Pictures (19 November 2014)

My first zone in Yonkers!

We found turkeys running across the street too!

Be Happy (November 12, 2014)

It's been a great week here in the New York New York North mission. 

This week we had stake conference in Kingsbridge in the Bronx. It was difficult getting there because it is out of our area so we either had to take the subway, the train, the bus, or catch a ride with one of the members. We were able to catch a ride with one of the members in our Ward (the area of our church) and he happened to be the best English speaker in the entire ward! All the leadership positions had to go early on Saturday for the adult session, so we got there at 3, when the actual meeting actually started at 7. It was awesome because this was my first time that I actually got to go walking through the Bronx. I have been through it before just on the subways, but I have never actually got to walk through and experience it yet. The place called Kings Bridge in the Bronx is so awesome compared to Yonkers. It seems so much more live. There is much more going on, and I actually saw a white person there! Haha. There are some bad places in the Bronx, but it seems way more like a city than a third world country like it does here in the part of Yonkers that we do most of our work. It was awesome. I most likely will get a chance to serve there because I am Spanish speaking.  As we were walking, Elder Nelson (the companion in my apartment) and I were talking about how most of these people didn't finish high school, and how they are stuck here mentally, and they really don't know that there is much more out there. That makes it hard knowing that, going to a place that feels like a compound, living here and now being apart of this life, when I know there is so much more out there. In that sense, I really can't wait to leave New York, but I need to learn to like it while I am here. There are projects everywhere here, and it's crazy how all these people live in these massive buildings, and they pack them full of people in these tiny little spaces. It's like they are storing them away so they don't escape. It literally feels like the Bronx and these cities around downtown NY were meant to be a place to keep all the crazy people out. I don't think I have seen a building that has been built here within the last 50-100 years. Everything is super old here and looks run down & ghetto. I learned this week that Yonkers was founded in the 1600's so it is EXTREMELY old! I am still waiting to get to the point where I feel like there is nothing I’d rather be doing in the world than be here on this mission. I am not there yet, and my companion tells me just to wait until I get out of my first area and then I will begin to love it. We have transfers coming up here in a couple weeks, and Elder Paiz will probably be leaving here because he has been here for 5 cycles (1 cycle is 6 weeks), and I will probably be staying here in Yonkers, so I most likely will be getting a new companion. He has some big shoes to fill. Elder Paiz is awesome. He is my brother. No one will understand the things we have gone through together here in Yonkers, but only him. 

Ruiz (Roy) - First off, we have been teaching Ruiz, and he randomly told us that his name was actually Roy. Haha. So we have taught Roy twice since we last talked. On Friday, we were able to show him The Restoration Movie. It was amazing.  Elder Paiz and I were both able to testify of the truthfulness of The Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ restored back on the earth again by His prophet Joseph Smith. We then invited him to pray about the things we were teaching him. We taught him how to pray, and he gave the closing prayer. In the prayer, he asked God if the things were true that we were teaching him, and if they were, to open his mind and his heart to learn and except more, enough to completely change his life. As he did this, I felt the spirit so strong, and after the prayer, he said he did as well. It was such a great lesson. He truly dropped from heaven into our hands, just randomly walking into church one day asking if we could help change his life. He is so ready for the Gospel of Jesus Christ in his life. That's one thing I have learned here on my mission. The people who are truly ready to receive the Gospel are the ones who are truly humbled - who have intensely gone through life without God, to where the things in life bring them so far down that they have nowhere else to go but to God. But one day isn’t that all we will have? All of us? Like I said last week in my email, we are all alone with God, and one day He will be all we have. Why prolong the hope and joy the Gospel brings because one is comfortable, or doesn't want to believe in something. Roy is ready and it is such a blessing we have been able to get to know him.

Last night, we were able to teach him about the plan of salvation. He was very receptive to it, and again we told him to pray about the things we were teaching him, and we also taught him how the Holy Spirit guides us in our life, but how it's through gentle thoughts, feelings and impressions (because God can't force us, he still has to give us our free will). He shared an experience about when his ex-wife was pregnant, that his son was supposed to pass away. He shared how for two weeks his ex-wife would go to church and pray all day long for God to spare his son, and so did he. She began to be depressed and stopped eating, which was a problem because the baby needed all the nutrients to survive. They could not afford a C section so the doctor said to wait it out. (They actually have hospitals for homeless people here -- that should explain the kind of place this is). Turns out, the security guard who talked to them while they were walking out of the hospital talked to the doctor, and got them in, and she had a C section which saved his son’s life. He testified to us of the power of prayer, and how God is really there, listening to us at this very moment, more than anyone else or anything and how he knows that God will give him an answer about the things we are teaching him. He said that God is there literally waiting to help us, but we must first reach out to him. Roy really gets it and it excites me every time we teach him. We will be teaching him on Friday.

Brandon - You just can't get ANY better than Brandon. Even my companion who has been out for over a year says he has never met someone so ready for the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and someone who truly gets it. We taught him the Restoration also and he was extremely receptive to it. The Spirit felt during the lesson was stronger than I have ever felt it in any lesson. He had great questions. He thought it was truly amazing that Joseph Smith without any schooling was able to translate The Book of Mormon (Another Testament of Jesus Christ) from a language that no longer was in existence on the earth. He truly saw that the only way he could have was with the power and help from God. We asked him to give the closing prayer, but he did not want to. So I asked him if it would be ok if we taught him how to pray, and then if we could pray to kind of show him how to do it. We did that and then he agreed to give the closing prayer. As he did this, he asked if the things we were teaching him were true, and as he did this, he paused in the prayer, and there was a silence for a while, and then when he resumed in the prayer he was crying and tearing up in the prayer. The Spirit was extremely strong. After the prayer, he apologized for tearing up and I then asked him what it was he was feeling. He said he felt light. He felt like all the troubles that have ever weighed on his soul were leaving, and that he was becoming lighter. We testified to him that that was the Holy Ghost confirming to him that the things we were teaching him are true. He also told us that He has to figure it out for himself if these things are true. He said that he has to go in prayer and pray to God and wait for the conformation in his heart to know if these things are true. HE GOT IT! He completely understands. He understands that he has to go to God and work for his answer. He is Golden. He wants nothing more than to go to the temple and be married and sealed to his future family for all time and eternity. It's truly amazing to see someone's life change. When he walked into our lesson, he was super down about some things that had been happening in his life, and as time moved on within the lesson, you could literally see his countenance change as the Spirit filled the room. He became happier, more thoughtful and brighter. He walked out of the lesson like he had been completely rejuvenated. That got me thinking. God wants all his children on the earth to have the chance to accept or reject the gospel. As I was sitting there, I was thinking about my responsibility. I have the responsibility to present that choice to them, and God has trusted me to give that chance to his children. It really makes me want to give it all I have to be able to have the Spirit with me, and really become as close to God as possible so that I can really give them a sound opportunity. We teach Brandon next on Monday. I can't wait!

There is so much I could go on and talk about. Sometimes I wish I could just film my day....as a matter of fact, I think I will film a time laps so you can see what it kind of looks like here in the nicer parts as we drive. I want to leave you with a thought and a scripture that I have been pondering on that I heard in a song this week:

2 Nephi 2:22 - "And Adam and Eve would have no children; wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin.”

The song said, " You know how far North is from the South when God hands you the other." I won't say anything about this simply because I want you to apply it and ponder it in your life in the most organic way according to your circumstances. 

I love you all and have a GREAT week. Have fun and do what is right. You will feel it in your heart. That feeling comes from God.

Love,

Elder Celaya

P.S. The subject of this message has nothing to do with anything I talked about but I thought it was amigos message.

Pics (November 12, 2014)

I thought this was hilarious.

Me waking up in the morning! Lol

Gaga Boy!!! (November 5, 2014)

Don't worry.  He's got me!

Greetings from New York. Haha, I laugh at this because I have realized New York is nothing like "what it seems." When people think of New York, they think of Downtown New York South Manhattan, and they think it is the dream land. Almost none of this state actually looks like down town Manhattan and it is completely different living here than it is to visit here. I would never live here in the future. Ironically, I say this as I am living here. -__- 

Anyways, first of all I want to start with thanking all of you for the amazing birthday notes! Thank you mom for putting them all together! It was such a surprise! I got my package a day before, and then on my birthday I opened it up, and then there were cards and notes from all the people I love, so thank you so much! I wish I had time to individually write you all back, but just know that I truly appreciate it and you all are awesome! Thank you for all of those who wrote me cards and sent me packages! I will be writing you all back soon. :)

Gaga Boy: So, I am not really sure where to start with this topic, but I guess I will start with explaining who exactly "Gaga Boy" is...aahhhh haha. Well there is this 19-year-old "young man" (lol) in our church here who loves to sing, dance, dress up, and who is obsessed with Lady Gaga. He's not exactly typical, meaning he flirts with me at church, which is very uncomfortable for me, but I find it funny. Haha. So the first time I met him he told me that in the day he is "a good Mormon boy who follows the commandments," but then at night he "comes alive" and is heavily influenced by "drugs and alcohol and he becomes an ‘art monster.’" We had a talent show here in our church, and he told me a few weeks before that he was planning on singing, dancing, and dressing up in a dragon costume and that he wanted to be put at the end of the program because he wanted to bring the "wow factor" to the show. BOY did he bring the wow factor but in a totally horrific way. Gaga boy is kind of a legend in our apartment and in our zone (the 30 plus missionaries in our area) so some of the missionaries came to the show. I will attach a picture of all of us at the talent show. 

All us elders at the talent show.

(The two elders next to my companion are my roommates.  Elder Palmer is on the far left.)

- Our Church in Yonkers/Noche De Talentos – 

We had our "Noche De Talentos" here in our church (funny fact about that is us missionaries had to help set up, and because people don't know correct Spanish here, the man who picked up the letters to hang up on the wall thought Noche De Talentos was spelled like this "Noche De Talento"...with no S...completely Dominican style...and he's not even Dominican. Right when I saw that, I just looked at my companion and slapped my forehead in frustration. Haha). And it was far from anything I hoped it to be. It was scary in every way. haha. So first of all, something to know is that the Spanish program NEVER starts on time for anything. So the show started an hour and a half late. When the talent show actually started, nobody was actually listening to those who were performing. They were too busy talking to everyone and being loud. The acts were completely horrible. Gaga Boy was completely scary. He performed a super hard screemo song that talked about condemning people to the grave, and he sung this in the chapel of the church - something that should never be allowed to be performed anywhere on the earth, especially not in the chapel. I felt violated, it was so scary. Haha. I will send a picture of his performance. Seriously the worst "performance" and the most scary thing I have ever seen. Haha. Then, there was this act, where this girl came out and started dancing with very little clothing on, and in a not-the-most-appropriate way. It was so awkward because all the men in the ward were perked up in their chairs videoing her performance, and all the wives and ladies were super angry and then everyone else was looking at us. It was so extremely awkward and both things should have never been going on in the church.

Gaga Boy!!!

On Sundays in church all they do is argue. For example, a couple of Sundays ago, a couple of new people came to church, but complained to the bishop because the church wasn't reverent enough and the Spirit of the Lord could not be felt there. Well, the next week, everyone gave lessons on being reverent and respectful in the church. Turns out everyone started blaming everyone for being noisy and everyone got in big arguments, and then last week, one of the ladies said those new people were of the devil because they said our church was not reverent enough. I guess the whole point is we have tons of work to do in the ward here. The only problem is, when we try to help, they are extremely prideful and think they know everything (reading this, I'm sure my parents are thinking "now you know exactly how we felt about you growing up!" haha) so they won't listen to us or anyone for that matter. Our church is going apostate haha. Our problem is, why would we help bring people into the church if they are just going to be gobbled up by everyone in the ward? The church is crazy here. It doesn't feel like it's right....simply because it's not. The Spirit isn't there. We need to figure out how to show them how Jesus actually set up his church. ahhhh.

Manhattan Experience - Two weeks ago, we all took the subway down to South Manhattan. It was perfect because Elder Nelson (the newer missionary we live with) last served in Downtown Manhattan, so he knew the city like the back of his hand. He knew every street, shop, etc...and he also knew better than anyone I saw how to walk in the city. Walking and crossing streets in the city is insane, but he does it so well. Basically, you have to time when to cross the street so you don't get hit, but there are tons of cars, so you have to really think fast and then go. It felt like Mario cart. haha. He would dart out into the street and barely miss a car going 40 miles per hour. In fact, he would skim his fingers across the cars going that fast as he walked behind them as they passed by. So he taught us how to walk in the city. I feel like now I can cross any street with traffic. It took a lot of practice until I could do it safely but now it's awesome. Anyway, we took the subway down to Wall Street. We got to see the NY stock exchange building, and it was amazing because everyone in the city is dressed so nice, and high street fashion is huge there so I was loving it! We then went and saw ground zero (where the trade centers were). They are building some big architectural thing in its place, but it was just cool going there remembering all that has happened there. It's crazy to think that the entire world has changed because of that experience. We then went to China Town. That was very interesting. I learned something quite interesting too about China Town in NYC. Gangs run china town. They tell the people who work for them in the shops or restaurants there that they have to work for dirt cheap, and if they leave, they will murder their families and also them. So in a sense, they are completely being forced to work for nothing and can't leave or do anything about it, or they and their entire family will die. It's a very interesting place because it's basically a black market in hiding. It's sad for those people, but it was cool visiting there. I still like the China Town better in LA. We then went to Times Square (which is crazy). They have nude people "painted" (that's what makes it legal) and then we saw a naked cowboy in the streets singing with his guitar (something I wish I didn't see) haha. But Time Square was amazing because someone stopped us in the middle of Time Square. It was a man and his wife, and turns out they were both from the church and they live in Las Vegas.  They flew in that night and were checking out the city before they were going to go on a cruise for a week. We talked to them for a while, and they had two sons that had served missions. They were awesome and so loving. They asked us if we ate already, and he pulled out his wallet and pulled out a hundred and gave it to us and told us to go feed ourselves. We tried to not accept it, but he insisted and then we said goodbye and that was it. What a great example he was. It's times like these that I truly feel humble to have the opportunity to be a missionary, and I love meeting people that are so much closer to Christ when it comes to possessing the same attributes than most of the people in the world.

After that, we went to Juilliard. We walked into the building and checked it out a little bit. We couldn't see a whole lot because we weren't students there, but it was awesome. So across the street is the temple/church in Manhattan, and we went upstairs in the church and they were having auditions for some movie or play and they were auditioning Opera singers from Juilliard. It was absolutely unreal the talent that some of these people have. There was a famous composer doing the auditions, but apparently a lot of those people auditioning are also in the ward there. It was so amazing to be around the cream of the crop kind of people in the world. That feeling is infectious. It really makes you want to do something with your life. After that, we headed to the Empire State Building. What's crazy about NYC is that all the buildings are so tall -- you could be one building away from the Empire State Building, but you would never know it because another building would be in the way, so you could see nothing. It's crazy how small you feel in the city. Definitely a place to visit, but I would not want to live there. 

New York City with Elder Paize

Bishop: So, this week we got a new bishop, but before I talk about that, I want to share an experience.  My companion and I were setting up chairs for the talent show and a member of the church came up to me and asked me in his TERRIBLE dominican Spanish (worst Spanish speaker I have heard here on the mission) where sister Gonzalez was. I was so confused because there is no Sister Gonzalez in the entire mission. So I told him I had no idea who he was talking about and to go ask Elder Paiz (my companion) because he may know. So he went over to Elder Paiz and chewed him out and said he was failing as a trainer because I didn't understand Spanish and that we weren't listening to what he says (he tells us how to improve our Spanish, which is ironic because his Spanish is horrible). He really offended my companion, and that got me pretty angry. He then told my companion that he asked where "Sister Smith was" and that I had no idea how to respond to him. So he basically lied straight to my companions face, or he's just dumb...or both. Haha. I'm horrible I know. He's very prideful. Well anyways, this guy is now our bishop -__-. Great right? I have no idea how this is all going to work out, but it's going to be interesting. He is the one who argues every Sunday too. I think the best way to get along with him is just to suck up to him and then he will do whatever for you. He chastised the church here because not enough people were helping us missionaries, so that's really good. As long as we keep him on our good side, I think he can really help us with the work, and whipping the people into shape here. Our ward needs someone to put them in their place, and he will do it alright. Maybe it's what we need - Only time will tell.

Ruiz: Ruiz is the guy who just randomly walked in the church. We taught him for the first time last week, and the lesson was amazing. He was very receptive to it and the Spirit was very strong within the lesson. All was good and as we were wrapping up we asked him if he had any questions and he said yes. He said the reason he came to meet with us was to get help. He said he has been having visions and didn't know what to do about it. He said he was hit by a bike when he was 3 and he walked away with no scratches. He claims this is the reason he has visions. He claims that he had a vision, and he told his aunt about it, and she told him to go read in Revelations, and the dream was exactly what was in the chapter of revelations. He has also had a vision where Jesus woke him up and they climbed to the top of a mountain and Jesus apparently asked him if he had faith, and said if he did, to jump, so he jumped off the mountain with Jesus, and the next thing he knew he was falling and then he was floating in mid air. He also claims to have a vision where he was in a room with two young girls, one was extremely scared, looking and pointing at the window, and he asked what was wrong, and she wouldn't talk and just kept pointing at the window, and then the vision ended. Well turns out the next day, his co-worker didn't come to work because someone raped her two daughters. She called Ruiz to tell him what happened, and she said he came through the window, and Ruiz stopped her and described exactly what her daughters looked like, even though he never has seen them. He claims to have visions of the future as well. What's hard is he doesn't carry himself to be crazy at all. I think it's a Hispanic culture thing, so my companion believes him (he's Hispanic), but I think it's garbage. The reason I also say I don't believe it is because when we were teaching the lesson, the Spirit was so strong and there was such a good feeling in the room, and right as he was talking about his visions, the Spirit was gone and there was a dark unsure feeling in the room. The Spirit testifies of truth, and I don't believe anything he saw was actually true. He told our now previous bishop everything, but he still wants us to meet with him. So we are meeting with him tonight and we will see how it goes. I personally absolutely hate dealing with people who talk of these crazy visions and seeing Jesus, and all these people on the streets who claim they are prophets. There are so many crazy people here. There are a couple of elders in our zone who are teaching this one guy who was baptized at one point, but now he claims that he is Jesus. Ahhh, there are so many whack people here. Haha. 

Splits: So yesterday I was able to go on splits again. I went to Scarsdale again (the same place I went to last time I went on splits when I was really sick) and I got to go on a split with my district leader named, Elder Palmer. Elder Palmer goes home in January, so he has pretty much been on his mission for two years. He reminds me exactly of my two friends, Caden Morgan and Jordan Pace, in one person. Out of anyone I have met here on the mission, we get along the best. He is such a cool guy and I was truly able to learn a lot from him yesterday. I picked his brain about things pertaining to learning Spanish, the gospel, things he has learned on the mission, and it was over all such a great day. We were able to visit some amazing people as well and it was just a great time. I asked him too about the gangs here. He has served in Harlem and the Bronx, so he has had his fair share of crazy people. He said here it's more people coming in from poor countries that are drug addicts, who mooch off the government. He said not to really worry about gangs here, even though there are some, not to worry about it because it's not the same as it is back in LA. It's more domestic violence or domestic gangs instead of large groups of gangs that we have in LA. I don't believe it though because where there are drugs, there are gangs. Yonkers has gangs though, but still they are smaller and all split. Everyone wants to be the king of Yonkers. The blacks want to be the kings and so do the Mexicans and the Puerto Ricans and just about everyone. So they all fight against each other.

There is this member in the English ward who used to be one of the head gang members here in Yonkers. He has completely flipped his life around. He talks all the time about some of the things he has done and the people he has killed. It's crazy to see someone who has completely changed his life 1000 percent. His wife even stabbed a knife through his hand and he claims it was at that moment when he knew he wanted to marry her. He was telling us this story where one day, he and his brother were drinking and they walked out on the front porch where a group of 15 people in a gang stopped and looked at him, and he was like "Oh! Okkkkkkayyyy" and then he walked back in, chugged a beer, walked out and they were still there. He did this four times. When he was drunk he said he would always flip into his animal mode and go crazy. So he and his brother were extremely drunk -- he walked down his porch and knocked out one of the guys in the gang. They both knocked out 10 of the 15 guys. This guy is huge too. He is 6 foot, 6, 270 pounds. He then got in his car, took off and started chasing after the other 5 people. He caught them and told them if they didn't want to die that they needed to meet them at Ghetty Square (we call it ghetto square lol) tomorrow and they would fight it off. So the next day he pulls up in his car with his brother and there are about 20 guys all with metal bats ready to kill him. He stood up out of the car, everyone realized that it was him and they dropped their bats and ran away. Haha this guy is crazy. The ghetto life here is starting to become normal to me, for now. For example, the other day we pulled up to the church right after a shooting took place. I took a picture of the view from the car. It's ok though, apparently Yonkers isn't as bad as Newburgh which has the highest murder rates in the enter country (which is in our mission), or Olmstead, or some parts of Harlem.) I'm finally becoming happy now though and learning to be happy around very unhappy people. Thank you for all those who have prayed for my physical and mental health. I have truly felt them!

The shooting outside our church.  Sunday morning getting out of the car at church.

Brandon: Brandon is the guy we met on the street and who is the boyfriend of Veronica (the girl in our church who is going on her mission to Argentina). We had our first lesson with him last Monday. He is one of the most awesome people I have met. I believe he is the golden one. He is 19, so it's very easy to relate to him and him to us. He lives in The Bronx, in Kings Bridge, and it's amazing that someone who grew up in an environment where gangs were heavily present that he was able to keep his head on straight and grow up to be an amazing guy. He has been practicing karate since he was a child, and people know not too mess with him here he said. He has all these amazing goals in life and he truly wants out of NY. He has seen a lot of bad things growing up that he told us about. He is so receptive to the truths of the gospel. He wants to get baptized (we committed him to baptism) and he wants to have the blessings of going to the temple to be sealed to his family and his future wife for all time and eternity, so he can be with his family in the next life. He truly listens to the Holy Spirit and is not afraid to go and act upon what is being revealed to him. I wish more people were like him. He is such a great guy and he is honestly someone I would hang out with outside of the mission. He is the one we were supposed to find. He doesn't tell his girlfriend that he meets with us because he says this is something HE wants. 

HE wants to find the eternal truth of the gospel and not do it for his girlfriend, which is key. We taught him and the spirit was so incredibly strong. He said that he felt a very warm feeling and it felt like all his troubles were being lifted, and like he was in heaven. We testified to him what he was feeling was the Holy Spirit testifying to him that the things we were teaching him were true. That brings me to a good point that I have been thinking about over the last year. 

Brandon is willing to act on the impression that he gets from the spirit. I think a lot of times people may get impressions from the spirit, or they may get the answer from the spirit that the gospel contains the full truth of God, and because God gives us our agency we are free to choose to accept it or decline it, and I have seen so many people who know in their heart that the gospel is true, and they have felt the spirit testify of it, but because of earthly circumstances or mixed desires, they choose to decline it. This I find to be a tragedy. People who experience a type of heavenly happiness that they have never truly felt before, once you go back to your old life, you will never be the same or as happy, because you are no longer ignorant to the truth and the deep happiness that’s out there that the gospel brings. At this point, because they have chosen to deny it, they go on with their life, searching for ways to constantly temporarily make them happy, and one day they will realize that they were just ignoring what they truly felt inside. They were searching for that happiness elsewhere other than looking to God, and that's one thing we will all realize, whether we choose to except the gospel of Jesus Christ or we choose to decline it, or whether we are good or bad people. Our fate is that one day we will die and meet God. And at that point everything good that we have done and everything bad will come to our remembrance. God made us to rely on him. There is no other way. Human existence has constantly searched for something to "run on," or for the happiness that only God can truly bring (and that's where we get wars, power, money, prostitution, drugs, etc...). He made us to run on Him, and only him, the same as a car can only run on Petrol and not water. We can only run from God for so long. We will all one day fall into his arms when we meet in the other side, and depending on how we lived our lives, it will be the most beautiful thing we will ever experience, or the most terrible dark day of our life. Because God is loving, he gives us a choice to choose. He gives us a way to know what is true (through the Holy Spirit), and he gives us this life to prove to Him that we will become better people by following the example of Christ, becoming like Christ, and slowly becoming perfect, as is God.

C.S. Lewis describes this fate perfectly: 

He says, "What can you ever really know of other people's souls - of their temptations, their opportunities, their struggles? One soul in the whole creation you do know: and it is the only one whose fate is placed in your hands. If there is a god, you are, in a sense, alone with Him. You cannot put Him off with speculations about your next door neighbors or memories of what you have read in books. What will all that chatter and hearsay count (will you even be able to remember it?) when the anesthetic fog which we call 'nature' or 'the real world' fades away and the Presence in which you have always stood becomes palpable, immediate, and unavoidable?"

If you know the gospel is true, if you have felt the Spirit in your life, don't wait. Follow its promptings and it will lead you to a happiness that you have never experienced before. There is no other way. It's the only way. I testify of it and I know that the gospel brings more happiness than anything in or out of this world. Don't be afraid to follow the Spirit - to follow what you know to be true. Just please don't be afraid. Follow your heart because you're the only one who can.

I love you all so much.

With much love,

- Elder Austin Celaya

My companion and I on Halloween.  Thank you Stolpers for the tie!

Look mom I can cook!  Haha

Quick Email (29 October 2014)

Hello all. I really want to talk about all the amazing birthday wishes you sent me but I don't have time this week. (Insert from letter to Mom referring to all the birthday wishes a lot of you sent: “I can't wait to talk about my birthday present. It was unreal. UNREAL!!!! Thank you so much!”). This week has been full of events. I don't really have time to write a large email today because we are going winter shopping here because it's starting to get cold. Next week you will have an email containing the stories of this week (and there are many) and next week’s. This week has been the best week in the mission for sure and also the most interesting. There is so much to tell you all, but I truly don't have time. I hope you all have a great week.

I just want to share a quick thought that Elder Dakota Pierce also shared in this email this week. We only have one chance at this life. Why not just go for it? Give it all you have!

"This is our one and only chance at mortal life—here and now. The longer we live, the greater is our realization that it is brief. Opportunities come, and then they are gone. I believe that among the greatest lessons we are to learn in this short sojourn upon the earth are lessons that help us distinguish between what is important and what is not. I plead with you not to let those most important things pass you by as you plan for that illusive and nonexistent future when you will have time to do all that you want to do. Instead, find joy in the journey—now. Rather than dwelling on the past, we should make the most of today, of the here and now, doing all we can to provide pleasant memories for the future." -Thomas S. Monson

I love you all. Expect an email full of events next week!

- Elder Austin Celaya

Me doing a puzzle.

Straight From Manhattan (3 months) (21 October 2014)

Hi family!

This week has been great. I bet you are wondering why I am emailing you on Tuesday instead of Wednesday. Well this week our preparation day (the day we email, do laundry, shop for food, etc.) got switched to Tuesday because we have interviews with President on Wednesday. Not a whole lot has happened here because I have still been recovering from my sickness. I am pretty much all the way better now, but my sore throat kind of came back -- I am hoping it goes away soon. My goal this week was to eat as healthy, and as much as I possibly could, considering how much weight I lost being sick. I have gained 7 pounds back so far of the 20 pounds lost.

This week my roommates and I are starting a training schedule. In the mornings, we are going to go running, or go play basketball on one of the courts here in Yonkers, and then at night we are going to do weight training and what we call the "Feliz Challenge". We have a deck of cards. We do inclined pushups. The way we pick how many reps we do in between sets is you pick the top four cards off the deck, and that's how many pushups you are doing until you get to rest. You then get a 20 second rest, and then take four more cards off the deck until you go through the entire deck. Mr. Feliz (the guy we are teaching who taught us this workout) was at a point where he was going through 15-20 decks of cards in one workout. One is super hard. I can't imagine 15-20!  I have been eating as much as I possibly can. I'm excited to get my strength back!

I had one of the most fun night's of my mission this week. In one of the wards we neighbor with, they had a talent show night (or what they call "Noche De Talentos") for a few of the wards here. It was absolutely amazing! It was the Spanish wards, and wow do they know how to throw a party! They went all out. There were five acts, and then they had intermission, and then it was eating time. There were taquitos, chicken, salad, empañadas, tamales, and a lot of Spanish dishes. There were Guatemalans, Puerto Ricans, Peruvians, Dominicans, and people from Chile, etc, so there was a whole group of different kinds of foods from all different countries. The food was so good! Then the show resumed. It was so fun. It was the first time I have been truly hopeful here in New York. It was a great morale booster.

It was great to get to bond with some of the members too. I met a guy who performed who actually is a music producer and surprisingly was pretty good! It was fun. Him, Elder Smith (the elder I went on splits with who is a music producer) and I, all chatted it up about music and producing. It was a cool experience. 

On Sunday - There is a member in our ward named Veronica, and she got her mission call and we went to the church Sunday night to watch her open it. Veronica is pretty awesome! She is the girlfriend of the guy (Brandon) we are going to start teaching (who is absolutely the coolest guy in the world). A note on Brandon: He already understands the Gospel and sees the eternal happiness it can bring him, and has a desire to listen to the Spirit and act to first learn, and then do more to be as happy he can possibly be. He knows this happiness comes from the gospel, because he says he truly feels it. That's one thing I have learned here in Yonkers. Our church location is in a ghetto part of Yonkers. There are drug deals going on outside, and people are always fighting, and I've heard gun shots outside of our church, but the amazing thing is, every time I open that back door and walk in, I completely feel the contrast of a dark, uneasy, and panicked feeling to a heavenly peace that feels as if God has lifted my troubles and lets me be at rest, dwelling in hope. Back at home, this feeling was harder to feel, but now since outside is such a bad place, going into the church feels so nice. You can truly feel the comforting feeling of the Spirit in the church, and that feeling is something Brandon can recognize. You can see it in him. There is one scene in the movie Inception where there are people who are dreaming in the chemist's basement. They come to him to be drugged to be put into a dream state. They then say that they don't do this to be put to sleep, they do it to wake up. Their dream is their reality. Every time I walk into that church, it feels like my soul is waking up...to reality - to eternal reality, to God's reality. There oftentimes is a facade that we all face that perverts the way we view and feel life, or rather our existence, truly is. Almost everything in our lives and the things in the world are meant to make us feel as if we will never die, and as if we do not need others to help us in this journey on this earth. A lot of the times it truly feels like dying is just a dream and will never happen. A lot of times, because we know in the back of our heads that we die, we make up hopes and wishes of a good life to come based upon exactly what we want in the next life, without actually knowing if it will factually come to pass the way we wish. When I say this Gospel "wakes me up," it wakes me up so I truly see what will come in the next life, the true nature of God our father, and how I and we can obtain the blessings our Father in heaven has in store for those who follow his words. Think about it. It is extremely easy. God sent us here to be in a state of probation...a state of testing to see what we will do with our lives, and what kind of people we will become. He has provided council to us and promises if we listen to his council, we will have many blessings including Eternal Life on the other side. He has also provided a way to know if these words are from man, or from Himself (and he promises that when we ask Him, having true faith, doubting nothing, we can know for ourselves by the power of the Holy Spirit [sometimes described as an eternal peace, or extreme heavenly love]), and then all we have to do is simply follow his words and the rest is promised to us. The greatest gift He can give us is promised to us, simply if we follow his words. That very gift of Eternal Life. Not just immortality -- for all beings will receive that -- but eternal life, where we get to live with God again and with our families forever in a state of happiness. It is as if a rich man came to us and told us that we can be the richest people in the world if we simply follow these few steps. The plan is completely laid out for us, all we have to do is follow that plan, and then spread the good news (the Gospel) to others and help them do the same. That's the very point of being a missionary!

Anyways, back to Veronica. The ward all got in a room and we watched as she opened her mission call. You can truly feel the divine calling of the Lord every time someone opens their mission call. It truly is a very peaceful feeling. I know that as I opened my call, I have never felt like God has known me personally more than I have at that moment, and every time I have watched someone else open their mission call since, I can truly feel that God knows them just the same. Everyone guessed she was going to California (including me...have to rep the home state) but she is actually going to Argentina! 

Today we are in the city! We are going to China Town and Elder Nelson (The new roommate in our apartment) is going to show us all around south Manhattan. He knows the area like the back of his hand because he served their in his last area. We are going to go to times square, the temple, ground zero, China Town, and just experience New York City on a beautiful day like today. I am excited. I should have some good pictures next week, along with some more exciting stories. Things have been kind of dry lately just because I have been sick. Yesterday was the first day we have gone out and done work since I was well. This week we are back on our grind.

I love you all. Try to be a little kinder. Try to do a little better. And don't ask God for what you are not willing to do. Think about that one =)

Love,

-- Elder Austin Celaya

P.S. I hit my three month mark tomorrow! Good bday present! Have a great week!