Second Chances

Buenas tardes familia!

Well it's transfer day annnnnnd I am still in the same place with the same companion. So I will be here with this wonderful ward for my birthday, Christmas, and New Years. :)

This was our zone

This last week was very tough. We were trying to get back on our feet because of the week that I was sick. All of the times that my companion left without me she got pretty lost or was taking ways super long and losing appointments. We lost a lot of investigators last week. I am not really sure what to say right now t be honest. My relationship with my companion has been difficult. She is very forgetful to the point where we let down a lot of members and investigators because she forgot to tell me about something that she was asked to do or an appointment she had made when she was out working and I was in the house.  

Elders are really weird. That's all I want to say. 

The last six weeks have been full of this. In appointments she wouldn't be listening and so when she was asked to talk or the conversation went her way she didn't know what to say. And just other things. I have been praying for a lot of patience and asking that God would help me see her as he sees her but it has been outright hard. Finally, last week on Thursday the whole mission had to stay in their houses for the whole day because of a holiday here in Mexico and there were rumors of things that could happen. Thursdays we do a weekly panning session for the following week. We finished our prayer and we both knew we just needed to talk. So there were tears and whatnot. I expressed how I felt and so did she. We both just understood better how the other was feeling. We were fighting against a lot of pride. The both of us for specific reasons. For this we haven't had the unity that we ned in our companionship and haven't been able to do all the work that we desire. 

We realized that we had the same goal but were trying to do it in two different ways. What it all really comes down to is that we knew one of two things were going to happen. 1. we were going to have transfers and we were going to have to learn from the experience so that it doesn't happen again with another companion, or 2. God was going to give us another chance to work together, in unity and in love so that we can help His children come to know Him better. I am so grateful that we got a second chance. Since we have talked things have been better. Although, on paper, the last 2 weeks of this last transfer didn't seem like success, they were really full of miracles, 

This is Elder Leija. He died today. (He went home.)
I am just saying. This is the weirdest and most uncomfortable
mission tradition. When and elder dies, we cut up his tie.
I don't want to know what the sisters do and thus far I
have not followed the traditions of the sisters that
I have been told about because they are so weird.
And the only reason I do this one is because if I don't they
start yelling at me in Spanish and I don't like it. 

It truly was a miracle that we were able to talk the way that we did and come to a mutual understanding. We have the same goal and we are looking forward to reaching that goal together, in unity and in love. Sometimes we are stuck with someone in the mission who, normally outside of the mission, if we didn't get along with them really well we wouldn't have to be near them. But this is the mission and it is one big learning experience. And I am grateful because I am learning to love people who maybe in normal life I would have just ignored because it wasn't a requirement to be with them. I surely pray that God will strengthen me in this so that after the mission I can see my brothers and sisters in this world as God sees them and that I will work everyday to not just ignore them but find the goodness in them and help them feel the love of God more fully in their lives. 

These would be the sweet scripture cases that I got.... yea.
You can be jealous! They also have scriptures on the inside...
and the scriptures are in Spanish, because I know Spanish... hahaha

We did have a lot of great things happen this week.... great things that unfortunately aren't written on paper and sent to our mission president. But the best thing is that this isn't our work or the mission president's work, it's the Lord's work and I can feel in my heart that He is so very happy that the Hermana Ruiz and I have been able to work out our differences so that we may glorify Him every day in HIS work. And I am even more grateful for second chances. And it helps me remember as well, the second chances aren't something new. Christ gave us all a second chance when He suffered and died for us. He teaches us that as we repent of our sins and mistakes, we can be washed clean by His blood, that we can start new and fresh. He loves us so much, and everthing that we experience here is for our benefit in one way or other.

Love you guys so much!!

Hermanaut