One of our responsibilities is to oversee the housing of the mission. We have eight zones with approximately six houses in each zone--48 houses PLUS. The reason there is a plus--when the pandemic hit we had over a hundred missionaries who were evacuated. Some of the houses are being used again, but a lot of houses were closed up and have stood empty for many months. They are in various stages of neglect--some have been used as a storehouse (bodega) to store all the furnishings from the houses that were closed.
We have been asked to do an inventory of all the houses, to make sure the ones we are using are safe and good for the missionaries, and to close the ones we don't need.
We have spent the two months since we got here gathering information, contacting landlords, talking with missionaries who have lived in the areas, and working with the APs and Zone Leaders to identify and close the empty houses. By the end of July, we will have closed about 15 houses, with still a few more to go.
It's been a huge challenge to locate and learn about all the houses and the areas in all eight zones, to figure out the rental system here in Mexico, to track down information, and to do it all in Spanish! We are VERY grateful for the APS, our office elders, and the Zone Leaders and missionaries in these areas. They have worked so hard and have been absolutely amazing--19 and 20-year-old boys who are really stepping up and going the extra mile. We have needed to rely on them so much. I can't say enough good about them.
Elders Catalan, Brimhall, and Anderson
Elder Catalan took us to three of the abandoned houses. He was a huge help in finding them, I don't think anybody else knew where they were!
Elder Brimhall is one of the Zone Leaders in Teziutlan. He and his companion, Elder Cervantes, have closed three houses in their Zone. They have done an excellent job working with the landlords to make payments, and have made sure that everything was moved out and left clean. They also found and rented a new house to replace the one in Ahuateno that was in bad shape.
Elder Anderson on the right is one of the APs. He was able to help us identify nearly every house that needed to be closed and what ones are good for missionaries to live in. We couldn't have done it without him.
Elder Cervantes, the other Zone Leader in Teziutlan and Elder Brimhall with the brother who helped clean out all the houses in Teziutlan.
The leftovers after the El Pinal houses in Teziutlan were cleaned.
This house in Tuxpan sat empty for over a year. It was being used to store all the furnishings from houses in that Zone that were closed when the pandemic hit.
Elder Robles and Elder Sanchez are the Zone Leaders in Tuxpan. They are working to close three houses in Tuxpan and are moving the elders in Centro to one of the empty houses that is in really good shape. Some of these empty houses have light and water bills that are difficult to figure out, but these elders are taking it on.
Elder Hernandez and Elder Hunick are the office elders. We love them! They have worked with landlords and movers to move a lot of the furnishings that were still good to the empty room in their house in Xalapa. Together they have closed four empty houses, and have helped us with all the rest. They are the best.
Elder Escarzaga is our new office elder. He is a gem. He has excellent English and is helping us make difficult phone calls to landlords and helping us manage long distance moves and cleaning. He is terrific and we are so excited to work with him. And his big bag of Cheetos!
Elder Tingey and Elder Duran cleaned the empty house in Alamo. They definitely left it better than they found it!
The house in Alamo
Elder Day on the phone negotiating with the Alamo landlord.
Elders Jarvis and Perez are total self-starters. They had two houses to close--one was empty, and was being used as a bodega. It was really bad. I was thinking we would wait until next month to close that one, but they called me one day and were inside the house going through all the supplies and cleaning it themselves. They even sold some of the old stuff from the other house on the street to a guy who collects junk.
Elders Smith and Quintana, the Zone Leaders in Papantla. There was one house in the Papantla Zone where the sisters lived that was not in good shape and we just needed to find a new one. These two went out and found a house for the sisters, who will move in right after transfers.
Elder Guerrero and Elder Hunt are the Zone Leaders in Martinez. They took on three evacuated houses that were in really bad shape and didn't waste a minute. I have been amazed at how fast they made it happen. They worked with movers and landlords and negotiated difficult payment situations. They have done a super job.
Elders Bautista and Horman are our Xalapa detectives. We had a few houses here we just couldn't get figured out, but these two stuck with it. They found landlords, made rent payments, paid light bills, the works. They also kept really great records of everything. They used the photo below to find one of the houses--it was sent by another missionary who was in this area before. He circled the door so they could find it!
Elder Valenzuela and Elder Juarez
Elder Nielson (he also does dishes!)
Last but not least we have Elders Valenzuela, Juarez, and Nielson. Elder Valenzuela helped me figure out that we had a house up in Tuxpan that originally wasn't on my list. He made multiple phone calls, even to missionaries that have gone home, to track down the landlord and get it figured out.
Elders Juarez and Nielson are the Zone Leaders in Macuiltepetl. They went to a house that hasn't been lived in for a long time and took us on a video tour. They found food in the fridge that had been there forever...and willingly cleaned it all out. They are winners!
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