December 20, 2015 Pictures

 Baptized two young women from the ward

The girls families

Our Zone

Our Zone with President and Sister Whitehead

We Baptized This Week!! November 30, 2015

Family and Friends,

WE BAPTIZED THIS WEEK! Mohammad decided to stay here in Mexico for a little while longer and he got baptized yesterday. It really was one of the coolest moments of my entire mission. I wasnt here when they found him but I was here for all of his teaching. He is from Iran and in Iran just about everyone is Muslim and they have a very unique way of worshipping.  He says that he wasnt Muslim but for the most part he just stayed out of religion. In Iran there is no freedom of religion and the people dont have the same possibilities of learning about the gospel. We looked it up the other day and there arent even Missionary pamphlets in the Language that he speaks. It truely was amazing to see the change in this man. Just a month ago he was having a hard time accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior and then yesterday he was able to enter into a convanent with our Heavenly Father. He is a great man and was very emotional in his baptismal service. The bishop doesnt speak english so I had to translate the Welcome at the end of the baptismal service, and during the Welcome he started to tear up and you could tell that he had felt the spirit. Yesterday was truely a miracle that showed us really how much the Lord has his hand in this amazing work.

It is amazing to be a missionary and be able to see miracles every single day that we are out here. Sometimes its not the easiest to be dillegent and give it our all but all the tender mercies that the Lord gives us every day really keep us going. He truely is our Savior and Redeemer. He can change the life of anyone no matter who you are, or where you are from the Lord loves each and every one of us, and wants every one of his children to return to him. His work is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. Not just some people that have more privleges that others but of every single one of our brothers and sisters. 

On a less serious note for this week. Just to let you all know that I was able to celebrate thanksgiving. Its not a holiday here but luckily there is an American Family that lives in our ward and they were kind enough to invite us over for Thanksgiving to celebrate. It felt really weird to see such a big meal in front of us, and it really makes your realize how much we really have. I am thankful for each one of you, and hope that everything is going well back home.

Have a great week.

Elder Hirsch

Great Thanksgiving in Mexico

A Great Week in Mexico!! November 22, 2015

Mother,

First of all, I hope you had a great birthday and that you are forgetting how old you actually are! hahahaha sorry but it was necessary!

This week went really well and we had a lot of fun. We are working really hard but we are having a little trouble getting people to progress how they should, but we are going to work even harder this week trying to help all the people we know start to progress. Its been a lot of fun here with Elder Veazey, and with us being such good friends sometimes its hard to focus 100 percent of the time. We are getting better but we have a lot of improving to do. 

I am so happy to hear about Braden and his decision to play up in Idaho. I think that he will do great and that he is going to have a lot of fun. I know he will do great! Please give him an extra big hug and buy him some ice cream from me! 

We just had a pretty average week this week, and not too much happened but here are a few fun things that are going on here. The worst thing that happened this week is that we worked our butts off and found a lot of new investigators but on Sunday only two decided to show up, so that was a little bit of a bummer for the weekend! 

One cool thing we are doing right now is that we are teaching a guy from Iran. He is here because his girlfriend is from Mexico but he doesnt speak any spanish but he does speak pretty good english so we do our best to help him understand the gospel in English. He loves the gospel and wants to get baptized but he hates it here in Mexico so he told us that he might be leaving this week to go work in Canada. (Not sure why Canada but he thinks it will be better) In Iran they are all muslims and they dont have religious freedom. He told us that if you change religion in Iran that they kill you. He says that if he gets baptized he wont be able to go back to his country, but he loves the gospel and says he never wants to go back to Iran and that he wants to get baptized. We are doing our best to convince him to stay but we will see what happens by the end of this week!

Also another funny thing that happened this week is that my companion got bit by a dog. There are tons of Dogs here in Mexico, and you shouldnt mess with them. Some are really cool and nice but there are also scary ones. The scary ones usually bark and you can avoid them pretty easy and there is no problem, but the other day it was a little different. We were just walking down the street like normal and we saw a dog just laying down in front of his door. He just sat there really normal and then when we passed he jumped up and bit my companions calf! haha He didnt bark or anything. He just decided to bite Elder Veazey! We then had to go to the doctor and get medicine so it doesnt get infected!

Glad to hear that all is well. I love you guys and miss you a ton. Have a great week!

Elder Hirsch

Elder Veazley and Elder Hirsch

Zone leaders

Super Long Week! November 16, 2015

Mother,

Well this week was super long, and first of all I will appologize for not writing all week. What happened is that I wrote on Thursday and then I had to help with all of the new missionaries coming in on Monday at Presidents house. Then I had to head out on a 2 hour trip out to my new area and didnt end up getting back until 830 at night. Unfortunately in the mission field we dont get to choose what day we write and Pday was over, so I didnt get to write last week and figured it was alright because I wrote on Wednesday. Im not dead and the ATM wasnt working right and would only let me take money out of the savings account, just to clear up all of your doubts. Sorry for leaving you worried!

My new area is Lerma, and I am now a zone Leader! I got sent out with one of my best friends in the mission, Elder Veazey. We got to the MTC on the same day and we have been really good friends since we got to the mission. We are having a ton of fun being zone leaders. We have 9 areas that we are over and we are the guys that get to run around and help everyone out, and at the same time we have our area. We are always staying busy and doing our best to help out all of the missionaries in our zone!

A little background on Elder Veazey. He is from North Dakota, but his family is now living in Germany. He lived in Utah for a year going to BYU, but we are very similar people. He loves Basketball and we both might be two of the funniest people in Mexico right now. We are having a lot of fun together and getting some great work done. We had a bit of a rough week and a lot of people let us down, but somehow we still ended up bringing 5 investigators to church. Its crazy how much of a difference it makes when we get along well and we work well together. It is my first time not being in a companionship where I am training so it has been pretty great.

We had some awesome lessons this week and we have the spirit really strongly with us. The ward here is great and they love the mission work and they are all working hard to make the ward bigger. Its a great opportunity that the members have to be great missionaries. Being here in the mission makes me realize how important it is to share the gospel. (Answering you question that you received from the missionaries) (Still cant belive that the missionaries actually visited but that is awesome, tell them hello for me) We have a huge responsibility as members of the church to share the gospel. It is the missionaries job to teach people not to find them. Members find, and missionaries teach. I know that living in Utah it is a lot more difficult but we still know people that arent members of the church. We have to recognize how much the gospel has blessed us and share it with everyone else! Find someone that isnt a member, invite them over, invite the missionaries over and then let the spirit take over. Trust the missionaries and help them find God´s lost children.

Also your birthday is this week and I couldnt get a letter out to you in time, so I will have to save it for next year. I just want you to know that I love you and that I am very thankful to have you as a mother. I know it hasnt been easy raising us or going through everything that you have for us, but just know that you are loved and appreciated. I would not be the man I am today without you. You have taught me great principles that have changed my life here on earth and that will change my eternities. I am so grateful for all that you do. I hope you have a great birthday and that everyone treats you well. I love you mom, and I hoope you have a great week.

Elder Hirsch

Keltons Zone

Golf Course Kelton got to play on

New area Lerma

New Companion, One of Keltons favorite Missionary Friends

Elder Veazey and Elder Hirsch

Humbling Experience October 22, 2015

Family and others who care,

I havent written a group email in a while because we havent had anything too exciting happen and I havent had any time to write about anything else. This week I learned a lot and wanted to share a cool experience that we had.

So we went to visit this 14 year old kid named Javier who is preparing to be baptized. As we all know the average 14 year old isnt too open to learning about the gospel and when they are they just cant quite comprehend exactly what the gospel is or what blessings it brings into their lives. Well this kid is very different. He told us that for the first couple weeks that the sister missionaries were visiting his grandma he made sure that he left the house before they would get to their appointment, and that he really didnt care what they had to say. Then he decided to start listening and loved everything that they had to share. We had a very good lesson with him and we asked him why he was interested in learning about the gospel and he responded "I am worried about my Salvation" We were all pretty shocked because its not really a common thing to hear from a 14 year old kid, and even more impressive here in Mexico. He remembered everything that the sisters taught him and he himself told us that he wants to be baptized on Sunday with his Grandmother. 

This was a very humbling experience for me to be able to see the pure intentions of this young man truely trying to find happiness and to do the right thing. He helped me understand that the Lord is working inside of each person preparing them for the gospel. Its amazing to see people make these decisions that are truely changing the eternities. The amazing thing about this work is that its not only changing their lifestyle or their quality of life. It is changing their Eternity of them and all their generations to come after them!

I have been studying a great scripture this week in Alma 7:23-25. If we do our best to develop these attributes we will all one day make it to his Kingdom. The scripture makes it sound a lot more simple than it may be at times, but its only difficult if we want it to be. Like President Uchtdorf shared in Conference, If we want the gospel to be difficult and stressful it can be just that, but if we focus on the basics the gospel will bring us the happiness that is promised. Keep it simple and do your best every day.

Love you all. Have a great week.

Elder Hirsch

One of the Best Weeks in My Mission September 16, 2015

Mother,

This week was actually one of the best weeks of the mission, not for mission work, but for personal growth. We had a ton of work to do here in the offices and we didnt have much time to preach hardly at all during the week, but then on Saturday (Usually our day to go and work) we received a special assignment. We were assigned to go to the Cultural event that they had the day before the dedication of the temple. We had to go and sit at a desk and hand out the pamplets of the Missionary Lessons and give away books of Mormon. On Saturday there were two sessions of the cultural event. One started at 4 and the other at seven. Unfortunately we didnt get to go in and enjoy the celebration at 4 and we also werent planning on being able to go at Seven either. Well at about 5 when we were there just waiting for the first one to end we sent a text to President Whitehead telling him that he should find us 2 tickets so that we can go in at 7 oclock. (President Whitehead had tickets for him and his wife to attend) Then at about 6:30 President showed up, threw 2 tickets on our table and said "I got you guys better tickets than I have!!!" haha it was a great time. We got to go in and watch the whole thing and they did an amazing job. It was super spiritual and also very entertaining.

In the celebration they told the story of the Book of Mormon along with the story of the first converts to the Church here in Mexico and how the Lord had prepared each one of them to receive the Gospel at the right time. There were many huge sacrifices made by many people that had allowed the church to grow so fast here in Mexico. One phrase that really stuck out to me was "Dont worry we are in the hands of the Lord" I am not sure why but it hit me really hard. Every single person that makes sacrifices to follow the Lord can know with a surety that we are in his hands. The promise isnt that your family will be protected or that nothing bad will happen to you. The promise to every missionary is that "We are in the Lords hands" Us and our families. This was just one of the many things that I learned this weekend.

Then on Sunday we got to see the rededication of the Mexico City Temple. President Henry B Eyring and Elder Holland were there to dedicate the Temple. Elder Holland gave a talk that was really inpiring with the Lord. He talked about the promises that we have made with the Savior and how we have a great responsibility to keep these sacred covantents. He always does a great job speaking and it really helped me a lot with some of the things I have been thinking about lately.

My District from last transfer

A Family of some of my converts that I

was really close to.

Our Golf Trip

Elder Lowe, Kelton, President Whitehead & Member of ward

My new Zone

Trials In Our Lives September 9, 2015

Family and Friends,

I dont have much to say about this week, but we are having a really good time here in Mexico. I cant even begin to explain how thankful I am to be here in the mission and be able to share the gospel with all of those people who need it so badly. The one thing I can truely say that I have gained from the mission is my personal testimony on how important this gospel is in our daily lives, and how it can help us overcome the difficulties that this life has for us.

This week I was thinking a lot about challenges that we face. We all have a hard time with something. Whether they are small things or big things. I always have wondered why such rough difficulties come to people that are trying so hard to do the right things, and why they have to have it so rough. So many missionaries have a hard time in the mission. Whether it is because of family problems or some other personal reasons. In my opinion missionaries are some of the most righteous people that are living and for some reason they are having some of the toughest difficulties while they are here in the mission.

I have come to my conclusion, and I always teach this to my investigators, and it is that there are two types of blessings. First would be those great things that come into our lives and allow us to be happy. The other one, the one we usually dont recognize, are the worst things that come into our lives. The challenges that allow us to become better. The challenges that allow us to become better people, and allow us to become stronger in faith and in character.

The best part is, is that we have the gospel to help us overcome them. How would it be, going through our challenges without knowing how to pray? or without having a Book of Mormon? or without having the sacrament? Or without having a ward family? Personally if I didnt have these things I wouldnt be the person I am today. Life would be a very difficult thing if we didnt have the gospel in our lives. This is what gives me the motivation to share the gospel with everyone here in Mexico. Even if all we do is teach them how to pray. Or teach them about the Book of Mormon. Every small effort counts. Please share these things with all the people that dont know or have these things. Also share it with those who have forgotten how big of a blessing these things are. 

I love you all, and hope all is well. 

Elder Hirsch