Hermana Lauren Best: WEEK 18

Ah. Why is the mission the best thing in the world? I am super super super happy.

here are a couple more pictures from lastweek. we visited Maximina, our recent convert, on mexicos day of independence. i mentioned in the last email about the eggs here filled with just confetti, and we seriously had a blast cracking them on each others heads and just experiencing the pure joy of being together.

So happy!

With the confetti!!

I have a new companion, her name is Hermana Cascante. She is from Costa Rica, just one of the many reasons she is awesome ( favorite music? TROPICAL....)

New companion Hermana Cascante

Gosh she is just the best. We were all at the big meeting of transfers and I knew she had JUST finished training my super good friend, Hermana Hymas from my district in t he MTC. All the missionaries split on two sides and face each other as President reads who is with who (super nerve wracking). I thought 'hhmmmm me and Hermana Hymas are very similar....i{m willing to bet her trainer is going to be my comp' and what do you know? YES!!!!! She is also 22, but this is her FINAL AREA, or in other words, only 6 weeks together :( SHe is extremely spiritual. The first night we taught a couple lessons, then in planning I just said wow I feel the Spirit so strong with you, do people ever tell you that? 'ummm Hermana Hymas!' haha. We have very similar personalities. Like when she tried to pay the teenage kid that comes to switch our gas tank in these fake pesos she had and he was trying not to laugh and we were dying. YOU KNOW ITS FUNNY, RAMON!!!

Also during studies we ran out to buy tamales. Here in mexico people just announce in a super annoying loud megaphone what they{re selling. everything from cleaning supplies to oranges. i asked this slightly grumpy tamales lady if i could speak into the megaphone. i immitated how they all say 'tamales-tamales-tamales-tamales-' but they also name all the types of tamales in spanish and i cant do that so fast so i just said ' muchos.....tipos?' which in english is ' many....types?'. the lady cracked a smile.

Tamales Tamales Tamales!

We had the most beautiful Sunday EVER yesterday. First of all, randomly a ton of less actives that NEVER came to church the whole 3 months ive been here showed up!!!! AH!!! ALSO, the day before, we randomly went to this guys house named Ricardo. I just said eh lets try to visit this guy, its an old street contact. He is our age, but lives alone, is new here, and his whole family is in another state of MExico. He is studying mathematics at the university, and i can tell he is a little scared to be in big groups socially. but he agreed to go to church. oh my goodness. it was so amazing. at the end of sacrament meeting Hermana Cascante said sooo what do you think? He said ' can i tell you the truth?' And we both braced ourselves, not knowing what hed say. then he said ' i felt like everything the speakers said was just for me'. OKAY RICARDO you are incredible! he enjoyed the next two hours as well. at the end, we got him in touch with the girl in charge of the young adults and he just had this little smile. he could feel that we are all family here and that he is more than welcome at church and all the activities. we are SO grateful to know ricardo. we forced him to take pictures with us hahah hermana cascante said 'youre gonna be glad im taking this!! your first sunday at church!' I was super happy hahahaha

Ricardo

Another beautiful experience we had was withan investigator that every time we show up she has a little bit of doubt. something her super catholic mom said made her feel guilty for listening to us orrrr something like that. this week she said shes not sure if she can continue with us. i told her lets stay in contact and not give up, and can we teach something real quick before we go? As the lesson went on, like always, she told us that she actuallyf eels like this is the right thing, and the truth. it was really really intense this lesson, but very important. so we are going to have to work hard to have her to go the chapel, and experience these good feelings on her own, and not just when we teach. Sarai is very special for me, I don{t know how to put it into words.

Its very important to work hard. Even though Hermana Cascante is in the last SIX WEEKS of her mission, you wouldn{t know it. she doesn{t even like to tell people that shes at the end. I read a quote somehwere this week that says that Satan chooses his servants when they{re idle, and Jesus chose his disciples when they were hard at work. When we are really pounding the pavement even though its exhausting, its very rewarding. NEver have I gone to bed as tired as in the mission, and some days its just so tough. BUt its all worth it in the end, because you reap what you sow, and we are continuing to have success.

"Me with a family we're super close to"

Here{s some more random pictures. I ate grasshoppers gosh they were NASTY. lots of pressure from my comp and a recent convert couple to eat them.

Grasshoppers!

Not having it

Yikes. Well I want to say that I am positive that the church is true. Its strange how we have to exercise our faith to gain more faith, but thats how it is. THe more I have had to rely on the Lord here for pretty much every little thing, the more I realize he has the power to help me with it all. Its a little intense being the only companion that knows the area- took me a year to learn Provo, Utah, please imagine me on foot, in mexico, in a dif language, now with a comp that doesn{t speak my language, having to lead us around day after day. But we have only been lost one time the whole week and just for 5 minutes. This is absolutely not me, it is the strength I receive from my (sometimes desperate) prayers, and my HEavenly Father answering them in miraculous ways.