Last Message From Quetzaltenango 7/8/2013

"And now I seal up these records... and I bid unto all, farewell. I soon go to rest in the paradise of God.  Until my spirit and body shall again reunite, and I am brought forth triumphant through the air, to meet you..." (Moroni 10:2,34)

Thanks everyone for everything, it's been great. Thanks for all the support and love, it means more than y'all can know.  I'll see you all on Thursday.  LOVE YOU ALL!!!!

For the last time,

Elder Westenskow

I Am So Grateful 7/1/2013

Hey There Familiares,

How's it all going? Super good I hope! I've included a few epic pictures from the heights of San Andres, the pueblo in the back is my area.

So, just because mom asked, I do have a couple ideas for when I get home. That night, I figure that I will be getting home fairly late but what I would like to do is just get some dinner, something to go if we can and just go home and talk for a little and then go to bed. Then after that all the normal festivities will begin but that first night I kinda want to try to maintain still the missionary spirit. That weekend, I do want to have a Rock Band and pizza party with the crew (I need to meet all the new members ha ha) and apart from that I just want to eat at all the super good restaurants (Red Robin, BWW, In and Out, Five Guys, etc.) So that's pretty much all the plans that I have. Hope we can work it out. Also, I need to buy new like, everything!

Now, on to the not baggy stuff. This week was good, a little slow on the finding end which was our focus but it turned out good because PEDRO IS BEING BAPTIZED ON SATURDAY!!!!!!! YOU HEARD IT RIGHT FAMILY, I AM NOT LEAVING THIS AREA EMPTY!!!!! PEDRO IS BEING BAPTIZED ON SATURDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  And he's really excited about it. Best way ever to leave the mission I think. We have some other progressing investigators as well. A guy named Erick who we were able to put a fecha for the 20th of this month.  Really a prepared person, he came to church all 3 hours yesterday and went to a Stake YSA activity in the afternoon so that's super cool!  

So this week we'll be finding new investigators and working hard! I love you all! Sorry this is short but I think mom was right, there's really not a whole ton more to say. I am so grateful for all that has happened in the last 2 years, that I was called to the mission I was called to, that I had the companions that I had, that I had the opportunity to be a leader in the ways that were permitted, that I was able to meet all the people that I have met. The good days, the bad days, everything in between.  It has all been so guided by the Lord, by revelation in such a way that the person who has most benefited by my service is me. I love this work, I love this gospel, I love the Lord. All I have, I owe to him, his work, his church, and his gospel. I cannot wait to see you all but I am going to absolutely kill myself this week working, have to make it count.

LOVE YOU ALL!!!! 

Elder Westenskow

Things Are Going Well 6/24/2013

Dear Family!

Pics for this week, just a fun aldea that we went to that sold Walters juice, had to buy it ha ha. Also I don't remember what one of them is so y'all can guess!

But yeah, sounds like y'all have had a pretty exciting life lately, especially dad. Totally jealous of the whole DC thing. One of my goals is to at one point take trips to both NYC and DC. Two places I really, really want to get to know. So, who knows when but I hope one day to do it. Also, cool that y'all could go to the campout! Wish I could have been there, it's always a truly... unique experience. From the photo I can tell that this year was no different.  

Also, I dunno if this is like super selfish but I might not write a ton of people this week or the next couple until I come home. It's nothing against anyone but I just...figure that I can just talk to y'all soon, sorry for the inconvenience and for all those that are so faithful in writing, thank you so much, the effort and love is not lost on me. Y'all rock!!!!!!!!

So now on to me, this week was good, we were working very very hard and we have a few investigators that are progressing. Pedro was in church as always but for some reason just doesn't want to accept a fecha but we're working hard with that. We have a couple young men that came to church as well so that's good. Things are going well. I love you all, sorry this is so short but I'll see you all soon.  

LOVE YA!

Elder Westenskow

Happy Fathers Day! 6/17/2013

BEFORE ANYTHING, HAPPY FATHERS DAY TO THE BESTEST DAD IN THE WHOLE WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOVE YA DUDE! HOPE IT WAS GREAT!!!

 

How is it going there? Hope things are going well. Glad that y'all are making a few preparations for my homecoming, I have a few ideas of things I want to do when I get home. If you want, I'll share, if not, they'll be secrets until I get back.  ;-)

Also, I GOT THE PACKAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  That marks 3 perfect years of package sending to Guatemala, the Lord does bless us in the little things. AND THE PACKAGE IS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ha ha. Love it. Thank you so much and the gift was AWESOME as well!! I included a few pics of the fun stuff inside!  LOVE YOU ALL!!!

 

 

As for our week it was really good. Bacilio has kinda disappeared, we can't find him and he hasn't been to church in two weeks now so we really don't know what to think there, seems like he might have gotten spooked or something, I dunno. We'll go this week but honestly, I don't know what will happen. 

We do have Pedro however, he's still doing good. He almost didn't come to church because his brother invited him to go to an evangelical church this week and he was like "it's all the same so maybe I won't go to San Cristobal anymore" so we were like "it's not the same" and he was like, "okay, I guess I'll go then" So that turned out alright. We're going tomorrow with President Bautista tomorrow to hopefully put the fecha. So he's going well. The fecha would be for the 29th which is also my 2 year mark which is also less than 2 weeks away. Weird. But I love it :)

Also things are going great with Brayan, our less active, we're also going tomorrow with them with President, that's actually the reason that he wanted to come out so that'll be fun, hopefully he can exercize a good influence there :)  They are just super cool with us, but there's a difference between being super cool and going to church ha ha. We want to clear that gap.  

We also have a few other positive investigators but they're progressing slowly. But we do have a lot of hope for the area, things are always slow at the beginning so it's actually going pretty well :) We're stoked.  I love the mission, I love my area, love my comp, it's all going great. A great way to finish I think, I think.  Not sure if I'm ready to finish but I'm stoked to see all of you.  

 

LOVE YOU ALL AN ENGLISH TONNE!!!!!!!

Elder Westenskow

Working Hard and Seeing the Blessings 6/10/2013

Hey there everybody!

First off, glad that everyone was able to have an enjoyable week either in Texas or at home, sounds like a lot of fun! Wish I could have been there but that's how things happen sometimes ha ha. As for me, I'm super stoked, I told mom but I'll let y'all know, about my sacrament meeting talk topic! It's about the covenants we make. I'm sure that nobody but the Lord really knows how much I have studied covenants in the last few months and I have gained a love and sincere appreciation for these sacred promises that we make, I'm very very excited to be able to share a little about what I have learned. Seriously, there could not have been a better topic for me.

Anyways, as for my week, it was actually really, really good. We were really able to get down to work with one of our 2 less actives. His wife and daughter are not members and he has had almost no contact with the church for 10 years. But he got really stoked about family history, so we took him to the chapel this week so that he could get started on his family history and we showed them the church and all that good stuff so that was fun :) The only problem there is that he works on Sundays, he works in a tienda type thing right in front of the Catholic church so people walk out of mass and just buy a ton of food and stuff so is the best day sales wise. But we're working hard.  

Progressing are basically the same people, Pedro came to church again, that's 3 times in a row, he even beat us there yesterday! We hope to put a fecha with him this week, I think he definitely could be baptized this month, it's just a matter of helping him understand the doctrine, even on a very basic level. But we're working hard with him. He has a desire to follow God, we couldn't even teach him this week because he wasn't home all week but he still showed up to church. Pretty cool.

Bacilio didn't come to church, we have to figure out what's going on there, he said he'd go last week. He just is having such a hard time with Joseph Smith and all that stuff, we got him to ask God in prayer at the end of our last cita and I could feel the spirit really well but we're just praying that he can recognize it.  

Also, there is another investigator that we've had on and off, it's really hard to find him. But he's now going through a difficult time in his life and he's really looking for help. He also came to church yesterday, he only stayed for Sacrament meeting but he came, by himself so that was super cool. He also knows a member.  The problem is his wife, she's Catholic so we're really praying for a miracle there! But I have seen many miracles and many people change so we're just being faithful!  

As for everyone else, there's a couple people but those would be the most positive. This week was really good, we had more member lessons than another area in my district. So that made us feel good. But yeah, things are going good, I know I'm going to leave this area strong with a good pool of investigators, officially one month from tomorrow I walk through the door of the house, kinda weird to think about, like, I am excited but I also just don't really believe it... I keep expecting President to call me and be like "PSYCH! You'll be here another year" but I don't think that will happen ha ha. But I'm feeling good. We're working VERY hard and starting to see fruit.

LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!!

Elder Westenskow

Working Hard and Being Obedient 6/3/2013

Hey there y'all!

Hows it goin'? Super good I sure do hope! Hope y'all had a great week in Texas and that the wedding was super duper good! You'll have to tell me all about it!  As for me, my week was pretty good! I'm older ha ha. We were going to order Dominos just to find out that they will only come to San Andres in the afternoon ha ha so that was a bummer but instead we went around and just bought a bunch of American food from all the dudes that went to the states to learn how to make food so it turned out really great actually ha ha.

Mom also asked how things are going with my comp, things are really good!  We're working super hard and starting to have success so its going well, we get along well and it's fun to joke and stuff.  It's going really well so that's really good!

As for us, we have basically the same progressing investigators. It was actually a really tough week, we taught a good quantity of lessons but just very few people are wanting to progress.  But Bacilio and Pedro are coming along quite nicely. We could only teach each of them once this week but they both came to church by themselves. We went to go pick Pedro up and his sister is like "yeah, he left like 10 minutes ago, he went to church".  And my comp is like "well I hope he meant our church" and sure enough he did. And Bacilio beat us and all of the members there! So they're going along very, very well. For some reason just neither of them want a baptismal date. So we'll see what we can do this week, we have some ideas to go out with members and all that good stuff.  So we're working hard and having a good time, trying not to think about home too much and it's going well :) 

As far as I go, I'm not baggy at all actually, like I'm stoked to go home and everything but it doesn't seem real still, maybe when I'm on the plane it will but until then...I do officially have 5 weeks left which is not very much at all. But it's all good. We're working harder than ever, being more obedient than ever, and having a great time.

Yesterday, the entire city of San Andres Xecul was in party mode. There were 4 different bands playing in the four corners of the park from 10am to 1am.  Overall, it was a pretty interesting day, a lot of walking :) But Hey, I really am happy, life is super duper good, I love it, I love the mission, I love my area, I'm just loving it! 

 

LOVE YOU ALL!!!!

Elder Westenskow!

Beginning My Last Change 5/27/2013

Hey there family!

As for y'all, sounds like everything is going well for you! Sounds like everyone is having a good time in their several activities and things they're involved in, life seems to be marching along quite nicely.  

As for us in San Andres things are going GREAT!!! We're really starting to see some success. Bacilio came to church again yesterday and he came all by himself! We didn't go pick him up AND he stayed all 3 hours. We also had another investigator in church, Pedro. We've been visiting him for a couple weeks and he told us he wanted to go to church so we went and picked him up and he went, stayed 2 hours. They both seemed to really like it. Bacilio is really asking a TON of questions about baptism and if he really has to be baptized again, but for some reason he doesn't want to commit to a fecha so we'll see what happens there, hopefully he decides pretty quickly, we are always telling him to ask God and that he'll be the one to answer but I think he's scared.  

Israel and Josue are both progressing as well, I feel like they are both seriously starting to doubt the church where they go and really thinking about what to do, they also don't want to commit to a fecha but we've had a couple of very powerful lessons with them. Hopefully they can keep going.

We also have a guy named Jose. He's SUPER positive. He's catholic but he says that he doesn't feel good going so he doesn't go. But he really likes what we teach but he is as of right now against the idea of changing his church but little by little :) 

Diego and his family are also progressing well, they invited us to lunch on Saturday and that was good, they like as well the message. He's reading the Book of Mormon so that's an important step, we're working hard there and hoping to help him come to church on Sunday.  

As you can see the investigators are good!  The rain has come again and we are getting wet daily but it's fun, always an adventure when it starts HARD to rain because we have to find somewhere to hide, preferably in someones house!  But we're doing good, happy, healthy, working, all of it.  Glad everything is great on that side of things. Today I start my last change in the mission, pretty weird feeling. Mix between being super excited and also a little nostalgic already. But enjoying every moment! 

LOVE YOU ALL!!!! HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!!!

Elder Westenskow

Feeling Good and Working Hard 5/20/2013

Dear Family,

 

As for us, again not a whole ton to report, the people that were progressing have stopped progressing so that's not too fun. It's just really hard to get someone really truly committed to continue learning about something they've never heard of, from 2 foreigners, and especially since the church isn't even in San Andres. But hey we climbed the mountain contacting and that's where I took the photo.  

 

However, we did find some people that it seems like the Lord has really been preparing them so we're stoked about that. First off is Diego and his family of 4 kids. He basically told us that he's been in his church for 22 years and he's really disappointed and doubtful about the way that things work there but he doesn't have anywhere to go so he hasn't moved. So we will give him somewhere to go ;-)  But really it seems like the Lord is preparing him.  

 

Also, is Juan Pablo who was really piqued by the idea of the Book of Mormon which is the first person here in San Andres that we've found that has actually understood the importance of another book of scripture. So we're pretty stoked about that. Just a matter of following up :)

We have a few other people that we're working with but they would be the most positive finds this week.  I know this is super to the basics and all of that but don't worry, I'm feeling good, working hard, being healthy, all of the above :)  Just not a whole lot to say, things are moving, slowly but they're moving.  

 

LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!!!!!

Elder Westenskow

Investigators in Xecul 5/13/2013

Dear Family,

 

I think that all business was taken care of yesterday so that can be left to one side. So I'll try to tell y'all about a few of our investigators.

We have Bacilio, he came to church yesterday!!!!!!!!!!!!! We had an investigator in church and there's no chapel in the whole town, we have to go to the next town over! So we were pretty excited about that, he really liked church though, he was originally going to only stay 1 hour but ended up staying 2 so that was sick. He's super cool and reading and all of it, he didn't want to accept a fecha last week but after church we think he can accept one!  

Next we have Martin Sajche and his family. He's super interested in Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon but also a little hesitant. Normal. He's really interested in coming to know if Joseph Smith was actually a prophet  and so we're going to go watch the Joseph Smith movie on Saturday with him and his family. Excited for that.  

Pedro Hernandez, I don't know him my comp found him on divisions but apparently he accepted the invitation to be baptized in the first cita, and it was a contact, so that's a good sign.  

Last we have Israel and Josue, Israel is the president of the youth for the evangelical church but he accepted the invitation to be baptized if God answers his prayer so that's a good sign :) 

So yeah, I know that this isn't a whole lot of information but I talked to y'all yesterday so this is the basic breakdown of the area for those who weren't on the phone 

 

LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Elder Westenskow

Working Hard in Xecul 5/6/2013

Dear Family,

 

I think this email is going to be kinda short, it was a good week, we're just working with a LOT of new people so it's hard to give a lot of detail about so many people ha ha. But we're working VERY hard and echaring fuego as we say and stuff is going well. 

But about the people you do know about, Rudy. He's still kinda positive but it's just really hard because of his "calling" and he has the catholic teachings SUUUUUUUPER ingrained in his head.  But we're teaching his cousin as well, Israel.  He's the young mens president of the evangelical church but he's more positive than Rudy. But even more positive than Israel is his brother, Josue. He's actually super interested, we met him when we went to teach Israel and he just jumped in and started asking a bunch of questions, really cool. 

We also have another guy named Pedro who is interested, he accepted the invitation to be baptized but he didn't want to put a fecha, he really distrusts ALL the churches in all the world and he wants to make sure this is the truth, but he's cool, we'll see what happens there :)

Funny story, we were contacting and we told this dude that God had called a prophet in these days and he was like "no he hasn't". And we're like, "why do you say that?" and he's like "well, there's a bible verse where John says that he had the last gift so that means that there are no more prophets" so we showed him Amos 3:7 and Hebrews 13:5 and asked what he thought (he also didn't know where that specific bible verse was and I have yet to find it since he told us on Wednesday) and he just stuck to it so I was like "well, I know that God has called prophets because I've asked him and he's answered me that it's true" and the dude is like "Well, I don't believe you" and I kinda laughed on accident at that but we just arrived to the point that we had different beliefs and if he ever needed help chopping wood we could help ha ha. Funny story for the week. 

LOVE YOU ALL!!!! I'll talk to you on Sunday!!!!

Elder Westenskow

"If You Are Faithful You Will Be Together Forever" 4/29/2013

Dear Family,

This week was super good for a few reasons!  But on to y'all first, hope that you all had an excellent Soderskow weekend, I think I'll be at the next one? Who knows ha ha, hope so. Either way, hope that it was fun for ya! Also, training is cool, it's a lot of fun, my kid is pilas and wants to learn so that's a great thing. And my house was all figured out when I got there so that was easy, I won't say too much because I want to send pictures. It's a pretty crazy house though. Also, Elder Stephens is in my zone, had no idea that I knew him before the mission ha ha. But that was pretty crazy talking about Flower Mound and stuff.

Now my week, we had to go down to Xela a few times this week, once for a multizone conference, once for a trainers meeting, and once for the SEALING OF THE CASTILLO FAMILY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The best trip was definitely that one! But in the conferences president made a few jokes about how I'm super old in the mission ha ha. Felt weird realizing that me and my group have more time than ANY other missionary in this mission ha ha. But the sealing was so incredible, I really don't have words to describe it, but it left me very, very grateful for this gospel and the amazing blessing that we have to know it and be a part of it. After doing the sealing the temple president just stood the family in front of all of us that were there and said "You are now an eternal family, if you are faithful you will be together forever" everyone was crying. It was incredible. 

So yeah, as for the work, it's hard to give too many specifics because we're really still trying to get someone to progress. We have one named Rudy but we found out this week that in spite if his interest in the church and the gospel and all of it he is the "young mens president" so to speak of the Catholic Church. So that makes it super hard for him to go to church on Sundays with us even though he wants to.  So we're working there. We have a lot of people that we are working with and seeing what we can do. We're just going crazy and working all day every day. Love it! LOVE YOU ALL! Love this work! Love this area!  You all rock!

Elder Westenskow

Knocking Every Door And Teaching As Many As We Can 4/22/2013

Dear Family,

I am officially in San Andres Xecul and it is CRAZYYYYYYYY.  But on to that in a minute.  First, the best news of the week. The Family Castillo will be sealed on Thursday, April 25 at about 10am.  And I will be there! It's been a long road but the interviews are over, the clothes are bought, and the day is set. I can't even express how stoked I am to see this. I missed the sealing of my sister at the beginning of the mission, this will be the first sealing of living people that I see and I feel like it is a tender mercy from the Lord for having not seen Meagan's. Of course, nobody comes before my own family but if anyone is in second place it would be a tie between the Sodermans and the Castillos.  What an amazing experience, you'll all get photos!  

 

 

Now, on to the juicy news. San Andres is a municipio of Totonicapan. There are a LOT of Catholics and no Mormons ha ha. Lies, we have one INACTIVE member who avoids us ha ha. But it's super sick, it's a super calm place, the people are just kinda always doin' their own thing all the time. I'm really, really enjoying it. Our work this week has consisted of knocking every single door we could find and trying to teach as many people as we can. There has been a lot of rejection. But we have a few people who have been willing to listen to us and even have interest in attending church. The most positive would be a man named Rudy. He asks A LOT of questions about EVERYTHING and has expressed a desire to go to church with us. We found him contacting (of course) and just started talking. He couldn't go yesterday (because we met him like 4 days ago) but he really wants to go this Sunday. We attend church in San Cristobal which is about a 10 minute bus ride which I would classify as the biggest desafio for people to attend church. But holy cow its so legit. This week our plan is to get members from San Cris to show us every single person they know and to find news that way. But even just contacting we were able to find 12 news (ask Nicole if that's a big deal).  So that's super cool, I'll be sure to answer all other questions next week!

My comp, his name is Elder Muñoz from Honduras. He's a convert of about 4 years and what he lacks in knowledge he makes up for in ganas. He's super down to work super hard and echar fuego!  It's a challenge getting used to being with a new missionary again after being with oldies for the last 6ish months but its fun. I feel like he has the potential to become a great elder. My kid number 3. I have 3 children, the same as mom and dad.  Lame joke ;-) Anyway I'm running out of time,

LOVE YOU ALLL!!!!!!!!!!!! Have a great week!
Elder Westenskow

Opening a New Area 4/15/2013

This is my zone, the best zone in the world! Love them!!

  





A little boy who has less time in this life than I have in the mission!

And he walks and talks ha ha!












A farewell party some of the members threw me. Good people!

They even brought investigators! Gotta love 'em!



So mom, to address your concerns, I am feeling much better. The whole 'at the point of death' thing was an exaggeration ha ha. A bit of sarcasm that I threw in, sorry if it worried you :) About the Guate trip, sounds good for me, when does school start would be the only concern.  As for Cunén and Huistas, I can explain the details later but Quiche would be more like a day trip, leave early from Xela maybe, hit Chichi in the morning, Cunén in the afternoon, cross over to Huehue and go up to Huistas, up there there are a bunch of super nice hotels so that's the idea I had.

About UVU and housing, it probably wouldn't be a bad idea for Meagan to look into some stuff.  And Dad has officially converted to Apple, I knew the day would come ha ha. Good job dad, but what are you going to do with all your old stuff now? ;) ha ha Just kidding.  

Now about us, to be completely honest, we had a slow week but an excellent week, and towards the end it all came together! Still the best thing was Bernabe! He's super stoked for baptism and all of it! In the cita this week he was like "I know the step that I'm taking and I'm 100 percent sure of what I'm doing and I'm not going to doubt in any moment" So that was intense.  He went to church yesterday so he's all set on requirements and all of it, so the dude that takes my place will be coming into a baptism ha ha.  

And y'all read that correctly, Elder Westenskow has changes! I'm ready for changes too, I love my area its just... really small :-)  But I received the double notice that in addition to changes I'm going to be TRAINING again! That's right a third time training (seeing as I only have 2 changes left it's my last opportunity so I'm super stoked, I really wanted to train again) but that's not all.  I'm going to be opening a completely new area to missionary work. You heard that right, where I'm going there have NEVER BEEN MISSIONARIES! As far as I understand it there's not a single member. I have to attend church in a nearby town until the work gets up and going a bit. But holy cow I don't think I've ever been so stoked for changes. I'm going to a place called San Andres Xecul in Totonicapan (a quick search on Google maps will give you an indication of how it is) and I AM SUPER STOKED!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't even know where to start there but I'm excited to have the guidance of the Holy Spirit in this new assignment.  As far as I know this is only like the 3rd time that President Bautista has opened an area completely to missionary work and the first time that he is opening an area that has NEVER had missionaries. I'M SUPER STOKED! I'm excited for the confidence that President and the Lord have put in me to be able to to this, and all while training.  It'll be an exciting finish to my mission for sure!  

Also, I just got an email from Walter, seems like the date for their sealing is going to be the 24th of this month, super stoked for that!  LOVE YOU ALL!!! Can't wait to write next week with how things go! LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!

Pray for me.

Elder Westenskow

Looks like the shoes ALMOST made it to the end!

I Know He Lives 4/8/2013

Hey Family!

 

Hey there, how was your week? Spectacular I'm sure!  Sounds like you guys had a fun visit from Guatemala! That was super random to see Hna Parker, it took me a second to recognize her since she's not, like, a missionary anymore ha ha. Kinda random but cool beans that y'all were able to meet her. And about the Rosetta Stone, sounds like a great idea!  

As for us, we had a great week!  It started out slow but as always, I think it's a rule of the mission that something has to happen towards the end of the week! We had a couple miracles! Adrianna reappeared! We randomly saw her where she was working before, I guess her and the member she was dating got back together! So our most positive investigator is back! And we're really stoked about it! We didn't have a chance to teach her this week but the point is, she's back! So we're stoked about that!  Also, Bernabe, more commonly known as Alexis' Dad, we were able to find him! And he asked us if he could be baptized! So that's AWESOME! He has his fecha for the 20th. Sadly, I won't be here seeing as its almost guaranteed that I'll have changes after next week but either way its super exciting!  

As for the bad news, A..., one of our investigators is no longer progressing at all, it's so sad to see her reject this message like that, but that's the sucky part of the mission, people don't always say yes, even when they progress so much. So we're bummed out about that, a few prayers for her would be good!  

 

Now the most important event, CONFERENCE!!  I'll start out saying that next conference I'll see it with y'all! Not baggy, excited :) But conference was super great! Overarching themes. I learned what kind of a wife I have to look for.... scary that that counsel actually will apply in a few months ha ha. The severe importance of the law of chastity, and the absolute need that we all have to have a personal testimony of Christ. I do. I know He lives. He truly did die for us. He suffered not only sins but all pains, sadnesses, everything. All because of his infinite love. He lives, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. What wonderful knowledge that the Spirit has confirmed to all of us. This gospel sure is great!  

 

I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!!!

Elder Westenskow

 

Yeah, I have no words! ~Mom

Andrew's desk. Sad thing is, it's pretty organized...for him!

 

If We Continue In Faith The Lord Will Bless Us 4/1/2013

Hi There Family!

How is everyone up North? Hope you had a super exciting week! To our much surprise, we did!  As anyone who has served a mission in Latin America can testify, Semana Santa is probably the worst week of the whole year (maybe only beat by when the fair comes to town!) We, this week, had the double advantage of having it be Semana Santa AND with Central Park in our area, the fair was in town!  So there was a TON of people who went to the coast, the people that didn't go to the coast had people from the coast visiting them and everyone else was in central park at the fair! Now, I'll let you know that I don't have any photos of Semana Santa seeing as we were running all over all week trying to find out what to do and trying to avoid the park (which at times was difficult seeing as our entire area is based around the park but hey, you do what you gotta do!). And our week went really, really well. They best week that we have had in a long time to be honest.

I won't say that all day of every day this week we had a ton to do because such was not the case, but the Lord works in mysterious ways and I definitely received a testimony of that this week. Blessings came from places that they were never expected and we were just blown away :)  Most of the week was super hard. We were looking and looking and looking and even resorted to contacting for hours at a time (because even the members were on vacation so we couldn't try to go get references there). But we just went and went and went and went and looked and looked and looked and looked and Sunday night we were very blessed. We got a member to go out and work with us, and he randomly pulled out of nowhere 2 families that we were able to visit and teach and set up return visits. They seem like people that could progress. We just testified of Christ, of his atonement and resurrection and all that he has done for us. We hope to keep teaching them in the future. We have been in major need of a miracle and this I feel is the answer to all the prayers and work that we have been doing.  If we continue in faith the Lord will bless us.  Remember that always.  

As for our progressing investigators, they're not really progressing anymore. Some of them we can't find, others moved away, a lot of crazy stuff that has happened recently but with what's happened this week we're just super duper excited about what's to come! Also, I'm in trio again haha. The area next door to ours, one Elder had changes and his comp didn't have a comp so we're working both areas and we have a third comp so that's pretty cool :)=  Its a lot of fun, we're working both areas and we hope to baptize in both areas :)  Life is super good, hope all is well on the home front! 

 

LOVE YA!

Elder Westenskow

We're Working Hard, Having Patience and Trying to Learn 3/25/2013

Hey there!

I'll let y'all know up front, I'm feeling much better! I was at the point of death last week but I'm doing a LOT better.  So yeah, quell your fears, I'm better :)   

 

How bout them Bahamas! Hope y'all had a great time!

 

About us, our week was a little bit better. I'll start with the negative. It seems like we might not be teaching Adriana anymore because it seems like her and Herbert may have broken up, we're still waiting for the final word but that seems like it could be the situation, so she would no longer attend with us which would be super lame and therefore we would not baptize her. So that's kinda lame but stuff happens, we're going to see what we can do to save the situation still but in this kind of a matter we cant do much.  Pray for her :)

About Bernabe, who is Alexis Dad, he's still progressing really well. Apparently he's been telling people that he's going to keep going to church with us so we're pretty excited about that. He didn't come to church yesterday because he was sick (I guess that's what happens when you're 84 :-)) but the horizon looks good there.  

We also found a couple new people this week that seem like they could maybe progress, we still need to see how the situation is a little bit better before we can say for sure but a couple people that seem a little bit positive.  

And Amelia is kinda back on the scene as well. She isn't liking at all the church that she chose over ours and so we're trying to get her to come to General Conference in TWO WEEKS!!!!!!!! and hoping that that can help her. We're working super hard and seeing very little results right now but we're trying to have patience and figure out what it is that the Lord wants us to do. This week is Semana Santa, Nicole can tell you what that means but we have some plans and some citas that we're pretty sure will bring results.  

 

So yeah, LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!!! Have a great week!

Elder Westenskow

Happy Birthday Dad! 3/18/2013

ONE YEAR OLDER AND WISER TOO!!!!  Happy birthday dude, hope it's like, super duper great and stuff :)

Now, I'll just let y'all know, this is gonna be super short, I got sick yesterday and I still feel pretty poopy ha ha. I apologize to everyone out there who I normally write, but I think I'm just going to do one email today.... sorry.  

First off mom, you don't have to worry, I'm most definitely NOT baggy ha ha. I'm actually still coming to grasp the fact that I don't have very much time left but I most definitely am not wishing for the time to pass faster.  And as for the family Castillo, they don't have a date yet, they are still finishing their prep classes, they only have a couple left so yeah.  

About us, we had kind of a slow week, again.  We walked  A LOT and looked for A LOT of people but without much success, kinda lame but its cool.  As for the investigators, Adriana is still progressing, she didn't come to church yesterday and we're not sure why but she's progressing, reading and praying and all that good stuff.  Alexis' dad is also progressing, he came to church yesterday and stayed all 3 hours again, we'll probably baptize him in April.  

The ultimate highlight of the week was a random phone call that I got that told me I could go to the temple!!! So on Friday morning I went to the temple, it was SOOOOOOOO good as it always is.  I'm sorry this is so devoid of detail and all that stuff, I promise a better email next week. 

 

I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Elder Westenskow

"I Will Make an Instrument of Thee" 3/11/2013

Alma 17:11

So I'll advise you up front, I fear this email may be a little short ha ha, I don't have much to share :) But first I'll answer your questions about the Guate trip. If we're going to have 10 days I would assume that it would be like 5 days in cada mission, is that right? So as of right now, and if I don't have another area before I die, I think like 2 days in Xela, 2 days in Huistas and 1 day in Quiche would be good, the only thing would be like, Quiche has to be a Thursday and in Huistas we have to be there on a Sunday, if that's at all possible (the Quiche one is necessary because that's market day) so yeah. As for the new mission, the boundries still haven't been told so I have no idea what boundaries it will affect but it shouldn't change my release date. Don't worry, I'll be home eventually ;)

 

Now my week, was another trying one. We're on kind of a negative streak but we're not getting discouraged. We have tried about a million different ideas to find new investigators and with very little success. We had a ward activity (super well planned and the members really enjoyed it, just didn't bring anyone) and a bunch of other stuff but yeah.  

Also, we couldn't get with Adriana this week but she came to church so we're definitely going to be putting a fecha with her this week, hoping she accepts :) Also we have a cool new, the dad of one of our members. He's read a lot about the church and came to the activity on Saturday and to church on Sunday and stayed all 3 hours, so we're really excited there!  ALSO I HAVE GRANDKIDS! 2 OF EM!  That's one of the pictures, my generations! Both my kids are training right now, how cool! 

 

Proud Papa/Grandpa

 

The other picture is a scripture that I found this morning that I had never really read in this way, we need to be examples in times of negative things, we need to keep our heads up. We need to show forth examples not just to the "lamanites" (non-members I'll put that) but to the "Nephites" as well. Members and in my case missionaries, they need to see that we keep working in spite of difficulties and like Ammon later on in the same chapter when "our sheep get scattered" (to say it that way) when we have difficulties that we don't just start crying about how we're going to get slain but we get up and go get the flocks and then chop off some arms. So to speak of course :)  

 

I LOVE YOU ALL A TON! Hope you all have a great week!

Elder Westenskow

"Have Faith in God...Everything Will Work Out" 3/4/2013

Hey There Family!

How's life going for everyone back home? Hope all is well for ya', here all is well as well (that was a lot of well ha ha). First off, and before I forget, I just wanted to write a little bit to y'all, my family. I feel like sometimes I don't thank you as much as I should for how great you guys are.  Having been here for a long time now, I think I become more and more grateful for my family and the environment I was raised in every day. I really do love you all a whole whole ton and I couldn't ask for a better family, I just hope you all know how much I love and appreciate you, all the support that you give me and all the love, not everyone has that and its something I'm extremely grateful for :) LOVE YOU FAMILY!!!

Now, about the Mision Coban, it's super exciting! I just hope I'm here to see the division, it seems kinda iffy right now, if they do it in June though I'll definitely be here :) Kinda weird to think that things are being announced that I won't be here for, I guess time is winding down. A member did some quick math the other day and figured out how many days I have left, let's just say it's not a lot! But I'm feeling good, I've had an excellent mission and I'm stoked to finish it stronger than ever.  :)  

And to quiet all the rumors, I don't have changes ha ha. I'll be here 'til April it looks like and then my last 2 changes I'll go out somewhere to die, or I might just stay here, weirder stuff has happened. But I'm stoked to stay, I love this area and this zone and it's all good :)

 

 And about the Castillo family sealing, I got an email today from Walter that says that they have about 3 classes of temple prep left and then they'll be set to go! So we're pretty darn stoked about that!  It looks like I'll for sure be there so I'm really really excited for that! One of the best families I ever taught in my mission getting sealed right at the end, how much more perfect could it be? :) So I'm stoked about that!  

 

 

 

 

As for this week, it was ups and downs.  We had some really good stuff but a lot of disappointments as well. First off, we had a baptism! Karla was baptized Saturday evening and she was super happy about it.  The family that she lived with told us she was counting down the days 'til her baptism. SUUUUUUUUUUPER cool to see someone so excited, the service was special as well, not a lot of people came because it was raining but it was really good, I feel like there rarely is a whole ton to report on baptisms other than that they're super awesome and you always get the confirmation that what is happening is absolutely the will of God.  

 

 

As far as good news that was about it.  We had a super slow week, we've been looking for news really hard the last two weeks because were kinda baptizing all our investigators but we have had like, no success in that, were trying our hardest but it just doesn't seem to work out. However, every time that I feel like I'm going to be coming to email a little downhearted the Lord always finds a way to cheer me up :) I was looking through some old stuff that people have sent me and I found an email from Grandma Sue full of quotes from President Hinkley. One of them (not exact words but more or less) said "Have faith in God, believe in Him, look forward, everything will work out." and that helped a lot, I don't think I have to explain why. But we're stoked for this week, we have some new ideas to find new investigators and we're looking forward to putting them into practice. We also have a ward activity that should help a lot :)  I'll be sure to keep everyone updated on all the juicy stuff and I hope all is well on the home front! 

 

LOVE YOU!!!!!!

Elder Westenskow

"Whosoever Putteth His Trust in Him...Shall Be Lifted Up" 2/25/2013

First off-

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MEAGAN!!! HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!!!! 

 

on Thursday!  

 

 

 

Now, moving on!  Sounds like y'all had a good week, really glad for you for that, except for dad, sounds like he's been pretty sick. But I hope he's feeling better and maybe having a little bit more time to rest this last week! And about all the upcoming weddings. Who is Abby marrying? And when is JR getting married, you can't just drop stuff like that as if it were nothing ha ha. But I'm glad that things are going well.  

Now about us and our investigators. We had a pretty good week investigator wise, we were able to get with a few people and teach some really good lessons.  Karla is absolutely stoked for baptism, she's so ready. She has come to church 3 times now and is just super super excited so we're really excited for that. I wish there was more to tell but it's just marvelous to see someone accept so easily the gospel and an absolute change in life, and the best part, she's doing it with a desire to help others, already talking about teaching her mom about the church and her friends and stuff, she's stoked and we're stoked!  

Amelia and Evelyn are also progressing, there's something that is holding them back, we can't figure out what it is but we're working with them. They're attending church every week but for some reason they aren't ready to accept a fecha for baptism, so maybe prayers for them wouldn't go amiss. We have a cita on Tuesday and we're hoping to put the fecha for the 9th of this month, they already have everything they need to be baptized. Just a little push from the spirit and we're set I think.  

About Adriana, she's also progressing great, she said that if she receives her answer she'd get baptized and just jump into the church, the best part is that she's going to get it, she's studying a ton and reading and praying and all of it, its super legit!  She also came to church yesterday so the progress we're seeing there is super good.  

In spite of all of this, I must confess that this week was super duper slow ha ha. EVERYTHING fell, we taught about half the number of lessons of a normal week.  But I read in Mosiah 23:13-24 and felt better, read it y'all, I won't ruin the surprise :) 

Well, I think that's it, I'm still happy, loving life and loving the mission. 

LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!

Elder Westenskow

The Lord Prepares His Children 2/18/2013

Hard Working Elders!

 Hi Family!

Well mom, I think first I'll attempt to answer some questions for the email moms.  What type of shoes should they get? The Eccos really are good shoes, if someone takes really good care of them they'll last the whole mission I think.  About the shirts, they should definitely get the kind I got (Mr. Mac) with the thicker fabric, if not, they'll get holes and stuff, all my shirts are still in great condition (just a little yellow).  But really, don't fret too much, you can find anything here, the size doesn't really matter, the pacas have it all.  So really just don't worry too much :)

Now, about our investigators, first of all, Henry was able to get confirmed yesterday, a little scary since I hate leaving people a whole week without the spirit. But he came to church on time and was confirmed and presented before the ward and it was all fine and good :) So we're really stoked about that. Another member of Central :)

As far as Amelia and Evelyn, they officially have their three attendances needed to be baptized seeing as they came to church yesterday.  We were going to try to baptize them this Saturday but I don't think that will happen, more likely for the 2nd of March but we have a cita tomorrow so we'll see what happens.  :) But we're really excited, even better that all the classes were on the spirit and personal revelation and Amelia learned a lot :) so we're stoked there!  

Also, Valezca, Osmars little sister came to church yesterday too. We're hoping to baptize her in March as well.  

 

I don't know if I've mentioned a girl named Karla to you guys but she works for some members. She's been to church twice now and has a fecha bautismal for the 2nd of March.  She's super pilas.  She prayed to be able to find work with good people who could help her to fix her life and turn things around, she also prayed to be able to find a church that would help her be able to do that, that she had real desires to change and wanted Gods help.  Pure coincidence (NOT!) that she ended up working for and living with some super pilas members and she's just eating everything up, she reads like crazy, prays really well and attends church.  So we're stoked there. A real testimony that the Lord truly does prepare his children to receive the gospel and many times we are just instruments in his hands to bring his work to pass.  It's an amazing experience to see someone so prepared and so willing to do the necessary to change, they just do it. It's fantastic :)  

Those are pretty much our most positive investigators, we have  a really good month for March lined up and were super stoked about it. Dad, good luck in all your travels, I know it must stink sometimes but you can do it! 

LOVE YOU ALL!!!!
Elder Westenskow

 

Procession through Central Park

 

The Gospel Brings So Much Happiness!! 2/11/2013

Hey there family, obviously the photos attached are not in need of much description. Henry was indeed baptized on Saturday evening in a very special service, very strong spirit that confirmed to all present that what we were doing was absolutely the will of the Lord.

Makes me think of a family that was baptized one year ago today, congratulations to the family Castillo, exactly one year ago they too were entering the waters of baptism. I received a phone call from Walter this morning telling me that all was going ahead as planned for the sealing, they have already began their classes for temple prep and I'm blown away by the progress that they have had. What a wonderful family, what a wonderful plan that our Heavenly Father has given us, the opportunity to be together forever. What a blessing :) The best part is that it's extended to all people! We can all receive this blessing if we will be but faithful to the commandments of God.

 

Now about the rest of the people we are teaching, this week was stake conference so not very many people attended. Juan did though! Which was a huge surprise, he's seriously confused and is trying to decide between our church and the evangelical church. He told us on Friday that he was pretty much evangelical but thanks for the invitation to stake conference so we thought we'd lost him, but he showed up to stake conference so we'll see what happens. We're going to FHE there tonight so we'll see what Juan has to say.  

 

Amelia couldn't go but we do know (from her employer) that she quit her job that she had for Sunday afternoons so now she'll have the entire day free and she said that she was going to start going to church so we're pretty stoked for that :) We challenged her to baptism and she accepted so we're pretty stoked ;)

 

Julieta, we visited her with President on Wednesday and she also accepted an invitation to be baptized. Unfortunately, her son got sick Saturday night so she couldn't come to church but she seems a lot more positive now that she's started to READ!!!! So we're seeing some progress there.  

 

As far as I go, I'm super duper! Actually a really good week personally. I've been studying some really interesting things with regards to covenants and the covenants that I've made and the promises associated. I had an interview with President to renew my recommend and lets just say that I learned a lot of things. I'm really just feeling great, life is great, the mission is great. All of it.  

 

If I had any advice for new missionaries, it would be to just chill.  Life here in Xela and the mission is chill, you can find almost anything you need (unless you're in Momos).  Just don't focus too much on the "stuff" that you bring, you won't end up needing the majority of it. Clothes, books, bathroom supplies, the essential. And a good umbrella ha ha. Things not on the list but needed, nothing really. What do I wish I had known? That the mission really is just the best thing every, everyone says it but it's really true. The gospel brings so much happiness to our lives when we truly live it and that's what the mission is, we teach others the gospel and at the same time learn how to live it ourselves. I love the gospel, I love the Lord, I love my family, all 3 rock!  

 

LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!!! 

Elder Westenskow

Great Week! 2/4/2013

Hey there!

First off, I got the package! And to answer, Elder Cruz is in a place called Chirijox in Nahuala and Elder DeLora is in Chikoral in Momos. So that's pretty great for both of them. 

As for us, things are going great, I had to do some zone stuff so I'm short on time but I'll give ya the rundown.  Henry is officially going to get baptized on Saturday!!!  We're pretty stinkin' excited, it's been a long process but he's super excited, he even started paying his tithing.  So that's pretty great, the only problem before was attendance but that's now been taken care of so we're pretty excited :)  

Amelia and Evelyn are also progressing really well, they couldn't come to church because Amelia had to enter early in her work but she was like "I felt really bad for not going, I really, really wanted to" so we're going to go visit them with President this week and see if we can put a fecha :) We're pretty excited about that :) They'll most likely be baptized this month.  

We also found a really, really positive investigator named Adriana.  She's the girlfriend of a member. We found her kinda on accident, looking for one of the kids of this member who is not baptized. We taught her and she LOVED the Plan of Salvation and baptisms for the dead (I don't remember how that came up but she LOVED it ha ha) She even came to church yesterday and turns out she's really good friends with our Relief Society president.  So we're pretty stoked about that too!

We had an excellent conference with Elder Martino, area president this week, learned A LOT! And we got to have a special conference just for ZLs and learn how to be better leaders and stuff, it was super great!  So really good week all around!

So yeah, that's life, I am super happy and alegre and all that good stuff! 

I LOVE YOU!!!!!! Have a great week!

Elder Westenskow

"A God of Miracles" 1/28/2013

Hi Family! How are you all doing? Good I hope. As for me and my week, it was good. I don't know if there was any one special moment that made it a good week, just consistent good things happening. We had A LOT of fallen citas but we came out having taught 24 lessons between investigators and less actives so that was a lot of fun :)  We were able to get with most of our investigators and the best news was that we set a fecha with Henry! HE'S BACK!  And he's stoked again, he says now he really feels ready to be baptized so on the 9th of February we're going to help him realize that desire.  It's really excellent to see how the spirit of the Lord has worked on him to give him these desires that he now has to truly follow Christ and walk in his way. He even payed his tithing, so that was super cool.

We were also able to go with Amelia and Evelyn and they came to church AGAIN. We were going to put the fecha but we couldn't, the baby was crying and I think Amelia was super distracted. But we'll keep trying, don't worry. 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm also including a picture of a Book of Mormon from 1952 that I found in a used book store this week for 10 quetz haha.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And last, just a cool scripture photo :) One of my favorites.  (Mormon 9:11)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Also, Juan, a guy that has been to a couple FHEs with a family here was also able to come to church yesterday so that was a big improvement :) As far as specific news or stories, I'm a little short this week, just having a good time, my comp rocks.  We just joke around a lot. It's good stuff.  But he's a really good teacher as well and so it all works out.  We have a conference tomorrow with Elder Martino and then another one on Friday so we're pretty stoked about that.  It's good stuff.  So I'm pretty stoked for this week, it'll be great! 

LOVE YOU ALL!!!!! Have a great week everyone!

Elder Westenskow

A Week of News 1/21/2013

Hey there, first off, to tell of a few happenings. I need y'all to thank both the Bishops family and the YSA group in the ward, I got a package from both of them for Christmas and they were quite a nice and appreciated surprise. :)

 

I do indeed have a new comp, his name is Elder Nuñez from Mexico and he's super cool. We're having a really good time together, we get along well and we teach well together. I love having a comp that's pilas and ready to work and knows how to work and teach and all that good business. The fun fact is that he's Elder D's kid ha ha. A year ago they were comps...that was a long time ago haha.  

 

Anyway, this week was a little different, we spent quite a bit of time with the members, so that Elder Nuñez could get to know them and we got A TON of references to start working with this week. We have quite a few citas with people that are references of members and all that good stuff. We did find a SUPER positive lady, Maria. She works in the house of some members and apparently she was going to get baptized like a year ago but the missionaries missed a bunch of citas and then never contacted her again. We're going to help her and her 2 kids complete the goal that she had way back when. ;)

Now, Willie and Heidi moved this last week/are moving this week so it's been tough to get with them but we're going to help them move a little tonight so we're still going there. Henry is now back on the scene and says that he has been thinking a lot lately and wants to get baptized next month!!!!! So were pretty stoked for that answer to prayers, we kinda gave him some space for about 2 weeks to let him think and stuff and it worked :) The spirit worked in him :) We are also still going with Amelia and Evelyn, Amelia finally got a new job that doesn't make her work on Sundays and she came to church yesterday!!! We're very excited about that and I'll for sure let y'all know about the progress there :) 

 

I know this email is super like, to the point, but I'm just really rushed today haha. 

LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!!
Elder Westenskow

More Baptisms!! 1/14/2013

Early morning in El Centro

 HELLO ALL!

First off, a very happy week to all of you!  I'm glad that y'all had a good week last week :) I'll let y'all know about investigators a little mas adelante :)  BUT, the big news, two more baptisms! We're really excited about the work we're doing here in this area, the spirit is working on people and helping them to come unto Christ.  We were able to baptize Yessenia and Mariela on Saturday and both were really good experiences :)  Yessenia just because she's been so unsure but finally accepted the invitation of the Savior to be baptized and she did it with a willing and grateful heart.  The spirit was great.

Mariela's baptism was a whole other experience.  To see her finally be able to realize the desire that she's had for over a year now and be baptized into the Lord's church was great. It was a small, quiet service. Focused entirely on the baptism.  She invited only those she was close to and had really played a part in her conversion and baptism, a very special service.

 

 

As for other investigators we've got a few.  Julieta is the mom of a kid we just reactivated but she never got baptized, she seems really open to the idea of going to church (she's been twice) and so we're just really trying to figure out her needs and address them with doctrine :)  We have Heidi, who is the wife of someone that Elder D activated and she's been to church several times but for some reason never accepted a fecha. We're going back tomorrow to see if we can put a fecha :)

Really I think that's it. 

LOOOOVEEEE YOU ALLL!!!!!!

Elder Westenskow

 

My Zone