e-mail 08.23.2010

I didn't get an e-mail last week... I will try to track that down so we can fill some holes! Other than that, Enjoy!

P.S. I will try to post the pics he sent in the next couple of days. Thanks for your patience!

so i just remembered something in the Mexico city airport after you get through the costums check and all that there is a big sign that says "INCOMING FLIGTHS" haha. it made my day pretty fantastic. but then i forgot because i had to catch another filigth... hahahahaaa..

back to the present. i am doing quite well. i am enjoying my companion pretty much always except in the mornings when he wakes me up early to go "running" he played american football in highschool and absolutely loves excercise. so we go to a local park and i watch him run for 30 minutes every day. haha. i hate loathe and dispise mornings. to me there is nothing more important than my 8 hours of precious precious sleep. but i do enjoy being a good companion so i put a smile on and jog my way over to the park. most of the days this past week it was raining when we woke up so i got to take a little break from that. Today he woke me up and i told him no... i told him that we are going to play Futbol for 2 hours there is absolutely no reason to go excercise. he wasnt happy and calle me lazy and all that but i stayed in my hammock until the alarm sounded. :) it was quite niice... but we get along good and i am happy with the way things are going... it is crazy to think we have been together for 2 weeks already. time is flying and i will be in the home stretch before you know it.

i think i am getting fat... the sisters of the church here feed us sooo good. i dont eat a lot but there are always sodas and cookies and snacks in my hands because they just wait for us to come by to shower us with goodies. haha. but i am enjoying it while it lasts because not all my areas are going to be like this one. i hnestly believe that i am in the best area in the mission.

we are teaching some great people but when sunday comes around something always comes up. they arent understanding the importance of going to church and that is essential in their baptisms. i think we are going to have to drop a lot of people this week to find new investigators who are interested in keeping the commitments. i know that there are chosen people just waiting for us all we need to do is find them. havent baptized in a while and we dont have anyone for this weekend so it looks like i am not going to have anyone in august.. :( a little sad that things are going so hot in the work but i think things are turning around. we are definitely going to baptize the 4th.

GOOD NEWSSSSS.. is that this last saturday my most recent convert went to the temple to do baptisms for the dead and then sunday she got up in front of everyone to give a special testimony of the temple and the church. She is solid. happy to know her.

also one of my first converts named Cristhian is preparing for his mission and this sunday recieved the melquisedec(spanish) piesthood. :) i am so pumped for him. we are going to baptize one of his cuisins in september. he is excited about the mission and only has 9 months left to wait. i hope that the missionaries guide him after i go from here. he is a ward missionary so he has a calling and some work to do.

things are going great. progressing a lot and as always i am learning a ton. i send my love to all the family.

i got some letters this week and if you have written me be sure that in about a month you will get a reply. mexico takes its time sending things to the states. thanks a ton to all of you who love me and supprt me.

keep it coming because i will always need it.

the Church is true. Un Senor Una Fe Un bautismo.

take that literally and you find yourself knocking on the door of salvation.

the power of salvation and the KEYS were lost after the daeth of Christ. the Church that He established disappeared because the people rejected the Prophet and Savior. and if the didnt believe in the SON OF GOD how are they going to baeieve His Apostles... they were all killed or lost.

Through out time God has always ALWAYS had prophets to guide and direct His children and His church. why would that change???

i KNOW that God has chosen and elected Prophets to guide us and teach us in these latter days. starting with Joseph Smith up to today we have the Prophet Thomas S. Monson.

there is no logical doubt no spiritual doubt and no FEAR of doubt.


EVERYTHING TESTIFIES THAT IT IS REAL

i bear this testimony of the truth in the name of our living savior Jesus Chist, Amen.


with love,

Elder Jeffree D. B. Elrey


p.s. isnt San Andres a beautiful place?

e- mail 08.09.10

His grammar is definitely lacking. But he's still my favorite and I still love him!! :)) Enjoy!

hey family...

bet believe i am doin dandy in mexico. i brief overview of the last couple weeks... pretty lame. but i am alive. haha. our work has suffered and our numbers are low and i have no excuses except for the fact that my senior comp doesnt really know how to be a senior comp. so far i have had two comps that have been pretty much DUDS. everyones best friend but dont really know how to work hard. this has had an affect on me but i am ready to start fresh and get back to baptizing. that is my whole purpose here. to bring people to a happy life of truth and light. help them be clean through an ordinance of God but more importantly through the POWER and AUTHORITY that only this church has. thats pretty cool to say. a sad sad blessing is that my favorite family is moving away this week. its only a blessing because i wont be tempted to go visit them very much. haha. they are awesome people and i am so excited to be a part of there life. and they told me i am a part of there Family. peretty sweet... well since i am already out of time ai am gonna keep it breif. i am still here in San Andres and this week my comp is getting changed out and i am recieving Elder Espinoza who is coming up from the other part of the mission to be in paradise with the king. haha. i am really excited for the change and excited to get back to work with someone that hopefully wants to baptize and not slack off. i love you all and i am sitting here smiling while my companion taps his foot impatiently because we are wasting his visit time. this is his last day here and he is trying to cut my internet time short. well at least i will get to have a little more say in things this next month. i know that the church is true. any questions??? write me and ask me.

i love you all but more than that God our Father loves you with an eternal undying love. just think... He sacrificed His Son for you.

do all you can in this life. we are always going to be in debt for that.

i will lay donwn a little more next week.

but for now just know that ...

i am here thinking a little about each and everyone of you... and praying a lot.

con todo mi corazon,


Elder Elrey

08.02.2010

He's so awesome. Please enjoy!!

so this past week has been like a snap. no idea where the days go. is pretty cool to see when you apply yourself to something how you lose track of things so signifigant as TIME... it`s pretty sweet. if there is anybody out there reading this thats not writing me get off your lazy but and drop me a line. i love hearing about the life i left to come to Mexico and be happy. haha. I dont have any sweet fotos this week because i forgot my camera in the house but its all good. next week you will be getting a bunch. this week is the last week before the change so i will be either getting transfered to another area or recieving a new companion. im pretty nervous because i am still here in my first area... and i dont really want to leave... the people here are awesome and the food is even more awesome... i think i am starting to get a little fat in the tummy again because we are eating with everybody we visit. haha.

The Weather has been half way retarded this last week because it will dump rain for like 20 minutes and then be hotter than.... for the rest of the day and then just pretend to be cloudy everywhere else except for where the sun is. its pretty much retarded. but the work is great and the church is true. God loves each and every one of you. be sure to thank him for the blessings he goves this week.


i love you all with a little part of my heart because the majority of it is here in Mexico,


Elder Elrey.


p.s. Somebody fill me in on sports. the AZ teams minus hockey and the REDSOX.
i need U of A......

love

07.26.2010

I love my brother. :)

Not much to say today.....

but life is good. its been hot the last few day and it hadnt rained until we got to the internet cafe right now and now its dumping on us. i dont have much time to write this week and i never feel like i have enough time. first of all i love you all soooo much and i am praying for you all to be strengthened by the spirit everyday and to work extra hard in your callings and service. being here has made me realize the importance of activity and service in the church. the more you serve the happier you will be. so get to church and get to work.

The Companionship... is great. we are friends but we are still after 2 and a half months struggling to find a good rythm in the work. i feel its a miracle that we have anybody to teach. but as things progress we are working out the kinks. we only have two more weeks left and one of us is gonna get shipped to the other side. these next two weeks we are going to work hard to prep the area for the next change. we realy need to find a lot of people and seach to find the chosen few who are ready to accept the gospel. i am so excited to find them but it has been tough. the best is yet to come.

today for a zone activity we went back to Catemaco and played football rapido which is like indoor soccer outside i guess. but it was awesome. i would share the pictures but i left my camera. i love this area and the missionaries in this zone. we are best buds and i am a little scared to think that i might most likely be leaving in 2 weeks. its a fear but i am pushing it back to the back of my mind for now.

i dont have any fun fotos or stories this week but i do have a testimony..

its quick and simple...


i KNOW that Christ lives and loves us. i know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is his church with the same authority and organization that He estalished. i have no doubts. Thomas S. Monson is a modern day prophet. There are 12 apostles. This Church and the Gospel of Jesus Christ are perfect.

i love you all

con todo mi corazon,


Elder Elrey

07.19.10

Didn't have time to e-mail today. Just sent some pictures. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

e-mail 07.12.10

Subject: bueno pues... no tengo ninguna carta en mi correo ahorita, entonces voy a tener mucho tiempo a escribir..

So ... I have no letter in my mail now, then I will have plenty of time to write ..

alright so this week was a lot better. we work hard most of the days and got a lot done. we tought 15 new people and are hoping that 5 of them are going to progress. the new mission president has finally gotten around to coming to the farthest(north) zone in the mission my beloved and blessed Los Tuxtlas. we are having a zone conference tomorrow and i am have way excited to finally feel like i have a leader again. it was pretty strange for a while because President Hansen wasnt our president and we hadnt heard anything from President Castaneda but now we are gonna have the opportunity to learn and progress as a mission and more specifically a zone. its a little joke around here that i am going to meet my long lost grandpappy because his son was my trainer or Dad in the mission. so i think i am going to try out addressing him as abuelito one time just to see if he likes it. haha. i dont think it will go over well but most of you that are reading this know me enough to tell that i am going to do it anyway. :)

the work this week was better. we knocked a lot more doors and taught more lessons than usual but i still feel like not enough. we placed i think 5 baptismal dates but only 1 went to church so all of the others fell like a ton of whatever thing you want. but its all good we are going to return and foind out whatever excuse they have and try to re put a baptismal date. haha. we didnt contact nearly half as much as we should have and i know that that is going to come out in our work in the next week or 2 so i think this week i am going to focus on trying to contact everyone in our path. but to do this effectively it is neccesary to teach effectively as well. if we are teaching effectively we are going to have a lot of time to walk fast and contact everybody/knock a ton of doors. :) as far as our companionship is going i would have to say 100 % better... we are working well and i no longer have the urge to pummel his face. haha. he is a good missionary and a good friend.

we talk a lot at night about him coming to Arizona and checking things out up there in tucson and also doing a little road trip. i honestly think that it could happen. i hope it does. haha.. as i have told you he is from the same mission generation as me so we should be ending the same day down the line. it definitely has been interesting to have an equally young companion and to have to just working through the unknown. but now i feel prepared to work in almost any situation. we have had some rough patched which is to be expected but i am fairly certain that i will be able to handle whatever assignment comes next.

as far as my spanish is going i am not so sure i want to learn it. haha. JUST KIDDING. its kind of sad but language study is my favorite part of the morning. its the only 30 minutes of my day that are not focused on the work. kind of relaxing to take a little break in the day and learn what i am doing wrong. haha.

right now i am studying the book of Mosiah in the Book of Mormon and i am reading it in spanish so it is awesome to be able to see things in a different language. its not directly translated so there are different spiritual things to catch. i am just finished with chapter 15and it is awesome because Abinadi just layed it down on the high priests of Noah and he preached a ton about the Law of Moses and more awesome he layed it down about the first resurrection. i am so excited to one day have the chance to come forth in the first resurrection! he said that the Prophets will resurrect and then the righteous. so i plan on righteousness. i plan on working my whole life to one day go forth in the First Resurrection and stand CLEAN at the judgement bar of God. it is gonna be sweet. also ai am so grateful for the opportunity that we have been given to repent of my sins everyday and be clean everyweek through my baptism and the sacrament. the gift the we have been given by Christ is amazing. He siffered all pains and all afflictions so that we can have this opportunity to live work and die and one day if we worked righteously and with all our might we can return to live with our Father again. it is amazing to me. the Atonement has gifts without number. i encourage all of you to pick up your books of mormon again and just follow the guidance of the index to study the atonement. even if it is just reading about it it can increase your testimony of Christ and His everlasting and redeeming sacrifice.

But now i am going to come to the part where Abinadi gets burned and i dont think that i am going to like that very much. heck i might even let out a man-tear. its been a while since i had a good cry. haha. but i love the book of mormon. i love all that it has given me and the opportunity to really know what God has instore if we are praying and studying with diligence and conviction. something i wish i could do is sit down with each of you and open up the book and just read and see what you think. see with your eyes and feel with your heart how these stories affect you. they are for our learning and our progression in this life. dont let that slip away through your hands. take advantage and really learn.

enough of that.

the weather has been a little weird. it seems that clouds are always on the horizon and that a storm is always coming but directly over head we always have the sun. beaming with all its joy and hate... i mean heat. haha. its humid and i dont have time in my day to check the temperature so all i know is it is hot. one night right when we got into the house after work it opened up for a good rain and our street was filled all the way up above the side walk. i took i picture and attatched it. i also had some good animal shots with bids and a dog that ravaged my arm(notreally) but i love him and his name is Duke(duk-e) because we are in mexico here. he is the dog of a member family and always loves it when i am there to play. also i had some sweet pirate pictures with a real bird on my shoulder but they are on my other memory card so i dont have any to send. BUUUUUt we are always having fun in some way. today for our p-day activity we played full field soccer with strangers and i didnt really do anything but jog around like an idiot and the one time i had the ball i just kicked a guy in the shinn really really hard. haha. soccer sucks.

RUUUUGBY on ther other hand is amazing and i miss it. when you hear news of O.P. or any rugby for that matter i would love some updates. and emails for that matter. i got ia little one from the Dad but that was it this week. how sad. how am i supposed to motivate without emails from the fam/friends... do work people. haha


i love you all and i know that the church is true.


Elder Elrey

ps. Christ only established one church that means there is only one. he established it with a PROPHET with the AUTHORITY and with APOSTLES.

FYI we have all three.

DUH... ITS TRUE.

e-mail 07.05.2010

Subject: man I miss having a Chiropractor..

my back is killing me right now. haha. but i am survivng and looking forward to an awesome week. this week was really mas o menos. because monday and tuesday and pretty much wednesday my companion had a killer ear infection and fever and we were house bound. so i didnt do much this week. haha. sounds like things are settling nicely at home and i am happy to hear form everybody. i love you alllllaaalalalalalalalaaalaalll.

so this was the first week of Mision Mexico Villahermosa and it was quite a confusing one. we didnt know anything or here anything from the president or the asistants until wednesday and we still dont know anything except that there are going to be changes in the middle of this transfer in most of the mission. thats got me a little worried because i never want to leave Los Tuxtlas. San Andres is my home. haha. but tommorow my buddies the Zone Leaders are heading out on the 5 hour bus ride to the mission office for the Zone Leader Counsel and i gouess we will know more in a couple days. what ever happens i am super excited.

THE WORK... came to an abrupt halt in behalf of my pobrecito companero being sick and so now we have a rousing number of 1 solid investigator and she is really hesistant to get baptized. we are gonna work hard this week even if i die doing it. haha. might be nice to die in the Obra Misional. isnt that like a pass to the front of the line??? haha.
anywayyyyy...
the sisters of the branch have treated him like a princess all week and i have been reaping the benefits. food and soda and foooooood and a mountain of Mangos. ha.

Mango season here is great for about 2 weeks and then there are just hundreds of rotten mangos eveywhere and it smells horrible. haha. but i would kill for a cold mango right now... mmmm. haha. it didnt raaiiiin at all this last week and i have been roasting. but strangely the breeze has been like a kiss on the cheek and it takes the bite out of the sun. it is a whole different type of sun here though... your first step of the day you feel like you are either super fat or just dying very rapidly. haha it just presses down on you. and it is huuumid like you wouldnt believe. it is green as green can be here and every tree tries its best to ruin my day by producing all the humidity possible. :) the fun part is that this zone is the freshest climate in all of the new mission. haha. so i am going to enjoy it while i can. the best way to sleep here is in a hammock, curled up like a baby, and a fan blowing full blast. :) half way through the night i actually needed to put a sheet over myself because i was COLD!!!! ha.

i am thinking in spanish a lot now so writing this in english is getting progressively difficult. also i have been getting a lot of complements on my spanish lately. that has helped with my confidence in the streets and with knocking doors. it is just tough to have days where you are teachin 8 or 9 lessons and finding a lot of people but not a single one wants you come back. especially when it is for like 2 weeks consecutive. i think we need to have a companionship inventory this week. companionship inventory is pretty much telling eacother their faults in the most loving way you can and talking about how to change the companionship. i thinki am going to call it tonight after work. we need it bad. i am starting to lose patience with everything he does but i know we can fix things and i know we are friends and i love the death out of him. its wierd to be 21 with a senior comp who is 18 always teliing you what to do and treating you like a little kid. not the most enjoyable but it is a learning game.

anyway... today for p-day we went to a members home and did absolutely nothing while the sister did our laundry and it was.... AWESOME! never in my life has doing nothing been so amazing. just played with the kids and did nothing... i was thinking about writing but i find it pointless because i am just gonna email later. haha. i have seen the sites here and its to freaking hot to play sports so nothing was the perfect solution... i want to go back to the beach... next time i am taking my camera... it was awesome. beach and jungle. haha.

i know the church is true. and that it is only through the restored gospel that we can return to live with God the father and our families for ever in eternal life. i have no doubts that i will be there. that you all will be there. i have so much confidence that all the people i love with stay faithful and for those who are not members eventually accept the everlasting gospel of Jesus Christ.

en pocos palabras yo puedo decir mucho pero yo quiero decir solo esto..

LES AMOOOOOOOOOOO

CON TODO MI CORAZON,,,

ELDER ELREY

p.s. MI PALABRA ES LA LEY

Y
SIGO SIENDO EL REY

in a few words I can say a lot but I mean only that ..

I love them

WITH ALL MY HEART,,,

ELDER ELREY

P.S. MY WORD IS THE LAW

and

I'm still the KING