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.