Elder Kimball Neilson: Viva Mexico

To Whom It May Concern:

This week was great. We had two major events. The first was Mexican Independence day, and the second was the mission tour of Elder Montoya, The first counselor in the Area presidency over Mexico. The funny thing is these happened on the same day!

Día de la Independencia, as it is called here in Mexico, is the 16th of September, and marks the start of the Mexican revolution against Spain. The celebration begins on the night of the 15th with the Grito. The Grito was at 11:00p.m. so sadly we didn't get to watch it live. These days can get kind of crazy, with fireworks going off all over the place, we had to return to our houses by 7:00p.m. instead of the usual 9:00p.m..

For Elder Montoya´s tour of the mission we had a Zone Conference the morning of independence day. It was great. I learned a lot. Elder Montoya talked about the need to be one with local leaders. They are our best friends as missionaries, and can really help us with the work. Sister Lyman (mission president wife) talked about the importance of a study journal. At times I have thought "why do I need one?" However as she pointed out (and I have found) when we write down things it helps us remember. Sometimes I totally forget what I have learned in Personal study, but when I write it down I have it right there and can come back to it in the future.

Additionally, we got another baptism scheduled, for the 9th of October, hopefully I will be reporting on a few baptisms in the coming weeks.

Elder Neilson

Pictures (I told you I would get better)