WEEK 40

No time this week, a member is going to take my comp and I to do a little sightseeing and it will be a few hours!

Heres a picture from Moi's baptism!!!!!

Yay Moi!

I love you all so much! I am still getting mail from November!!! 

And that was all we got from Lauren this week. But no worries, here are some exclusive pics to tide us over...)

Very cool volcano shot

Companion with some members in the area (I think)

The plaits of Alixco 

"The volcano being amazing"

"A man selling weird animal piggy banks.... hahaha" 

WEEK 39 (Halfway!)

Eek! While the rest of you folks were celebrating Valentines Day (here they call it Day of Love and Friendship which drove me nuts every time someone said it...way too long of a name) I hit my HALFWAY mark on the mission. There it is, looming on the calendar.

Halfway!!!

I don't like to make it a huge thing on the calendar because I don't want the rest of my mission to be a countdown, but rather to enjoy every moment! 

One thing I really loved this past week was that we had a family home evening with some less actives. we did the fairly well known (in the mission) activity where someone has to do pushups for each time the other people want a piece of candy. it goes on and on even when the people don't want anymore candy. Its to drive home the idea of the Atonement. My favorite kid here, Nadia, volunteered to do the pushups. She was a trooper. The next day, she invited all of us individually and very formally (including her own brother) to a 'beautiful activity'. A few days later we went to the 'beautiful activity'. It was her instructing us to draw shapes and use play doh and a bunch of other stuff on a piece of paper. It didn't make any sense but it was really cute that she wanted to have her own Family Home Evening and she told us 'i waited all day for this'. It was amazing to see how instantly kids catch on to things like that, and just how important things like family prayer, scripture study, and family home evening are. I still remember many Family Home Evenings from when I was a kid.

Nadia and her "Beautiful activity"

This past week we had our interviews with President, as well as a presentation from the assistants while the interviews were going. It spiritually recharged me and was exactly what I needed to hear. The assistants had us bring our mission call and we watched a video of people opening their call, and then read through the whole letter together. We talked about why we are all here, and what our purpose is. It was really profound and has caused me to do a lot of reflecting and I{m so excited to keep going and make the next 9 months really count.

My companion has pushed me to be a much better teacher and have more confidence all around. Im getting sad that shes leaving in a few weeks but as she always tells me just like with transfers in the mission we need to 'close the circles' and enjoy the part of life were in, not looking back or forward too much, but rather learning from the past, and having a hope for the future. 

I love you all!!! 

WEEK 38

No time for an email this week, but she did send some pics that didn't make it through last week...

A little dark, but this is Miguel post-haircut

"We went to Abinadi's farewell (missionary we've been preparing). I cried the entire time. He will do great things!"

WEEK 37

We are having a lot of success here with my new companion, I am super happy! The days are flying by, its kind of scaring me! Our investigator Miguel cut his hair!!! He looks like a completely different person. He came to church this Sunday and it was really great because two less active families that normally dont come showed up and we were already squished, but then he showed up as well and my comp, me, and all those people were squished shoulder to shoulder in the pew but i thought ive never been so happily cramped hahaha especially because the chapel here can be a little bare most sundays  :( 

Also Moises, the 10 year old I lent my guitar to showed up to church with his sisters. Hes not exactly thrilled in primary because he gets along better with older kids. I lent him the guitar so that he could have motivation and go to the weekly classes in the chapel and feel more comfortable there.  At first they werent going to let him take guitar classes with the youth because hes not 12 or over but an ex misionary here that helps us out a lot talked to the teacher and then was really smart because he said to Moises that he needs to always go to church in order to go to these guitar classes haha ;) i think its going to work out alright. 

I was reading one of my favorite talks, called Receiving a Testimony of Light and Truth by Elder Uchtdorf and I really like it because its very real. It talks about how if we told people from hundreds of years ago about technology today they would doubt us or even laugh at the idea. And compares it to spiritual light and truth, If we try to explain our testimony or the gospel to someone that hasn't received this testimony maybe it sounds unbelievable or like something we dreamed up. but that doesn't mean its not true. The talk urges everyone to try it out for themselves and offer a prayer. That some might "scoff and say such a thing is impossible, that if there were a God, He would have better things to do than hear us and answer a single person's prayer. 

"But I tell you this: God cares about you. He will listen, and He will answer your personal questions. The answers to your prayers will come in His own way and in His own time, and therefore, you need to learn to listen to His voice. God wants you to find your way back to Him, and the Savior is the way. God wants you to learn of His son, Jesus Christ, and experience the profound peace and joy that come from following the path of divine discipleship."

I testify that our Heavenly Father cares about us much more than we can imagine. We are His children and He is interested in how we feel and what we need. We just need to humble ourselves in prayer and have a relationship with Him so that we can receive these answers.

The mission is wonderful!

Photos from her last transfer meeting. "Here is what I want people to know: we are super lucky as a mission that that when we have transfers we get to reunite as missionaries in a special meeting! (In other missions, you just zoom off to where you're headed) It's wonderful to hear a spiritual message from President and always really fun to see friends and old companions, to say goodbye to departing missionaries and welcome the nervous new missionaries!"
Hermana Best and her American friends, including her trainer 

"Having fun saying goodbye to Elder Ante, a super good example to me!"