Chalco, Estado de
México, México
On January 28th 2014, we completed three months
since entering the Provo MTC. We participated in the normal Senior Missionary
training on Preach My Gospel. We did not really associate with the younger
missionaries as we were housed at the Marriot Hotel in downtown Provo the first
week and then we moved (our first transfer!) to the Senior Missionary housing
on the MTC campus.
We returned home for the weekend between the first week at
the MTC and the second week when we received four days of training on the
Mission Office. Our original call was to serve as Member and Leadership Support
(MLS). I believe this the calling Senior Missionaries receive when they do not
know what to do with us. This was confirmed when we arrived in the Mission and
they did not know what to do with us. Prior to entering the Provo MTC, our
assignment was changed from MLS to OFC (Office) as we anticipated working in
the Mission Office a couple of days a week. This change in assignment allowed
us to receive the second week of Office training while at the MTC. This
training was a significant blessing since there was no one in the Mission who
was trained on Office procedures.
We arrived in the México Ciudad de México Chalco Misión
(México México City Chalco Mission) the evening of November 9th. This coming
domingo (Sunday), February 9th, we will complete three months in México. We
were introduced to our nice two bedroom apartment and then went with the
Presidents to the Adult meeting of the Chalco Stake Conference and we have been
on the move ever since.
I will start by summarizing my impressions of the México
City area:
·
Dirty – I am not sure why, there is a lot of
road construction, but there is always dust in the air and even the green
foliage has a dusty look. Mexican dogs have the same dirty look and are
basically ugly. We did drive up to the base of the volcanoes above the dust and
it was really quite nice. Many of the Ward areas in the southern part of the
mission are in or next to the volcanoes and are very pretty and a lot like the
mountains in California.
·
Noisy – Between random fireworks and meandering
street vendors there is never a feeling of calm and quiet. Everywhere you go
there are people selling things or trying to sell. During the course of a day
someone will pass on the street selling something the people need on a daily
basis. They announce their wares with bells and loudspeakers. This is a very
interdependent society. Everybody buys from everyone else. It seems to be their
way of supporting each other. There are big stores, we often shop at Walmart,
but the real commerce is in the streets, the flea markets, and corner markets.
·
Smelly – Sister Bird is more conscience of this
than I am. In many areas, garbage is thrown in the streets and roadsides. A lot
of this is wet garbage and matures over time. There are also areas of “agua
negra” where sewage runs in the streets. These areas are mostly outside of the
metropolitan areas. But there is a lingering smell.
These are not criticisms or complaining but a statement of
the realities of living here in México.
The people are a different story. There are some dirty and
unkempt, we had an “enjoyable” conversation with a drunk born-again Christian
and there are some with serious physical problems but in general they are a
wonderful and caring people. We always see couples with children walking
together on the streets. The people who are from these areas seem to know
everyone else.
Occasionally we see people, usually older, who are clearly
native Indians. Much of the people know of the “Mormons” and are a bit
standoffish. Many times I will stand by the gate in front of the Mission Office
and just watch the people walk by. They usually look straight ahead, avoiding
any eye contact. However, as it says in Predicad mi Evangelio, talk to
everyone, so I will make it a point to at least greet them with a “Buenos Dias”
or a “Buenas Tardes”. It is fascinating to see the change. Most will
immediately look with their eyes, smile a big smile and return the greeting.
Sometimes the Spirit will prompt to say or talk more but in most cases it is
simply to greet them so that the next time they pass they may ask about us.
It is only within the last two weeks that we have really
found our place here in the Mission. As I indicated previously, the Mission
President really did not know what to do with us. We attempted to visit with
and motivate the younger missionaries but we seemed to be in conflict with what
the mission leadership wanted. We attempted to serve in the Office but we did
not have a clear responsibility nor were we empowered to get things done.
Sister Bird was organizing her Curso de Accompañamiento (Keyboard Class) for
the members and missionaries but my role was still unclear.
Finally, the Spirit nudged me in the right direction and we
realized two things:
- We are to really organize and run the Mission
Office and to get the younger missionaries out of the Office and into the field.
- We are to organize the Senior Members in the Wards and Stakes to serve as missionaries from their homes in their respective wards and stakes
- We are to organize the Senior Members in the Wards and Stakes to serve as missionaries from their homes in their respective wards and stakes
.
We are the only Matrimonio Mayor (Senior Missionary Couple)
in the Mission. The Mission was organized in July of 2013 and there has never
been an Office staff. Several Elders had been serving in the Office with
Finances, Visas and Recording Ordinances. The Presidents had not been trained
on what an Office should be like and the Elders simply did what they did in
other Missions before they became part of this new Mission. There seems to be
an assumption within the Church structures that there are always two couples
assigned to the Mission Office. As a result there was no knowledge of Policies
and Procedures. I became the Office Coordinator (jefe) and started to organize
and change things. This has been almost a 24-hour a day project. Days have been
spent calling the Church Offices and researching what a Mission Office should
look like and how it should function. This week we have begun to put in place
the policies and procedures and helping the Presidents and the young
missionaries learn how the Office should work. It has been both rewarding and
frustrating.
On the 12th of January we had a short meeting with the Stake
President of the Chalco Stake asking him what he would like us to do for the
Stake. He asked us to help the wards contact the “names on the lists.” About
two months ago, Elder Valenzuela of the Seventy held a special conference with
the all the Ward Councils in the six Stakes in the mission. During these
conferences, Elder Valenzuela conducted an exercise with the Councils to
brainstorm and compile a list of all the menos activos (less active members)
that they personally knew within their respective wards. In three different
sessions, taking no more than 15-minutes each time, they collected over 2000
names of persons and families they knew that needed an invitation to return to
activity within the Church. Each ward had a list with 40-50 names but very few
of them had done anything with the names. The problem is really they do not
know what to do with lists this big. So, the Stake President asked for our
help.
While we were preparing to serve our mission, we asked
permission to serve one day a week in the México City Temple. Just before we
arrived in México we learned that the Temple was closing for 18-months to
2-years. This was a great disappointment and we did not understand the “Why?”
As we were thinking about how to help the Chalco Stake, the Spirit revealed
why, at least one of the reasons, the Temple was closing at this time.
In México, there are about 1.3 million members of the Church
of which 200,000 are active. That means only one in seven members are active.
What has been hard for us to comprehend is the strength there is here in the
Church. There are some fourth and fifth generation families and these members
are strong. Many had been serving as Temple Workers, many are former Bishops,
Stake Presidents and Missionaries. All of the Temple Workers were released on
Jan 6th when the Temple closed. Most of them do not have callings.
All of them are feeling the “emptiness” that Temple Workers feel when they are
no longer able to serve. All of these need to be “kept close” so that they will
be able to return to the Temple when it reopens. Many of them are seeking ways
to serve.
What the Spirit told us was simply this: These Matrimonio
Mayores are some of the 144,000 available and prepared to serve in México at
this time and in this place. They are to serve their families and friends from
their homes. I judge there is a message here for many other areas of the Church.
We are searching and finding these Matrimonio Mayores in
every ward we visit. They are asking us how they can serve. We are inviting
them to serve as Matrimonios Mayores as missionaries in their own wards and
stakes. We have two couples training in the Mission Office right now as we
figure out how to get them called as missionaries. We have two other couples
who want to serve in their wards. We have a senior sister preparing to serve as
a missionary in her ward and in the Office (she is also a dentist). We have
lists of many released Temple Workers needing to serve. This is really exciting
and marvelous. There is also a lot of opposition. I can only imagine where this
will lead but we are on board and running with it.
There is a new Church website called: La Obra de Salvación
(the Work of Salvation). It is really a renewed vision of missionary work with
members of the Church. It is nothing new. The program is contained in Preach My
Gospel, chapter-13 and in Administration of the Church, Manual-2, chapters 4
and 5. It is the way for missionaries and members to work together and prepare
a people to receive the Lord.
Our service in the Fredonia Branch in New York while we were
serving at the Temple prepared us and gave us the plan and pattern to follow here
in México. It is fascinating to see how the Lord orchestrates his work and how
he prepares us.
We do not know what the next three months we bring. We do
know it will only grow as it will grow at home.
