December 30, 2013 - Carmen

Hey Everybody!

I hope you all had an amazing Christmas! I know I did! It was about 95 degrees here but it definitely felt like Christmas. 

Elders in the shape of a Christmas tree . . and Chester.

This week wasn't entirely amazing, but we did get the chance to hear from Elder Walker again yesterday. He came to the stake center to tell us everything that we need to do this year in order to be more productive missionaries with the members of the wards we are in. He is a really cool guy and you can definitely tell that he is a member of the Area 70. We had a great Christmas here though. President Morales came with his family on Friday and brought everyone new microwaves for Christmas! CRAZY! He also brought the packages that you all sent me! Thank you all so much for the gifts. They meant the world to me. (the LEGOS were perfect) I spent a good hour and half just snaking and building legos all night.... Perfect Christmas for me. I had a great time reading letters and opening presents, even if it wasn't with you guys, it still felt like Christmas morning back home. It was a great holiday by myself. =) 

A little tree of my own.

This last week we committed Hermana Dulce to be baptized! She has a date set for the 11th of January. So we are quickly getting her prepared as best we can before she steps into that covenant with God. She knows its true and its so cool to see her change in the blink of an eye. She is so ready for this step in her life. Its pretty exciting knowing that I probably will be the one who gets to baptize her also. Hopefully this one happens! We are still working with Hermana Keila (16 year old girl.) She is part of a less active family, and is having problems with her mom because her mom doesn't want her to be baptized without knowing for herself if its true. We are trying super hard to push her mom out of the picture so that she can make the decision on her own time but she has been asked to be baptized. We are just waiting on her response. Pray for her!

A day on the streets of Carmen.

Apart from those two investigators, we are trudgin along trying to figure things out still. We have had a lot more success here in Carmen and I definitely like it a lot more than my past two areas. Its been such a hoot having the companions that I have had here in Carmen. Elder Sepulveda and Larsen. Love em both!

I want to let all of you know how grateful I am to have you in my life. Every single one of you. I would never be here if it weren't for you all behind me supporting me with the decisions that I have made. I plan to work this coming year really hard with the new resolutions I have put for myself and I encourage you all to do the same. I plan to be more confident with the things that I do and say. I want to be that type of a person. I know, with you all supporting me, that I can make that possible and you all can help me. Thank you!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!! 2014!!!! 

Kia Kaha,

Elder Proctor

Feliz Navidad from the Mission President and family

December 23, 2013 - Carmen

Hey everybody!

Well let me be the first to wish you all a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS! I know I wont be able to talk to some of you through the Skype calls so I apologize, but I hope all of you have a great Christmas this year!

The transfers went well and we have probably the nicest house in the entire mission. It has clima (AC) and it is the perfect size for two missionaries. The bathroom looks well kept and its about as nice as any regular bathroom in the US. I am pretty excited about the living arrangements here. We also have a newbie, Elder Larsen (from American Fork) and his companion Elder Sepulveda who is from northern Mexico but speaks really good english. They live right next to us in another nice house that is on the second story of a members house. Its a really nice place to live. We also have a pet! A pitbull named Chester. He is a flippin monster of a dog! I thought Rider was ripped.... wow. This dog is like the Rock, I swear. Hes really cool though, and a nice company to have when you had a rough day. Apart from that, the weather and what not isnt a whole lot different from that of Villa. Its still above 90 each day but the good news is its less humid and there is always a little bit of a breeze so its not that bad anymore. I really like it a lot more than in Villa. 

As far as the investigators go, we are white washing the area (when two elders go into the area not knowing where anything is.) So we are trying to figure where all of the members live and where the last missionaries had left off with everything. Its a little tough because the area is pretty small. (bigger than deportiva though... whoo!) We have a member in the ward that is from Kaysville, Utah named Colby. He served his mission here and came back to marry a lady that he had taught.  He speaks really good spanish and english. The good news is that he owns a hotel downtown and we eat there twice each week! Its a nice hotel, for mexico. I really like the area here though. We havent had much success yet with the investigators because we are still so new to everything and we are trying to get the members to help us out with finding where everything is. We have a couple that have some potential though! 

To answer Moms questions:

1. I am enjoying the cooler weather of this place. We spent this morning playing soccer on the beach without shoes on.... it was super hot, but a lot of fun because I've never done that before.

2. The package you sent didn't get to the offices before I left. I havent recieved anything yet. I was watching for it though. It should come by the end of the month if we have a Zone Conference.

3. I haven't received an exact time frame of when I will call, but it should be around mid-afternoon, like somewhere in between 11 and 2. We think we are going to call from the church here so it should be a good connection. Hermano Colby, (the american) is going to hook us up good. =)

4. I really love the helado here.... that's the ice cream... I haven't found another treat here that I like yet. We had a weird type of caramel apple yesterday though and it was alright. =)

Well, that's about it that has been special this week. We are trying so hard to get baptisms here its insane doing everything that we possibly can to get one. Its harder than it may seem. Con la idioma... esta bien. Yo prefiero ingles mucho mas porque yo puedo decir todas las cosas que yo quiero pero con español, no puedo. Un poquito deficil pero toda esta bien. I hope that things are all going well for each of you during this busy time of the year. I love the Christmas Season! Even here its a pretty big deal. Its about the same, except here there isnt any snow. No hay nada aqui! I wish all of you a very merry christmas! Stay safe during this time of the year! Have fun! I miss you all so much! Kia Kaha!

-Elder Proctor

Last week in Villahermosa-December 19, 2013

A member took the Elders to TGIF

Hey Guys!

I had a really tough week this week. Saw a dog got run over by a car... it was awesome. Anyways. We havent had a whole lot of success this week but the good news is that we are both being transferred to Carmen! This is where Elder Haglund is and I hope is still there. Carmen 2 is what it is called. We are being transferred together which doesnt happen very often but its only because there are 9 new american sisterss that are coming in tomorrow morning so they want us out of here. It was tough saying goodbye becuase I really loved the ward. I got along with the bishop really well and his family. I felt like I was a part of a big family here, but we just werent having the success that we had hoped. Its a good thing though and Im super excited becuase Carmen is right next to the beach. Hopefully this new area will be a good fit also. I hear its really nice, along with the house and the people there. I am super stoked though.

Last picture of the Villahermosa District

We had a party on Friday night called the Cena Navidena with the ward. I have never had so much fun with a ward before at a ward activity. They asked all the missionaries to have a little concert for the ward at this party thing.... I obviously played all of me... Crowd loved it... haha It was pretty fun to play the piano though for a group of people. Had some food, told santa my wishes for the year and got to see hermana Cinderella at the activity also. She showed up a little late with her younger daughter. It was so cool to finally see her. We found out that her ex husband was the governor of a state in mexico and she moved away because he had some troubles with the law... Pretty crazy to hear that we were talking to the first lady. Shes living in adultry though with another guy named TOmas.... THe baseball player. He ended up leaving though because she really wanted to change, so he left to Veracruz to go play ball there. It all happened so suddenly. So at least shes making progress. Too bad we wont be there to see her be baptized. I know eventually that she will make that committment. Depends on how good these new sister missionaries are. Ohala! (hopefully) I will send a picture of her and santa at the party from friday. 

EP with investigators

Apart from that, the big news was that we are getting transferred. Nothing special, really happened. The area has been super difficult for the both of us. Elder Gray has lost over 15 pounds from walking. Luckily, I havent lost anything, just have gotten nasty tan lines everywhere. The weather is cooling down for the next few months and its been raiining a lot also so it makes it a little bit more tolerable.

Im staying positive with the new transfer coming and learning as much as I can. Chances are that next transfer I might be a trainer depending on how good I am with the language. Ahorita, estoy aprendiendo cada dia con diferente palabras y todo. Elder Gray me ayuda con las palabras que yo no entiendo cuando estamos en una leccion, pero, como yo dije, estoy aprendiendo. 

Elders y Hermanas and Santa

I love you all so much and cant wait to talk to you next week about the new area and how its all going to be. Stay strong with everything you do. -Thank you Keaton for that letter you wrote. You really are such an inspiriation to me and you are a huge reason as to why Im here. Along with Sadie, you two are the people I want to set the example for. You two are amazing.- I am so lucky to have such a strong family behind my back pushing me to my highest potential. I know I say this every week, but you guys are so amazing. I would never be here if it werent for you all. Keep up the good work!

Kia Kaha!

A Member took the Elders shopping.

Cinderella, her daughter and Santa

-EP

How 'bout dem apples?

The week in the Villa & Second trip to Palenque Ruins

Hey Everyone!
Terribly sorry about last week! We had a rough trip to and from Palenque so we didnt end up getting back until later and had no time to go and write the family. So i apologize about that. But im here this week so esta bien.
Okay well this week, other than palenque wasnt much of a huge change. We found an investigator named Teresa that is about 60 years old. She used to be a Jehovas Witness... HAHA. Anyways, we taught her and managed to get her to commit to baptism! The bad news is, we are leaving next week and she has to go to church 5 times before she can be baptized... so we arent really too happy about it. She is golden and accepts everything we are telling her, but not just because we are telling her it... she really prayed to know if the BoM was true and if Joseph Smith was a prophet. Shes a golden investigator and I really hope to hear when she gets baptized. Shes awesome and super sweet.
So yes, Elder Gray, Stoddard, Espinoza, Grass, and I all went to palenque last week. I was the only one who had already been and a lot of them are over 15 months in the mission... HAHA but We woke up at 4 in the morning to catch the three hour bus ride there. The bus broke down on the way there so they crammed us into another bus that was already packed with people. A 40 person bus doesnt fit 70 people.... But hey.... It was funny. Elder gray even managed to buy a trucker hat off of some homeless guy for 15 pesos also! It was hilarious! But Elder Grass and I were crammed near the back of the bus, standing for a little over three hours. Legs were killing me by the end of the ride, but I managed to have a good time looking at the ruins again. It was nice to be able to speak english with some of the other elders that were with us.
I am doing better, still adjusting, even after five months, but time things are goig well. I am going to be transferred, along with Elder Gray, next monday because the American sisters are finally coming and they want us out of here to house them. So we are leaving. Dont know where, but we know its going to happen. We are both just saying our goodbyes to everyone and the ward is throwing us a Cena Navidad this coming friday to say goodbye to us all... its kinda sad because I love the ward, but I cant do anyting about it. Oh well.
I dont really need anything new... but just send me pictures and letters... I dont need food, and if i do, then I will let you know, but right now... Im good. Glad to hear that everyone is staying busy! Seems that the christmas spirit is coming in... sucks that there isnt any snow here though. Its always hot. emphasis on always... Doesnt really feel like December, but We are doing our best to celebrate.
I LOVE YOU GUYS AND I HOPE YOU ALL HAVE HAD AN AMAZING WEEK. STAY SAFE AND STAY STRONG WITH ALL YOU DO! I COULDNT BE HAPPIER TO HAVE SUCH A STRONG FAMILY AND SUPPORT SYSTEM BACK AT HOME! YOU ALL MEAN THE WORLD TO ME!
Kia Kaha
Elder Proctor

Villahermosa Photos

Down time with my camera.

The branch threw Elder Proctor and Elder Gray and this little girl a birthday party.

Elder Proctor and Elder Gray visit Villahermosa Temple

The only way to be cool is with my favorite ice cream.

November 25, 2013 - Villahermosa

Hey Guys!

Well this week was a tad bit better than last. We finally got a chance to fix a date for Hermano Daniel. Tomorrow is supposed to be his baptism. His mom went out of town completely unexpected and didnt tell anyone she was leaving, so it left Elder Gray and I in a bit of a rough spot. Tomorrow is the day for him! After that, transfers are on the 16th of December. We already know that we are getting transfered... Where to? I dont know. But they are bringing in 14 new Sister Missionaries that are American. First time in the history of the mission. So they are going to keep all of them rather close to the mission offices just in case something happens. So, theyre booting Elder Gray and I out... Awesome. But I am hoping for a new start somewhere else. I am hoping for the best with this. As far as everything else goes, we are trying our best with working with the ward to find new investigators. The ward we are in, Deportiva 2, has some amazing members in it, but it is extremely difficult to get references from them and we have no idea why. We are both really struggling in that regard, but still staying strong with what weve got. Its definitely tough.

We recieved word this last week when we had Elder Johnson (our Area President of the 70) came last night, that we are going to be going to Palenque next monday again! Wahoo! It was a lot of fun the last time we went and I am really looking forward to seeing all of the things I didnt see last time again. Should be really fun. Anyways, Elder Johnson came, along with Elder Walker (no idea who he was, younger, about mid 40s) and basically told our entire mission, including a lot fot he members, that we werent doing our job... haha. He was pretty much ridiculing the members because our numbers are so bad with member present lessons and our number of less actives was terrible. we have over 12000 members, but 9000 of them are less active... So he shoved that in our faces. It was actually pretty funny because it really is true. The members dont really helpe the missionaries other than feed them every week. But I cant complain, our ward isnt that big. About 60-70 in asisstance every sunday. But it was cool to hear the things he had to say. There were so many missionaries there, and so many other members of the church. It fillied the entire stake center.... Crazy!

Im sorry to hear that Sadie was sick this week.... Sorry Sades! Get better soon! =) Ill be praying for you! Sounds like everyone is staying busy and working hard with whatever it is that they have going. Keep it up! I know that it will be worth it!

To answer moms questions:

-I got the halloween package and I really enjoyed having those doritos... they werent smashed but it was hard to get them out of the containers without smashing them all... it was still great though!

- I havent really recieved anything else yet but Im sure that I will get something this week, and, if not, next week. I told the Sec. of Materiales, Elder Flake, to keep a special look out for me for the letters/packages that come in.

-I dont need anything right now really. I am looking for some new luggage though. The stuff I have, other than the bag dad sent me with, is pretty much a pain trying to pull around because the wheels are crap. So I am looking for another big bag thats under 100 dollars.... Sorry if thats expensive but I desperately need a new one. Thatll be my Christmas present. =)

Apart from everything else, things are going well. Better than last week thats for sure. I am trying to be strong. Doing my best with what I got. I love you all and I hope you all have an amazing and busy week this week! Time will only go faster! Pray for missionary opporunities because we need all the help we can get! I LOVE YOU ALL!

KIA KAHA

-EP

November 18, 2013 - Villahermosa

Hi everybody,

Well I dont have that much to say for this weeks letter because we only had about one or two major events happen. I will spend some time trying to send some pictures so hopefully that will compensate for it.

We finally had the chance to go contacting on thursday! First time ever because I was able to talk Elder Gray into going. We have been hurting with the ward to find new investigators so I finally told Elder Gray that we needed to do it the old fashioned way and start talking to people on the street. Low and behold, we were walking through the streets of Col. Sabina, and we found three new investigators that we are planning on teaching. Two of them have decent potential while the other was just.... well drunk. One is named Eric Lopez. He is from Costa Rica and speaks a little bit of english. He came here to get away from some drug problems that he had there but they lost his return papers when he wanted to go back so he is stuck here until they figure it all out. We havent taught him yet, but he has a drinking problem and so it might be a little tough with him. From what we´ve seen, he really wants to change judging by the fact that he started crying in front of us right in the middle of the street saying that he wanted God in his life. He seems like a great guy. The second one is a guy named Carlos. He actually came to us. He saw us walking in the street and yelled out to us ELDERS! He started speaking english to us and we started taeaching him the restoration in english. It was weird because I never have done it in english before. But we did our best. He has a lot of potential too. Hopefully the both of them work out because we desperately need them.

As far as everything else goes, nothing has happened since last week. We teach when we can but most of the time its spent walking around trying to find people. Contacting seems to help, but apparently we cant do it unless we desperately need it. Elder Gray doesnt like doing it, but we occasionally get the chance to. To answer the questions that mom sent me... I dont have a gash, it was just a big goose egg. I am looking out for signs everywhere now because that one hurt. I am doing my best with everything here still. Its quite the adjustment to get used to everything. I am nowhere near fluent in the language. I have so much more to learn with it and its starting to get a little frustrating, but I am working on it everyday. Yo puedo escuchar y entender mas cada dia pero cuando yo hablo... es algo completamente differente. Entonces, estoy probando con todo yo tengo. As you can see, Im still learning grammar stuff because thats the hardest part. I hope that answers the questions. I cant see them and type them at the same time, so I am not positive if I have answered them all. Sorry if I didnt.

Well, CONGRATULATIONS TO KEATON! WAY TO GO BRO! I KNEW YOU COULD DO IT! KIA KAHA! GO GETTEM! NUMBER ONE BABY!

Thats awesome to hear about sadies experiences this last week! Sounds like it was a good time. I always wished I could have been a part of special needs. Stay involved with that sadie! It will benefit you so much if you i promise. Keep it up!

Well im gunna close this letter up now... Thank you to all of you for what you have done for me! You all mean the world to me and I couldnt do this without you! Stay strong this week and keep moving forward! You are all in my prayers and I cannot wait to see all of you soon!

Kia Kaha!

-EP

Watch out for the sign . . .

Alright Everyone!
Well I am officially done with training! Now I can actually feel a little bit more respected around the mission when people talk to me. I finished yesterday with it and I even had the chance to be the Senior Companion for the day. It was really weird having to make all the decisions on what we did, but overall, Elder Gray said I did a good job.

Things are going well, but we had a tough week this week. Hermana Monica, the one I told you about last week, decided to stick with the religion that her family was. Catholic. We went to go meet with her on Friday night to teach her just like normal. We could tell, as soon as we walked in the door that something was different. We started to teach what we had planned. After we had gone over everything, she started to talk about how she went with her grandma to a Catholic church service during the week. My heart dropped. She went on to tell us that she had a feeling that she needed to follow in her family's footsteps and remain catholic. She didn't want to change... Elder Gray and I looked at each other. I had no idea what to say or do. So Elder Gray just said that we appreciated her spirit that she brought to each lesson, and that we would continue to stop by every now and then to see how she was doing. I have never been so heartbroken in my life to see this happen. What is sad is that one day, her and her entire family will know the truth about it all. I was devastated. But, as a missionary, you have to keep moving forward.

Apart from that experience, we are continuing to teach Hermana Cinderella and Tomas. Both of which are really great investigators other than the fact that she is married to another guy and has been living with Tomas for over three years. She admits it that she has been living in sin for three years. We are trying to figure this out because neither Elder Gray or I have had the chance to teach someone who is committing adultery. So we are still trying to figure that out. Funny story though... we were walking to go meet with her on Saturday morning at noon and it had started to pour rain. I had my jacket and umbrella as we trudged through the puddles of rain. We were walking along the side of the freeway and I was behind Elder Gray. I had looked back for about two seconds just to see how far we came and if I could even see anything period. Just as I looked up I ran, face first, into a stop sign pole. I gashed my knee and had a huge goose egg on my forehead. Luckily, no one saw or heard the huge bang, but it hurt like a mother...

Anyways, those are my stories for this week. It sounds like all of you are having a great time! Staying busy with school and other activities. I am getting really jealous of not being able to watch Keaton and Sadie grow up. Sounds like Sadie is getting to be the popular girl in school! Dang I wish I had been Will at Mckenzie's wedding.... Super Jealous! I miss ya so much Sadie! Dont forget it. I cannot wait to hear from you on Christmas. That is going to be a great day. GOOD LUCK WITH TRYOUTS BROTHA! I know you can make that team. Give it your all. Kia Kaha! Just play smart. Thats all Alta wants, smart players who do what the coach says. I've been there. You can do it!

I am doing alright with everything here. Like I said, I had a tough week, but I am not being transferred anywhere this month so I am here in Villa for another transfer. YAY! I got your package today and will be looking forward to the next one to come. I loved getting all of the candy. The problem is is that I cant read the books you send me because the missionaries can only read the scriptures, Jesus is the Christ and the true to the faith. I wish I could and I will keep them, but I just cant read them for another 20 months.
Things are going well. Missing home, but doing okay. I am just trudgin along here getting this work done. Spanish is coming day by day and I'm


becoming more and more deaf with all the car horns that go off from the impatient drivers.... HAHA I will close this letter for this week wishing you all an amazing week. I am so glad to have you guys supporting me and I am so happy that I can call you my family. I miss you all terribly and cannot wait until the day that I get to see you all again.
Kia Kaha,
Elder Proctor

Halloween in the Villa - November 9, 2013

Hola Everyone!
Seems as though this Halloween was a great one! HAPPY HALLOWEEN! I hope ya'll got a bunch of candy! What was funny though is that they have the same tradition down here. The kids dress up and gather in big groups to go out trickortreating! Its pretty funny to see their take on all of the different costumes. I am glad everyone is staying busy though!

I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that I cannot send pictures today... The computer is terrible and is slower than molasses so I am out of luck with that. Sorry everyone. I will take some good pictures this week and try to send them from a better computer next week.

The good news is that we have a baptism planned for this week for Hermano Daniel! After much trial and tribulation, we finally were able to meet with his mom and she finally agreed to let us baptize him this coming Saturday. CRAZY! It was really cool to see how that whole situation played out. He is such a cool kid and so much fun to talk to. That really was the only highlight of the week. We decided to drop Hermano Raul because he had a huge problem with smoking and drinking and wasn't progressing in any way... we thought he was, but he dropped the bomb that he had still been doing all of that stuff and taking advantage (in a bad way) of the law of chastity... Oh well. It was sad, but we did the best we could do with him. As far as other investigators go, we are teaching Hermana Cinderella (the lady who cut my hair two weeks ago) and found out that she is dating a professional baseball player from Venezuela named Tomas. He is jacked like no other! Holy Smokes the guy is a monster! His arms are the size of my waist... I am super jealous of him. Hes a cool guy and we have been trying to teach him so that will be our goal this week. We have given a lot of blessings this week also. We gave one to a sister that had been sick for a little while and what was really cool is that she was perfectly fine the next day we saw her. Insane how that worked out right? The second was when we took an ex-missionary named Jesus Zapata (yes that means Jesus Shoe in Spanish) and took him to teach an investigator named Monica that had had some contact with the missionaries from Tenosique a little while before I was there! She is about 17 or 18 and had been having troubles accepting the catholic faith in her life because she wants to change. She is really cool and so much fun to teach.

Apart from all of those events with teaching, I will answer those questions that you have. I have not received any package yet but I will be looking out for it this week. My missionary experience before the mission was a lot different than it is now. Nowadays we can only go through members to receive people to teach or to find investigators. Its a lot easier and gets our job done a lot faster. Before the mission, I thought it was only knocking doors for four hours a day and then asking people to be baptized in the first lesson. Here, its a lot different. We only talk to members and the people that we feel inspired to talk to on the street. I love it this way. We don't have to worry keeping track of a bunch of people that opened the door for us if we were to knock on it. Elder Gray and I have really been talking to every single member of the ward to try to get people to teach. A lot of missionary work has to do with how the members act with the missionaries. IF there weren't members, missionaries would be literally lost. WORK WITH THE MISSIONARIES BY GIVING THEM REFERRALS!

Well, Because I don't have much time here, I am going to try to send a picture or two, but I cant promise anything. Right now all I really need are some more of those milk chocolate powder 'breakfast essentials' things that you sent a little while ago. Those are amazing to have in the morning with a bowl of cereal. I also needed some more of those water-mix packets that give water a taste. The small thin ones that have different flavors. I would really appreciate it, if you can, to send me a small Preach My Gospel in English. I cant seem to find my old one. I may have left it at the MTC or something... Not sure. But I would love that. For Christmas, all I would like is phone call from you guys (through skype) and... an electric razor. I hate shaving with a razor here because of how hot it gets. It burns... Like.... bad. So I would love a three-ringed electric razor. PLEASE SANTA? Haha. Thanks.

Well I'm gonna wrap up this letter by saying that I hope you all have an amazing week and I hope that things stay good for you all. Know that I pray for each and every one of you guys everyday. You all mean the world to me in ways you cannot even begin to imagine and I would not be here right now, sitting at this computer in VIlla, if you hadn't been a part of my life. Thank you. Stay strong and always keep your heads up. The Lord is on your side.
Kia Kaha,
Elder Proctor

October 28 - Villahermosa & Mexican Pizza

Hola Everyone!

I hope things are all going well for you! Seems like everyone is staying busy and doing lots of fun stuff! Keep it up! 

Pizza fiesta

This weeks letter is going to be a tad short because we didn't really have anything special happen. Last Monday, after we were done with writing, I went to go get my haircut right next door. We ended up teaching the lady that cut my hair and she is a really good investigator! Her name is Cinderella but she goes by Cindy. She is from Monterey and is super tall for a girl, but she is a mom and has two kids. She gives a dang good haircut also. We have only taught her twice but she has a lot of potential. The other awesome experience that I had last week happened on Friday night at around seven. We met a lady awhile back that worked at a lavanderia that we would wash clothes at. She seemed to be really good and had a lot of potential at first. Her name is Laticia. We taught her the first two lessons and she seemed to be progressing, so we planned to have a member-meeting with her at one of the members houses that lived nearby. We planned it for Friday at 7pm. We showed up early at this member's house to give her the run-down on what was going to happen because she has a son on a mission in Columbia also. She wanted to be prepared. We waited there at her house until about 730 waiting for Hna. Laticia, but she never showed up. Right as we were about to leave, the member, Hna. Lopez, her husband walked through the front door. He took off his jacket and started talking with us. He knew who we were and we later found out that he wasn't a member but had been wanting to learn more about the church that his son was serving. We ended up teaching him the entire first lesson about the restoration. It was incredible. He was intrigued the entire time. (ps, his name was Julio) I have never had a lesson, apart from the one with Hna Monica, be so strong and powerful. We left him with a book of Mormon and he said that he would read as much as he could. I was super excited! Because it was raining, he took us home and bought us a huge pizza and some soda also. We didn't get home til about 10 but it was well worth it!

The other exciting news that I have is that I wont be in a trio anymore! Elder Pugmire is being special transferred to be companions with the Sec. de Financias en las oficinas. Crazy! I loved Elder Pug. He was so funny. But I will still see him everyday because we are so close to the offices. 

To answer the questions I have recieved:

1 I havent used it yet becuase I have had no need for it here. I hear music everywhere I go and Elder Gray has one also that we listen too. 

2 The area we are in is nice and I really like the people, its just the heat thats tough to deal with sometimes.

3 I havent gotten a halloween package, but I am sure that I will be getting it pretty soon here. It takes about a week and a half I have figured.

4- My testimony has grown leaps and bounds having been out here only 3 and a half months. I cannot believe the amount of miracles I have seen happen here already and I cannot wait to see more. I have personally seen the Lord's hand in this work and I am super happy to be here!

5- Missionary work is the hardest work thats out there. It is physically demanding, stressful, and somtimes very agonizing. Its something that I personally, have never experienced before in my life. I cannot really describe it. The one thing that I can describe however, is the outcome and happiness that it brings to me personally. I have seen people change their lives around just to follow in the footsteps on the Lord and I cannot even begin to tell you the happiness and joy that comes from seeing that happen right before your eyes. I love it! Kia Kaha!

Rainy day - what else is new?

Well, Thats about all I have this week. I hope my statements will help out some... If you need anything else, then let me know. I am sending letters home to the family soon so I hope you all get those. We may get the chance to go to Palenque again soon so I will try to snag some bracelets and send them home with the letters. I hope that will work out! Anyways, I hope all is well and everyone is stayin busy up there in Utah! Seems like the weather is getting colder.... bundle up! I would love to trade you weather for one day! HAHA Right now, There is nothing that I really need other than some new pictures of you guys. I want to put some new ones up to look at everyday. The ones I have are super outdated. If possible, send me my sports jerseys that I had like my Baltimore one. I want that one. I am in no need of anything else at the moment... Just literally send anything you want. Send ZOBO and RIder!!! That would be amazing! Seriously though, I dont really have anything specific that I need right now. Just send whatever. 

I miss you all terribly! I want to see you all again and I cannot wait to talk to you all on Christmas day. I will get to Skype you all so be sure to send me a Skype name or whatever so that I can call you guys on CHristmas! I miss you all so much and I want each and every one of you to know, not just my family, but friends, extended family, grandmas and grandpas... That I would not be here right now if it werent for you. I cannot say it enough that I love you. You guys are my inspiration and I could not be happier to have such a strong family back at home. You guys mean the world to me. Smile and keep your heads up!

          Kia Kaha,

-Elder Proctor

Birthday & Food Poisoning

Hola Everyone!

In Villahermosa

Well, first off I wanted to say thanks to all of you who wished me a happy birthday this week! I had a great day and I am so grateful to have you all on my life. I don't feel 19 yet but I am sure that it will kick in here pretty soon. I really appreciate all the support from my neighbors and friends that helped me have such a great day. It was hard being away from family, but I could feel that love that was coming from you all. So thank you!

I had an interesting experience this week... I got up like normal at 630 and started studying like usual. We went out at about 11 or so and started trying to find people to teach. My stomach started hurting really really bad at around 6 at night. We went back and I immediately passed out. The next day, I was feeling the same exact way, except for worse. Elder Pugmire and I went to the doctor and, low and behold, I had gotten food poisoning! So I spent my birthday laying in my bed with nothing to do but open some packages that had arrived that day. It was nice to just have a day to kick back, but I hated not being to see or do anything. Elder Gray and Elder Pugmire got me a cake and a new Baltimore Ravens tie that is pretty sweet. I love those two. They're awesome. Along with the packages from you all, they made it really special even though I was sick as a dog. 

Elder Proctor  looking good but now down about 15 lbs.  

So that was my big event that happened this week. I wasn't able to go out for three days because of it so I don't have that much to report on this week, other than the fact that I gave my first talk in sacrament meeting yesterday! It went really well I thought. I talked about prayer and how it is important to everyone, especially missionaries. I don't know if it made any sense to them, but I don't think that is what mattered. They came up to me afterwards and said I did a good job... so Ill take that. HAHA The wedding of Hermano Raul went through and he got married this morning but he had some problems with drugs and smoking so he isn't allowed to be baptized quite yet. Nov. 10 is his baptism date if he stops the smoking and the drugs. Lets hope it all works out! With Hermano Daniel, we cant get a hold of his mom to sign the papers for baptism because she is always working and Daniel is underage so he cant sign for himself. She is a ridiculously hard woman to reach.We go by his house almost everyday but she is never there. Its a little frustrating because we are literally just waiting on her. We are hoping that she will just be there one day and we can get her to sign the paper. 

I got the packages that you all sent. The candles have helped so much with how bad the bathrooms smell. I haven't had to buy  bathroom things yet, so I am using all of the stuff that we packed up. THANKS MOM! I am doing well with money and haven't had any problems yet. I don't really need anything right now. I am doing fine. I found the DP in the Walmart that they have here so I can get the drinks I want.  

Anyways, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR THE BIRTHDAY WISHES! I CANNOT SAY IT ENOUGH! YOU ALL MEAN THE WORLD TO ME AND I AM SO GRATEFUL TO HAVE YOU ALL BEHIND ME SUPPORTING ME WITH WHATEVER IT IS THAT I DO. I CANNOT EXPRESS THE AMOUNT OF LOVE I HAVE FOR YOU ALL, FAMILY FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS. THANK YOU.  I hope you all have an amazing week this week with whatever it is that you do. Stay strong! 

KIA KAHA!

-EP

-Smile and keep your heads up!

Trio in the Villa & Dr. Pepper

Alright family so this week I think will be pretty short because nothing overly special happened. We have been spending a lot of time just talking to members and teaching the people that we get the chance to teach. We have two baptismal dates coming up this Saturday for a young boy named Daniel and for an older man named Raul. Both of these guys are great. Daniel is such a smart boy who is only thirteen years old trying to set the example for his mom and grandma. He is such an example to me. With Raul, he has a wife who is a member and a son named Axel. Hes a stud. HAHA But the cool thing is that he needed to get married first before he was able to be baptized. Elder Gray got a call the other day from Raul saying that he had made arrangements to be married on the 21st of October and then would want to be baptized that night! How awesome is that! Hes such a cool guy even though he can be a little crazy sometimes. HAHA

Inside the huge mall.

Anyways, thats about it with what has happened this week. I will definitely keep you all posted with how everything plays out. =) As far as everything else goes, the heat is still really strong here, although it did rain a little this week so the poncho from Mr. Macs came in handy mom, Thanks haha. The food is getting better because we are so much closer to everything here. The living arrangements are about the same as Tenosique so I cant really say anything new about that...

I wanted to thank everyone for the birthday
wishes! I got the packages from ya'll last week and I loved it! It was exactly what I needed! I am definitely starting this year off great with the support that I have from you all. Its amazing how much you have all helped me and how much you're letters help me also. Its so nice knowing that I have such a strong family support system at home. You have no idea... SO thank you all for the wishes and for your gifts!

Finally found the Dr. Pepper he has been waiting for.

I am still adjusting to everything here and trying to fit in with the language and what not. Its a struggle but I am doing me best. I will send some pictures of my living quarters and some random other things that I though were funny. Keep sending pictures, keep sending letters and packages. Anything you wanna send... send. I would rather have it than not have it. When in doubt, just send it. HAHA I love you all so much and cannot thank you enough for everything. I wouldn't be able to do this without you all. Stay strong with everything. Smile and keep you're heads up! I have learned that sometimes you just have to keep moving forward even though things are coming against you. I LOVE YOU!

-Elder Proctor

Found this cute dog taking a nap.

Alex sleeps in the hammock

The Trio of Villahermosa

Hey Everybody!
Sorry for such the late hour that I am writing this email. We had some troubles finding a place to wash all of our clothes today and then we had to eat right after that. But I am here now so its all good.

Guess he found a store he likes.

So I am in Villahermosa with Elder Gray and Elder Pugmire now! We are in a trio. The only one in the entire mission! Its crazy! Three gringos walking around Villa. Its a hoot to see us. Elder Gray was the last Assistant to the President when I got here and Elder Pugmire has only one more month than I do on the mission. Gray is from California and Pugmire is from Orem, Utah. They are super great guys. Elder Gray has been out a year and is a powerhouse with everything that he does so its a little hard to stay up to his speed sometimes, but from what he tells me, Spanish is above average and I am keeping up very well... So that's good right?
In Villa, things are about the same, just with more buildings and what not. I have access to my favorite foods and what not, so it makes it really easy to not have to worry about food. I like it a lot here, but I find myself missing my old area, Tenosique. I was a little upset that I had to leave because we had just finished painting and we had just had the baptism of Hermana Monica, but the good news is is that she wants me to go to her sealing with her husband when I get back!! I was super excited to hear that I had that much of an impact on her. She is amazing. I hope that I will be able to go when I return to Utah.

Villahermosa Baptism

We had a baptism this last Friday of a girl who was 18 years old, Hermana Itzel. She had already had the baptism date set with the Elders that were before us, so we just had to finish the job. It was nice to see her be baptized also. She is expecting a child in two weeks also! So we had to baptize her in a chair because she is a smaller girl. It was weird but pretty unique at the same time. You don't see someone be baptized in a chair everyday! =)

Apart from that, our housing isn't really that great here. Its not terrible, but the bathrooms are... nothing short of a dump. I got a cheap hammock from Elder Herrera before we left Tenosique; for only 230 pesos. That was a super good deal, so I sleep in that every night and that's nice. The area is nice, its a lot of walking, but I don't mind the time that I have to think during those long walks we have. We are just getting the swing of the ward here so we aren't really teaching anyone yet. This week went really slow because we were all just waiting for conference. I watched every single talk that was given each day! I loved it. We sat in an A.C. room and watched it in English. It was nice to hear English for once... Ha. I really loved Pres. Monsons talk on Sunday just before the second session. It was great. And I loved it when Pres Uchtdorf said, "You should hear Pres Monson pray for you." The missionaries went nuts when we heard that.

Other than that, nothing really exciting happened. We are still getting situated in the new area and trying to find new people to teach, but I think I am going to like it here. It was a struggle at first, but I am doing my best to manage. OH! I got the packages!!! Thank you all for the birthday wishes! That was awesome to get those letters and stuff from you all! I loved it! I opened it in the Offices here and immediately broke down in tears! It was just what I needed. I had to open it all right then. I couldn't wait... sorry. But it was perfect. Thank you! I have seen Elder Garn, and I got to see another friend of mine from school also. Elder Smiley got sent to Tenosique.  Small world. Keep sending the goods down here. I like getting food so that way I don't have to spend so much on food here. Its nice to have that extra money. I have enough money for right now, but keep putting money in my account if you have enough to do so. Ya never know what could happen.

Anyways, I will wrap this letter up for this week. I hope you all had a good week and a great conference weekend. I had probably the best week I've had out on the mission thus far, so lets hope it stays the same. I am coping with the different lifestyle and doing my best with the things that are thrown my way. Thank you for everything that you have been doing for me to keep me here. There are times I want to come home and times that I want to quit, but I know that Id be letting all of you down. I appreciate all of your support. I love you all!
-EP

The bathroom companion - a large Iguana

P.S. Funny story, we came home yesterday in between sessions of conference and found a lime green iguana sitting on our bed. We had a fun time trying to chase it out of the house! Those little things can run like the wind! I swear i peed like three times because it got so close to me. Ugh! Still pretty funny though.

To the rest of the Family: Words cannot describe how grateful I am for all of you guys. I have received your letters, but just haven't had enough time on the computers here to write all of you back. I am terribly sorry for this. I am doing my best with it haha. I wanted to say thank you for everything that you have done to keep me here and to make me feel more at home while I am here also. You all have made the world of difference of me. I pray for you all each night and I know the Lord is watching out for all of you. I am so grateful to have a family that is this strong. I have seen families here that have fallen apart because of certain things, but I am so glad that we are such a united family. We Andersons and Proctors look out for each other and that is something that I cannot describe with words. Its amazing and I cannot thank you all enough for the strong words of advice and encouragement that I have received while being here. You all mean the world to me and I couldn't do this without each and every one of you. Thank you all!

With Love,
-EP

Good Bye Elder Ortiz and Tenosique

Hola Familia!

I have only three exciting things to share this week because the rest of the week was spent just wandering the streets of Tenosique trying to find people to teach. The first was an experience that Elder Ortiz and I had on Tuesday night at about 7pm. We had the chance to go teach Hermana Monica again at her house. We had planned to talk about repentance and the importance of the atonement and it turns out that she needed to hear it. While Elder Ortiz was talking, I was trying to think of something that would really hit home for her so that she could understand it better and how she could apply it to her life. When he was done, I cut in and said, in my best Spanish, "Hermana, we pray for you day and night, everyday. We think about you day and night, everyday. We want you to be happy everyday. Everyday, we plan a lesson specifically for you and you only. (at this point she started to tear up...) You have so much good going for you right now Hermana. You are loved, you are cared for, and you are ready to be baptized. This life is not easy, and I know you know that. This decision for me to come on a mission to Mexico was not easy. But look, I am here. I struggle with things just like you do. So does Elder Ortiz. We are no different than you are, but we are here, sent from God, to teach you about the Gospel. (she is bawling right now.) I don't know Spanish well, I don't know everything about the Gospel, but look, Im here, in Mexico. Why? because I KNOW THIS IS TRUE. (Now i start to cry a little bit)" The look on her face was priceless. She sat there for a solid five minutes just staring at the ground trying to think of something to say. It was amazing how strong the spirit was that night in her house. I was astounded at how well I said that. Granted, she knows a little English. so I could say some of it in English, but the fact that I said most of it in Spanish was insane. I am happy to say that she was finally baptized this last Saturday. It was incredible to see her afterwards. She seemed happy and very content with everything. Tuesday and Saturday were great days for me. I wasn't able to baptize her because it would be Elder Ortizs last baptism before he left, so I gave it to him. 

Elder Ortiz left on Sunday at about 2 pm or so. It was kinda sad to say goodbye, but overall, it was a good goodbye. Just a quick hug and a good luck to you was all that went down. Another Elder from Balacan had to leave to so his companion and I were companions for the day and for part of Tuesday until we get our other companions, and that leads me to the most exciting part. 

I am being transferred to Villahermosa on Tuesday morning. My new companion is Elder Gray, an American from California. He was an AP just before I left to go to Tenosique and was there the night that we were picked up at the airport. He is a nice guy and speaks really good Spanish from what I can remember. I don't know anything else apart from that, but the good news is is that I will be able to pick up packages and what not faster because the housing is really close to the offices and where all the mail comes. Elder Herrera is the new secretary to the president as well. I cant say that I am super stoked with the transfer because I was just getting settled in with things, the paint job, the people and the atmosphere. But Villahermosa does have some perks. It wont be in the middle of nowhere, and it will have the food that I am used to because it is close to the walmart and mcdonalds and subway. I don't really know what to think about it. I wish I could stay here for at least another transfer, but IDK whats going to happen with it. It seems like a good fit but who knows. I will definitely let ya´ll know how it turns out next week. 

Anyways, that's about it for this week! Things have been a little bit better. No rain at all this week, so its been really hot, but we weren't outside very much this week so it was good. I am trying my best with everything here. Its tough, and a huge struggle sometimes, but I am trying. I just hope time starts to fly by because days still seem like weeks and months seem like years to me. In the MTC it was exactly the opposite. I hope it changes to be this way soon. I love you all and wish you a happy week. I am praying for you all daily, and I wish you the best week ever. Thank you for your prayers and for your support. It is well needed. I love you all so much!

-Elder Proctor

Smile and Keep your Head Up!

PS- The picture is of Elder Ortiz, Hermana Monica, a boy who was baptized also who wasnt in our area but his family wanted Elder Ortiz to baptize him, and me.

Tenosique District

Paint job

Week 5: Baptism, Rain, and Paint in Tenosique

Hey Everyone!
Sounds like everyone is staying busy even though things are winding down. It’ll kick back up again when basketball starts up, I promise. HAHA

I am doing well, not much different than last week, but I am hangin in there. The food is still a struggle and I have a hard time believing that this is the same church sometimes because Sundays are so different than back home. You have people doing things out of order during the meetings and I honestly cannot believe how the parents let their kids run up on the stand during the middle of sacrament meeting like it’s no big deal. They crawl all over me and hit me sometimes like its funny. The parents literally just stand there and watch.

Elder Proctor baptized this young lady.

Anyways, nothing has really changed with the investigators this week. Hermana Monica is kind of stuck in a hole because her husband can’t get off work to come down to baptize her. She really wants to be baptized and she gets along with the ward really well, but she wants only her husband to baptize her and she doesn’t have the money, nor the time, to get him here. (He works in Arizona) We are doing our best to figure out a way to get him here soon because we don’t want her to lose that desire to be baptized. We are working hard with that situation. We got another investigator this week named Hermano Domingo. He is such a good guy. He is about 40 or so and he actually found us walking by his house one day and ran after us. He has a wife name Dinorah. Both of them have been searching for the answer to why they are here and where they’re going so we have been teaching the plan of salvation to them this week. We haven’t asked him to be baptized yet, but I am sure that this week, we will try to pop the question in there. I will let you know what they say. Other than that, this week wasn’t any different. We are working really hard with the ward to find more investigators. It’s tough when you only have about 50 or so people show up to church every Sunday. We are trying though.

We did, however, get the chance to paint the place this week. It was fun other than the fact that I had to pay over 700 pesos for the dang paint. I HAD TO PAY FOR IT. I am trying to stay positive and not say anything about it.

"These spiders are everywhere"

To answer some of your questions:
1 We have been getting a lot of rain, but no hard winds yet.
2 Shoes are good, I got a free pair from a lady in the ward, so I should be set for a while.
3 I have fruit every day to help with that.
4 I haven’t had any need for Pepto this week.
5 He won’t sell his hammock, so I am going to look to get one this week sometime. I could get one pretty cheap but I would have to buy it with my Chase card, maybe. Not really sure how that works.
6 I am taking them (Probiotics).
7 It takes three weeks for the packages to get here. So I haven’t gotten anything from anyone. I am going to try to send the tape recorder back sometime soon, but it costs about 100 pesos to send it back.
8 I will send them of us painting this week.
9 I will send pictures.
10 No one showed up this week to piano, but I am helping people with English every day. It’s pretty fun to hear them speak it because it’s terrible, but I probably sound the same to them when I speak Spanish.

Well that’s about it for this week. Life at the house is nice because I finally hung up my mosquito net and it’s working to keep them dang mosquitos off me during the night. The rooms look a lot better than before and they look a lot cleaner because of our paint job. I am happy about that. They did it totally different than what I am used to, but it is better than before. Yo aprendiendo mucho cadadia con el idioma y yopuedoentender mas que antes la mision y en la MTC.

In Palenque

I love you all so much and I want you to know how proud I am that I have a family like you behind me with everything. You all mean the world to me and I couldn’t have asked for a better family. Stay strong and keep your head up with all that you do. I am praying for you every day and every night. I think about you all every day and I hope everything is going well for you all. Please pray for missionary opportunities because we desperately need everything we can get here. I love you all and wish you the best week possible.

Elder Proctor
Smile and Keep your Head up

Week 4 in Tenosique

Looking over Palenque

Hey Everyone!

I hope everything is going well for you all. It sounds like life has been pretty busy for everyone and everyone is staying involved like I told them to! GOOD! I am glad to hear that things are going well for Grandma as well.  I will definitely keep her in my prayers this week and for the weeks to come. I wish her the best with the PT also. 

This week´s letter is going to be kind of short because nothing special really happened after we went to Palenque last week. Anyways, I only had one exciting thing happen this week that is pretty cool. I had my first baptism! Hermana Rosa is her name. She is the same Rosa that we had been teaching that had committed to baptism about three weeks ago. Even though the service was completely thrown together about an hour before it was supposed to happen, I was asked if I wanted to baptize her. I had to memorize the prayer in Spanish so that I could do it, and that was pretty difficult to do in about an hour´s time. But i did it! I had to say the prayer twice because I messed up a word, but I managed to baptize her only once! It went pretty well, and I was super happy afterwards. She seemed very happy also. Elder Ortiz and I celebrated afterwards with an ice-cream cone down on main street so it was all good. This all happened on Friday night at around 6. It was nice. 

Elder Proctor's date at the Villahermosa Temple

As far as the questions that mom sent me, nothing has changed really. I am doing fine with clothes and such. We had a lot of rain here this week. It was overcast all week and we didn't have much sun, but today it is bloody hot. We are all staying by the fans because we walk outside for two minutes and are sweatin´ buckets.  I am doing fine with everything else. The only things that I need right now are small Spanish hymn book, and an English one as well. I got one at the MTC but I cant find it and we use it all the time here. La idioma is muy muy dificil pero yo puedo hablar in oraciones completos ahora. Me gusta mucho. Yo puedo entiendo mas cada dia pero cuando yo hablo, esta muy deficil. Estoy aprendiendo cada dia. I don't really cook anything because of how hot it is. I want the cold food here. Its too hot to eat hot food. We wash our clothes at a member´s house every Monday morning.  

Elder Ortiz and Elder Proctor at Mexico Independence celebration.

Today is the Mexican equivalent of our July fourth. Its crazy. People marching the streets. Gunmen are everywhere making sure riots don't break out and people are everywhere. Its really festive also. Green and red and white are in every direction. We eat at 2pm everyday with a member so we are never hungry throughout the day. The president said that we could spend some money to paint and clean the house this week so I hope that that will happen soon because this place is disgusting... 

Alright well that is all for this week. I plan to send some pictures if I can. I cant send alot because the computers aren't great with really anything. Send food and drinks if you can because I hate spending money on boxes of ritz crackers. They are expensive here. I am doing well though. Better than last week but still hangin by a thread. I still feel sick all the time and I have been using the Jon about four or five times a day... not good. But I am doing my best with what I have. I love you all so much and I thank you for the support that you all have offered me throughout this last month. It has, without a doubt, been the hardest month of my life. I am staying strong with it and learning more about this lifestyle each day. I love you so much and cannot wait to see you in twenty two months. Its gunna be amazing. I love you to the stars and back and then as deep as the ocean blue! 

Smile and keep your heads up!

-Elder Proctor

These are little buggies they can ride in.