Ten Months In The Mission - 9 September 2014

Chalco, Estado de México, México

On September 9th we marked 10-months in the Misión Chalco. A lot has changed since the last report at six months. Our situation and assignment in the Misión Chalco has completely changed.

We commented previously about our work and testimony with Senior Missionaries here in México. Our feelings have not changed but we encountered continuous obstacles in getting Senior Missionaries called to serve. There were problems with local leaders not processing the recommendations and finally the Área asked us to no longer invite members to serve locally as full-time missionaries working with the Misión. We determined that local full-time Senior Mission service will have to wait until leadership can support them and make the changes in culture to make the work move forward. This effectively defeated all the work and progress we had made in organizing the Mission Office and getting the missionaries into the field.

A little over a month ago, President Crickmore called us into his office and told us of our new assignment as proselyting missionaries. We were relieved of all responsibilities in the Office and assigned to our own proselyting Área. We immediately started looking for a house and to prepare to
move out of Chalco, away from the noise and distractions of the city.

We are assigned to an area based in Ayapango which is located about 20-minutes drive south of
Chalco and a little west of Amecameca, at the foot of the volcanos. It is farm land and we work in five small villages or pueblos.

We have a nice two level home with four bedrooms, a large dining area, 2-1/2 bathrooms and a complete kitchen. We live on a gated street (cerrada) with 12 private homes. About half of the homes are weekend or vacation residences, so things are very quiet. It is located just before the entrance to the pueblo of Ayapango so we are not actually within the pueblo. We are delighted with the change, to be out of the city and in the mountains. We feel at home.

Although we have permission from the Presidente to teach our own investigators, we give referrals to the young missionaries and we work with the members. Our area includes two Wards and a large Branch so we juggle our time and work in the three areas. Our missionary agenda is full and we are booking appointments two weeks ahead.

The Work of Salvation (La Obra de Salvación) is really the work of the members with members, and we are all members. It is described as "A unified effort in conversion, retention and activation" of the members of the Church. We are concentrating on the conversion of the "Active" members which are those who come to Church on Sunday but don't do anything else. They do not serve and do not accept callings. In addition, we meet with the leaders in special Family Home Evenings (Noche de Hogar Familiar) to help them strengthen their testimonies and invite other to come to meetings in their homes. We do not ask for references but they immediately give us names and we support them in their work with the members and non-members they invite. We are having a lot of success and starting to make a change.

The members seem to idolize us and constantly comment on how excited they are to have a Senior Missionary couple serving in their ward or branch. We try to be a good example and support their needs, not ours. We judge this is how Senior Missionary service is intended to be.

We just completed a 3-hour weekly planning session in which we updated our area maps with those we are working with and plans to how to work with them for the next 10-days. Since our time is limited and we have two large piano (teclados) classes, which are organized by the Stakes, we are going to move to teaching in large groups in the chapels or large homes. We need and will respect the actions of the wards and branches to make this happen. We will report in the future how it works.

We are on the "downside" of our assignment here in Misión Chalco. We have requested a short extension of our service until the third week of May. This will allow us a few more weeks in our missionary home and to complete a third round of piano classes.

This is the Work of the Lord and as we work according to His Plan we have success.

Seven Months And Torrential Rains - 9 June 2014

On the 9th of June we marked seven months in the Mision Chalco. It was another day in the Office supporting the missionaries with "Pouch" which is the distribution of mail and personal packages and receiving reports and mail to take back to the Office. Sometimes we do additional tasks such as transport housing items to the missionary apartments. We need a mini-van to do this properly but as all good Mexicans, we improvise.

Conditions here in the Mision have moved from earthquakes to the rainy season. It rains almost every afternoon into the evening and sometimes overnight.

We try to schedule a Temple trip every six weeks after the exchanges are completed. This last trip we returned to Veracruz. We arrived Thursday afternoon and returned Saturday afternoon.

It started raining while we were in the Temple on Thursday and continued with a downpour until just before we left on Saturday. What they tell us is that there is very little rain in Veracruz and as a result the drainage systems are inadequate.

Friday night we had to explore to find a passable street back to the hotel. Many intersections were flooded and blocked with stalled vehicles.

It rained most of the drive back to Chalco, I guess we were chasing the storm. They tell us there was flooding here also.

Sister Bird needs to have her camera handy and ready while we are traveling as you never know what you may see or what new friends you might meet.

We just added a large number of Wall Art images to the library.  Follow the link below to see the new images.

Sister Bird continues with her four keyboard classes. They are coming along slowly and we have set the second week in Agosto (August) to finish up this first group. Initially there were 42 students but that has settled down to about 20. After this first group is completed, she will organize three new groups centered around shared buildings rather than Wards. She will limit this round to three keyboard classes and about six to eight students in each class.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE IMAGES

Futuros Misioneros (Future Missionaries) - 31 May 2014

On this date we were invited to participate in a special Primary activities in the south end of the Mission in the pueblo of Tepetlixpa. We thought it would be some sort of Primary program and had no idea what it really would be. Here is the extract from my Mission Journal about what we discovered:

"At this moment I am surrounded by about 140 Primary age children all wearing gafeta de "Future Misioneros" We were told last night of activity in the Telcalco Stake of the Primary but not what it was about.

"Here is what Sister Bird wrote about the activity and what happened to her:

"Yesterday we went to a Stake primary activity. Only the kids, the leaders and the full time missionaries were there. The mission president spoke and had all the full time missionaries come up and say where they were from. Then Sis. Crickmore opened a suitcase with missionary stuff like pamphlets, BoM, Preach My Gospel, pens, hand sanitizer, pass along cards etc. We missionaries chose one kid and they came up and picked something out of the suitcase. Then we had to explain why we used it. My kid picked hand sanitizer. We shake hands with lots of people (but not dogs) and we can clean our hands often. Then the Stake Prim. pres. called the kids up two by two from different wards and assigned them to an area in the stake to go to. They went as districts in combies (big vans) to their areas and knocked on doors and presented a memorized message about the plan of salvation, which they each had a copy of. Don't know how may references they got, but a great activity for every ward or stake! Oh, and they each had a "future missionary" badge.

"They are organized as wards and branches as missionary groups. We are gathered in the Tepetlixpa chapel and the kids are really excited. There will be a short devotional and then they return to their areas and go to the streets contacting. They will be given lists and knock on doors. They will leave a little message. They will return here to report their contacts and have a dinner. I am really impressed and have asked Elder Lauritzen to write an article for the Blog."


There was a brother taking pictures of each of the missionary companionships and what happened when they returned from their contacting. We will update this entry when we have the additional material. We discovered this is the second time the Telcalco Stake has done this and with great results. The people will listen to the children and many references are collected.


With regards to what happened to Sister Bird, We include the following:

"The last couple of months I have had a tooth ache off and on. Well, I didn't want to go to a dentist here so I prayed and promised I would change a couple of things. I thought I was getting better and last week I ate a star burst and it felt funny so I took it out of my mouth and my back molar with a crown came with it! The tooth had been deteriorating the last two months. The blessing is that this was the tooth that had a root canal, so no real pain! I called Dr. Porter and he said to just let the roots go until I get home and he can extract it and do an implant! The Lord will bless us, but we don't always know how He is going to do it - but we need to be doing our part too."

"We are in the office 6 days a week now! I do laundry early in the morning and dry it when we get home. Hopefully we can cut that to 3 days soon. The piano classes are starting to take turns leading while someone plays. I made a chart they can fill in whenever they pass off a hymn. This seems to be giving them incentive. I'll know for the next course I do."



CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE IMAGES

México The Land Of The Unexpected - 25 May 2014

These pictures show what we encountered on the main highway between Chalco and Valle de Chalco. The little white and brownish dog was herding them. The farmer was behind them and around a corner. Mexico the land of the unexpected.

Today we attended two Stake Conferences, the Chalco and Solidaridad Stakes. Although the Stake buildings are large they only hold about a thousand chairs. The Stakes are big enough that they have split sessions. At 09:00 we attended the first session of the Chalco Stake. At 12:00 we attended the second session of the Solidaridad Stake. It was while driving between sessions that we encountered the cattle.

Both of these Stake Presidents are maturing and their messages were really special. President Gomez of Solidaridad gave four steps or challenges to the members of his Stake. These are important points for all of us and fundamental to the Obra de Salvacion.

1. Have Family Prayer everyday.
2. Attend Sacrament Meeting every week
3. Pay an honest tithe and offerings
4. Observe the Day of Rest and sanctify it

This will be our theme for working as Senior Missionaries.

Pioneer Missionaries in Misión Chalco - 24 May 2014

The following post was included in the Chalco Misión Blog. A little insight into what is happening with the Senior Missionaries in our Mission. The Blog entry was dated 26 March 2014. Their CCM training week was May 13-19, 2014.

Elder José and his wife Hermana Anna Alvarado received their call as Senior Missionaries and were set apart this evening. Los Alvarado are called to serve for a period of at least 12-months or until they return to service at the México City Temple. They will serve as a Full-Time Senior Couple (Matrimonio Mayor) assigned to the México City Chalco Mission living at home.

This is an historic moment for the Misión Chalco and for the México City area in general. Los Alvarado are the first native speaking Senior Missionary Couple to be called from the area while living at home.

Los Alvarado have been helping as volunteers in the Mission Office since the first part of January 2014. With their call as full-time missionaries, Los Alvarado will train and take over several of the Mission Office responsibilities and help the Office Elders have time in the field.

In addition to their Mission Office assignments, Los Alvarado will work with the Porvenir Ward, their home ward, and the Chalco Stake in the Work of Salvation (la Obra de Salvación). Los Alvardo will also help train and mentor new Senior Missionaries and Couples that will be receiving missionary calls to serve in the México City Chalco Misión.

Los Alvarado are also pioneers in the Church in México helping in the growth of the Church from little Branches to large Wards and Stakes. Standing in the middle front of this photo is Sister Alavardo as a child with her family before they became members of the Church.

Los Alvarado recently trained for one week at the México City CCM (MTC). There were ten couples who participated in this training. Of the ten only los Alvarado and one other couple were "vivir en casa" (live-at-home) missionaries. This will change as we have at least two more couples completing their recommendations to serve as full-time missionaries "vivir en casa."

Six Months And Earthquakes - 10 May 2014

Chalco, Estado de México, México

Yesterday was our six month anniversary here in México. We also learned there was another earthquake early in the morning. We have experienced three strong earthquakes in the last three weeks or so. They all occurred north of Acapulco and there was little damage. Here in Chalco it is a strong rolling sensation like being on a large ship. We had trouble standing and watched the tall trees sway. We do not know if this is a precursor to something but these are the last days.

     April 18 7.2 We were in the apartment and were able to get outside. We felt it for about 7-minutes
     May 8    6.4 We were in the Mission Office. We felt it for about 5-minutes
     May 10  5.9 We slept through this one. They tell us it felt quite strong

This morning we had a special Leadership Council Meeting for the Zone Leaders and Assistants
presided over by Elder Valenzuela of the Presidency of the Seventy and a Counselor in the Area Presidency. We have gotten to know them personally and they are a very special couple. He spoke of the Area goals and what they really mean.

President Crickmore is calling special Zone Conferences next week to share with the rest of the Mission what was taught in this meeting.

6-Months In The Mission - 26 April 2014

Chalco, Estado de México, México

We are coming up on six months in the Misión Ciudad de México Chalco. Sister Bird has been busy with four teclado (keyboard) classes which keep us busy three evenings and afternoons a week. We started with three days in the Mission Office but now are there five to six days a week. We no longer have a Día de Preparación (Preparation Day) and schedule blocks of time during the week to do the necessary items of life as a Senior Missionary in México. I have become an expert in the daily fight of driving a car and become adept at "aggressive" driving techniques. Sister Bird tries to sleep through it or at least keep her eyes closed. Life in México is not relaxing and we return home at night physically drained.

We have a lot of sickness and injury with los misioneros de tiempo completo (full-time young missionaries). We lost eight in the month of Marzo (March) due to medical issues; physical and emotional. I was very concerned and then our Presidente de Misión Crickmore told me that many presidents in this area are reporting 25% to 50% of missionaries not able to work because of sickness or injury. We are being blessed in this Misión. Missionary service in México, and probably many other parts of the world, is extremely stressful and any preexisting physical or emotion issues will quickly surface. So as a suggestion, as we promote and prepare others for missionary service, any existing physical or emotional issues really need to be resolved and put away before entering full-time missionary service. The Lord indeed blesses and protects us as missionaries but we have to make sure we are really ready and able to serve.

Sister Bird started her teclado classes at the first of January. For Elder Bird it has only been in the last month or so that I have finally determined what I should be doing. For several months,  we have been working to organize the Mission Office, this is a saga in itself. But I have never really known what to do in this Misión.

The following is to help us all prepare or help others to prepare to serve as Senior Missionaries in this moment of service. We were originally called as MLS (Member and Leadership Support). We felt we would be working with members and local units in some support role. I had always felt I would be working with Stake and Ward leaders with menos activos (less activos). But we never received any training or direction in what to expect. When we are called to a specific missionary calling such as Temple or Family History, we slide into an existing organization, structure and work plan. MLS seems to be the assignment when no one knows what to do with us. There is no real plan nor organization we can associate with. Mission Presidents are not trained to deal with Senior Missionaries and, at least in México, there is no organization of Senior Missionary service. We were the only Senior Missionaries in this mission until last month. As a result, I personally "wallowed" never knowing what I should be doing or how to work with the local units. Many times I was in conflict with programs we knew nothing about.

Finally a little over a month ago, I received a bit of inspiration (not from local or area leadership) on how to move things on. I have renewed excitement about my mission and things are starting to happen. The lesson here is that if you are MLS you will have to learn you role and make your own organization because missionary leadership will not know how to use you. (That may sound negative but it is simply the reality of MLS Senior Missionary service today. I hope it will change for others or in the future.)

We all have heard and probably had some training in La Obra de Salvación (the Work of Salvation) which is missionary work of members with members, and we are all members. This Nueva Visión (New Vision) is based on the assumption that the organizations and councils are functioning. In México, they are not. New members are baptized, enter one door and are out the other before anyone gets to know them. Retention is a HUGE problem. Average Sacrament Meeting attendance around the Misión is about 100+. At first glance this looks good; however, this represents 14%-25% Sacrament Meeting attendance. This means that for every 100 in attendance, 400-800 are not. In addition, the majority of those attending are women, children and youth. So there is a huge Leadership deficit. Full Tithe payers are also few.

In addition to attempting to organize the mission office, I am now focused on working with the Stakes and Wards to organize and follow established programs and councils. The culture in México trains leaders to be "Bosses" and not Priesthood leaders. Few have read the manuals and either try to run their own programs or do not know what to do.

We are attempting to do the following to help the Units organize so that we can support them in la Obra de Salvación. Our greatest challenge is to learn to support the local Priesthood keys and let them run their programs.

- Remind them what the manuals already define; Ward Mission Plan, Ward Council, Ward Missionary Coordination Meeting, Ward Mission Leader and his Assistant, and most important, Ward Missionaries.

- We support the programs and activities of the Units, we do not plan or organize their programs.

- Train leaders about Senior Missionary service; what we are and what we are not. We train on how to use us and work with us. And most importantly, how to find, invite and call Senior Missionaries.

This is the key to la Obra de Salvación in México and probably in other parts of the world: Senior Members of units serving in their units as Senior Missionaries.

We have discovered three types of Senior Missionaries here in México:

- Full-Time Couples and Sisters serving from their homes. Few senior members of the Church in México have the financial resources to leave home to serve in other areas. They can serve at home and that is where we need them.

- Service Missionaries assigned to the Misión for specific mission functions.

- Ward Missionaries serving in their Units. There are some Ward Missionaries but they are all younger preparing to serve missions or recently returned. What we need are mature couples that can visit and motivate the less active families.

Since starting down this path, 

- We have one Matrimonio Mayor (Senior Couple) who have received their call and are serving in the Mission Office. They are dealing with Missionary Housing and Finances. This is becoming a HUGE responsibility.

- We have two additional Matrimonio Mayor that are in the process of applying for missionary service. One of these couples has been serving with us in the Mission Office as volunteers while waiting for their call. They are dealing with Baptismal Records and helping with Housing. There are many problems with past and current baptismal records.

- We are meeting with four senior couples, from one Stake, next week that want to serve but do not know how to proceed or how they might serve.

- We have one senior Hermana (Sister) waiting for her call as a Service Missionary working in the Mission Office. She will be working with References and general assistant in the Office.

This is the tip of the iceberg and there are many, many more waiting to serve. The Units just need to find them and invite them.

In all cases, we invite the Senior Missionaries of all types to work with their home Units during the weekend in La Obra de Salvación. They are working with their own families, neighbors and friends. They participate with the Ward Mission Leader and with the Ward Missionaries. They help in any way they can. Some are serving in Ward leadership positions while they activiate the future leaders.

There are many obstacles in this work but the Lord really is in control.

Am I excited? Yes! Am I tired? Yes! Do I have enough time to get this done? No, that is why we need help.

I am looking forward to continuing to work in la Obra de Salvación when we return and while we return to service at the Temple.

Elder Bird

3-Months In The Mission - 28 January 2014

Chalco, Estado de México, México

On January 28^th 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 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 6^th 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.