You are all my family soooo that isn't wrong to say! haha How is everyone and everything? First, thank you so much for your love! It is greatly appreciated!
Soooo where to begin?? Here are the things that I have learned so far on the mission and why I know this through my mission experiences:
1. Chunky peanut butter is LO MEJOR! (THE BEST)
This would be a big thank you to Hermana Lakin for that one!
2. Children can ALWAYS teach you something.
There is a little girl in my ward who does this little hissing thing at me. I met her my second day in Mexico. I learned she picked it up from Twilight and is trying to be a vampire. I have started to do it right back at her and she always just laughs and we will go back and forth for 2 minutes. What I have learned is that when we want to be something that we believe that we are not, we must make changes immediately. If I want to be vampire, i better start acting like one. If I want to be like Christ, I better start acting like him in everything that I do. I must love like him, serve like him. How can I do that? I must start reading the scriptures and applying each part to my life DAILY. Brothers and sisters, whether or not you want to be like a vampire or Christ go directly to the source. The scriptures are always the first way to learn how to be like Him.
3. Angels do exist.
Spanish has been incredibly difficult for me. I am even more frustrated when we have to watch a video or read scriptures in Spanish first before they can be translated. I am not allowed to bring my English scriptures with me so I have to memorize where scriptures I want to use in lessons are which I would normally do however I always second guess if they are the correct ones or not. It's scary. As most of you know, conference is coming up this weekend and this last saturday there was a broadcast for the women in the church. (for those who dont know what conference is: we have a conference twise a year, every six months, to hear from general authorities and the prophet.) Well I was really looking forward to the broadcast saturday but when we got there it was all in spanish, of course, duhhh Kim. I was a little frustrated because I could only understand bits and pieces. All of a sudden the wife of the bishop tapped my shoulder and said "would you like to hear it in english?" She took me to a room and she and I watched and listened in english on the computer while my companion was with the other women in the other room. She loves listening in english because it helps her learn more. Later my companion came in because she also has never really heard the voices of these authorities or the prophet. It was a blessing. I learned a lot and even though I have hardly known the Bishop and his wife for a little less than two weeks, she has loved me so unconditionally. She was truly my angel this week.
4. Miracles DO happen.
About thursday of last week we met with a woman who has a date to be baptized. While we me with her, another woman came in and started listening. I believe she is the Aunt of the woman who wants to be baptized. After the lesson we invited her to church and listen to more of our lessons. She was very kind but very stern in saying "I have my faith, I am not getting baptized." We didnt say much more. Saturday night, my companion and I felt prompted to visit the woman who wants to be baptized again Sunday after church so we scheduled to stop by. Well yesterday, Sunday, she, the aunt, came to church with the Woman who wants to be baptized. She was attentive and she went to all three hours of church. We expressed our happiness to see her but that was about all. Then later on we went to the house where they all seemed surprised to see us. We honestly didn't know why we were there. We planned to review a part of the gospel called The Plan of Salvation with them. Again, the woman sat and listened but this time we involved her more in the lesson. We asked her questions and she began to open up more and more. At one point she bang to cry and I really wanted to say something but a small voice and feeling inside me told me to stay silent and listen. About five minutes later I felt prompted to share my conversion story with her. As I did she began to smile with tears still flowing. I told her how true this gospel really is. Finally I asked her if she knew it was true also. She smiled and she said, yes I know that this is all true. And then I asked how if it feels like she has known it all along. She was astonished and said yes, i feel like I have known it my whole life. She expressed to us that she wants to be baptized as soon as possible. We all cried pretty much. I cried. Naturally. It was so so so wonderful! I can not express the feelings that I felt in that moment. After our lesson she hugged me so tight and thanked me. I felt like I could die of happiness in that moment. It was like the moment that I knew that this gospel was true all over again. It was a miracle because she was so set in not getting baptized and expressed so much that she already had her faith.
UGH!!! I know this is sappy but I just have to say that I KNOW that there is a God. He is my and yours Heavenly Father. I took a lot of time to look back at my life in the last two years. I am in shock at where my life has gone. I am starting to tear up thinking about it, again, naturally. I used to think that life was about all of the temporal things. I used to enjoy the things of the world. I know that my Spanish is not anywhere near perfect but I also know that these people will understand what I am saying when God needs them to know what I am saying. I am nothing but a tool in the hands of God. I know that when we pray with a sincere heart to know that truthfulness of this gospel, about the Bible and the Book of Mormon together, that we can know better than we know our first name that it is true. There is nothing more precious in this world than the relationship that we have with God and with other people. I know that we are bound together by a bond stronger than life. I am grateful to the people who have come into my life through this gospel and I am grateful for the people who have been been there since day 1. This work is really hard. I do miss home. I miss my family and my friends. I miss country line dancing, eating popcorn with my brother and my dad. I miss watching scary movies with my mom. I miss Navajo Tacos with my Idaho Family. I miss dancing to Blurred Lines during the summer with the Hutchens. I miss it all. But I KNOW that I would be MISSING OUT on the biggest opportunity that I have to know God and Christ better and the opportunity to bring others to know them better than I do. I am grateful to be here. I love it.
A quote that a Hermana Seth Chatterley showed me and my district in the MTC:
"There are two kinds of people. The people you love and the people you don't really know yet."
Look for the good in people. Be humble. And love even in the worst of circumstances.
I love you all so much. Thank you for your support and prayers. I am good. If anything, stop praying for me and pray for the people in Mexico that I meet. They need them more than I do.
Con todo mi corazon,
Hermanaut
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