June 11-17th, 2013

Hey guys,

first off, Happy Fathers day yesterday dad!! I hope you had a great day and are relaxing a bit on your vacation!! I love getting the e mails on p day and hearing about the stuff your doing. That´s cool that your gonna start workig mom, i think you´ll be able to handle it just fine. Whos is ash living with, how many? yes mom i am e mailing some of my friends and its pretty awesome to hear about their adventures. i´m also happy to hear the dad is feeling a litle bit better en his back.

well it was a good week this week. we didn´t baptize but we have two scheduled for this week. Benjamin, and ezequiel. This week was a stake conference in tierra blanca, the stake center is really small here, so we didn´t all fit but they put tv´s in other rooms so we could all fit. but we couldn´t hear too well, our tv was sucky haha. our president of mision came and also the temple president, to talk in the conference. the wife of president treviño saw me and she´s like wow, elder you are really red, are you using your sun block haha i was like yea hermana but its not working too well haha. she said she is going to try and get permission for the elders in tierra blanca to wear hats haha. we have a training on wednesday this week so we are going to go to veracruz all day wednesday.

We have been teaching some really poor families lately and i´ve realized that it really is hard for me to teach these really poor people, because i feel really bad. on friday we were sharing a message about the gospel to a family with a small baby, they can´t afford diapers or enough food for the bapy, so the naked starving child started going to the bathroom in his crib, and one of his older sisters took him out of the crib and put him in the brush to go the bathroom. then cleaned the poop out of his crib. i felt so sad for the poor baby and couldn´t take it anymore, so we quickly finished the lesson, went to the store and bought diapers for the baby. the family was really grateful. this is just one example. i haven´t really mentioned anything about the poverty here in my letters but it has really opened my eyes. it has made me feel so grateful to be from america and have a family that can cover my needs. we have been really blessed. The amazing thing is that the poverty, a lot of times, doesn´t affect their happiness at all. i have met some of the happiest people here that don´t have the commodoties that we do. I know that we won´t take any of the material things with us when we die and the things most important are spiritual.

well we had a problem in the zone this week because a companionship got in a fight. the result, president sent one to another area in another zone. It was sad because this elder has a lot of potential and could have been a good leader, but now he will be the junior companion for quite some time. the good part is that we will have the chance to train the new district leader that came to fill his spot. it´s the first time he´s been district leader, so we can mold him to work good with his district.

well i´m happy and loving life here in tierra blanca. thanks for everything guys, talk to ya next week!

love elder broadhead

June 3rd-11th, 2013

Hey guys,

Wow, i got a ton of e mails this week so i spent a lot of time reading and don´t have much time left to write but it´s ok, i like hearing about things back home. i have been gone for a long time. it is starting to settle in that my mission is going to have to come to an end someday, it is really hard to think about and it scares me a little bit. i love it here and i love being a missionary. that´s crazy to think that ashley is already out of the house. How´s the empty nest life mom and dad? it´s weird to think about it. sounds like you guys are not wasting any time getting going with the fun stuff haha. where is aruba? sounds like another fun vacation. It sounds like ash is really liking her first few days away from home. sorry to hear that you are sick tara, hope you get better. sounds like you have a good bishop.

 

This week was awesome. we baptized, tonio y flor, the two kids of the great family that we have in the teaching pool. They are so awesome and they love the gospel and the church. I know that i was sent here specifically to find them. they are so in love with the gospel and everything about it. they invite everyone they know to church and we are teaching two other families just because of their references. I baptized flor y elder offer hall baptized tonio. it was soo funny they wanted to take a dive in the font afterwards haha. they only bard part is that obdulio still doesn´t have enough money to go to veracruz to get divorced, he says that he can probably go this week, and then we will help them get married here in tierra blanca and they can finaly get baptized. this week we couldn´t find too many good new people to teach. two people went to church that we found saturday night and invited them for sunday morning, and they went! it was awesome. This week is going to be stake conference so we will see how it goes. we are working hard in the zone and we are improving every week. In tres valles they are going to baptize a family that i found last year when i was there.  haha. it is weird to think that sometimes we just plant seeds.

this week i dedicated to studying about the atonement. wow it was an awesome week of studies. I especially enjoyed reading a detailed, very detailed, description of the atonement out of Jesus the Christ. It really is a great book. Talmage analyzes every step of the life of jesuc christ and i feel like i have really gained a deeper understanding of christ´s infinite sacrifice. i feel like i can teach it better. one of the things i love most about being a missionary is teaching people about the atonement from the book of mormon. the words i use to teach it might be about the same, but i will definitly be speaking with greater conviction. I know that Jesus Christ is the savior of the world. The atonement is incomprehensible but i know that He suffered for me and that he thought about me and my life and my sins, even if it was just for a moment, when he was suffering in those terrible days. I know it was necessary that he suffered. I know He loves us and I love him in return and I try my best to do what he asks me to do so that i too can be exalted one day. 

thank you for everything guys!! I love you all so much!!

love elder broadhead

May 27th-June 3rd, 2013

Hey guys,

It was pretty funny hearing about the birthday fun and the new developments of the week. Sorry it´s a little late, but happy birthday dad!! I hope you have a great fifty third year, i´m sure you will. Thanks for being the best dad a guy could ask for. I love you a lot and wish you a happy birthday. Presents will have to wait until after haha.

This week was good. We worked really hard, Elder offer hall and i, and we had really good numbers. we brought eight people to church and the baptism of jose antonio was great. simple, fast, and spiritual. He was really nervous for his baptism but we did a few practices and he felt better. he is really timid, and i saw that he was shaking a little bit after the baptism but he was happy and thats what counts. the family we are teaching is progressing and they love going to church and the english class haha. the only problem is that they are not married and the dad, obdulio has to get divorced still. But we are going to baptise the two kids, this week. it´s great because this family always gives us a ton of references. they are really social and know a ton of people and anyone that passes by when we are there teaching them, they always yell at them so they come in and listen too haha it´s awesome. the only problem in the lessons is that obdulio talks a ton haha sometimes we have to cut him off a little bit, but it´s all part of being an effective misionary. That is one thing abou the people here, is that they talk like you can´t believe haha. This week the assistents came to do divisiones with us. it was good. we also went to veracruz on thursday for the counsil of leaders. it was also really good. This week we will be working with julian as well. he has been to church three times now, but he still feels like he wants to know more before his baptism. we almost have taught him all the lessons and commandments, and then we are going to let him decide.

the zone is slowy improving, we just have trouble with the elders en tres valles, they are not working very good. we are going to go do divisiones with them this week to see what is happening. It is still raining everyday in the night and morning and sometimes in the afternoon, but then the sun comes out and it´s hot. we have been lucky, we havent got too whet yet. Things are good with me and my comp, but i think we need to be a little bit more focused sometimes we get distracted talking about things cause he is about to finish his mission, but we are going good. I try to serve him alot, ironing his shirt, shining his shoes, little things so that we can have the spirit more. I have been lucky in the mission, my companions have been good.

well that´s about it, tell brother accord and cook that i say hi too! thanks for everything guys, I love you all! good luck in moab ash!

May 20-27th, 2013

Hey guys,

happy anniversary mom and dad, that is a long time you have been married. congragulations!! i hope you had a good day.

thanks for the updates everyone. it was good to hear from dustin. that´s true dad, i haven´t heard from tara in a long time. where is ash gonna live in moab? and yes itis going to be hot there, but she is going to be in air conditioning the whole time verdad?

This week was good. last sunday in the night. we found a great family to teach. we taught them throughout the week and they accepted everything. they even went to our english class that we teach on saturday. on sunday they went to church and loved it. the only bad thing is that the parents are not married and the dad has to get divorced from his exwife and then get married to his current wife. they have two kids, of thirteen and eight years old. they have baptismal date for the eighth of june. it´s a little hard to teach them cause the dad, obdulio, talks a ton haha. He is going to go to veracruz this week to get divorced and then the marriage would be here in tierra blanca next week and the baptism the following week. we are excited. we have two probables for this week. we are working with jose antonio, he has a smoking problem, and with julian, he just doesn´t feel sure that he wants to get baptized. the good thing with julian is that he prayed to find out if the book of mormon was true and felt shivers go all over him and knew it was true. we are going to base our lesson tonight off of that so that he commits to get baptized this week.

the zone is not going to good, but i am still excited to try and help the elderes and get the zone going good again. the month of may was bad for us but in june we already have a lot of people getting ready for baptism in the zone.

this week started the rainy season here. it has bee raining pretty good but we have been lucky and haven´t gotten to whet yet. The bad part is that it rains in the night and the morning but in the afternoon the sun comes out and it all evaporates and it is literally like a sauna. haha we have to drink a lot of water cause we swet a lot.

well i don´t have too much to saythis week. time is flying. and i am trying hard.

i wanted to send some pictures, but the computer is acting up so it will have to wait until next week, sorry!

love youguys.

love elder broadhead

May 13th-20th, 2013

hey guys,

well first off thanks for the e mails this week. they were really good. Ash thanks for the spiritual thoughts, and dad as well, thanks for the advice. don´t worry though, i work hard every minute of the day, i know that the time i have left is not much and i try to take advantage. mom what kind of job did you apply for? sounds like you guys had a great trip to boston. i jeaous. glad to hear that the family is doing good and that scott could get baptized.

this week mi and my new companion elder offer hall worked a lot. and we tried hard to complete with the standard of excellence of the mission and we almost did it. that just means fill all the goals for the key  that the mission has. this week in the zone we didnt have any baptisms. thats called a blanqeza. i feel a little bad cause it the first one this zone has had in like a year. but oh well, i am excited to try to help the zone improve. i feel like i have developed good leadership skills lately. it hard cause there is no part in preach my gospel that tells you how to be a good leader, you just have to learn from experience, the scriptures, and through the spirit. i feel like now i am really helping the elders be better missionaries and improve every day. that makes me feel good. me and my companion get a long really well and work good together. sometimes we are not on the same page when we teach, but that comes with more time together. this week has been incredibly hot . right now we are at 113 degrees farenheit plus the humidity hjah i have never felt this kind of heat before haha. but we try to avoid it at all costs, but sometimes we cant.

this week we had a few investigators go to church, so we were happy and this week, julian, has his baptismal date. he is the brother of david, one that we baptized a few weeks ago. we are surely but slowly finding more and more people that god has prepared for us to baptize. i have really developed a love for teaching the gospel and helping people. i also love studying the scriptures and the liahona. i used to never read the church magazines before, but they´re awesome i really missed out. i am also working to develop more christ like attributes. something that has helped me is just asking myself, every time i have a dicision to make, what will god think of me? what will god think of me if i do this, or say this or act in this way? it has helped me a lot become more like christ in everyday dicisions. a lot of times we worry about what other people are going to think or going to say instead of thinking what will god think of us if we make a certain decision.

well all in all im happy and working hard and trying my best to fulfill the missionary purpose. i love you all and am happy to be part of your family. keep up the good work.

love elder broadhead

May 6th-13th, 2013

Hey peeps,

it was awesome talking to you guys yesterday, sorry i coldn´t speak very good english haha, i really don´t have a problem speaking english, i don´t know what happend to me haha. But it looks like you guys are doing good and having a fun time. Today we are going to do divisiones with the ward mission leader and the secretary of the ward so elder paredes can go say goodbye to some people and me and the ward mission leader can get some work done. I´m excited for the changes and i know we are going to have a lot of success here in the area and zone. the zone is a little bit low but we are working to get it back to full status.

the pictures are off us and the district leader and his companion eating pizza last p day. so don´t worry dad we do do some fun stuff on p day haha. the other picture is of the family i was telling you about yesterday. when the dad (jose alberto) gave the opening prayer through tears in his eyes he thanked god for making him the happiest man in the world. the spirit really touched me heart in that moment and i felt really glad to have been a part of it. This last week when we would get to their house at night to teach them, we would find them all huddled around the little table in their small two room block house reading a loud from the book of mormon, waiting for us. I know the gospel of jesus christ changes lives, i´ve seen it in my own life and countless times in the lives of others.

now i´m working on getting a good zone class prepared for this week. i´m going to teach the elders about developing christlike attributes. i think if we were trying to be more like christ we would have more success here. all in all i´m happy and working hard. love you guys a lot and talk to ya next week!

love elder Broadhead 

April 29th-May 6th, 2013

Hey guys,

It was great to hear from you this week. Sounds like it was a good week and that you are going to have a fun trip en boston. I´ll be using the skype account of my companion. his account is, ElderParedes11  but you never told me what account to call! do i call ashley´s account or how do i do it? also i´m not too sure that the hermana will have the latest skype downloaded, remember that we are in mexico over here. Well i´m sure everything will work out fine. i´ll be doing it at six o clock mexico veracruz time on sunday the twelvth. It´s gonna be fun to talk to you guys again! By the way, how is everything going for the baptism of scott?

This week was pretty crazy. We went to veracruz on thursday for the zone leaders counsel but now it´s just called council of leaders because now there are girl missionary leaders haha. since there are a lot of misioneras getting here they made sister missionary leadership positions. they just do divisiones with the other sisters. But saturday night, when we were going to the house of pedro with elder sanches to do the baptismal interview, we got there and pedro and his wife were just leaving because the grandma of pedro had gotten sick and they had to take her to veracruz! yikes! he said he wasn´t going to get back until sunday in the night. There wasn´t anything we could do. We were already fasting for him and praying a lot so he could get baptized. we just told him that if he got back early enough on sunday we could do the baptism. he said ok. so yesterday night we were at the church in a meeting with our district leaders when he sent us a message that said he had gotten back to tierra blanca. we hustled to his house, did the interview, and he got baptized. it was a miracle.

This week i have been thinking a lot about a scripture in juan 17 3 that says that life eternal is knowing the father and christ. There is another scripture in doctrine and convenants 132 22-24 that says knowing christ is accepting him while being here on the earth, or, getting baptized. I have been thinking about what it would be like to really know christ, to know how he really looks, how his laugh sounds, what´s his voice like, if he´s serious or a jokester, or what we would talk about if we had some time together. In these last few days, thinking about this, i´ve really felt a desire to get to know him better. I am excited to be able to really get to know him one day in the celestial kingdom, to be able to sit down and spend time with him. But i´m going to start thinking about him more, especially during the day. the assitents came this last week to do divisiones with us, and elder fox suggested that i could think more about christ and his atonement, especially throughouth the day and that i would feel a diferent spirit come into my life. and it´s true. I invite you guys to do the same.

Well that´s about it for this week. i´m happy and working hard here in tierra blanca. we are going to baptize jesus, niño, this week and we are excited. it´s the last week of the cambio and so next tuesday i´ll be getting a new companions. elder paredes has been here for six months, so he´s gonna get transfered.

thanks for everything, i love you guys. talk to you on sunday!

love elder broadhead

on sunday remind me to tell you about carnaval and the mangos.