¡Buenas tardes amigos y familiares! First I wanna thank the Longbottoms, Grammy Bredt, Emily Crowder, and Katie Barrus for your mail!!!!Longbottoms.....thank you for the halloween decorations-- literally the best thing a missionary could ask for haha! Hermana Batalla and I made all the halloween crafts and our apartment is much more beautiful :) I will attach a photo towards the end of this post! and Grammy.....thank you for the adorable children books in spanish. Hermana Batalla has read them to me at night hahaha :) seriously thank you for all of your email birthday wishes as well!!!
Well it is official: I am 20 years old. SCARY. Mom/ Dad how do you feel? hahaha. My birthday yesterday was sooo great! I felt so much love from all the members here. In the morning I woke up to lots of decorations and signs that Hermana Batalla put up for me (mom thank you for the decorations :p ) and we currently have another hermana (hermana zertuche) with us until tomorrow because her companion had to go home for a family crisis ;( so it's been so fun spending time with these girls!
So after church we went to go eat lunch at a member's home, la familia de Ola de Mar, and Pilly, one of the daughters, has the same birthday as me so we celebrated together! :) she turned 13. The whole home was decorated with balloons and festive mexican music hahaha and another family joined us as well. It was really cute because they made me a sign as well saying FELICIDADES HERMANA RICHES :). We enjoyed some toquitos and salsa and a cake! A tradition here in Mexico is whenever it is someones birthday they sing this chant/song and at the end someone goes behind and pushes the person's face into the cake.......so I got to experience a little of that tradition haha! Here are some photos:
and also mom.....you should know that we had a fiesta in the apartment with us 3 with your glow sticks you sent me hahaha
Yesterday really was such a great day, and I felt so much love! Various members gave me cookies, made "hot cakes" or pancakes haha for me, and it really was so great spending the day with all my new friends here.
Moving on from the birthday festivities, today is actually a sad day for Hermana Batalla and I because Leanor, I have mentioned her in previous letters, but she is leaving for the United States today to be with her family in texas, but she doesn't have papers so she has to swim the Rio Bravo illegally and it is such a dangerous process......so we are praying for her and really all we can do is think about her safety and hope that she can reuite with her 3 year old daughter! The stories of these people here really are so sad to hear, but it's amazing being able to share uplifting messages with them. We visited Leanor on Friday, and we sang "¿Dónde hallo el solaz?"..... "Where Can I turn for peace" and then we shared with her this scripture:
"Estas cosas os he hablado para que en mí tengaís paz. En el mundo tendreís aflicción. Pero confiad. yo he vencido al mundo" Juan 16:33
"these things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world" John 16:33
I love this scripture where Jesus is comforting us all that we need not fear when we are dealing with hardships....because he has already overcome everything that we are facing.
Now....DRUM ROLL PLEASE..... Last night we got a phone call for this next "cambio" and the news is: Hermana Batalla is leaving Sada Vidrio and I am staying here for the next 6 weeks!! I actually am really happy to stay because I am now accustomed to this area and really love the people. So tomorrow I will get assigned to a new compañera. I will miss Hermana Batalla! She has been a great trainer, and I am excited to keep on working with our investigators and the members here. I really have grown to love our little apartment that sits above a little store that sells food and diet coke....perfect set up right? Cheers to another 6 weeks of listening to our neighbors sing karaoke every friday and saturday night!
C O N A M O R
hermana riches
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