Christmas

This Christmas was really great! My companion and I went caroling to everyone and they all gave us food haha and let us in their houses to share a message about Christ. 

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and also Have a Happy New Year!!

 Here are some pictures of my week...because pictures are worth a thousand words....

​Johanna the one in the middle is 9 and she is a star investigator, she´s going to baptized on the 11th of January

 Our mission presidents mom

 Our mission Christmas activity

A birthday party for Hermana Wilkinson

The Gutierrez Family, we´ve been teaching for about 2 months

 The Torres family, Vianey and Diego, they´re so cute

 Noche Buena, We ate with Hermana Olga and her family and their crazy dog

 District 13, missionaries from Ecuador, Canada, Mexico, Utah, Wa, and Arizona

 The Regino Family on christmas day

opening our presents on christmas morning, Thanks Mom and Grandma!

The rodriguez family, let us all skype at their house and made a delicious christmas dinner! 

Bautismo!!! :)

So this week was good. 

The Fragoza family got baptized yesterday :D it all went really well. stress free, warm water, clothes that fit, haha, and it was a very nice service.  Afterwards we asked Emiliano, who is 8, how he felt and he said ¨limpiocito, aún sin joboncito¨ which means really clean even without soap, how cute is he.  And Abigail´s (the mom) mom who isn't a member came, so that was really good too. 

All of the zone leaders and sister training leaders had the opportunity to sing in a choir for a fireside for the area seventies and stake presidents for the encendido de luces (lighting of Christmas lights) at the temple and the visitors center.  And we sang and there were some really good talks, on that was really interesting about the light of Christ and how it is the power by which everything functions.  Then they lit all the lights and it looks soo beautiful! Also if you haven´t watched the video ¨He is the Gift¨ on lds.org , you should :). 

 ​Zone Activity from today, we had game show type challenges in teams...including an egg toss and I got egg in my hair.  extra conditioning :)

 Our little árbol de navidad...cute right :)

 Bautismo!!! :) 

 ​Mexico City Temple :)

En la encendido de luces

So, I forgot to mention last week.. this week was transfers, so they changed p-day to Wednesday.  We didn't have transfers...whew! :) Still with Hermana Lovell here in Valle for another cycle!

Well this week was jolly good. We had exchanges with Hermana Burrola and Wilkinson, I stayed in my area, the first day hermana burrola and I had a really good day. we set a baptismal goal with a woman named Isabel.  And then we also had the baptismal interviews with the Fragoza family :) They all passed, Abigail is the mom, and Sara, Alí, and Emiliano are the kids.  I love them so much! They are just really cool people.  The dad Luis, still hasn't come to church and he says he doesn't want to get baptized....yet.  But he says the most beautiful prayers, and I know he feels that this is something really good for his family.  Their baptism is this Sunday after church.  :) yay

Well, in other news the mission presidents wife, hermana Anaya was concerned about the missionaries getting good quality sleep and our health and sha la la. So we all got new mattress cushion cover things and they are soooo comfortable, I didn't have problems sleeping before, but now I sleep like a...a person that sleeps really well.  So that's good.  Especially because missionaries work really hard, haha.  At the end of the day I am so tired, but then we still plan and study Spanish, and all that good stuff.  So I'm glad I have a comfy bed. 

Well now that I've written a whole  paragraph about my comfy bed I guess I should end with something spiritual. 

Well my companion shared with me a quote that says,

 ¨Our weaknesses are divinely destined to become our strengths¨

And I really like that, I know that God has a plan for each of us and has given us certain talents and strengths for a reason.  But our weaknesses are also for a purpose.  I have learned a lot on my mission.  One thing that I have gained a stronger testimony of is obedience, if we are obedient to all of the commandments, including studying the scriptures daily, personal prayer, and sincere service to others, we will be empowered to resist temptation, and to have more hope during trials. And we will also develop more and more of the attributes of Christ.  Like in

 Ether 12:27 in The Book of Mormon:  ¨And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.¨

This week was very good.  Elder Valenzuela came for our zone conference, it was cool, he is a Seventy. One thing he talked about that stuck with me was about Christ´s life...how we served and performed miracles one by one, he took the time to serve individually. And when he suffered for our sins, our trials, our temptations...it was individual.  We are all different people, with different strengths and weaknesses, and different personalities.  But each one of us individually are important to our Heavenly Father and Christ loved each one of us enough to suffer the punishment for our sins and personal pains.  And I know that as a missionary we represent Christ, we should also serve and love each investigator and pray for them individually.  

Hey, I don´t know about you but I'm feeling 22...

SO I turned the big 22 this week.  I feel the same.  But It was a great birthday.  In the morning we had another leaders meeting with Elder Valenzuela and talked about how we can help the other missionaries (hermanas) better.  And then, on the way home on the mexibus, my companion announced to the entire bus that it was my birthday and the whole bus sang Las Mañanitas to me! haha and then some people gave me hugs (they were all women...its an all women's bus..cool huh) And of course I was slightly embarrassed but mostly I thought it was really nice and cool to be sung too by a whole bus of strangers.  One family of investigators that are going to get baptized gave me a little gift, and another family in our ward gave me a gift too.  And the Regino family in our ward surprised us with a little party with pizza and ice cream! And the Miranda family also made us cake (I say us because it was also Elder Treu´s Bday on the 7th...one of the elders in our ward).  Although I was far from home and of course missed my friends and family on my bday, it was definitely one of my best bdays because several people that don't even know me that well took the time to do something nice for me, and that means a lot.  

And today, we had a zone activity, we played volleyball and the zone leaders and a few hermanas from their ward surprised us all with a thanksgiving dinner....well it wasn't thanksgiving food but its the thought that counts.  :) 

Miranda just turned 8! and she had her baptism! Our investigator family, the Fragoza family went and the mom and daughter Ali were already sure they wanted to get baptized...but Emiliano and Sara the other two kids still weren't sure.  Miranda was kind of nervous and the water was a little cold for her, and she started crying and shaking in the water...I was worried that the kids were going to change their mind about wanting to be baptized.  But after Emiliano said yes he wanted to and Sara´s only concern was that she doesn't have white clothes haha.

Hermana Bright and I ...as Indians. Happy Early Thanksgiving !

Our Zone

These women sacrificed their whole morning to prepare a thanksgiving dinner for our zone :) 

​The Fragoza Family...I love them! 

Well, this week was another great one...we had lots of lessons and set a few baptismal dates. But...only one investigator  came to church :( but that's okay we are just going to work harder this week and tell them that they have to come to church haha. 

As you probably know the day of the dead was this week.  In Mexico they celebrate Halloween too, its kind of a mix of the two traditions.  Except that many people are against the mixture of traditions. The day of the dead is two days the first and second of November and they make an altar with pictures of their loved ones who've passed away and candles and their favorite food, and the kids also go door to door and ask for candy.  But the Halloween influence is all the ugly things like monsters and lots of scary things...so that was kind of interesting to see the two traditions mixed like that.  My companion and I switched name tags for Halloween...but no one even noticed haha.  

So as you know, my companion is one of the sister training leaders, but they changed it so we both are together. So I went to my first leaders council meeting. It was good, I liked it.  I'll attach a pic.  

And this week we have our zone conference and have the opportunity to listen to Elder Valenzuela of the Seventy.  So that's cool. 

 my companion and I match...we are so unified haha

 Our area isn't is so pretty?

 Little Birthday celebration with the hermanas who have birthdays in nov y oct

Exchanges with Hermanas Bright and Cole :)

​

Lets see...what happened this week...

There is a family in our ward who own a little restaurant called Sal y Pimienta. And we eat with them like once a week or so.  One of their employees Sonia, came up to us and asked us if we could give her the lessons.  We of course said yes and set a time to visit her that night.  She is genuinely looking for the truth...she was going to get baptized in a different church on nov 1st but now she accepted a baptismal date for the 23rd of november if she finds an answer.  She is truly looking and said she would be willing to follow whatever answer she receives.  So we have faith that Heavenly Father is going to help her to receive her answer.  

Also we are teaching a family of 5, and they accepted a baptismal date as well, they are such a cute family and are super down to earth and fun.  We visited them on thursday and they had read the homework we left for them and had been praying. And we were soo happy because that is how people are going to find their answers and feel the spirit.  

And yesterday in church was the primary program :) it was sooo cute! 

And...daylight savings time! I dont like it.  We have to go home earlier now because it is so dark already by like 6:30...but we have to be in the house at 7:30. But we leave earlier now and then study language when we get home.  Its good obviously so that we are safe...but most people are in their houses and want us to come teach them at 7-8, and also it is harder to contact or talk with people when its dark.  But we will have to accustom.  

Also we have been working a lot with the members, it is fun.  Their are three girls who are 18 and getting ready to go on missions that come with us a lot, and it helps a lot. 

And today we are going to our have a little fiesta with the other hermanas in the old area of my companion.  Because there are like 5 or 6 of us that have birthdays in oct or nov, so vamos a divertirnos mucho :)! 

Have a great week! 

Love Mariah

Okay, so this week so many things have happened! 

Yes, I did have transfers

My new companion is Hermana Lovell from Arizona, she is the sister training leader...so I´ll have exchanges a lot again...it's fun I like it...and its a good experience to learn from the other hermanas.  And she is great, we get a long very well, and work well togeher...and she loves to contact, so we talk to lots and lots of people. 

We opened a new area! just like zaragoza.  Our new area is called Valle, we live in a small development of condominiums called Las Americas...its so different from my old area. We are in the state of mexico, not the city, so its very far from my old area.  But it is literally like the united states here, all the houses look the same and there is hardly any garbage and dog poop on the ground haha.  Its pretty too, there are mountains and there's grass, people actually have little front yards.  Its so weird.  And apparently we have the best house in the whole mission.  Its brand new...and we have an oven! I'm so excited.  We live right next to a plaza shopping center place, there's a Walmart and a Sams club, and a bunch of restaurants and stores.  I feel like we´re in the united states...it's weird.  

Our ward is great too.  Our Bishop is very good the investigators and the members, I really feel that they work together and have goals and are all involved in missionary work.  The members have given us 18 references already and are excited to come with us on lessons.  Which really makes all the difference, the testimonies of members helps a lot.  And the people we have contacted and talked too are all very nice and accepting and interested.  Basically, we have a lot of work to do and I am very excited.