Peter Piper Pizza where Jeffrey out ate a linebacker! So Proud...
At the airport with the new President and the old President
President and Sister Cahoon
Jeffrey and Elder Nay with Sister Cruz and Miz from the Zone
Jeffrey with Elders Nay, Rose, Daines and Sister Hope (Hermana Esperanza). She is a very supportive member in Saltillo.
Reunion with Elder Smith, William and Jeffrey
The Zone with the new President and his wife.
Dear Family and Friends,
HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!!! I LOVE AMERICA!!!
Tomorrow we have tranfers! This morning I learned that Elder Nay, my current companion from St. George will be leaving tomorrow morning and heading to Monclova where he will most likely finish the last 3 months of his mission. I gratefully will be staying here in Nueva Rosita for what should be 6 weeks more and my new companion will be Elder Johnson! I will be with another American! I have been with an American companion since before Christmas and now we are in July! It's a miracle that I can still speak Spanish after being with pure gringos for so long. I am very excited to work with Elder Johnson. I met him about a month ago in Saltillo and he is from Ohio and also has 3 more months left on his mission.
I was extremely lucky this week to be able to see the arrival of our new President, President Cahoon and his wife. I could truly feel of their love for the mission and for me personally the first time I was able to talk with them. I'll give you a little run down on my week and why it was so special.
Last Monday morning, I was in Saltillo renewing my visa because I completed a year here in Mexico!! I spent the afternoon with an Elder from the zone, named Elder Archuleta. Elder Archuleta only has one transfer left on his mission. In fact, he is even going home 3 weeks early so he can start training with the University of Utah football team. We had a great time talking about college football and high school football and it was truly a blast to be with him. The highlight was when we went to an all you can eat pizza buffet and I ate more pizza than him! I was so proud!!! I can honestly say that I ate more pizza than a hungry polynesian 20 year old future college football linebacker! Wow! Best day ever!
Afterwards, Elder Archuleta headed back to Nueva Rosita and I stayed in Saltillo with my best buddies Elder Daines and Elder Rose. I was so excited to be able to see our new President arrive, President Cahoon. Just to clarify, the reason I stayed in Saltillo instead of returning to Rosita is because I was already required to be in Saltillo for Tuesday and Wednesday for a conference and didn't want to waste money sending me on 4 bus rides in 4 days. Instead of wasting over 1000 pesos and 10 hours in bus, I got to stay with the assistants and sleep in their house!
On Tuesday morning, I had one of the most special experiences of my mission. It wasn't super spiritual because it was in the airport, but I was able to tag along with Elder Rose, Elder Daines, and the secretaries, to see of President Rodriguez and his family at the airport! I felt totally out of place since I don't work in the offices of the mission but it was such a cool experience!! I also got to meet President Cahoon and his wife in the airport and instantly knew that they were called by the Lord to guide this mission! I was the 5th missionary they met here in the mission! Afterwards, the President and his wife wanted to go out to eat lunch and they even invited me! I felt super humbled and a little out of place! But it was great! 5 Americans, Elder Daines, Elder Rose, President Cahoon, Sister Cahoon, and I went out to eat and I loved spending time with them! I was so lucky that I happened to be the only missionary who had to renew his visa the same week as the arrival of the new President!
On Wednesday, we had a 7 hour conference with our new presdient and it went super well. He asked each of us to share our testimonies and it was super powerful! It sure took a while to get through all 25 or so testimonies but it was truly a special moment where I could feel the love of the Savior and the truthfulness of this work. I can testify that President Cahoon is a man of God, called by him to preside this mission, I felt a ton of love from him and his wife
The rest of the week and weekend was very hot back here in Nueva Rosita. Elder Nay and I are getting ready for his departure and the arrival of Elder Johnson. I will be forever grateful for these short 6 weeeks that I have had with Elder Nay. I look back on this change and think about all of the great people that we have found and brought to church. However, I think the most important thing that ELder Nay has shared with me has been his testimony of the Resoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the Prophet Joseph Smith. Of all of the companions that I have had on the mission, nobody has had such a strong testimony of the work that Joseph Smith did to resore the gospel in these latter days.
I am very excited to spend the canicula, or the hottest 40 days of the year with Elder Johnson! I'll tell you more about him next week! Hope all is well and have a great 4th of July!!
Elder Shipley
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