ARIZONA!

Hola Todos!!

 

I'm in ARIZONA!!!

 

First off, my mission address will be the same the entire time. It's the mission office address:

 

ELDER THOMAS PILKINGTON

Arizona Scottsdale Mission

6265 N 82nd Street

Scottsdale, AZ  85250

 

Make sure whatever packages or letters you may send include, 'ELDER THOMAS PILKINGTON'. All three. Also, packages that aren't sent by the US postal service won't be forwarded to me, so depending what area I'm in, I may not get them for a couple months. In other words, don't send UPS.  ONLY send US Postal Service, like FLAT RATE. 

 

My P day here is usually on Mondays, except for transfer weeks, in which case it is on Wednesdays.

 

I am in the Monterrey East Zone, which is like in downtown Phoenix just about. I live in an apartment with my companion and the zone leaders.

 

My companion is Elder Gutierrez-Gomez from Mexico City, Mexico and is a convert of 4 years! He is an extremely nice guy! He is 25 years old, and knows 3 months worth of Enlglish. Which is surprisingly a ton!! We help each other with the languages. He was able to baptize his mother 2 weeks before he left for his mission!

 

(I will send pictures sometime next week)

 

Our first day, we toured the Mesa Temple and had a little snack.Then we returned to the chapel across the street from the mission home and had lunch and several meetings.

 

Later in the evening, we went out in groups with some youth from a nearby ward. I talked to many people, got about 4 referrals, and prayed a few times with them.

 

I also placed a BOM to a woman who was at the park with her grandchildren. I was asking her questions about her family and she says that they are very meaningful to her. I shared a story about my grandpa and the peace that I have now, knowing that I will be able to see him again and live with my family para siempre. (Everything said this night was in Spanish in case you're confused). She expressed her desire to be with her family and grandchildren as long as she could. I offered her a BOM and promised her blessings from reading it and she said she would. The Elder I was with got her information and set up a date to teach her. It was absolutely amazing. I prayed with her and almost started crying. In a manly, spiritual way.....

 

That night, I stayed in the mission home, which is extremely nice!! I was awakened by Mo Tab playing throughout the house. It was great! We did excercises with the President on his lawn and then had a nice breakfast made by Sister Sweeney. I LOVE them both by the way. Very nice people.

 

We met with an investigator last night after having dinner at a members house. The woman we ate with was extremely nice!! She lived in a retirement home by herself. She was over 80 years old. She made some spaghetti and salad for us. Flan for dessert. It was great! I didn't understand some of what she said because of how fast she talked, but she testified to me the power of God with the gift of tongues. It was really an amazing opportunity.

 

The investigator is named Julio. He is 19 and his brother Oscar was baptized a few months ago. Oscar is still progressing, but helping Julio with straightening up his life. Julio has a baptismal date set with us in a month and a half. He is an amazing guy and really just wants the best for his family. I actually had a lot in common with him. Ensenamos La Lei de Castidad con el. He liked the idea behind it, but was kind of confused, because my companion kept saying CAN instead of CAN'T. Ex: We can have multiple wives after marriage and we can have sex before marriage. I had to clarify everything haha. We were able to share personal experiences of our lives. It was really cool.

 

We walked around a little after and did some tracting. It was a cool experience too. Most of the younger kids and teenagers here prefer English over Spanish, so that makes it nice for me.

 

I am happy to be here and really excited for the future of these people, especially Julio!!

 

I only have 1 hour a week now, so everything will be a little shorter, and I won't be able to get as many letters out. Just be patient with me. I won't forget you I promise.

 

Dios les bendigan!!

 

Les amo

 

Elder Pilkington