Week 74

My companion and I barbecued chicken wings!!

Habanero BBQ sauce!!! I was disappointed that it isn't very spicy though...:(

I had a wonderful week, to be honest, mostly because of an investigator we found who`s pure gold! His name is Fidel Martini and he is in a part-member family. When we knocked on his door, looking for his wife who`s a member, he came out instead and was thrilled and said, "Finally the Mormon missionaries have arrived!". I was confused at first, but he later explained how he`d been waiting a few days now for us to visit him after having the urge to see us. Turns out he is ready to change his life and wants to go to a church and says he sure hopes it can be the Mormon church because he loves our religion! He accepted a baptismal date for the 21st of August, which so happens to be his birthday as well :D

Yes, it has been super hot lately, but in comparison to last year it`s not too bad. I don`t know if it`s because I`m more used to it this year, or because I wear a hat now, or that it`s not as hot here in Guadalupe because of the mountains close by, or if it just hasn't been as hot temperature-wise, but I`m not too worried about the why behind it. I`m just happy not to be suffering as much :)

I was just informed that I have Mormon Pioneers in my ancestry, and on my mom`s side!? She says, "The first ancestor to join the church is Ephraim Mecham, who was born in 1808. He joined the church in 1837. It looks like he was one of the saints who rushed to get their temple work done in the Nauvoo Temple before they were forced to leave because he had his initiatory and endowments done in 1846." That`s so cool!! I`ll definitely have to look into that more when I get home, I've actually been craving to do some hard core family history lately :P

Honestly, I don`t know my new mission president too well yet, but I will have an interview with him soon and hope to get to know him a little better. From what I've heard, he is a really cool guy and is trying his best to find out how this mission runs and look for ways to improve it.

Something I learned during a lesson in Priesthood class actually came through revelation. The teacher, Brother Martinez, was explaining how God the Father and God the Son both have a body of flesh and bones, but God the Holy Ghost doesn't, rather he is a personage of Spirit. He said then that the reason is so that he can dwell within us and give us guidance and comfort. I realized in that moment how great of a blessing that is and how great of a sacrifice on the Holy Ghost`s part! He is willing to give up having a body to be there with us every step of the way and testify and teach us of the truth. How greater is my desire to heed to his counsel! Also it explains why it is such a big sin to deny the Holy Ghost. Anyways I am so blessed to have been given the gift of the Holy Ghost because I know that that guarantees me the right to his companionship always, as long as I am living righteously :D 

Love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!!

 P.S. Happy Birthday Kasey and Krystina!!! Hope you enjoyed your special days and the letters I sent you:))

Getting closer to fully organized in the house:P

Week 73

First bagel with cream cheese since before the mission!! Yum:D

Well, this week the "Canicula" (40 days of pure heat) started last Thursday and it sure has been hot here in Monterrey!! The good news is there`s only 36 days left:P My companion and I had a wonderful week in our area getting to know the new area members of the other half of the ward. We were able to teach a lot of less-active or part-member families, which we feel is where we will find a baptism and/or more support from the ward.

This Friday my companion and I went on exchanges with the Assistants in their area, which was super cool because I got to work with Elder Turner, who was one of the Elders in my same District in the MTC!! He`s a really cool guy and I love to see how much he has grown and changed both physically and spiritually :). Also Elder Cruz is such a good role model for me. He knows how to be strict, but at the same time enjoy the mission!

On Saturday, we had a Zone Activity where we all met together at a metro station and we gave out free juice and pamphlets. When we arrived some Jehovah's Witness`s had taken our spot we planned to use, so we placed ours on the other side close by. We had a blast talking with tons of people and giving out the free juice. We even offered juice to the JW`s. They`re our friends, even if we don`t agree on some doctrine :).

A small quote I loved from a Sister who gave a talk in the ward was, "The only way to come to love someone is to serve and spend time with them." May we all strive to serve and give time to the Lord so that we can come to know and love him more in our lives. He is our Heavenly Father and wants us to come closer to him, we just need to take the first step!

Oh and shout out to Krystina and Kasey since it`s their birthdays this week! Happy Birthday (almost)!! I love you guys and hope you have a wonderful birthday. Wish I could be there to give you birthday hugs!! Have a wonderful week everyone!

Exchanges with Elder San Pablo! A new missionary in the mission :)

A very sad day for a missionary...It basically says "Thanks for the time and teaching,
but my husband isn't in agreement with your invitation to investigate more into your religion.
Thanks and may God bless you." Ugh she was such a Golden investigator!
Guess it`s just not her time yet. I hope she is able to know more someday as the seed that we planted grows!

Week 72

Happy Birthday Elder Gayosso!!!

It`s HOT here in Monterrey and it`ll continue like this for the next couple months. Good thing they allow us to use hats now, it helps a lot! This week was insane...we moved to another house and we were told now that we are going to be the only missionaries in the whole ward which means are area is gigantic now! We had mission leadership council and it was my companions birthday yesterday. What a week!

Our new house is an extension behind a members house, the Torres Family, and it is a lot more central to our area, which will help us. I like it because it`s smaller and thus easier to keep up. Here are some pictures of how it was when we got there and how we cleaned it up later.

Before

After

This week, we ran around all over are new area, as well as our old, getting to know the members we didn't know too well before. It went well and we were able to receive quite a few references from members, which should help. This ward is super nice and giving, but we are trying to get them to be more anxiously engaged in the work, starting with the less active members and part member families.

The Mission Leadership Council was different from those I went to before because it was the first one with the new President. The weird thing though was that he had an emergency to deal with so he left almost right after we started and so the assistant, Elder Cruz, led all of the meeting practically. We focused our new mission goals, mostly on working with members and learning about, living, and teaching repentance. I'm super excited about that because it`s something we neglect many times. We all have the need to repent and should be doing it daily. 

Something I found while studying repentance in the Teaching of the Prophets: Spencer W. Kimball says, “repentance is ever the key to a better, happier life. All of us need it.” I agree with that one hundred percent and invite everyone to experiment with it in their own lives. What do we have to lose? Nothing, but what we have to gain is infinite. Love you all and thanks for all the love and support!

Nerf blow dart activity we did as a Zone last Monday, it was a hit!! And cheap too :)

Happy Birthday Elder Gayosso!!!
(The members bought him three different cakes! :P)

Week 71

A stranger bought us cupcakes when we went into one of the most expensive bakeries here in Monterrey.

I just wanted to show Elder Gayosso how cool the cakes are, but a guy practically forced us to
choose something when he saw we were going to leave empty handed, what a nice act of kindness:)

Well, another amazing week has ended on the mission and an even better one begins! Our new President and his family are amazing! All of their kids, except for the youngest who`s 17 and is with them here on the mission, have served missions and it`s no surprise because President Maucotel is an outstanding father, leader, and now mission president. We met with him on Thursday and he and his wife told us about themselves and told a few stories. I was very impressed with his Spanish abilities. He hasn't forgotten much since his mission in Argentina. Sister Maucotel is just starting to learn, but made an effort to talk in Spanish and did very well:) Their son, Christian, is pretty cool too, I talked with him for a bit and he loves music and wants to study it in college, his primary instrument being the violin.

I am so bummed I missed out on the Lightheart Family reunion, it looks like it was a blast! I`m super happy for those who were able to go and hope you enjoyed yourselves, hopefully I can see lots of you next year if we plan another one! I can`t believe how much everyone has changed...especially Kasey, Carter and Brian, holy cow they are full on teenagers now! :P Also I`m glad Kasey could go on the Trek, I bet it was super fun, I still remember when I went, the best!

Anyways, our Zone hardly changed at all this transfer, but the biggest change was in our Ward La Pastora because the mission closed the area of the other two missionaries here. So that means Elder Gayosso and I have the whole wards boundaries to cover! Our area was already huge, but now it`s enormous!! The good new though is that it`s more area to find new people to teach and also the other missionaries have some promising investigators we will start teaching now. Only them two, and two other missionaries are leaving the Zone. The only question now is who`s going to be the new ones to arrive and if the Zone will stay the same as far as its areas. If so, we`ll have only 14 missionaries in the entire Zone. Crazy! I`m staying here of course, if you didn't gather that, which means I`ll make it to at least 6 months here in my 3rd area, which I`m happy about because I love it here.

Good News! I visited my Doctor on Thursday and he says I`m doing much better! I do honestly feel a lot better overall and I`m super grateful to have had all the help given to be able to overcome these health challenges.

Like how they spelled my name?! Ha ha ha!

This week my favorite experience was yesterday, during the fast and testimony meeting. On Saturday, the ward had a primary activity to visit the temple and so many of the kids came up to share how they felt, which was amazing. Little children are so pure and precious, it`s easy to see why Christ exhorts us to humble ourselves and become more like them:) Then, the Primary President came up and she gave the most sincere and heartfelt testimony that the whole room filled with the spirit and tears. The best part was when the 10-year-old daughter of the Bishop, Scarlet, seeing her Primary Teacher in tears ran up and gave her a big hug while she spoke:,) 

The spirit of the testimony meeting carried through the rest of the classes too as we were instructed on the sacrament and its significance. I am so grateful for the sacrament and the opportunity it brings us to remember our Savior, repent or our sins and renew our covenants with God. Also I am super grateful to have had the opportunity to pass, prepare and bless it for many years, I don`t think I understood or appreciated it as well back then, but looking back I now know how great of a privilege it was and thank my parents and church leaders for encouraging me to participate:D

It`s going to be another hot week (97-100 every day) and loaded with activities, so I`m sure it`ll fly by, love you all and I`ll talk to you next week!!

A slice of a hamburger, that`s right it`s only an 8th slice of the gigantic hamburger
a sister bought for us. We couldn't finish it so we took some home!

Happy Fourth of July!!! Had a few minutes to spare so I went crazy
with my planning for today last night:P