the dead. it is like Halloween, but it is for the family. it is a big party to celebrate your ancestors.  But it isnt for like 6 months or so.  

I might be back to the mission office in a week or 2 weeks for my visa, or in a month for conference? so who really knows.  i didn't get any packages in the conference last week, that was a little weird.  so i guess i will wait haha.  no i didnt buy any shoes, they are all bien bien caro, very very expensive. and i don't want to buy expensive shoes ha. i will keep looking in the streets for cheap nice ones.  i bought 2 cans of vegetables, the produce here isnt the best, we will check a different store next week. I am down 10 pounds....but my pants are getting tight haha you do the math! (don't forward that haha).

The title of this email is lucky number 7...because after a lot of work, prayer, blood, sweat and tears, we got 7 investigators in the church.  It was incredible.  And our bishop after his incident has a whole new outlook on life and his calling and he was just beaming ear to ear and he was so great with every single investigator! (dad i sent my letter to you about my week that was literally insane, so you'll know whats up in a couple weeks or less.) But man, it was an amazing sight.  We walked in with a family of 4, Mom, Dad, 2 young little boys.  This is the man that was beaten in front of his family, that we found one night.  They are one incredibly tough family.  

This week was full of little miracles.  Praying for silence, and the world goes quiet. Praying for words to come to my mind and i get a whole conversation.  Praying that we will find someone new to teach and we find a young man on a bus who is so ready and is literally looking for the truth.  Praying praying praying. And the lord keeps on giving. It is just amazing.  Every week really is a blur, this week i hit 4 months, it is such a short time, that has taken forever, but really has past in the blink of an eye.  Each day i am learning about the church, my life.  I have come to appreciate both very very much.  

I really don't have any complaints this week, the lord has answered all my prayers, and he is taking care of my family.  I have been truly blessed this week and my whole life with everyone who is in it.  The same guy who told me i could die here in Mexicali told me that my dad did a dang good job.  He said that by keeping us in the church we have completely different lives. And i believe that.  We don't see it always, but we have so much to be grateful for because of the teachings of Christ and applying them to our lives.  

Well that is all i can remember about this week, i should start writing it all down huh? Anyways, you all got any questions about Mexicali? i think we hit 100 degrees today. last year they hit about 135, and this summer is supposed to be hotter. yay. 

The church is true! 

Love you all!

Elder Westbroek

Faith Before Fear

Buenas Tardes, familia y amigos.

This week, not much happened quite honestly.  It was a week of trials, frustration, STRESS and more stress.  This week we worked so hard trying to get investigators to come to church/General Conference.  No luck.  After many Si's, 4 families committed, 10 individuals, and one family who said they were on their way(not really),  we had a whopping zero investigators in the conference.  That crushed me.  Dates for baptisms have been dropping left and right.  And naturally as missionaries, we look inward.  This week I have struggled like none other, i was so frustrated with myself i couldn't open my mouth Things got a little rough and after conference that night on Saturday i just kind of lost it.....in a good way.....i let it all spill out as i testified of the words of Elder Anderson of the 12 to a couple who are less active.  I loved his analogy of the tress in the wind and how they adapt. Their roots grow deeper and their trunks get stronger and more flexible to move with the winds.  Right now i am in a very heavy wind, but i feel like i am a lot stronger that i was almost 4 months ago.  honestly, I'm a completely different person. i know that through faith and trials we become who god knows we can be. be patient in your afflictions and learn to wait upon the lord.  

 the other day i was on splits with an elder from Mexico, he said elder westbroek, Could you have a conversation with a Mexican 4 months ago? haha i laughed and said no elder Fraga, i couldn't. He said, well there is your answer, you are improving!.  this elder is awesome, and all day we talked in Spanish and had some very solid lessons. this was an answer to my prayers.

hey i gotta head out, so sorry this message is so short! we have a lesson that is way far away.

i love you all!

Elder Westbroek

Mexico

Que tal le va mi familia?

Todo esta bien aqui en Mexicali.  First off to answer some questions.  The ward, we are in the ward of Bugambilias, we have usually about 100 members that come, we have a list of inactive and less actives...it has over 250 names on it, lots of work to do. But the ward is great. 

For conference, they will show all four sessions at our stake down in Benito Juarez, i am so excited for conference!!!

Yes, i am so stoked for Rick and Kira! Johns Hopkins! What a blessing, i think that will be great. I want to see lots of pics of the house when they buy!

The food, it is an adventure. My stomach has had a hard time trying to adjust to it, i was sick last week for about 5 days in a row, so was Elder Martin.  But i am starting to love spicy spicy foods.  The saying for American missionaries around here is "mas chile, mas espanol", so i eat a lot of chilies haha.  the meat is still a big problem, it is either pretty dirty, or mostly artificial.  the artificial meat is the hardest on the body.  to buy meat that is only one type of animal or real meat period is super super expensive. 

Dog problems. Everyone wants the biggest baddest dog they can get. not for show, but for safety. and for some reason missionaries look like bad guys.  on a daily we get chased haha but luckily Elder Martin and I can get up and go when we really need to.  The only bad thing is, with these shoulder bags you cant get them off fast enough to swing when you need to defend yourself.  

The Tijuana trip was for more photos and fingerprints and questions.  I went with lots of other missionaries, from all over the world. really fun. and i saw all of my district from the MTC which was so so so great! i believe i will have to return again in the next couple of weeks.  so dont be worried if i miss again on a Monday haha. 

Elder Martin, wow this kid is rock solid haha.  He is from Guadalajara Mexico, he moved to brazil for his dads work, his dad is in charge of buying the food for restaurants like Cheescake factory, PF Changs and other restaurants. so Elder Martin also speaks Portuguese, and his english is rock solid too. I never realized how bad of an accent i have haha, utah accent that is.  His Spanish is awesome, his accent is a lot different, his pronunciation is so so so much better than most.  That might be because i am used to it and so i know his accent, but yeah it is different.  

Uh the last week, it has been very interesting. Most of this weeks experiences will be in a letter to dad and he will get to tell you all about it :) And the rest of the details will be after the mission ha. Just know we are perfectly healthy and happy. we didn't get robbed or anything. Dad will let you know if he wants to share.  

This week, we have worked really hard, but the people are so hard to get through to sometimes.  People have very very difficult lives here, a lot of torn apart families, split between marriage issues or literally split between the US and Mexico.  This week we were only able to set one date for baptisms, we invited many to come unto Christ but all but one said no. and the one that said yes, said no 7 times before saying yes after the 8th invitation ha. this was enduring to the end for sure haha.  The work goes on, it is frustrating, baptisms dates fall faster than they can get set, we are postponing one of them for next week hopefully, church attendance is always was makes the dates fall.   

Thank you for sending my shoes and backpack! Any more questions about life here in Mexico? oh and you might notice that i bought about 130 dollars of bus tickets to Tijuana...that was bad. i got taken advantage of at the bus station haha, but i will get it all back, so no worries! how much do i have in my person account?

Please tell the guys at the shop i love em and miss em. and tell pablo, turtle and brown to write me a letter haha.  tell the gym hi for me and that i love and miss em too!

the work moves on, love you all!! the church is true, Jesus Christ lives!

Elder Westbroek

I am Alive!

Hey everyone!

Sorry i didn't write yesterday, i was in Tijuana for my visa and didn't return until late last night around 6:30, then we had plans with investigators, so i decided i wanted to visit them instead of write haha sorry. 

Wow, i cant believe it has been another week.  It really all is just flying right on by!  This week was filled with more work, meetings, lessons, great experiences, a trip to TJ and more.  But this week was different...what was so different? i actually enjoyed the work.  I taught people, and followed the spirit to do so.  Things are finally starting to click. I am starting to, ever so slowly, memorize the conjugations, and get more words in my vocabulary.  This week as part of the training, Elder Martin started to hand over the lessons. Every other lesson one of us is in charge, we control the flow of the principles and choose when to move to the next.  It is actually really hard haha but i finally started to figure it out...kind of.  It has been incredible to watch the Holy Spirit work in our lessons with the investigators, we really dint do the teaching, it is entirely what the Spirit prompts us to say and do and go.  

This week we really worked on finding. Finding those who are ready to receive the restored gospel.  I truly believe that god places people in our lives for a reason.  i also believe god will place people in your life when YOU are ready.  This also goes the other way around.  When someone else is ready, you will be placed in THEIR life.  This week as we prayed to find people to teach, and then acted and talked with people, viewed all as our brothers and sisters, people who were prepared to receive the gospel began popping up in our path.  People who would stop us to ask questions, people who wanted to come with us to visit investigators, people who had questions about the apostasy and so on....It was so cool. 

In order for a change to occur we first need a change of heart.  We find this in the story of Alma the younger, along with the many others.  But this change of heart is key.  Change is inevitable, good change, bad change. We fight it, and it still happens.  But there is a change we can control, unless god wants and needs us to change.  People choose to reject us here on a daily basis, we get doors slammed in our faces, i get bashed and sworn at... So when god sees us ready, or another person ready, he gives them experiences, to help them progress, soften their hearts. Then the people, we, have the opportunity to learn and grow, soften our hearts, or harden our hearts and not progress.  When we allow our hearts to be softened by our own personal experiences, we allow a very good change to occur.  

This week i allowed a bit of change in me to happen.  I stopped fighting God.  I realized that God can do more for me than i can for Him.  I testify that when we do the will of God, we are truly free.  When we do the will of God, we are truly free.  This week, i put my trust in Him, and went to work.  I taught, i studied, i struggled, but not once did i lose the faith that my Father in Heaven is there.  And i saw a great change occur in my attitude, my Spanish, my teaching skills and more.  That is because God has more power than i could ever have. obviously.  Trust in your Heavenly Father, trust in the Lord Jesus Christ...experiment upon the word of God...and see what mighty miracles occur in your life.  I testify that you all will see a great change, an answer, receive a change of heart, fix a problem, change a relationship...anything, when you put your trust in Him.  I know it is true, because i watched it occur right in front of me with the investigators.

I don't have anything out of the ordinary this week, uhhh haha well as normal as you get here in Mexico. 

i gotta run, back to work! i love you all! talk to you soon!!!!!

- Elder Westbroek 

Pray with Faith. Then Act.

My Family and Friends!

How is everyone?? I miss you all!

This week has been a roller coaster for sure!

Tuesday, we had a zone conference where we learned about prayer and praying with faith, and learned how to apply these teaching into our lessons. It was a game changer.  Elder Martin and I got called out though....on putting up the best numbers in the Zone! We were called the most powerful companionship in our zone.  I didn't let it go to my head, but man it felt good haha.  Yes, numbers. But for Elder Martin and I, they are people, with families. And that is what we have been working on. families.  And it is really working.

Later in the week we had a very cool experience.  One of our investigators, Alejandro, who was baptized this week!, had a very large doubt about the prophet, Thomas S Monson. Since i have been to general conference, i take the lead on testifying of the prophet most of the time. But something different happened this time...as i spoke the words were different, there was a different feeling in the room.  I told Alejandro that I know for a fact, with my whole heart that President Thomas S Monson speaks with God face to face...and immediately after, there was a boom. In each of our hearts.  It literally was like something punched our hearts.  It was very quite after, then Alejandro's brother in law asked him...did you feel that? yes he said.  That my friends, is the power of the holy spirit testifying of the truth.  That is a little miracle that was the game changer.  Also, the answer the his very specific prayer.  

Also, the mother of Julian, who also was baptized this week!, Julian, not his mom. not yet.  Anyways, Vicky is her name, has lost 5 family members to drugs in the last 2 years. she is depressed, and has many other problems.  We have visited with her each time we met with Julian.  We had little success. We talked about the spirit and the power of prayer. Elder Martin and i told her that if she prayed with faith and about something specific, she would receive the answer needed through a person or a dream.  She had a dream...her son who passed away came to her, dressed in all white, and told her to be calm, that is well. She described everything so vividly.  it was quite the experience.

Baptisms! yes, Fridays are great days! after a lot of hard work, studying, lots of prayer...Alejandro and Julian were baptized. it was such a great experience. Julian has a son who is almost 8, he really wants to be baptized like his dad.  I had the opportunity to baptize Julian and Elder Martin Baptized Alejandro.  Such a great day.  

Sunday night...finally, after Saturday which was a very very bad day, I had a good experience.  We taught a little family who is less active.  We taught their son and his girlfriend. they have a little family but are not married.  For some reason i was immediately attached to this family.  The lesson lasted about an hour and a half on accident. they had a lot of questions.  And, for an hour and a half, i had the words in my mouth to answer the questions.  I poured my heart out to these people and taught about the Restoration.  It was incredible.  Usually during lessons they speak to my companion and i just tag along, but i was able to be active and talk a lot during the lesson.  They asked me questions directly and really wanted to know my thoughts.  And by some miracle, i was able to understand every word, and teach by the spirit and help them see the importance of the Restoration, and matrimonio.  What a great night.  

That is basically it, a fantastic week.  A roller coaster ride for sure, but it was great.  Every day i have a little notebook where i write Spanish words i want and need to learn.  Each day i pray to receive help with the language. This week, i saw a dramatic increase in my Spanish capabilities.  I know for a fact, when we pray specifically, with faith, and then through our actions, we reflect the desires of our hear, our Heavenly Father will bless us for our efforts and provide a way for us all to accomplish the trial we are currently enduring.  This is an invitation, pray with faith. then act.  Experiment upon the word of God and see the miracles unfold.

remember...revelation can come like a light switch or like the sun as it rises slowly and illuminates the world.  You will receive person revelation if you ask God for it. be specific. then act.

I love you all, take care of yourselves.  Thank you for your love and prayers.

Elder Westbroek

The Other Side of the Fence

Hey Family and Friends!

Another week has passed, it is hard to believe.  This week was yet another week full of difficulties, blessings, triumph and downfalls. The usual haha.  

There isn't a whole lot to report this week, we are lesson teaching machines however.  Elder Martin and I have posted up over 200 lessons these first 4 weeks.  It has been incredible.  However there is one number that is sitting at a zero....

The mission is moving to a new focus, of baptizing every single week.  Every companionship should baptize every week.  Yeah. intense.  I find myself struggling with this.  I am not here to baptize, I am here as a representative of Jesus Christ, and help build the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints...but, you gotta do what you gotta do.  So, we have started being direct with our investigators, navigating with the spirit to ask the inspired questions, then pop the big question....will you....follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized by someone who has the authority of God? (in Spanish of course).  After this recent push for baptisms, my companion and i have picked up 15 new investigators this week, stamped on 2 baptisms dates for the 14th, and 9 baptismal dates for the 28th of March.  Not too shabby. hopefully we can hang on to each person, and not only baptize them, but help them come closer to Christ and raise their quality of life through the teachings of Christ.  That is my goal, not to baptize, but to help those i come in contact with here in Mexico.  

This week we had a zone conference, it was a lot of fun to be back with all the missionaries here in Mexicali, I had an opportunity to share my testimony with the zone, mission president and his wife. That was slightly scary, but mostly fun, i love public speaking.  We discussed the importance of the sacrament and church. All i gotta say is...Go to Church.

This week, i made a new friend.  His name is Ezequiel. He is 11 years old, born and raised in Utah! He was a reference from a 10 year old investigator of ours.  I walked up to Ezequiel and started speaking Spanish, the usual conversation, then switched to English...man his face just lit up! "How do you know English?!?!" he screamed haha i said I'm an American! he said I am too!!! i told him i was from Utah, he screamed "I am from Utah!".  we had a great talk.  This kid has an incredible spirit.  At the age of 10 he was homeless, his parents lost their house, and were sent from shelter to shelter for about 6 months, they lived in several churches too.  Then after awhile, his father was deported and the family went with him.  I met the family, his little sisters, his best friend from las vegas, age 12, family deported tambien.  Ezequiel's dad wasn't too interested in us, but i invited them to church and to play some futbol with the other kids in the ward on Friday nights.  We plan to visit this family soon, they are incredible.. My buddy Ezequiel says he has a plan to return to Utah in 2 years, i am not sure what this plan entails, but i want to help this kid in any way possible.

i said i would have more about a man named Luis Alberto, we have had some trouble contacting him this week, so hopefully next week i will have more to say about him... He is another deportee...he grew up in California. kindergarten, jr high, graduated high school, worked and loved the states, but, he didn't have his papers.... He is one incredible guy, incredible mechanic too.  I cant believe the heart ache these people have.  They have a home, lives, families...but because they don't have a paper, they lose it all. makes me sick.

That really is about all i can tell you this week.. We are safe and healthy.  more gun shots this week, real ones this time, but no sirens so we assume all was well.  We had quite the military show in the streets the other night.  In a colony we are in very often called Condor is a huge place for drug dealing, the military was everywhere the other night, quite intense.  Elder Martin and i are good at keeping each other safe tho, we switch up our routes by times, people and shadows, if we see someone sketchy, we say "suspect" in English and make them known haha, it started out just as something fun we did, but now it is just for when it is dark and for safety.  We most definitely feel the protection of the Holy spirit as we walk through these streets, obedience is key, and we have faith we will be kept safe.  

Random facts....pig skin is a real food.  it is delicious in red salsa, not so much green.  One of our investigators showed up to church high and got arrested right in front of us....ha that was unique.  

The church is true!!!! i love you all, thank you for all the emails, sorry i cant get back to you all! Mas Fe, Mas Exito.  

Cuidense!

Elder Westbroek

Week 3

Hey everyone!

It is hard to believe that it has been another week! Time is literally just flying by, but i don't mind.  When time slows down, it is time to get back to work!

Lets see...what happened this week? not  whole lot. it was very busy. we put in about 105 hours of work a week. never again will i complain about 40 hour work weeks haha.  Every day pretty much blended into one another this week.  

In all honesty, these first 3 weeks have been the hardest weeks of my life i think...  I hit a new low in emotions, new trials, everything is different. however, my point of view changed rapidly with a few experiences this week.

Wednesday, we had a bit of a scare...we were out late from a members house so it was a bit past 9:30...real bad....and we saw some cops with their lights on around the corner, then we heard a few big bangs, people started leaving the area and there was shouting....we got a little worried.........but turns out there were just some fireworks being shot off haha got ya.  

Thursday, this day was a little rough, Never, never ever take what you have for granted.  i met a young man this week with cerebral palsy, his mom died when he was 10 when they got in a car crash, his dad has colon cancer, his sister has heart cancer, his brother is a drug addict and his grandma has completely lost it in the head and is hostile. they all live in one house with one man taking care of them all, they don't have medicine or money for help.  and all we could offer was peace through Jesus Christ...it was a little rough....

after that happy number we went to check on one of our investigators named Julian, he was on track for baptism this week...but relapsed with his drugs again.  He was out cold for about 3 days...in the mean while we met with his mom...she doesn't want to take the lessons but needs someone to talk to, as we talked to her she cried and cried, her health is failing, her children are gone in several ways, and she is left to pick up the pieces. We had a bit of a scare as she picked up a knife and expressed her desire to no longer live, we talked her down, read scriptures with her and talked some more....then i asked Elder Martin if we could give her a blessing, we asked and she accepted.  Elder Martin delivered a gorgeous blessing, and she began i weep.  She told us after that she felt a peace come over her during the blessing, she explained more about the Holy Spirit and how it is a comforter in times of need.   We made sure she and the children were safe before we left, her husband got home too just as we were walking out the door, thank goodness.  

all in all, i learned a lot on that day.  Daily i talk about Jesus Christ with complete strangers.  On one day i was really struggling, i asked a man "Quien es Jesucristo para usted?" he answered and then asked me the same question....i then had the opportunity to explain to this man, exactly who Christ is to me....and that really changed my week, changed my mission.  before, i was struggling, i still am, but it is a bit easier now, i finally realized my purpose.  Now i move forward, taking one day at a time. everything is good, i am happy to be serving.  Before this happened i found myself really worried about home, family, friends, lifting haha, running.  i feel super claustrophobic in the mission, i cant go running, it freaks me out. running means a lot to me.  But when that man asked me about Christ, i realized that without Christ, i wouldn't have anything, he is the center of it all, the plan of salvation, life in general.  So it is ok to be out here, not running, not racing, not lifting, missing holidays, because without Christ, without our Heavenly Father, we wouldn't have anything in the first place....my perspective really changed this week. with just one simple question...who is Jesus Christ to you?

This week i had the chance to go on splits....my trainer and another trainer were now companions and i was with another trainee haha not a good idea. we were in the new missionary's area so he was in charge, the plus side is he is from Mexico city and speaks Spanish haha, but wow it was a rough day, 3 lessons in 9 hours! we walked for 5.5 hours hahah because he had no clue where we were!

Also, we have a new investigator, he is so great, he is working on a civic and building it for his buddy to race...guess who is kinda helping him...me! yes. service. there is more to come with this man, luis alberto, incredible guy, gang member, drug addict, saved by Christ, that is how he described himself to me the other night, i will let you know more about him next week.

yes it is hot. what do i wear to stay cool? long pants, short sleeve shirt, tie...and a smile haha. man it is hot down here. but it is only going to get hotter!

My birthday was so fantastic, meetings, church, home made pizza, home made cake! gotta love these members! and then more meetings.  The last meeting was with other missionaries and ward leaders, it was a lot of fun, i love meeting with the other missionaries in our zone! I gave the opening prayer in the meeting, kinda scary, but hey, more time practicing Spanish haha.

i think that is basically it....random facts of the week....our bus drove right into on coming traffic, a lady told me I look like baby Jesus...i will take that as a compliment!...teaching your companion English is a blast haha.  uhh yeah, the church is still true, no matter where you go.  We constantly have an amigo, our savior Jesus Christ, i can testify that whenever you feel alone, you can turn to your right and he is there, i know that because this week i had to turn for help and he was there. and always will be.

i love you all! thank you for the birthday wishes!!!!

Paz haha

Elder Westbroek 

Week 2

Que tal le va?!

This week has been one of the longest weeks of my life haha.  The mission really puts in to perspective just how long our life is here on the Earth.  

Where to begin??  Monday, after running around town trying to find a laundry machine we finally found one with 1 hour left of P day haha.  The nice little lady let us use her washer and eat at her house.  That night we headed over to the zone leader's house because Tuesday morning we would be headed to Tijuana for a conference.  It was so fun to be with about 20 or so other missionaries.  We are all in Mexicali, but spread over miles and miles and miles.  We went to bed early at 8:30, sleeping on the floor with the spiders and cockroaches and what not haha.  

Tuesday, we woke up at 3AM, we had to be at the bus stop at 4:30.  20 missionaries using one bathroom haha that was funny.  We successfully made it out the door and to the bus stop. However the bus didn't come for over an hour.  It is about 2.5 hours typically to TJ, depending on stops, patrols and traffic.  It was great to see Mexico in the light.  When i first was driven to Mexicali two weeks ago, it was at night.  The mountains are pretty cool here, not solid rock, big boulders and crumpled rock basically.  I watched the sun rise over the desert too, that was pretty amazing, a lot different than Utah sunrises.  We got to the chapel in TJ where we took a picture with every missionary in the mission and Bishop Davies.  That was the main event of the conference.  The whole conference was in Spanish obviously so I didn't catch everything haha, but i did catch the part about the importance of temples and Likening the scriptures unto ourselves.  That lesson alone about the scriptures got me through this week.  I met up with my MTC district! it was so so so good to see them all!  They are all struggling just like me haha.  Elder Anderson is still alive too haha.  After the conference our bus driver took us to the TJ Temple! so cool! After that it was the long ride home and back to work.

Wednesday....Thursday....no clue. it is all a blur!  But Friday.  Friday was a good day.  We had 2 baptisms this week! It was so great! A couple, Refugio and his wife Amparo, about 50 years old were baptised.  Refugio is an awesome guy, he is missing his left leg due to Gangrene...rough stuff.  And Amparo...sweet lady.  She didn't want to be baptised when i first got here, so we met with them nearly every day and had lessons with them and answered questions and prayed with them.  Well long story short, she was baptised! and i had the honor of baptising here!  That was an adrenaline rush, seriously. 

Saturday back to work.  Sunday, The speakers dropped out so the bishop asked me to speak.  It was a little intense because I still don't know Spanish haha. He asked me to speak on conversion, recent converts and our responsibility as members to help them.  He wanted me to kindly ask the ward to help us out! haha. we struggle here getting ward members to help in lessons, callings and more. But the talk went great! i read some awesome verses in my personal study this week that worked perfectly with the topic, funny how things work out that way.  

Yes my birthday is next week! kinda cool! along with meetings, church and preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, we plan on eating a lot of food haha.  We have two lunch appointments set heh heh heh.  So stoked.  The food here is awesome. Intense at times.  Last week i ate a pepper that literally about killed me.  The sister gave me chocolate to try and put the fire out haha.

Uhhh other cool things that happened this week?....almost got hit by 3 buses and a motor cycle, turns out cute dogs have big teeth haha don't worry i still have all my fingers, uhhh yeah i think that is about it!  

Love you all!!!

please tell everyone thank you for the B day wishes, i don't have time to email everyone back! 

Elder Westbroek

Arrival

ey Family!

Yes i am there and still alive barely.

One week ago, we flew in to San Diego and then drove across the boarder.  we were greeted by the mission presidents wife and daughter.  We had a little trouble at the boarder trying to get our bags across. it was quite the trip.

As soon as we crossed, i saw the biggest guns of my life, the Mexico military was at the boarder and ready for anything. i am not sure why, it was rather intense.  We worked our way past the guards, bridges, checkpoints and other things.  As we loaded up our luggage into the vans to head to the chapel to get our companions, we were surrounded by about 9 or 10 Taxis that blocked off all of our exits, all the drivers and people in the back seats got out and surrounded the van, one man got out his phone and took pictures of all of us and the vans.  it was kind of creepy.  our driver and the main taxi guy exchanged words, rather angrily and then we were given a ticket and the taxis left.  I talked to the driver in a bit of Spanish to figure out what just happened, from what i understand they are undercover cops? he says they are corrupt tho, so i guess this is my first experience with the bad type of police here haha.  

We drove for about 20 minutes, got to a church somewhere in TJ and all jumped out, and met some of the missionaries in our zone. Some members had prepared food for us all.  I was the first to receive my companion because i would be leaving in 1 hour. yup one hour to fill out paper work, meat the president, interview, pictures, eat, and grab my gear and other paperwork and go. i didn't even really get the chance to say goodbye to Elder Anderson or the others in my district. i waved goodbye as i was loaded into a minivan haha.  

My New companion is Elder Martin, he is a native from Mexico, in Guadalajara.  He only speaks a tiny bit of English so you can imagine how well it is going haha.  He has been out for about 6 months.  I am about two and a half hours to the east of TJ, in Mexicali.  This place is rather interesting.  In Mexicali, we live in a gated community...well everyone does.  Everyone has big gates, barbed wire, cinder block walls, pit bulls or all the above to protect their house.  The hones are rather interesting, most cinder block homes, full of bugs and large spiders.  When you go to the bathroom in a members house, you do not look up.  The other day i was in a members house and i looked up and there were about 100 spiders haha, large ones. i about died haha you know how i feel about spiders! but believe it or not i have become very used to them, they are everywhere.  Bugs are the norm haha, i had a huge cockroach in my suitcase one morning, and the other day as i was helping prepare a meal at a members house, one fell from the ceiling and into my hair...yep.  bugs crawl out of our sinks well yeah haha.  welcome to Mexico!

The people here are very interesting.  A lot of problems. Marriage is uncommon, economical problems are very common.  There is much work to be done here in Mexico.  My mission no longer has bikes, missionaries were getting robbed and hit by cars, so we walk.  We put in miles upon miles a day.  

One fun experience i had was helping 3 little kids this week, a lady driving a car had ran over one of the little boys bike and was dragging it all around the street as she drove, the kids were chasing here and yelling, my companion wanted to keep knocking on this one particular door but i knew i had to help.  i just ran other and got the lady to stop the car. i tried a few ways to get the bike out, but it was in there tight! So i just decided to go for it, i grabbed the wheel well and lifted the car as high as i could, the little boy was able to pull his bike out.  I asked for a hammer and then helped the little boy straighten out his pedals and handlebars. it was a lot of fun just doing this little random act of service.  It is a lot more effective than just knocking and hoping.  

The language is FAST! people here in Mexicali have an accent. The accent is, in fact, speaking fast. They talk faster than any other Mexican accent.  The people get mad at me for my pronunciation haha but they slur all of their words together. it is just awful. but i can understand a lot more now than i could last Wednesday. so that is good. with time, faith, and a lot of work someday i will be able to keep up in the conversation.  

The church is true.  I wouldn't be here if it weren't haha.  This is by far the hardest thing i have ever done in my life. But hey, i have a smile on my face and am still going. 

-Elder Westbroek