Week 15 in Nampa, ID

January 30, 2017

Guess who's getting their VISA?! (Little hint: His last name is the stuff covering the ground in Nampa, Idaho).

So Elder González and I were studying together on January 26th (HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRICK), when the phone rang saying "President Sorenson". My heart exploded. Then Elder González answered and I heard President say, "Is Elder Snow available?" My heart was stapled back together and then exploded again when President began telling me that I'll be leaving to Mexico at the end of this transfer!! So I'm going to Salt Lake City tomorrow to meet with the Consulate, and then I'll fly back here the same day. Then I'm officially a Mexican missionary when I head there on February 20th! I've been praying for this moment for so long, and I am more than ready to leave the 15 degree weather to go to the 80 degree weather! That being said, I really do love it here in Idaho. I've met some of the most incredible people, and Elder González has definitely made me wanna go to Puerto Rico after the mishh. I just know that our Heavenly Father has a plan for all of us, and the plan he created for me took a very purposeful detour, not only for the people and friends I have served, but for me as well. 

Other than that, not much has happened this week. Except the mission schedule changed a bit! A few changes were made to give the missionaries more accountability and agency in the work and also to give us a bit more sleep! We may now plan in the mornings and go to sleep at any time from 9:30-10:30. What a blessing! I've used it a lot already. But for Latin America (I'm going there), we'll be staying out until 10-10:30 because most Hispanics work until later, so we can't meet with them until later in the evening. Long story short, a lot of good things have happened this week.

WE ALSO GOT OUR CAR BACK A FEW DAYS AGO. Spent 1/2 of this transfer walking. Good practice for what's ahead ;))))

Anyway, I love y'all! Email me if ya can!

(P.S. Sorry I didn't take much pics this week. But to show how I felt about this past week, here's a picture of me being happy at Taco Bell;)) 

Vaya con Dios (en Idaho y en México tambien),

Elder Snow

Week 14 in Nampa, ID

January 23, 2017

Hey y'all. This week was pretty good, I suppose. So we still didn't get our car back, which is a huge bummer. Our area is half of a pretty decently sized town, so we've been walking miles every day. Sometimes we'll get someone who picks us up, always laughing at us cause we're "the Elders from Puerto Rico and Arizona in a terrible snowstorm". I can't tell you how many times I've been blamed for the weather simply because of my last name. Dumb, hahaha. But oh well, I'd probably make fun of myself too (and I do everyday). On the bright side, this was an amazing week for food! We had some pozole verde (Mexico) and ajì de pollo (Peru). Freaking the bomb.com. So we got a text from our bishop last Monday asking if we could speak in sacrament for 10-15 minutes each. If any of you know me pretty well, you'll know I wrote a page the day before, and just winged it during the actual talk. Luckily, it was an awesome opportunity to invite investigators to come watch us speak. So the Miranda family (all of them!!) came and listened to Elder Gonzalez and I talk about the Book of Mormon. I told everyone the story of my parent's plane accident, but didn't tell them it was my family until the very end. It was dope, once I told them that "3 of the children served missions, one in Michigan, one in Oregon, and the youngest to Mexico, waiting for his VISA in Nampa, Idaho" they all gasped. Hahahahaha hilarious. Spanish people are very expressive. I got so many people coming up to me afterwards telling me they felt bad for me and I was like "Okay, thanks Hermana." How do you respond to that? Hahahaha you don't. Anyway, not much else happened. Guys I enjoy Spanish! And it also helps when people come up to you afterwards surprised that you've only had 3 months of Spanish. Always a great feeling. :))) Now I just have to understand what other people are saying. ;)

You're all great and beautiful. Por favor manden me una carta electronico :)))

Vaya con Dios,

Elder Snow

Week 13 in Nampa, ID

January 16, 2017

So it's not unknown that I tend to have bad luck haha. For example: I purchased clothing for the Mexican weather, get sent to cold Provo instead, then get sent to FREEZING (literally) Idaho before Mexico. So for those of you who read my letter last week, our piece of trash Chevy was broken cause the window. So we dropped it off to the shop and found out we won't get it back until Wednesday. So we've been walking everywhere. And since we're Spanish missionaries, we have to walk further cause our investigators live farther apart. It's been interesting, cause the weather has dropped into single digits again. But I'm glad for it, because when you walk you can see more! "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it". So true, Mr. Bueller. We even saw a Jimmy John's!! I FELT SO SAFE THERE. (pics to come)

But with the whole "sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven" thing, we've noticed the blessings! So all of a sudden, our investigators started progressing a ton, haha. I don't know if I've told you all, but we have a family we're teaching named la familia Miranda. They're from Mexico, and they have 3 children. The oldest son (Isaac) was in a car accident and lost his right hand. He also suffered from some brain damage and is re-learning how to speak and write. Needless to say, they're the kindest, most humblest people ever. Any time we ask how they're doing, it's always "Muy bien, gracias a Dios". (Very well, thanks to God). So the mom REALLY likes Gonzo and I, haha. So she stopped us in the middle of a lesson and asked "Will you eat dinner with us tomorrow?" They're Mexican and Mexican food is the best, so the answer was obviously freak yes. We taught them after the amazing dinner and the Spirit was sooo strong! The mom started bawling and saying that she wanted to change and go to church. Freakin' golden. So they'll be coming to church this week (hopefully) and bam.

So as for the interesting things this week. Elder Gonzalez and I have walked a total of 15 miles, in varying degrees of weather from 20 degrees to 0. Last night we were walking and I forgot my coat, gloves, and beanie because I'm a freaking idiot haha. So it was 0 degrees outside and I only had on my suit. My face and hands were so cold, they inverted themselves to stay warm. I said a silent prayer and asked Heavenly Father to send us someone to pick us up. 2 hours later, it happened! Hahahaha man God loves His children, especially when they put in the work for the blessings! I also tried menudo, something Mexicans love, and it's weird as heck. It's the lining of a cow's stomach. All I'm saying is I put on a TON of onions, lime, and used 50,000 tortillas to cover the taste of tar. Other than that, the food in Mexico is amazing. God bless Mexico. 

Hey email me ya goons!

Vaya con Dios,

Elder Snow

I got an email from Church Travel Services saying something like "your visa is now in regular processing. Your current mission president will let you know when you receive your VISA." So maybe it's soon! 

Vaya con Dios,

Elder Snow

Week 12 in Nampa, ID

January 9, 2017

Hey everyone!! I'm alive (barely). This week has been SOOOOO boring. So us Spanish missionaries live pretty far from the city (like 10 minutes by driving), and this week was the worst winter storm Nampa has had in years. Our Mission Vehicle Coordinator texted everyone and told us we weren't aloud to drive, which for us basically means "You can't get any work done". So we've been stuck inside our house for 5 days out of the past week. On Friday, one of our only days we could drive, we found out our car battery is DEAD. So we had to go to Les Schwabbs Tire Store and spend 5 hours there for them to replace it. We've ended up trying to walk to places but our Zone Leaders get mad because it's dangerous, so we can't do anything. The worst thing in the world: A trio of missionaries in a small house who can't leave and who can't do anything fun because it's against mission rules. For those of you who know me, I HATE being stuck in one place too long. The worst experience of my life is when I got my wisdom teeth out and had to stay in the PRISON CELL OF A ROOM for 18 hours. I am starting to feel that same way. Dying of boredom is NOT a joke, hahahaha. To add on that, I feel so much guilt for being a missionary NOT doing missionary work. I feel like a terrible missionary who's super lazy. Ughhhh I want my VISA, hahaha. 

Anyway, sorry about that if it seemed like complaining to you. All is well, honestly. Temperatures have been really done this week. The warmest it got was 6 degrees, dropping down to as little as -20. Pero todo está bien, gracias a Dios. 

On Friday it was 3 Kings Day, a holiday for many Spanish countries, and we got invited to go eat rosca with the Miranda Family. They're super awesome!! Rosca is this Spanish bread, and in Mexico it's a tradition to put a tiny little baby figure thing in there, and whoever cuts the bread and find that piece in their's loses. So of course I lost hahaha. But it was super cool, I love the Spanish culture so much. So much laughing and enjoyment in all aspects of their lives.

Last P-Day we ate dinner with the Jensen family. Hermana Jensen is an single, older woman who is a ward missionary. Her daughter, Hermana Aranda is also single, and has two SUPER cute kids, Alex and Bella. They all live together and the only priesthood authority is their Alex, who's only a deacon. So at the end of the meal, I asked if there was anything we could do for them, and they asked us to give them Father's Blessings for the new year. So Hermana Jensen asked me to give her blessing. It was an awesome experience, my first blessing in Spanish. Then Hermana Aranda asked me to give hers too. It's so weird how automatic the love is for people once you use the priesthood our Heavenly Father has given us to help and serve others. I love these people here in Nampa sooo much!!

We also had transfer calls on Saturday. So Elder McKenzie is going to Kuna, about 20 minutes from here, to go into an English-speaking area with my mom Elder Lopez! Elder Gonzalez and I are staying here in Nampa South/East, which means I'll be here for Francisco's baptism!! Yay! Overall, a crappy and good week. I'm excited for the snow to melt so we can get back to work! Love you all and love your faces even more!!

Email me back! I have one more hour!

-Elder Snow

The most intense snowfight in history between Elder McKenzie and I (video)

So also, because I have the worst luck: We were driving one day and Elder Gonzalez rolled down my window to see my while I was backing him because there was frost on the window. Because it was 0 degrees outside, the window got stuck!! So we had to ride into town with the window down and it was miserable. It was snowing, 0 degrees, and windy. So we tried to close it and it wouldn't (this was the day when the snow storm was starting) so we had to hurry and find the most ghetto way to cover our window. Luckily, I've got some practice with some piece of crap, ghetto as heck cars. So we duct-taped trash bags and put a towel over it. I could've swore out car would be filled with snow, but it actually worked! So I hope you enjoy our car as much as we did :))

Vaya con Dios,

Elder Snow

Week 11 in Nampa, ID

January 2, 2017

Hey guys I'm still alive! The weather is a bit different than it is in Arizona. So apparently there's this white stuff that falls from the sky and they call it "Snow". People STILL think it's hilarious that there's an Elder Snow from Gilbert, AZ. To be honest, I still love that snow. But I am also just excited to go to Mexico and wear short sleeve shirts and be super tan... I'm so pasty white right now. It's disgusting, hahaha. But anyways, I'll get on with my week!

So a week ago after P-Day, we went to eat dinner with a member in the Spanish ward. We got there and while we were waiting for the food to cook, a 20 year-old kid walked out. So we started talking to him and found out his name is Francisco Hernandez, and he's the member's nephew. During dinner, we were eating (obviously) and then the Sister said "Hey, my nephew isn't a member. You should teach him!" So we ending up teaching part of the first discussion after dinner and turns out, he already had a Book of Mormon in English, so we gave him one in Spanish and we accepted to read it. We set up a time to come back Wednesday and left (Don't worry ya goons, be patient. I'll get back to Francisco in a bit).

So we got home and went to bed. At about 1 in the morning, I woke up and felt super sick. So I went and threw up, hoping that would make it better, but I ended up throwing up 2 more times that night and not getting any sleep. And let me tell y'all, when you're 500 miles away from home, puking over the toilet by yourself, trying to be quiet so you don't wake up your companions, ALL YOU WANT IS YOUR MOMMY TO HOLD YOU. So all of you at home right now, thank your mothers for all they've done for you while you've been sick. Cause someday you won't have that privilege... THANKS MOMMA SNOW.

Anyway, fast forward to Wednesday and we're teaching Francisco the rest of the first discussion. So to tell you about Francisco, he's SUPER timid. We would ask him questions and he would think for a bit, look at us kind of awkwardly, and start smiling and laughing uncomfortably. So at the end of the lesson we invited him to be baptized, and he sat there smiling for about 10 seconds, thinking, then nodded and said "S...". Elder Gonzalez asked "Si?"and he said, this time more confidently, "SI!". So we have a baptism date set for January 14th! He's soooo awesome! We taught him another time after that and apparently he already wants to serve a mission! He's learning English, so he's asked us to do the lessons in English and I'm teaching him English. Hahaha he wants to serve in the US or in England, freaking perfect. And if that's not awesome enough, HE LISTENS TO BLINK 182!!!! Angel sent from the heaven's above. So keep future Elder Hernandez in your prayers that he can learn English! The Lord truly is preparing people everyday, and it really helps to finally have an investigator who WANTS to progress on a faster rate than WE plan.

So for New Years Eve, we had to be in by 6 pm. We were knocking some doors and we knocked on this door and, I kid you not, a man legit answered the door and said to our freaking faces "No one's here". I swear he jumped the gun and got ahead on the festivities of New Year's, he must've been high/wasted. HAHAHAHAHA if you don't want missionaries to know you're home, DO NOT open the door and say "No one's home". Friggin' heck.

Anyways, Feliz Año Nuevo, everyone! Tenga un buen añn! Les amo!

Email back while ya can ;)!

Vaya con Dios,

Elder Snow

Also, this week it snowed a ton, but it was super thin and sat on the trees. THIS IS THE MEANING OF A WHITE CHRISTMAS. And if any of you have been wondering how cold I am here, here is a picture to show you how I've been the last week.

Vaya con Dios,

Elder Snow

So this week we went to the eye doctors because Elder Gonzalez needs new glasses. Hahahaha so the first picture is what the lady thought Elder Gonzalez's first name is. The second is me at the tryouts to be a "WalMart Glasses Compartment Model". It's super competitive. I'll find out this week. Pray for me.

Week 10 in Nampa, ID

December 26, 2016

Hey y'all! It's ya boi Elder Snow! Pretty fun week this past week. So I guess I'll go day by day cause that's probably the best way to organize it all!

Monday(19th)- I emailed all your cute faces and after that our whole district went to Jumptime, a trampoline park in Meridian. It was sooo fun!! I honestly miss being able to act like a child and jump around. It's been a while since I've had that feeling, haha.

Tuesday(20th)- We were wondering where to eat for lunch and Elder Gonzales remembered that one of our investigators owns a restaurant called La Ranchera and so we went there and MAN it was freaking amazing! Ughhh I want to go to Mexico and eat the dopest burritos ever!

Wednesday(21st)- We had our Mission Christmas Conference. Everyone performed a talent like singing or playing an instrument and since no one in our zone is talented, we just did a skit making fun of The District. Went pretty well! Some awesome talents were performed hahahaha. 

Thursday(22nd)- We ate dinner at our stake president's home and every Christmas they try a different food from a different country and this year was Russian. It was pretty good, like this chicken stuff with mushrooms and vodka. Dope.

Friday(23rd)- We ate with a bishop's family from the English wards and this time we had Korean food. It was alright, I suppose.

Saturday(24th-CHRISTMAS EVE)- So it snowed a crap ton! Like there was about 8 inches of snow. Needless to say, our freaking piece of crap Chevy Cruze got stuck every 5 minutes hahahaha. So Elder McKenzie and I would get out of the car and push while Elder Gonzo drove. Hahahahahaha it was actually the funniest thing. We were all wondering why the Lord put some kids from Arizona, Puerto Rico, and Tennessee together in Nampa's worst winter in 12 years hahaha, pero está bien :) We also had the opportunity to help push some other people out of the snow too and it was good :).

Then we had dinner with a family and we had a White Elephant and I got this dope touch lamp thing. After that we went home and Elder McKenzie went to the bathroom and Elder Gonzo and I heard Christmas caroling. We opened the door and these people from the English ward (we don't know anyone because we go to the Spanish ward only) and they gave us tons of gifts and it was soooo freaking heart-warming. They tugged my heart strings so hard!!

Sunday(25th-CHRISTMAS)- So we woke up and got ready and I made some cinnamon rolls and while those bad boys were bakin', we opened presents! I have SOOOO much food. Demasiado comida, enserio. Despues eso, we went to Church and then had a lunch with the ward. It was awesome food (as usual) and then we Skyped our families! Man I miss my lil' fam bam. It was so good to see that they actually exist and aren't in a distant galaxy, no matter how lagged it was hahaha. By the way, my nephews and nieces are WAY cuter than all yours ;). Then we went and visited some lonely people and spent a little time with them. Finally, we got a call from a sister in the ward who's child had respiratory problems, so we all went over there and gave her a blessing. It was sooo sad, a little 3 year old girl was whimpering and scared because these 3 strange men we putting their hands on her head, but she was a trooper. It was awesome, tho. It was my first time anointing oil in Spanish. I'm gonna have to learn all that stuff pretty quickly.

Well, that's all folks! Not much else happened. I just want to wish you all a MERRY, MERRY CHRISTMAS y tambien un Feliz Navidad! (Prospero año y felicidad) ;)))))

The Lord is full of miracles and because He loves us, he wants to give us tons of blessings! All we have to do is tocar en la puerta, y pedir. Les quiero mucho y nos vemos luego! EMAIL ME (pics to come)  

Vaya con Dios,

Elder Snow

 It's cold

 Other picture

Mis padres. Mi papa Elder Gonzalez (trainer) and my mama Elder Lopez 

(Elder Gonzalez's last companion before I was conceived)

Video of my dope trick lol sick nasty trick at the trampoline park

Week 9 in Nampa, ID

December 19, 2016

Thank you for all of your prayers. It was a rough time but because of your prayers and fasting, I was able to listen to Christmas music. Truly, a Christmas miracle. 

GOODNESS MERCY IT'S COLD! Hahahahaha it snowed a ton again this week and it's about 10 degrees at noon and 0 at night. But I sleep totally fine! Don't worry :). Seriously there was like 12 in. of snow on our drive way. We had to shovel our way out. I swear the people that don't have a car are lucky cause they don't have to shovel their way out! ;))) hahahaha

So this week was pretty good! We taught some more people and were able to contact a few references. Nothing super note-worthy, but yesterday we taught this old man named Juan. Juan is super goofy, hahaha. He basically just vented to us for half an hour about how different the world is now and that all youth are sinners, haha. But he did express his gratitude for us. He said he was grateful that we were youth "out there preaching the word of God". So we talked to him about the Book of Mormon and explained what is was and how we have it. He said he believed us. Our invitation going into the lesson was for him to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. But during the lesson, I suddenly thought "Invite him to be baptized". I hesitated because it wasn't necessarily the setting for it, but I felt guilty all of a sudden. I remembered that God puts thoughts into our heads for a reason, so I started talking about how the Gospel of Jesus Christ makes us want to change, and to be better. He was following me along the entire way and so I straight up invited him to be baptized. He agreed! So I said "We're having a service on Jan. 6th. Will you prepare for that day?" He said he'd have to pray about it, because all his family is Catholic and how it was tradition to be Catholic. I understand that (cause this week we invited 4 people to be baptized and since most Latinos were baptized as babies, they don't feel the need to be baptized again). But I asked him "Juan, do you believe that God can give you an answer between now and Jan. 6?". He agreed, so I asked him to prepare for that day and I explained that if he received an answer from God that said he should be baptized, then that it much more important than tradition. So he agreed and he's preparing for that day! Please pray for him. He smokes a lot and hasn't been to church ever and has a long way to go, but it's very possible con la ayuda de Dios!

So a couple funny things:

Elder Gonzales and I were out contacting and we passed a snowman that looks creepy as heck. So he says "Isn't there that horror movie about a snowman that comes to life?" HE WAS TALKING ABOUT FROSTY THE SNOWMAN. HE THOUGHT IT WAS A HORROR MOVIE HAHAHAHAHA. I died laughing! 

Elder Gonzales shared a joke with us that I thought was funny haha: "Qué es la differencia entre una pera y una novia? Una pera es pera, pero una novia no espera" (Use Google translate for that one ;))

Vaya con Dios,

Elder Snow

 Picture to show you how much snow was in our driveway. Took an hour to get out.

 The death of me :')

 My breakfast the other day. I felt like a freaking chef.

I got to put up Christmas lights for an elderly lady in our ward! I LOVED IT!! 

It made me miss putting up lights with Brady every year :(