Hey everyone!

So another week gone by already! I feel like time is only speeding up because these past 2 weeks have gone by so very fast! I do not have too much time to write because we have a couple of things to do before we head to Chihuahua tonight to have divisions with the assistants to the President which I’m way excited for because I know I am going to learn a whole lot.

This week was a great week with lots of ups and downs like always. On Wednesday we had a meeting with all of the zone leaders and the assistants to the president to talk about the goals we reached last month and what we plan to accomplish this month. It was short but it went great and we have a lot of great plans for the month of January. On Friday we had to go to Juarez (which is 7 hours away) because one of the families my comp baptized in the beginning of his mission was going to get sealed in the temple! Cool huh? We are allows to go if we are the ones who baptized the family. We stayed in Juarez in the same zone from when I first got there. We stayed with the zone leaders and it was good to see that they are having a lot of success as well. I had to stay with an elder that.... well.... he was a challenge to say the least. I realized how much patience I have learned but at the same time how much more I need. I will spare you the details, but it was a growing experience. Saturday afternoon we headed back to Cuauhtémoc for Sunday. There are 4 missionaries in our ward, 2 sisters and then us. We all gave talks for the missionary week and it went well. I had little time but I felt good giving the talk.

The greatest part of the week by far was the investigators! When I arrived in my new area, there weren’t any investigators to be honest, but the Lord has blessed us with SO many right now! We met a family like 2 weeks ago that is huge and we are teaching so many of them! We had like 14 people at church and 10 of them are over the age of 8 and are going to be baptized the 30th of January! They are an amazing family and I love teaching them. They are the Cobos family which includes the grandma, 10 kids and they have a bunch of grandchildren. We have also been teaching the Gonzales family, Gloria and Misael are the two that are going to be baptized the 6th of Feb. Then there is Esteban who is about 45 years old and super humble and also is going to be baptized the 30th of Jan. They all came to church this week and we have taught them most of the lessons. We need to review the commandments and help them to really prepare to be baptized. :) They are have their distinct problems and struggles but my comp and I have learned a lot about really applying the gospel to their lives and using it to really help them face and solve the challenges they face each day. It was hard to have to be in Juarez on Friday and Saturday, the 2 days before church, but in the end a lot of our investigators came. Also one of the kids of the hna. elvira Cobos (the grandma) is a member and his wife is as well. They both got baptized when they were kids and they have a son who is 8 years old who is going to get baptized as well. He does not count for us because he is 8 years old and his parents are members, but they are a perfect family to re-activate and they are helping the other members of their family to progress as well. The wife, Nilda, was born in the church and knows a ton! She is a great support and it was great to see them at church this week!

Oh and on Sunday we stopped by to give them a ride and we had 2 cars filled with all the family members! It was crazy and there were so many little kids! We brought like a fourth of the primary! They are all way awesome and the funny part is that kids are helping the adults to progress! Also it’s nice to have a nice big ward that helps us out with the investigators and makes them feel comfortable! It makes a big difference! Between the sisters and us we had like 21 investigators at church! :)

At first my comp and I got along well but we both have strong personalities. I feel like I might have mentioned this last week. Plus my last comp and his assistant comp were both really shy and timid and so we both are used to stepping up a lot. Obviously it was the pride and lack of patience on both of our parts. Plus my companion was way lax on the rules and so there was a little tension sometimes. We have always gotten along, but we were not the best of friends. Then on Wednesday night we had an amazing talk and we both listened and really were blunt and straight forward with each other and talked about the fact that we both have stronger personalities and such. It was great and neither of us was offended at all and we have been GREAT ever since. I mentioned the obedience part and we have been much better since. Plus we talked about the humility that is necessary if we are going to be able to work together well. We also talked about patience and other things we can improve on. It was great because we both are way excited and we have so much potential together. Yesterday we had an awesome day taught with so much more power and unity! There was a big difference and it really taught me the importance of humility and allowing the lord to guide us. It is why I feel like we were really able to address the needs of the investigators we have. We have become better and better friends and we are now succeeding so much better. But the most important thing is to stay humble and all goes well. :) We are both WAY excited to work together.

Thanks so much for the letters Larissa, Grandma Davidson and the Picket family! Your love and support mean a lot to me! Oh and I feel like I am going to be able to respond better to letters because I learned how to write letters on the bus! We have traveled like every week (which is way more than normal) and so I need to use my time to write letters then and I will be able to do it :)

I love the mission and everyday has provided so many learning experiences. I have NEVER been happier in my life than I am right now and I continue to learn each day what true joy is. There is a peace that ONLY god can give us as we LIVE his gospel. It has been the most valuable thing I have ever learned in my life.

I love you all so much!

Elder Andrew Davidson