Week 81: "When each day is the same as the next, it's because people fail to recognize the good things that happen in their lives every day that the sun rises."

Hello!!

Sorry, this email is going out on wednesday. We had a meeting in hermosillo on Tuesday so I didn't have much time to write on Monday. 

This week in my studies, I had an experience that really hit me. In the Book of Mormon, one of the greatest features is the account of the events surrounding the life of Jesus Christ, as told by the ancient inhabitants of the Americas. I was reading in the Book of 3 Nephi, chapter 2 where it talks about all the signs that were given regarding Christs birth, which can also be found in the Gospel of Luke. It was because of these signs that the ancient american people knew about the coming of the Son of God into the world. But what follows these signs is what really called my intention. Keep in mind that these people have literally witnessed signs from heaven, surpassing the capacity of human intelect. It reads as follows

 1 And it came to pass that thus passed away the ninety and fifth year also, and the people began to forget those signs and wonders which they had heard, and began to be less and less astonished at a sign or a wonder from heaven, insomuch that they began to be hard in their hearts, and blind in their minds, and began to disbelieve all which they had heard and seen—

These people, after having seen heavenly messages, began after a time to become used to seeing "signs and wonders." They became so accustomed to the occurrence of super natural events that they actually forgot that such things had ever happened. It got so bad that when these events took place, they no longer thought much of it. They became "less and less astonished" at the signs that so commonly took place in their everyday life, to the point where they "began to disbelieve all which they had heard and seen, imagining up some vain thing in their heart, that it was wrought by men," so much that it "did blind their eyes and lead them away to believe that the doctrine of Christ was a foolish and vain thing" and caused them to "not believe that there should be any more signs or wonders given." (3 Nephi 2:1-3). 

This is mindboggling. How is it that these people could be so forgetful as to forget the very signs of their savior? How could they become so used to such miraculous events? Why did they believe that such events had ceased!? But then for a moment I begin to think that maybe a handful of us arent so different. Maybe every so often we find ourselves, like Dory, forgetting very quickly the same good things that occurr only a short time ago. How often do we forget the many "signs and wonders" that happen daily? How often do we take for granted the small act of kindness that a stranger offers us? How many times a day do we forgot to thank God for the mere fact that we have a roof over our head, food to eat for dinner, and a car (or several) to help get us around? Are not WE forgetting the many "signs and wonders?" Are not WE becoming "less and less astonished" at the things that we are just so used to seeing? I am talking about things such as small as walking barefoot at home because our floor is made of comfy carpet! I havent even seen carpet in over a year! Do you now how much I am going to appreciate carpet now?

The problem is that sometimes we get in the habit of being in a routine. In the mission, I hear that quite a bit. We get up, go to school, go to work, go to practice, and then go to bed. Occasionally there are some minor mix ups that add some spice to our day, but for the most part, we find ourselves saying that every day has become the same thing. To that statement, the world renown author Paulo Coelho writes in "The Alchemist," on of my favorite books, "When each day is the same as the next, it's because people fail to recognize the good things that happen in their lives every day that the sun rises." It would be very wise to frequently ask ourselves, "Is this happening to me?"

Always remember those signs and wonders. Always look for the good things that happen in your lives with each new sunset. There are beauties in every day just waiting to be uncovered, and if you arent paying attention, you might miss em! 

See you next week!

Elder Bernal

Week 80: "I am just so happy with life. I am so happy and proud to be where I am, doing what I am doing."

Hello everyone!!!

HAPPY BIRFDAY IZZY!!!! Hope your birthday presents are AWESOME.

So check it out, we had a great week. It was also Elder Childs birthday on Tuesday. Too bad they didnt give us one cake.... they gave us three. I have never felt so stuffed in my entire life, except for when Rosy makes my favorite kind of mashed potatoes. Thats another story. Anyways, We took some pretty cool pictures. Elder Child is pretty stubborn and wouldnt let me shove his face in the cake. It seemed to me that I did it with a lot of love but I tried twice, and twice I failed. So this birthday, there was no face slamming in cakes. My record is now at .500 with 2 wins and 2 losses, the wins coming from when I had home advantage in Villa de Seris with Elder Guerra and Elder Hernandez on their birthdays (i mashed em good...), and both losses coming from Elder Child. Rematch to be scheduled. 

Another cool experience this week is the progress of one of our converts here, Omar. He was baptized about 2 months ago, and since then, Omar has had HUGE progress. Not only has he finished reading both the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants, he also goes EVERY THURSDAY to a rehab center and literally preaches to all the people there about the book of Mormon. He hands out Liahonas, he hands out pamphlets, and he has given out several book of Mormons. In his "sermons" he literally reads to all of these people in the rehab center passages from the book of Mormon, and he shares with them his conversion story of how he get the Church was true. IS THIS GUY NOT A LEGEND???? Can you imagine the scene??? He is a member of only 2 months and he is already teaching hundreds!!! this guy is incredible!! several people have promised him that they would come to church as soon as they get out, and Omar continues to ask us for my supplies because people are asking for more and more. Talk about member missionary.

I am just so happy with life. I am so happy and proud to be where I am, doing what I am doing. It has gotten to the point where I dont really even pay much attention to the heat, which is something that if you would have asked me a year ago, I would have shuddered at the idea of another summer in sonora. But now, its different. I am so lost in the work that all other troubles have lost their sting. There is just too much good to think about.

Have an incredible week! 

Elder Bernal

Week 79: "Be nice, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle."- Plato

Hey everyone!

Another excellent week! So far so Good in Rocky Point Mexico... Elder Child and I are going strong.., I realize that I have said much of Elder Child in these last few emails, so I will dedicate a bit to him,

Elder Child is from Weezer Idaho, he is rather tall, wears glasses, and has an array of freckles on his arms. A handsome man, as many notice. He previously enjoyed hunting, playing tennis (we have a pending match against each other) and breaking cars and fixing them up. Something that Elder Child does that makes me laugh / drives me crazy is that when he has to sneeze, it sounds like the cap to a giant volcano blows open while the ground quakes beneath the penetrating ASHEEEWW that escapes his mouth......  I don't know if it is exaggeration or not but I tell him that he is just faking the whole thing. But the big manChild  has his birthday TOMORROW!!! WOOOOHOOO!!! Everyone write him happy birthday letters!! david.child@myldsmail.net.

Here are a couple of things that happened this week

1. We had a special conference with all the leaders of our branch here and our mission President, and was awesome! A ton of the members showed up! It was a very spiritual experience, as we got to bear our testimonies at the end of it all. Listening to the testimonies of my fellow companions in this great work was very inspiring. 

2. We were given a reference this week from the sisters of a man named Bob. Bob is a new investigator from Tennessee, who came to live here in Peñasco with his wife about a year ago! He is such a genuine and sweet person. He has got long locks and totally looks like a rocker. Bob is going through a tough time right now, as his wife passed away a month ago from a heart attack. You can tell he is being tough about it, but you can also see that inside it is really hurting him. He doesn't speak Spanish and he doesn't know anyone who speaks English, so I think that the Lord sent us when he most needed someone to talk with. Keep Bob in your prayers. I have a really special love for this guy since he is one of the first people to whom I have taught the Gospel in English. As much as I love speaking Spanish, the words just have a special meaning in my native language, and that has led me to care about him in a special way.

3. The Lord gave me an interesting learning experience this week. Elder Child and I had just finished teaching a lesson. We mounted our steeds (bikes) and hit the road, or better said, hit the sand, since Peñascos roads or nothing but dust. We arrived at another appointment and started to teach a man named Raymond. Now I'm not making any excuses, but maybe it was the heat of the day or the insaneness of my insanity workouts in the morning, but I was going to war with my conscious, fighting to stay awake. Needless to say, I was not as in tune with the lesson as I should have been. In one moment, I looked down at my tie, and instantly recognized that something was missing: My missionary badge. Moments of scruffing around looking under my seat and through my backpack led me to the realization that my badge was not there. I would have sworn that I had it on me when we got to this house, because I specifically remember pulling my phone out of my shirt pocket on the way there, and I don't remember it missing. Nevertheless, it was not there. Thoughts began to enter my head: 2 weeks bare minimum until you get your hands on a new badge, you look so boring with just a white T-shirt and tie. I felt like Hercules, when Hades literally sucked the power right out of him! I was powerless! It also didn't help that Elder Child made fun of me calling me "Hermano Bernal" instead of Elder... As worrying as this would have been, I was not too scared, and although the odds of my finding my badge in the loose sand along the road was little, I was almost positive that we would find it. We began to retrace our steps and scan the path. Long story short, On our second sweep through, we found a black badge laying practically untouched in the sand facing up that had the words engraved, "Elder Bernal."

This experience made me think a lot about what it means to be a missionary. I find it coincidental that in the moment when I was not very focused on teaching was precisely when I noticed that my missionary stamp was gone. Whether or not it had un-noticeably fallen off on the way or if God had snapped his fingers and the badge just suddenly disappeared is of no importance. I imagined him saying to me, "Ok Connor, if you aren't going to teach like a missionary, why not take the badge off? If you are going to take lightly this responsibility, how about if you go back to NOT being one?" Even though I understand that my badge doesn't decide if I am a missionary or not, It does have both sentimental and figurative meaning (and the example is a metaphor so just go with it). Plus, I just look so boring and plain with only a white T-shirt and tie. From this experience I gained a greater appreciation and honor for what it means to be able to wear the name of my Savior across my chest. I truly am so grateful for everyday that I have be be able to work in His service. That day, I committed myself to a higher level of dedication to the great privilege and responsibility that I have for a short time to proudly wear the name of Jesus Christ. 

May you all have an awesome week!! DON'T FORGET THAT IZZA-BIG-BELLY BERNAL'S BIRTHDAY IS ON MONDAY OF NEXT WEEK!!!! HOPE ITS FULL OF SURPRISES!!!

Elder Bernal

Quotes for this week is kudos to Amanda Briggs, former missionary of the Mexico Hermosillo mission

"Be nice, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle."- Plato 

Week 78: "Call the fireman!"

Hey everyone!!!

So on Saturday, there were going to be several baptisms, and it was a very exciting moment. We went to the church to make sure everything was in place, and to our surprise, we found out that the fosset to the baptismal font was broken!!! We got excited at first, because we thought it was going to be our excuse / thought it was a sign from God that we were going to be able to baptize in the ocean.... BUT unfortunately, the branch president here in Penasco basically runs the town, so he was very quick to call up the local fire department, who came to the church building, and stuck their GIANT hose through a window and filled up the entire baptismal font so we could have a baptism! Attached are the pictures, it was pretty funny :)

We had transfers this week, and apart from elder child and I, all of the companionships in Penasco had transfers! Nearly the entire zone left!! we are going to meet the new missionaries tonight when they get here so we are excited to see the new things that happen this week.


Hope you enjoy the photos!
Elder Bernal


Quote of the week is cudos to my new brother in law who I don't know yet but seems like a stud, Jaime.

"People do not decide their futures, they decide their habits, and their habits decide their future."

Week 77: "No Elders, you two are the real life savers, keep preaching the gospel."

So it was a great week! 

AWESOME, in fact. here is why

1. After several weeks of teaching, We were able to see the baptism of Pitbull´s wife and daughter!!! (see the photo....try and tell me he doesn't look like pitbull...) Berenice and her daughter are two people that we have been teaching and they are so awesome. They made lots of sacrifices to be able to make these decision and we are so happy for them... and for Pitbull....

2. We found the COOLEST COUPLE IN THE WORLD!!!! Luis and Lupita (see foto....) Luis is a member of the church, and he is a marine, and his wife Lupita, who is not a member, works in the armed forces of Mexico. They are so legit their story of why they wanted to become involved with the military services are incredible. I gained so much more respect for all those who are serving their country in the armed forces. Luis was telling us all about what he does as a marine. Here in Peñasco, he is basically a coast guard and he has to go out and save peoples lives when their boat catches on fire or when some disaster goes wrong. He literally risks his life every single day to save the lives of others. When I asked him how he can have that kind of bravery every single day, he responded, "Look Elder, I believe that we are here in this life to serve. If you come to this world and you do not live your life for the benefit of others, you will live it in vain." Goosebumps rushed through my body as I looked into his eyes as he said these words. What a powerful teaching, and a living example before my eyes. This man is truly incredible. A few days later, they called him to spend some time in Mexico City, so we had to say goodbye for a time. As we did, I said to him, "You are literally my hero Luis, Keep saving lives!", to which he responded, "No Elder, you two are the real life savers. Keep preaching the Gospel!" 

3. In one of our meetings we had this week, one of the missionaries told a story that represents why we should always obey the Lord and be diligent in what he commands. There once lived a man who spoke with God. God told him that he was to go to a giant boulder that was stuck in the ground and begin to push. He would push all day until the evening, with all his might. That was to be his task. So the man did as he was told, and everyday woke up, went the rock, and began to push. Night would come, and the man would retire to his home, exhausted from a long day of pushing a motionless rock. Days, months, years passed. The man had been pushing for 20 years, and he never saw the boulder move a bit. So the devil come along, and began to tempt the man, saying, "why do you even bother pushing that rock? Do you not see that you have been here 20 years, and you haven't achieved anything? Why not give up? You are wasting your time." The man thought to himself,  "He´s right. All this time, and the rock has not budged. Why would you do this God? Why would you ask me to push this rock all this time, if I was never going to be able to move it!?" In his anger and frustration, The Lord spoke peace to him, saying "My dear son. I asked you to push the boulder, but I never told you that it would move. You think you have failed because you did not see your success, but your sight was wrong from the start. Look again, and you will see." The man looked at himself and realized, that because of his pushing for countless years, his legs and arms had transformed completely into rock solid muscle, allowing him to face many other challenges that faced him in his life. He only thought he was unsuccessful because he could not comprehend the will of God.

I don't know why but when I heard that story I loved it. The moral is that we may not understand why God wants us to do certain things, and we may even question why God´s Will is what it is, but we must always remember that everything lies in the hands of Him who knows all things. If we do what we are asked and we push with all of our might, we will one day look back and see the fruits of our efforts and thank God for what he has given us, even though often times it is not what we expected. 

I love you all, have a great week! Enjoy the Seattle sun for me!

Elder Bernal

Week 76: Running Into Family Friends

Dear Friends.

Connor was very busy this past week as you can see by his email below. I am glad I waited to fwd his email because yesterday I received a nice "photo surprise" from a member who lives in Arizona but is vacationing in Puerto Peñasco and run into Elder Bernal and his companion. I fwd the photo to you (scroll down).

6 months, 1 day, and he will be back !!!!!! 

Not that I am counting....

I'm just saying if you are wondering...

Love ya, Fernando

-------------------------------------------

Hello all!

Next week I promise, take me word, I am going to have a longer letter to write..... to make up for this week....

Hope everyone is well! Love you guys!

Elder Bernal

Week 71: New Mission President!

Hi everyone,

Soooo Monday, we had to travel to Hermosillo for a meeting, and since I am in Penasco, that means a 7 hour grey line bus ride... and that means the first actual rest I have taken that is allowed since my days in Nogales, almost a year ago..... and oh my goodness did I enjoy that bus ride........ It was also nice because I had plenty of time to get in some good readings of things that I don't normally have time for. That is the one nice advantage of being far away from Hermosillo....
And for that same trip, I didnt have any time to write on Monday, or even Tuesday, so please accept my apologies....

We got to know our new Mission President, President Robinson and his wife, and they are awesome! They seemed very excited and eager to help the mission advance, and I am really excited to get to work under their leadership. President Robinson was an agriculture teacher at Cornell University before receiving his call, so we´ll see if I can get the hook ups with him to have them accept me after my mission........ heehee

The exciting part of my letter this week will be an exert from a letter that my dearest friend Rachy (Slam) Duncan wrote me a couple of months ago that I loved. Hope you enjoy!

In a mother’s womb were two babies. One asked the other:

“Do you believe in life after delivery?” The other replied, “Why, of course. There has to be something after delivery. Maybe we are here to prepare ourselves for what we will be later.”

“Nonsense” said the first. “There is no life after delivery. What kind of life would that be?”

The second said, “I don’t know, but there will be more light than here. Maybe we will walk with our legs and eat from our mouths. Maybe we will have other senses that we can’t understand now.”

The first replied, “That is absurd. Walking is impossible. And eating with our mouths? Ridiculous! The umbilical cord supplies nutrition and everything we need. But the umbilical cord is so short. Life after delivery is to be logically excluded.”

The second insisted, “Well I think there is something and maybe it’s different than it is here. Maybe we won’t need this physical cord anymore.”

The first replied, “Nonsense. And moreover if there is life, then why has no one has ever come back from there? Delivery is the end of life, and in the after-delivery there is nothing but darkness and silence and oblivion. It takes us nowhere.”

“Well, I don’t know,” said the second, “but certainly we will meet Mother and she will take care of us.”

The first replied “Mother? You actually believe in Mother? That’s laughable. If Mother exists then where is She now?”

The second said, “She is all around us. We are surrounded by her. We are of Her. It is in Her that we live. Without Her this world would not and could not exist.”

Said the first: “Well I don’t see Her, so it is only logical that She doesn’t exist.”

To which the second replied, “Sometimes, when you’re in silence and you focus and you really listen, you can perceive Her presence, and you can hear Her loving voice, calling down from above.”

- Útmutató a Léleknek

Awesome huh? Rachael has got some good perspective ... Take care everyone!

Elder Bernal