.....Tarde......pero seguro, (Late but sure)

Hey fam,

Sorry for not writin earlier.... We hiked a mountain today and we ended up gettin back late.  I got burnt, but its not my fault.  When we left in the morning it was really cloudy and when we got to the top all the clouds went away.  It was a fun trip.  It was a good hike and we even had to scale some cliffs.  I`ll send the pictures a.s.a.p.  We went with the same family that took us last week to the tour of the centro.  They are awesome.  It`s the family Zarate.  When we visit Queretaro (when you come down) we will have to go out to eat with them or somethin.  They take good care of me.

First off, !!!ITS A GIRL!!!!  I`m so pumped for Kurt and Carli.  That will be so much fun for them.  Just pray that she ends up being like the Carli now and not the Carli as a little girl...for future references, check family home videos from when Carli was 6 to age.....18...ish...  : )   Just Kiddin Carli, you know I love ya!

So it was a pretty good week.  REALLY busy as always, but fun.  A lot of things went on this week so instead of writing in my journal (since I`ve been a slacker lately)  we made a list of all the funny/important/spiritual things that happened.

First, for my birthday (even though I didnt get your package at the interviews with Pres. Nancollas)  I bought myself a pretty sweet Mexico jumpsuit.  It is the jumpsuit that the players of the Mexico soccer team will wear in the world cup.  That was a gift that I bought myself with the money that I had been savin up.
Leaving the mall there were some t.v`s on and I glanced up to see NFL network.  It just so happened to be the Ravens playing the Chargers when Todd made the winning touchdown.  I was tempted  to watch, but luckily it was already the last 4 minutes of the game and Elder Memmott and I got to watch it a little.  That was pretty sweet.  I figured it was my birthday so I didnt feel to horrible afterwards watchin t.v.

We had a pretty crazy experience on Thursday night.  We went to San Juan (which is 2 hours away) to do baptismal interviews.  We had the interviews at 8:30, but the bus driver was retarded and we ended up getting there at like 9:00.  The interview went extremely long because the lady talked a lot and then decided that she didnt want to get baptized and then she did and then she didnt and we talked about it for almost an hour.  It was probably the longest baptismal interview EVER.  Anyways, we got out of there at 10 and tried to find a taxi as fast as possible to get to the bus station to go back to the city.  You could imagine 2 white kids walking in the middle of the street at 10-10:30 at night yelling and laughing about random stuff to try to take away our bad moods of maybe not being able to make it on time to the bus station.  After walking for about 15 minutes we find a taxi and he took us to the bus station to find out that there were no more busses to go to Queretaro.
On top of that all the taxi drivers wanted to charge us a ridiculous amount of money to get to the house of the other Elderes.  We got pretty frustrated and instead of giving in to the lame taxi drivers we started walkin.  We were kind of in a funny mood and we just planned on walking an hour to the Elders house at like 11 at night.  Leaving the bus station we whistled down another taxi that was just pullin in and told him the price that we wanted.  He accepted and finally at about 12 at night we show up to their house.  They had 2 little mattresses and one extra blanket for each of us.  We had to sleep in our missionary clothes and it was not a fun night.  Especially since the next morning at `6:30 we left to go back to our area.  What a night....  It`ll be a good memory and I was glad that Elder Memmott and I were together to make it fun instead of being frustrated the whole night.  We made the best of the situation.

Also.... I made crepes.  Elder Memmott is a witness that I made them really good even though it was hard doin it on a normal pan.  It was sweet though.  I havent had crepes in almost 2 years.

Update on Javier and Laura`s family.....
Wednesday Laura`s grandma died so she went to the state of Mexico for the funeral.  She said that everything was good to come back before Sunday, but then she let us know on Friday that her uncle died 2 days later.  Sooooo.... the whole family left to Mexico.  It was frustrating, but there wasn´t much we could do.  We have been praying everyday and this week we fasted for them.  I hope everything works out so they come back this next week, but they arent sure.  I really hope so though, because it is pretty sure that I might have changes next week.  (this transfer has FLOWN by)  I only have 2 left....weird.  Anyways thats that about their family.  We saw a little progress with Xachitl before they left, but she still hasn`t accepted to get baptized.

President in my interview told me that it is possible that I might go back to Atotonilco.  It`s a zone that is doing just alright right now, but it would be cool to end where I started.  I would actually end exactly where I started.  My first 2 areas were Apaxco and Atotonilco.  Right now, the zone leaders in that zone have BOTH of those areas so that will be cool to go back and see my converts there and be able to go back and have more success then the first time (now that I have a little bit more experience)  I would go with Elder Foster.  (that would be 3 gringos in a row)  He is a stud though.  He works hard and is known to baptize so that`s good.

Anyways, this should be a good week next week.  We have a lot of things to do.  We should have at least 3 baptisms.  The baptisms of Fabian, Juana and Joselin and I really hope that Javiers` family gets baptized before I leave so that Elder Memmott and I can come back in a year to see them get sealed in the temple.  Keep praying for them please!  I am also really excited for general conference.  Maybe next general conference I`ll get to go.  That would be sweet.  It`s not the same listening in spanish then feeling their testimonies in English.

Well im going to send some pictures and run to the house.
Thanks for the love and the letters!

Con amor,
Elder Greg Heap

...21 yeeeeeears....and that's a lot!

Hey family,

First off thanks a lot for the birthday shouts.  I have the best family.  Im sure this week will be a good one.  Tomorrow we are going to take a tour in the centro of Queretaro and it should be a fun pre-birthday trip.  We asked President to switch our preperacion day so we are going to take it tomorrow.  We are just takin a quick few minutes out of our time today to write you all so you dont freak out.

This week went pretty well.  As a zone we are improving a lot and should have somewhere around 20 people that are going to get confirmed members of the church this next week.  In a zone of 22 Elders and 2 Sisters thats not too bad.  As for Elder Memmott and I in our area we had 8 people in church.  I´m pretty sure they will all get baptized in the next 2 weeks.  They are pretty good investigators.   We will see how it goes.

We continue with Javier and Laura and their family.  I especially ask for a lot of prayers from all of you on their behalf.  Javier Laura Tomas and Abraham all want to get baptized but they want to do it as a family so we are still working with Xochitl so that they do it.  Pray for them lots!  Javier (the dad) says that he has received an  answer and that he KNOWS the church is true.  Xochitl the only one that is kinda doubtin it.  I love this family and I really want them to be able to get baptized together. They are really close and there is nothing better in life to come together even more as a family than living the principles of the gospel.

A couple of experiences from the week:

Monday night after arriving in the offices of the mission I got a pretty bad fever.  I dont think it was anything I ate, but I was burnin up pretty bad.  Elder Memmott offered to give me a blessing and he and Elder Koons gave me one.  I was able to get to bed pretty easy and right before doing so I was sweating like crazy.  I think the blessing helped me out a lot.  In the morning it was a different story.  I woke up at like 5:20 in the morning and my stomach and my head were hurting pretty bad.  I was on the toilet with what a lot of Mexican Elders call ´´the doble dragon´´ (i wont get into details)  Anyways, I was suffering in the bathroom when I got a little light headed.  (thanks mom)  I ended up spending the next 2 hours on the tile with the shivvers and a headache.  I called to a couple of Elders and they ran and got Elder Memmott.  They got me a glass of water and threw 3 big blankets over me.  I took some advil and a few hours later I was ok.  It was just not a fun morning.  That day (Tuesday) was Elder Memmotts (and Todds´) birthday.  While Elder Memmott was sitting with me on the tile I sat up a little bit and wished him a happy birthday.  I felt bad that he had to wake up even earlier than normal on his birthday to help me out.  It´s nice to have Elder Memmott as a comp.
I was nervous tho because in the future leader training meeting I had to give a presentation and I was praying that I would be able to give it like I had prepared.  It all went smooth and some Elders went to the tienda to get me some Gatorade and stuff (gotta get those electrolytes going).  All in all I was good to go by Wednesday so dont worry mom.  Heavenly Father protects us missionaries.

In the week we were able to have somewhat of success.  We actually got to do a lot of work in our own area and we planted lots of seeds.  It was fun to contact and knock doors (really for the first time) with Elder Memmott.  It´s been so long since we have had a few solid days together to work in our area.  It went really well.

Another cool experience happened yesteray.  One of our district leaders had put a goal to baptize a couple this next week and when he reported he was pretty bummed out saying that they werent going to get baptized.  He felt bad because his district wasn´´t going to complete with their goal because of him and he said that they could get baptized, but not confirmed because they are going to leave this next weekend.  It is always frustrating when goals fall through.  Anyways, I talked to him about having faith and doing everything possible so that Heavenly Father would help him to complete with his goals.  I told him that if he really deep down had faith, he would go tell the couple that there isnt anything in the world that would be more important for them to do this next weekend than to get baptized and confirmed members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  He told me that they had an appointment with the couple later on (being last night) so he told me that he would call me afterwards to let me know how it went.
He called me last night at like 9 o´clock so pumped up and said that the couple realized that there isn´t anything more important and that they were going to put there other things that they had to do on hold to get baptized and confirmed.  He was so excited and said ´´When I was testifying to them of the importance of not waiting to repent and to follow Christ, I felt the Spirit testify to them that it was true, and they just knew it.´´
It was way awesome to see his testimony grow and I know that he has more confidence to be more direct with the people and not be shy when it comes to inviting the people to come unto Christ.

I know this is the work of God.  I know the church is true.  God lives and loves us.  I know that his plan for us is a plan of happiness and I know that it is the gospel of His Son Jesus Christ that brings that happiness.  I know that as we show our faith in Him, our problems receive solutions.  I know that all the sickness, pain, embarrasment, or any bad feeling that we have had or will ever have can be healed by trusting in the Lord.  I know that His church, the church of Christ has been restored again to the earth by the prophet Joseph Smith and that he was called and chosen of God.  He received revelation and guidance from above and shined light on the path that we must take to receive eternal joy.  I know that the book that he translated a little less than 200 years ago is true.  The Book of Mormon contains the gospel in its fullness.  As we read it we gain spiritual armor to fight against the sins and temptaions.  I have found many answers to prayers from reading the Book of Mormon.
I know that there is a living prophet today, Thomas S. Monson.  He is Heavenly Fathers chosen servant today to lead and guide us towards the glory of God.  I know that by following his counsel we can unite as families and love life.  I know that trials are for our own benefit and that there are many reasons for them.  The mission has givin me a completely different outlook in relation to trials.  Many times we need to learn patience.  Many times we need to come closer to the Savior.  Many times we have them because Heavenly Father knows that we can handle knew challenges and wants us to grow and progress.  Life sometimes is hard, but as we hold strong to the rod, continue in prayer and fasting and have faith in Jesus Christ, we wont ever stumble or fall.  Live the gospel, enjoy the blessings and be happy.

I love my Father in Heaven, I love the Savior, I love the Prophet, I love President Nancollas (and his wife)  I love my comp and I love ALL OF YOU!  Have a great week!

p.s. thanks for the crepes recipe.  Im definately going to use it!
I pray for each and every one of you!
Good luck on Wednesday Carli!
Dont get too huge Bead
Tell my nieces and nephews that i love them

.....21 yeeeeeeeears.....and thats a lot!

Hey family,

First off thanks a lot for the birthday shouts.  I have the best family.  Im sure this week will be a good one.  Tomorrow we are going to take a tour in the centro of Queretaro and it should be a fun pre-birthday trip.  We asked President to switch our preperacion day so we are going to take it tomorrow.  We are just takin a quick few minutes out of our time today to write you all so you dont freak out.

This week went pretty well.  As a zone we are improving a lot and should have somewhere around 20 people that are going to get confirmed members of the church this next week.  In a zone of 22 Elders and 2 Sisters thats not too bad.  As for Elder Memmott and I in our area we had 8 people in church.  I´m pretty sure they will all get baptized in the next 2 weeks.  They are pretty good investigators.   We will see how it goes.

We continue with Javier and Laura and their family.  I especially ask for a lot of prayers from all of you on their behalf.  Javier Laura Tomas and Abraham all want to get baptized but they want to do it as a family so we are still working with Xochitl so that they do it.  Pray for them lots!  Javier (the dad) says that he has received an  answer and that he KNOWS the church is true.  Xochitl the only one that is kinda doubtin it.  I love this family and I really want them to be able to get baptized together. They are really close and there is nothing better in life to come together even more as a family than living the principles of the gospel.

A couple of experiences from the week:

Monday night after arriving in the offices of the mission I got a pretty bad fever.  I dont think it was anything I ate, but I was burnin up pretty bad.  Elder Memmott offered to give me a blessing and he and Elder Koons gave me one.  I was able to get to bed pretty easy and right before doing so I was sweating like crazy.  I think the blessing helped me out a lot.  In the morning it was a different story.  I woke up at like 5:20 in the morning and my stomach and my head were hurting pretty bad.  I was on the toilet with what a lot of Mexican Elders call ´´the doble dragon´´ (i wont get into details)  Anyways, I was suffering in the bathroom when I got a little light headed.  (thanks mom)  I ended up spending the next 2 hours on the tile with the shivvers and a headache.  I called to a couple of Elders and they ran and got Elder Memmott.  They got me a glass of water and threw 3 big blankets over me.  I took some advil and a few hours later I was ok.  It was just not a fun morning.  That day (Tuesday) was Elder Memmotts (and Todds´) birthday.  While Elder Memmott was sitting with me on the tile I sat up a little bit and wished him a happy birthday.  I felt bad that he had to wake up even earlier than normal on his birthday to help me out.  It´s nice to have Elder Memmott as a comp.
I was nervous tho because in the future leader training meeting I had to give a presentation and I was praying that I would be able to give it like I had prepared.  It all went smooth and some Elders went to the tienda to get me some Gatorade and stuff (gotta get those electrolytes going).  All in all I was good to go by Wednesday so dont worry mom.  Heavenly Father protects us missionaries.

In the week we were able to have somewhat of success.  We actually got to do a lot of work in our own area and we planted lots of seeds.  It was fun to contact and knock doors (really for the first time) with Elder Memmott.  It´s been so long since we have had a few solid days together to work in our area.  It went really well.

Another cool experience happened yesteray.  One of our district leaders had put a goal to baptize a couple this next week and when he reported he was pretty bummed out saying that they werent going to get baptized.  He felt bad because his district wasn´´t going to complete with their goal because of him and he said that they could get baptized, but not confirmed because they are going to leave this next weekend.  It is always frustrating when goals fall through.  Anyways, I talked to him about having faith and doing everything possible so that Heavenly Father would help him to complete with his goals.  I told him that if he really deep down had faith, he would go tell the couple that there isnt anything in the world that would be more important for them to do this next weekend than to get baptized and confirmed members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  He told me that they had an appointment with the couple later on (being last night) so he told me that he would call me afterwards to let me know how it went.
He called me last night at like 9 o´clock so pumped up and said that the couple realized that there isn´t anything more important and that they were going to put there other things that they had to do on hold to get baptized and confirmed.  He was so excited and said ´´When I was testifying to them of the importance of not waiting to repent and to follow Christ, I felt the Spirit testify to them that it was true, and they just knew it.´´
It was way awesome to see his testimony grow and I know that he has more confidence to be more direct with the people and not be shy when it comes to inviting the people to come unto Christ.

I know this is the work of God.  I know the church is true.  God lives and loves us.  I know that his plan for us is a plan of happiness and I know that it is the gospel of His Son Jesus Christ that brings that happiness.  I know that as we show our faith in Him, our problems receive solutions.  I know that all the sickness, pain, embarrasment, or any bad feeling that we have had or will ever have can be healed by trusting in the Lord.  I know that His church, the church of Christ has been restored again to the earth by the prophet Joseph Smith and that he was called and chosen of God.  He received revelation and guidance from above and shined light on the path that we must take to receive eternal joy.  I know that the book that he translated a little less than 200 years ago is true.  The Book of Mormon contains the gospel in its fullness.  As we read it we gain spiritual armor to fight against the sins and temptaions.  I have found many answers to prayers from reading the Book of Mormon.
I know that there is a living prophet today, Thomas S. Monson.  He is Heavenly Fathers chosen servant today to lead and guide us towards the glory of God.  I know that by following his counsel we can unite as families and love life.  I know that trials are for our own benefit and that there are many reasons for them.  The mission has givin me a completely different outlook in relation to trials.  Many times we need to learn patience.  Many times we need to come closer to the Savior.  Many times we have them because Heavenly Father knows that we can handle knew challenges and wants us to grow and progress.  Life sometimes is hard, but as we hold strong to the rod, continue in prayer and fasting and have faith in Jesus Christ, we wont ever stumble or fall.  Live the gospel, enjoy the blessings and be happy.

I love my Father in Heaven, I love the Savior, I love the Prophet, I love President Nancollas (and his wife)  I love my comp and I love ALL OF YOU!  Have a great week!

p.s. thanks for the crepes recipe.  Im definately going to use it!
I pray for each and every one of you!
Good luck on Wednesday Carli!
Dont get too huge Bead
Tell my nieces and nephews that i love them


Con mucho amor,
Elder Greg Heap

..QereTaro Con Elder Memmott

Hey fam,

Well I`m writing a little bit early cause we gotta go to the state of Mexico in a little while.  Tomorrow we have a leadership training meeting.  Me and 2 other Elders are going to talk about inviting investigators to make commitments.  It should be pretty cool.  I`ll get to see pretty much all my buddies so that will be fun.

This week went alright.  Elder Memmott got really sick.  (By the way his birthday is March 16th, like Todd`s) He had a stomach infection.  I personally think that an animal crawled in his stomach and turned everything that he had in their into water.  As Memmotts mom would say ``He had the Rocky Mtn Squirts``  He`s better now, but this last week was pretty rough with the whole missionary work stuff.  Elder Memmott was in the bathroom the most part of the week and I got some good reading in.  I took good care of him though.  We are going to go crazy working this upcoming week to make up for the time we missed this last week.

We have also been visiting my recient converts lately and they are all doing great.  Yesterday in church ALL my converts were their.

Here`s a little update on how they are doing......

Hermana Paty is sharing the gospel with her family members (even though they dont live here in Queretaro).  On Sunday she bought a triple (Book of Mormon, D&C, Pearl of Great Price) a hymn book, and the Liahona for a year (its like the Ensign in Spanish)  We taught her about family history work and she got way into it.  She has an appointment with the sister in our ward in charge of that this week so she can start working on her genealogy work.  She is planning on going to the temple the 27th of March with the stake to see the visitors center and do baptisms for the dead.  She says that she has never been so happy in her life and she is really doing great.  She is reading in 2 Nephi, but she gets frustrated when she looks at the references at the bottom of the page and she sees D&C because she didnt have one.  Now she does so she is excited to keep reading.

Josefina and Karina went yesterday and gave us a reference.  They continue going every week even though they only stay for the first hour.  They said that their whole family misses us and asks for us (even though they arent members)  We didnt visit them all week and they are still reading the Book of Mormon.

Javier (who a month and a half ago was a drunk without a job and a broken up family)  found work.  He started off working as a welder, but the boss loved him so much that after 3 days of working he made him the boss of the floor team.  He is making more money than he ever has in his life and is paying off his debts.  Not only that, but Sunday in church he asked me how to fill out the tithing slip. I got to help him fill it out.  He payed his tithing for the first time.  He wore a white shirt to church for the first time and his wife Martha wore a skirt for the first time.  His son also is working with him and he cut his hair. (that in itself was a miracle).  They are doing great.  Javier is finishing up Alma.  He says that he doesnt understand a lot of what he reads, but he feels good reading the book of mormon and that it takes away his stress.  I also got to ordain him to a Priest on Sunday.  He`s a stud. They are going great.

Luis was ordained last Sunday to be a Priest.  One Sunday of the month he cant go because of his work, but they have the goal to get married in the temple within a year.  We gave them a picture of the Mexico City Temple and they have it hung up in their house already.

 The people that we are teaching are progressing and we hope to have the baptism of Javier and Laura and their family on Saturday.  Pray for them!  We taught them this week of the Plan of Salvation. They understood it really well.  We talked about having an eternal family and they joked about it saying that they cant even stand each other in this life, why would they want to live together eternally.  They are awesome. haha. Javier and Laura (the parents) said that they would like to get baptized, but that they want to do it as a family.  I think Xotchitl will be the only one that is going to resist a little, but if she says her prayers and reads the book of mormon, I have no doubt that she will get her answer from God.

The zone is doing a lot better.  After having 2 pretty bad weeks we are going to have 2 really good weeks to end the month and Elder Allen (the assistant) said that if we can pull off the goals that we have for this month that we will save the mission as far as this month is concerned.  We have a lot of work to do.  Elder Memmott and I are pretty ready for the challenge.

Im glad you enjoyed your trip to Maui.  I just barely got your email.  It sounds like it was a great weekend for everyone.  I have the best family and I love you all so much.  I want some updates on my nieces and nephews.  How are they all doin?  Have they said any funny things lately?

The work is going great.  I love the work of the Lord.  I love the mission.  I feel like I have learned so much and my testimony has been strengthened a ton.  God lives and loves us.  He wants us to be happy and the only way we can reach true happiness is by living the gospel.  My leaders used to tell me that going on a mission would change my life and I think thats not entirely true.  It`s not necessarily ``going on a mission``  More than anything it is ``living the gospel`` all day everyday.  Only like that we recieve real happiness.  I love the gospel.  I love the Savior.  I know that He lives.  I know that His teachings change people.  I know He loves us and wants us to be happy.  I know that only through Him we can reach the throne of our Eternal Father in Heaven and enjoy living as a family together forever.

Happy Birthday Todd and Johnny.....You guys are OLD.   Thanks for being such great examples to me.  I love you guys!

I love you all!
Con amor,
Elder Greg Heap

....QuerEtaro con MemmotT

Hey fam,

Well I`m writing a little bit early cause we gotta go to the state of Mexico in a little while.  Tomorrow we have a leadership training meeting.  Me and 2 other Elders are going to talk about inviting investigators to make commitments.  It should be pretty cool.  I`ll get to see pretty much all my buddies so that will be fun.

This week went alright.  Elder Memmott got really sick.  (By the way his birthday is March 16th, like Todd`s) He had a stomach infection.  I personally think that an animal crawled in his stomach and turned everything that he had in their into water.  As Memmotts mom would say ``He had the Rocky Mtn Squirts``  He`s better now, but this last week was pretty rough with the whole missionary work stuff.  Elder Memmott was in the bathroom the most part of the week and I got some good reading in.  I took good care of him though.  We are going to go crazy working this upcoming week to make up for the time we missed this last week.

We have also been visiting my recient converts lately and they are all doing great.  Yesterday in church ALL my converts were their.

Here`s a little update on how they are doing......

Hermana Paty is sharing the gospel with her family members (even though they dont live here in Queretaro).  On Sunday she bought a triple (Book of Mormon, D&C, Pearl of Great Price) a hymn book, and the Liahona for a year (its like the Ensign in Spanish)  We taught her about family history work and she got way into it.  She has an appointment with the sister in our ward in charge of that this week so she can start working on her genealogy work.  She is planning on going to the temple the 27th of March with the stake to see the visitors center and do baptisms for the dead.  She says that she has never been so happy in her life and she is really doing great.  She is reading in 2 Nephi, but she gets frustrated when she looks at the references at the bottom of the page and she sees D&C because she didnt have one.  Now she does so she is excited to keep reading.

Josefina and Karina went yesterday and gave us a reference.  They continue going every week even though they only stay for the first hour.  They said that their whole family misses us and asks for us (even though they arent members)  We didnt visit them all week and they are still reading the Book of Mormon.

Javier (who a month and a half ago was a drunk without a job and a broken up family)  found work.  He started off working as a welder, but the boss loved him so much that after 3 days of working he made him the boss of the floor team.  He is making more money than he ever has in his life and is paying off his debts.  Not only that, but Sunday in church he asked me how to fill out the tithing slip. I got to help him fill it out.  He payed his tithing for the first time.  He wore a white shirt to church for the first time and his wife Martha wore a skirt for the first time.  His son also is working with him and he cut his hair. (that in itself was a miracle).  They are doing great.  Javier is finishing up Alma.  He says that he doesnt understand a lot of what he reads, but he feels good reading the book of mormon and that it takes away his stress.  I also got to ordain him to a Priest on Sunday.  He`s a stud. They are going great.

Luis was ordained last Sunday to be a Priest.  One Sunday of the month he cant go because of his work, but they have the goal to get married in the temple within a year.  We gave them a picture of the Mexico City Temple and they have it hung up in their house already.

 The people that we are teaching are progressing and we hope to have the baptism of Javier and Laura and their family on Saturday.  Pray for them!  We taught them this week of the Plan of Salvation. They understood it really well.  We talked about having an eternal family and they joked about it saying that they cant even stand each other in this life, why would they want to live together eternally.  They are awesome. haha. Javier and Laura (the parents) said that they would like to get baptized, but that they want to do it as a family.  I think Xotchitl will be the only one that is going to resist a little, but if she says her prayers and reads the book of mormon, I have no doubt that she will get her answer from God.

The zone is doing a lot better.  After having 2 pretty bad weeks we are going to have 2 really good weeks to end the month and Elder Allen (the assistant) said that if we can pull off the goals that we have for this month that we will save the mission as far as this month is concerned.  We have a lot of work to do.  Elder Memmott and I are pretty ready for the challenge.

Im glad you enjoyed your trip to Maui.  I just barely got your email.  It sounds like it was a great weekend for everyone.  I have the best family and I love you all so much.  I want some updates on my nieces and nephews.  How are they all doin?  Have they said any funny things lately?

The work is going great.  I love the work of the Lord.  I love the mission.  I feel like I have learned so much and my testimony has been strengthened a ton.  God lives and loves us.  He wants us to be happy and the only way we can reach true happiness is by living the gospel.  My leaders used to tell me that going on a mission would change my life and I think thats not entirely true.  It`s not necessarily ``going on a mission``  More than anything it is ``living the gospel`` all day everyday.  Only like that we recieve real happiness.  I love the gospel.  I love the Savior.  I know that He lives.  I know that His teachings change people.  I know He loves us and wants us to be happy.  I know that only through Him we can reach the throne of our Eternal Father in Heaven and enjoy living as a family together forever.

Happy Birthday Todd and Johnny.....You guys are OLD.   Thanks for being such great examples to me.  I love you guys!

I love you all!
Con amor,
Elder Greg Heap

...Perdoname, (I think it means sorry, his email was so late)

Hey family,

Well a lot has been going on lately.  Elder Memmott and I are still loving life even though we feel like we spend 80% of our time together on buses.  Last week we had a good zone leader conference.  It is crazy looking around and seeing that there are only a few zone leaders that have more time than me in the mission.  (Elder Romney, Elder Arnett from Mesa, etc.)  It`s a weird feeling.  President Nancollas is the man.  I look up to him a lot.  Him and his wife love us as their kids.  They showed us pictures of Elder Francis of how he is doing a little bit better.  They say that he is out of the burn center already.  That`s tight.  I pray for him everyday.  We all got pretty teary eyed seeing his pictures and listening to President Nancollas and Sister Nancollas express their love for him and for each one of us.  I feel really blessed to be here in the Mexico North Mission.  President sends me Taylor`s (his son`s) letters every week.  He leaves the MTC in a week and a half. 
We talked about the importance of studying the scriptures in the meeting.  I can say that I love studying the scriptures.  Before the mission I didnt really understand them or take seriously the importance of studying, but after 20 1/2 months of studying every day I kinda got the hang of it.  I think studying the scriptures daily is so important to fight off the temptations.  It gives us a lot of spiritual strength and helps us not have desires to do stupid things. 

In the week we didnt have very many days to work in our area.  On Tuesday we spent all day in the state of MExico and on Friday we had to go do baptismal interviews like 4-5 hours round trip.  We have a lot of people that we are teaching too so that made it difficult to have time to find new investigators.  We spent most of our time with people that we are already teaching.

The best family that we are teaching is a family of 5.  I think I mentioned them last week.  They are progressing really well.  Javier and Laura (the parents) have loved going to church and we are planning the baptism for the 20th of March.  Their kids Tomas and Xochitl (so-chill) and Abraham also have enjoyed it a lot.  We are planning some family nights with them so that they get to know some of the members.

The members are seeing lots of investigators in church and that gets them excited to give us references.  The best way to gain confidence of the members is to show them that you are working extremely hard and you`re not their to mess around.
Because of that we have received a few more references to check for this week.  It`s WAY better to work with references.

On Monday we woke up and cleaned the house and then went to wash clothes but the hermanas` washer was broken.  We tried to help her fix it, but we didnt know what we were doing.  She said that she was going to wash our clothes by hand, but that would`ve been just ridiculous.  She is so awesome.  Her name is Carmelita.  She takes care of us when we need help.

Yesterday we had our multizone meeting.  I got to see Elder Golledge and Elder Farmer and Elder Ryan and some other Elders that I hadn`t seen for a while so that was cool.  It went well.  PResident shared some personal stories of the importance to be prepared to use the priesthood at all times.  To always have consecrated oil on hand.  That too is way important.  It was nice because I didnt have to present anything.  I just chilled in the front row and got to enjoy it.  I took lots of notes.  Sister Nancollas gave a good talk on overcoming trials.  It was a great talk and it was based on a book by Elder Scott.  Translating to english its` called Finding Peace Joy and Happiness.  It sounds like a great book.

Weeeeelllll, After this change I will be in my last area in my last 3 months of my mission.  It`s crazy.  Time is flying by way too quick.  I dont like thinkin about it.  Every once in a while I turn to Elder Memmott and tell him that it feels like just a few weeks ago that we showed up there at the MTC.  

Well I just wanted to write quick so you dont worry, but I will write next week.  Love you all!  The gospel is true!

Oh a kid in my ward wants you to send a few boxes of Hot Tamales because I shared with him a few weeks ago.  He loved èm.  They dont have those here.
 To answer some of your questions........

About the housing situation, it doesnt really matter to me.  It would be nice to be close to campus, but make sure they are niceish apartments.  I guess any apartment would be better than the ones I`ve been in for the past 2 years, but you be the judge.  It would be nice to have washer and dryer too.  I`ll let you and Elder Christensens`mom figure that out.  Belmont isnt too far from campus is it? 

Oh, when you come down I still wont be released as a missionary.  I dont think I`m released until I get home with the Stake President.  That Sunday I`ll have my last interview with President and eat at his house with the other Elders that are leaving.  I`ll probably be able to see you that night though.  If you come Monday morning I can pick you up at the airport, but I`ll let you figure out all those details!

Thats all!  I love you! 

Con amor,
Elder Heap

...Time is Flying by

Hey family,

Well a lot has been going on lately.  Elder Memmott and I are still loving life even though we feel like we spend 80% of our time together on buses.  Last week we had a good zone leader conference.  It is crazy looking around and seeing that there are only a few zone leaders that have more time than me in the mission.  (Elder Romney, Elder Arnett from Mesa, etc.)  It`s a weird feeling.  President Nancollas is the man.  I look up to him a lot.  Him and his wife love us as their kids.  They showed us pictures of Elder Francis of how he is doing a little bit better.  They say that he is out of the burn center already.  That`s tight.  I pray for him everyday.  We all got pretty teary eyed seeing his pictures and listening to President Nancollas and Sister Nancollas express their love for him and for each one of us.  I feel really blessed to be here in the Mexico North Mission.  President sends me Taylor`s (his son`s) letters every week.  He leaves the MTC in a week and a half. 
We talked about the importance of studying the scriptures in the meeting.  I can say that I love studying the scriptures.  Before the mission I didnt really understand them or take seriously the importance of studying, but after 20 1/2 months of studying every day I kinda got the hang of it.  I think studying the scriptures daily is so important to fight off the temptations.  It gives us a lot of spiritual strength and helps us not have desires to do stupid things. 

In the week we didnt have very many days to work in our area.  On Tuesday we spent all day in the state of MExico and on Friday we had to go do baptismal interviews like 4-5 hours round trip.  We have a lot of people that we are teaching too so that made it difficult to have time to find new investigators.  We spent most of our time with people that we are already teaching.

The best family that we are teaching is a family of 5.  I think I mentioned them last week.  They are progressing really well.  Javier and Laura (the parents) have loved going to church and we are planning the baptism for the 20th of March.  Their kids Tomas and Xochitl (so-chill) and Abraham also have enjoyed it a lot.  We are planning some family nights with them so that they get to know some of the members.

The members are seeing lots of investigators in church and that gets them excited to give us references.  The best way to gain confidence of the members is to show them that you are working extremely hard and you`re not their to mess around.
Because of that we have received a few more references to check for this week.  It`s WAY better to work with references.

On Monday we woke up and cleaned the house and then went to wash clothes but the hermanas` washer was broken.  We tried to help her fix it, but we didnt know what we were doing.  She said that she was going to wash our clothes by hand, but that would`ve been just ridiculous.  She is so awesome.  Her name is Carmelita.  She takes care of us when we need help.

Yesterday we had our multizone meeting.  I got to see Elder Golledge and Elder Farmer and Elder Ryan and some other Elders that I hadn`t seen for a while so that was cool.  It went well.  PResident shared some personal stories of the importance to be prepared to use the priesthood at all times.  To always have consecrated oil on hand.  That too is way important.  It was nice because I didnt have to present anything.  I just chilled in the front row and got to enjoy it.  I took lots of notes.  Sister Nancollas gave a good talk on overcoming trials.  It was a great talk and it was based on a book by Elder Scott.  Translating to english its` called Finding Peace Joy and Happiness.  It sounds like a great book.

Weeeeelllll, After this change I will be in my last area in my last 3 months of my mission.  It`s crazy.  Time is flying by way too quick.  I dont like thinkin about it.  Every once in a while I turn to Elder Memmott and tell him that it feels like just a few weeks ago that we showed up there at the MTC.  

Well I just wanted to write quick so you dont worry, but I will write next week.  Love you all!  The gospel is true!

Oh a kid in my ward wants you to send a few boxes of Hot Tamales because I shared with him a few weeks ago.  He loved èm.  They dont have those here.
 To answer some of your questions........

Elder Gelegonya is hilarious.  He is in my zone and he can sure bright up your day in a second.  He is really special if you know what I mean, but he tries hard and surprisingly talks spanish pretty well.  I dont know if you remember Spencer that was in our stake.  I forgot his last name, but he was good buddies with Micah Yetter and Grant Scurr.  Elder Gelegonya reminds me a lot of him.  How he got here to Mexico is a mystery, but I love the kid.

About the housing situation, it doesnt really matter to me.  It would be nice to be close to campus, but make sure they are niceish apartments.  I guess any apartment would be better than the ones I`ve been in for the past 2 years, but you be the judge.  It would be nice to have washer and dryer too.  I`ll let you and Elder Christensens`mom figure that out.  Belmont isnt too far from campus is it? 

Oh, when you come down I still wont be released as a missionary.  I dont think I`m released until I get home with the Stake President.  That Sunday I`ll have my last interview with President and eat at his house with the other Elders that are leaving.  I`ll probably be able to see you that night though.  If you come Monday morning I can pick you up at the airport, but I`ll let you figure out all those details!

Thats all!  I love you! 

Con amor,
Elder Heap

..Shoot for the Stars

It was probably one of the FASTEST and most fun weeks I have had in the mission in a long time.  Elder Memmott and I are having a blast.  We decided that we have to baptize some eternal families together so that in a year we can come back and be able to watch them get sealed in the temple.  We already have some prospects.

So lets get things started.....
So Elder Memmott and I have been knocking every door and talking to everything that moves about the gospel.  It has been fun and we have seen lots of blessings.  I think we both recognize that this is the Lords work and I`m pretty sure the Lord is just pumped to see two little white kids running around the streets of Mexico crying repentance.  (We literally yell it in the streets sometimes just to be nerds)  We found some gnarly peeps this week.  A lot of potential.  We had 9 people go to church.  7 of them Elder Memmott and I found this week.

I dont remember which day is which cause it went by so fast, but I`ll just give you some highlights.  Order doesnt really matter.

We found a sweeeeet family.  We were knocking doors and I guy opens the door (his name is Javier...a different Javier)  He opens up and we talk about the family and the importance of having a family that lives the teachings of Christ.  The guy says ``I already know you and I have one of your books``  We showed him the Book of Mormon and asked if that was it.  He said ``No, its about Jesus`` and he enters in his house and brings back JESUS THE CHRIST by James E. Talmage.  Both of our jaws dropped to the cement.  He told us that his brother and his mom are members.  His brother lives in Canada and his mom in San Cristobal Ecatepec (That was my last area)  It was crazy.  So we taught a little bit and set a return appointment.  The next day we taught about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon.  We taught Javier, his wife Laura and his son TomAs who is 17.  Tomas was especially interested about learning of the Book of Mormon.  He was like `` I Neeeever knew that Jesus came to the Americas, that is awesome``  I was way focused and clinged on every word we said.  Javier, the dad, is playin it like he is just goin to investigate the church, but deep down we know he feels somethin.  They also have another daughter Xochitl who is 19 and we never taught her in the week, but went to church on Sunday with the whole fam.  They also have another nephew living there who is 20 named Abraham.  They all went to church and I`m pretty sure they loved it.  It was an extra special sacrament meeting because it was ward conference and the Stake President (who is a stud) and his counselor (who is also a stud) gave amazing talks.  There was a choir (which doesnt exacly bring the spirit, but is was ok)  They loved their classes and when we said goodbye to them they all had really big smiles on their faces.  We pray for them in every prayer.  They would be the coolest eternal family!

We also had Chaquer and Jose Miguel go to church.  They are progressing, but a little slower than we would like.

We also had Maria Concepcion go to church.  She is Martha`s sister.  You remember Martha right?  Ma Concepcion is way tight.  She already said.  ``Im going to change religions``  She liked church.  We are teaching another sister of Martha and her family too.  They are awesome too, but they didnt go to church.  We have a ton of families in teaching.

We are also teaching a couple named Alfredo and Purificacion.  Their daughter is a member in a different ward and she gave us the reference.  They also didnt go to church, but have shown a lot of interest.  We are going to follow up with them a little more to see if they progress.

We are determined to find more eternal families so whenever we get tired and one of us says ``lets go to lunch a little bit early`` or ``im tired``  or  `` lets go to the house to go to the bathroom`` or `` lets go visit a member family`` we quickly reply to each other................ NO SEAS NIÑA..... In english that means ``Dont be a girl``  It motivates us to work really hard and we dont waste any time.  Sometimes if we have a long walk to get to an appointment we race to the corner or to another part a long the way.


Other highlights.  Elder Memmott and I are turning 21.  That means (like you said mom) we are legal ``whatever that means``  It doesnt mean anything in Mexico really because I have seen 6 year olds go to the tiendas to by 2 huge bottles of alcohol.  I guess the legal age in Mexico is 6.  But hey, thats why we gotta keep preachin.....

Elder Memmott and I also have a gang.  Its a group of 4 little kids on our street from ages 6 to 10...and us.  We have been playing soccer with them for a few minutes and one night this week we had a little magic show.  It was tight.  I`ll send a picture.  They call me ``Heap`` and Elder Memmott ``Memo``  They are funny.  If their parents see them playin with us then they let them stay out longer to play so they LOVE us.  I gave them all a quarter in American money.  The Sol gang begins.....

Other comments.....

Elder Memmott broke the toilet seat with his bony buttocks.  We also broke the bathroom door and now it doesnt close completely.  It`s just cause we played soccer in the house.  After it happened I thought ``My mom always told me not to play football or basketball (in this case soccer) in the house``

A large amount of members have gotten upset with us during the lunch appointments because we speak spanglish and they dont understand us.

Elder Memmott taught me how to talk like a hick.  We discovered that a speaking spanish with a hick voice is a funny combination.

We have 2 zone themes for the month of March...... First  Faith is to achieve what the Lord wants us to achieve.  Second, I`d rather shoot for the stars and miss than shoot for a cowpie and nail it!    I think those phrases will motivate the zone to give it all they got.

In the month of February we reached our goals of baptisms and confirmations.  I was so pumped about it cause a week ago it didnt look like we were going to reach it.  Our zone had 30 confirmations.  In our area we had 6.  It was a pretty alright month for Queretaro compared to past months anyway!

Well I love you all.  I dont know about the housing situation, but I want to room with Elder Christensen.  Thats the plan so far anyways.  Talk to his mom and figure out something.  Let me know how it goes.  That would be tight with Grant Scurr too.  Let me know.  Maybe we can all be roomies.

Thats awesome about the Basketball finals... Is Mesa High still in it?  So I can make fun of Romney?  He called me in the week tellin me that Mtn View was ·ranked numba 2 behind Mesa High.  Lame....I told him i would pùnch him in the face with the 3 state rings that Mtn View won in a row while I was there.  My pride still gets to me a little haha.

I was also pumped to hear about Dallin H. Oaks and the new Stake President!  LEt me know who is going to release me when you know.  Also....do you know where the Gulbrandsens are goin to be Mission President yet?

Thats all!  I thought I already thanked you for the Valentine package, but if I didnt than THAAAANK YOU!!!  It was great and I still have some stuff to share with Elder Memmott.

I love you all!  I miss you.  Elder Memmott just informed me that we have 115 more days.  Weird.  I dont want to think about it.  The mission is the best.  Tomorrow we have zone leader conference that should be great!

Have a great week!  Keep strong in the faith and trust in the Lord!

Con amor,
Elder Greg Heap