Mexico Week 8 -- Covenants and Promises

First things first...we ate these taquitos in the street and they changed my life.  Wanna know something even cooler? I liked them better with the sauce that had chilis!  Who’s Mexicana now?  Rach, I miss the Hot Cheetohs days, but guess what??  They have hot taquitos here in chip form and they’re pretty close! 

This week, after conference, I started something new. Every night, I write my blessings of the day.  It is changing my life! I go to bed so happy and all I do is take five minutes to write down kind of some funny things that I consider blessings.  I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY.  We honestly have so much to be grateful for despite all of the business in life. 

Remember Hermana Claudia? She’s the one that takes care of Antonio’s wife. She is a doll and one hundred percent Catholic. We’ve been going to Antonio’s house every day and I think he’s really going to get baptized.  Hermana Claudia is like our mom. Really, she is.  She bought us shirts and always talks to us about everything.  The three of us secretly call Antonio our abuelito.  

It is perfect.  We’ve talked a little bit about the gospel, but she’s so great and so prepared!  With Antonio, well he can’t see, so we’ve started reading the Book of Mormon out loud to Him.  It is such a special experience.  I know that we need the Book of Mormon EVERY DAY.  It has the power to heal whatever pain we may have, whatever thing we may be lacking, it will change our perspective of so many things. READ IT. 

Remember Hermana Infante?  She’s also kind of my mom here.  She came with us to a lesson and afterward, we were in her car talking and it turns out that they are having some family struggles.  It blows my mind how open people are with us and then I remember that we’re representatives of Christ and people truly trust us with their burdens.  Hermana Infante is the Primary President.  She talked about a lot of pain in her family.  She talked about how much comfort she finds in the sacrament and also in us.  She told her that her patriarchal blessing promises her that if she endures her trials faithfully, her posterity can live in righteousness.  She was crying and just told us that it is all worth it for her kids and grandkids.  She’s like the strongest person I know.  

This is why we have the commandments. Because in all honesty, wickedness never was happiness.  This is why we have the Law of Chastity, the Word of Wisdom, all of it, because Heavenly Father is protecting us from pain.  She honestly blows my mind.  She always sees the bright side.  She’s working things out with her husband, and she’s putting everything she has into her calling and service and trying as hard as she can to not have bad feelings toward others. This is how we face adversity ... by turning TO the Gospel, not AWAY from it. 

Last little thing, I’ve been studying a lot in Alma lately, toward the end. Remember the war chapters that used to be boring?  Well now they’re changing my life.  We have to be faithful to the end. We have to strengthen every weak point that we have with diligence.  It is not enough to receive a testimony one time, to feel the Spirit one time, to forget the commandments that are harder to live.  We have to be crazy flippin diligent and then fortify every weakness.  You want to know what else?  Covenants are the real deal.  The Lord NEVER forgets and He lives up to every promise.  Will we do the same?  The Anti-Nephi-Lehi’s were about to break their covenant. They had buried their weapons, but the war was hard, their brothers were dying, but guess what?  They left their weapons in the ground and not one of their sons was killed.  No matter how hard it is, we can’t break covenants, we have to trust that the Lord will keep every single one of his promises. 

Y’all are so great!  I thank Heavenly Father daily for how incredible every single one of you is. Keep your covenants, trust the Lord, and share what we have. 
LOVE YOU!!