Ay, que loco! May 27, 2014

Seriously, these weeks just keep getting faster and when I look back, it
feels like I have been through a month.  I don't understand this life! haha
it's so weird.  Right now a lot of changes are happening!  First of all,
transfers today!  My companion and I stayed together (: So happy about
that! But they switched the zones up on us.  I have this new feeling of
prejudice because now we'll be half English in our zone...but hey, just
because I'm Mexican now doesn't mean I can't be nice to the others (; haha
ohhh mission life.  Aaaand I've entered into this new phase where I have a
lot of missionary friends now! Which is great! and they're starting to
leave me ): In fact, this is Sister Solomon's last transfer! I am honored
to spend it with her, but I will be so sad to see her leave.
This last week was incredible!  It started out on exchanges with my good
ole MTC comp! Hermana Field.  Que raro, verdad?  We had a blast!! She's
been in English since we got out and just barely got put into her first
Spanish area.  I felt so cool because I understood everything and even got
complimented on my Spanish when I was with her.  But maybe it was just
because I understood a little more than her? Either way, that one went in
my journal! haha I was stoked to hear that I might just be picking this up.
Ohhh my goodness! We had dinner with the Bishop of our English ward last
week...he has a little boy named Thomas who is 5.  When I sat down on their
couch, he ran up and gave me the biggest hug.  All the Elders got a kick
out of it and so I'm pretty sure that's what kept him going because 2
seconds later I turned my head and bam! he kissed me on the cheek!
Everyone thought it was the most hilarious thing and so he kept doing it
all night long! Every time I turned my head.  Then he sat by me at dinner
and just kept saying "you're so beautiful" haha Lovely (: ohh oh and this
was my favorite quote of that night: "I am stuck with you in my head" haha
we taught music time in primary this last Sunday and he said "hey it's the
beautiful girl!" Yep, sure is (; haha just kidding.
I also gave my first talk in English! It was crazy because I could actually
say what I wanted to say and I didn't even worry about it.  I talked about
the parables of Jesus.  Wow. Those are incredible! The Bible is just poetry
(: and even better because it's about the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
This Gospel is so true. I can say now what I've always wanted to say
before, that I know this is true with all of my heart.  Joseph Smith, He
was called of God!  I know it! I can feel it with everything in me.  This
work is a miracle.  My mission is a miracle.  These ARE the last days and
like the scriptures say, even the elect can fall if they are not careful.
We have to be prepared (: Be worthy!  One of my favorite scriptures, Joshua
3:5: ...Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among
you.
He cannot do wonders among us if we are not worthy to be the instruments in
His hands, through which these wonders come to pass.  Remember, o man, and
perish not!
I just want to end by saying again, these are the last days! (: We need not
fear, only take courage in Christ who strengthens us!  If we are prepared,
we shall not fear.
Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this
world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Put on the whole armor of God. Love you!
Shine on (:

Oh, the times May 19th, 2014

This last week was very interesting, but very good!

Actually, the entire district got food poisoning on Tuesday and so that took me out for the day!  The next day wasn't as fun, either, but we at least got to get out! Annnd then the day after that, I was sick again and was back inside. haha! So hey, just livin' the dream (:

But! It really was the greatest week.  I have been learning so much about myself and how much I need to change.  How exciting!  I was just so humbled this week.  I have been trying to focus on really listening to people, to what they're saying, and listening with my heart.  Incredible things came as I began to strive to do that!  I felt immense love for these people here!  It changed me.  I just feel so blessed to be here and to have the life I have.  This soft skin can't even begin to fathom the weathered hands of those who have gone through so much!  I can't even describe to you what I feel when I say that.
I have been reflecting and asking myself, "what is my motive out here?" 

I was thinking about how much of my life I've been so selfish.  A lot of my motives were strictly about what would benefit me in the long-run.  Well, having that perspective, I jumped out of my skin, and tried to stay without myself for a while.  You know, forget myself and go to work, as President Hinkley told us.  Well, let me tell you this...it works!  Oh, the love you can feel and the capacities you can reach.  Who am I to complain?  Who am I to judge?  To even begin to feel the least bit sorry for myself?  I have had it SO good! So easy.  And it is not about me.  It never is and it never was.  And that is what is so great about this Gospel.  It is all about the Savior and His Holy Spirit which testifies of all things.  I am here to be as worthy as I can so that the Spirit can be with me and others might feel of that Spirit and desire to change. Ah! Just good things. Good things.

Oh! And this was really neat to me.  One of our investigators, Alma, was telling us the other day about how the Prophet Elijah is a name that whenever she hears, sticks out to her a lot.  She asked us what that means and she wonders why she feels such a connection to it.  I decided to read about Him in the Bible and in the Bible Dictionary.  It was such a powerful experience as I realized that it must be that the Spirit of Elijah is touching her heart: as in, the sealing power in the Temple!  Maybe her ancestors are calling out to her, I am not sure.  And we haven't talked to her about it yet, but I feel that this has everything to do with Family History and Ordinances, especially Sealing in the temple!  The Bible does say that the hearts of the children would be turned to their fathers in the last days...and these are ever-so-apparently the last days!  We need to prepare! Ah, so exciting! I just felt such a need to declare repentance as I studied that over. 

We also found another new investigator!  She is awesome! She said she has been studying the Bible and says she wants to be Baptized the way Jesus was and she only wants to pray to Him, not through anyone else (her husband is Catholic).  The first thing she said to us was, "Well, my main goal is to be baptized, so that's what I want to do"  It was incredible! (: I just feel like we have been so blessed lately!! (: 

Annnd on a side not, my companion attacked me with her nerf gun the other day! Psh. Watch out for those...

Shine on! (: Love.

So I have a good story - May 12th, 2014

I was driving to the temple with some other missionaries (lucky to have been placed in a van haha) and I was talking to one of the Sisters who is in my old area now.  We were talking about ways that we like to approach people.  I told her that sometimes I like to talk to people if I like their style. I like to go up and tell them how cool their jacket is or if I like their shoes and whatnot...Then I told her about this cool guy I met at the gas station.  When I saw him, I had the thought to talk to him. And then I decided his jacket was cool, so I went over to tell him.  I told him about the message we share and gave him a Book of Mormon.  He was on his way to some tryout for the Para-Olympics (he was in a wheelchair).  I ended up leaving him with our number and he went off on his road trip to California.  Then I told the sister his name because I still remembered it.  She said, "what! No way.  He texted us a little bit ago about how he had been looking at that website and he wants to change.  He is a golden investigator now!"  Ahhh! I love stories like that! I loved hearing that (: The Lord truly does put people in our paths.  So hey, if you like someone's jacket, you mine as well just tell them...oh, and bring up the Gospel, too (: Not that hard! haha SO cool!!

Other than that, Mother's Day was very fun (: Mexican Mother's Day was great, too! And I am still terrible at volleyball...

I just want to leave you with a reminder: 3Nephi 18:24--

"...Hold up your light that it may shine unto the world."

We all have a light inside of us.  Don't be afraid to shine! (: 

And as it says in that same verse:  

"Behold I am the light which ye shall hold up--that which ye have seen me do." 

Christ is the light which we must shine.  And as we follow His example, we shine His light and we grow brighter and brighter.  

So shine on (:

(Familias son eternas!)  

This month of the week - May 5th, 2014

It is crazy that a week has already gone by, but looking back on my week, it feels like it was a month long! Time is such a concept, eh?

So I read this scripture, Jarom 1:11, the other day: "Wherefore, theprophets, and the priests, and the ^ateachers, did labor diligently,exhorting with all long-suffering the people to ^bdiligence; teaching the^claw of Moses, and the intent for which it was given; persuading them to^dlook forward unto the Messiah, and believe in him to come ^eas thoughhe already was. And after this manner did they teach them."
And I thought, "How cool!" This is how it should be today!  We should look forward unto the Messiah and believe in Him to come and though He is already here.  Of course, we know that He already came...but He will come again! And so this scripture is still applicable.  What a thought.  You always here the saying, "What would Jesus do?" Well what if we thought, "What if Jesus were here...right now...right here! Even next to me?" I know that if that were the case, we would all be different!  

SO this week was incredible!  My favorite part (: Was when we were teaching our investigator Alma.  She works all the time in this little store she has.  First of all, let me tell you about Tubac.  It is incredible! I live here in Tubac and it is practically like living right next to that street lined with little shops down in Moab.  They have the same types of things here as they do there.  Which I love!! (it's also dangerous...haha gotta suppress the urge to spend!) Anywho, Alma works in one of those shops.  It is getting slower now because all of the "snow birds" are flying north for the summer.  Since she is working all the time and it is slower there, we visit her in her store.  Yes, it is very different, but it works!  We had an hour to ourselves this last visit, which was awesome!  We taught her about the Restauracion of the Gospel.  She was just soaking it in.  Then we got to the part about Joseph Smith and the 1st vision.  We told her to listen very carefully and pay attention to her feelings, of course (; and wow...after we recited Joseph Smith's own words, she just sat there and said, "Wow, that's incredible." She said, "I have this feeling and it doesn't fit inside of me. I need to stand up!" And her eyes filled with tears...Even in a little souvenir shop, with Mexican fiesta music playing in the background, you CAN feel the spirit.  It was the most incredible experience I've had thus far.  The Spirit was so strong and testified so powerfully and beautifully.  We invited her to be baptized when she knows our message is true...to be honest, I felt silly to even have the "when you know this is true" part onto our invitation.  It was SO obviously true to me in that very moment.  The Spirit had truly born witness to us all that this message is a true one! This church is the true one.  And the Spirit will testify to any open heart of all truth.  Her family is all Catholic (we run into that one every every day!) and so her mom would have a hard time with this...but she said when she knows it's true, she will "definitely" be baptized.  Ah! She is so cute (: So full of life! Future YW leader, indeed!! 

We got to go to the Fiesta de Mayo this Saturday! That was awesome.  It was right next to the border and wow. Food. (: I should be Mexican.  It's my goal in life (; haha 

After that, we got to go to a party for a little girl and boy who were just baptized in our barrio.  This little girl sat next to me during the pinata time, and I asked her if the whole pinata was filled with candy...because the ones they use are HUGE! and she said haha, "no, just some.  It's because we're Mexicans so we use pinatas." Then pointing to the girl next to her, "She's Mexican, too, I think. I'm pretty sure" haha ohhh of course you are (: The whole family was only speaking Spanish and the little girl next to her was her cousin. I just thought that was cute (: 

Good times down here in the bottom of AZ! (: Lovin' it!  Can't wait to see what happens next.

Here's my next favorite line of the week!  We play bingo with these feisty Latina ladies after we serve meals in the community center every week.  I always sit by a lady named Ophelia and help her read her card since she can't see well.  I had stepped out for a moment and when I came back in, she had been searching for me!  She said, "Ayudame, guera guapa!" hahaha it was hilarious (: "Help me, beautiful white girl"  they are a hoot! Such fun (: