This will be my last blog post while Seth is in the MTC. He says that he will leave at 2:30 a.m. tomorrow for Villahermosa. I'm sure there is a good reason for leaving that early but I can't imagine what it would be.

Seth didn't send a lot of pictures this week so I thought I would go back and pick up one that I overlooked earlier.  These are family members who attended the sacrament meeting where he spoke just before he left for Mexico. Chad is the one next to Mary whom you can't really see. We were pleased to have Seth's four oldest siblings with, at least, part of their families with us that day. Laura had to return home to her family. Kevin was on his honeymoon. April was working in Alaska. Cherisse's selfie stick came in handy.

This picture was taken from the bus on the way to the temple the P-day before Seth's last email. He had wanted to show how narrow the streets are and how many vendors are in those streets. We don't get a clear picture of those so we will need to use our imaginations.

I guess the missionaries have to pass through this alley, or whatever it is, to get to the computer lab where they send their weekly emails. Not having remembered to take other pictures, Seth shared this part of their P-day experience.

This would be the computer lab. My guess is that Seth and others from his district aren't dressed like the Elder at our right because they just came from the temple.

Here is an excerpt from his recent email.

"We saw recordings from the Provo MTC that night with Elder Bednar and Elder Holland. Elder Holland emphasized that we should focus our studying on gaining a testimony of what we would teach... He also talked about one of the characteristics of Christ was that when he was suffering He turned out, not in."  That is good for all of us to keep in mind.

Here is his testimony.

"Yo se que Dios ha bendecido mi vida mucha. Yo se que mi habilidad para hablar español ahora es de Dios, y que por el Espíritu podré hablar por mi para mis hermanos en Villahermosa. Yo se que necesitamos no temer el Mundo, y si necesito, hablaré las palabras de Dios a cualquier persona sin reproche." (I know that God has blessed my life a lot. I know my ability to speak Spanish now is from God and that through the Spirit, I will be able to speak to my brothers in Villahermosa. I know we don't need to fear the world and, if needed, I will speak the words of God to whatever person without reproach.)

Another week, another post. Let's just say this was a slow picture week.

Seth left his athletic shoes at home so he had to buy these Nikes down there. Having bought shoes in Mexico may have contributed to his picking up the game of soccer (aka futbol)  Here is a related comment form his last letter. "I have been  blessed to get better at soccer, and I enjoy it a lot now." He should be grateful, when I was in Argentina all those years ago, we weren't allowed to play any sports. (Should I be over that by now?)

Seth said he took this picture of Elder Zimmerman because he didn't have a close up of him. This is the room where they go to send their emails on P-day. Seeing the look on his face and the logo on his T-shirt, my guess is that he just read a report from his family about the BYU offense. 

Seth was pleased to buy these covers for his scriptures. About them he said, "I bought these as a good visual aid during lessons and to have something from the mission."  

Immersing missionaries in the culture of their country of service is an important part of missionary preparation. In reference to Thursday and Friday, Seth said, ". [Thursday and Friday} are Mexico's Independence Day. They were very decorated everywhere in the CCM and they had a lot of good food for the meals, including Pazole (I think) which is a lot hotter than I expected it to be. I wish I had taken pictures this day because it was cool. That night we had a cultural celebration in the gym. There was some nuts dancers and a mariachi band. They had a tribal dance where they had a lot of cool fire tricks and what not." Since he didn't provide pictures of the celebration, I picked up a couple from the Internet.  

I will finish with his report of Sunday:

"Then we had our 2nd Apostle Devotional in a week from Elder Ballard who spoke on rule keeping and being a light to cut through the confusion of the world. He quoted Pres. David O Mckay and said, 'It's better to be trusted than to be loved.' And I like that a lot, because I know the purest love will come from being trusted, just maybe not a first."

We received our third letter from Seth in the Mexico City MTC and here is my summary of his report.

Seth enjoyed attending the temple frequently before his mission so he was pleased that, on the previous P-Day, they were allowed to go to the Mexico City temple.  Note the smile. He said, "I enjoyed the temple, and... I could listen to a lot of the ceremony and learn words and understand many others."

Here is another picture of the temple that gives a little more perspective as to its size.

This is the Christus statue in the visitors' center. I believe these are members of his district. Again, I note with interest that he is the only male without a suit coat. His mission must be quite unique in never wearing suits. He said, "The Visiting center was way cool."

Finally, he was pleased that a charter bus took them to the temple because it facilitated a nap that was much appreciated.

Here's a report on some of his leadership experience.

"We had a meeting with the maestros of the zone, and agreed to help some specific missionaries. That night we went to practice a lesson with an Elder who was not confident in his ability to use Spanish, and we prayed he would gain it. He pretended to be the investigator and understood a lot of stuff, and was super excited that he did. Our Father blessed him exceedingly to understand the lesson and his confidence grew a lot because of how much he understood."

Here are some comments about his personal growth.

"I am glad that missions exist to give us much trials to conquer so that we may grow closer to God. I empathize with the man who scolded the Sunday School class about the suffering of the Willy Handcart company, and I do not regret all the suffering for how it has brought me closer to my God."

"I studied Charity and have found it is something I really am lacking, and I plead often and hard to have it... Praying for charity works."

So, Seth figured out the photo upload thing and I have a good number to share this week.

These are all the missionaries who were starting their mission together in the Mexico MTC. This is before they boarded the plane in SLC. It appears that Seth is the only male who doesn't have a suit coat on. The letter from his mission president said they would never wear suits and not to bring any. That was one of our first clues that it will be very hot and humid where he is going.

Here is Seth with his companion, Elder Zimmerman. We understand that what he lacks in height he makes up for in energy. He said they are working to magnify their leadership assignments more, particularly with one district which has had struggles. While referencing devotional meeting with another district, Seth said, "I shared a good amount of personal experiences on how exact obedience and faith in the priesthood has brought miracles for me."

Seth didn't have time to explain every picture so I am assuming this is his district. I believe they meet in all of their classes together. Why is Seth the only one wearing a sweater?  My guess is that his shirt isn't pressed.

Speaking of meeting together for their classes, my guess is that this is the classroom where they spend many hours a day. Since there were 12 people in the district picture, I assume there are desks not included in this picture.

This looks like the cafeteria to me. He says he sits by Latinos at almost every meal so as to practice his Spanish but they run out of things to talk about.  He is better than I was. When I was in the LTM, we sat by people learning a language other than Spanish so we could speak English.

This would be where he and Elder Zimmerman sleep. I wonder who gets the high bunk.

Here is his testimony.

Yo se que si tenemos no duda, y tenemos fé in Cristo, podemos hacer todas las cosas. Mi motivación por mi misión ahora, es mostrar a las otras misioneros que Cristo no esta un mentiroso. Con fé y el voluntad de Dios, podemos hacer milagros y todas las cosas. Podemos trabajar mucho y no tener sueño. Yo se que con Dios, podemos aprender este idioma en 6 semanas, y enseñar entonces no persona puede tener incredulidad

(I know that, if we have no doubt and have faith in Christ, we can do all things. My motivation for my mission now is to show the other missionaries that Christ is not a liar. With faith and the will of God, we can do miracles and all things. We can work a lot and not be sleepy. I know that, with God, we can learn this language in six weeks, and then teach so no person can have disbelief.