Mission Accomplished

Well I made it home OK. Thankyou to those who followed my adventures on this blog...I hope you had some of the feelings that I sure did! Love you all!
Dan

Hola todos!

Well i´m wrapping up my mission this next week with a few baptisms.

That is the best way to finish, for there is no time to get trunky or to 

slow down. Among the teaching, interviewing, finding fellowshippers,

 and working with the ward mission leader to prepare the baptismal 

service, there is no time to mope around or get frustrated. We are 

racing only against Satan and sin.

Well the real countdown has begun. It has finally become a reality

 for me, here we say "me cayó el veinte" or directly translated "the 

twenty fell on me" which would roughly translate coloquially (?) to

 "it dawned on me". 

In four days I comlete 2 years in the mission. In 8 days I will be 

home. That is a scary thought. I really have no idea of my plans,

 but I know the Lord will prepare the way. THAT´s a strong testimony

 i have gained here.

We had a 2 baptism on Saturday and their confirmations on Sunday.

 It was great. They were 2 children in different part-member families.

 We are also preparing a baptismal service for this Saturday for one,

 possibly 2 personas. They are really amazing too, with all the changes

 they have made in thier lives. One is a woman of about 55 years who

 quit smoking and is doing great. The other is an elderly lady of 82 

years. She doesn´t see or hear very well, so we have to sit right next

 to her and pretty much shout in her ear. But she decided she wants

 to be baptized because she received an answer to her prayers when

 asking about this being the true church.She was somewhat sick and

 asked God to confirm that this is the true church by making her better

 really fast. He answered and did it. I was really impressed...it was

 like a brother of jared story. She decided it was the true church and 

presented a plan for the spiritual confirmation to the Lord. He touched 

her stones and she had the light and knowledge. She will be baptized 

either this Saturday or the next(I wouldn´t be here for the next, but

 that´s OK, it is the Lord´s work).Love you all and look forward to

 seeing you soon!

Elder Bunker

Hi mom,

All is well here. they just told us of the transfers. I ain´t goin´ anywhere. I will still 

stay here in Contreras. I was realy suprised because the Mission president said

 in our interview last week that i have already been here quite a while (hinting

 that i would be transferred), but I know from past experiences, that Brother Valadez

 and President Valadez are sometimes not the same. The revelation comes to 

President Valadez, and what Brother valadez says on one occasion is not

 necessarily what happens. I will finish here I think (barring any special transfers),

 with 7 1/2 months, my longest time in an area. Still here with Elder Hubbard, he

 is great as always.

One of the district leaders in our zone was mugged the other day and was 

sent to the municipal building (the delegation they call it). One of the sisters 

in the wards near the building saw the detained misionaries and informed

 another companionship in that district, so they in turn notified us, we notified 

the assistant and then he notified President, all very very fast. Then President

 called me and verified the information and ended up going to the municipal

 building and collecting the missionaries. Right now they are living with the 

assistants and will be moved to another delegation (county). their area is being

 closed this transfer, but luckily they are OK. they jsut lost some money and

 the cell phone, but managed to keep their SIM card so we can still call them.

 They were beat up a little but nothing serious. I really gained a testimony of

 how the Lord protects us and watches out for us, and how the organization

 of the church is perfect...especially in emergencies.

Also I was almost hit by a truck this week. There are no sidewalks here so 

there is no choice but to walk in the streets. Generally those driving know

 this and are respectful of the pedestrians. but this guy had a little truck

 with a rack on back to haul things (maybe bales of hay or something like that).

 He was driving forward, stopped, and threw it in reverse and sped up really

 fast not even paying attention to what was behind him. I was behind him, 

looking down a street to determine if it was the right one. I didn´t even see 

him, but my companion did at the last second and said ´watchout!´in spanish 

I just saw it in time and ducked out of the way. He still didn´t see us and my 

companion ran around the corner. Afterward when he finally saw us, he just

 slammed on the brakes (a useless reaction at this point). We continued 

down teh street and just looked at him (not a dirty look, but one that seemed

 to say, do you realize what could have just happened?). he didn´t say

 anything. oh well, but again, the lord protects us, and gives us companions

 for something.

Well that´s about all the exciting news for now. thanks for the report of your

 vacations and I will be looking forward to the pictures. Love you much.

Love,

Elder Bunker

Well this is the pretty part of our area. Amazing, really. 

We are working hard and having success and fun. Our new mission president 
is pretty great. He has a new direction for our mission, and we are putting it
 in practice...generally, it has to do with three pillars: work diligently, trust
 in the Spirit, and obey strictly. Within these tree pillars, we will be safe
 and effective missionaries. If we are outside of these three pillars, we
 essentially stop being missionaries, which is really dangerous.

Last week we had a great experience. We were in downtown Coyoacán 
near the mission offices after picking up a package for my companion at
 the post office. We wandered to one of the side streets looking for a city
 bus that would take us to another area where we would hop on the bus that
 takes us home. We were waiting, waiting, waiting. It never passed. But as
 we were waiting, we saw a mini-bus, also part of teh public transportation.
 Every bus and mini-bus in the city has a reversible plaque inside the front
 window informing of its destination. That way everyone can see where it
 is going and flag down the bus to hop on. This mini-bus had a plaque that 
read ¨CRISTO¨, or the english equivalent ¨CHRIST¨. I saw it as it passed,
 stunned, confused, and curious. It passed too fast that even if I had 
wanted to flag it down, the destination didn`t register in my mind in time 
for me to flag it down. I thought, ¨Really? Does this really go to Christ? or
 did a church rent that bus and they put it there as a joke? or is there 
really a place called CHRIST?¨. Now, I thought about this for a while,
 a few days. As missionaries or members, we are like a city bus in
 downtown Mexico City. As missionaries, people see our nametag with 
the name of Jesus Christ and wonder. As members, every week we 
promise to take upon us the name of Christ in Sacrament meeting. Other
 people--neighbors, friends, associates, co-workers--see us and wonder. 
Why do we dress up and take our books, bags, etc, and drive off to some
 place every Sunday? Some want to come to Christ, but cant find the
 right bus to get on. WE ARE THE BUSES. Our plaque should CLEARLY
 read Christ. That way others can flag us down and ask us and get on
 the path to salvation. We should not hide our plaque nor put it up half
 the time we are out and about in the street. we need constancy, clarity
. Are we really Christians? Do we know how to get to Christ? True, we
 pray to the Father, we listen and feel the Holy Ghost as a response, 
but how to we come unto Christ? He told us how in 3 Nephi 11. How 
to come unto Christ. We see him with our eyes, thrust our hand into 
his side, prove for ourselves that he is the God of Israel. Literally 
every sunday we thrust in our hands, we touch the body of Christ,
 represented in the bread. Have you ever wondered why the teachers
 prepare the sacrament table, but they don`t break the bread. They
 put it there whole. The breaking of the bread is to be seen by 
everyone during the ordinance and everyone witnesses with his 
own eyes (see 3 Nephi 11) and partakes of the bread--touching the
 body of Christ-- thrusting his hand into the tray. And those are 
symbolic too. Faith, Repentance (before arriving at the sacrament),
 Baptism (or for members, the renewal of baptismal covenants in
 the Sacrament), Receiving (or being worthy of) the Gift of the 
Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end is how we come unto Christ. 
Others don`t know that. I invite all to come unto Christ.

That is what I learned this last week. I hope it helps someone.

Love you all
Elder Bunker

Hello everyone,

We are just starting week 2 of this new transfer. I have a new companion, 
Elder Hubbard from Fallon, NV. He is just great- we get along very well. He
 has 1 year in the mission.

Tomorrow we have a meeting where our mission president will say goodbye, 
for he finishes his mission on 1 July. It will be a day of emotions for him and
 for us. I have learned so much from his instruction. I also look forward to the
 new Mission president, President Valadez from Puebla, Mexico, just around 
the corner from the DF (federal district). It should be good.

I have been learning a lot about vision in the scriptures. For example,
 Ammon, when he arrived with the servants of the King Lamoni to care for
 the sheep, SAW that the servants were fearful because their lamanite 
brethren scattered the flocks. What did Ammon do? His heart rejoiced. 
Who in their right mind would rejoice upon seeing such misery (the servants 
were going to lose their life). The answer is in the verses that follow. Ammon 
rejoiced because when he saw those servants, he didn´t see their imminent
 death as they did, but rather the opportunity to make them and the whole 
people believe in his words. He thought, this is my chance! I will gather the
 flocks, SO THAT i can manifest the power of God in me SO THAT I can
 win their hearts SO THAT they will believe my words. And what resulted?
 King Lamoni, his wife, the servants, and many of the people were converted 
and baptized. Later, Lamoni, a recent convert, asked the missionaries (Ammon) 
to accompany him to his father´s house. After a few more events, His father, 
his mother (the queen), his brother (Anti-Nephi-Lehi), more servants and many
 more of the people were converted (they become those who lay down their 
weapons of war as a testimony). Imagine what would have happened if Ammon
 never had had a vision of the future and had been discouraged when he saw
 the servants. How many souls would not have been saved? How many 
times did people REACT when they SAW something in this story? I invite
 you to read this story and pay attention to "and WHEN the
 king/queen/people/Ammon/Aaron/servants SAW this/that/vision"...and
 their reaction. 

Likewise, I invite you to ponder your own vision of yourself in the 
future. Do you have one? Have you really SEEN it? Do you have goals 
to fulfill that vision? Plans to reach those goals? Daily tasks to 
ensure that the plans are realized? this pattern of 
VISION-GOALS-PLANS-TASKS really does help us achieve our
 potential. Like Ammon, his vision was that the people of Lamoni
 (lamanites) would believe in his words and be converted. THAT 
is what he saw when he saw the servants fearing for their lives. 
Ammon´s Goal was to win their hearts. Plan? manifest his power. 
Tasks? Go, Look for, find, gather the flocks, etc. That is what we 
are working on in the mission right now. It is important to have this 
pattern VISION-GOALS-PLANS-TASKS written and visible so 
you can remember For waht purpose you do everything you do
 every day. Exaltation is a great vision...

Love you all
Thanks for the prayers, love, and encouragement.

Elder Bunker

Thanks for writing. It has been a good week this week. We have a baptism this Saturday.
 I believe I wrote about this investigator before, how he was drunk in the street and he
contacted us. He went to church the next Sunday, and has only missed 1 sunday in 2
 months. He is reading in Alma 42 right now and is progressing really really well. He gets
 baptized on Saturday. I am really excited for him. I learned not to be a respector of
persons, but to contact and share the gospel with everyone. That humbled me a bit.

Thanks for all of your support...it really helps.

We have one more zone leader council with President Chavez tomorrow all day
 (10am-4pm), and we have a meeting where he is going to say goodbye to our
 zone and another on 20 june. The President finishes his mission on 1 July when
the new mission president gets here. It should be good.

Everything is going good here. The ward is learning their responsibilities, and the
 bishop is too. Do you know who holds the keys to missionary work? Did you
know that it is NOT the mission president? It is the bishop and stake president
 of each ward and stake. Hence, the work is the members´. the bishop has the
 right to revelation for the missionary work. The full time missionaries just assist
in the teaching and interviewing for worthiness for baptism. THATS ALL. Nothing
more. That´s what we are learning now. And we shared this with the bishop of our
ward and he said ´Well elder, they didn´t tell me that when they set me apart!´.
 So he is going to investigate his manuals and get to work. Can you imagine?
 A bishop that doesn´t know that he has the right to revelation for the missionary
 work in his ward. No wonder some ward pass a lot of time without convert
baptisms...they wait for the missionaries to find the investigators, teach them,
fellowship them, sit with them, fill the font, baptize them, drain the font, clean the
 font, confirm them, and when it comes time for transfers, inactivate them. And the
 ward wonders why there is no retention of new converts. That´s why. The
missionaries have followed false traditions and grabbed the responsibilities
that are not theirs because the ward doesn´t do their part. The missionaries
 do not have the keys to, and therefore the responsibilities of, missionary work.

That is what we are working on now in the mission. Ending false traditions.

That´s about it.

Love you.

Elder Bunker