Mexico Week 63 -- Birthday Moments to Celebrate

This week was so great!! It was so fun talking to y’all yesterday!  So weird that I’ll be seeing y’all for real so soon! 

As always, pictures first!! HAPPY CINCO DE MAYO! 

This week Naty and Hermana Claudia had their birthdays on Saturday! Hermano Mike is in between jobs right now and well, there wasn’t really a lot of money around in order to celebrate the birthdays. We bought a cake a made a huge card and surprised them Saturday morning! They were so excited and told us that the night before they had been super sad because they weren’t going to be able to celebrate their daughter’s birthday. We all ate cake together and shared a message about prayer.

As we were following up with their commitments, it turns out Hermana Claudia had read A TON in the Book or Mormon.  The study guide, more chapters in Moroni, from the beginning, she had read so much and she’s loving it.  Then on Sunday, the FOUR of them show up at church on time, take the sacrament, and then we go to Gospel Principles. Hermana Mike speaks up about how important to be baptized when we know what’s right and wrong, and how many big changes he needs to make, and how he needs to be a hundred percent committed to this in order to be a good dad. It was just cool. Like, I don’t know how to describe it, but it just feels different when a whole family arrives at church. Hermana Claudia said the closing prayer in our class and she prayed for so many things ... for all of the missionaries, she thanked God for being at church, for being there with her family, for all that she’s learned ... like it was just a super sincere prayer. They are such a special family and I love them too much!! 

Earlier in the week, we stopped by because Hermano Lozano was going to give Hermana Claudia a blessing. He gives her the most beautiful blessing.  Out of the other room comes Hermano Mike and completely surprises us by sitting down to talk.  He’s been ignoring us for awhile.  The questions comes up of when I’m going home. I tell him July.  “So, you’ll be here until then?”  Hopefully, but there is a possibility I won’t be. He gets super serious and starts speaking in English, “You can’t leave yet.  You have so much more work to do, especially with me.  You can’t leave yet.”  I was so surprised and also excited!! They read part of the Book of Mormon TOGETHER. They all have baptismal dates, except his son that’s 17, but they want to be baptized together. I would love to be there!! 

Hermana Villa and I went to the National Park today with Hermana Lucy.  That is park is so pretty.  It never gets old! 

Yours truly, the 4 missionaries in the Jardines Ward printed this photo and made a HUGE Mother’s Day Card for all of the moms in the ward and presented it in Relief Society.

 I think my companion took this picture of me one night when I was filling out our daily reports at night! Ha! Ha!

This week I learned a lot of things. I learned just how much with every companion or every area, the Lord prepares for something else I will face with another companion or another area.  After lots of sincere, heartfelt, almost pleading prayer and fasting, I know He loves me.  I know He always has a plan. I know that I can do anything He asks me to do.  It’s like with every hurdle I learn to trust Him and depend on Him more and more.  I am more patient, more loving, and I am changing.  

This week I was thinking about who I was before my mission. I was a good kid, but not 100% converted. I feel so much more converted, like I truly have a testimony of every principle of the gospel. I started thinking about what my life would be like if I hadn’t served a mission. It just wouldn’t be the same, I wouldn’t feel the same, and I wouldn’t do the same things. I know I still need to prepare a lot more, but I feel so much more prepared to be a mom and a wife. I think every companion, or people in every area are teaching me how I will be able to better respond to my kids. It’s teaching me a lot about the husband I have to look for! Ha! Ha!  According to an ex-missionary in Tlaquepaque ... who you marry is a lot like your favorite companion! I can totally see that!  I have to be able to talk with him and we have to be humble and we both have to change and we have to be positive and hard working and just see the best in everything.

It’s just cool. It’s cool absolutely thinking I can´t ... I can’t anymore … I just can’t … and then seeing how with the Lord’s help it quickly turns into I can. We can endure, we can be long suffering, we can love, we can be patient, we can grow, we can bear it, and it’s all because of His help.  It’s because He gave us the strength, He changed our hearts, and it’s just cool. The gospel is true. I know, I do my best to live it, and I love it. 

I love y’all tons and today I found some surprises for you!  Keep being good and I’ll see y’all soon.