Elder Brandon Cherpeski Leon with Elder Hayes

10/29/2018

This was a very packed and busy week.  We had almost 40 lessons this week, which for our area/mission is ridiculous.  That's about 6 a day.  We finally got some more people to church.  Our neighbor (Ismael) is progressing very well.  He came to church again and is reading the Book of Mormon every day.  I feel pretty bad for him.  He's about 50, and got divorced a few months ago.  He was super depressed, and even was considering committing suicide, but he said that as soon as he started listening to us, he's been more calm and feels like his relationship with God is getting better.  On Saturday he was in a very bad place spiritually and felt like God hadn't been answering his prayers.  I felt prompted to talk about fasting, and my comp felt prompted to talk about the pre-existance.  They were two subjects very different, but it resulted in being one of the most spiritual lessons I've had so far.  Elder Hayes and I teach amazing together, and the Spirit is really present.  We ended up starting a fast with him that day, and ended it on Sunday. He said he slept better than he had in a long time. 

We walked a lot this week, but my body is accustomed now.  Unfortunately, my comp still hasn't gotten used to it, so he's been really sore. We had a cool miracly on Friday morning.  We left the house at 8 to get to some early lessons, and we weren't gonna get home until night-time and we had forgotten who we were eating with that day.  We really didn't have time to go home and look for the name and number, so we called the Relief Society President, and she just knew the name of who we ate with, but didn't have her number.  We were walking, thinking about what we were gonna do, when all of a sudden someone yelled, "Hey, Elders, what's up?"  It turned out to be the ward secretary who hooked us up with the number in 15 seconds.  It was a pretty instant blessing haha. 

We had a really powerful testimony where we made the brother of a member start crying at the end of the lesson.  We saw his sister at a ward activity later that night, and she said that we left him in shock.  He was still in his bed crying, but with the Book of Mormon open when she had left.  He's a Christian, and we kinda destroyed him for not taking the Book of Mormon seriously.  So either we destroyed his faith (on accident) or maybe he felt the Spirit and and is willing to get an answer about the Book of Mormon.  

On Saturday, I got a phone call from the assistants saying that migration had just called him saying that there was a problem with my visa, and that I would have to return home to work everything out.  I had such a sinking feeling.  The assistant passed me to the representative to explain what had happened.  I started talking with him, and about 20 seconds in I recognized his voice.  It was Elder Rubio!!!!  My favorite comp!  He was back in Querétaro visiting some people and decided to pull my leg haha.  It was great talking with him, and he seems to be doing really well.

One of the best things that happened this week is that they finished constructing a basketball court 5 seconds away from the house!!!  At first everyone in the neighborhood said that it was a new catholic church, but over the last two weeks they poured in cement and put in basketball hoops with breakaway rims and nets!!!  That may be the biggest miracle of my mission.  It's interesting hearing about Andrew's mission, because it seems very different from mine.  I'm glad it's going well for him though, especially with Spanish.  La única cosa que le falta es la palabra chido.  Esa palabra tiene como 20 significados.  Y por eso está "chido" jaja.  Pero creo que México es el unico pais que la utiliza.  Have a great week guys!  Love you!

Elder Cherpeski

11/5/2018

This was a great week of work.  We had our zone conference and our interviews with Presidente Williamson.  Pres and I talked/debated over basketball for over half my interview.  He's a part owner of the Jazz, so he's pretty loyal to them.  He's the perfect mission president for me haha.  We went back with the kid that we kinda destroyed his faith and he was a totally different person!  He said that he had prayed about the Book of Mormon and felt that it was true. Our bet paid off.  I guess sometimes you have to be super direct, kind of in their face about it, to get them to change.  He has a baptismal date for the 24th. We had a lot of lessons again this week, so that was great.  Last transfer the area was kind of dead, but after 3 weeks of working super hard, I think we've got multiple baptisms coming up.

Elder Hayes and I are getting along really well, and we've been feeling the Spirit a lot in the lessons.  We went and helped the Elders in the area Lagos de Moreno.  It's the furthest out area in the mission.  We went and worked in the furthest away town in their area called Ojuelos. 10 minutes walking and we would have been in the Guadalajara East mission.  We were working in the furthest part of the mission, and the elders there are gonna baptize 3 people there. It was pretty cool.  Everything was going really well for us in the week.  Lots of people were out trick or treating for like 3 days.  The Day of the Dead wasn't too crazy. Anyways, we had 13 people confirmed to go to church, but thanks to a birthday, a dumb rainstorm, and one of our investigators sleeping through church we ended up with only 2.  Typical.  Oh well, we're gonna keep working.  Love all you guys!

Elder Cherpeski

Also the highlight of my week was when 2 investigators asked me if I was from Mexico.  They said I sounded Mexican haha.  I guess I finally got the accent figured out!

11/12/2018

Hey guys!  We had a pretty good week here.  We ended up dropping like 10 investigators this week so we're going back into the finding mode again.  We ended up dropping Max, the 15 year old that we destroyed a few weeks ago.  Basically he knows that the church is true, he just doesn't want to change.  It was a super frustrating lesson and we both left knowing that we had done everything possible. Oh well. We found some cool new investigators this week, so we're looking forward to working with them.  We should still have a baptism or two this month which would be nice.  It's been like 6 months since the last baptism here. 

We had a special conference for all the stakes in Mexico.  They sent out a transmission from Church headquarters, and Elder Rasband along with Bishop Davis addressed us.  I met Bishop Davis in the CCM, so it was cool seeing him speak in Spanish. They basically told the members that they need to step it up with their Temple attendance.  It was well needed, because from what I've seen, the temple attendance here is pretty shaky at best. It made it a pain getting investigators to church though since the stake center is on the opposite side of the city. 

My comp was sick for a few days this week, so I had a lot of time to read the Book of Mormon and I read about 24 chapters one afternoon.  It's good to study really in depth, but sometimes nothing beats just reading it as fast as possible.  On Thursday we saw a ton of random toilets around our area, so on Friday we took pictures of all the toilets we found.  I'll include some pictures.  It was pretty funny, and we ended up finding 10!  Anyways, that was my week.  Love you guys tons!

Elder Cherpeski

11/19/2018

Hey everybody!!  Hope you're all doing well.  I can't believe it, but I completed 19 months in the mission yesterday. Time is flying by, and I'm loving the ride.  I know without a doubt that this is the Lord's work and that I'm just an instrument in His hands. These last couple of weeks I went to the only area in the mission with bikes and was able to ride around for the day.  It definitely beats walking everywhere.  I went to a little town called Ojuelos and taught people about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Today in the morning we had special permission to go the a hot air balloon show.  I actually went to the same show last year, and it was just as cool this year.  The work is going well in our area, and daily I see how the Gospel can bring peace to the soul and warmth to the heart.  I love all you guys and hope that you have a fantastic thanksgiving and enjoy the Holiday Season.  Y tambien, para que sepan, sí hablo español.  No es perfecto, pero aun así puedo expresarme y entiendo casi todo.  Cuídense mucho y que tengan una buena semana!

Elder Cherpeski

11/26/2018

I don't even know how to start this email.  This was such a crazy week.  This week we were in trio with Elder Cook and it was a lot of fun with him.  He has 4 months in the mission but already has great Spanish and it was cool teaching with all three of us.  His trainer finished the mission and went home, so he was with us for the week.  We found 23 new investigators this week.  That's easily my record.  It was incredible.  On Friday we found 11 new investigators.  Everyone kept letting us inside.  After the comida on Friday I had a place already in mind where I wanted to knock doors.  I walked straight there and started knocking.  We found a family of 6 that seems super prepared and we were able to teach them.  In the moment it may not have seemed like I was guided to that house, but looking back, I have no doubt of it.  

We enjoyed a nice Thanksgiving dinner with a family from Utah.  It was the same family that I went with last year actually.  I loaded up on rolls, mashed potatoes, and lots of pie!

We had a baptism this Saturday!  We were teaching the granddaughter of a convert (Roman) that got baptized a year ago.  We finally got the permission from her mom to get baptized, so Roman was able to baptize and confirm his granddaughter.  It was a nice experience.   We also got 7 investigators to church on Sunday.  Everyone was shocked that we got so many there.  It could have been the record.

We also started a jump program to increase our verticals this week, and our legs have been pretty sore, but today when we did it, we both could feel a noticeable improvement.  It's a 12 week program, so hopefully I'll come home dunking haha.

It was a wild/fun/productive week.  Last Saturday we received the transfers, and I'm staying here with Elder Hayes for another change.

12/3/2018

This week flew by!  We had a lot go on, and we had a lot of fun!  We brought the whole zone together on Tuesday and talked about the goals and expectations that we have for them.  We have 9 companionships that are training right now, so it's a very young, enthusiastic zone.  Most of the new missionaries are from the United States. We started teaching another one of our neighbors this week.  That makes like 8 in total.  He said that he was gonna go to church with us this Sunday.  More on that in a bit.  We had our leadership conference in Querétaro on Thursday, and still no letters or packages.  I was slightly sad.  But that's how it goes here in Mexico.

Lately we started teaching two families that go to some English lessons in the Ward. They've been to church three times now. We read Ether 12 with them and then talked about the Book of Mormon. We asked them if they had been reading and praying about the Book of Mormon. The parents said that they hadn't, but then their 13 year old daughter said that she had. She said that she had felt a burning sensation in her chest and felt that the Book was true. You could tell that it shocked her parents. They promised that they would start reading more often and would pray about it.  It was a simple, pure testimony of the power of the Book of Mormon. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to put a baptismal date with them yet.  The dad is a bit stubborn.

On Friday we had two brand new American missionaries with us.  The district leaders are all training and had their meeting with President on Friday.  We had four brand new missionaries on our hands.  We sent two off to a different area, and then took two of them back home.  Elder Willemen and Elder Ludvigson hung out with us that day, and it was a blast!  They both knew basically no Spanish, but it was amazing to see how hard the worked even with the language barrier.  That's how it goes when you have to learn a new language.  You can't close yourself inside until you learn the language.  You gotta go out and work!  We had a good day of work with them.

We had a sweet lesson on Saturday night with Ismael, our other neighbor.  He's the one who fell into anti-mormon stuff online.  Anyways, he's kinda recovered from that, but still hasn't wanted to set a baptismal date.  On Friday read Mosiah 18 with him, and asked him what was holding him back.  He said nothing.  So I asked him what he thought about the 15th of December to get baptized.  He pulled out his work calendar and said, "and what about the 7th?"  We told him that was perfect.  When we left the lesson and walked inside the house, we started screaming and wondering what had just happened.  So, as of right now, he's gonna get baptized on Friday. 

On Sunday, our other neighbor, his name is Jacob, called us an hour before church to tell us that he couldn't make it.  We didn't think too much of it, because stuff like that happens all the time.  But, 20 minutes before church, he called me again to ask if he could still come to church.  He did in fact arrive, and said that he has lots of questions for us.  We're gonna visit him on Wednesday, and I'm looking forward to that lesson.  Anyways, that's what happened this week.  Love you guys!

Elder Cherpeski

12/10/2018
First let me say happy birthday to Elder Cherpeski the younger.  Birthdays in the mission are usually boring, but I'm glad you'll be able to go to the temple!

We had a really good week!  We baptized our neighbor Ismael, and we brought another 4 neighbors to church on Sunday.  The elders who were here before said that they had worked the heck out of our own neighborhood, but right now some of our best investigators live a minute from our house.  

We had our zone conference on Tuesday, and it was really good!  I got up on a table and my companion and I reinacted Alma 47 with Lahonti and Amalikiah, and how we should never come down even a little bit.  Basically it was a message to focus on the little things and don't fall into the little traps that Satan sends us. Pres loved the message. 

We had a good week of work, but the highlight was definitely the baptism of our neighbor, Ismael.  I had to do the ordinance 3 times because the water was really low, but it was still a great service.  He told me afterwards that he felt really happy that he decided to get baptized.  It was such a rollar coaster to get him ready for baptism and it strengthed my testimony that miracles really do exist.

Still no sign of the packages or letters, but maybe they'll show up some time in March.  Who knows haha.  Anyways, that was about it for the week.  Love you guys a lot!

 

12/17/2018

 

Hey, what's going on everyone?  We had a ridiculously fast week.  I feel like just 10 minutes ago I was here in the cyber writing you guys.  We did two divisiones this week.  For one of them I was with a brand new gringo who knew 0 Spanish.  It was a fun day though, and we had some good lessons and we got a lot done. I ran into an old investigator that I had in Leon Moderno a year ago.  We were finishing off the day grabbing some tacos, and he walked in.  I stared at him because I recognized him but couldn't place a name with his face.  He came up to me and told me that he knew me.  We chatted for a bit and it turns out that he completely stopped going to church. I gave him my phone number and told him to call me if he ever wants the missionaries to go visit him.  It was something little, but it left me thinking about the effect that we have on people as missionaries.

I had another divisiones with Elder Rios.  We had a blast and got a lot done even though it was the día de la virgen.  Basically everyone went around all day worshiping the Virgin Mary.  We had a sick lesson with la familia Maciel.  They're the family that we found in our English classes.  Basically the mom and daughter want to get baptized and already have a testimony.  The dad is being a bum and doesn't want to change. He's just holding them back right now.  We had a super intense lesson with them last night, and I think the dad is finally gonna start doing his part. 

On Saturday we had the Christmas concert.  It was really good and we brought 6 investigators to it.  My favorite song was the "The First Noel." It didn't really feel like Christmas until I went to the concert.  It's been a little brisk in the morning and evenings, but in the afternoon it's hot and we're usually sweating.  I look forward going back to the cold Christmas season that I'm used to. It's not quite the same when you're in short sleeves at 11 in the morning and sweating.

I look forward to talking with you guys this upcoming Monday.  I'm making a list of questions to keep it interesting.

I'll try sending you the video clips that I got from the concert, but I'm not sure if they'll send.  But here's a picture of some tacos I ate this week.  I'll take more pictures this week I promise! Love you guys, talk to you soon!

 

12/31/2018

 

Well this certainly has been a good year.  I started it in Leon Moderno and now I'm finishing it in Echeveste, also in Leon. I accomplished some goals I had for myself, came up short on others, and learned a lot.  I enjoyed talking with you guys on the 24th, and it made me realize just how long I've been here in the mission.  I'm definitely going to make the most of the last three months here. 

This week went by super fast. After the skype calls we went to hang out with some other members, and we ate a ton of food with them.  The next day we left the house at 4am to get the bus station and take the bus to Querétaro.  It was nice seeing everyone there.  For some of us, it's the last time we'll see each other while on the mission.  We watched Mr. Kruegers Christmas and listened to some special musical numbers.  After that we ate ham, rolls, mashed potatoes, salad, and lots of dessert. We had a slideshow of pictures from the year, and there were some pretty funny pictures. Then we headed over to the bus station and headed back to Leon.  We got back at 7 and then went with another family that invited us over for dinner and ate even more.  Needless to say, we ate a lot over the course of 24 hours haha.

The rest of the week was decently productive actually.  We helped some of our investigators paint their house and then we brought them to a baptismal service in the evening. They're progressing pretty well.  I think in just a couple weeks here we could have a couple baptisms.  Our recent convert Ismael is doing really well.  He's been progressing really well, and he's taking us out to dinner tonight.  

 

Today we went to Cristo Rey.  It's a huge statue of Christ on top of a mountain by the city Silao.  It was cool for about five minutes, but definitely not worth the long bus ride to get to it.  Next week is transfers, and I'm hoping to stay here, but I guess we'll see what happens.  Anyways, that's about all that happened this week.  Here's a couple pictures from Cristo Rey.  I love you guys!!

Elder Cherpeski