Mexico Week 33 -- True Joy

To all of my favorite people in the world!! This was by far the best week of my entire mission. 

First things first, I’ll explain the pictures! We bought potatoes last week and we made french fries! Almost as good as yours mom! 

Also, this would be a huge plate of fruit with honey. It has changed my life. I eat 1-2 plates like this daily.  I literally live off of fruit. The sad part is, all of my favorite fruits don’t exist at home :(

This beautiful P-Day we went for ice cream! I had ice cream that was the flavor of Nutella! So good! 

Also, we decided that running in the morning just wears us out too much and we really only did it like two times ... about a month and a half ago! Ha! Ha!  This week we decided that speed walking was a good balance.  Just imagine Phil from Kath and Kim speed walking at 6:30 in the morning.  Cracks me up the whole time we are doing it!  

Okay now for the good stuff!! 

Our single mom is progressing so well! We keep working with her, keep sharing our testimonies, and she wants so much to come unto Christ. It is an amazing feeling to just want what is best for someone. We love her so much and we worry about her, we study for her, and we are trying to help her receive the blessings the Lord has prepared for her. 

Another miracle is another investigator that we have. She is in her 50’s I think, maybe 60. She is a nurse that works nights and she is precious! We met her like when we first got here, but it is really hard to visit her consistently with all of the schedules she has. But wow, she is so prepared! She is reading the Book and Mormon and this week she realized how much peace she feels when we go visit her. She was super busy Saturday and we didn’t get to give the lesson we had planned and we were thinking she wasn’t going to go to church. We get to church, the sacrament happens and we’re thinking NOOOOOO, another week without investigators at church?  I’m just praying asking Heavenly Father what else? What more do I have to do? What am I not doing?  All of the sudden, she shows up in her nursing gear and we just about squeal! Ahh, we are trying to work with the whole family but their schedules are so crazy! But, I know that she is someone prepared by the Lord. 

The miracle of the week the son of Hermana Elsa, remember our less active member that has such a strong personality but we get along really well because of it? Well actually, about two weeks ago, we talked with her son that lives with her. He accepted a baptismal date was going to go to church and then one day he just tells us he doesn’t want to meet with us anymore. Hermana Elsa tells us that he just listened to us because he thought I was cute ... I may have cried about that. But anyways, at the beginning of the week we visited her and arrived another one of her sons. She says ¨Hold on a second. I really want you to talk with him. He doesn’t believe in God or anything, but let’s see if he listens to you¨.  She talks to him and says ¨These are missionaries from my church and they want to share a message with you.¨  Both of us almost laughed! But he did listen to us! He just barely separated from his spouse and is going to live with her now. In the second visit, he had read the pamphlet of the Restoration and told us he believed all of it, that he had prayed, and that it all just felt right. He accepted a baptismal date and tells us “I know that being a member of your church is hard. I know that there are a lot of commitments, but it shouldn’t be so hard if we feel real love for God right? I mean, we should just pray every day for the strength to be able to do it¨.  He is always so prepared for lessons.  He’s reading the Book of Mormon. HE WENT TO CHURCH. Showed up a little late, but he came! He was talking with so many members and just said that he felt good. He has his baptismal date in mind and is truly trying to prepare himself. I have never taught anyone like him. He listens, feels the spirit, and he honestly wants to know. Wow, it’s just incredible! He told me in the first visit, ¨People can see when a person is close to God, and you, are close to God¨!  It was the most incredible feeling. People can see when we have the Spirit, even for you guys too, people know. We just have to fearlessly share what we know. 

This week I just felt happiness, a true, complete, deep to the bone happiness. It’s awesome! I feel strong!  I feel filled with love!  I feel like I can do it all! I can take care of people here!  I can contact EVERYONE in the street!  We can find people to teach!  I can love and serve my companion!  I know the Lord will inspire me through his Spirit!  It was just an amazing week!

I love you all to the moon and back! Keep fighting the good fight, it’s not easy, but you can do it! Love you! 

Mexico Week 16 -- Ups and Downs

 My Dear Sweet Favorite Family! 

I think I have a new love and they are called mangoes! For real, I am like Marley from Marley and Me! The fruit in the picture is called a pitalla! They are the weirdest things but I really do like them! Umm, I also decided that I would like Nutella!  Fun fact ... I like avocados! I always said that I didn’t but I actually haven’t tried them. I tried them and now I know that I like them! Also, Hermana Gudelia in our ward makes and sells the most incredible ice cream. It’s like the family business!  It is all natural and there a gal that makes the cones out back from batter.  Seriously, the coolest thing I’ve ever seen and I don’t think any ice cream will ever top it!  Okay, I think that covers everything that has to do with food :)

Mom, kids are loving your treats here! Seriously, you should see kids faces when we put the towels in water!  So fun!  Sometimes we take the simplest of things for granted, like towels from the dollar store with characters on them, or using a box of crayons with more than eight colors, or markers that smell!  I love watching them get so excited as they experience these for the first time.  It is such a great reminder to appreciate the smallest and most simple things in life.

I got to see Hermana Mansfield this week! She’s had two trainers and they’ve both returned home early from their missions.  She’s struggling a little bit and is with the sister training leaders. She is still working on finishing her training program.  I will never stop having gratitude for Hermana Valdez.  I am amazed by Hermana Mansfield’s determination and strong will to just roll with the punches!

This week for stake conference we went to the chapel that is right next to the temple!  It is outside of our mission boundaries, so who knows when we will get to return, but it was so pretty!  The Infante family brought us.  How awesome is it that y’all are Facebook buds and rockin pictures for Tyler! 

I have a question for you guys! One of the hermanas in our ward has a twin sister in the mission field and her sister asked her what blessings they have received from her being on a mission. I thought that was an interesting question and you should all hit me up with a response! 

Well whoa...so much happened this week...good and bad! 

First things first, Antonio loved his GIANT Book of Mormon!  He could totally see everything and it made such a difference in his ability to read.  We were so excited to see him later in the week and see how far he had gotten.  We went to clean the house again on Friday!  His bathroom and bedroom under the direction of Claudia!  Not gonna lie, they were pretty nasty, but that’s what service is all about right?  A couple of days later, I just got really frustrated with this old fart.  It’s like on paper he’s doing all of the right things, but he just doesn’t feel it.  I’ve really been dumping my heart out to Heavenly Father every day. In our weekly planning, we planned a whole hour just for him. I just felt like we received a ton of revelation for him.  Before his lesson on Friday, we studied a ton, we practiced and felt the spirit so strong.  We were going to rock this Word of Wisdom lesson! I was so pumped to teach Him! 

So we start teaching, we are teaching so good together and really feeling the spirit, I can see it in Hermana Antonio’s eyes too that he’s really listening. ‘I said things that I know didn’t come from me.  Well at the end of the lesson, some kind of switch flips and he gets fired up telling us that drinking coffee isn’t a commandment from God.  Also that he doesn’t need to repent for all of the adultery that he committed because it’s natural.  Actually, he said he won’t pray to know if it’s a commandment or not.  He’s still fired up and I just felt the spirit really strong and told him that we respected him a lot.  We know that we have a lot to learn from his life of experience, and then I asked him for his respect.  Because even though we are young, we have experiences too.  We are representatives of Jesus Christ that invite people to come unto Christ and to know Him and His laws and how we are going to make it home.  We are not going to force him, but we are giving him the opportunity to know the truth. Then I asked him to say the closing prayer.  He had this look on his face and his tone of voice completely changed and he said he would offer the closing prayer. 

Leaving there, I was thinking so much about Carlos Contreras ... another night we left after a rough lesson.  It is truly heartbreaking when we leave a house and even a desire to know the truth or follow it isn’t there.  Actually, I started thinking about Heavenly Father.  He taught all of His kids for who knows how long.  He taught every single one of us the plan.  He loved us so much and knew exactly what we needed to make it back to Him.  And yet, a third of his kids said no.  I can’t even imagine how he felt.  Missionaries like Abinadi and Alma loved people and they taught people who rejected the message too.  The truth is, it is hard because you love them.  For as frustrated as he makes me, I just love the heck out of him.  He prays for health every single day but also drinks coffee every day.  He has chronic health issues and won’t follow the directions from the doctor.  Sometimes I just want to say, “Hey buddy, you can’t pray for health every day and ignore Heavenly Fathers health code.”  

I started thinking about the things that I’m praying for.  Am I following the counsel Heavenly Father has given me?  Praying with faith means that we do something, we try something.  He’s answering us, He’s giving us the counsel.  Obedience is so important and it is the answer to everything.  We just have to have the faith that He loves us and His commandments are loving instructions.  Then, we have to show our love and obey.  Half obedience means half blessings. We can’t receive a blessing without obedience to the law upon which it was predicated. 

So, the other day, we visited Hermana Ester.  I told her sorry for not having more patience with her husband and explained what we taught and how he responded.  I told her how I felt and afterward, we sang some hymns.  We taught her how to pray in her mind the last time and asked her if she’s been praying.  She told us yes and that she feels better when she prays.  We prayed before we left and I held her hand like I always do, but her hands are super limp. While we were praying, with the tips of her fingers, she squeezed my hand. It was the most incredible thing and I know that sometimes our Heavenly Father answers prayers through other people.  Ah, it was just one of those mission moments that I am never going to forget. 

So Hermana Claudia took my blood pressure this week and it was super high, like wow, never been that high before!  It kind of freaked me out and I realized how stressed I have been.  In this past General Conference David A. Bednar said "I wonder if we fail to fully acknowledge this strengthening aspect of the Atonement in our lives and mistakenly believe we must carry our load all alone - through sheer grit, willpower, and discipline and with our obviously limited capacities.  It is one thing to know that Jesus Christ came to the earth to die for us, but we also need to appreciate that the Lord desires, through His Atonement and by the power of the Holy Ghost, to enliven us, not only to guide but also to strengthen and heal us."  Wow!  Is that true or what?  When I was set apart and also when I received a blessing before leaving the MTC, both talked about learning more fully how to come unto Christ. I think sometimes I think that I just have to work really hard, like really, really hard, and after, I can feel His love, approval, and forgiveness.  I think I’m starting to learn that this is not how it works.  I think the lesson I need to learn is that we can feel these things every step of the way. I know that the Savior lives and I know that one of my biggest trials is to overcome my perfection problems and let Him love me and let Him help me. Good thing I’m firming up this relationship with Him right now! I hope that someday my kids can read this stuff and hopefully they can learn from my challenges and I can be somewhat of an example for them! 

I love you all so much!  I’m a little jealous that I am missing out on graduation and Nat and Tony this week but know that I love y’all tons!

Mexico Week 6 -- Freckles, Tan Lines and Brown Eyed Babies

Oh my ever so beautifully wonderful family!  I’m probably in the best mood of my life today!  First things first, my freckles are coming out like crazy!  I am also developing the most attractive tan lines...seriously, they’re sweet.  The fruit here has also changed my life.  I eat pears like it´s nobody’s business.  They have these fruit markets on the corners and they’re so good.  Plus people here call it ¨water¨ but it’s like blended fruit and water.  I had one made from cantaloupe the other day and almost died it was so good!  I LOVE FRESH FRUIT! 

This week we had exchanges with the Sister Training Leaders!  Usually for your first time, the new missionary goes to the area of the leaders and the other missionary stays in the home area.  Well, we got a phone call the night before that I was going to stay and direct my area. Let’s just say I wanted to vomit all morning.  Our Sister Training Leaders are great, but they’re also kind of intense and kind of yell at zone leaders and stuff so I was crazy nervous.  But I really had a great day with Hermana Hernandez.  Our area is huge with tons of different bus routes, but we didn’t get lost!  It gave me a lot of confidence and I realized that I could do this and that I’m a legit missionary in Mexico! 

I also realized that my Heavenly Father honestly answers my prayers. He’s helping me to grow, to teach with more power and authority, with Spanish, with my capacity to love, and to become more and more comfortable here.  I had a great time during exchanges, but I also missed Hermana Valdez a ton.  I didn’t realize just how much I loved her and how we’ve really become close.  I got kind of sad thinking about how we only have 6 weeks left together most likely.  She thinks I’m going to train after my training is done, which makes me crazy nervous.  Then, I remember that it is the Savior that calls me to every aspect of His work.  Nothing to fear!

During exchanges, I had a Lizzie McGuire moment and totally tripped going down some stairs.  Our investigator from the third floor of the building yells ¨Cuidado!¨  Oops, too late!  It was super funny, but the next day my ankle was swollen.  We were running a little late and so we were walking super fast, or jogging, and I literally had a Jurassic Park moment.  Remember how Rach and I always reenacted that scene when she’s running from the velociraptors dragging her leg?  That was me in the streets of Mexico!  Ha! Ha! I totally thought of you Rach!

We’ve been teaching the Plan of Salvation a lot this week.  It is really hitting me how much this life is a time of preparation.  We can’t procrastinate repentance.  We have to change and become here on earth, right now.  One day we have to stand before the Lord and take responsibility for everything.  We won’t want to justify or anything of the sort.  We will either feel like a million bucks or we will feel completely terrible, so terrible that we won’t even want to be in the same room as Him.  To me, the choice is pretty easy. You know what experience you want to have.  Choose now and act today to have those blessings, to have the experience you want to have with the Savior! 

Okay, so the pictures of the kids this week -- Their names are Nicole and Alexis.  Rosa Elia is a pretty special lady to me.  She’s been inactive for a bit, but her testimony is so strong and she’s coming back to church.  All of her kids live with her and well none of them really work or anything and Rosa Elia works so hard to support them.  They all smoke and drink and she is trying so hard to quit smoking.  She broke down and told us how awful she felt and that she was a terrible mom and that she was robbing God.  It hit me how much people trust us. They look at us as representatives of Christ when they bring us their burdens with trust that we will know how to help them.  She’s incredible!  Nicole and Alexis are her grandkids. They are so sweet.  Alexis, the boy, loves me.  We ate with her yesterday and when we arrived, he went and changed his clothes and put gel in his hair when he saw it was me.  He’s to die for. Nicole is so sweet. They LOVED taking pictures. 

  

Remember Maria Dolores?  She’s progressing so well!  She’s 70 years old, but holy hannah she doesn’t look it at all.  We offered to pick her up for church and she was a little hesitant. We showed up on Sunday and she was all dressed up and ready to go!  She is so great!  I love being in their home. 

Last little story, remember Antonio?  He’s incredible.  He’s 80 and his wife is super sick. She’s in a bed all day and a lady takes care of her.  Well, their caretaker doesn’t work on Sundays and Antonio doesn’t like to leave her alone. Entonces, it’s been hard to get him to church. This week we had some incredible lessons with him. He’s so quick and he remembers what he learns.  His eyes are terrible and so he can’t read scriptures, but he tries so hard to read the pamphlets.  He came to Church this week and his prayers are truly changing. He’s expressing more emotion and progressing incredibly! 

I love being a servant of the Lord. I love that He allows me to feel a little bit of His love and to look at His kids the way that He sees them.  I love those moments when people hug me a little bit tighter and linger a little longer.  Every single person has pains, sometimes pains that we can’t see.  I’m pleading with all of you to be a little kinder, to judge a little less, and to give a little more of your hearts to the people around you. 

I love you all too much and think of you often.  Little things remind me of y’all and every day I thank my Heavenly Father for my incredible family. We honestly never know how blessed we are.