Last Day!!

Sorry that I didn't write yesterday. We went to lunch with a Hermana in the ward over whose absolutely fantastic and we didn't get home until late and then we had a lot of people to say goodbye to but I wanted to just let you know that I'm alive...excited....and full of energy. ;)

A lot happened this week but I'll just tell you about it tomorrow. ;) 

Love ya! See ya soon!

Sept 7, 2015

Well this week has been rather eventful. We had to stop working for a couple of days because my companion had what we thought was appendicitis...is that what it's called? But as it turns out she's just fine. She just had a nice UTI and after some meds she's healthy and happy and laughing out loud again. =P

Mayra is still working towards her baptism on Saturday. Chay is not going to be baptized with her for some changes that he's not willing to do right now but at the very least they will be married so when he decides that he's ready he can start preparing to be baptized. The only rough thing with Mayra is that she's been very busy and things just keep going wrong so she's also very frustrated and doesn't want to take time to do the homework that we give her. This is a problem because she doesn't believe that Joseph Smith was a prophet and how in the world is she going to be baptized into a church if she doesn't believe that the person who restored it was called of God?!....I know, I'm confused too but we're working on it and we pray that the Lord will do His part as He will and that she will receive a testimony of this part of our history as a church.

The Nazario Sanchez family is doing great. They seem to be working things out and Hugo (the dad) is reading the Book of Mormon of his own free will. We haven't even given him reading assignments yet and she's already started reading it. He seems to really enjoy it and they accepted the lesson of the Restoration when we taught it this last week. They are great. The only hard thing is that we can't invite members to our lessons with them because Hugo has a hard time accepting that people can change and doesn't like it when members come in, whom he's known for a long time, and try to teach him the gospel and the marvelous changes that they have seen thanks to Jesus Christ.  I'm simply grateful that they're progressing well. =)

We've decided to drop Estefani for a while. Since she's only 10 and can't go to church without permission and no one in her family wants to give her this permission nor do they want for her to be baptized, we feel that we have done just about all that we can do.

These last couple weeks, I feel that the Lord has shown me one of His tender mercies. 

In my second area, I spent about 3 months working with a family that was progressing rapidly. The only thing that kept them from being baptized was the fact that the husband (Sabino) has to get divorced from a previous wife and get married to his current wife (Alma). During my time with them, I never saw this happen. They moved from my area and I was transferred. Later I heard that everything worked out and that they were both baptized. I was very excited for them but not nearly as excited as I was when I met Sabino personally about two weeks ago. We're apparently in the same stake right now and I ran into him as he was walking into the stake center for an interview to receive the Melquesidec priesthood. The next Sunday I got to raise my hand as it was put to a vote that he and others would receive this priesthood. 

The second experience was when my companion and I had to go to Puebla, last Sunday, to pick up a tank of gas that we were lacking. A member and his fiance drove us down and while we were packing things up to head back to Tlaxcala, a man walked up to me and greeted me by name. I recognized him as a member who had moved into my second area not too soon before I was transferred but I didn't remember his name. I later remembered him as Mario and that we had been asked by him a year earlier to teach his wife, Claudia, who had been taught by missionaries in Veracruz but had not wanted to be baptized. We had spent about a month looking for her and making appointments but she never received us. After greeting me he told me something like this, "I saw you Hermana and just wanted to tell you something. I want you to know that my wife Claudia was baptized yesterday and confirmed today. I hope you know that your efforts were never wasted."

I may not have seen nor had the opportunity to teach this woman but I still found great joy in receiving the news that she had entered the gate on the road to her salvation. 

I hope you have a wonderful week and that you all continue to see miracles in your lives! Love you!

Faith and Miracles

This week we got to see a miracle that comes through faith on our part and action on the part of our investigators.

Mayra is back on track to getting baptized. Last Sunday, we had walked into their house and her and Chay had just been fighting and when we asked the how they felt about getting married, she told us that she didn't want to get married and that the baptism was going to have to wait. We both thought it was a joke until she began to cry and then we were very concerned. I began to pray for the Lord's help and guidance because I wasn't sure what to say or what to do. We both listened to them and then the words just came. I don't remember most of what I said but I did tell them that if they wanted to give up on their marriage that was fine but then i told them that that would be taking the easy way out and that the only one who would be happy if that happened would be Satan. My companion and I then told them that they had to start reading and praying together because if they didn't, their marriage would fall apart. The Lord gave us various options that they could use to help make their marriage stronger. 

After leaving this lesson, we weren't too concerned and then we felt incredible joy a few days later when Mayra told us that everything was fine and that she wanted to be married on the 11th and baptized on the 12th of Sept. Honestly....I cried, right there, in front of her. It was definitely an answer to our prayers. =)

Also, the other family. The Nazario Sanchez family....they also have problems in their marriage but are progressing well. We are going to see how they are doing tonight and we hope that they will accept the baptism invitation and that we can put a goal so that they can make this covenant. =)

The Beginning of the Lasts......

Silly Kids!The first one from left to right:Santiago, Marcos, Carlos, Estefani, and Brittany

Tomorrow will be my very last zone conference with President which means that I'm going to have my last "American meal in Mexico" and I'm going to be giving my testimony with everyone who will be leaving in September and October. That's scary but exciting.....but scary....but still exciting....but even more terrifying...but still a little exciting... ;)

On Monday we got to be present while the bishop gave blessings to a family of investigators that we had met only once before. The little girl Siclaly wanted a blessing (she's 7), and then her older sister Lupita and her baby and then the mom decided at last minute to receive a blessing. The Spirit was so strong and brought tears to many eyes as this family that knew nothing about the Priesthood (except what we had explained beforehand) and blessings, exercised their faith in something that they didn't even know would work. I was really touched by their example.

Things are pretty good here in Nopalucan even though we are struggling a little with our investigators. Maribel more or less doesn't want to commit to anything but we're hoping that she'll come around. We're thinking about stopping our visits with Estefani because her mom doesn't want to let her be baptized. And Mayra and Chay most likely won't be getting baptized on the 12th of September as planned because even though Mayra was willing to get married and baptized this day, she told us yesterday that she doesn't want to get married and that her and Chay were looking into separating even though they have two kids.

Actually all of this has led to an interesting experience. On Wednesday, my companion and I received the impression that we should fast for our area on Saturday. So when Saturday came, my companion was very ready to fast but I wasn't.  Anyway, I went into the bathroom and got on my knees. I told Heavenly Father how I felt, that I did not want to fast, I simply did not want to do it but I knew that I should. So after receiving comfort and instruction from the Lord, I began my fast. It became a true exercise of faith and sacrifice.   It was this night that Mayra accepted her baptism date for the 12th of Sept. (even though last night she told us that it just wasn't going to happen.) I don't exactly know what the Lord is doing but I feel that He's up to something and I feel that everything will work out even if they don't work out like I want them to.

I hope you all have a wonderful week and that you can see all the miracles that the Lord works in your lives!

 

                 Yup, it's that time of year again and strangely, even after having gone a year without eating them...                                   I still don't like chiles en nogada. =P

 

August 17, 2015

This week we had a great FHE with Mayra and Chay. We had originally asked the bishop to help organize it and we ended up having it not only with his family but also with another family that I have wanted to have help us for a long while now. Both the families presented a short lesson and then we ate. They are doing well now and actually went to the temple open house on Saturday. They loved it and were rather impressed by the beauty of it. They were supposed to go with the intention of receiving a confirmation that they should be baptized on the 12th of Sept but we haven't really had the chance to talk to them about it so we'll be doing that tonight.

We moved houses! Woohoo! We had been having problems of running out of water and with some drunks here near the center of town and were told by a couple of members that it might be best to move. We hadn't really thought about it (because the thought of moving sounded like way too much work =P) when Mayra told us that she had found a house for us. When we went to check it out we both felt a confirmation that it was time to move and that this house was just fine. We then prayed and asked the Lord to put everything into place so that we could move it that was His will. Well, turns out it was. =) The "contract" on our old house had been thoroughly lost and so did no longer exist, everything got hooked up and ready in the new house, and we got everything settled with the mission offices and were able to move on Saturday. A few members helped us out and we were out of the old house and into the new one in less than an hour. Although we didn't sleep well and felt uncomfortable in the new house the first night, we felt right at home after it received a blessing from our ward mission leader. 

This week we've seen a couple of miracles. We received a reference from the offices of a woman who had called in to receive the missionaries and wanted to see them the next day. The only catch was that it was for the Elders. =( We totally forgot to pass it to them that night and got a call the next day to see if we had given it them and ended up having to look for it because the elders had gone to the hospital (actually our entire district except for us spent the weekend in the hospital). As it turns out, she actually lives in our area. Her name is Maribel and she was really excited to receive us. She's had a lot of problems in her family and told us that she felt a special peace and tranquility in her heart as we talked. We are hoping that she is one of the prepared children of God in this area and that the Lord has given us the privilege of teaching her.

 

 

There is another family that we are going to find out this week if they are willing to listen to the Gospel. They area reference from a member who talked with them while traveling to Mexico City. They had been passing through many trial and she had mentioned to them the power of a priesthood and gave her testimony of it. She offered to contact us and hep them be able to receive a priesthood blessing. When we went to look for them, the first people asked to see if they knew them were actually them. Although it was originally just the little 7 year old daughter who was interested in the gospel, the parents began to ask questions about the Restored Gospel as we sat and talked to their child. Tonight their oldest daughter will be receiving a priesthood blessing that she had asked us for and we hope that they will be able to feel the Spirit and that it will soften their hearts enough to accept the Gospel.

Estefani has been doing well however getting her to church has been a struggle and yesterday we talked to her and her mother about baptism and her mother (who doesn't even act like her mother) is not a fan. We are hoping that their hearts will be softened and that we will be able to prepare her to be baptized.

August 10, 2015

This week we have spent a lot of time with a little 9 year old named Estefani. She's one of our investigators who loves learning about God. We only have one problem...she's also listening to the Jehova's witnesses. The problem with this is the doctrine is very distinct and it confuses her quite a bit. We're working on helping her see the truth in everything that she's learning and we're hoping that the Lord will help her understand. She loves the gospel that we're teaching her and we're hoping to get permission from her grandfather, who's taking care of her, so that she can go to church. We also celebrated her 10th birthday with her. We decided to give her some crayons and colored pencils because she loves coloring but doesn't really have anything because her family is very poor. She was so excited and we feel that she really enjoyed her birthday. The sisters in the ward who had gone with us to our lessons also gave her a gift and she felt very loved. =)

Mayra and Chay finally accepted a baptismal date. We hardly saw them at all this week but we did get to see them yesterday and it was so great so get to talk to them. After about an hour and a half of listening and trying to figure out why they didn't want to be baptized in September they finally accepted to work towards a certain day. We're really excited to keep working with them and even better they're going to be moving houses soon (hopefully this week) and we're hoping that this will help them continue to work hard and active in the gospel.

In our district everyone was transferred but us. Our district leader Elder Philippe and Hna San Martin (both from chile) stayed and are both training. Elder Philippe's companion is Elder Rodriguez from Mexico City and Hna San Martin's companion is Hna Barrios from Columbia. She was the only new sister to enter the mission this transfer. We also got a new zone leader, Elder Gonzalez. he's pretty cool just really quiet and since our last leader (we share the ward with them) was lots of fun and talked a lot, we're not sure what to do. =P However, it's going to be a good transfer these next 5 weeks. =)

Well, I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Last Transfer! o.o

So this week we got the chance to participate in a stake youth conference proselyting activity. We took groups of youth out to knock doors. In our mission we're not allowed as missionaries to knock doors but the young men and women can and oh how they did a wonderful job. They were all so brave to knock on each door and invite people to church and to go watch "Meet the Mormons" with the ward. I was so impressed with each of the girls that I had in my group because even after each rejection, the just kept moving forward. It was great. =)

On Tuesday, we ended up taking a sick day because of all the Mole we had eaten during the town festival. We both got super sick in the middle of the night and woke up at almost the exact same time to run to the bathroom. =P However, we're better now and we're going to avoid Mole at all costs. =P

The Perez Lopez family didn't make it to church this week for some reasons but they're hoping to go next week. I'm really sad to think about it but we don't know if we're going to keep teaching them because they simply don't progress but we're gonna wait and see.

Mayra and Chay are doing great. They still haven't openly accepted the 12th of Sept as their baptismal date but sometimes they mention getting married then and so we think that we're going to start working toward this day. They finally made it to Sacrament meeting on time and were able to participate of the Sacrament. They also went to a baptism that the other ward had and even though we haven't really had the chance to talk to them about what they thought we were super surprised to see them there and we were very happy to see that the Lord is working with them.

I will be staying here in Tule until the end of my mission. Wooohooooo!!! Thank you for your fasting and prayers. I have never felt so calm before hearing about transfers. Hna Sellers and I are super excited to have another transfer together and we feel that we're going to be able to see lots of success. To kick off the transfer, we asked the bishop for a blessing to work in his ward and the blessings he gave us were just perfect. While we listened to each other's blessing and while receiving our own, we both felt that they were exactly what we needed and that the Lord was giving us some very specific reminders on how to work with each other and in our area. 

Happy August!!

I had become a little discouraged in my area because everything began to slow down. I felt sad and  had a hard time feeling the Spirit. However, after going on exchanges, I got the chance to have a really good talk with my Sister Training Leader Hna Peñalosa. We talked about the importance of allowing the Atonement to work in our lives and the importance of choosing to be happy and not letting ourselves become discouraged. She gave me a wonderful talk after listening for a good hour of everything that I had saved up that was causing my feelings. She's so amazing and I was so grateful for the time that I had with her I later read in PMG about the importance of moving forward with faith and trusting in the Lord. When we do this, we allow the Spirit to enter more into our lives and we are able to work with more power in our lessons and in our lives in general.

Also, on exchanges, I got to meet the "best ward mission leader ever" and actually he just might be. =P I had so much fun with them and really enjoyed a little break from everything here.

This week we also got to see the Perez Lopez Family. I was kinda nervous to be visiting them because we hadn't seen then in almost 2 months and we were going to use this lesson as the deciding factor as to whether or not we were going to continue visiting this wonderful family that I had come to love. However, I had no reason to worry because we had given them the homework of reading 3 Nephi 11which talks about Christ coming to the Americas and how he institutes baptism. They alone taught themselves the doctrine of baptism and then accepted the invitation to be baptized and promised that they would do all that was possible to go to church this coming week! Woohoo! I love them so much!

Today we had one of my favorite district activities. We danced. We learned the national dance of Chile which is supposed to be a kind of flirty dance I guess but you don't touch each other. It was very classic and the majority of us are definitely American because it was so hard for us to get it. =P Also we learned a Tahitian hula dance from one of the American sisters in our district, Hna Matagi. That was super fun because the elders really can't move their hips....the sisters can't either. =P We also did a few line dances and then we ate a dessert from Chile can calsettas rotas ("broken socks" o.O) they were absolutely delicious. =)

This week was also the Town party so we ate nothing but Mole and didn't work yesterday because of all the drunks wandering around last night. =P We also got a nice stomach ache from the Mole but we're better now so that's good news. =) 

Oh this coming week we'll be finding out about transfers O.O I'm kinda nervous. I don't want to leave my last transfer and I don't want my district to be changed. They're just all so awesome. =)

I hope you all have a wonderful week and that you can all see miracles each day! =)

 

This is a huge butterfly that likes to watch me do my laundry :)

 

July 20, 2015

This week we got to see Heavenly Father answer a few of our prayers.  One day we had asked for at least 4 lessons in one day, as it is difficult to have lessons in our area.  This day we walked to one of the little towns, looking for some investigators that weren’t home.  As we finished writing a note to leave on their door and to let them know that we had been looking for them, it began to rain.  We had just decided to look for a reference before heading back to town where we live when the rain got worse and we were still in this little town about 30 minutes from home.  We both had the feeling that the Lord was going to use this rain to help us get in a door.  While getting drenched, we passed an older woman with her granddaughter waiting out the rain on a little bit of dry ground.  We stopped to ask if she knew the reference and she didn’t but after a few minutes of talking to her, she began to feel bad for us because we were soaked.  She then invited us to her house and we listened to her express her problems and concerns that she had within her family.  We received the opportunity to testify of the power of our Savior and of God’s intentions for our families.  We will be having an appointment this week and we pray that the Lord led us to her and softened her heart to let u sin because she is prepared to receive the gospel message.

This week was pretty crazy.  We had our first interviews with President and it was nice to get to know him.  He asked about what was my greatest challenge in the mission and how was I able to overcome it and how would I recommend that someone else overcome it.  He also asked for my testimony of the Savior and his atonement.  It was good, to be honest.  I still miss President Christensen but I know that President Nelson is here at this time for a reason and that although the adjustment has been  rough for him and his wife, he will do amazing things in this mission.

We’ve been working a lot with Mayra and Chay and we are really hoping that they will accept a baptismal date this coming week.  They have finally accepted that they need to be baptized but now they want to wait for a year!  We are working on them J  They are amazing, they learn so fast and are almost members seeing as how they go every week to church and participate in all of the activities and not to mention that Chay wants to fast this week!  I’m so excited to have this opportunity to watch God work again personally with His children.  It’s one of those experiences when we truly fulfill our purpose and only show up to answer questions and assure them that what they are doing is the best for their family and God does the rest.  I really want to see them baptized before I end my mission and if Heavenly Father is willing I just might!!!

Instruments in the Hands of God

My new companion Hermana Sellers

So this week we got to meet a the cousin of a member. Her name  is Georgina and she lost her daughter about 4 years ago and still can't get over it. She cried a lot while we were with her but we were able to testify of how the gospel could help her and that Jesus Christ lived and was the only person who could help her heal. We're hoping to go do service with her on Thursday. It was super cute because we asked if we could help her in something other than sharing the gospel and her little 6 year old son piped up and said, "Well, I was thinking that the grass out front gets really long and a lot of snakes hide in there and so I don't know if you can help us cut it or something like that." We're hoping to get the Priesthood together so that they can help us out.

Mayra and Chay are progressing pretty well. They are beginning to see changes in their lives and the members are doing a great job of helping us out on this one. They've been doing FHE's without us having to ask, and are visiting them and really helping them progress. Tonight we're going to have a family home evening with them so that they can learn how to do them and begin to do them each week with their little girls. =)

This week we were truly instruments in the hands of God.

There's a recent convert who hasn't been able to go to church because she's living at home and her dad hasn't given her permission to go and she's having a lot of problems with her older brother. After looking for some people in the next town over and we had 20 minutes before an appointment and nothing to do. We stood still for a few minutes discussing what we were going to do when the thought came, "Let's go find Elvira." We called her first because we had received the threat of being kicked out if her brother found us in her store. Then we went and talked to her for a minute. That's when she mentioned what God had just done for her. She had gone out back to pray and told her Heavenly Father how she felt and that she wanted a sign to know that he hadn't forgotten her. She then walked back into the store and instantly the phone rang and guess who it was....the missionaries. :D How amazing is that?! The moment she had asked for a sign to know that God was aware of her, the sister missionaries that were just down the street receive the thought "Let's go find Elvira." We felt pretty privileged to be the answer to a prayer. =)

We also had a zone activity today that was pretty fun. We had a stick pull and I went up against a super-buff Elder....we broke the stick. ;P He was pulling on the outside and I was pulling on the middle and it was just perfect enough the break the stick in half.

Happy Fourth of July!!

So this week was pretty exciting.

We got to meet our new mission president, Pres. Nelson from California. He passed by each of us and gave us a handshake and asked us a few questions like "Where are you from?", "How long do you have in the mission?" and such. He got really excited when he talked to my companion because they live about 45 minutes from each other and he knows her stake president. He made sure to remind us of the most important rules in the mission. He brought such a  wonderful spirit into the room when he walked in. It was so beautiful to see them and even though he might have been a little nervous in front of all of us missionaries, he gave a wonderful talk.

This week we had an awesome lesson with Mayra and Chai. First they made us each lunch with them which was fine because the member wouldn't be able to give us lunch that day. However, after we got them seated and ready to listen, we talked a lot about prophets. They've had a bit of trouble accepting the idea of a modern-day prophet however we read the story of Korihor and Alma to show what a false prophet teaches and what a true prophet teaches, ya know, the whole "by their fruits ye shall know them" thing. They still haven't accepted that this church is true but they know it. Oh, they so know it. =P Actually, some members have been helping and visiting with them and just talking to them about their experiences as they've been learning about the church and they're just loving it. They feel so much peace and calm and Chai said that he felt that this church was exactly what he needed. :D We're so excited for them. We invited them to be baptized and they accepted! We only need to put a date with them to be baptized and get them married and then we can get them on their way to an eternal family! :D

We went to San Vicente this week, you remember, the town with the people who almost stoned us? Well, we got to meet the cousin of one of the members here and we feel that they will actually be able to progress. They lost a daughter of theirs in Abril to Lupis (that disease that makes your defenses turn against you and your body begins to attack itself) and she left a little son with less than a year. We are also hoping that this will be part of opening the door for us to this little town that has never accepted missionaries. We almost feel like it's Ammonihah, and I'm pretty excited to put into the practice what Alma did to bring the gospel to this rebellious little town. One of the first things he did was 1. labor hard in the Spirit, 2. Pray for the spirit of the Lord to be poured out up the people of the town. We'll have to see how it goes this week. =)

Oh, on the 4th of July, I wasn't going to do anything seeing as how I'm in Mexico and in the mission and holiday's don't exactly exist here. =P However, it's my companion's favorite holiday and so we bought a little cake and a 4 candle to celebrate. The cake was finished last night...cake doesn't last long in a missionary's house. =P

 

 

Goodbye President and Sister Christensen

So this week has been pretty interesting seeing as how we had transfers and President is now leaving. At transfers President gave his very last talk and it was great. He talked about our filters that we have through which we view the world and the filters that he has seen in us as missionaries. He had talked to me about my filters personally and it was a great moment to have a review. =)

My new companion is Hna Sellers. She's from San Francisco California and actually knows Hna Vazquez, my last American companion. It was really cool because she had been praying for an American companion and I was simply praying that I would be able to love my companion unconditionally and that she would be able to help me work well in this area and help it progress. Also, someone with whom I could enjoy the last end of my mission with. I was a little nervous about the whole transfer but luckily I was one of the first to find out who my new companion was. I also felt at peace with whoever was going to be my companion. I just never thought that I would be given another American companion. As far as I know, we're currently the only two Americans that are together in the mission. 

So we had a pretty exciting evening in a little town that missionaries have never gone to before. We went with a native to this town and thank goodness because if we hadn't we would have gotten run out of town. Literally. These people are so scared of outsiders that they all freaked out when they saw us talking to two little girls who were the members nieces and were about to get ready to stone us. Yes, stone us! We now realize two things. 1. There is a lot of work for us to do in this town. 2. We are like Alma, we cannot enter without a member from the town, like Amulek. ;)

We had a very direct lesson this week with our 17 year old investigator named Cinthia and her mother. We wanted to set a baptismal date with Cinthia but her mom wants her to wait until she's 18 in December. We invited them to pray and see what God wants. The mom wasn't too happy about it but the daughter was and is perfectly willing to be baptized now. We think that we'll be dropping her for now and hoping that the missionaries who are here in December will be able to help her be baptized.

Well, other than that not much has happened. I love you guys so much and thank you for all that you do!

I hope you all have a wonderful week!

All Is Well!!!

Well, this week, not too much happened but we got a few adventures in. =P

With Hermana Mazon

We got to meet the husband of one of our new investigators. Her name is Mayra and his name is Chai (well, his nickname, I don't know exactly what his real name is.) and oh boy, they're going to be a lot of fun to work with. They have a big problem with prophets for example, they don't believe that God can talk to a man here on earth and that a man has to be perfect to receive revelation from God. I think we're going to re-teach prophets...again. =P They are really nice and actually I'm going to start serving Mayra by giving her a little bit of English classes so that she can get a job with a big company that requires it. 

Speaking of English, we've been giving English classes in the chapel and this week Elder Neuwirth (a new elder with a month and a half in Mexico) gave the class. It was a lot of fun because he's just so full of energy. Once he learns the tips and tricks to teaching and finds his own style, he's going to be an excellent teacher. =)

That's super funny about not having power because although we had power, this week we ran out of water. However, the Lord loves us because once we were humbled enough to ask him to bless us with water, for the next 3 days He blesses us with enough water to shower in the morning and to use the bathroom two or three times. =P 

Yesterday, we were walking to one of our little towns called Santa Ines and it's a dirt road in the middle of fields. When we got by the canal in the middle of the road there appeared this fat little puppy that was white with black stripes. We stopped for a minute to pet it and talk to it for a minutes and then when my companion kept walking I picked up the puppy and took it with us. She was just so cute and lost so I couldn't just leave her there. At least that's what I told my companion. I decided that if someone didn't stop us saying that it was their dog, then we would give it to one of the kids in our ward who had had a puppy but she ran away. We called the puppy Kyra and she stayed with us for a few hours. She even went with us to the Pérez López family and just slept the entire time. She was just adorable and we both became good friends before the end of the day when I gave her to Ernesto. 

We had a missionary activity where we watched "Meet the Mormons" with our ward and the ward next to us. It was such a beautiful movie. My companion and I both cried at the end seeing the young man head off to his mission. We set everything like a movie theater and the members brought popcorn and chips and it was a lot of fun. 

This week I won't be getting transferred but my companion is. I honestly think that I will stay in this area until the end of my mission seeing as how I only have two transfers left and we don't think that the new president will make many changes after he gets here. I also feel that my new companion that I'll be getting tomorrow will be my last companion. I pray that we'll be able to enjoy the time that we'll be having together. 

Yes, I bought the camera today and since I bought it today I don't have a picture of it because it's charging. =P However, next week I'll make sure to send a picture of it. =) Please thank grandma for giving me the money she gave to help me buy it. =) e. 

The new mission president and Pres. Christensen and their wives will have the morning together on the 1st of July and then they'll be going their separate ways. At least I think that's what Pres. Christensen told me.

Happy Fathers Day!!!

We have a new investigator, her name is Myra. She is very open but also very skeptical. We had a great lesson with her about prophets and when we showed her a picture of Thomas S Monson and told her that he was the prophet of God on the earth, she looked at him and then at us and asked, "Why him? What's so special about him that makes him a prophet? Out of all the men in the world, why him?" We weren't quite sure how to respond so we did our best to let the Spirit respond for us by bearing our testimonies. We testified that God has always had prophets and that he continues to use them. That although we may not know why God choose Thomas S Monson to be his prophet, we have prayed to know if he was called of God. We testified that God had responded to us and that we both knew without a doubt that Pres. Monson was a prophet of God. 
We invited her to pray and to listen to the Spirit. We also helped her recognize the feelings and the way that the Holy Ghost communicates to her. Although she wasn't home at our next appointment, she made the effort to go to the English classes we are now having and even forced her husband to come to church with her. During the classes, she took notes and asked questions. 
We're hoping to see some great progress from her and also that she can be someone that the Lord has prepared for the Gospel.

Also, we visited an elderly woman who let us in with a very serious look on her face. When we sat down, we tried to take a minute to get to know her, however she wouldn't let us. She interrupted and said, "I have to tell you something. Here, there have passed through a lot of religions. The Hermanos (Jehova's Witnesses), the Mormones, and now you two, the Masons." I stared at her a minutes and then began to laugh. We explained that we weren't Masons, we were Mormons and that "Mazon" was simply my companion's last name. Not her religion. We felt in the beginning of the lesson that she wanted to contend but as we did as directed by the Spirit and simply listened and listened and listened and answered a couple of questions, she began to open up and we ended up leaving the house more as friends than another religion that has passed by her door.

A crazy thing happened to me this week. On Friday night I had a dream with one of my favorite couples here in this ward, they're called Hernan and Abish. They are one of my model couples of what I want for my future marriage. Anyway, they were in my dream and a little bit late the spirit of a man who died appears in my dream and just stands there. Immediately after this, I was suddenly in a street here in my area and cars are passing by. The man I had seen before walks towards me on the sidewalk and then passes me. I turned to watch him walk by and saw a car drive by and stop next to me as if the driver was waiting to turn. In the passenger seat was another person who has left this world and he looked at me and said, "Tell Hernan and Abish to do their family history because they're not doing it and there are many of us who are waiting." I then turned around and saw hundreds of people who had left this world. 

When I woke up, I wasn't sure if this was a message that actually needed to be delivered or if I was just going crazy. I mentioned it to my companion and she suggested that I tell them see as how we were going to eat with them the next day.

So the next day, when we shared a message. I told them about my dream, being incredibly nervous seeing as how I didn't know if this was something that I was supposed to do. however, when I told them, Hna Abish said that she had goosebumps and Hno Hernan began to cry a little. They began to talk about how they had been needing to work on their genealogy. 

Crazy no?

Anyway, I hope you all have a wonderful week and that you all have a great Father's day!

June 8, 2015

Thank you so much for the hymn book and the posters. They came the day after you ordered them and I was so confused when I got it. I had no idea who had ordered them and wasn't sure where it had come from. My companion was dying of curiosity of who had sent it to me. And now we know. =P

This week was pretty good. 

On Tuesday, we had companion exchanges and I was with a brand-new sister training leader Hna Wolfley. She's from Idaho I think and it was pretty fun. No one was home during the entire day and we got completely soaked but we got a few laughs out of it. 

Wednesday, we had an amazing conference with President Christensen. It was his last conference and so it was a little different. We talked a bit about fasting which was great because I honestly have felt that I didn't really know the way to fast. However, thanks to all that we talked about I was able to better enjoy the fast that I did this last weekend.

We also talked a lot about marriage and families. President gave us a time at the end of the conference to ask whatever question we wanted. First, we were asking about doctrinal things or how to better help our families when we got home. Then I asked him how he knew that Hna Christensen was the one with whom he wanted to be with for eternity. I loved the answer he and Hna Christensen gave. They talked about spiritual impressions and asking the Lord to know if they should get married. I had also asked this question to a couple who I absolutely adore and they said the same thing. That they had received the spiritual guidance to know that they should get married. This brought a lot of comfort to me and I know to a few other sisters because, just like President mentioned, we're all afraid of marriage. Thank goodness I'm a missionary! =P

I also had the great opportunity to talk with President one on one. I had been struggling a lot lately and was becoming concerned. We talked about many things but one of them that touched me was the "filters" in our lives. He explained to me that we all have filters and frameworks in our minds that take our life experiences and turn them into meaning. Some times the filters are good. For example, one can take a mistake that we made and recognize it and cause us to say, "Well, that was silly but tomorrow will be better and I won't do it again." However, sometimes they can be bad and take the same mistake and recognize it and cause us to say, "I'm horrible. I can't believe that I did that. I'm never going to change." These filters are built up by our parents, our teachers, and some friends and affect all of our lives.

June!!!

This week we took off the baptism date that we had for Rogelio. He wanted to be baptized on his birthday which is the 4 of July, however, his older brother hasn't been letting him attend church and so it's not sure that'll he'll be able to be baptized. However, tomorrow we'll be seeing him and here's to hoping that we can figure something out with his brother. 

We got to visit the Pérez López family this last week. They are always so fun and we love being with them. We still haven't quite figured out how to teach them in the best way that they need but they still seem to understand the message. It also seems like the Lord has worked out a miracle for us because since they sell quesadillas and their only son who is the only person who knows how to drive is an engineer at the Volkswagon factory and he has a lot of work they weren't going to be able to attend church. However, the son informed us that he was going to be able to have Sundays as his day off again and so it was very likely that they are going to be attending church this next weekend. Woohoo!! We really feel that they can be baptized and be incredibly blessed by the Gospel and I'm so grateful for the opportunity to teach them.

There's a young girl named Cinthia, who is 17 years old. She's amazing. She's reading the Book of Mormon, going to church, and praying. She believes that the church is true and recently received permission from her mother to be baptized if she wanted. We are really hoping to put a baptismal date with her that is before her 18th birthday which is in December. 

Sindy, our 10 year old girl that we've been teaching since I got to Tule, was baptized on Saturday. She looked so beautiful in her little white dress. Her twin was listening to us before but decided to not get baptized with her sister. She was baptized by a new elder named Elder Neuwirth. It was his first baptism ever and although he did it perfectly, my companion and I almost died laughing when he gave our little Sindy a nice hard "good job" pat on the back.

We had a zone meeting in Tlaxcala, the capital of Tlaxcala and we got lost on the way home. We got into a combi thinking that it was going to pass by our house. However, while I was in the middle of contacting those on the combi my companion tells me "Hermana, we have to get off." Why?" "Because we're going to San Martin, not to San Jorge." I looked around and there was nothing but fields where there should have been town. So we got off with the other missionaries in our district and walked and walked and walked until we made it to the town where we could take a combi to where we needed to go. It was pretty fun actually. We all rather enjoyed it. =P

We're Lost!!!!

I've also started playing the piano for the Tule ward during sacrament meeting. Thank goodness no one knows how to play piano so they all think that I play beautifully. I only played the top hand. =P I was super nervous because it's been so long since I've played but I think that the Lord will help me out alot with this. 

We've started English classes as a district for everyone and anyone. It was a little awkward at first because the two other americans that will be teaching me had no idea what they were doing, so I basically taught everything and no one else talked. However, the next week we'll be splitting everyone up into groups depending on their level of English and I'll be with the kids so that will be really fun. =) 

May 26th

This week I dropped investigators for the first time while actually informing them of what we were going to do. I feel bad that I haven't done it before but this time turned out pretty well. We found out that the people we had been teaching were actually not at all interested in changing or in receiving an answer from God and that if they had received an answer from God they were willing to be baptized but wanted to continue being Catholics. We thought it was pretty wierd too but were able to leave their house having testified of the truth and on good terms with them. 

We had a beautiful lesson with a 14 year old young man, his name is Rogelio. He's had a really rough life and lives with people who are not good influences on him. He works for a member making bread and that's how he came to know the church. We had planned on teaching him lesson 1 again but then the Spirit told us to ask him why he wants to be baptized. We talked a little about that and then received the impression to show him the future that the Lord has in store for him, by drawing it out on a piece of paper, if he chooses to be baptized and is loyal to the commandments. The Spirit was so strong especially while we and the member he works for testified that all that we had drawn out for him was possible. I was planning on making him a better copy because he liked it so much but he asked if he could keep the original we had made for him and it was great because it was drawn on the back of a Family: Proclamation for the World. He's going to be baptized on the 4th of July which is when he turns 15. =) 

We had a family home evening right after and did a fun activity which is why he's wearing the funny hat =)

 

We then had a fun lesson with the family that he works for and did an activity of completely tasks with a blindfold to show how we can do everyday things without putting much attention to God but when we keep his commandments we get rid of the blindfold and can see life more clearly. The family was so nice and surprised us with newly made bread from the oven and a box of cereal and milk. We had absolutely no food in the house because we had not been able to take the time to buy it on Monday and so I truly believe that they followed an impression of the Holy Ghost. They have no idea how much it meant to us but I'm so grateful for what they did. =) 

There is a new sister in my district from California called Hermana Matagi. I don't have a pic right now but she reminds me completely of Camille. In everything, down to a T. She walked by me at church and I saw her out of the corner of my eye and thought it was Camille. I was so confused and thought I was dreaming for a minute. =P

We're beginning to clean out investigators who aren't progress but I'm very grateful for those that the Lord has blessed us with who are progressing and who really want to follow God.

Amo enviar los correos electrónicos de Lunes a mi familia favorita que los aman. ;)

I have officially decided that the Lord is trying to teach my companion and I how to work really well in an area that has a lot of potential.

 First of all, He is teaching us the importance of focusing our time and energies on people who really want to hear the Gospel and progress within it. We have a couple that has atleast two months listening to us and they have never gone to church. We've been thinking for a while that it isn't their time and that it was the moment to give them their space, however, with all of the potential that we can see in them, it's been hard to accept that it's necessary.

 However, we have also been meeting wonderful new people who are truly beginning to progress. There is a young woman, her name is Abigail, who has gone to church twice and we taught her for the first time yesterday and while we were visiting for a minute to get to know her better before really beginning the lesson, she herself told us that if she felt that this was true and what the Lord wants for her, she is completely willing to be baptized. We found that she has already been trying to better her relationship with God and that he has already answered her many times and that she converses with him regularly. She's a little worried about investigating another church because her religion, which is the Pentecostal, has warned her that God is a "jealous" god and that he gets angry when we go looking after other gods. However, we feel that she is really looking for the truth and that she could be baptized soon. 

We are also continuing to work with the family of 6 that we met last week. They are so great! We love being with them. This time we talked about the Plan of Salvation and we focused alot of the Fall of Adam and Eve because that tends to be the hardest part for most people to understand seeing as how they have been taught by the Catholic church that it was something that was horrible and completely unnecessary even though it was. =P I am so grateful for the scriptures and that they have all the answers. One of the members of the family, his name is Nestor, was confused about why it was necessary that Adam and Eve ate the fruit and so we read 2 Ne. 2 and it cleared his question right up. They are a wonderful family and we're really hoping to get them to church soon. There's going to be a baptism on Saturday and they said that they would go and so we're hoping that they will. =)

This week we have gotten drenched almost daily, seeing as how the rainy season is starting up again. We haven't enjoyed it too much but we're trying to make the best of it. =P I've heard that the more you get drenched during your mission, the hotter your husband will be, so we're convinced that we're going to have very attractive husbands. =P 

This week, the Lord has been teaching me alot about humility and just how humble I am not. Every day He shows me more and more of the things that I need to do better and gives me many opportunities to choose to be humble. It's not that fun but I'm learning to be grateful for it. At first, it was very frustrating but slowly, ever so slowly to be very very grateful for what the Lord is trying to make of me. =P

Check out this song, I think it's one of the new David Archuleta songs and I absolutely love it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8XjUUeXy_8

I hope you all have a wonderful week! I love you all and thank you for all that you do!!

Happy Mothers Day!!

It was great seeing you guys yesterday!! and even weirder knowing that the next time I see you all it will be when I get off a plane in Utah.

This week I had a cool experience with a contact. 

We were walking to an appointment in another town and passed two young girls on the way. I had the thought that maybe I should contact them but I brushed it off. Our appointment ended up falling through and so we headed back to the town where we live to look for other contacts. On the way back we passed these young girls again. Knowing that I had to contact them this time, we did. They accepted an appointment for this last Sunday and we gave them a Plan of Salvation pamphlet.

Yesterday, we almost didn't go to the appointment with them for issue with time and organization but when we called for the 2nd time to confirm the appointment they said that we could come over. I honestly didn't think that they would receive us and that even if they did, we would only be talking to the young girl who had been answering our calls. However, when we got there, we ended up teaching her whole family of 6. They're all above the age of 16 and are very open. We all got along very well and they accepted the invitation to accompany us to a Relief Society activity and another appointment. We feel that they have so much potential and we're hoping to be able to continue working with them.

This last Tuesday, we went with a member couple to a lesson that fell through and so we went looking for less-active members that they knew. As we went from place to place, the sky began to darken and thunder clouds rolled in. Watching the lightning and clouds we knew we were going to get wet. However, we had no idea that we were going to get DRENCHED, which is exactly what happened. We were outside of a less-active's house who wasn't home when it began to sprinkle just a little and we were about to leave when we ran into the less-actives we were waiting for. They let us in and we began to talk and visit. It began to ran really hard and it got hard enough that we lost power in the middle of our lesson. We all just kinda stared at each other in the dark and decided that that was a good moment to make another appointment before the storm got even worse. We left the house running through the rain and in the dark. We only saw puddles and water runn-off when the lightning struck. It was pretty surreal. Luckily, the members had a car and although we were soaked before we got there, we laughed the entire way home.

We have a couple that we've been teached called Erick and Elizabeth. They're very kind and sweet. They've already received an answer that it's all true but still aren't ready to make that step to baptism, wanting a bigger answer. We're really hoping that they'll be able to take the time to go to church because if not, we'll have to drop them for while.

Today we had a zone activity and we played water sports. It was so much fun and we all got drenched. I finally got to put to good use those water balloons that Mom sent me over a year ago. We all really enjoyed our last day together as a zone.

Only last funny comment. Yesterday, an american couple showed up to Sacrament meeting and they were both blonde-haired and blue eyed and very white. Once the older ladies of the ward realized that I was not the tall american woman that had walked in with the tall american man, they began asking me who they were and which part of MY family they were from. =P 

I hope you all have a wonderful week! Love you!!

Coming to you from the "Polly Pocket" state

Well, Angel Gabriel was baptized on Saturday and confirmed on Sunday. It was quite interesting trying to get him baptized with 5 other people, especially when one of those to be baptized cut open her foot and then had to go to the hospital. It set back the program about an hour. We were really running because the next ward had a baptism programmed at 6 pm and we had originally planned on starting at 4. Despite the chaos, Angel was able to overcome his fear of water and was baptized. The girl who cut open her foot was also baptized...just in case you were wondering. =P 

This week we received a reference from a member for a new investigator that he claimed to be "golden".  Well, she's pretty amazing alright. Her name is Elizabeth. She has...4 kids I think and lots and lots of questions. She says that she's catholic but mainly for tradition and has quite a bit of time searching for the truth. We're really excited to start teaching her and as she's had a little bit of experience with the Church, we're hoping that she will progress well. =) 

I recently had the experience of having someone use on me the "Listen, Ask, Reflect" process, that which we use with our investigators to help them overcome doubts. About a week ago on Sunday night, we reported our numbers to our district leader and the contacts were not good at all. We had felt bad about them because we had hoped for a better week. Our district leader called, he then asked directly about our contacts, what had happened, and why we had hardly contacted. We told him it was for laziness and whatever excuse we could think of, however, we knew that it came down to just that...laziness. Well, I think that he did not believe our excuse, because he said that he could not let our laziness keep people from coming to know of the gospel and then began to ask more questions. He asked me how I felt about contacting. I told him that I knew it was something we had to do, that people weren't going to come unto Christ if we didn't do our part, etc. Then he asked the question again and realizing that I had not taken the question in the way that he had intended, I thought a little deeper. How did I feel about contacting? Then I told him the truth...fear. 

We then had a conversation of him simply asking me questions and reflecting. Little by little, my actual thoughts about contacting, that I didn't even know I had, came to light, along with my doubts and other feelings that I had shoved into the back of my mind. After the conversation, I didn't change completely or instantly. However, the process of being changed and choosing to change began and I began to feel a difference.

I don't think that he exactly knows what he did nor the effect that it had but I'm very grateful that he took the time to listen to the Spirit and to help me find my doubt that was keeping me from progressing and helping others progress. The part that makes me smile a little, is that although I'm grateful to the Lord for this experience and for the effect it had in me, I'm not so sure that I enjoyed the process. I can't imagine how our investigators must feel.

Two quick funny stories for ya.

1) I received a request to be the girlfriend of our drunk next door neighbor. His name is Carnelitos...well nickname, and seems very taken with me. He approached us, very drunk, and began to talk with us. He's an inactive member and knows full well who we are and what we do, which is why he told us with some sadness that he knew I couldn't be his girlfriend. In spite of this however, he still wants us to visit him. I very frankly told him that we would love to, when he wasn't drunk. I don't know how well that entered into his foggy brain but maybe something got through. He really scares my companion...but seeing as how I'm almost twice his height and probably twice as strong as he is, he didn't do anything more than shake my hand. She now feels very protected with me and very grateful that I'm her companion. =P 

2) Do you remember the aflac duck?

​

On Saturday, we went to lunch with a sister who has a duck just like this one. My companion warned me that he's basically a guard duck and is not that nice. I totally didn't believe her and just laughed. I saw the duck when we entered her yard and he seemed pretty harmless just wandering here and there. While we were waiting for food, I began to hear the call of nature and asked to go to the bathroom. Here in the little towns, the bathrooms are usually outside like little port-potties and usually have a curtain for a door. This is especially dangerous when there is wind because the make-shift door decides to open by itself and allow the whole world to see what's happening inside.

Anyway, I went out to the bathroom and passed the duck on the way. I entered into the bathroom and began to make everything ready to get comfortable when the duck pokes it's head through the curtain and just looks at me. "Hello." I said, and it decided that it was an invitation to join me completely in the bathroom. I then tried to push it out saying, "Do you mind?". It didn't appreciate that too much and began to advance farther into the bathroom towards me. I then got a little scared and backed into the wall saying "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." It bent down and nibbled my foot right before I jumped over it and ran out of the bathroom yelling, "PATO!! PATO EN EL BAÑO!!" Which translated means, "DUCK!!! DUCK IN THE BATHROOM!!" I then ran around the yard, laughing while being chased by this duck until the sister came and saved me from him.