E-mail #28:Im in a tough mood right now!

Hey Mama!

So first, I cant hug girls. Its a sin in the mission! Haha! and two, I dont know your twins name. Haha!

Yes! Cant wait for my package! :))) I dont love to read but its nice in my hammack at night. Haha!

I dont know what your little electronic device thing you have is??? Haha I havent seen anything like this in 8 months! I hear that the new ipod has a camera! What!? Sweet! 15 more months!!! :))) Haha Theres a CARS 2!? 15 months! Here I come! Haha!

So my week was very interesting! and crappy! So tuesday we had the babtismal interview for Yury. Everything went perfect but the she said "I think I was babtized when I was a little girl in Centro in the big church" What!? You got to be freaken kidding me! So the secretary called church headquarters and they found her records. Yury has been a member for over 30 years! So...nope no babtizm. :((( But que bueno that we re activated a member :) and were going to babtize her husband on July 1 and hopefully her son to. (The kid in the gang) However we have a babtizim on Wednesday for Sonia. Well okay so her story is... She had a husband but he died 10 years ago. So she gets money from the state every month. But she has a "Husband". He has his house and she has hers. The only bad part is well about once a month well ya hmmmm. LOL! So she doesnt want to marry him cause she wants her money from the state! So I dont think we will babtize her this week. :((( We have a investigator that works all week! We can never find him. But we taught him once and he has a date to be batized on 28 of June :) We were sure that he wouldnt come to church but Sunday morning...there he was! This guy is awesome! His name is Miguel! I love em! The kid in the gang! UGH!! His best friend is Mormon and HE is in the gang too! AND...There is 3 other guys in our ward that are in the other gang! So my investigator doesnt want to go to church because of gang rivalry!!! You got to me kiddin! This is seriously really hard!

So I have a question for you and Dad. Why was our relationship so good? There are kids in the ward that treat there parents like crap and the parents arent strong enough to stand up for themselves and set rules and keep them! I dont get it -why was our relationship so good? I mean granted I wasnt home alot and yea we had our moments but nothing huge! I really need your help with this one!

This week we had a zone conferance! It was good! I learned so much about Faith and prayer. I need to pray better. Castañeda and I need to have more faith when we knock on doors and with our investigators :) But my week was alright. Im in a tough mood right now! Here in the mission if your not a robot nerd missionary who follows every rule with exactness. Your a bad missionary and wont progress. I hate the politics here in the mission. I hate that its always do this and that and if I want advice or someone to talk to...there answer is "Well elder you need to be more obiedent and diligent and have more love for the people" Its like crap coming out of their mouths. Bla Bla Bla! I want someone to talk to ME Elder CHAD Mayberry. Its hard. I need your help mom. Cause I love ya! I would really like a letter from President Jimmy too. Could you please call him and maybe he can email me a letter. I need someone who is spirtual but talks to ME. But its the mission. Gotta be happy :)

I took out some money today 25 bucks. I bought a memory stick for pics and stuff. Its like my comp for the mission :)

I love ya lots mom! Have fun at camp :) Tell Dad I love him when you get home. And I missed him lots yesterday :( Tell Binny I love her and Im jealous she gets to go to Cars 2

Love, MO

Oh Man !!!

So Skinny !

Brian (Hermano Mar's Son)

We're gettings lots of rain.


No - I'm not driving
Just pretending in Hmo Mar's truck

This is so crazy !!
Gift we made for our favorite Father's in church
(Looks just like all the things Mom makes that I make fun of her for.)

E-mail #27: The mission is a roller coaster. Up and down.

We usually use the ATMs at the gas station. Ill make sure to use the banks.

Girls camp should be fun. There is a sister in our ward who is just like you! She looks alot like you and her house is alot like ours! Haha she is the Stake Young Womens Prez! She is super nice!

Wow! Its already that time for Mike and Dan! Wow! I hope they do good! They will be in the MTC together! Que Padre! I miss my friends in the MTC!

So this week we found an old investigator. She is going to be babtized on wednesday :) Hopefully I get to because its been since December for me :/ Im super excited. Her son is the leader of a gang here in Merida. Its called "BOF" Brothers of Family. So very interesting. If he wants to be babtized he has to leave the gang but if he wants to leave the gang he has to get beat up by 5 guys for 5 mins. Its tough but I hope he chooses the right decision. This week was crappy other than that. We didnt set any dates to be babtized or found anyone new :( Were gonna work hard this week though!

Today is 8 MONTHS! Wow this time around it doesnt seem fast! Haha The mission is a roller coaster. Up and down. Down and Up. Good and bad days! But im here lovin it! My spanish is eh... Im at a point where I can get by. But I dont just want to get by. I want to speak it good. Its my goal this week to study hard!!!!

I dont know if this sunday is fathers day but im gonna write dad a letter.

I love ya lots mom! I miss ya so much! Sorry I only have 1 pic. This week we will take more. Love ya!!!

Love, Mo

An old Mayan home

E-mail #26: Wow! I think I actually have a testimony about fasting now.

Hey Mom!

We get the Liahona which is the Ensign but for spanish and for all the greengos it comes in english. :) Its free every month :D I really love getting it. Its like my NFL or my TV. How depressing is my life???? Haha

HA! Naptime? Mom -Im a missionary. NO! Haha but ya people here eat at like 1 or 2 and then sleep for a little bit. But no. We eat at 2 and at 3 were back to work. The most miserable part of the day!

So this week started super good! We found a new family of 4. Found another 2 new people. All of them had dates to be baptised for the 22 of June. It was sweet! We worked with Elder Irene on Tuesday. He is my Zone Leader. He is from Wyoming. He only has like 2 months left. He is great! I learned alot from him! We visited with Sandro (Rich Boy). we explained about fasting and how he should fast this Sunday to see if he really needs to be baptized. Then he would get a answer. So we were SUPER excited. Also the Familia Para Esparza. (The Dad is police) The whole family would be able to go to church.

So Saturday after lunch we started our fast. Well you know me -- I HATE FASTING! Especially here because its so hardcore! 24 freaken hours! So we said a prayer to start-- for our investigators and us :) Saturday night Yudy Para Esparza came to a baptism that some other missionaries were having. She got to see how it is and felt the spirt! Sweet!

So Sunday morning we got up a little early to make sure we could be able to pick up all 7 people. First we went to Sonia. This whole week we couldn't teach her cause she wasnt home! :( So she wasnt home :( So Sonia...no! Then to the new family...Family Peraza. NOPE They went to there pueblo where there family lives and didnt come home. Fam Peraza...no! Then to Gustovo the new guy...nope! Then to enrique..nope! UGH! I was so pissed! Our last hope was sandro and Fam Para. So were waiting and waitng at the church. Sandro came :) But he always comes. he is what we call a "Dry member" So only sandro. I was so pissed! I was like forget this fasting crap. I want some water. But I knew that I was fasting for them. I knew I had to stay strong. So later after sacrement I called fam Para. There car broke down but they said they would come to the other ward at 11! Sweet! Then during priesthood some random guy came into the church. He said he had a dream. He saw Jesus and told him to go to THE church and be babtized. He didnt know why or what church. But he got up and came! It was so strange but so different! So we actaully ended up with 5 people in the church!

Wow! I think I actually have a testimony about fasting now. I also finished my book "Our search for happiness" By Elder Ballard (Yea I read a book! Ugh my life as a missionary! Im a nerd!)

"The Lord does bless his missionaries just as surely as they bless the lives of those they teach and baptize. Difficult languages are learned with astonishing speed and skill. Finacially strapped familes back home find unforseen means to support their missionaries. WEAKNESS BECOME STRENGTHS,CHALLENGES BECOME OPPORTUNITIES, TRIALS BECOME TRIUMPHS, AND ADVERSITY BECOMES AN ADVENTURE IN THE SERVICE OF THE LORD"

Wow! I read this Sunday night. When I was thinking about all my blessings. Earlier in the week I was thinking about crappy stuff. Like wow Im so tired of doing this EVERYDAY! Talking about Jesus, shaving, wearing a tie, being with some nerd 24/7. But then I read this and it boosted me up :)

So this week was hard! But worth it! I have my bad days and my good days! I love the mission and I accept the bad and especially the good ones :) I love ya so much Mama! I miss ya tons! Hope your having fun with doing nothing! Haha! :) Enjoy this time because school will be here sooner than we think :) Tell Aleena thank you for her card Tell her I LOVE HER :) and to be HAPPY!

Tell Dad I love him and want a card! :)

O I got a card from Grandma Hammond. She gave me 10 bucks! :) IN AMERICAN money $$$$SWEET! Call her and tell her thanks and I will write her next week. I also got one from Tyler and Grandma Virginia.

LOVE YA!
Love, MO

Really cool mural

Making tortillas ....

E-mail #25: Holy COW !!! 47 lbs and counting.....

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A Note from Mom:
Here's just part of the letter that I sent Chad today........

So - I'm not sure what to say about you coming home early. Except -- I don't think you should. #1 -- I don't even want you thinking about school and coming home right now. You have alot to do. Again -- I've said this - many others have said it. You only have this small amount of time to do this -- then you have the rest of your life to think about HOW you did it. You don't come home early. You finish it -- all of it. (MY OPINION.......) #2 -- well, there really is no #2. That's it period. Please don't think about it right now. Dad said that he was going to write you a letter. So - you have that to look forward to ....... : o )

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Wow! felizidades! Schools out! That sounds great! Haha I wish!

Elder Ortiz is in Cancùn. I got a email from him like 3 weeks ago. He is doing good. He only has 3 transfers left.

Elder Castañeda and I are still here together. This is going to be his 5 transfer here in his first area! Crazy! After this transfer he will have 7 1/2 months! Were good though!

So speaking of weight! I got on the scale today. It said 238 pounds!!!When I came into the MTC I weighed almost 285! YEA!!! Freaken sweet!!! But here in Merida the people feed us sooooo freaken much! Its ridiculous! But I dont eat much in the morning or in the night. LOTS OF WATER!

So yesterday we had 4 people come to church!!! It was so sweet!!! People have to come to church at least 3 times before their baptism. One lady is like 50 ish. Sonia. She likes the bible but doesnt like church. She finally came. Im really excited to see her progress. Then we have Sandro. He is the boyfriend of one of the girls in the ward. His Mom is the head police lady for all of Yucantan and his dad is a plastic surgeon. He's LOADED!!!! He just wont commit to a baptismal date! Tommorrow were going to put one! Yesterday Gospel Priniples was on Baptism. It was perfect for him!!! Then we have a family Jorge he's police his wife Yudy and their son Christian. Christaian is best friends with one of the guys in the ward. Yudy and Christian came to church!!! It was so exciting! Jorge had to work. In one of our lessons he said that he just wants peace in his life. because he is police and sometimes does bad stuff. We gave him a BOM. The 3 paragraph in the intro says that this book is peace. He was very happy and said "This is what I need!" He was very thankful to me! I was super happy! I think Castañeda and I are meant to be here for another change to baptise these people! :D We have 8 baptism planned for the month of June!

So the drunks well....one day they werent drinking so we taught them about baptism and how they could be clean. So we decided to give them blessings to overcome there adiction. It was sweet! The spirit was strong but then we came back the next day and they were really drunk!!!!! So were done with them for a while. Just pass by to say hi! :(((((

Why isnt dad going with you guys? that sounds like so much fun! He probably has to work! But its easy! Just the first part is hard and then when your coming back up! Super hard! Take lots of pics!

Okay so thamks for the support mama! Haha I dont know Im just excited to start my real life back home. I dont want to feel behind or anything. I know I know. I only have 2 years to do this.

So I HAD IGUANA!!!!!!!!!!!! So ya know how we have an iguana. well we caught it. But we only got its tail. He got away :( So we went to Hno. Mar to show him pics and he was like well -- wanna eat iguana? Were like yea!!! So we went outside and got one. It was sweet! Haha We skinned it and ate it in salsa verde. It was good. alot like chicken. Not alot of meat but it was good! Definately an experince! Haha

Im good and happy and were workin :) Not much more to say but I love ya Mama! Tell the old man I want a letter! :) Tell binny I said hey and to be happy! :) I LOVE ya guys :)


Love MO

Castaneda's 6 month tie burning

Got a little "out of control"

Salt & Pepper !! SO GOOD!!

Never in my mission have I had Salt & Pepper

Catching the Iguana at Hmo Mars

Skinnin' it.......

Grillin' it .......

Que bueno !!!

So good.

Me being King Benjamin

Elders Pineda, Abraca, Beck, Simester, & Castaneda

Cute twin girls "doing my hair"

Email #24:Wow! This week was for sho the fastest week ever!

Hey Mama!

Wow! This week was for sho the fastest week ever!

Yea school is almost out!!! Im jelous! I would like a break! Haha Year and a half! Haha

So Elder Haws yea he's short and big. He is super cool! Really relaxed and loving :) He is in the Zone next to our Zone. I never see him. Just for Zone conferences.

Elder Serrano went home :( His knees are bad. He needs a operation and maybe in 2-6 months he can come back. :( It was sad. I spent half of his last day with him. Just chillin in his house. He wasnt allowed to walk. He was a good guy. He just didnt really find his purpose here in the mish yet.

Yea...the leaders. There chafa. But Im here for me and the people :D

What a freaken idiot....those freaken missionaries. You never are supposed to say ANYTHING that is negetive or well yea!!!! WOW!!! I hope the sisters have some luck with them :) (I told him that our sister missionaries tracted upon a family that wouldn't talk to them because some missionaries before had told them that they wouldn't see their father who had died or less they get baptised. UGH!)

Yea I sent Mike a letter a long time ago. Idk I just felt like he needed to hear it. Because honestly this mission thing is HARD! He will do great tho!

Dont do the 40 days thing with the scriptures. Thats ridiculous! I actually just bought a Book of Mormon in English. The kind that missionaries give away for free. Im gonna start over today and read it really hard. Like verse by verse! Use colors for only like.... RED is the ATONMENT! Its gonna be sweet! Lots of misssionries do it but in spanish. Im excited! Take your time to understand it. Its not about the pages its about whats in the pages :D

Im getting tired of the food. Haha Soemtimes we have really good food!!! Other days its blaaaaaa! The food is different here than in Puerto Morelos. I think I like Quintana Roo more. We drink lots of fruit drinks. Like watermelon or Piña or well pretty much take water and blend the friut in it and put sugar. When I come home Ill teach ya! My favorite is Agua de Lìmon. Its just like 6 lemons surgar and water! So goooood! Im writing down recipes so when I come home :) Ill make lots of good stuff!

I GOT MY PACKAGE!!!!!! YEA!!!! Only bad part was the honey broke and I lost 2/3 of the bottle! :((((( I loved it tho!!!!! The peanut butter and honey was so good!!! The JERKY! :) The socks-- they might be a little thick haha Im gonna wear them today...well see :) The tiny BOM was perfect! Thank you!!! The only thing you could do for next time is a letter!!! Letters from fam and my friends :)
I dont use white socks tho... so I gave half of them to Castañeda Haha

In my next box yes!!! Crystal light! LOTS :) My board shorts!!!! The really colorful ones!!! And some rubber flip flops. I think the red. Idk i have like 10 pairs. Just make sure there rubber. More honey and peanut butter. Another journal. Ask Diana :) Humm.... letters and food and BOARDSHORTS! Maybe some T´s.

So this week was crazy cause my comp is the Disrict leader...so when soemthing goes wrong we go to fix it. He is really cool. He invloves me alot with that kind of stuff. Im kinda like the disrict leader too :) Its fun. We went to Caucel. Its a suberb in Mèrida. We went 3 times this week. Once cause E. Serrano left the other because we had a sick Elder and the other because Castañeda had a babtismal interview. Good stuff.

This week we did divisons with Caucel 2. Elder Abarca came to my area. He has 4 months left! Well all of our appointments fell threw on friday. We were walking in the street and I saw a house that I remembered. It was a old referal that we got from our zone leaders. Evertime we went the guy said he didnt have time. This time we went. He wasnt there but his mom and dad were. We asked if we could share a meesage. They said sure. We taught them about Faith, Repentance and Babtizm. The have problems in there marriage and with there older kids...cause they never talk to them. And the Dad is Police. Here if your Police your a bad guy. The accepted a date to be batized. It was really good! But they didnt come to church!!!!!!!! :((( Its so hard to get people to come to church!!! But I know that they know that they need our help!

So I have been thinking. I think I might come home a little early. I want to go to school in August. It will only be like 2 months early. I need to to talk to Aunt Kathy for me. Ask her about school and what classes. I want some opinions. Talk to Dad and tell me what ya think. Then Ill talk to President. I would like to come home to start school on time :)

So this is the last week of this change. Next week Catañeda is prolly leaving. But who knows well see. I hope I become the senior comp :)

Thank you for the package I love ya mama! :) Tell binny I said hi :) How was Dads B DAy? Tell him I love him :)

Love, Mo

Making salsa.....

Elder Serrano's last night

before he went home

YUM -- package from home

Everything made it this time -- except two thirds of the honey.

I'm a missionary now !!!

Except for the Charger shirt .......

What's with the Iguana's ?????

This one's dead. YUCK!

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A note from Mom:

I just have a little something to say about that e-mail. OVER MY DEAD BODY !!! I shouldn't say that -- but really. I've given Ken the assignment of writing him a letter to explain how we feel about him coming home a couple of months "early". Right?????

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E-mail #23: So I really am so blessed right now! We have lots of people to teach.

Whats up Mama!

Wow yea another week down! So sounds like Utah was fun! Well for what you can get out of Utah and a funeral. Haha I hope you showed everyone pics of the stud muffin. Poor lenna. :( She is a tough girl. I miss her so much.

What the freak! All this talk about La Grand Orange and Carambas! You have no idea how bad I want good pizza and real food. The food here is really good but not normal. I want normal good food. Hermano Mar...the best family ever. The make Tamales. There the best I have ever had! No joke! There soooo good. When you meet them, you will get to try them :) I want to go to Hawaii! What the heck! Ahh... the life to be old and have money! Haha

So you got an Ipad but its not an ipad? Teach me more. I dont know whats going on in the real world of electronics! Haha

So this week was a little crazy! We had a Zone conference! I finally met Elder Haws in person! He is cool. He talks like a greengo but he has like 14 months! Wow! The time is flying! The zone conference was really good! I learned ALOT about LOVE for people and about consecration. It was cool.

On friday Elder Serrano came to my area to work. We worked so hard! We had 5 lessons and set 6 baptismal dates!!! Yea we worked it! But his knees are REALLY bad. I think he is going home :(( Being with the Disrict leader is fun. We get to do things that normal elders dont. We had to go to other areas to help do stuff and divisions. Its cool. For like half of saturday I was with Elder Beck. He is from Utah...figures. He is really cool but he works just for numbers he has like 15 baptizms in like 4 months! Crazy!!

Sometimes the mission reminds me of football. Everybody trying to be the best to be a leader. It drives me crazy! Its all this politics crap! But I just have to remember why Im here and to LOVE everyone :)

So I really am so blessed right now! We have lots of people to teach. My companion and I are really good!!! He is a nerd but I love him! I am so blessed to have a good companion. Other companionships are not doing so good.

OOO.... the Italy trip for Kenna sounds like sooooo much fun! She should do it! and 350 hours to work is nothing!!!

Anyway this week went by fast! I love ya Mama! School is almost out! Yea! So exciting! I love ya mama and miss ya! BYE :)


Love MO

Elder Haws from California

Bananas - the best I've ever had

from Hna Mar's tree

Pig's Head --

YUM!

Elders Serrano, Castaneda, and Beck

Giving George a haircut

One of Chad's "drunks"

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A letter from 'Lena:

Hey Chad --

I'm doing good. I went to Utah for Uncle Bob's funeral. It was cold!! There were lots of kids. Little kids. It was a long trip back. I was really sick. I went to the doctor. He said I had an infection. He gave me some medicine. I missed 4 days of the program. But I get to go back tomorrow.

It was good to talk to you on Mother's Day. You sounded funny.

I miss you. I would like for you to come home now. (That is her words -- not mine !!!!)

How is Mexico?

Love, Aleena

His letter back:

Hey Binny!

Thanks for the letter! Im sorry you got sick. But you are a strong yound women! I hope you feel better! Im sory Binny but I cant come home yet. Dont worry Ill be home soon. It will go by fast. Then we can go out and gets some ice cream :D

I love you sooooooooooooooooooooooo much!
BE HAPPY
LOVE PEOPLE
and
BE HAPPY

LOVE CHAD MO :D

E-Mail #22: Just when you start to get comfortable, you get to call home and you feel like your starting over again.

Hey Mama!

It was soooo nice to get to talk on the phone! Just when you start to get comfortable, you get to call home and you feel like your starting over again. I was in a blah mood last night after I talked to everyone -- but it was nice. :D There's really not much to say. Haha

Wow! How sad uncle Bob died! :( he wasnt even that old!

Thank you for the adresses! :) Im gonna write letters today! Well Mama! I sure do love ya! How is binny! She sounded all drugged up! Is she happy? I hope so... Kenna sounded good. I miss her tons. Wish I was there to see her teen years! UGH Dad. I really miss the old man! It was nice to just talk to him a bit! I know he misses me ALOT! I totally forgot. I was supposed to tell him Happy Birthday. Cause its coming up soon. :(( He knows I love him :) Well Mama! Were going to Centro today to go buy some stuff and take pics of old buildings! I love ya so much! Tell everyone I said hi and it was good to talk! LOVE YA!!!!

Love, MO

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A note from Mom:

I feel the same way as Chad. I feel all "Blah" today. Oh well -- it's just part of it. He did talk last night about "the drunks". He told me that he went over and took their clothes so that they could go home and wash them. YUCK! Looks gross. But - what a thing to do. He said they are funny guys, but having a hard time committing. He talked about when he goes over - and they AREN'T drunk - they feel the Spirit and they get emotional and want to change their lives. But - the problem is, they usually ARE drunk. UGH!!
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Talking to the fam on Mother's Day !!

A really cool park in town.



Washing the drunks clothes for them --
GROSS !!

Hermano Mar

Rita and Mar Lopez

(family where he called from)