Week 49

 Jeffrey and Elder Flores on his last day in Saltillo.

 Jeffrey and Elder Taylor on his last day in Salitllo.

 The last visit with the Rivias family.

Saying goodbye to Elder Smith, "his son"

 Jeffrey and Elder Nay in Nueva Rosita!

The "clutch" sombrero a member lent Jeffrey.

 Nueva Rosita is a very green area!

 At least there is shade!

 Picture Window photo moment!

A "Cool" bridge!

Dear family and friends, 

This was a great week here in Nueva Rosita! My new companion, Elder Nay, is a great missionary and we make a power team here in Rosita! I have a lot of thoughts about this week and a few thoughts about last Monday, my last day in Corona with my son that I would like to share with you all! 

First of all, here in Rosita, I am working in a small branch. In Saltillo, I was working with a larger congregation or ward. The branch is super great! I really felt welcomed and loved at church yesterday! There are a ton of women in this ward. The branch is about 80% female and 20% male across all age groups. We are really focusing on finding and reactivating inactive men so they can get the priesthood and help the district become a stake! 

Second, I am sweating so much. The sun honestly isn't nearly as hot as it was in Piedras almost a year ago but it is super humid here. I am literally dripping with sweat all day long... also, it's a very green area. This is the most green area in all of the mission! It is kinda the jungle of the Saltillo mission! 

Third, I am so glad not to be in Monclova. Monclova is the hottest town in the mission in the middle of the Mexican desert and it is about 100 there right now everyday. It will soon be 110 degrees there everyday and I am just fine staying here in Rosita for the next 3 or 4 months!

Fourth, Elder Nay, my new companion, is wonderful. He is from St. George, Utah, perhaps my favorite place on Earth, except for Seattle. He is very humble, very experienced, and very helpful. He has been a zone leader for about 6 months now so he teaches me the ropes and helps me out. We are really trying to develop more charity, love, and humilty in our companionship and in the zone! 

We had a great family of 4 that came to church named the Velasquez family! We are hoping to baptize the two parents and two of their girls in a few weeks! The work is going really well here! 

My spiritual experience for the week was last Monday night in Saltillo when Elder Smith and I visited our converts for one last time to tell them that I was going to be leaving the area for Nueva Rosita. We visited Francisco to start off and finished with the Rivas family, but perhaps the most special was when we visited Antonio and Karla and their family. 

Antonio expressed such a sweet testimony about the power of the restored gospel. He said one of the reasons he wanted to get baptized was the story I shared about my mom and dad and the power of their examples for me. I shared with him that my dad occasionally went alone to church when his parents and sisters didn't go, and that he also would attend Priesthood Sessions of general conference alone. I said that thanks to his strength and desire to serve the Savior, he was able to serve a mission in Germany. I shared with him that he is a wonderful example for me and that he could also be the first member of the church in his family! 

I told him that this was his great opportunity to be an example for his family, and he definetly took his opportunity and now his younger sisters were just baptized by Elder Smith in Corona with his new companion. I really learned about the importance of being a good example at all times and in all places. There are always people watching and taking notice of our actions and words. We should always strive to follow the Savior and become more like him because he is our ultimate example of love.

I hope you are all doing well and are getting ready to finish school! 

All the best, 

Elder Shipley