James Bond

I know it was so awesome to talk to you guys, it made me way happy. After the conversation I felt so good. After we Skyped, then Hermana Lety gave us food and after that we were pretty full. Then we received a phone call from a member who wanted to spend time with us and give us more food. We ate lunch, then we ate with Hermana Lety, and then we ate with another member. We were so stuffed and felt so fat, but I had a great Christmas, and I am really blessed. We had five investigadors that went to church, I was so happy and it strengthened my faith and testimony a lot. I am so excited for my area and for the investigadors that we have. I can not express how blessed that I am, I don´t deserve all of this, why me, I don´t understand but I am really grateful for all that God has given me.

In January we should have a decent amount of success, and I am really excited for the people that we are teaching.

 

This is like the funniest story ever, we were heading to the area of the Elders in my District to lend service. We headed in the bus, my companion knew how to arrive to the house of the person. I sat next to an older man and I was talking to him. My companion left the bus, I saw that he was leaving I panicked for a little bit and yelled stop. I stood up and saw the doors were closing and that the bus was moving, I squeezed my body through the door and I jumped and fell pretty hard. I picked myself up and realized that my backpack did not make it through the doors and that it was still on the bus. I started running towards the bus, the people on the bus saw that I was running towards the bus and told the driver to stop, then I got my backpack, I looked at my companion who had quite the grin on his face and then we headed off to lend service. It wasn´t anything serious, it was actually really funny. I felt as if I was James Bond jumping off of a train. We painted a house, it was a lot of fun. After we painted the house we had a paint fight, we all ended up covered in paint.  It was a lot of fun. I had an amazing week and am really excited to get back to work. It was so awesome to talk to all of you guys.  You guys have changed a little bit. I am glad to see that you guys are all right and had a wonderful Christmas. Feliz Navidad! 

Love Elder Cannon

Merry Christmas!

We didn't get an email from Ryan this week, but even better was being able to skype with him for an hour on Christmas Day and hear him talk about his mission.  He looked so good and happy.  He was excited when we showed him our messy living room with Christmas everywhere and we showed him the snow and mountains outside.  He loved that.  He gave us a great Christmas present --he sang a few songs to us and bore his testimony to us.  I will try to add some of them.  Maybe just one at a time since it takes so long.  I think this first one is his testimony.  I have no idea why it is showing it sideways.  It isn't like that on our computer. 

 

Here  is the link of him singing a missionary song (if it works)

http://youtu.be/d20Np6N9Bi0

Humbled

I absolutely loved the photos of Dad being Grinch and the photos of everybody. It is so hilarious. The food sounds amazing. This week really was a good week, but something really hard happened to me. I lost my camera with all of my photos. Eight months of my mission I feel like I lost. I wish that I had sent more photos to you guys. I still hope that I find my camera. I lost all of my photos of Rosario and Culiacan and the MTC. This event has definitely made me more humble and has been hard. It sounds like the missionaries in the ward are having a lot of success, that is so awesome. For the first time in my mission we helped a family paint their house and it was a lot of fun. I wanted to take a picture of it, I went for my camera and then I realized that it was lost. I am excited for Christmas and to a lot of families have invited us to dine with them. Tomorow we have conference with President Velez, I am excited to go. I believe that I will recieve the package that you sent me very soon. I have humbled a lot lately and thought of all of my blessings and everything that God has given me. Thanks for the letters and photo it made me very happy.    

Font-filling Fun

This week was really awesome. I have an amazing story to tell. We have district meetings every Tuesday. On Tuesday the water returned to the church. We got really excited and planned the baptism of Geovani for Friday.  Elder Juarez and Elder Hymas (two missionaries from my District) also planned a baptism for Friday. The Zone Leaders interviewed Geovani, and I interviewed Cande. I actually really like doing the interviews for baptisms. The night before the baptism we went to the church to see if there was still water, there was no water whatsoever. We kind of started to panic. I said let´s pray.  We all went into a room said a group prayer. Our baptism was scheduled for 5 pm, we arrived at the Church at 3 pm, there was no water. We grabbed buckets and trash canisters and were filling them with water that is underground. It was kind of like taking water out of a well and we filled the font by hand. We were running and working so hard, and then arrived about 10 kids(8-11 years old) and they asked if they could help. They helped us so much and worked so hard. Without the help of these kids there is no way that we could have been able to fill the font. We worked a little over two hours hauling water, it was so exhausting. I baptized Geovani and I felt the Spirit very strongly. I love being a missionary, nothing else brings as much joy to me, as being a missionay does. Our investigador´s Alejandra and her kids went to watch both baptisms.  I know that it helped their desire to be baptized grow. It was such a great miracle and I will never forget that day.  In the baptism of Cande I gave a talk about the Holy Ghost.  I love everything about my mission.  I can´t leave, when you have experiences like these they just make you so happy and filled with joy. The transfers arrived and everything stays the same.  Everyone in my District are the same.I love you so much, thanks for everything. I love the gospel, I know that without a doubt that it is true and brings pure happiness.

Love Elder Cannon

Thanksgiving

My week was good.  For Thanksgiving I went to the house of a member called Paco, ate some really good food and had a good time. I can´t wait to meet Jorge.   I remember that I spoke all of the Spanish that I could with him. I am excited to speak to Chris in Spanish when I get back from my mission.

We are going to have a baptism this Friday and I am really excited.  His name is Geovani and he is eight years old. His Grandma is one of my favorite members, and is a recent convert. Geovani is a good boy, but is very rowdy. One day we were helping him with his homework and he was sick of doing homework so he tried to escape.  He went out the back and somehow got on the roof of the house and was running across the roofs. He is really awesome and we have been working a lot with him so that he is more relaxed. Right now there is absolutely no water in the church, no one can be baptized, no one can go to the bathroom.  We hope that this week the water comes back so that we can have a baptism. We have a decent amount of investigators that are progressing but we need to find more investigators for the future. At the end of this week we are going to have transfers, I´ll tell you how that goes. I am really excited to finish this transfer and we are going to work really hard to bring others to the gospel. This is a picture of the missionaries in my zone.

  It is starting to cool down quite a bit in the nights and the mornings, but at mid day it is still pretty hot. I have been learning a lot this week. President Velez gave me such an amazing scripture that is helping me to be a better leader it is 1 Tim. 4;12-16, I am truly trying to improve and be the best missionary that I can. The mission is something so wonderful that I can´t express how happy I am to be a missionary. Every day something new or wonderful happens. I love my mission and everything that has happened on my mission. I can´t believe how much time that I already have in my mission. We had a really busy day and that is why I am writing so late. I have to go, thanks for your letter. I love you.

Love Elder Cannon  

Good News from Rosario

Thanks for the letter.  I look forward to reading your letters every week. The weather has cooled down a little bit, but it is still really hot at times. I cannot believe that it is almost December and that it is already Thanksgiving. I love the iPod, the music and the talks have really helped me a lot to be more happy and at peace.

 This week was a little bit hard, none of our investigators came to church this week, but I learned a lot. We also heard a lot of complaints from the members about the leaders of the church. Life is a little hard I just need to take it one day at a time.  Even though times are hard, I heard the greatest news ever from Rosario. I heard that today Oscar and Vicki (investigators in Rosario that we taught) are going to get married, and that they will get baptized on Saturday with their child. I was so happy to hear that Elder Herndandez and his companion are having success in Rosario.  They told me that absolutely everyone in Rosario asks for Hermano(Brother) Cannon.  They said that I am a celebrity down there. This made me really happy and think about all of the good times and experiences that I had in Rosario. I heard that Family Reyes misses me a lot, and that the child Jesus prays so that I return soon and that everyone is praying for me.  Lourdes is preparing to be a missionary and is the second counselor of the Laurels, and she is working a lot with the missionaries in Rosario. All of this makes me feel so special and so grateful beyond measure. I cannot express enough gratitude for the time I had to serve in Rosario, for everyone that I met and everything that happened there. I love you guys.  Thanks for everything that you did for me and for all of your love and support.

Love Elder Cannon    

Missionary challenge

Sorry for writing a little late.  I have been really busy. My week was a good one, and my Spanish is starting to come back, little by little. We aren´t right in the big city, but Culiacan is really big. There isn´t crime, don´t worry about anything, I am fine. I just got my package- I loved it- it made me really happy.

I kind of miss going to the temple. I wish there was a temple in our mission.

(I told Ryan my lesson this week is on member missionary work)   I have a goal for you guys, bring a friend who isn´t a member at the Ward Christmas Party. Also another goal can be to bring less active members to the party.  Some advice for the members, is that they shouldn´t wait until the missionaries come at their doorstep to do missionary work. They should be bringing and introducing their friends to the missionaries. Also the members need to give the missionaries names of people to teach and visit and then go and help the missionaries to do the work. One area in my district is having a lot of success and I am really happy for them. We have some potential investigators but we need to find some new ones. I hope that all goes well with Grandpa. I hope that all goes well, I love you guys!

Love Elder Cannon

Adjusting to Culiacan and new calling

I had my first baptismal interview with a child called Eduardo, who is 9 years old. It was really special and I have another interview this week. We had a good amount of investigators that went to church and some less active members also went. My spanish is coming back, but it still isn´t exactly where I want it to be. It is still hard, but a little better. My companion likes to give me chile to eat, I am starting to get a little better at eating spicy food. Today for preparation day we played soccer and it was really fun. We have a decent amount of investigators.  We just found out that one of our investigators has schizophrenia. I knew that he had some problems but I did not think it was anything like that. We had a really fun Family Home Evening in the week.  There were about 25 people that went to it.  We got to know a lot of people and it was a good missionary opportunity. We didn´t have a zone meeting this month, so  I haven´t recieved anything from you guys yet, but once we have a zone meeting I am sure that the package will arrive. I still miss Rosario a little bit and the people there.  Why does time go by so stinking fast?  I am a little jealous of the new missionaries because they have more time left in the mission than I do.  My week was better and I am ready to go to work. Thanks for your letter, it helped me a lot.

Love Elder Cannon      

Teaching a Jehovah witness?

I am really good but struggling a little bit.   For some reason I'm struggling with the language the past few days, speaking and understanding.  I feel like I was doing so well with it in Rosario so I don't know what happened.  My new companion is Elder Pinedo.  He is from Mexico City. He is a really great missionary and he just barely finished his training. He is a great missionary and someday going to be a great leader. 130 people came to church last week. I am not so used to so many people.. I do miss Rosario.  My new ward is  Nueva Galicia.

The funniest thing in the world happened when I first arrived to my area. My companion said that we were going to teach a Jehovah´s Witness, and made up a story about him. We arrived at his house and he started to tell us about all of his doubts of our church. He said when we went to your church we had to be seperated from the Relief Society and the Priesthood Quorom for an hour, he said I thought your church believes in families being together and why were we seperated for an hour. He started talking about polygamy, we started teaching and testifying and saying that we are not here to argue or contend. He said I don´t want to hear lies, he grabbed my companions arm and said get out of my house and never come back. We left the house and he slammed the door, I practically took off running, I was so scared. It turns out that the (Jehovah´s Witness) is a member and played a prank on me. It was the funniest thing ever and their whole family was laughing and loved it. When Elder Pinedo leaves I get to do the same thing with my new companion. He has done this prank for years. I was warned of this member before I left for my area. This week was good.

Thanks for everything that you have done for me and for your example that you have given me.

Transfer to Culiacan

I am being transfered to Culiacan.  Holy cow a lot happened this week! My companion Elder Hernandez is going to stay in Rosario and train an American. I am going to Culiacan to be a District Leader.  I can´t believe that I am going to do this. There are positions before District Leader and for some reason I jumped them. I feel quite a bit of pressure to be able to do this, but I know that this is what God needs me to do.  This is going to be hard.  I have never been a leader in my life. I have always followed someone. I hope that I can be the best District Leader and missionary that I can possibly be. Saying  goodbye to Rosario was pretty hard for me.  It felt like I had been there for such a long time, and is a big part of my life. I just wish that I had taken pictures with some of the people that I had known. I took a lot of pictures in Rosario, but there are some people that I regret not taking a picture with them. Today I will be receiving a new companion.  He is pretty new.  He just finished training, and I will meet him later today. I heard a lot of good things about my area from some of the missionaries in my zone.  I am really excited to go and a little nervous.   I heard that we live about 20 minutes from the Mission President.  Thanks for you letters and your love and support.   I am really excited and this week I should have a lot of great experiences to tell you. Thanks for everything, I love you guys.

Love Elder Cannon

It is flaming hot

My companion is from Mexico City, about 20 minutes from the temple. He is really nice and really intelligent.  It is flaming hot in Rosario.  I hope that in November it will start to cool down.  It still feels like it is July.  You gave your lesson on the prophets, and this Sunday I gave a talk about the Prophets. We had a good amount of people come to the church. My companion turned 19 years old.  We bought cake and had a fun day. Time is flying so so so so fast.  This transfer is the fastest transfer that I have had in my mission. On the 28th of October are the day of transfers. I love everything about my mission and I am going to miss Rosario a lot. It is going to be so hard to leave. My week was really awesome and spiritual, I feel like I am starting to mature a little bit more. I love everything and I am so grateful for every single blessing that God has given me and I am excited to work.

Love Elder Cannon   

You Can Do It Now

I loved the photo of the anniversary of Grandma and Grandpa you sent.  I can`t believe how big that my cousins are getting.  

Rosario is still really awesome.  It feels like I have been here for a very long time.  In two weeks I am going to have six months in Rosario. Tomorrow is the birthday of my companion.  He is going to turn 19 years old. Most of the missionaries from Mexico enter the field when they are 18 years old. Today I played basketball. It was so much fun but I was exhausted after playing. It was a lot of fun, but I am definitely worse at basketball. 

We had a good amount of people come to church this Sunday. Two white grandparents came to church. They live an hour drive from the church. It was fun talking in English to them, but it was also kind of hard because I was solely thinking in Spanish and trying to translate into English and it didn`t come out perfectly. We had Fast Sunday.  I always love listening to the testimonies of the members of the Branch. It always strengthens my testimony and makes me happy.

 It is still blazing hot and it is the middle of October.  I hope that in November it will cool down a little bit. Everything is great in Rosario and I am really happy to be a missionary. I loved the talk from President Uchtdorf that is titled "You can do it now." It made me motivated and I realized that I need to have more faith and I hope that I can do anything and everything right now this instant. It made me really excited and happy to listen to it. 

Conference Weekend

This week was really special for me, especially General Conference. It hit me hard when they said that the Conference is broadcasted world wide, and it was really special to watch the conference in a different country. I watched it in Spanish.   I am so grateful that I watched General Conference when I had a little bit more time in the field so that I could understand it. I kind of like listening to the actual voices of the prophets and apostles more but it was still really powerful.

We had divisions and I went with a missionary that only has 10 weeks left in the field. We were very excited to work together and we had a very spiritual lession together and we left the lesson with the greatest feeling.  I cannot believe how much time that I already have.  It makes me so sad to think about how much time I that I already have. I have grown and learned a lot but time needs to take a break and just pause. I feel like I am starting to mature more and grow up a little bit more.

Love Elder Cannon

 

Letter to Dad:

I am doing really good and I had a really good week. I feel really comfortable getting around Rosario. We don´t have cars.  The Mexican missionaries think that all of the missions in the United States are cakewalk because they have cars. Sometimes we ride bikes, when they work.  They aren´t the greatest bikes but the still work. On Saturday we watched Conference from the computer in our house of prayer. For the priesthood session  we went to a city that had a church and watched the session there. I feel really good with my Spanish and I was really grateful that I watched conference when I could understand it. I do feel really comfortable with my Spanish, but I still have a lot to learn. After every session of conference I was filled with good feelings and joy, my gratefulness has also grown a lot. I have learned so much and I can´t wait for what the future has to bring for me.    

Better Late than Never

(Note:  This post is a little delayed due to Ryan not able to write on Monday and then our internet was down for a couple days)

I am sorry that I couldn`t write you yesterday.   We had a conference and President Velez came and I was busy all day.  I got a lot of letters from people of our ward.  It made me really happy to read all of the letters. We haven´t been getting as much rain.  

That night with grandma and the whole family sounded really special, and I am sure that it was really special. Wow, Isaac is the Deacons President.  He is going to do a great job as the president.

My companion knows a lot about eyes and glasses and wants to be an optomitrist, or an eye doctor. What was that eye disease or eye condition that I might have?

This week we were waiting at church for two couples that are investigators that said that they would come, but they didn`t come. Someone called Magnolia went.  She is the daughter of a recent convert. Magnolia asked her mom what she needs to go to the temple.  The mom said go to church and talk to the missionaries.   Magnolia asked us what does she need to do to get baptized. There is a new rule that all investigators need to go to church at least 5 times before they can be baptized.  It was only 2 times before. We talked with her and she is really excited to prepare to get baptized.   We are going to teach her more and we are really excited to teach her. This week was really good and I am excited to get back to work.

New Companion

 This week was also really good. It has been raining a lot, but nothing that you need to worry about. My new companion, Elder Hernandez, is really awesome. He is so nice and knows the scriptures really well. We had a Stake Conference and the President of the mission came and spoke to us. We had a lot of the members of Rosario come to the conference. I felt the spirit really strongly and I learned a lot. President Velez spoke to Lourdes (my first baptism)  about going on a mission and it made her more excited to serve a mission.

After the conference we were waiting in a large room until the other conference started. There was a white girl who speaks little Spanish and was singing hymns in English, and people started telling me sing with her. We sang "I Know That My Redeemer Lives" and "Called to Serve" in English. I was a little bit nervous singing in front of a lot of people.  She sings really good and people said that we sounded good.  It was pretty fun.

 I am starting to feel pretty firm with my Spanish.  I am still really far from being fluent and I still lack a lot, but I feel good with my Spanish. The missionary work is good.  We have some couples that need to get married before they can get baptized. It isn´t all that easy for people to get married.  It takes some time and money. Everything is really good in Rosario and I will send a picture of my new companion. Thanks for the letters and love.

Love Elder Cannon

 

My joy is overwhelming

This week was fantastic.  My joy is overwhelming.  Transfers came and I am going to stay in Rosario for another transfer.  At the end of this transfer I will have six months in Rosario, and I love it. This week was really spiritual for me. There is a kid named Jesus.  He comes to church every week with his grandparents and his grandparents really wanted him to be baptized. The mom of Jesus kept telling us that he was too young and that she wants him to be baptized but later. During my personal study I had the impression to just write what I was going to say to Hermana _______ (mom of Jesus). I had the impression to share my experience that I had with my baptism and what I learned and how it helped me, and that is what we want for your son. I was pretty direct in my question if her son could be baptized and she said yes. I baptized her son on Saturday and I have never seen a boy as happy as Jesus was on that day. I know that Hermana ________ felt the spirit after the baptism. I was so overwhelmed with the spirit.   She thanked me and gave me a hug. Me and my new companion are going to try all that we can to get Hermana ________ to go to church and be baptized.  The only problem is that she has to work on Sunday. 

Jesus is the best kid in the world. He is always happy and very helpful for his family. I gave him the football that you sent me for the 4th of July and he really likes it.  We even played catch with it for a little bit. One day he said what day is it? We said it is Thursday, he said oh no, I was hoping it was Saturday so that tomorrow I could go to church. He always wants to say the prayers, when we eat at their house or visit them. 

 On Sunday morning Elder Sumano baptized our investigator Hermano H_____.   He is a really golden investigator. He has read a lot of the Book of Mormon, has a testimony that it is true, and also I think that he could be a great leader in the church. 

Today I will receive a new companion named Elder Hernandez.  I am really excited to meet him and work with him. I will try to send a lot of pictures.

My love for all of you guys has increased so much during the mission, I didn´t realize how good I had it until I left to serve. Thanks for everything, I love you so much and you guys are always in my prayers.

Here are the photos from our baptisms this week.  In case you can't find me, I'm bent over in the suit in the first one.

Jesus Baptism

Meet the Missionaries in my Zone

That pig looks so awesome, and that ward party sounds like it was a lot of fun.

This Saturday we have a man named Herminio who is going to be baptized. He is a really golden investigator.  He has read a lot of the Book of Mormon and has a strong testimony of the Book of Mormon. I could see him being a great leader in the church and watching him progress has been priceless. I can´t believe how much that my testimony has grown and how fast time flies. One missionary that is in Rosario, Elder Hernandez, is going to leave after this transfer which ends at this week. I have so much respect for the missionaries that leave and hope that I can be like them.

 I finished reading Our Heritage and cannot believe how much that the early Saints suffered and everything that they went through. It really humbled me and made me realize  how easy I have it and how important that this gospel is and the responsibility that I have as a missionary.  All is well in Rosario and the Christlike Attribute that I feel like I improved was my humility and the importance of being humble. I learned that the more humble that you are the more that God trusts you to do his will, and it is easier to listen to the spirit when we are humble and willing to learn. Thanks for the letter and everything that you have done for me.

Love Elder Cannon

 

This is a picture of my Zone, everyone in my zone is really awesome.  Starting from the top left Elder Morales, Elder Perez, Elder Hernandez, Elder Cannon, Elder Millerberg, Elder Sumano, Elder Canul, Elder Hernandez, Elder Monasterio, and Elder MacDowell.

 P.S.  From Mom--What's the story with all the ankles showing on the front row? :)

A Fantastic Week

 

I am doing really great.   I had another fantastic week. 

 Today I talked to a Mexican in English who lives in Utah.  Right now he is visiting family in Mexico. He asked where I was from and I was suprised that he knew exactly where Tremonton was. He said that his wife is from Tremonton.   I was so surprised, and we talked about Utah and he said that it is the Mormon state. I asked him Are you a Mormon?  He said that he goes to our church and is listening to the missionaries in Spanish in Utah. Then we had to leave, but I love experiences like that.

 I actually feel pretty confident with my Spanish, but I still have a ways to go to be fluent. It is raining like crazy in Mexico, sometimes the thunder is way loud in the nights, and the lightning flashes like every three seconds. It doesn´t happen everyday, but occasionally it is really stormy.  Blaine looks so happy.  Tell him that I said Congratulations.  His wife seems really nice and they look very good together.

We baptized Briceida.  She is the sweetest girl in the world. Yesterday she brought one peso for her tithing. She was baptized on Saturday and received the Holy Ghost yesterday.

Yesterday was fast Sunday and I just love listening to the testimony of the members. I had to buy a new camera because my other camera broke, I can now send photos but only one at a time. Life is really good and lately a lot of people have been trying to talk to me in English, which has been really fun. We had a conference with Elder De Hoyos of the Seventy came and spoke to us. It was really spiritual and I learned a lot from it. All is well here in Rosario. I love you!

Love Elder Cannon

 

This is a picture of me with a boy named Daniel, he is the funnest little kid ever. We were helping some people start to build their house.

 

The other missionaries found this dog in the road and I just had to get a picture with it. I don´t know why but there a lot of dogs in Mexico that don´t like missionaries all that much and that are pretty scary.

This is a picture of our baptismal font

 

 

Why I am happy

This week was really good and we have even started running in the mornings. We were working really hard with Juan and Valentina so that they could get married so that they could be baptized. They are so awesome and very golden investigators. We now have all of the papers, but they are actually going to live in Culiacan and get married and baptized there. I am so very happy and excited for them.

 One of the missionaries in Rosario named Elder Hernandez just finished 2 years of his mission.  We  ate cake and drank mango juice. I have so much respect for him and I hope to be a missionary like him someday. Elder Hernandez is going to leave after this transfer.

 There is a girl named Briceida who is going to be baptized this Saturday.  She is the sweetest girl ever and everyday asks her parents, "when am I going to be baptized?"  We are also working so that the parents of Briceida can get married and baptized also. The only setback that we have is the money to get married. 

  I have really been learning a lot lately about how important every single person that I see is. I now know why I am happy a lot of the time, it is so that I can make others happy. I realized that I am so much more happy if I am helping someone else. I also learned that the best medicine for discouragement is helping someone else. My testimony of the importance of making everyone happy has greatly increased. Thanks for your letters, love, and support.

Love Elder Cannon 

Translator

My week was amazing.  A lot of really good things happened this week. We had an activity with the youth from a lot of areas, it was really awesome. I felt the spirit really strongly and the youth are really excited to serve missions. There was a white girl who had a BYU Idaho shirt on, and I went up to talk to her. She is from Colorado, not too far from Denver and she is visiting people in Mexico. Talking to her was awesome but I almost kept saying words in Spanish.  My brain is only thinking in Spanish. For part of the day I was her translator.   I would tell her things in English that other people are saying and I translated what she said into Spanish. It was actually really fun. A lot of people complimented me on my Spanish and couldn´t believe that I have been in Mexico for 3 months.  They thought I had been in the mission for like 5 or 6 months. It made me feel really good about my Spanish, but I know that I still have so much to learn and do in Spanish. I went to Culiacan and renewed my passport.  Elder Sumano came with me and a lot of other gringos(white) missionaries were doing the same thing. I got to see my old companion Elder Hammon.  It was really good to see him again. We have a lot of investigators that are progressing a lot and I am really excited for them. I have learned a lot of really good things this week and I feel really good right now. Good luck in the fair. I love you guys, always be happy.

Love Elder Cannon

Rain, rain

I got your package this week, and I loved it.  I absolutely love the Elwood shirt, the colors are so awesome.  Today all four of the missionaries in Rosario are going to cook hamburgers and after we are going to watch a church movie and eat the Mike and Ikes you sent.  Apparently there are no Mike and Ikes in Mexico. 

 The work in Rosario is really good.  We have two investigators that are perfect and are very ready to be baptized but they need to get married. We are going to work hard so that they can get married and be baptized by the end of this month. I am very excited for them. Blaine is getting married, that´s awesome, tell him congratulations.  I loved the photos that you guys sent.   Oregon looks really beautiful. The picture of dad making a face is really funny.

 We got a new missionary named Elder Perez who just came from the MTC.  He is really awesome. Yesterday it rained like crazy while we were at a member´s house/shack. The pulled out like 5 big pans and all of the water that was dripping in the house from the ceiling they collected it. I thought that it was the coolest thing ever. My week was awesome and I am excited for this week.

Members Temple Trip & Churros

Wow, the vacation that you guys had sounded amazing. I really want to eat breakfast at Pig N Pancake.  That restaurant sounds amazing. We had transfers today and I was so glad to hear that I am staying in Rosario, but it is likely that I am going to leave after this transfer. I think that I am going to use my credit card to buy some sort of device that allows me to plug the SD card into the computer so that I can send pictures.  This week the members of Rosario went to Guadalajara to go to the temple. It really got people excited and L______ also went to the temple (She was the one Ryan baptized last week--picture below).  When the people all shared their testimonies and what they felt in the temple it was very spiritual. L______ also bore a testimony that was very genuine and I was so happy for her. We have a decent amount of investigators that are progressing quite a bit. I am really excited for our area and the work that we get to do. The President of our Mission,  President Velez, came to our Sacrament Meeting.  It was a very spiritual day. This week I tried churros for the first time in Mexico, it was so amazing, and ridiculously cheap. The food here is so different than El Parral. Life in Rosario is amazing and I can't wait to get back to work. My testimony has grown so much this week, and I can´t wait for what the future holds. Thanks for the letter.  I look forward to reading your letter every week.

Love Elder Cannon

 

This week was the best week of my misión

This week was the best week of my misión. On Friday the other two missionaries in Rosario had 4 people for the baptismal service. Then in the middle of the day our Mission President called and said that he is going to be attending the service along with a member of the Seventy named Elder Montoya. We ran to the church cleaning and trying to make everything perfect. It was a really spiritual day and a wonderful experience. One of our investigator´s returned from EFY and she absolutely loved it and told us that she wanted to be baptized.  EFY changed her a lot and we baptized her that very same day. I have never been as happy in my life as I was that day. She asked me to baptize her and words cannot express how I felt that day. I will forever be a different person from that day and I have never felt anything as special as I did on that day. I was so happy for L_______ and she was really happy and two of the instructors of EFY came down to see her be baptized. This week was the greatest week of my life and I will never forget it. I cannot in the slightest express how happy that I am. Elder Montoya who came for the baptism the day before told me some really motivational words and he looks just like Mr. Schenk, only more Mexican. This week is the last week before changes and I have a feeling that I am going to leave after this week, but I can´t. I love everything about Rosario and I need to return after my misión. Have a great week and always be happy.

Love, Elder Cannon

 

Ryan's companion sent some more pictures since Ryan is having trouble with his camera.  Only problem is no explanation on the photos.  When you see the last one, you will see why that leaves us curious.

 

 

 

 

Awesome week

This week has been so awesome. I got a letter that you sent through Dear Elder, but I did not get a package. Every month we recieve letters and packages, I will let you know when I get the package. I really like the quote by Thomas Monson, it is true.

 The temperaturas actually aren´t bad.  It has been raining quite a bit lately and the rain feels amazing. When it rains the streets start to fill up with wáter and all of the kids go running around and playing in it. I bet that the concert with Lindsey Sterling was really good, she is amazing at the violin. Elder Hon, who has now left the misión field to his house, left me some really awesome speakers. On this computer sometimes it puts in Spanish words that the computer thinks that I am trying to spell.  

At church we had the most members that I have ever seen show up.  We had 42 people come to church!   I was so happy and I am feeling really good. A lot of great things happened this week and I am really excited to get back to work. Elder Sumano was not able to go to Culiacan, but we are going to go soon.  I feel like Spanish is starting to come.  It feels so awesome and I am speaking and understanding so much more. With our new Mission President he said that I need to practice my Spanish and that he needs to practice his English.  I write him in Spanish and he responds in English .  It is really funny. The new misión president is really awesome and is really nice. Thanks for the letter and I love hearing from every one.  Talk to you next week.

Love

Elder Cannon   

Part of Ryan's letter to Isaac:

Yes, I went to Bartlett and it was really fun.   I remember that I got 5 merit badges.  That a boy, you did the swim check. I also remember that I bought this really awesome giant pocket knife at the Trading Post. How is your Spanish? If you want we can write in Spanish to prepare you for your misión to Mexico in 5 years. How is your Reading the Book of Mormon going? It is really important to have a testimony of the Book of Mormon because when you are on a misión you are going to be inviting everyone to read and to pray to know that the Book of Mormon is the Word of God. Mexico is really awesome and I love everything about my misión. ¡Hasta Luego!

Elder Cannon

A Day in the Life of A missionary

I absolutely love the picture you sent of Dad and Brother Nilson.  It is so funny. 

 

 A typical day for me is we wake up at 6 a.m.  (in this mission we wake up a little bit earlier). I shower, eat cereal and an apple, read a chapter in the Book of Mormon in Spanish, and do push ups and situps. Then at 7:30 I start my Language Study. At 8:00 am I start my Personal Study. At 9:00 Elder Sumano and I have Companionship Study. Usually missionaries leave at 10:00 to work but because I am still in training we have an extra hour of study. We leave the apartment at 11:00 am. Then we work all day.  At  2:00 pm we eat at a members house. After lunch we continue working until 9:30. At 9:30 we return home and review what we did during the day and make plans for the next day. At 10:00 pm I eat and read the chapter in the Book of Mormon that I read earlier, except in English so that I fully understand what I read. Then I write in my journal and exercise and at 10:30 pm I go to bed. This is an average day for me and I love it.

 

We eat at members homes every day except for P Days. Usually they serve us frijoles(or bean), tortillas, and chicken. I love Mexican food!  It fills me up so much. I feel like I just ate Thanksgiving after lunch every single day. It took me a little while for my stomach to adjust not eating lunch until 2:00.

 

This week one of our best investigators named I______  said that he was thinking about moving to Guadalajara but he said that he probably was not going to move because of the way he has felt while talking with us. One day we went to visit him and he was not there, he moved. We had not heard from I_____ for five or so days. Then one day he called us and said that he cannot sleep and he feels that he needs to come back to Rosario. His wife has also been reading the Book of Mormon and she is starting to feel that it is true. What a miracle! Elder Sumano is a really awesome missionary and he has really awesome music. I am so much happier in the mornings because of music. He knows English pretty well and I have been training him for a test that he is going to take on Friday. We are going to go to Culiacan for the test and we are really excited to go to Culiacan. Thanks for the letter and the pictures.  They made me so happy.  Talk to you next week.

Love Elder Cannon

Happy 4th of July

Wow, it sounds like Isaacs Eagle project was a lot of work. My week was really good this week. For my 4th of July I sang a lot of patriotic songs like "I am proud to be an American" and we couldnt eat at a members house, so we bought a pizza for lunch. It was a really fun day. It sounds like your 4th of July was really fun and really busy. 

This morning when we went to wash our clothes it was raining really hard and there was a good 3 inches of water on the streets, my shoes got drenched. 

Elder Sumano is really awesome and he is a really good teacher. I also realized how important that my journal and the pictures that I take are going to be. I need to take more pictures.  I feel like I have not taken hardly any pictures. Everything is great in Rosario and there is no other place that I would rather be.  I cannot even think about someday that I will leave Rosario, that is going to be hard. If there is anything that you want to know, or if there is something I should be writing just ask. Thanks for the letters, I look forward to reading and responding to letters every week. Happy Holidays(4th of July weekend) 

Love, Elder Cannon

What A Miracle

(Note from Denise:  When Ryan left on his mission, we hoped he would always have a companion that is good with directions because that isn't Ryan's strong suit and he can get lost quite easily, but maybe in some cases it is a blessing.)

Letter from Ryan:

My companion is so hilarious and I feel like my Spanish is improving much faster because he is my companion. Elder Sumano actually knows quite a bit of English and it is hilarious whenever he sings in English. Wow, I cannot believe how hot that it is down in Utah. I really want to know what the temperature is down here.  I feel like I am starting to adapt to the heat. My week was really good and really hard. This week only five people came to church. I could not believe that no one came to church. It shows that we have a lot of work to do. We got a new Mission President.  His name is President Valez. We went to Mazatlan to see him and I think that he is really awesome. While we were in Mazatlan we ate at a Chinese All You Can Eat Buffet. I loved it.  It tasted so good. I had another really cool experience this week.  We were trying to find an investigator's house, but I could not remember where she lived. We ended up getting a little bit lost and we found someone named Alicia. We talked to her and I could tell that something was wrong with her. She started crying and told us that her husband died that day.   We gave her a blessing and my companion said some really comforting words to her. I felt so bad for her, I cannot describe how bad I felt for her. I think that if we would have found the investigator that we were looking for, then we would not have been able to help Alicia. What a miracle. I cannot describe all of the feelings that I have felt so far on my mission.   Thanks for everything that you have done for me. Love, Elder Cannon.

  Ryan's companion also sent us an email along with some pictures:

Hello Elder Cannon´s Parents, i´m the companion to your son, he´s very great!!! and very funny, we´re workin´ very hard every day!!! thanks for your son, he´s very good and i´m glad ´cause he teach me something new every day!!!!

Bye!!! we´ll see some day....Elder Sumano         

 

 

 

 

  We can't tell if they are comparing muscles or tan lines?

 

New Companion

A lot has happened lately.   I am getting a new companion today.  His name is Elder Sumano and he is Mexican. I heard that he can actually speak English pretty well, but I am  really excited to work with him.

I had a really awesome experience this week, when we went on Divisions with other companions, and I went with Elder Hon.  We had a really spiritual experience, this experience did not happen in Rosario it happened in Escuinapa. We went to go teach a man named Sergio.  He was very excited to see us and he told us how good he felt when he read the Book of Mormon. Sergio went inside his house to go get his Book of Mormon, and Elder Hon told me that he would nudge me when I should challenge him to be baptized. We started teaching him about the Book of Mormon.   I have never felt the Spirit so strongly when I bore my testimony about the Book of Mormon, and then Elder Hon nudged me and I challenged him to be baptized. He accepted very excitingly and I could tell that this was something that he really wanted to do. I have never felt the Spirit so strongly while I was speaking before. Elder Hon is leaving this Wednesday back to his home with quite a few missionaries. I am so scared that I am going to wake up one day and my mission is going to be finished. Time is going by way too fast.   What can I do to make time go by slower? I feel like I need an extension of at least a year to be able to learn and do everything that a missionary needs to do. I was able to get a picture with Elder Blood  yesterday before he left.  He is not a picture taking person.

Tell Zach that I am doing really great and that he is going to love France. It sounds like you have been really busy lately. The missionary work is good and hard.  Rosario is green and it has a lot of hills that kind of look like mini mountains. The homes in the city are small but they are decent homes, but once you leave the city there are a lot of shack looking houses. Send some good American food snacks in the package (I asked Ryan if he wanted me to send anything specific in a package I'm putting together for him this week).  Talk to you next week, I will probably have a lot to talk about next week.

Love, Elder Cannon.

Mangos

Hello!
  Everyone sounds like they are doing good back home. My week has been good and busy.  We are trying to find more people to teach.  Also a lot of members in our ward are really struggling to come to church. I cannot believe how strong that the wards are in Utah and I hope someday that our ward in Rosario will be more like the ward that we had back home. Spanish is still Spanish.  I am improving and growing a lot from having to learn Spanish. It seems like being a missionary in the United States speaking English would be too easy. I have really grown so much from all of the struggles that I have had with Spanish.

 I think that I have lost a decent amount of weight here, because my shorts are so loose on me. In the MTC my pants were tight on me and now they are a lot more loose.

I wish that I could see that  new video of Dad, I bet that it is hilarious. (Jacob recorded Steve in the car trying to make the sound that Chewy makes from Star Wars--quite entertaining).

 That raspberry pie sounds amazing and also the meal for Fathers Day sounds so good. I tried a mango for the first time and I absolutely loved it.  I am starting to get hungry from talking about food. I think that once I go to a different area with different computers that I might be able to send pictures to you. I am not sure when we get the new mission president, but I know that it is really soon. My companion is in the picture of Elder Holland.  He is the second person to the left of me and has glasses. Is Isaac getting his eagle before I got mine? I cannot believe that he is already doing his eagle project. That carnival sounds really fun.  I cannot believe how time is flying by. I am worried that once I can speak Spanish, time will go by even faster.  Maybe I just won't learn Spanish, just kidding.  Don't worry about me.  All is well in Mexico. Talk to you next week.   Love, Elder Cannon

Summer

Monday, June 10, 2013

 

My week has been really good and really hard. I have learned so much and my body is starting to adapt to all of the walking and the heat a little bit. Right now we do not have very many people to teach and we have been working really hard to find more people to teach.  Also our ward is really struggling and there are some members that are struggling with coming to church. We are also working a lot with the members in the ward and trying to get the members converted.

 

 I absolutely loved that quote you sent  by Bruce R. McConkie.  It is a really good quote. My shirts are starting to come out of the wash still looking like they need to be washed.   I think that means that I am working hard.  I realized that when times are hard, those are the times that you learn the most, so now I am going to try to look for hard things to do so that I can learn more.

 

We are also getting a new mission President.   President Cantu was so bold and strong with his words and I learned a lot from him. I hope that our new Mission President can speak English because I still email everything in English.  If I had to do Spanish it would take me a lot longer.

 

 How is good old Tremonton 9th ward doing and Elwood 1st ward? I knew that missions were hard, but I did not expect it to be anything like this. Elder Holland said that the reason missions are hard is because it was not easy for Christ.  If we call ourselves disciples of Christ, we need to experience a portion of what Christ went through. Thanks for all of the letters that you send me. They really help a lot. I cannot believe that it is already June.  That means everyone is out of school.  I cannot believe how fast time flies. Thanks for everything.   Love you, talk to you next week.

Tortillas and Frijoles

(We didn't get an email from Ryan last week but got both of them this week--I'll just combine them and  put them on the same post)

My companion is from West Virginia.  He is as thin as a twig and eats at least twice as much as I do.  Yes, I have been using sun screen.  I put on a lot and I have not been burned yet.  Yes, I am drinking a lot.   I chug water like there is no tomorrow every single night. I love the Apple juice in Mexico.  It is kind of like apple cider. I am probably going to drink some once I go back to our apartment.  It is so hot here in Mexico, I sweat quite a bit. I know that I will get used to all of the walking and the heat with time. I have started dreaming. I think that it is because of how tired that I am at the end of the day. (Before he left, Ryan claims he never remembers having a dream).   It feels like it is Summer here; the highs are in the 90s and it is really humid. I love the cold showers in the morning.  They wake me up so much.

I usually have little parts in the lesson or I get to bear my testimony. Spanish is really hard, and I am being stretched a lot. I gave a 10 minute talk on Sunday on Tithing and Fast Offerings in Spanish. It was the hardest thing that I have ever done in front of a lot of people and I struggled quite a bit because I tried not to read a lot of the talk. All of these hard times are really good for me and I am growing a lot from them. I love the people here.  In Rosario we are doing a lot of work with non-active members because the ward here is not very strong. I love how I can still feel the spirit even when I do not understand everything that is being said.

Dad, what was the first few weeks of your mission like? What words of wisdom do you have for me?

Mexico is awesome and I am starting to adapt to everything a little bit more. Mom, do you have a lot of experiences or stories of how this gospel has specifically blessed our family, things like tithing or just how this gospel has blessed our family?  I know that this gospel has blessed our family a lot.

 This is hard, but it is really good for me. I am being stretched quite a bit and I am learning so much. I have so much to learn still.  Spanish is still really hard, but I improve everyday. I really like the food down here.  We eat a lot of tortillas and frijoles. I heard that it takes awhile before my stomach is used to the food, but so far I really like the food in Mexico.  This last fast Sunday was the hardest fast Sunday of my life. Fasting for 24 hours in Mexico is not easy. How is everyone back home doing? I love the people down here.  They are so nice. There is a man named Felipe Reyes that reminds me so much of Grandpa Cannon.   Felipe is a really nice older man and he received the Aaronic Priesthood a week ago. I cannot wait until I can understand what everyone says and when I can say everything that I am trying to say in Spanish.   Talk to you next week.

This is the picture taken with Elder Holland at their mission conference the first week Ryan was in Culiacan.  Ryan is on the 2nd row down from the top--third over from the left.  You'll probably have to click on it to enlarge it and see him.

It's Hot!

My first week was so awesome and it was really hard.

 Elder Holland came to Culiacan and I got to shake his hand and hear him speak.  It was so amazing. I was smiling so much before I shook Elder Holland's hand and he said to me, "Your cheeks look a little pink, are you okay?"  I said to him that I was doing great.  He spoke with so much power and he was so bold when he spoke. I even took 6 pages of notes.  My hand was really tired of writing after that. I felt so lucky to get to hear from him.

Mexico is awesome, I love the people even though I can not understand hardly anything that anyone says.  When people speak Spanish to me and I have no idea what they just said,  I just smile really big at them.

It is really hot here.  I have never sweated this much in my life before.  Our apartment is good. The greatest thing in the world to me right now is a cup of cold water.

I am only reading the Book of Mormon in Spanish now.  It takes me quite a bit longer to read than in English. Spanish is a lot of fun.   I improve every day. Everyone says that the first three months of your mission are brutal, I can not wait until I am fluent in Spanish.

Talk to you next week.
For Dad--I did whip out my Merrell shoes.  In fact I am wearing them right now.  What was your first week of your mission like? Was it hard, because I am not going to lie this is hard. I have learned and grown so much from my first week, and I am loving Mexico.  Do you have any words of advice for me?

I'm here!

I am here!   I made it to Mexico.  It is really awesome.  It is just what I expected it to be like. The name of my companion is Elder Blood.  I know it is a cool name. He is really nice. Elder Holland is coming to Culiacan to speak to the missionaries.  I am so very excited!   I am serving in a town called Rosario.  I cannot talk very much now, but I am safe and happy and I will tell you all about my adventures on Monday.   Love,  Elder Cannon

Here is a little info on Ryan's first area:

El Rosario, a small town about 31 miles (50 km) south of Mazatlán, is famous for the altar in the town church. The altar alone makes a visit to El Rosario somewhat worth the drive. El Rosario was once the richest town in Southwest Mexico because of the local mining operations. This small town was the home of the famous Mexican singer, Lola Beltrán. They have built a small museum in her honor although the museum is open only sporadically. The local economy produces pottery, furniture, and leather goods.

Rosario Sinaloa is the town referred to as Tres Camarones in the writing of Luis Alberto Urrea. The area now is known for growing amapola (flower below)  and marijuana in the hillsides (joy) considered now the new gold mines for the area.

I'm heading to Mexico!

I got my Visa!  I am going to Mexico in five days!  It is so crazy. I can't wait to go to Mexico.   I am so excited.
 The MTC is awesome and I am kind of going to miss it and I am going to miss my district but I can't wait to leave. Being a host was so much fun.  The person that I hosted was from Middleton Idaho and knew two of my roomates at BYU Idaho so we got along really well.
 Spanish is still really hard, but I know once I get to Mexico I will learn a lot more and I can't wait to meet people and to talk to them in Spanish. It is 90 degrees in Culiacan Mexico right now. Everyone in my district are going to see the Consulate to get their Visas.
 Dad, I thought that it was kind of crazy when you said to that man if he would be baptized but that is not crazy at all.  We are supposed to invite people to baptism by the second lesson. My testimony has grown so much in the MTC and I can't wait to fly out. We had our first fast Sunday in the MTC.   I bore my testimony in Spanish for the first time at Sacrament meeting.  I said a lot more than I had planned that I was going to say.
 I think that I can call you guys at the airport.   I don't know how long that the phone calls are though. Thanks for all of the letters.  They help me a lot.  I really liked the quote you sent by George Q. Cannon.  Another quote that I heard in the MTC that helped me so much with Spanish was "God doesn't expect perfection, but he loves improvement." I improve everyday, but I still have so much work to do.
Isaac that is so awesome that you are starting a chart with the Book of Mormon. One of my favorite parts of the day is reading the Book of Mormon. My testimony has grown so much here and I can't wait to bring this happiness of the gospel to others.  I still can't believe that I leave in only five days, the MTC has gone by so fast!

MTC Daily Schedule

(We asked Ryan to tell us what a day in the MTC is like)

 

My schedule is a little bit different now, but here is an average day at the MTC for me. Wake up at 6:30 am shower and get ready for the day, eat breakfast at 7:10, then at 7:40 we would have class from 7:40 to 10:40, then personal study time at 10:45-11:45, then eat lunch at 11:45, at 12:30 we would do some online work that we needed to do at the MTC, then from 1:30-2:15 we would do this language learning software called TALL, I think that TALL is so awesome but a lot of the people in my district don't like it a whole lot.  Then Language Study in the classroom from 2:15-3:15, then from 3:25-4:15 we have gym time, then we would shower and get ready for dinner which is at 4:45, then we would have Class from 5:30-8:30, from 8:30-9:00 we would have additional study time, then me and my companion would have a daily planning session from 9:00-9:30 and then would go back to our Residence Halls at 9:30 and we would get ready for bed and study a little bit more, then at 10:15 it is quiet time and most people write in their journals and reflect on their day, and then it is lights out at 10:30.

Days would vary and we would do things in different order from this but this was what our Mondays were like. One of my favorite days of the week is definitely Sunday.  It is so awesome. We all have to write 3-5 minute talks in Spanish and then the person conducting randomly calls up two speakers to give their talk.   I haven't been chosen yet.

 

Loren is only right across the hall from where I am staying-- it is crazy.   During a devotional the speaker called up a row of people to tell what they had to give up in order to go on a mission. Whitney Nielson spoke in front of the entire MTC and said that she gave up her family. 

 

 My week has been really good.  Today I am also going to host which I am very excited to do.  My schedule has been changed and now my P-day is on Wednesday. I am going to try and send you some of the pictures that I have taken either this week or the week after. I really need a hair cut and I am about to get one in an hour.

 

 It feels like I have hardly any time. I can't believe that I only have two more weeks of the MTC. Spanish is hard and it is really hard to teach in Spanish, but I am definitely improving every single day. My testimony of the gospel has also grown a lot, and I definitely understand my purpose more fully as a missionary.  Thanks for the letters.  They make me really happy.