Prayer is Awesome

Bienvenedios a México! The doctor thinks a have a parasite. HOW FUN IS THAT?!? not fun. Yesterday I didn't go to class cause my stummy hurts. It still does, don't worry. I've experienced A LOT here so far. it's nuts. Just this past week I've had 2 AMAZING personal prayers, 2 blessings, and... 2... accidental high fives for the hermanas... we're not supposed to high five, and I was just looking for another 2 something... So, going along with the obvious theme of 2's, I'll have 2 main topics of discussion today.

1) Prayer, starting off with the nice, good one. Prayer is awesome. We have the ability (in fact we've sinned if we don't) to communicate with PADRE CELESTIAL. This is seriously AWESOME, if you decide to make it awesome. It all banks on YOU. He is simpre (always) listening, and simpre amoroso. (direct translation would be loveful) AN ALL KNOWING BEING is not only willing to communicate with us, the dust of the earth, but he wants with all his heart for us to talk to him.

How to Make Prayer AWESOME: >have a plan. My best prayer here, I made a note card of what I wanted to say, ask for, and ask, and that prayer was amazing. Have a plan.

>ask questions. If Abraham Lincoln were here, he'd be rushed with questions by all of us. He's a pretty great guy, but don't you think it's kinda stupid of us to not ask questions to the all knowing all powerful God (who, let's face it, inspires all good things i.e. the aboloshment of slavery...) Ask questions and he will answer, but remember, in his time, and you MUST ask with faith that he will respond.

PRAYER IS AWESOME SO WE SHOULD USE IT.

2) This one may be considered a bit negative and rantish, but it's necessary to talk about. That thing is hate.

first off, IT'S FROM SATAN, so hate should not be a common thing among those who would consider themselves latter day SAINTS. Hate inspires SO MUCH EVIL. Hate has inspired, perhaps every bad societal problem namely: slavery, the holocaust, early persecution of the church, KILLING OF THE ORIGINAL APOSTLES, and the list goes on. Come on guys, let's think.

The reason I've been thinking about hate is that I've heard a few people here say that they "hate Mexicans." To that I'd like to say, "THEN WHAT'S YOUR PLAN?!?!?" God sent them on a mission to serve all people, and if there here in the Mexico City CCM (mtc) they're called to... serve Mexicans... (only Spanish speakers are being sent here)

Guys, all of us have a GREAT work to do, and hate only inspires evil works.

I don't know how many you you have seen the Mormon video about Sid Going, but it's pretty boss. you should look it up on LDS.org

I love you guys, remember who you are, don''t drink and drive. 

another week, another blog. :D

I finally got letters today! from Dad and Savannah. WOOT! btw, don't send any more letters here, I will be gone before they get here.

WHICH IS NUTS! I've been here for a month on tuesday, it feels like 3 days, but I know i coudn't learn this much Spanish in three days, so what folks are saying must be true... a month...

Yeah that bag is lost, but I know why: I was focusing on writing letters to people. For some reason, writing letters from the mission field was my focus. Silly Elder. So now, I don't really have the ability to write home... haha.

I read the talk "the fourth kind of missionary" which has changed my entire perspective. look it up on google, anybody planning on serving a mission. It's helped me to find my focus, and give EVERYTHING to God. The 3rd kind gives his might and strength, the 4th kind gives his mind, heart, might, and strength. He says that this is the ONLY intelligent way to go on a mission because it's THE ONLY way you benefit form it. He also says that in order to give your mind and heart, you have to put your earthly goals in a box, and leave them home. I, unfortunatly can't afford to send a freezer box home with half my brain in it, so I did some casa surgery (casa is house.) Which mainly was prayer and writing down all my world desires in my journal, and I'll strive to not think about them until I get back.

I was having some trouble getting along with my companion. We're nothing alike. Then, a Hermama (hermanas are sisters, and AWESOME) had a talk with us while we were supposed to be giving her a lesson. We got a lot more out of that than trying to teach, I'll tell you. We've been getting along much better, and my Spanish have miraculusly gotten better as well! Heavenly Father is so awesome.

Guys, world, everybody, find out where your focus is, and if it's not on Christ and sharing his love and his gospel, make some changes. I'm not telling EVERY sister to go on a mission, though they're amazing, Just share his light. SMILE! BE HAPPY!  Because we have the greatest cause in the world to be happy. We know where we came from, why we're here, and where we're going. DO NOT take that for gtranted. This gospel is true. Christ died for us and we have the opportunity to be forever happy with God and Christ. Realize that this is of great worth, and CHANGE. Change your countanence, change your attitude, change your attitude about missionary work. It is THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN THIS LIFE, because it is one of THE ONLY things in this life that lasts.

love and prayers are headed your way

Elder Decker

SO, blog! :D so first item of business is something I forgot last week. On one of our first few days here we were going around talking to missionary pedestrians about the gospel and stuff... and... I told a guy that... Christ... killed... for us... not my best missionary moment, but we got some good laughs! Something kinda similar happened to one of my district mates. He was teaching about the spirit and the MTC pres gave a devo about it earlier that week. So, he read a scripture from the devo that Pres Pratt had, and it sounded kinda familiar... He read the sacrament prayer for the bread in Spanish and didn't realize it until he was out of the lesson! Haha we had some more good laughs.

So, for you BYU football fans out there (for one, nice job beating  the longhorns) and two, TANNER MANGUM was my zone leader until he left this week. He's an amazing guy, and apparently an amazing football player. He'll be starting quarterback for BYU when he gets home... so yeah. Apparently he's not the best at fútball though. ;) He's super humble, and super focused on learning and sharing the gospel. I was seriously lucky to be a district leader and get to know him.

This is seriously the best work and I'm so privileged to be here! I hear that Andrew Mather is going to Brazil or something? I don't really know, cause I;m kinda in Mexico myself with little to no  communication with the states world. It takes 2 1/2 weeks for mail to get to and from the states... so if you sent me a letter the day I left, I might be getting it soon...

I'm just going to say this so I don't have to think about it again, I'll be back home Aug 11 2015, so plenty of time to get ready for college and catch up. :)

Ok, so I left a bag with my stamps, a letter I had just finished, MY CONTACT BOOK with all the your addresses, my journal that was so amazingly put together for me by Caroline Decker, and a binder in the cafeteria, and I haven't been able to find it yet... I lost it 2 days ago. I've checked lost and found, and I don't know how to talk to the people in the cafeteria cause they only speak Spanish, so please pray for me to be able to find it... I really want some 2 ways communication with you guys... :(

Anyway, besides that, I've been having a GREAT time with people who only desire to serve The Lord.

remember who you are!  and watch "member missionary work" on lds.org!

First letter back

So, first letter back really. Umm Spanish is hard. People told me that learning French would help... COMPLETE LIES. Seriously, the hardest part about spanish is french.

There are 4 guys IN MY DISTRICT who are going to pocatello, and we're in the same room too. Me, Elder Brown, Elder Law, and Elder Oakley. All pretty cool guys. we've called ourselves Poké house. :)

I got called to be disrtict leader of 10C! I'm mostely just more paranoid about how helpful I'm being... (The district is all people that arrived with me arnd are in the same class.) As district leader, I've had loads of chances to bare my testimony, which has strengthened it LOADS.

So, an experience: I was petting tabs on good scripture for each lesson, like... S(plan of salvation) EL (earth life) on a scripture that had to do with that. I was doing this 2 days ago and I had this sudden feeling that I should take them all off. ALL. I fought it for a bit, tbh, but I eventually did it. My Companion (Elder Brown) asked me why I wasted all those tabs right after I threw them away, and I simply said..." I don't know." after I sat down, I felt an overwhelming feeling of peace, and I knew why I had to take them off. They were going to prevent me from teaching with the spirit. The scriptures that my investigators will need to under stand WILL vary. If I had kept them on, I wouldn't ever be as good a missionary I could be.

another experience: I was having a really hard time learning any Spanish at all, until I realized that my reason for learning Spanish was SUPER wrong. I was learning Spanish so after my mission I could move to Spain. Seriously Elder? I changed that. I AM NOW LEARNING SPANISH SO THAT I CAN TEACH THOSE WHOM HEAVENLY FATHERIS SENDING ME SPANISH SPEAKNING TO TEACH. Also, I was stressing out about Spanish so much that I didn't spend time with the scriptures. ¡NO BUENO! Your top priority has to be havign the Spirit with you. How could I be blessed with The Gift of Tongues if I was cutting off my communication with the Lord?!? Well, I got better.

While we're on the subject of discoveries, I discovered that my future wife, whoever she may be, HAS to want to be on time. I hate with passion, being late. A PASSION. nuff said ;)

I got a super short haircut... somewhat accidently... I don't speak spanish, and the haircut ladies don't speak english...

On the subject of english, our teacher has not said a sentence in english THIS WHOLE TIME. He's seriously great, and doing his job, but sometimes I wish I could... you know... understant things...

We had our first lesson with an "investigator" two days after we got here... we felt pretty useless after that, not going to lie. It got better though, yesterday was our last lesson with her and we got her to say the closing prayer :D That was super exciting. ONE more lesson, and she would have accepted baptism, I promise. ;)

I'm thinking of you and praying for you (in spanish) ;)

Don't drink and drive!

oh yeah! I went to the Mexico City temple today! It was AWESOME! Totallty aztec themed. and there's a massive picture of Christ coming to the americas. it's intense. I'm pretty sure He came to Mexico City. there are minor earthquakes like every week, it rains like every night (very fertile/ promised land) it's near a bit of land with two large bodies of water next to it ( they talk about fortifying it) and it was built on the old aztec ruin. The one that was the biggest city in THE WORLD when the Spanish found it... yeah that one.

some pictures!