Week 45

 Visiting members!

 "Hey...it's the Washington Monument in Mexico!"

 "Some Mexican Revolution Statue"

 The frog...

 Jeff says he hoped if he kissed the frog it would turn into a princess! :)

 Yet another animal.

 Park near his home.

 Just hanging!

 Splits with Elder Stockman from Utah

On the Streets!

Dear Family and Friends, 

This was another calm week here in Saltillo.  Week 15 that Elder Smith and I have shared together. This upcoming week should be good! We are helping a young couple get married so they can prepare for baptism and are spending a lot of time with another elderly man named Franciso that I wrote about a few weeks ago. All three are hope they can be baptized before the transfer ends. 

This week, Elder Smith and I have been planning and preparing the Skype call that we are going to make with our families this Sunday! I am very excited to talk with my family for the first time since Christmas! However, I also wanted to mention that this Sunday is Mother's Day! When I think of mothers, I think of pure love or charity. Mothers have done so much to make me the person that I am today! One of my favorite scriptures is found in Moroni, chapter 7, verses 46 and 47.

46 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity,ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail—

 47 But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.

I love the simplicity of these 2 scriptures. If we do not have charity, or a pure love for others, we are nothing. It is truly a strong, yet profound statement that he that wants to make the most of life and be happy must develop a pure love for others. 

One of my favorite all time conference talks was given by Elder Holland in the October 2015 conference. In his talk, Elder Holland relates 3 stories of Mother's demonstrating Christ like love, and then comes to this powerful conclusion to finalize his words: 

"No love in mortality comes closer to approximating the pure love of Jesus Christ, than the selfless love a devoted mother has for her child". 

I hope that we can all take time this week to show love for the Mother's in our lives. They do so much for us, sacrificing their time, talents, and desires to serve others. Let's all take a little time to show them how much the charity that they show us, means to us, and make this Mother's Day the most special Mother's Day that your Mom has ever had. 

I truly love the mission! It's crazy that we are now in the month of May! Time goes incredibly fast on the mission because I am spending every moment of every day thinking about others and how I can be more like my Mother, and show them charity, the pure love of Christ. I know that the Church is true and that Christ is my Savior. I will be forever grateful for the supreme act of Charity that he did for all of us, His Atonement. 

Have a great week and a great Mother's Day on Sunday! 

Elder Shipley