Hello everyone! Big shoutouts to the Wisemans, Katie Barrus, and my wonderful mother for your mail! ANd all of the wonderful Birthday emails!! you guys rock. Because at the times the computers just choose not to work here, I have attached some bday photos from last week! Also we go to the temple next week, so our Pday is on THURSDAY and I will be able to write home then....
This past tuesday we had "cambios" and I recieved my new compañera! haha the process on tuesday was pretty intense...about 50 of us missionaries who had cambios all sit in a room, and the assistants to presidente go down a list, and when they call your name you stand up and get assigned a new companion. Then you go back to the apartment, drop off all the luggage, and go out and teach. My new companion is Hermana Mendoza-- she is 24 years old (she is so petite!) she has been in the mission for 14 months, she is from Mexico City, and she loves to draw and read.
It's an adjustment getting a new companion! Hermana Batalla and I had a system/rythm of doing things, and it's a big change adapting to another person's lifestyle and teaching method...but it's really nice being with someone new and just having a "breath of fresh air" here in Sada Vidrio haha. This week was pretty exhausting as I have been showing her around all the area, introducing her to all the members, investigadores, but its been good because now I got this area down!
So I wanna clarify something: In my first letter home from Monterrey, I said that this mission has about 60 baptism per week.....I was wrong haha! We have about 60 baptisms per month, or in the 50s. This is still a good number, but not nearly as many baptisms as in the missions in southern mexico. It is actually really difficult here getting people to commit to baptism-- the people here are open to talk to us, but they work ALL DAY EVERY DAY.....so sundays are like impossible for them to go to church! and if someone wants to get baptized, you can't just get baptized the next day....they have to attend church 5 sundays until they can get baptized because as missionaries we are here to TRULY convert them to this gospel....not just get baptized and stop living the commandments. So yes, this is our struggle haha. It's made me really reflect on the priorities we have in this life. We can't let our busy lives take control over our values and commandments we have to follow. One of the 10 commandments in the bible is...."thou shalt have no other Gods before me". Does our work schedule, use of technology, or other attractions take away from family time or really doing the things that God asks of us? Our salvation depends on our "prep time" here on Earth, and we need to really look at our lives and recognize the importances and what we value most :)
One of our investigadoras, Yuridia, we have been teaching for about a month and she is 26 years old with a 4 year old daughter and really messy relationship with her partner. He doesn't like that she meets with us, but she has been reading the Book of Mormon and knows that it is true. She wants to get baptized, but he won't let her go to church with us....so this is currently a struggle we are dealing with. It's important that during trials we really prayWITH FAITH...Believing that Heavenly Father can answer our prayers. She needs to pray with real intent, with the firm hope that Heavenly Father will help her through this. We can't just dwell in our problems and think nothing can get better....we have to actively use our faith.
Even So, faith, if it hath not works, is dead being alone James 2:17
For behold I am God; and I am a God of miracles, and I will show unto the world that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and I work not among the children of men save it be according to their faith 2 Nephi 27:23
Everyone assumes as missionaries we need to know ALL the doctrine, EVERY scripture, and EVERY answer to every question....but we don't! As it says in the scriptures.... "therefore, if ye have desires to serve God, ye are called to the work"Dyc 4:3. So for those of you considering going on a mission or want to try a new sport, activity.... if you simply have a DESIRE to do so, the Lord will bless you with the ability and knowledge. We are continually instructed here as missionaries that we aren't here to GIVE people answers....we are here teaching people how to find answers on their OWN through praying and reading the scriptures.....missionaries come and go and our investigators can't rely on us! They need to develop a relationship with Heavenly Father so that they can recieve guidance for the rest of their lives.
So for the past 3 years or so missionaries could not go out and knock on doors...we could only find people by talking to them on the streets and public places. But as of this week Presidente Bird announced that we can now haha woohooo! Last week, Hermana Batalla and I decided to say a prayer and go out on this one street and pick a house at random. We chose a house, hollered BUENAS TARDES because no one knocks on doors here hahah, and out came a woman. We introduced ourselves and she had the biggest smile on her face. She began to say that her husband who passed away who was catholic said that if he could have converted to any other religion it would be the church of jesus christ of latter day saints....and she was holding in her hands the info card we handed her and kept pointing ESTA IGLESIA, ESTA IGLESIA! this church! this church! She said that she is never in her house, and that really it was not a casualty that we came upon her home. I really do know that as missionaries, the most important tool is the spirit...to guide and direct us in the streets we need to go and the people we need to talk to. Everything we do as missionaries is according to the impressions we feel and the answers God gives us to our prayers. I really do know that Heavenly Father was directing us that day to the house of Angelica :)
For verily, verily I say unto thee, blessed art thou for what thou has done, for thou hast inquired of me, and behold, as often as thou has inquired thou hast recieved instruction of my spirit. If it had not been so, thou wouldst not have come to the place where thou art at this time...i did enlighten thy mind...Thou has been enlightened by the spirit of truth DyC 6:14-15
Well, it was superrrr hot this week but the rain has come and the winter shortly after! We are busy every day, and really working hard to find these people who need the gospel in their life.....as well as buying apples on the daily at 7/11, smashing cockroaches, and little kids asking me why I have lots of dots on my face.
y Jesús les djio: yo soy el pan de vida; el que a mí viene nunca tendrá hambre; y el que en mí cree no tendrá sed jamás Juan 6:35
CON MUCHO AMOR
Hermana Riches
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