June 2, 2014

This has been a very cool and interesting week! Today we went hiking in my new area with a less active member that we brought to church this week. We went on like a 2 hour hike. We hiked in to a waterfall!

It was super sweet. Pretty much just walking in the forest. It had a street made of just a bunch of rocks in the ground. I felt like I was in Lord of the Rings or something! haha. Everything here is SUPER green! Its a very beautiful place to be honest. Known very much for the cheap prices of pretty much everything and LOTS of fresh fruit and fruit that you've never heard of. I'm gonna try and send photos but the internet is horrible here.... There is actually a river that runs in the middle of the town and there are bridges in the middle to cross from one side to the other. And under and on the sides of the bridges there are a bunch of iguanas! Gigantic iguaanas! They are super sweet.

The landscape here is a bunch of hills up and down. Reminds me like California a little bit but obviously a lot smaller. 

My companion Elder Killpack is a super sweet dude. We get along well. The Branch here really surprised me to be honest. It humbled me up and made me think a little bit more. We started our Sacrament Meeting with 6 people..... and ended church with 15. I was very surprised. I heard it was a small branch but I never thought it would've been that small. It makes it very hard on the branch president here. He is a good man that wants to do a good job but he has had lots of problems in his life financially, with church, health, etc. Lots of problems but he still is doing is best. 

The people I feel like they are very poor. VERY POOR. I honestly think the give us the food that normally they would've eaten. I feel bad. I feel humbled. The people here need a lot of help.

SO that's what we are gonna do. It truly changed my perspective going to church. Normally here in Veracruz the focus is Baptize, baptize and baptize. But here I feel like the priority is reactivate. Help the inactives go back to church. There is a lot to do and we are gonna get to work. 

I feel grateful to be here. I need to learn something new and I'm gonna do my best here. I love you guys and hope all is well back home. Remember always to thank the Lord for what you have. Because there are others that truly have nothing and that suffer from hunger.

Whether it be physically or spiritually. 

Look for the way to help others in all that you do. Try to have a character like Christ. Give all you have to others and forget yourself.

Love,

Elder Hakes