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

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