FELIZ 7/7!!!!

July 7th is an especially lucky day because everyone is really nice to me on this day for some reason. Ha MUCHAS GRACIAS everyone for all your birthday wishes! Today I'm officially a man!

I hope everyone had an awesome 4th of July! There were no fireworks here, but I heard that in the Hotel Zone they put on a show. I told Elder Oliver that it's too bad we can't go, but we can come back next year to see it. Then I remembered it would be kindof against the point traveling to Mexico to celebrate the 4th of July HA. Oh well, Elder Oliver and I celebrated with a full American style breakfast and a red white and blue cupcake. Too bad it was a French flag haha. Then we got money to eat lunch wherever we wanted so we ate at our local burger place and had a huge BBQ burger with bacon and pineapple. AMERRRICA!

 So the whole ward was getting super excited for Rocio's baptism planned for Wednesday, but it turns out that she still needs some time to quit smoking. So we are hoping and praying that next week that she will be ready! It broke my heart to tell her that she had to wait another week to be baptized, but we explained how important it is to be clean and pure to make sacred covenants with our Heavenly Father. The couple I talked about last week are Cesar and Kathy and they are super Bible smart. They believe in the Apostasy so much that they don't like having one religion. We have only seen them twice, but they were excited to read the Book of Mormon. Here's hoping! Oh and to clarify, Maya isn't a city, it's the ward that we are in here in Cancun. We had a challenging week with lots of people committing to help us and then canceling, but this week will be better I know it. Elder Oliver and I are trying to get to know each other better and sometimes we just might express our own opinion a little too strong, but we always work it out in the end.

I love and miss you all! READ THE BOOK OF MORMON! I loved this when I read it today. 2 Nephi 26:23-33

Love,

       Elder Shurtliff

FELIZ CUMPLEANOS AMERICA!!!

Mexico lost the World Cup and so its literally the end of the world ha.

 

This week was awesome! Our investigators with dates are progressing and its way exciting to see the members getting involved themselves without us telling them. 

 

My mom said that I forgot to tell what happened with Rocio. Its a miracle! A few weeks ago (a few days before should have had to go home) she found a job thanks to her friend, and a room to rent even though she literally didn't have anything. She asked if they could wait for the down payment and the were totally ok with it. How great is God?! Rocio loves to read and now she's already in Alma while she reads the church history book, Our Heritage. Shes AMAZING. She pretty much teaches herself ha. She has now stopped smoking for good and I'm so excited for her baptism.

This week we were walking by our house and we see a lady pushing her little broken down bug while her husband steers down the street. I run up to help her without thinking and start pushing with her. Then a member from another ward stops and helps us. We had to charge the battery but we didn't have the cables. I was like "wait here! There's a member who lives on this street" So me and my comp go running and get the cables. But then after charging it three times the car doesn't start. So we start pushing his car all the way to his house! While I was pushing I was talking to the husband half out of breathe about the Book of Mormon and he was super interested. So we get his address and go back after a few days and him and his wife accepted to read the Book of Mormon! Pretty sweet huh?!

MOTHER OF ALL SHOUT OUTS! FELIZ CUMPLANOS TO THE USA!!! I read 1 Nephi 13 today and the Americas are literally the promised lands! AND FELIZ CUMPLEANOS to the best Sister Missionary in the land! Souer SARAHenretty!!! 

I love you all and hope you eat enough hotdogs and cheeseburgers with bacon for me!!

Love,

       Elder Shurtliff

Last week we went to go help a family paint, but i guess you have to take off the old paint first. So we did it with style!

FELIZ VERANO!!!

Its been summertime forever now but now its official. Today was transfers but President never called us. It was driving me crazy! All day yesterday I was telling people that we might be changed but we don't know, and it turns out that I'm staying here in Maya with Elder Oliver until I die! haha I'm really glad that I get to stay with this awesome ward. We still have a lot of work to do though.

 

So Rocio is doing really good. Her addicted body won't let her quit smoking without some shaking and nose bleeds but she's keeping in there. She has her baptism date for July 9th. Christopher (the twelve year old military man) got baptized and confirmed this weekend! It's awesome to see his family excited and active again. Of course there's always a crazy story that makes it memory that I'll never forget. It turns out that the pump didn't work and we had hardly any water so we ended up running to the outside faucet to fill up buckets of water and running to dump them in the font. It was like Disney's Fantasia in the church! Ha finally someone suggests to use the hose that I didn't know that existed and we connected it to the faucet so that it would go through the church and into the font. We still had to wait a while and I ended up baptizing Christopher in shin high water, but it was a really nice baptism.

Christopher's baptism

We had the Area President Elder de Hoyos visit us this week and he talked a TON about the Book of Mormon. Read it! I was in the middle of reading the New Testament, but it looks like I'm starting from 1 Nephi again whoo hoo!! He said lots of other stuff but I don't have lots of time to type it all up. Just know that God knows what He's doing when he calls such great men to be his special witnesses. It was AWESOME.

SHOUT OUTS to my Uncle Art last week and my Aunt Wendy this week because they have finished another year on the Earth. CONGRATS! I LOVE YOU!!!

USA!USA!USA!

Love,

       Elder Shurtliff

Awesome Father's Day!

The World Cup is EVERYTHING to these people

This week we tried to do the same we did last week and even better. The good thing is that one of our long-awaited investigators is finally getting baptized this Saturday! And we have been teaching Rocio in a park again. She has quit smoking and is working toward her baptism too! She just needs a miracle this week because she needs a job and a place to stay by Saturday or she has to go live with her sone in Puebla. Please pray extra hard for Rocia this week please! 

 

Everyone here has World Cup fever! so that means more excuses not to open the door to strange missionaries when the game's on haha. GO USA! 

 

Elder Oliver turned 21 on Thursday and "bit the cake" haha it was so funny! We have been eating the smashed cake all week and more for people sharing their fathers day cakes with us. YUM!

Elder Oliver got his face smashed into his birthday cake!

GUESS WHAT?! I'm officially going home on August 20th! That means next week starts my last transfer! WHAT?! I'm only a greeny!

I hope all the dads out there had an awesome Father's Day! Use that Priesthood and bless the world! 

I love you all!

Have a good week everyone!

Me and a puppy!

Love,

       Elder Shurtliff

FATHERS DAY IS COMING!

Gary Oreos

This week we had the most assistance in church since the ward split! There were 99 people! Ha so close to a perfect 100. There were a ton of less actives and a full class of Gospel Principles! It was so awesome to see the joy on the members faces as they saw so many people there. It's all thanks to the members too because we did divisions like four times this week and they did awesome teaching with us! It's also awesome to help less actives take part because they rise to the occasion and help themselves as well.

A view of Cancun from 8 stories up.

THAT'S ALL I GOT THIS WEEK! I LOVE YOU ALL!

 

 

HAVE THE BEST FATHER'S DAY EVER EVERYONE!

LOVE,

         ELDER SHURTLIFF

Flowers that were sent to our ward mission leaders daughter

Just the Beginning of the Pressuring of the Work of Salvation Here in Cancun

Elder Oliver and I are doing really good. This week was really rainy and hot, but miracles always happen when the weather gets rough. We had our zone conference with president and he talked a lot about how important to know how each of us are children of God. He said that we need to start doing divisions with members almost every night to get the work of salvation to the next level. Yesterday we did divisions and we went to go look for a guy we talked to on the street while he worked on his car. He invited us back, but didn't have time but we talked to his 18 year old son who is awesome! He understood the Restoration super well and I could even see his eyes light up when we answered his questions. He's like, "So I'm pretty like this Joseph because I have been to lots of churches too and I have no idea which one is true". It was awesome!

The other day a lady who I contacted on the street months ago found us again and she asked if we could talk. We went to the nearby park and she told us her story about how she's an alcoholic and she even drank and smoked in front of us. She only seemed to want to hear a message as a one time thing kind of deal so we just invited her to church and gave her a Book of Mormon. On Sunday morning we pass her by on our way to church and I made a joke to Elder Oliver saying that she's on her way to church too. Little did we know that she would actually walk into Sacrament Meeting during the testimonies. She absolutely loved it! We are going to see her tomorrow tonight!

I hope this is just the beginning of the pressuring of the work of salvation here in Cancun.

SHOUT OUT to the Peterson family! I forgot to shout them out last week for taking part in my awesome package! THANK YOU SO MUCH for my awesome custom ties and dvd! You have all gotten so big!

I love you all!

Elder Shurtliff

HAPPY DAY OF MEMORIES!

This week has been awesome because it really gave me a smack in the face of how hard I have to work right now.

Tulum

Elder Oliver and I really have to work hard this week because our ward is in a crucial state right now. President just gave me a pep talk that made me realize even more how important we are in helping our ward AND STAKE stay alive. Leaders are literally counting on us to get the work going and working together with the members do what the Lord has visioned for Cancun. We had a meeting yesterday with a Seventy that got me pumped and I know that I'm going to work the hardest I have ever worked in my whole mission. Please keep the prayers coming to me, Elder Oliver, and the Maya ward! Gracias! 

Last week we got to go to Tulum where theres lots of ancient Mayan temples. We learned a lot about the dangers of idols and got to see the  beach! Best day ever!

SHOUT OUT TO THE FULTON FAMILY! They sent me a package with pretty much my top favorite things. jellybeans, reeses puffs and peanut butter! GRACIAS I love the ties and drawings too. I love you all!!!

Love,

Me and Elder Oh

       Elder Shurtliff