Mexico Week 22 -- Listen, Listen to the Still Small Voice

To my best friends!

This week just flew by! Wow, can you believe that this week is Hermana Buttar’s last week of her training.  I feel like she just got here! The time really is starting to fly faster and faster. 

Well, we decided to buy my birthday cake a week early so that we would have time to eat it! There is a gentleman named Miguel and he is really super sweet. He owns a bakery here and his desserts are the best! We asked him if he could make a cake with Anna on it and he said it would be really hard but he would give it his best effort!  Ha! Ha! He showed us the picture he tried to copy from, and with frosting it is not bad at all! Put my name on it and everything! Nothing like a Frozen cake to celebrate coming out the teenage years! 

  

Speaking of Frozen, there’s a new truck driving around that plays – “Do You Want to Build a Snowman” - in Spanish and there’s a new Frozen themed circus in town. Just eating that up every day!

This week we had ward council Tuesday night and we were planning on leaving early because we had an appointment. Well in the middle of the meeting, I just had this feeling like we should stay. We called our appointment and switched it for the next day and then the meeting ended about 15 minutes later. We didn’t have a ton of time, but we decided to go visit Hermana Romera before we headed home for the night. She is the littlest old lady. She is pretty sick from diabetes and doesn’t see very well. She gets ready every Sunday, just in case somebody comes to pick her up to go to church. She just breaks my heart. She is so kind and wants to share the gospel with her kids, but they’re just not too interested. We arrived at her house and she’s all curled up on a mattress super sick. We sang her favorite hymns to her and as we started singing Secreta Oración, she started tearing up a ton and trying to sing with us. She just really needed a little love that night. 

I know sometimes it doesn’t seem to make sense, but I think the Lord rearranged our plans so that we could visit her. I think He needed somebody to sing to His daughter. I made a goal that night to always listen to the Spirit. I want to follow even the smallest promptings. 

 A couple of times this week we also followed up the Denogean family (our friends with the kittens). Their daughter Alexa, has a baptismal and their other daughter Paola, also accepted a date! She surprised us so much, but she truly has the desire to learn! Friday evening we visited them and her daughters weren’t home, but Veronica was there. Alexa really wanted to go to the Primary activity that night, but there wasn’t anyone in her family who could take her, nor Hermana Infante. We called another hermana who said she could walk with her. After we talked to the hermana, I just felt like we needed to go with her. We went with her and while they were setting the movie up, we started singing Primary hymns. I just loved it! 

For the activity, we watched the Testaments. It’s a pretty special movie to me! We were explaining what was happening and about the Book of Mormon and Christ and she was asking questions, and then we got to the end, when Jesus comes to the Americas. I always feel an incredible spirit during that part of the movie. I could never deny that there is a Christ and that He lives. I know that He loves us individually. Just looking at His face and watching Him bless and heal people, reminds me that He truly loves me and forgives me. I felt an incredible love that just filled me up. I just know that He loves me and understands me and continues to physically lift me up. He wants me to be happy. He sees me for my worth and potential. He knows I love Him. He knows I’m trying. He’s a real person.  So here I am a little misty eyed at the end of the movie and they flip the lights on. Two of the other hermanas in the Primary presidency had some wet eyes and they start teasing me and then Alexa asks why we’re all crying. I am just happy. Just happy to be here, happy to be with these people, happy to have these experiences! 

To wrap this letter up, I’ll tell y’all about our lesson with Carlos toward the end of this week. We talked a lot about prayer and his relationship with his Heavenly Father. He knows exactly what he needs to do. We got to the end of the lesson and starting talking about going to church. He tells us that he feels the Spirit. He told us that he felt in his heart that we were sincere and that the Lord was talking to him. Sadly this old fart didn’t go to church this week, but I know that if we’re persistent and that if he can feel the spirit more and more, we’ll turn some corners. I just love their family. I want their family to be eternal. I just see it all over his face that he’s looking for something and I think it is forgiveness. After the lesson, Mama Contreras gave me one of the biggest tightest hugs. I think she has just been waiting a long time for him and we just gotta help the family out. 

Oh and I also spoke in church this week! I made a rough outline of my talk, and then I started talking from the pulpit and to tell you the truth … I really don’t remember half of what I said. I guess that’s the Spirit right? I know that we need to develop attributes of Christ if we’re really going to help him with his work and be missionaries. Every member who has been baptized, promised to be a witness of the Lord and I’m pretty sure that means being brave, trusting in the Lord’s promises and opening our mouths! We are ALL missionaries! Let’s have faith in the Lord and give him everything we’ve got so that one day we can say - I gave 100%! I tried! I made an honest effort to support Him in all things! I loved Him with all my heart! I wanted to be found working in thy vineyard. We can do it! 

Love you!!