Tijuana Temple Dedication

Temple Dedication Cultural Celebration

Dear All,

If only there was a 13th month. Then there could be 13/14/15. That'd be cool.

Anyway this week was pretty dope, with the dedication and the cultural event and stuff. Solid. We didn't get to see any of the General Authorities from any closer than across the stadium, but it was still cool.

So yeah this week. Started normal, with a FHE with a recent convert family, which of course has to have an activity. We played a game called "Gallina ciega" (blind hen) which about killed me (from laughing so hard). My companion put a blindfold on, and then had to grab all of the little kids (approx. 11 plus me) HAHAHA I died. It was so funny. SO funny. I took a video but it won't fit in an email so I'll show you guys when I get home but dang. It's good.

Then the rest of the week was pretty normal, until Friday. We had our Mission Christmas Party. It was pretty chill. A brief training, and the we just watched slideshows about cool Mormon stuff like ruins here in Mexico and stuff like that. And then we played "Team Building Games" but it started to rain so that ended fast. Then we ate, and then we had a tie exchange.

So in tie exchanges, you are expected to bring a pretty decent tie, hoping that the others also bring nice ties and you leave with something better. That's how it should be. But I got to switch with the only Senior missionary here. And the tie he gave me was just awful. First off, it's ugly. Second, and worse, there was a mashed potato stain on it. And it was fresh, like right from the mashed potatoes we had just eaten. AND THEN, he takes a clothespin out of his pocket and pins it onto the tie, saying, :"Look I even got you a tie holder too!" So I faked a smile, said thanks, and sat down. My companion, along with everyone else, was on the edge of laughing so hard they fell over. It was pretty funny, but I gave away this beautiful silver tie and got that piece of junk in return. Oh well. I guess that's what charity is right?

Then Saturday was the cultural event. Honestly, leading up to it, we had seen a few of the practices, and it's not like we didn't have faith, but it kinda seemed like a hail mary from their own 1 yard line. It's gonna take Tanner Mangum and miracle to get something good. But we went anyway, adn when we got there, they offered all the missionaries the food that they bought for the youth that left over. I had some pretty tasty chicken and a roll and salad, but we'll talk about that later.

Then it started. First off, there were A TON of kids. More than I thought. It was pretty cool. And then they started dancing, and it turned out super dope. What they did was have each stake practice a little part of each dance, and then they each had their own little part of the field. So instead of there being like 10 different acts, one for each stake, there was like 4 or 5, and it looked pretty cool. The Russian dance stole the show; by far the best, but then at the end they used white sheets and some decorations to make a mini temple in the middle of the field, and then all the kids ran through it with their costumes. The coolest part was that while they were inside the temple, they all got these giant white T shirts and put them on so they ran in with their costume and came out dressed all in white. Way cool.

That night, I had my first real case of Montezuma's revenge. I pretty much slept in the bathroom. That chicken came back, and came back hard. And then on Sunday morning I found out that all of us that ate the chicken had the same thing. By the grace of Peptol Bismol was I able to sit through the dedication.

Speaking of the dedication, it was amazing. The talks were way cool. Elder Oaks talked about how one of the things we do in the temple is take upon us the name of Jesus Christ. Then he mentioned the part in Jesus the Christ where Talmage mentions that the names of the Gods represent their power. Therefore, as we take upon ourselves His name, we obtain the right to His power, which is pretty cool. In the dedicatory prayer, Elder Uchtdorf blessed this city so that the process of conversion would be hastened and that the message of the resoration could be preached with more power, which we as missionaries loved. It was just an amazing experience. This whole week. Awesome.

If you want to see the cultural event in its fulness, go to sud.org.mx and it's righ at the front. Click on "eventos de la dedicacion del templo de tijuana" and the first thing that comes up is the cultural event. 

Los quiero mucho!

Elder Rawlings