Jared, Lucero, Dia de los Reyes

Picture 237: Christmas has doubled my tie collection!

Picture 239: I feel like these ties were sent with a message: "Dear 20-year-old Elder Tingey, no more of that skinny tie business. Here are some man ties."

Picture 256: My double muñecos from the rosca de reyes.

I sent off another packet of letters. Fingers crossed for Mexican postage once again.

Elder Mendoza and I ran into a kid named Jared this week. He is the mini-Mexican Trey Tingey. Our first lesson basically went like this: "I've already gone to church a bunch with my aunt. I even went to the temple in Mexico City. Can I be baptized?" Yes, Jared. Yes you may. He's a super cool little kid, and most of his family members are less active church members. He would be perfectly content if we came by to teach him and his sister every day.

We found a basketball court right by our house, so I bought a basketball and we go practice for a while in the mornings. Maybe that seems kind of out of character for me, but I like improving things I'm terrible at. And I didn't realize how bad I was before because I normally just pass the ball to other people (Elder Pearson). Like, really bad. Like, 10 baskets in a half hour.

I got the Christmas package! Thank you kindly, family. My favorite part was the tiny Bop-it for my companion, because watching him try to figure out what the bop-it guy is saying is hilarious.

We're really focusing this week on an investigator name Lucero. Her brother is on a mission, and most of her family members are recent converts. She's eighteen and has two kids (one who is named Elder, strangely enough). We had a really cool lesson with her. We basically just taught that she's not a kid anymore, she's a mother and needs to set an example. She said, "You two scare me, because you're convincing me." Not us, Lucero, but the Holy Ghost. She came to church on Sunday and loved it.

Each area has some kind of landmark that we use to help people find the chapel. In Costa Rica, it was a water tower, and in los Cabos, it was a giant colorful castle. In Angostura, it was the Apostolic church. But here in los Mochis, it's a huge sugar factory. They just started the factory up again, so now it smells like Willy Wonka's factory inside the church building. Hopefully, people will just wander in looking for candy now.

I never thought my ability to ride a ripstick would help in my missionary efforts, but it's come in handy. Thanks, Mom, for letting us ride inside the house.

There's a holiday here that has to do with the three wise men that visited Jesus as a child. Apparently, it's a really big deal in Mexico City, but here, they mostly just eat a big sweetbread called "rosca de reyes." It has creepy little bare-bummed figurines cooked inside called "muñecos." If your piece of rosca has a muñeco, you have to buy tamales a month later on the day of the Candelabra or something. Unfortunately, I managed to eat the only piece that had a muñeco in it, and I got stuck with two muñecos! Bad, bad luck.

Something I've really been considering this week is what it means for me to "pay the price" like I have been called to do. Sure, as a missionary I have to sacrifice certain things, and maybe I have to walk a whole lot. Those can be things to complain about, but real sacrifice and really paying the price means maintaining my eye single to the glory of god, trying to be the best missionary I can be, trying to improve my area the best I can. Those things are much harder than setting aside music that's not in the hymnbook for a while. So, I shouldn't feel content simply because I've worked a full day or knocked 100 doors, but because I really gave it my all.