This has been an exciting week for us as we were able to Skype with Seth on Christmas.

Here is a screen shot from our Skype session. We were glad that Kevin, McKenzi, April and Clarke could be here to enhance his Skype experience. He looked and sounded good and he has a firmly established farmer's tan. Here is an excerpt from his note to Mary. "Thanks for the edifying call, I think I gained a lot more than you guys know, or than I gave you."

During the week, they had a surprise birthday party for Herman Geny Galvez. 

Here is a related excerpt from Seth's letter. "She has served the missionaries a ton, so we decided to surprise her with a cake and songs that I don't know. She was very emotional to see us, and the family expressed a lot of gratitude. It wasn't much we could give, but the people here appreciate the action more than the things they receive, and after we gave her a surprise she gave us dinner. One thing here is that people are quick to give thanks no matter the circumstances."

Their mission motto is "esforzsarse" which means to exert yourself or strive to do something. 

Since it also has to do with strength (fuerza), they often take pictures attempting to show physical strength.

They were able to  have a zone Christmas celebration with the mission president and his wife.

Here is what he said about that. "We were blessed to have a Christmas Celebration with Pres. Haws and his family, where we enjoyed some gifts and way too much food. It helps us keep the Spirit at times when we can have fun and celebrate with others. I have found it harder to rejoice at times in this area because so many people are suffering from the economy, and destruction in their families. But we carry the promises of the Lord in our hands, and through His mercy we can all be healed, in any level of transgression we are in."

This week, Seth introduced us to some of his new favorite foods, all of which seem to be shrimp based.

"Some local food that we enjoyed. Caldo de Camarón y camarones en general con una salsa. This was super good, but I don't really know how it is made. The tiny shrimp were hand picked out that are in the soup, and it was delicious. " (Note: Here is a description of "caldo de camaron" I found on line. "Caldo de Camarón, or Mexican Shrimp Soup, is a hearty soup full of shrimp and veggies. Usually made with yummy, comforting goodness and lots of love.") 

Finally, here is a portion of his testimony.

"Cuando cada otra cosa falla, todavía tendremos las promesas del Señor. Tenemos que guardar los mandamientos aun si necesitamos sacrificar nosotros mismos. Jesucristo hizo cada cosa para nosotros a fin de que podamos regresar en Su presencia y tener nuestra recompensa en acuerda con nuestras obras."

 (When every other thing fails, we will still have the promises of the Lord. We must keep His commandments even if we need to sacrifice ourselves. Jesus Christ did every thing for us so that we can return to His presence and have our reward according to our works.")

This has been an exciting week in Ciudad del Carmen.

This picture introduces us to Elder de los Cobos, Seth's new companion, on the right. Seth is next to Alejandro who, obviously, was baptized. Next to him is Abraham, a recent convert of Elder Vasquez. On the far left is Ricardo who is investigating the church.

Here is something Seth wrote about events leading up to Alejandro's baptism. "When he [Elder de los Cobos] saw that we had a baptismal date set for Alejandro, he simply said well I guess we are going to visit him every day this week and baptize him. Needless to say I didn't refuse. So we went every day and worked with this young man, and he was very prepared to be baptized, and we believe sincerely that a lot of his family will follow his example."

They played soccer on their P-day. Seth noted that they don't have soccer fields of grass but they play soccer on the basketball courts. To an old basketball player like me, that seems heretical. ;-)

This is a sign of the city's name on the beach. Mary likes to watch Christmas movies on Netflix and one that we watched last week mentioned going to Carmen in Mexico several times.

Here is Seth's early endorsement of his new companion. "We have had a lot of success with setting and securing the goals of baptism with many people. All of our goals for the first 3 weeks of January are very promising with 11 people. The area and I have been very blessed to have Elder de los Cobos to work with us, and I have learned a ton."

Finally, a portion of his testimony - "Sé que si podamos honrar las cosas que sabemos son buenas, Dios va a guiarnos en nuestros deseos. Tengo debilidades, pero estoy aprendiendo ahora mas y mas que él nos ama, y va a guiarnos... tengo mas esperanza ahora en las cosas que puedo hacer por medio de la Expiación de Jesucristo. La fe es en vano, si no podemos ver que todas de estas cosas solo son posibles porque Él sufrió para nosotros."

"I know that, if we honor the things we know are good, God is going to guide us in our desires. I have weaknesses but I am now learning more and more that He loves us and is going to guide us.. I have more hope now in the things that I can do through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Faith is in vain if we can't see that all of these things are only possible because He suffered for us."

We're back.

Seth and Elder Vasquez (pictured) were able to accompany their recent convert, Elizabeth, to the Villahermosa temple on Saturday. I am sure it was a cherished experience for several reasons, including that Seth would soon say goodbye his beloved first companion.

Here is Seth's comment about the temple trip. "Estoy muy contento que pudimos llevar Elizabeth al templo, y que ella podía sentir el amor de Dios allí." (I am very pleased that we could take Elizabeth to the temple and that she was able to feel the love of God there.)

Speaking of saying goodbye to his companion, Here is a send-off party provided by the bishop for Elder Vasquez and Hermana Keller. It included tacos and a Dairy Queen ice cream cake. 

Here Seth and Elder Vasquez are standing with the stake president. Seth seems to stoop a bit when taking pictures with shorter people.

Here, they had a farewell dinner with the zone leaders and their ward mission leader. Elder Herrera, in the back, finished his mission a couple of days later.

Here is an excerpt from his letter. "We had a lot of edifying experiences this week. President Haws made a surprise visit to our Zone Class, and it was a very humbling experience. We had 5 missionaries leave for their houses today, and they bore their testimony and in general the meeting was around them and how we should work in our missions. President Haws described the mission as our temple that we are building to God, and how there should be no laziness, but working in all diligence to make the best temple we can. It is like the Temple of Nephi, who didn't have perhaps all the materials to build a temple like Solomon, but could say that the workmanship was exceedingly fine, and I imagine that no labor or material was spared in making it."

Well, Seth only sent one picture so we will get to it first.

His mother prepares "12-Days-of-Christmas" treats for all the children and grandchildren. They have a treat package to open on each of the 12 days leading up to Christmas. She sent Seth's to him in a missionary stocking obtained in a family White Elephant exchange last year.

Here is a comment he made about the package. "I received the package and no I have not opened any yet. I did remember a couple days later we have problems with ants, and a stuck the packages in the freezer after banging out a lot of them. I hope all is well, just a little more crunchy when I can enjoy the presents."

Since he hasn't developed a pattern of sending many pictures, I have to come up with some of my own. The following shows the distance between where he is serving and where Kevin served about half of his mission

Kevin served on San Pedro Island (noted by the red marker) which is a 10-hour bus/ferry ride from Ciudad del Carmen (city name was cut off in the picture - it is in the Campeche province) and Belize City a 7.5 hour bus ride. Seth gets to see (but not get in) the Gulf of Mexico. Kevin got to see the Caribbean Sea but only get in the bay for baptisms.

Highlights of the week...

• Splits with the Zone Leaders on Wednesday (Seth's companion is district leader so this happens some what regularly.)
• A bad run of intestinal problems which kept him from enjoying a nice meal offered to them
• Helping clean the house and car of a family that rents the apartment to the Zone Leaders on Thursday then traveling to Villahermosa for a zone conference.
• Friday they had a zone conference with a general authority, Elder Pino. Seth learned that he was the Seventy that visited our Stake a few months ago, but we missed it because of a grandson's Baptism.
• Sunday was a big day, "I have been struggling for months to really be happy in this work, and to sacrifice what I needed to with desire. I really don´t what changed, and I couldn't say with exactness something that I realized or anything, but I did learn how to love people a little more. Elder Vazquez is a great example of loving the people and making them feel great, and he is in general energetic and enjoys the blessings of this [work]. When I started acting a little more like him and letting myself joke and talk with the people, I could feel the Spirit enter more."
• Shortly after coming to the above realization, Seth learned that Elder Vasquez was to be transferred in a week -short of the normal training period new missionaries are with their first companion. Elder Vasquez has been a wonderful trainer and we are grateful for him.

Seth's companion's birthday was this past week.

Hermana Geni Galvez (on the left) surprised him with a cake. He was pretty excited for it.

The church has launched a new video and encouragement for sharing light leading up to Christmas.

They had a Family Night activity at the church and presented the video and gave some of the cards to everyone to share.

"Us with Hermano Casanova (next to my companion) and Hno. Flores (next to me.) Hermano Casanova is super loving and friendly and does a lot for us. Hno Flores does the same and is the first counselor in the bishopric."

I think the following may be our first photo involving scenery.

"We caught this sunset along the beach. The bridge to the island is in the middle right. You can see it rise up a little right before the tree."

As is typical in missionary service, Seth and his companion had ups and downs this week.  

Here is an up. 

"In the general message to us this past week President Haws really emphasized that we need to meet the goal of 12 new investigators, and to bring one to church... when Saturday came we still lacked 7 to meet the goal. I decided to ask the night before for us to find a family to teach so that we could meet our goal. We were blessed Saturday night to teach Carlos Castillo and his two children, and his reference for us was his wife... We fulfilled our goal with others the next two days for the which I am extremely grateful."

Here is a down.

"With Luis Alfonso we were feeling something odd this week. We knew he wasn't being completely honest with his conversion, and last night we met him as he was walking home. He was very ashamed as he told us that he drank, and quickly ended the conversation with a "we'll talk tomorrow" kind of thing. This saddened us, but I hope that he feels that he can be more open with us now so that he can truly be healed by the Atonement and experience the true joy of conversion."

Seth's testimony was longer than normal this week. I will excerpt.

"Yo sé que Cristo tomó nuestras pecados...Él no tuvo nadie para ayudarle sin un ángel, un compañero, que podía sólo mirar y ofrecer su amor... Pero Él dio gloria al Padre y seguía  adelante hasta Él cumplió con el propósito de nuestro Padre. En este misma manera, estoy intentando para cumplir con las cosas que el Padre me envió para hacer... La mas gran cosa podemos hacer por Él es para recibir con toda de nuestras corazones su don, y ayudar los demás para hacer el mismo."

I know that Christ took our sins... He didn't have anyone to help Him except an angel, a companion, that could only look on and offer his love... But He gave glory to the Father and continued forward until he completed the purposes of our Father. In this same way, I am trying to comply with the things that the Father sent me to do... The greatest thing we can do for Him is to receive with all our hearts His gift and help others to do the same.

The ward in which Seth is serving had a "family night" this past Friday.

It seems the evening began with a lesson as all good family nights should.

The post-lesson activity was a three legged race.  Obviously, the only running mate that would be appropriate for a missionary is his companion.

I took the liberty of inserting a line to highlight the differences in heights. It is interesting to note that Seth's companion is from another part of Mexico. I don't know if he is an anomaly where he lives but the contrast is noteworthy.

Seth's zone gathered on Saturday so that all could be interviewed by President Haws.

Here is an excerpt from what Seth said about that experience. " I loved the interviews that we got to have with President Haws. While we were waiting for our turns we were introduced to the new Christmas Initiative and Video from the Church. It will be rolled out this Friday, so I can't share it till then. It really is special though and I hope you all can participate in it... One scripture that President Haws told me that I liked a lot was that those who forget themselves in the service of God will have the blessings and knowledge poured upon them like the dews of Heaven. It is interesting to think about how dew is formed and what is implied but this scripture."

I liked Seth's report on one of their investigators. "I'd say that our investigator that is truly trying and following up in all things is Luis Alfonso right now. As you may remember he has struggled with almost every major commandment, but he has read more of the Book of Mormon than any of our investigators, and has attended every meeting that he could ever since he started investigating. Last night (Sunday) we gave him a blessing to help him stop his addictions, and the Spirit was very strong in the visit. We brought a young man named Porfilio to the lesson and he shared Isaiah 1:18 to Luis which brought a special spirit of the Atonement. We are trying and trying with Luis in the hopes that we can present him to the Lord to enter into the covenant of baptism to start his life anew.  Every time that we have visits with him my faith builds in the Lord."

Finally, here is his testimony.

"Sé que si podemos seguir el Señor y darnos a Su voluntad, vamos a ser bendecido en todas las cosas. Sé que Él esta bendiciéndonos en todas las cosas y contestará todo que le pedimos en fe. He visto que Él me ha dado cada cosa que le he pedido, y Él hará el mismo con cada uno de sus hijos. Sé que podemos poner todo de nuestra confianza en el Señor, y cuando lo hacemos, seremos mas bendecido que en cualquier otra manera. Los convenios del Templo son poderosos, y son verdaderas. Necesitamos tratar con todo de nuestras corazones a guardarlos. Sé que Cristo vive, y Él sufrió y murió para nosotros, y [digo] estas cosas en Su nombre con todo mi Fe."

(I know that, if we can follow the Lord and give ourselves to His will, we are going to be blessed in all things. I know He is blessing us in all things and will aanswer all that we ask in faith. I have seen that He has given me every thing that I have asked of Him and He will do the same with every on of His children. I know we can put all our confidence in the Lord and, when we do it, we will be bless more than en any other way. The covenants of the temple are powerful and are true. We need to try with all our hears to keep them. I know that Christ lives and He suffered and died for us and I say these thing in His name with all my faith.)

Seth only sent one picture this week - further confirming they are in their rainy season.

Maybe a little more information on Ciudad del Carmen (thanks, Wikipedia)...

Ciudad del Carmen is a city in the southwest of the Mexican state of Campeche on the southwest of Carmen Island, which stands in the Laguna de Términos on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. As of 2010, Ciudad del Carmen had a population of 169,466, up from the 2005 census of 154,197. In July 2006 Ciudad del Carmen celebrated its 150th anniversary as a city.

The vast majority of habitantes in Ciudad del Carmen comes from other places. This extreme immigration displays an incredibly amazing diversity in culture and lifestyle, the petroleum industry is in part responsible of this phenomenon that results into a rich and extraordinary culture mix.

In the mid 1970s Ciudad del Carmen was transformed from a fishing and shrimping city into a hub for oil when Pemex discovered large amounts of petroleum off the coast. Ever since, Carmen has become a home for Mexican and foreign oil workers alike, including many Texans, and now houses many foreign companies 

Here is a view of the city from the Terminos Lagoon.

Here is an excerpt from his most recent letter.

"A miracle this week was that we found an Hermano named Luiz Alfonzo. Luiz has suffered all of his life with homosexuality, alcohol, and drugs. His life changed with the death of the convert of my companion, Nicanor. He acted as a woman before but had talked with Nicanor about the gospel. After Nicanor died, he cut his hair and decided to change, and is trying to come to Christ. It is no doubt that he will have to have a great change and repentance in his life, but we know and are excited to see the great change the Jesus Christ's Atonement can do in his life. I hope you can pray for him, because we sure are."

Seth sent more pictures this time, with an obvious focus on people who are special to him.

This is Bishop Lala, the bishop of the ward where they are serving.  Here is what Seth said about him. "He's a convert and is a great servant of the Lord."

This is the Tello Galvez family. "They are one of our greatest companions in this work. They will stop absolutely anything to serve us and often do."

This is Hermana Marlene and family. "She is the example of who we should be after our mission. She walks with us and assists us with appointments. She has provided her washer to us and is constantly searching for references for us. She often also supplies beverages and foods, and in general is an example of how we as missionaries should serve."

Lupita and Dora "They serve us a lot, and help us with lessons. They are about to move though."

And the highlight of the week...

Elizabeth (obviously dressed in white) was baptized on Saturday. Here are excerpts from Seth's report. "I was privileged to perform the ordinance, and was blessed to not have to do it twice. It's interesting to do a baptism because we did the service, and off we went teaching lessons and serving without delay. I believe this helps us be humble to realize that this is the Lord's work, and really the successes are not ours. Elizabeth was a little nervous to do it, but all is well, and she is continuing onward."

Missions consist of many highs and many lows.  Elizabeth's baptism was a high. Here is Seth's report of a low..  "A sad thing happened yesterday though, and Victor, who suffers with addictions, out of the blue told us that he isn't going to continue lessons, and he offered to give back all the material he had read and everything. We were shocked when he told us this, and we still don't know the reason why. He said he hadn't violated any of the commandments when we asked him, and we are thinking it might be his family or girlfriend. But we are going to visit him more."

Here is one of the testimonies Seth shared. "I am receiving more and more every day a testimony of the covenants in the temple, and I can truly testify that they are from God. I learned that to the degree that we are willing to sacrifice ourselves for the Kingdom of God, God can bless us even more with His power and knowledge."

Sorry I am a little late on this one.

I will start with a cultural update.

This was taken inside a public restroom. What Seth intended to depict here was the fact that you have to pay to use many public restrooms and, as you pay, you are issued your allotment of toilet paper. I don't know how generous that allotment is but I guess one finds a way to make it work.

Seth hasn't reported many P-day activities mostly because doing laundry at member homes consumes the majority of their time.

We aren't sure how it came to be but they received a washing machine for their apartment this week. He considers that to be a great blessing. 

Seth and his companion (the district leader) went on exchanges with the zone leaders this week.

Seth spent a physically demanding day with Elder Herrera, third from the left, in his area. The good news is that the other ZL and Seth's companion had a wonderful finding day in their area.

Here are some excerpts from Seth's letter.

On Tuesday, Seth's companion and the ZL taught Elizabeth. This is what Seth reported.

"What was interesting in their day was the answer that Elizabeth [received as] to whether the Book of Mormon was true. The night before she had started reading the Book of Mormon but because she was so exhausted that she fell asleep while reading. She woke up later and put the book aside and fell back asleep. Then she started to dream, and a person who she couldn't totally describe started reading from the Book of Mormon to her. The passages she heard were not passages she had read or heard before and she started reading the next morning again, and she found the passage exactly as the person in the dream had described it."

Victor is an investigator who lost his family and just about everything else because of an addiction.  Here is an excerpt of what Seth reported regarding him.

"We are working very diligently with a member as well to help him, because his desires to change are so desperate and strong. He reads everything we give him and more and agrees to everything. If there is anyone to pray for it's him, and us also to know what we should do to help him."

Here is his testimony. (His Spanish and spelling are still a work in progress.)

"Yo sé que Dios vive. Yo sé que dependimos sobre la misericordia de Él y Su Hijo, Jesucristo. Necesitamos entintar en cada momento para guardar nuestras promesas y convenios. Sé que tendré el amor de Dios, y conversión en mi corazón porque Él puede hacer todas las cosas."

(I know that God lives. I know that we depend on His mercy and that of His Son, Jesus Christ. We need to try in every moment to keep our promises and covenants. I know I will have the love of God and conversion in my heart because He can do all things.)

Seth sent two pictures this week, both of which confirmed earlier assumptions.

In an earlier post, I had questioned my understanding of where he said he was serving because he hadn't mentioned the rain. This picture of street flooding would seem to confirm that I had the location right. He said that they have storm sewers but they are always clogged so street flooding is common.

This is a picture of their district after a district class. Seth said that the elder next to him is his companion which confirms my assumption of last week. I am troubled, however, that last week's picture from the president's blog indicated it was a picture of the zone. As you see, there are six sisters in this district picture but none were in the zone picture.  I don't know how that could be. The elders in the back are the zone leaders and Seth went on exchanges with the taller one.

Here are highlights from Seth's letter.

• He recognized and was grateful for little kindnesses shown to him and his companion by the Lord. On Tuesday, he expressed a desire for pozol, a local drink and they were later given some. His companion expressed a desire for ice cream and they were given some that evening.
• Here is a nice report from Wednesday. "This day we had a miracle of finding a family very sincere in their search for the Gospel. We had a lesson with them which we felt the Spirit and we could see the desire of members of this family. The closing prayer was offered by the daughter, and her prayer would rival any member with great knowledge of the gospel. I believe with work and great faith this family, Familia de la Cruz, will find a change of heart and great testimony."
• I particularly enjoyed this from his Friday report. "This day I came to understand during study that love is the greatest medium the Spirit can work through. When we have the pure love of Christ in our hearts, we do not worry about the potential bad things that could happen. We only strive to do what we have been asked to do, for the salvation of the children of God. Then we receive revelation that can change the lives of others in grand manner. I had been blessed with a taste of this love the day previous, and how no manner of affliction seemed to bother me."

Seth didn't send any pictures this week so I was obligated to come up with some on my own. To do so, I googled his mission name and ended up on his mission president's blog.

Here is a picture of the elders in the Carmen Zone with the mission president's wife.  They are a good looking group.

From the group picture, I was able to extract a close up of Elder Vasquez, Seth's trainer. I deduced it was him because he is is standing next to Seth and is the only one who appears to be roughly 6' 1". He is also the district leader.

Here is an interesting excerpt from Seth's account of Wednesday's activities.

"We had a lesson with an Hermana that before was a little loud with laughter, but this day was solemn and listened with wisdom. She is very old and has been sick. One day while unconscious, she had a vision where she was on a narrow path with pits on either side. She didn't want to continue but an angel appeared dressed in white, as she described, with big sleeves around the wrist like the angels depicted in many of our pictures. He said to her to continue, and ever since she has been more humble, grateful, and healthy."

Here are related excerpts from Monday and Friday.

"This night was also rough because we couldn't land a lesson, but we were determined to not retire early and, right before our house, I semi-chased a woman so we could contact her. I will say later [why] this was a miracle...

"That night we met with the contact that I chased down Monday. She is incredibly prepared to receive the gospel. We taught her that she can be with her family again, and the questions she asked were perfect for the Restoration. She has many books from different churches but none of them have given her the truth, and is searching diligently."

We are always grateful for good people who look after our son while he is so far away. One such family is described below.

"We had a meal this day, and the 3 days previous, with the Familia Casanova. They are great examples of Christ-like people. They don't have much but they always strive to provide enough food for us."

We are pleased that Seth is so dedicated to his missionary work that he only thinks of taking pictures when it is about time to write us.

This picture was taken from inside a "combi." In referring to these vehicles, Seth said, "[They are] small and can fit awesome amounts of people." I looked them up on-line (Villahermosa travel guide) and learned they are refurbished small VW vans and are widely used by locals at a price of 5.5 pesos. How many people are an awesome amount in a VW van? Seems like four or more.

In this picture, Seth seeks to impress us with the great sacrifices he is called upon to make. It turns out that the washer and dryer they used didn't function properly and he had to hand wash his clothing to get the detergent out.

I think Seth is serving in Ciudad del Carmen. (It is 85 miles from Villahermosa as the crow flies and 108 miles as the car drives.) However, Wikipedia states, "The city, situated on Carmen Island, has a pronounced dry season that lasts from January through May, with the wet season finishing out the year. September and October bring copious rainfall, with both months averaging well over 200 millimeters." He hasn't mentioned the rain so I could be wrong.

Seth mentioned a miracle on Monday which allowed them to teach Esmeralda and Deanna with whom they weren't able to connect at the appointed time plus four other family members.

Mary had a payday for having insisted that Seth take piano lessons. Here is his report from Sunday. "I had my first sacrament meeting this day, and sight read 2 out of 3 hymns because no one else has been able to learn to play piano. I was blessed exceedingly because there was nothing else I could do to prepare, and I sight read pretty successfully and was glad Heavenly Father allowed me to serve His children in this way."

This week, I will start with some pictures from the MTC just before Seth left.

This is Presidente Castañeda. He has some role in the MTC but, more importantly, he was the first president of Seth's mission. He gave Seth some referrals and expressed love for the people.

This is Seth's MTC district. You are probably disappointed that I can't comment about his being the only male without a suit coat.

This is Seth's companion, Elder Vasquez. Maybe we will get a better picture next time.  Here is what Seth said about him. "He is about 6'1 I think, and is about the happiest guy I know. I'm glad he is my companion and I know there is a lot I can learn from his attitude. He is from Jarisco."

Now, we get to take a tour of the apartment.

I believe this to be Elder Vasquez's bed. You will note the hanging clothes motif that adorns most of the apartment.

This must be Seth's bed. How do I know? That sheet has been in our family longer than he has.

I think that is the fridge. You can't keep many enchiladas cold in it.

Why did he send a picture of the toilet and sink? Maybe to show compassion for us since this bathroom is about as big as the master bath in our house.

This must be their air-conditioning.

They dry their clothes by inserting them between tightly wound cords. As an answer to prayer, Seth figured out how to use a pen to help get the job done. 

We are glad he is being careful about the water.

Here's his testimony.

Este semana he aprendido que necesito aferrar al Barro de Hierro y confiar en Dios. La verdad es que necesito amar mas que cualquier otra cosa. Yo se que mas que cualquier otra cosa, este evangelio es por la felicidad de los hijos de Dios. Yo se Cristo vive, y nos ama.

This week I have learned that I need to hold to the Iron Rod and trust in God. The truth is that I need to love more than any other thing. I know that, more than any other thing, this gospel is for the happiness of the children of God. I know Christ lives and loves us.

Seth is in his mission now and his P-day is apparently changing from Friday to Monday. Because of that, his most recent email was rather brief.

Here are bulleted highlights from his last few days in the MTC.

• Friday we had in field orientation, and basically what I learned was how I should use the members more.
• We had a Book of Mormon discussion that night led by our companionship where we talked about sin and the commitment of the People of Ammon not to sin.
• Saturday I took a grammar test in which I got a 67%, which I guess is good. 
• We taught some new member volunteers, Marisa y Carlos. Carlos was impaired and she is about ready to go to the temple. She expressed that she didn't have any sort of preparation, and I was blessed to have my Preparing to Enter the Holy Temple pamphlet to give her, which she appreciated. 
• Sunday we were released as Zone Leaders, which was somewhat different but I was okay. I bore testimony. This day was very spiritual and I was able to bless two hermanas who wanted blessings. 
• That night people stayed up late, and I tried to motivate them, but I also had to get everything ready. So I got 45 minutes of sleep.
• I have been blessed to converse pretty freely with everybody [in Villahermosa], but I am running solely on a miracle because I am exhausted.

The mission secretary sent us two pictures from shortly after Seth arrived.

Here he is with the mission president and his wife. Seth reports that President Haws "is a pretty peppy man."

Here we have President and Sister Haws with all those missionaries who left the Mexico City MTC on September 26. You will note that Seth is is the only one who isn't Latino. You will also note that, again, he is the only one without a suit coat. Thank goodness the president didn't have one either.