Picture of the newly remodeled Toyota

5-22-2013 Letter

5-22-2013

Wow, how the time flies!! As of this thursday (tomorrow) I will have been out on the mission exactly 4 months! What the?! Where the flip did the time go? Haha, it's crazy how fast the time passes on the mission and I think it goes even faster in New York. I hope everyone is having a good time, that things are going well. I know that life has it's moments, but like Gordon B. Hinckley said, we're here to be tested but we're here to have joy too. Lately, I've found this to be especially true. Right now, the summer is starting and the humidity is rolling in. People are leaving but a ton more are coming, people are getting pressured to do bad things and the heat is nasty. We come home drenched, especially on the days we don't have the car. But all at the same time, through all the sweat and nastiness it still hasn't lost it's charm for me. We love seeing everyone we know on the streets, having the sweet hookups that we have, having good members that take care of us on the regular, and teaching people that are so ready for the gospel.

We do a lot of less-active work, and also teach a lot of investigators. We have 350 some odd number of members that are on the records but only 145 come regularly. Kind of regular I know, but it's interesting to see those numbers from a missionary's perspective; I just want to get everybody back to church and then gain some new members haha! (: Sadly, it doesn't work that way all the time, but hey, I can dream and pray (: As of right now, we are teaching and trying to reactivate some cool people. Martin is one of them, an english class student. He comes every time there's english class, and always is wanting to learn more about the gospel. He's so far had fun/learned a lot from everything we've done/taught him, now it's teaching exactly to his needs and seeing where he's at with his progression. Next lesson we're inviting him to church and we're goiong to try to get him to set his own date to be baptized i think that'll be cool. And we have the Cruz family, annie cruz is the mother. They like speaking english so we just speak english with them and right now she has a lot of problems. Trying to decide whether or not to stay in the spanish ward, or move to english, and there's just some family problems that are going on right now. I found a cool ensign article that I will try and relate to her and her needs tonight as we teach her and im going to invite her to come back to church and talk with the bishop about her problems. Those two people are the ones that are closest to coming either back, or to the gospel.

Also just the other day i was on a split with an Elder who is nearly done with the mission, elder noguiera from Brazil, and so I didn't speak a lick of english when i was with him. general conversation and lessons, everything in spanish. It was a crazy time, and I learned a lot of things, including piano, spanish of course cause he doesnt like talking in english, and cool stories and scriptures. It was nice.

Aside from the work, life has been great. Elder Pickard will probably be transferred out and I will get a new companion andI'll start driving and taking over the area, which will be cool and I'll pick up spanish a lot faster, but I will miss him. I love the guy, he never really annoyed me, and he was my "Dad" haha he raised me. Freakin' mission lingo haha it's so awkward. Elder Rydalch and I are pretty good buds now, and he'll probably stay for at least another cycle so that's cool too. (Elder Rydalch is kind of like a Connor Flake hahahaha, real tall and fun/funny).

And the highlight crazy story of the week, which will include pictures: the english elders that we live with and share the car with got hit pretty darn good in the toyota. The pictures say it all, but the story goes that the crazy intersection that we live by is where they got hit. They were turnning left and had to stop in the middle of the interseccion to wait for a pedestrain to cross. A big moving truck was coming fast coming the other way, in-line to t-bone them, but elder aagard floored it to try and miss getting hit, but the truck slammed them in the back left side, busting up everything and tearing the bumper clean off. They skidded and then hit some scaffolding with the front of the car. Needless to say, drving in Yonkers is ridiculous, but quite necessary cause its so hilly. everything, and I mean everything including lights, trunk and the gas flap are fully functional and the car is still drivable and not unaligned, so the mission will let it go and get it fixed fairly soon.

Well, I love you all. Know i am well, trying not to lose anymore weight, and I am loving the gospel, spanish, the whole work. Everyone keep safe, pray for those lives lost in that recent tornado, and God bless.

Love,

Elder Mitchell James Buckley

Letter from 5-8-2013

5-8-2013

Hola everybody! I'm still kicking it here in Yonkers, preaching the gospel and doing service! There's been so many crazy times, and so many fun times as well. I don't have a lot of time for this group letter, so let me just tell you the good stuff about the work. Juan Lopez is an investigator. He is the boyfriend of a recently returned from being less active member Alma Vasquez, who has not yet been divorced from a previous marriage. She needs to get divorced and married to him so that Juan can be baptized, because he has a deep desire to. He broke down and started crying in priesthood meeting saying how much he wants to be baptized, but since he is illegal there is only one place in Connecticut where they could go and work everything out for the good, but it costs a lot of money. I've committed him to a baptismal date but he's unsure if he could do it then because he still has to save up money.

Well, that's my quick story for today. This individual is the next person to get baptized from our investigators (: Let's hope it can happen soon! (:

Love Elder Buckley

4-24-2013 Letter

4-24-2013

Hello everyone!

Elder Buckley is now in his second cycle here in Yonkers, and he's loving it still!! (: I can't believe I've been in the field for as long as I have been now it's super crazy but cool. And to hear that Ryan Garrison and Saul Marquez are back just blows my mind, didn't they just leave a little while ago?!?! Haha, oh man... But I'm loving it teaching the gospel here in Yonkers. As some of you may know, I recently had a baptism with Elder Pickard, my companion, and it went super well. Her name is Lily, about 35 years old, a girlfriend of one of the members Willie Quezada (He's the one from the last pic I sent, the one that baptized her). Her countenance is literally changed, it's such a crazy thing. We just went over the other day and taught a lesson about how to be a disciple and what that means, and she received it well and she wants a bible now to complement her Book Of Mormon reading, so we'll get that for her (: I'm really happy about that. And as far as those of you that are wondering, we should be having another baptism and a few more less-active reactivations come up soon, I'm hoping and praying that it works out. Something that still amazes me is that we teach 60% in Spanish and 40% in English, sometimes it even seems half and half, but I'm still learning that Spanish, it's coming along slowly but surely.

Something that I wish to do for everyone back home that reads my letters is compile a list of current investigators, what we're working with and dealing with, giving more info about them, and other crazy and cool experiences that I've been having as a person, missionary and in Yonkers and other places in total. I will do this starting tonight and have it all written out for everyone next Wednesday. Also what I want to do is compile a list of my new favorite scriptures and how I incorporate them in lessons, and just different stuff like that (:

I love everyone one of you back home, and I want you to know that I know that the gospel's true. If I can touch people's hearts through the Holy Spirit and bring the light of Christ into people's homes in the treacherous city of Yonkers, NY where the people are nasty and vile and unaccepted, the Gospel HAS to be true. To see the change that it brings in these people's lives is AMAZING and strengthens my testimony tenfold.

Be ready for a sweet cool e-mail the next week! I love you all, thank to everyone who has written!

Love, Elder Buckley 

4-17-2013 Letter & Picture

4-17-2013

How's it going everybody?! Man, Elder Buckley made it through his first whole cycle (6 weeks) who would have thought? (; I am still with Elder Pickard and everybody in the apartment is still the same as well which makes me happy. I had my first baptism!!! Her name is Lily and she is in her mid 30's and the missionaries have been teaching her for two years now and she's finally baptized. It's so cool. A lot of members and other people are starting to warm up to me now and a lot of the kids like me haha. The Spanish is still coming along well and we're teaching a lot. I know it's not about the numbers, but Elder Pickard and I had the highest ones overall this past transfer, we've been working really hard. I have been very tired lately and we haven't been eating a super ton, but we've been doing better this past little bit. It's hard to be a missionary a lot of the times, but I love it so much. I don't really know what to write this week since besides the baptism there really hasn't been anything so new or crazy, but I will include two journal entries. I love you all so much and hope that you are all doing well. I know that this gospel is true and that our Heavenly Father loves us. I know that when we need to, like Enos, we can pray when our soul needs nourishment. I know that families are sooo important, and even though a lot of people struggle with maintaining a happy family, especially out here, when we try our best to unify our family and involve the gospel when we do so, families can be happier and stronger. I love you all, keep going strong and keep the faith. Here's the two journal entries:

4/12/13 - Holy crap, I'm a terrible journalist. Well, today. It started off with a bunch of errands, taking fruit to the freaking Sisters, going to Target in White Plains @ Westchester mall, coming back in some of the most horrid traffic I've seen in the pouring rain, walking to the church to language study and making the baptismal program. Then we did less-active look-ups, and went back home. It was so hard man, a ton of walking and in the rain as well. Then we got picked up by Steven and driven over in his ghetto Crown Victoria to the house of Yadira. I was laughing with her and joking around a ton already, and only on the first visit, we were loving it. She made the day go from terrible to fantastic for me.

4/14/13 Holy freak today was crazy! Had PEC with the bishop, then church, and then a baptism for Michelle Denise for the sisters. It was Sister Richey's last day in Yonkers as she is getting transferred after a year of serving here, crazy. After the baptism, Elder Pickard and I went to the Saint Joseph's hospital to give a blessing but they wouldn't let us in, haha, oh man. We then walked to our dinner appt. at the Munoz family's house. I ate so much, and freaking everybody was there, it was so cool. Afterwards, we tracted into "Mongoo" (Jose Jimenez) and set up a time to visit him, then we tracted into Billy who hasn't been seen in 6 months and set up a time with him. It was great, a fantastic day and night. 

Pixs from week 5!!!

4-10-2013 5th week in the field!

4-10-2013

Hello there everybody! It has been a crazy fantastic week here in Yonkers, NY, I've been loving almost every second of it! (: The Spanish is coming along well, we've taught a TON, and being with the four elders I'm with is just such a blast, I am so blessed to be with an apartment of dudes that get along well with each other. Transfers are coming up soon, and I, no matter what happens, I get to drive next cycle I'm so stoked. I've driven twice so far, it's exhilarating driving in such a busy place, I love it. I hope though that none of the elders get transferred, although it will probably happen. I was in the biggest transfer so far, but they are still coming in!! 28 new ones this cycle, it's going to be crazy and I have no idea how  it'll all work but I have faith. Heck, I may even train! Which is a weird thought haha, I've only been in the field a month! :0 But I just can't wait to see what happens.

I have to start off with my blast of a P-Day that I had and will atttach pics for. We went to Harlem my comp's first area, and it was great! So busy and so fun, and I got a lot of good deals on sweet stuff. We had fantastic dollar slice pizza, I got 4 ties for 20 bucks from the tie guy, and they're gorgeous quality ties, beautiful paislies and polka dots. I also got a sweet NY hat for like 5 bucks and it's a quality genuine snapback. Anyone wanting to get good deals on things needs to come here they got everything! Haha,but it was also of course super rough and walking those streets is dangerous. But we had a great fun time, and saw and did cool things.

So how did everyone like conference? I loved it, Uchtdorf and Bednar rocked it, and Packers poem was awesome. And who knew President Monson was a pyro? The week of General Conference we didn't teach a ton because people travelled and were with a lot of family and such, it just didn't happen. However, we're starting the new week off strong. Monday we taught like 8 lessons. 8 OF THEM. Elder Pickard and I went so hard, tracted for a while, and it was just awesome. Later that night, with the hermanas, we had a dinner appt with a recent convert member, la familia Paolo (I am starting to transfer spanish things to english, I just don't even remember some things in english haha) It's dominic and his wife and they're a wonderful young married with kids couple who know both languages fluently and prefer to speak in english. It was an awesome dinner and dominic thinks I'm cool, we both shared in our love for Dr. Pepper, and now we're tight. A technique of impressing members and investigators and building relationships off of mutual agreeances is super important to have in what we do and who we talk with to get them to like you. Thankfully, I'm in, haha!

Tuesday we went to Judy's and had krispy kremes and cookies and we talked about her utah trip and she talked to us about all of our moms that she called haha. We then had our noche de amistad and went home.

Today, we've been sleeping and transferring music to ourr ipods and doing laundry and sprucing up. Now I'm emailing, haha, and tonight we'll teach about 3 lessons. I'm just loving it, it's growing on me hardcore here, but I miss everyone and home as well. By the way, tell Kylee and Bradford congrats! (: (Kylee is Mitch's cousin that got married last week)

I love you all, keep staying strong and relying on the Lord.

Elder Buckley