Mexico Week 57 -- Teach Me To Walk In His Light

Dear Favorite Family, 

First things first...the pictures!

We ate with the Lozano family this week and her husband spent a ton of years in the United States. As we sit down to eat, I see A1 sauce on the table and starting telling her about Rach and the A1 sauce.  They start laughing and mentioning all of the American things in the house because of her husband...then she sends me home with a bottle of A1 sauce! 

We’ve been working with one of the recent converts here so that he can prepare himself to serve a mission. He needs a lot of help, but he’s great at drawing and drew me a picture of Ana!! His mom is also the sweetest and she comes with us on visits a lot, and she gave me this white chocolate basket! 

This week our food with a member fell through one day, but it’s all good because we got to eat in the Chinese Buffet we’ve been wanting to try! Not quite Panda, but it was good!

This is Hermana Equihua. She is about to hit one year as a member and is the sweetest. She went to the temple for the first time last week and last week we ate with her one day. Her son, Victor, is 5 and absolutely adorable. As we eating, he wants to play a board game and we start playing and I beat him 2 times. He gets all fired up and starts playing with Hermana Lopez instead. We invite them to the Noche de Cine and they say yes.  Victor tells me, we can be friends but tonight, I need to play with my other friends and not with you.  Ha! Ha!  After a few more minutes he comes back and says ... well, it would probably be better if I played with you tonight.  

A few hours later, we all show up in the chapel and start watching The Testaments.  Victor is not the most quiet kid and is all over the place and somewhere along the way, I turned into a human pillow. We’re watching the movie and he says, “Did you see??” “Did you see!! Jesus isn’t on the cross anymore!  He’s okay! He’s totally okay now.”

 This is the part where I get a little teared up.  After the movie, the Elders ask for comments.  After they see I’m teared up, they call on me first.  It’s just that, kids get it. They always get it.  In every house we go to, the kids are the first who naturally respond to the Spirit.  It’s Semana Santa here this week and there are tons of crosses and they reenact the crucifixion and it’s so focused on His death. I love that kids get it, He lives! I love the week of Easter. Also, I kind of felt like a mom and that was cool too. I love kids. I am so excited to be able to have my own kids and teach them about Jesus and well it’ll just be cool. 

After the movie he says he’s going to teach me how to run.  That would be the video, if it makes it through!  I’m pretty sure people here think I’m nuts! Crazy white girl!  Whatever it takes to make that kid laugh! 

Today there was a HUGE market in the center of the city with so many beautiful Mexican creations!! I brought y’all some treats #guesswhatsinthebags

This week we got to go to the General Women’s meeting! Awesome right? I love General Conference! I loved the video with the families singing. I was such a boob! Then the other family video starts and it was all just so centered on families. I hope it’s the Lord’s plan that I get to have my own family. I feel so excited to center my home on Christ, to put him in the primer lugar and just struggle and pray and work it all out in this crazy earth life. We need to serve! 

We got to visit the Ramirez family this week. They are active members. The daughter is divorced with a 6-year old son.  The daughter’s husband is an ex-missionary and they were sealed in the temple, but he just kind of stopped living the gospel and well, they got divorced. The mom reminds me so much of our mom in about 20 years. She is hilarious, so loving, and gives everything that she has. She also says things like they are and is always trying to raise the bar in the ward. Her daughter is pretty stressed with her calling and we were trying to find ways to help and support her. They are an incredible family. They don’t have a lot, but they give all that they can. They don’t complain. They live the gospel a hundred percent and get a little frustrated when others don’t get it. They are so strong and I felt like I was in my own house with them! It was just a special experience and come what may, the gospel helps us and we can be strong. 

The truth is ... this week we walked a lot and didn’t really find anybody!  Not the less actives, not investigators, not new people, nobody.  I was getting a little frustrated and I think the Lord wants me to learn patience. He just wants me to trust Him and wait on Him just a little bit more. One day I was pretty frustrated because we had four hours with a member and didn’t find anyone.   It always makes me feel bad when members take time to work with us, and then we struggle to find people during that time.

We decided to try and visit a recent convert and we found her! We started studying Mosiah 24 with her and it talks about how Alma and his people waited on the Lord. They trusted Him and were able to patiently bear their load, happily and willingly submitting themselves to the will of the Lord. I started to feel the Spirit so much and it was just as much as a lesson for me as it was for her! 

Ha! Ha!  So I am starting to figure out how you and dad can just teach a class at the last minute!  We’re in Gospel Principles on Sunday and the bishop calls us out of class.  Hermanas, he says, we forgot it was 5th Sunday and didn’t assign anyone the lesson.  Can you give the 5th Sunday lesson?  Our jaws about hit the ground, um, sure Bishop está bien. We were studying for about 10 minutes about autosuficiencia ... I don´t remember how you say that in English and we give the lesson! Oh the adventures here!! 

When we went to church on Sunday, I felt even more worried with the ward. I just felt like it was all a huge weight, like there is so much work to be done and I didn’t even know where to start. My head starting hurting and it was just a moment of overload! As we took the sacrament, I started to remember all that I had studied this week about the Atonement. I started to feel that it was the Lord’s work. He knows the ward and He knows who He called here. He has a plan. I just have to lean on Him more. I have to trust Him. I am so grateful to be learning these lessons now, to be learning about the Atonement and how to apply it now. It’s awesome. It’s hard, but I am so grateful for every experience that helps me to learn. 

I love you all tons and hope you’re all happy! See you soon!! 

Tengo Fe

To my best friends in the whole world!

First things first … THANK YOU SO MUCH to all the ward and family members for my birthday treats!  We love the snacks and the kids just love all of their treats. Y’all are the best!

So lately I have been listening to a lot of Christmas music. Every once in a while we visit Esther (Antonio´s wife) and the last two times we sang Christmas hymns! I think I love it so much because one, it is just happy music; and two, it is so focused on Christ! Ahh, love it!  Needless to say, I think I’m always going to be the person that listens to Christmas music in July! 

We also had interviews with President Camarillo this week! He is literally the sweetest man. We talked a lot about the Atonement and how we can understand and apply it to our lives more. We talked about taking responsibility for all of our choices and making the most of this opportunity that the Lord has given us! He just really has a Spirit about him. He told me that Hermana Buttars’ Spanish is really good and he thanked me for being obedient as I helped her learn. He told me that he really trusts me a lot and gives me a lot of responsibility, even though I haven’t been out long. Wow! Now I just want to do everything in my power to never ever let him down! At the end of our interview I really felt like I should ask him for a blessing so I went for it. 

In my blessing, he blessed me with wisdom and a desire to study the Atonement more. He said that this study in the mission would bless and help my future spouse and kids. Wow! I am constantly thinking about my future family and now I can see why! I need to prepare so much so that I can be everything they need me to be. Something that really surprised me is that he said that I should give milk instead of meat to the kids that I teach .. that I should teach them line upon line. I was thinking that I truly haven’t taught that many kids, but maybe Heavenly Father has more in store for me! The kids here are truly so special to me. They are just so close to Christ! 

I was also encouraged to put complete confidence in the Lord. I think I still struggle sometimes to give Him everything. El Presidente gave me like a half hug after and I almost asked if that was allowed ;) He tells me: “Te quiero mucho Hermana Rawe”. He truly is an incredible President!

Hermana Buttars is the best. We had some real talk this week and I admire her so much. I feel like we both are changing a ton on the mission! We are just really firming up what’s important, what do we want for our futures? We talked about how so many people talk about missionaries that come home from their missions and then falling away.  We both have a fear of that, of just getting distracted when it’s not missionary work 24/7! We made a pact that we are going temple exploring in Utah every week and on the car rides recommitting each other to being good people every time! 

I had an epiphany this week!! We’ve started making these huge posterboards for families. We made one for the Reynaga family that says on top -  Tengo Fe en Jesucristo. Below it has the name of every single member of the family and we left some stickers. Every time we pass by, we’re going to see who has stickers and how they showed their faith. The kids LOVE it. Thanks to my package I got this week, we have sweet prizes too! I started thinking that we could do something like this for so many families depending on their needs. Some of them have trouble sharing the gospel, so we made ones that say -  Soy un Representante de Cristo. Every time they represent Christ and share the gospel ... sticker on the chart! I was just really loving this all week! We made one for Rosa Elía and her family too. First we watched a video about finding faith in Christ with the kids. Both Alexis and Nickole all snuggled up with Hermana Buttars and I. Not gonna lie, gave me major mommy fever. After the video, we talked about faith and how we can have it. All of their faces lit up when they saw the chart and the kids are so excited. I just love when you can see on people’s faces that they know that we care. 

We had two pretty special lessons with the Reynaga family this week. First, we taught the Law of Chastity with them.  We’ve been feeling that they need a refresher on some things and we taught it a little different. We started with the scripture in Corinthians that says that our bodies are temples. We asked the kids what temples are like. They start describing the temples and then Roxton says, “But, I drew on my hands on this morning, and I haven’t bathed in 3 days!”  Then he kind of does the classic Lexi head drop. I love this kid! These kids get it. They are so smart and they are learning so much about the gospel. They are reading the scriptures as a family and going to church. Even our teenager’s attitude is starting to change!  On Sunday we visited Hermano Pedro to see how he was doing with cigarettes. He asks us if we’re starting to see the fruits of our work in their home. Love this old fart to death. He tells us, “I don´t know if you noticed, but when we got to church, I went with JuanCarlos and Roxton and we sat on the other side.  I thought the girls were going to follow, but they went and sat with you two. They see something in you. Our home really is changing.” Wow! It’s so true. Their home is changing, they’re not perfect, but they’re improving. I couldn’t help but think back to when I was wondering why in the world do we come here?  They don’t want it!  The Lord testified to me to love them and stick it out and look at where we are. Ah, the Lord truly always has a plan. 

Now on to my other family members here, the Contreras and Flores families. We ate with the Contreras family on Saturday. Guess who was there to eat? Hermano Carlos and his son Fernando (who is also not a member).  We taught about how we can truly be cleansed from our sins. Wow! What an incredible lesson! I don’t know what it is, but I truly feel the spirit so strongly every time we teach Hermano Carlos. He talked about how he wants a clean slate, he just doesn’t feel like it’s possible, but he has this dream of his whole family being together after this life. My brain is about exploding at this time with the word baptism!  I talked about how there are things we have to do to be an eternal family, one of them being baptism. I invited them both and I don’t think I have ever extended a baptismal invitation with so much love in my life. Fernando and Carlos both said yes!! We talked about the preparation, about what it really means to work toward an eternal family. The night before I felt like their family poster should say -  Nuestra familia es eterna. Seriously!  We weren’t even planning to go there with the lesson and look where we ended up! Two hermanos preparing for baptism and a chart to mark when they make efforts to get there. I love this family. I love them almost like I love you guys.

We ate with the Flores family on Sunday because our food from the hermanas fell through and we decided I’m going to marry Angel (the Contreras son that’s on a mission right now so I can be in their family). Hermano JuanCarlos sticks his hand out and says, “Sister in Law!”  Ha! Ha! He and Blanca are literally Brad and Laura … so sarcastic, a little wild, but so committed to doing the right things. Entonces, guess I’m marrying a Mexican!

In all honesty, I got a little sad this week. It hit me that there’s a big chance I might be leaving in two weeks. I can’t believe almost another three months has passed by so fast. I love the people here and I think I might cry if I miss the baptism of Carlos and Fernando, but the Lord always has a plan right? I know that He takes care of us so much and I’m willing to go where He wants me to go. I’m willing to do what He wants me to do and I’m willing to be what He wants me to be. I love Him, more than I have ever loved Him in my entire life. I am committed to Him more than I ever have been. I just want to be someone that He’s proud of. I want to represent Him with every interaction. I feel so blessed to be here, to be with these people. I love my mission. 

Don’t worry, because I love you guys too, so I will come home at some time! Be good! Be examples! Share the gospel with everyone! Love you more than you know! 

Mexican Boston

Check this out ... it is Mexican Boston!  I think they look so much alike.  He is the baby of Flor Contreras and his name is Angel.  

Mexico Week 19 -- Lovin The Mission Life

To my favorite people!!  How are you guys?  I hope that all are healing and feeling better and getting ready to go to New York! 

So we wore our rain boots for the first time this week!  It was storming in the morning and we left, then by about 2 in the afternoon it is blazing hot and we were about to die from heat stroke!  Some day it really will rain for real all day! 

Hermana Maria Dolores bought us tamales this week!  Ahh!  They were sweet ones, with pineapple ... I was dying!  They are so good!  Then the bishop asks our little cutie to share her testimony during Ward Conference. She was so nervous, but she did so great! 

I was thinking this week...whoa, I am about to hit 6 months in the mission field!!  How is that even possible??!!  I starting thinking a lot about how am I really doing.  Am I really achieving my purpose and potential as a missionary?  Is the Lord proud of me and happy with my work.  I just want to give Him everything I’ve got during this time.  I want His approval. 

We have a new investigator and her name is Enriqueta.  She really has to be about 70 years old, and she is adorable!  She has this pug named Camila that her grandkids gave her so that she wouldn’t be alone and that dog is crazy.  She always says “Uhh, I’m better off alone that with this crazy mutt!”  Anyway, she’s super Catholic but she’s reading the Book of Mormon and says that it really interests her.  She also wants to go to Church.  She has a son that is super sick and she’s working a ton to pay for herself and her son because he can’t work.  She has passed through so many trials but her faith is so strong!  I just want to bring her home with me! 

I would just like to take a minute and talk about how much I absolutely love my area and my companion.  Cruz del Sur I think might be my home.  This week we ate with the Flores family.  One of the Contreras kids married their daughter in the temple and they have the most beautiful baby girl. Anywho, her sisters are hilarious.  They remind me so much of y’all because they are incredibly sarcastic.  Sometimes I jump in and then think -- Whoops! I am a missionary and I need to behave!  Haha!  I truly love being with them.  I realized that Hermana JuanCarlos Contreras reminds me so much of Brad, always doing stuff for other people.  He tells me all the time, “Come here with your family at the end of your mission.  We will feed all of you and then we are going to the beach!”  Hermana Isabel always jumps in, “We met the family of some missionaries and you can totally do it, and you just need to come back.  Give us a heads up and we will book the beach tickets!”

It is literally like a Henderson family reunion when we go over there. I decided that we should start saving our money so that I can fly all of my new family to my wedding that I hope happens some day. 

We also found out that Roman Contreras, the son of Flor, is an investigator!  We thought we were just helping out the Primary but he’s an investigator.  I love teaching and preparing to teach kids.  It is literally a totally different experience.  I feel like I’m practicing to be a mom! He is one active kid and he struggles to listen even to his mom, but we are getting super creative with his lessons!  I am so excited to plan his baptism because he has such a big family!

I love working with kids...they truly are very close to Christ. They’re just special!  Flor and her husband rent a room in a house with a million people.  The other day we were teaching and there were just kids everywhere!  We opened and closed with a Primary song and they all one by one, got so quiet, and sat down in a circle watching everything.  It was just a big spiritual moment for me.  I really do love the Primary songs and know that kids can feel the Spirit. 

Hermana Infante came with us to some lessons this week and well, we always go in the Infante van.  It is pretty much famous!  Haha!  We couldn’t find a lot of people and we started talking with her and she parked the van.  We started talking about challenges in life and how we can help our families when they struggle.  We shared our testimonies, hugged really tight, and then I said, “Well, before my dad dropped me off at the MTC I was a little nervous and scared too. My dad gave me a blessing in the car. Therefore, I believe it is okay to have spiritual moments in the car.  Is it okay if we say a prayer?”  She asked me to say it and I think it was one of the most beautiful, sincere, prayers I have ever said.  The words just came and she gave me the tightest hug after. I t was just one of those mission moments that you’ll never forget. 

I got to see Hermana Valdez today!  Actually she stayed in our house last night with 10 other hermanas.  It was so good to see her. We talked about our purpose as trainers and just had some good bonding talking about the ups and downs of training new missionaries!  I am so grateful for Hermana Buttars and the experiences that we are having together.  She is a great missionary and I truly have been blessed with the best companions! 

Love you all to the moon and back! Keep loving the Lord and being missionaries!