Updates from La Venta

Skyping Elder Liljenquist on Mother's Day! 5-12-13

Elder Liljenquist was doing great! Such a happy day seeing him! He's even forgetting some English:)

Email from 5-13-13

Hey Everyone!

It was another good week! I actually love my new area here in La Venta. This area is really poor, and pretty run down, but the work is going really good! We put 2 people on date for the 1st of June! One of them is  named Walter. He lives with his famiy that is catholic. He has 3 brothers and 2 sisters. He is the oldest. He is 14 years old. But he is a really cool kid! We met him when we were visiting a family that are members and he and one of their kids are friends. He came to church the past Sunday and told us that he wants to be baptized! He has a pretty rough life. His parents won't pay for him to go to school. They use the money to pay for their alcohol instead. I think he finally felt like he had a family when he was with us in church. You could tell that it meant a lot to him! The other date, her name is Norma. She is 24 years old and lives alone with her mom. Her mom wants nothing to do with us but she seems to be really receptive to hear our message! This past week has gone by pretty slow haha. I have been waiting all week to be able to talk to my family! It went really good! And it felt really good to see all of them! So, yesterday after church ,we went around and did some contacting to get to know our area a little better and we ended up being in the middle of the jungle haha. We found this little village. In front of this little hut looking house, 4 old men sitting in a circle with their beer and liquior around their feet were singing at the top of there lungs haha. So we walked up on them. Not sure why we did, but they all stopped and just stared at us! One of them got up and got right in my face! He smelled so bad!! haha. But I helped him sit back down again and we started to talk to them. One guy was missing a hand. He said that he got it taken off because he kidnapped a kid and got caught...haha. I felt like we should probably leave after he said that! But then they like started to repent to us, saying how they want to stop drinking and leave it all behind! So we actually set an appoinment with them! haha ....We'll see if they remember!  Everything is going really good here! I am continually learning so much each day! I am so grateful for this opportunity that I have to be out here! 

Elder Liljenquist

 Loving the CTR rings from Elder Liljenquist:)

Email from 5-27-13

Hey Fam!

Well this past week has been pretty up and down. We  have found a lot of new investigators! The hard part is just to get them to keep their commitments! We are still working with Walter and his Family. His mom is hard to get. We have tried to get back on teach her and her family but she tends to always be out of the house for some reason! Well, we had a lesson about the Word of Wisdom with her and the next day she couldn't even wake up she was so wasted...that was awesome! ...not. Gosh haha but she had a excuse for it...she says it was because there was a party. That's ok right?? haha I guess we need to talk about the Word of Wisdom again! We have been working with a lot of our less actives here. If we could get all of them to come back to church, they would turn this Branch into a Ward! We have been trying to work alot with them. We visited one this past week. This family has not been to church in almost a year or so. We had a really good leson about agency and the Holy Ghost. Haha kinda made it as obvious as I could that they need to come back to church haha! But Yesterday, they came!! I was so pumped when I saw them there! We also had transfers today. Luckily I will be staying here so we can hopefully see the baptisms that we are working for! We have worked really hard in this area, and we have been praying everyday to see some change in our investigators. Spanish is getting alot better! But I still need help with it like none other! Im noticing things and being able to talk without problems when I am not thinking about my spanish, haha .But once I start to worry and doubt myself, thats when it all goes down hill!! Keep praying for me!! Everything is going good here! Just got to keep working! We have Walters baptism this Staturday! We are really excited for him! Hopefully during the service, his mom will be able to see and feel the spirit work and will hopefully make changes in her life!! I love you all so much!

Elder Liljenquist

Email from 6-3-13

Hey Everybody!!

What up!! Well the beginning of this week was kind of a slow start!... Just investigators not progressing!! The world would be so much better if alcohol didn't exist!! haha. It honestley doesnt matter what time of day it is here! It could be 11 in the morning and they're pounding cases of Coronas while laying in their hammocks! haha. Some of them are pretty funny though! We always walk past this little house that's on the main road, and the family are actually members! The dad is a complete drunk. Its all he does. He'll go to the gas station and buy the 15 peso alcohol thats in those plastic bottles. haha. Think about it, thats like  1.25 USA money! I bet that stuff just tears you up inside! Well, we were walking past his house and he was out just as drunk as ever, and walked right up to us. We said hi and just kept walking. But he had grabbed my comp and wouldn't let go! So I had to rip this guys death grip off my comp. He wasn't too happy about that! Luckily, my comp grabbed me and we just kept walking.

 Just the usual here. We were really just working to get to Saturday! We had the baptism of Walter! It went so good! It was so cool to see how excited he was! And his best friend, that is a member, got to baptize him! It went really good! His mom and his little brother came. You could tell that they were a little nervous and felt really out of place. Having them watch the baptism of Walter and see it all happen, really let the Holy Ghost testify to them. You could see it working in them! It was so cool! His little brother really has showed no inetrest in us, but after seeing his brother get baptized, he came up to me and my comp and asked us when he could be babtized!! haha. It was so cool!! He and his mom are on date for the 15 of june!! We are really excited for them! Other than that this week has been alright! We are just really looking for a family to start teaching! It gets kind of discouraging at times when you see these people that know the gospel and you know how much it could help them, and it never happens for them or they just reject it. I know that there is a time and a place for everyone though! And that's why we are here! To give these people that opportunity to either except or reject what we have. All we can do is what the Lord wants, and if we do that, we can know that everything is going to be ok! I know it's true. I've seen the truthfulness work in these people. We are all so lucky to have had it all of our lives! I love you all! Keep praying! 

Elder Liljenquist! 

Shout out to my Bro, and Lone Peak for winning the Ute Shoot!!

Playing Soccer:)


Email from 6-10-13

Hey Everyone!!

Well another week down here in La Venta Tabasco!! Crazy how fast the time is going by! This week has been like a roller coaster!! So we started out the week pretty good! We have just really been searching for new investigators and trying to get the ones that we have to keep there commitments and most of all, just to come to church! We have be working with the Family of Walter still almost everyday! They seem to be doing pretty good, His younger brother Ulicces, has a baptism date for this Saturday. So we are really excited about that! His mom is still doing pretty well, just we cant get hereto come to church for anything! On Tuesday, we had to go to a city called Coatzacolcos. Its in Veracuz. Its actually really close but we went there to have our zone meeting. It was good to see all of the Elders there and to be able to talk to them haha, A ton of new elders from Utah just came in and haha, I shouldn't worry too much about my spanish! But it was good to be able to talk to them! We also got to go to Subway! haha .It was the best thing ever!! I miss the food back at home. The food here is pretty good, just not like at home! I've pretty much been living off peaunt butter and jelly sandwiches and fruit. So Thursday, most of our appointments fell through, so we had pretty much nothing to do. We were both thinking of people that we could go and see and we both thought of this old investigator that we found when I first got to the area. His name is Eddie Burto. But he has a terrible problem with drinking and whenever we met with him he was usually past out in his hammok. But we went to go see if he was there. So we got to his house and yelled to see if he was home(haha thats how you have to get there attention) but he came out and looked like he was so excited to see us! He brought out some chairs and brought the pamphlet that we left him. We started to talk and he said that he read the pamphlet and read the the chapter in the book of Mormon that we left him. And he told us that he knows that its true! haha. We were both stunned! And them he also said that he has not been drinking for 4 days!! He just had a question about the Baptism because like everyone else here, he was baptized in the Catholic church when he was a baby. So we explained to him what the priesthood is and how we need to have this authority to be able to baptize. So after he accepted our invitation and said that he would be batized!! The only thing is that next day he didn't show up to church! But we are going to go by and see him tonight to see whats up! But yesterday in our Gospel Principles class ,we were talking about the Atonment and the Preisthood. Dont know why both together, just cause they are too huge subjects.... But I was able to learn so much more about the Book Of Mormon and the Atonment of Jesus Christ. The Book of Mormon is such a good tool that we have here in this world. I am convinced that we can find all of our answers inside this book, There is no way that we will ever be able to understand the Atonment, but through the BOM, we can search and find our answers in it.

 Then after church, we always eat at our Branch Presidents house. We got to his house and waited for his wife to bring out what we were going to eat, and we usally eat pretty good with them. Haha. She brought out these big plates of crab!! It was so good!! haha. The best thing that I have eaten here so far!! She said that they were caught Saturday....soo good! But it has been a good week here! Hopefully we will see some change in our investigators this week!! Just got to keep workin at em!!

Love

Elder Liljenquist