(Hermana S.) Helping with the work

Hello beautiful familia! 

What a pleasure being able to talk to you on Christmas day. :) I love you all so very much! It was a surprise also being able to talk to Jake... that was fun. On Christmas, we had our district meeting and then we went to do a service project. We painted an elderly lady's house. We finished a little late so afterwards we just ate and then went to call you guys. It was pretty normal. And on the 24th we had a pretty normal day too. No one invited us to eat dinner so we just at the usual meal at 2pm and worked until the end of the day. 

But your packages were so cute and I loved them. :) Thank you so much. I had a great Christmas!

Today my companion and I had interviews with President and, wow, I learned so much. I had been pondering a lot about what we would talk about and I came up with a few questions. He answered them and helped me to understand a lot of things, like how to increase my faith, be humble of heart, and be a better disciple of Christ. As I gain more and more time in the mission I become more aware that Heavenly Father really could just do this work all by Himself if He wanted. Gratefully, He lets us help. This work is a lot more for ourselves that we know. I can understand a little better that I am here not just to be the best missionary I can be, but I am here to prepare to be the best wife, mother, and disciple of Christ that I can be. 

President Egbert is one of the most incredible people I have ever met. The more time I spend around him, the more I come to understand that he is a special witness of Jesus Christ, very similar to the prophets and apostles of old and of our day. I really believe that. I've felt the Spirit's witness that it's true. 

I don't know what else to write... it's been a great week. I love you all!

(Elder S.) Love this work!

Hey family! Well it was great talking to y'all on Christmas. Seems
like things are going well and you're all happy! On Christmas we just
had district meeting, did some normal proselyting, had some Christmas
KFC and then went to Bishop Fukawa's for Christmas cake and some
Christmas festivities! It was pretty fun. Thanks for the Christmas
packages!

We had Temple p-day today. It was awesome as usual. The temple is so
great, we're lucky to be able to go so often. Next p-day is already
transfer calls again! This transfer has gone so fast.. I feel like I
just went to the mission home to pick up Elder Hugo. I've been in
Yachiyo for 4 transfers so I'm thinking I might get shipped out. Never
know, though!

So we had a baptism of 2 young girls that the sisters here have been
teaching named Miyu and Rina. Elder Hugo and I got to baptize them
which was a cool experience. That was a pretty sweet Christmas
present! You can definitely feel God's love when you help bring His
children back home.

Well that's about all for this week. I love you all! Have a great week
and a happy new year. I hope you all are searching and praying for
missionary opportunities! God will bless and guide you as you seek to
fulfill His work!

Love Elder Snyder

Christmas Day!!

So, besides Christmas being one of the best days of the year already, when you have a missionary out, Christmas is twice as wonderful!  We got to Skype with both of our missionaries and they both looked and sounded great! We are so grateful for their examples of obedience and their love for the Lord and the people they are serving. We are also so grateful for this time of year when we can ponder the beauty and simplicity the birth of our Savior was and what a perfect example he gave us.

(Hermana S.) Talk to you on Christmas!

Turns out ldsmail wasn't working yesterday so I couldn't email... so just to let you know, I will call you on Friday the 25th at 6pm Pachuca time. I don't know if there's a time difference or not, but you can check out the situation and be ready at whatever time that will be for you guys! I am guessing the skype name is the same, snyderbunch08, so I will call there. Love you! Have a very merry Christmas! Love you!

(Elder S.) Christmas week!

It's already Christmas week? Time goes quick! We have a lot of awesome
things going on here in the Yachiyo/Narita district! So I get to
interview the baptism candidates who are being taught in my district
and I've had 3 interviews in the past 2 weeks, all passed! One lady
has already been baptized and was confirmed on Sunday. Two of them are
being baptized this coming Saturday! Andddd our investigator Takano
has a date for Christmas!! He's still looking good! He's being
interviewed by our zone leader tomorrow. He's been an investigator for
over a year now and has had a lot of things we've had to work through,
but we're so excited. Prayers for him! Our investigator Kaito left for
the Philippines yesterday for 3 weeks. We taught him how to find
church buildings and so he's gonna find a church he can go to on
Sundays. We also challenged him to read all of 1 Nephi while he's
gone. He's awesome!

Our mission right now has a big focus on consecration. Miracles are
wrought upon faith and obedience! I'm lovin' it! President and Sister
Nagano are awesome, and so funny.

So I'll be skyping on the 26th (25th for you) at 9am. You can find
out what time that will be for you guys. I'm looking forward to
talking with all of you!

Let's remember this Christmas what Christmas is actually about. My
testimony has grown so much deeper over the past few weeks from
teaching and testifying to a people who celebrate Christmas but have
no clue what it's about. I know Christ was born on this earth and
fulfilled God's plan by performing the Atonement and being
resurrected. That we will be resurrected and return to live with our
Father in Heaven again. I know He lives! Love you guys!

Love, Elder Snyder

Christmas caroling at the nursing home!

Um....yeah.

Kaito, before leaving for the Philippines.

(Hermana S.) Big things going on!

Okkkkk familia. Well, I had a little bit of a shock when they told me I was being transferred. What added to my surprise was the interesting transfer I would have... I am now with Hna. Guzmán in Villas de Pahuca, and we are the senior sister training leaders of the mission. What?! Yeah, I was surprised too. In the mission we don't have Sister Assistants anymore because the number of sisters is decreasing, so we are what they used to be. The other Sister Training Leaders report to us about the sisters and all that jazz... Weirdness. Also, another fun fact. Guess who's finishing Hna. Díaz's training? Hna. Cevallos! Yes! My daughter training my other daughter! Amazing. And my granddaughter who just finished up her training with Hna. Cevallos is training, which makes me great-grandma. Wow, I am getting old! Haha. So many crazy things happening.

I am learning the area quickly and we are searching, searching, searching. This week we found 17 new investigators! When I got here they didn't have too many progressing investigators, so I know it's going to be a cycle of searching. I'm pumped! We are going to catch Villas on fire!

My second day here, our appointments fell through and we decided to say a prayer to be able to find someone to teach. So we prayed and then started walking. After a minute or two I turned to look at a house we had passed and asked if we could go knock. My comp said sure, so we went and knocked. An old guy opened the door and told us we could say a prayer with him. We did a Harvesting Blessing and he accepted the baptismal date. Since then we have gone back 2 times and wow, he is so great! His name is Cecilio and he's 80 years old. He told us the other day, "Hermanitas, I need you to prepare me for my baptism, ok?" Ahhhhh, it was so cute. We are finding a lot of goodies; I'll keep you updated. :)

This cycle is going to fly, I just know it. This week we have the Christmas Devotional and then the next week we have interviews and we'll be doing a bunch of splits and visiting in on the sisters' studies... I know that it's going to go by way too fast.

I don't know what else to say! I'm definitely adjusting to the new area and the new assignment and I'm just grateful for the grace of the Savior and for this amazing season of Christmas. There's something so special about this time of the year. It's because a Savior is born! I am so grateful for Him and His mercy and love. I am such a flawed person, for that reason I am so grateful for the King of Kings, the Savior and Redeemer of mankind!

Love you all! Do something kind today for someone who least expects it. :)

Hna. Snyder

 12/14/15 at 6:43 PM

This house is ridiculously big for two missionaries. 3 bathrooms, 3 bedrooms, etc etc. Here's the main living room and "my" bathroom. Haha, first time I've had my own bathroom in my whole life!:

(Elder S.) Christmas cake and KFC

Hey everybody! Life is going great here in Japan. It's the Christmas
season, so Japanese people actually feel the Christmas spirit and get
some interest in Christ. The Christmas tradition in Japan is to eat
Christmas Cake and KFC. Why? I don't know but that's just what they
do. They think that's what happens in America! It's pretty funny and
that's what every Japanese person says they do when you ask them what
they do for Christmas.

So our investigator Kaito was not baptized on Saturday. He's still
100% gold, but his parents say he's not allowed to pay tithing. He
said that he wants to respect his parents and so he won't get baptized
until he is able to keep all the commandments. But, we'll be going to
talk to them with Bishop Fukawa and trying to help them realize what
tithing is and help them be okay with it. Takano still has a date for
Christmas! Right now he's looking about 50/50 on making his date. Pray
for him!

My companion Elder Hugo is doing great. He's working super hard and
trying his best with everything. I've already been back out 6 months,
so almost 10 months total. Crazy! I'm almost over the hill already..

I'm so glad to be here in Japan serving these people! There's nowhere
else I should be. It's amazing seeing the hand of God daily as you
seek His guidance. I love sharing the gospel with everyone and seeing
how it changes lives. Love you guys!

Love スナイダー長老

(Hermana S.) I'm getting transferred!

Hello family!

Well, I have news. I'm getting transferred tomorrow.

WHAT?!?!?!?!

Yeah, I am surprised too. When Presidente called me a cycle ago, he told me I would finish training Hna. Díaz after Hna. Cerna went home (she goes tomorrow). Surprise! It's not so! I will be transferred tomorrow. I flipped out a little bit, but turns out it's not a joke. I can't even believe it.

Yesterday was one of the most incredible and life-changing days of my mission and of my life. I can't believe I haven't told you about one of our investigators, Juan. Juan had a pretty serious bike accident about 13 years ago, which left him without his 2 legs.  For all these years, he's been legless, and for the past 2 years, he's been wifeless because she left him and took their daughter. She left Juan with their young son, Ever, who is 14 years old. They live alone and Ever, well, he does everything that his dad can't do. He shops, cooks, cleans, everything. He had to stop going to school because they don't have money. They basically live off the charity of whoever will help them.

So we found them and started teaching them. Even with their situation, they're super great. Always smiling and with a postive attitude. We visited them this week with Hno. Monzalvo (an awesome member that always helps us out) and they agreed to go to church. So we went to pick them up for church with Hno. Monzalvo in the morning yesterday and Ever told us that his dad wasn't feeling well. We went to see Juan and he was laying in the bed twitching. He said he was having very strong cramps, and it was obvious that he was in great pain. Hno. Monzalvo asked if he had called the doctor, and he said that no, they didn't have even a peso to make a phone call. So Hno. Monzalvo sprung into action. First, he gave him a blessing. Then, he called the doctor. The doctor didn't answer, so we went rushing to the Red Cross for emergency care. Today in the morning he took him to do more tests and buy them food and... I don't think I am describing very well everything that happened but it was just amazing. The reaction of Hno. Monzalvo and his willingness to serve, no matter the cost, struck me to the core.

I'll tell you more about it next week. For now, I don't have time. But I love you all so much! Talk to you in a week in somewhere other than Tecnologico!

Love yinz!

Hna. Snyder

Me and Hermana Martha

A little elderly sister made us slippers. Love them!

STEELERS COUNTRY!

(Elder S.) Things are great!

Things are going great here in Japan! I love the way things are going
right now here in Yachiyo. My companion Elder Hugo is doing well.
He's getting adjusted quickly! So our main man Kaito is looking great
for baptism this Saturday, the only thing that we're worried about is
him getting permission from his parents since he's only 19. Pray for
Kaito and his parents! Our investigator Takano that I used to
talk about a while ago is also doing really well right now and making
good steps in the right direction again. We set a date with him for
12/25, Christmas!

We had a few experiences last week that once again confirmed to me
that the power of the Holy Ghost is real. One of them happened
yesterday when we went to visit a less active member and shared with
him last year's Christmas video 'Because of Him'. While watching the
video, I felt the Spirit so strongly and I thought in my head that he
had to be feeling it too. When we were done watching the video, I
asked him how he felt, and all he said was "I liked the music..". So
why does that let me know that the Spirit is real? Because we learn in
the scriptures that the Spirit does not dwell in unholy temples. Both
my companion and I felt the Spirit so strongly but he didn't because
of that reason. Always be striving to have the Holy Ghost as your
constant companion!

I know that this is the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. I am grateful for
the experience that I have here serving the Lord. Love you all, talk
to you next week!

Love, Elder Snyder

(Hermana S.) Thanksgiving in Mexico and Christmas Initiative!

Hello, beautiful people!

Another week has come and gone, how can that be? Sometimes the mission seems like a dream. This week I am SO PUMPED for the new initiative, A Savior Is Born! Ha nacido un Salvador! Seriously, we are getting into it! We had our weekly planning session this week and were thinking about how to really utilize this initiative and we had a pretty sweet idea. We've already visited with 3 families from the ward to share with them the initiative. Then, we gave them a bunch of little cards so that they can invite their friends and neighbors to a family home evening with the theme "A Savior Is Born!" We will watch the video and then share a small message with everyone. We have 3 family home evenings coming up already this week! It should be a great way to get the members involved and use the initiative! I know that it will bring marvelous results! I want to invite you to do it too! Get together with the missionaries and plan a day to have a family home evening. Ask them for cards to give out to your friends and neighbors. Invite lots! What I have come to understand as a missionary is that if we want a few to come, we must invite many! So get to inviting! And then have your FHE in the house with your friends. Watch the video and let the missionaries share a short message. I know that you will see great blessings!

And check out this amazing page the Church has made! The videos, the... everything! SO GREAT! https://www.mormon.org/christmas

Share it with EVERYONE!

This week I had a sacred experience during the Sacrament. We only had 1 investigator in church and I was so frustrated about the families that flaked out and didn't show up. I wrote down my thoughts in my agenda...

"Today I can feel just the slightest bit of the pain I imagine the Savior feeling. I can just hear Him... 'Why don't you accept my sacrifice? It's free! It won't cost you a thing. I've already paid the price. Take it. I want you to take it.' Today I felt a bit of His pain. In my heart, I am saying, 'Why don't you just accept my sacrifice? I am here for you! I don't care about anything else! Just accept what I have to give you. I will give you my all.' And when they reject, I feel sad. But not sad for me, I feel so sad for them! I don't care about me, reject me all you want. All I really care about is them. Every bit of this small sacrifice is for them."

Oh how grateful I am for our Savior Jesus Christ. I know His grace is free. It doesn't cost a thing. He wants us to embrace this sacrifice that He has freely given. I know I will forever be indebted to Him. It's for that reason that I serve with all my heart, might, mind, and strength. Because I will never be able to repay Him, but I can show Him my love. That's why I obey - because I love Him and will follow Him forever.

I love you all so very much! I am so grateful for you! Have the best week ever!

A Savior is Born!

Hna. Snyder

I was remembering back to a year ago when I arrived here in Mexico and I was just so sad that they don't celebrate Thanksgiving here. A guess a perk to being in the big city is that the people are a little more aware of ward culture! So, a family in the ward invited us to eat with them! It was so cute. We ate turkey! It wasn't quite as delicious as the Snyder Family Thanksgiving, but I'll take it! I made everyone say something they're thankful for. :) I am thankful to be in the mission. What a blessing it is turning out to be. I never could have imagined the impact it would make in my life and in my eternity.

(Hermana S.) The Value of Hard Work

Hello family! 

It's been an interesting week. We accomplished a lot of goals we had set as companions but it ended a little tough because no one went to church. No one! That was sad. But we keep working. I know the Lord blesses us for our efforts and obedience. "I the Lord am bound when ye do what I say..." Yesterday we were able to have a lesson with a little 9 year old girl who hasn't been baptized yet but has decided to do it! Whoo! We're gonna help her do it. :) 

I forgot to tell you guys an amazing story. We were looking at the ward directory for people we don't know and saw Gustavo S. We put in the plan to go look for his house but we weren't able to find him. Then, in the night the ward mission leader was accompanying us. All of the appointments fell through so we said a prayer in the street to be directed to where we were needed in that moment. We opened our eyes and this drunk guy approached us and said to the ward mission leader, "Hey, you remember who I am? " He thought for a minute and then replied, "Gustavo S?!" Gustavo was baptized 15 years ago and ended up going down the wrong path afterwards. He wants to change and, well, he's changing! Since that night, he's gone to church two Sundays in a row and he's found a job. He gets to church all nice and clean, smelling good and super sober! He reads the Book of Mormon and has not taken one drink! He is literally a walking miracle! Working with people like Gustavo makes this all worth it.

Today we had a zone activity so I don't have much time to write. But I've been thinking a lot of one word: WORK. President wrote us a great letter last week that I am going to send you. Translate it and read it! I loved it. And in response to his letter, I wrote him this:

P.S. I love your letter this week! It reminds me a little of my childhood, even though it sounds like you still worked way more than me. :) Growing up on a farm is something that I am so grateful for. I'll never forget on one occasion when my dad gave me an assignment: go shovel out all of the weeds in one of the corn fields. Now this was not a small cornfield. And they weren't small weeds either. Every time I found one I had to dig all around the exterior for about 15 minutes to be about to get down deep enough to shovel it out with all my might. It was a hot summer and I was about 14 years old. After the first day, I had blisters upon blisters on my hands. I thought I was going to die out there alone! It wasn't punishment or to be cruel and I still don't know exactly why my dad made me do it alone. But after a week's work, I think I could understand a little bit better the importance of hard work. And over a lifetime of small lessons a lot like this one, oh how grateful I am for the person they have helped me to become! Now, when we recite, "The field is white already to harvest," I think of my dad and how he would feel after working and preparing a grand crop only to see it go to waste because of lack of help. I know that we are the workers! The field really is white, and we are the hands that get the job done.

Thanks, Mom and Dad, for the great childhood you gave me! The value of hard work is, well, priceless. How grateful I am to be able to have learned so early in my life of this important principle. 

Have the best week ever. Love yinz!

Hna. Snyder

(Elder S.) No time for an email this week

11/23/15 at 6:20 PM

Hello! So we had no time at all to email yesterday, so I'll just send
you an email saying I'm safe and will update you next week. Love you!

Elder Snyder

 

My companion and me in front of lady liberty at Odaiba

Went to conveyor belt sushi with an investigator.

 Guess which stack of plates is mine. HAHA

(Hermana S.) I love this work!

Hola familia!

Lots has happened this week! First the bad news... Simon and Silvia told us they don't want to listen to us anymore: :'( I know, my heart broke too. They are both about 65 years old and have 7 kids and basically they said that it would be too hard to change at this season of their life. We are sad. But we're not losing hope not even for a second! We were able to find 18 new investigators this week, and the best part is... they're FAMILIES! We've looked a lot, contacted a lot, knocked a lot of doors, and I know that we've found some great new people. 

Specifically, we have a new golden family that are our neighbors! They literally live in the apartment beneath us! Who would've known that they we were just waiting for the right opportunity to draw closer to God after the many trials they've faced in their lives?! They went to church yesterday and loved it. They had a great experience and are SO GREAT. It's a young couple with a little 1-year-old baby. Finding this family has really made me think... the "chosen ones" are literally all around us! But we will never know that they're chosen and prepared unless we talk to them! "The field is white already to harvest," and we are the hands that do the harvesting!

And the incredible part is that most of these families were references from other "inspired doors!" We would knock a door, the person would tell us they aren't interested, we would ask, "Who else do you know who could be interested in learning more about this message?" or "Who else do you know that we can help?" ...and after a little prodding and convincing, they would tell us, "Maybe this new family who lives two houses down!" or "Maybe this lady who stopped going to our church would be interesting in listening to you guys!" Then we would go to their house and offer a blessing and invite them to baptism and they would say YES! It's really incredible. The Lord puts a little speed bump in the way sometimes so that we must talk to someone to be able to really find a "chosen one." After the show of our faith comes the miracle! I know that we must ask references from EVERYONE! There's a good tip to give to the Elders in the branch. Every contact, every lesson, every meal, every family... As Preach My Gospel teaches us, we must always "ask the question!" (And if we're not missionaries we must always give an answer! That is... a reference!) 

 I just love this work so much. I know that there are people waiting and we as missionaries, we who call ourselves representatives of Jesus Christ, must do HIS work. Not our work, not our will, but His.

This email has a lot of exclamation points, right? Haha. I guess I am just a little excited. I love you all so much! Have the best, most spiritual week of your life!

Hna. Snyder

(Elder S.) Testimony of the Restoration

こんにちは!!

 We had a great week this week! Today was great because we got
to go to the Temple. So awesome! Temple p-days are great.

So first off our investigator T, who I had talked a lot about
when I first got to Yachiyo has started progressing again! He's
decided that he needs to really give this another go. He's doing
really well again and actually quit drinking coffee for a little
while. (Huge step). I had a pretty cool experience with one of our
members last week too. He has been having a really hard time getting
off work for church on Sundays and is really disappointed because he
says he's keeping all of the commandments except for the Sabbath day.
I was actually able to share from Kelsey's last email the story about
R and his experience with sacrificing his job for Sundays, and
then receiving a huge blessing for it. He really felt the Spirit and
is going to sacrifice more to come to church on Sunday. I know God
blesses us for sacrificing our wants, or even things we think we might
need, to keep His commandments.

The church is true! I gave a talk this week at church and got to talk
about how the Restoration is the foundation of our testimonies. I
shared parts of 3 different conference talks: 1st, "Catch the Wave"
Russell M. Nelson, April 2013. 2nd, "Joseph Smith" Neil L. Anderson,
October 2014. And 3rd, "Are you sleeping through the Restoration?"
President Uchtdorf, April 2014. (You should read them). When we gain a
firm testimony in the Restoration of the Gospel and the Prophet Joseph
Smith, our faith in the Gospel will never waiver. The great thing is,
is that as we build our testimony of this, and continue to receive
those spiritual confirmations, our desire to share the happiness of
the gospel will grow. Continue to strengthen your testimony in the
Restoration

Love you guys!! Elder Snyder

(Hermana S.) Baptism!!

R's baptism - ACCOMPLISHED!

Yesterday we had a very beautiful baptismal service for R! The first convert baptism in the area since March! We are so happy! He is so great. A little story about him... He has wanted to be baptized for a long time now. So when he was offered a new, better work opportunity where he would make a lot more money a few months ago, he turned it down because he would have to work Sundays. About a week later, he was blessed with a second offer, even BETTER, where he would have the opportunity to rest Sundays and go to church. I know that the Lord will bless us and provide the way if we have a sincere desire to keep his commandments. Oh, how grateful I am to have had the opportunity to help R make his first covenant!

It's been a good week in Tecnologico! Yesterday S and S went to church again! They are progressing along well. They have lots of doubts and fears, but little by little those doubts are being resolved and strengthening their faith. I have a testimony of the Book of Mormon, and they are reading and doing their part, so I know they will receive a clear answer soon. PRAY FOR THEM!

Also, we had a new family go to church yesterday, the T's! They are such a great family. We found them by knocking their door the day of the mom's birthday. It was a sweet little surprise for her and we gave a blessing of their home. They might have a bit of a slower process but they always keep their commitments and I know that the Lord has great things in store for them!

We had our meeting with the ward mission leader on Friday and it was great because he's called 7 ward missionaries who are all ready to work. Just about all of them are returned missionaries and I am hoping that this is going to be a great opportunity to get the ward more involved with the work. And yesterday I gave a talk in church, so hopefully that will take hold of their hearts and we'll really get the ball rolling. I have been studying the New Testament and my study has helped me to come to understand something very important: all of the miracles of the Savior occurred after a show of faith. Whether it be our faith that heals us personally or our faith that heals someone else, the Lord requires that we reach out and act so that he can perform His miracles. When we are healed personally by the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we must reach out and go to the rescue of someone else who needs to be carried and brought before the Savior for help.

We must be that person. I promise that if you begin to lead others unto the Savior, you, in turn, will come to know Him better. You in turn will spend more time with Him. Remember that the Lord of the vineyard always works with His servants. The more time you spend in His vineyard, the more time you spend with Him. You will feel His healing powers and His great love in your life. I promise... from experience!

Love you all so very much! :)

Hna. Snyder

(Elder S.) Wonderful people!

Helloooooooooo! Down goes another week in paradise. I don't think
there's another place in the world like Japan. Only two percent
Christian, but some of the most Christ-like people you'll ever meet.
Then you meet the members of the church and its x10. It's great!

It was a bit of a disappointing week because many of our investigators
with lots of potential are so busy they can't meet with us very often.
It stinks! But the big focus right now is on member work. Here's a
crazy stat:

0.1% of people found through missionaries' personal finding efforts go
on to get baptized. 60% of referrals given to the missionaries from
members are baptized. That's crazy!

So, we have been trying really hard to work with and build the
testimonies of the members here. I talk about Bishop Fukawa a lot, so
you probably all know he's awesome. But, we have been discussing with
him how to get the other members into it, too. He tells us that he
feels sometimes like he's the only one here that wants to be involved
with the missionary work. Mostly everyone else is old and doesn't want
to share the gospel. We need to change that! But probably my favorite
part of the week was that three of the less active young men that
we have been working with came to church on Sunday! It was awesome and
everyone was way happy to see them there. There is normally only one
young man and no young women that come every Sunday so we're gonna get
them all re-activated and on missions! We are starting up an English
tutoring service here and we think that will help us find a lot of
"sweet spot" aged kids who want to learn English or help with their
homework. Pretty excited for that! President and Sister Nagano are on
fire right now. It's pretty awesome to see the revelation and ideas
they are receiving to help the work here.

I know this church is true! I love the gospel and being able to serve
the Lord. Work with the missionaries and help this work move forward!
Talk to you next week.

Oh, and next week is Temple p-day so I'll be emailing on Wednesday.

Love, Elder Snyder

There's a ramen shop here with a spicy ramen challenge. If you eat

level 5 you get to put your name on the wall. Of course, I had to do it

and got to put my name on the wall of fame:

(Hermana S.) I will go, I will do the things the Lord commands

Hellllllllo familia!

It's been a great week here in Tecnológico! It's definitely an interesting experience training in trio but it's FUN! Haha. Hermana Díaz is really cute, a little timid sometimes, but we're helping her learn that the Mexico Pachuca missionaries don't fear ANY MAN! She's from the north of Mexico, Sonora. Tierra caliente! Man, oh man, am I glad to be here in Pachuca and not there! Haha. And Hermana Cerna always makes me laugh. I can't believe this is her last cycle.

What has even happened this week? I feel like the time just flies by... NO, I REFUSE TO THINK ABOUT THAT. First of all, R is going to be baptized on Sunday!!! WHOO! We're finally gonna get the ball rolling in Tecno again! Many, many months have passed by without a baptism. We are so excited! He is super ready and everyone in the ward is pumped for his baptism. Also, S and S, the little old grandparents we are teaching, went to church yesterday. :) We are super happy for them. S is so cute and humble and is getting excited for her baptism on the 28th (this is her 2nd Sunday at church). But S, welllll, he wasn't a fan of church yesterday. Haha. Who knows why, but he had mixed opinions. But whatevs, I know he'll come around soon!

Other than that, well, it's been a little tough this week. Basically we came to the conclusion that we are going to have to drop just about all of the other investigators. It's going to be hard because they are all so great - L, I (who already finished the Book of Mormon), I. Jr (whose sisters are members), etc. because they just aren't progressing. I never knew it would be so hard to drop these people but it just breaks my heart because I know they need this in their lives way more than they do. They just don't keep their committments. They understand the doctrine, they know what's expected of them, so when they show up to church some day in the future, we'll know that they really take this seriously.

So, this week is going to be a week of BUSQUEDA! Searching! I will go, I will do, the things the Lord commands. I'm pretty much willing to do whatever He asks of me to be able to find His elect children. I know they're here. I know they're waiting. Maybe they don't even know it yet. But we're going to find them... This week!

I love you all so much! Have the best week ever!

Hna. Snyder

Introducing... the new trio!!!

 Me playing up a small storm. #calledtoserve

 Trio selfie

 Burger King P-day with the beautiful scarf Kelly sent me :)