Teaching the blind & deaf

Dear family and Friends,

All has been well here in Mexico. All kinds of fruits are starting to appear, along with the strong sun. I love it here.

This week we had an opportunity to teach and talk with a man who does not see, hear, or walk. He has two tumors pressing on his brain stem, which caused these affects. We communicated with him by tracing the letters of the words onto his palm. His left palm acted as the paper and his right index finger, guided by our hand, traced the letters into his palm. It was very neat. He could still speak, so after a few moments of silence when we would write, he would process the words and then answer with his voice. One instance, he asked us to give him a priesthood blessing (he was already a member). We gave him a blessing. Although he couldn´t hear the words, he felt the spirit. After the blessing, tears were streaming down his face. I know that the Spirit talks to the mind and the heart. We learn and receive testimonies spirit-to-spirit. It was a sweet experience.

There have been challenges as well this week, but all overshadowed by the blessings and good experiences. I think that is why it takes some work to adjust to the mission life. There will always be something to complain about, something to make you want to go home, something to make you angry. But as a missionary, you learn to accept those things as part of life, and then you begin to see the good things more often. Even small things. Seeing investigators progress in their lives and understandings is one of those things. Despite all of those other hard and difficult thigs, you really can´t complain because there is so much good to see.

We are teaching one man who, at one point in our visits told us that he just had a dispute with his wife (they´re not married nor live together, but he still calls her his wife). He said that if he could change, she would see his change and accept him again. During this visit, he told us that he was wrong, that she told him things, and that there was no hope in regathering his family, that there was no hope in living without his wife and daughter. We taught him. We helped him. At the end of the visit, he realized that he needs to change for him & God, not for her. He has progressed infinitely since then. Each time we have visited him since then, he has been brimming with happiness, his wife was present in the home, and even she commented to us one time that he has changed dramatically. His family relationship has improved a hundredfold, and he told us that he wants to be baptized this Sunday. It has been a complete change, and even I almost wept. This is why I´m on my mission: to see families progress, to bring them together through the principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the only thing that brings longlasting, true happiness.

I love my mission. I´ve learned so much. I wouldn´t trade it for anything. Not the internet, TV, movies, sleeping in, friends, time around my family (i´m giving up a brief amount of time with my family so others can spend eternity with theirs), or anything else. The gospel of Jesus Christ has that affect on people, on me.

I love you all. I miss you, but I´ll see you shortly (relatively). Choose the right, look for opportunities to serve, and love others. Do good.

Love Elder Bunker

RAIN

Hello all,

Sorry I couldn´t write last week. We split our emailing time into 30 minutes and 30 minutes, but we never had time to come back and use the 2nd 30 minutes. The work has been about the same.

I´ll be staying here in Meyehualco for another 6 weeks, which is fine with me. I really like it here and am pretty familiar with the area now.

We almost had another baptism Sunday. We filled the font and everything. But for some reason Satan seems to work hardest the day and night before a baptism. He had a few problems and will have to postpone his baptism. It will probably be in a few weeks.

Well it rained here for the first time since I've been here. There were thunder & lightning and everything that goes with it. It was amazing to be out of the sun for a little while. I am really enjoying it here. The weather is cooperating very well--as long as we have lots of water to drink. The rainy season doesn't start until the end of May, so until then, it's going to keep getting hotter. But that's OK. I'm sure it was hot when Jesus walked more than 110 KM through mountains & desert terrain to get baptized by John the Baptist. I'm sure he was thirsty on the cross too (the vinegar didn't help any), so I can't really complain.

I finally got to make my chocolate chip cookies, except there isn't anywhere nearby where we can get chocolate chips. So we used strawberry flavored chocolate (not really any chocolate, but the same consistancy as chocolate chips). It came out tasting OK but nothing spectacular.

Well with transfers, we got a new district leader. Our old district leader was here for 6 months, so he's glad to be moving on to something different. My companion and I are staying here in Meyehualco, no changes. Transfers are still exciting, because that's when they hand out all the packages and letters that arrived at the mission office. It takes about 1 month for letters to get to us from the US, and about 2 months for packages.

We get to speak in the ward for the first time this Sunday. It should be good, we have lots of support from the members (they sign up to feed us almost every day of the month).

We had a missionary activity in our stake on Saturday. 18 missionaries from the MTC in Mexico City came to our area (130 to our stake) and they contacted lots of people in the street. They were pretty late arriving, and with the time to explain what was going to happen, we only got to contact for about 45 minutes, which is pretty sad. But anyway, they got some experience, and we got a few referrals. We're trying to help the stake and wards understand that missionary work is not an activity, but rather a lifestyle. It's tough, but once we understand that, we understand our role in missionary work as members better.

I'm so grateful for this opportunity of a lifetime to serve a mission. I have met so many people who want help changing their lives. The responsibilities and burdens of other people's problems and necesities is so fulfilling. I'm beginning to realize what it means to love the people that you serve. Understanding their difficulties, talking them through their problems, helping them understand that the Atonement applies personally to them, etc is so fulfilling. There's something about putting all of your personal affairs in second place that helps you to find your true purpose as an individual. It's so rewarding seeing people progress, repent, and turn themselves in to the Lord with full purpose of heart. Sure, it's taxing, but it's so rewarding.

I love you all and hope you understand your purpose in life. It's truly remarkable.

Elder Bunker