Push and Pull

Hello everyone!

I just love Mexico! And all the people in it!

Oh how much I love each and every one of you! Your emails are so so so sweet and supportive and I am just so incredibly grateful to have such a wonderful family back in Reno, Idaho and Utah.... and other countries as well! Just know that I am giving each and every one of you a huge hug :)

Well, another week had flown by! Literally, I really can't believe that I am writing this group email again! It was a crazy week full of activites and a ton of hurricane weather!! Our church is about 30 minutes from where we live so we normally have to leave an hour early in case there is traffic to get there on time. This past week we had to travel to the church everday since Sunday all the way to today for activities such as: cleaning the church, a conference for the missionaries in our area, weekly meetings, a Noche de Talentos (Talent show), an activity for the kiddos which we participated in, baptisms, church again yesterday and today we played volleyball and futbol with some members. BUT I LOVE IT. It makes us work even harder with the limited time we had/have.

We did a skit for a conference that we had. this is our
mission president with one of the missionaries that
 shares teh ward with us... he was a mouse.. These are also
some other missionaries in our area that
were mice... and a tree haha



 

On Friday night we had our Noche de Talentos. It was raining
ridiculously hard so we postponed it for an hour. We didn't have
 the amount of people that we were hoping for as a result of the
hurricane-ish weather. (no jokes) BUT it was super fun.

These are the missionaries that serve in the same ward
as us and literally are the best ever! As well as me and
my companion hahaha! The Noche de Talentos ended
up ending relatively late so we all had to get rides
home from a member. That would be the explanation f
or the last picture. Mexicans actually
fill up their cars like this in Mexico!

We were a little frustrated yesterday because we have been working super hard and we felt like we didn't see some changes in people that we wanted to see. It's hard to see people know what we are saying but not understand it because they choose not to apply it or act on it. Every week, between lessons with members, investigators and members that are less active, we teach about 90-100 leassonsbut we just weren't seeing the results... BUT we have THE BEST missionaries in the same ward with us. They are also our zone leaders. They support us and help us so much. We have a really tight knit group of missionaries and every single one contributes something special. We are all just working very hard and yesterday my companion and I finally saw some results! 

We did a skit and we pretended to be each other.
The elder with the crazy hair (elder Gonzalez) played me and the elder with the glasses (elder Mendez) played my companion, Hermana Lopez. It was super funny.



I talked about Anna and Matthew a few weeks ago and their son Richard, wellllllllll Matthew and Richard will be getting baptized this Sunday!!! Anna is workingon giving up coffee. She has a very strong addiction to it so we are working on that with her! We hope that with the baptism of Matthew and Richard, she will be even more motivated. Please keep them in your prayers! 

And finally, please meet Margerie! This would be a future
 missionary in the US! She is the sweetest! Whenever we eat with
this family she comes out in her skirts and dresses
with her little name tag that she has but this day she couldn't
find it so stole mine! I hope these pictures are
enough to make up for the last few weeks that I have faulted. I
 also hope they give you an idea that the mission is the best! I promise we actually work! :)

It has been a crazy week. A lot of pushing and pulling. We have felt crazy but really we are amazed at the way the Lord chooses to communicate with us. We are so grateful for all of the experiences that we have had and the miracles that we see DAILY. Something that we have really learned is this: We might not be able to change the whole world but we sure can love it. And really, that's all the world really needs.

Love you ALL so much! And thank you!

Hermanaut

We ask for 5, He gives us 10

Buenos tardes amados mios!

So, August is the month for birthdays! Happy birthday shout outs to my beautiful cousin Nycoley and my bestest bud Andre! Happy birthday you guys!! Have such an awesome week and eat lots of cake for me!!

This week has been incredible learning experience for me. I have really learned a ton of the true characteristics of God and Christ. We had a HUGE miracle happen to us on Wednesday. This week, we were challenged to find 15 new people who were willing to talk to us and accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ and be baptized. I honestly was really nervous. I hate not reaching goals and I knew that this wasn't a challenge to get more people to church but to really bring 15 people to know of God's love. Every night when we get home we plan for the things that we will do the next day. We nelt down to pray and my companion offered the prayer. As she prayed I was pondering on the things that we needed to do the next and a very surprising thought entered into my mind. "We are going to find a family of 5 people." It was weird and i tried to shake it but I really couldn't. It was stuck in my head. When my companion ended the prayer I looked at her and to my own surprise I said: Tomorrow, we are going to find a family of 5 people. She smiled and said: "ok!" The only thing I told her about it after that was that we needed to prayer in all of our prayers that we find them, and that they are ready and willing to listen to this amazing message that we have to share.

The next morning we continued praying for this family. My companion and I were 100% certain that this point that we would find this family. We left with hope, diligence, love and a whole lot of faith in our hearts. Our first lesson went well. At 12 we had plans to visit a family that we have taught before. We tried to pay attention to all of the promptings that we may recieve. A sister in the ward called us and asked us to pass by. She wanted a blessing from the elders and also wanted to see us. I was about to tell her that we would pass by her house at that moment but something told me that we needed to see this family. I sked if it was emergency and she said no so I told her we could drop by in an hour. We arrived at the apartment of this family and they werent there. I am not going to lie, I was pretty bummed because I felt that we needed to see this family. As we were about to leave, the neighbors of this family started asking my companion questions and eventually told us to come. I saw that there were 4 people in the room and my hope perked a little bit. Slowly, and one by one, more people began to enter the room and we began to teach. At the height of our lesson there were 8 people listening to us. All I kept saying in my head was: "No way. Nooo way." As we finished our lesson, the gentleman who asked us to come in began telling us a story. He told us that he is from Acapulco but for the moment lives in a city called Chiapas. He told us that he came to visit his family (specifically his sister) this message: "Your family needs to be closer to God. You need to bring God into your lives and 2 angels are going to come." I got goosebumps and my heart began to race. We asked the family if they would like to be baptized and all 8 accepted. In the morning before this family, the gentleman we taught accepted the invitation to be baptizd as well as a sister of some girls that we are also teaching. By the end of the day we had 10 people who were willing accept the Gospel and be baptized.

Honestly, I am not really sure what will happen with these 10 people. I hope that every one of them can come to know the love of God and Christ. But what this day taught me more than anything was that God is so willing to communicate with us, He is willing to show us the way and to show us His love. He truly wants us to rely 100% on Him. All we asked for was a family of 5 but by the end of the day HE gaves us 10 people. I was so scared when i recieved the thought as my companion was praying. I was in complete amazement the whole day and night. I could hardly sleep. The next morning as I was studying, the first thing I read was the following in the Book of Mormon, the first verse of 1 Nephi 11:

For it came to pass after I had desired to know the things that my father had seen, and believing that the Lord was able to make them known unto me, as I sat pondering in mine heart I was caught away in the Spirit of the Lord, yea, into an exceedingly highmountain, which I never had before seen, and upon which I never had before set my foot.

Nephi talks about 3 things in this verse. He desired (diligence), he believed that the Lord could do all things (faith), and he pondered (prayer). I know understand that through these three things we were able to find these people. We had utter desire to find them, the faith that if we trusted even a little bit in the word of God he would give us what we needed, and prayed every moment we had to recieve it. We asked for 5, but because we replied solely on the guidance of His Spirit, and believed that HE and nobody else could make is happen, He gave us 10. He literally doubled what we asked for this day. I learned that we can't do this alone. We could have said: "Sweet! We are going to find a family of 5 because we are awesome missionaries!" But we humbled ourselves in that night after our prayer because we knew we couldn't do it without relying fully of the power of God. I am not and never will claim to know God face to face. I don't know the Bible or the Book of Mormon like others. Sometimes I have no idea what either are saying. But the thing that I do know is that God has all power. I know that Christ is mighty to save. I know that we MUST, MUST live by faith and reliance on the two. We can be baptized 16 times, we can do all the ordinances and memorize and know the significance of ever line in the Bible and/or the Book of Mormon, but none of this means nothing if we do not realize that we can not complete all of the commandments we are given and can not live a worthy life without the help of and faith in our perfect, kind and loving Heavenly Father, and His Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ.

I am in utter awe at the love that God is willing to show us if we are willing to depend completely on Him. I am grateful that He has found me a worthy representative to send me to Mexico. And I know that God has a perfect plan. It's HIS plan. His ways are perfect. And really, we don't understand. But if we will submit willingly and with all of our hearts, might, mind and strength to Him, we will be more happy and peaceful and loving in this life. And maybe we will never have great visions, or see God before we die, but that's ok because we can feel Him in every person that we meet, we can see Him in their eyes. And so when we get to the judgement seat, if we have loved, and been obedient and faithful, we will look Him in the eyes and say: "I never saw you with my eyes, or heard you with my ears, but I knew you all along."

I love this Gospel. I love the mission. I love all of you. But most of all, I love my merciful and loving Father in Heaven.

Hermanaut

THE BEST

YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!!!! This week I got all of your packages and letters!! It was so excellent! I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family! You are all my family! A big thanks to: My Dad, Leslie Hutchens, Aidan & Ethan Anderson, Erik Soukup, and my girls Marisha, Michelle, and Sam!!! All of the elders in our zone were jealous of all the mail I had this week haha 

Also birthday shout outs to Mama Hutch and Manta!!!! Happy birthday ladies! I love you girls so much and I am sure that you will just have so much fun!!! 

This has been such a great! I love my companion so much! She is so fun and we are always laughing! She truly teaches me to see the good in everything! We are working so hard here in Acapulco! I love this area and we are continuing to see so many miracles! The best part of everything is that our ward is really changing and really getting into the missionary work! With the help of them, Hermana Lopez and I were able to have 8 investigators in church yesterday! They all stayed for all three hours as well! We are working so incredibly hard and are seeing the fruits of our labors! We have also been blessed to find some members who haven't come to church in a very long time! Some for more than 7 years! It's really funyn actaully, they are really finding us! We have had some great experiences with them and they are really beginning to remember the joy that God and this gospel bring. 

I don´t have a ton of time to write and I don't have the ability to send pictures this week... sorrry. BUT I just want to say that I LOVE THE MISSION! I have been suffering from some illnesses lately but I will be seeing a doctor today to figure it out. Mom and dad, don't freak out. Sorry I forgot to tell you guys in your emails haha. I have just had some crazy rashes and side effects. But even though all of this stuff is happening I have really began to see that I have family "en todos lados." I truly am seeing how we are all connected and how we are never really alone. Christ and this gospel bring us together again. The only thing that seperates us is when we are absorbed in the vain things of this world and think that we have differences. It doesn't matter where you are, what language you speak, what color your skin is, you can find love and happiness in every person. In my farewell talk I wrote something that I recently remembered. I wrote "bind yourself to people because I think that in the end we were bound together all along anyway." I don't think I realized the magnitude of what I said then but I am truly realizing it now. 

I love you guys so so much. Thank you for being so supportive and loving.

Con todo mi corazon,

hermanaut

Vamos Costa Azul!!!

Buenos Tardes Familia!

Wow, another week has flown by! I feel like I was just writing this email to you all. It's crazy! Wellllll I have really been awful with my shoutouts BUT for this last month of July I also offer birthday shout outs toooooo: Aunt Jodi, Aunt Michelle, Aunt Leslie, and Robbie Hopkins!! Happy birthdays of July and I am so sorry for forgetting! I love you guys and I am sure that all of your special days were super fun :) And for this week I have a shoutout for Ali Fowler!!!! Happy birthday pretty lady!!!! Have such a great week! Also shoutout to Holly Hutchens and Chris Ensign who are getting married this week! Have so much fun on your special day! I love you all so so so much!!

This would be my companion, Hermana Lopez, 

and I just outside our church in the 

Colonia Costa Azul in the city of Acapulco! 

The church is located in front of this 

cool hotel named Castillo Azul!

Our feet as well :)

Well, this week was crazy! We were seriously blessed in so many little ways! The Lord has been so incredibly merciful with me and Hermana Lopez this week! There were some tough times, Anna and Matthew told us that they were going to get divorced and then they weren't and then they were until finally now they are really trying to apply to the gospel in their lives and plan to stay together. Matthew came to church yesterday. He is really pumped for his baptism and their son Richard also now plans to get baptized with them! Their whole family!! We are so stoked! We worked really hard this week but we didn't see some of the results that we wanted. We have really learned though that even though the results don't always turn out the spiritual experiences that you have, the people you meet, and the memories that you have are really what makes the mission worth while. I truly love Hermana Lopez. She is so sweet and even though I know that I have so many faults she treats me as if I am flawless. I admire that a lot about her. I am so grateful for her example and for all of the fun times we have had. I am truly learning that really all of us have a deeper spiritual connection. I am learning about this connection so much with my companion, our investigators, neighbors, members, other missionaries, and just seriously random people in the street. We have an inserperable bond between all of us be cause truly we are all one big family. It is so hard to find these bonds sometimes but they are there. I have learned to focus more on trying to find the bond between me and all of the people that I meet and it helps me to learn to love them better. 

I LOVE THE MISSION YOU GUYS!! I literally found myself thinking "I never want to leave" the other day. It is such a special time. I am even seeing with friends how it is shaping and changing their lives by being missionaries. It is so so so incredible. I know that I am where I am supposed to be. I know that the gospel that I teach and testify of everyday truly is the plan of God and the message the He has for the world. I am grateful to have been rescued by such wonderful and dear friends at Idaho State and I am even more grateful be able to help people here. 

I love you all so so much. I miss you all always.

Don't worry, in one year from this day I will be home...

but until then....

Hermanaut