que se mueran los feos

This week has been pretty good, Yaxkin and Alberto still didn't get married....but we talked to them yesterday and they had plans to go this morning, so I'm praying that they will be married soon.  And then they can get baptized as a family on Tuesday! This week we had our zone conference, it was good, we talked about the book of Mormon.  Yesterday was a huge soccer game against Mexico and Holland...so of course hardly any of our investigators came to church...but Mexico lost, so it serves them right haha.  Now they have no excuses to not come.  In our zone conference the mission presidents wife challenged us to read the book of Mormon and underline all the names of Christ, His actions, His attributes, and His spoken words in 4 different colors.  I am using one of those paperback Spanish book of Mormons, and so far it is a really good way to focus on learning about Christ, and its helping me with my Spanish.  Saturday was a really good day, we set two baptismal dates.  Antonio, text'd us and asked if we could meet with him, and then he told us that he wanted to be baptized.  And then we met with Rodrigo, and we taught him the plan of salvation and he said he wanted to be baptized too.  But the only investigator that came to church yesterday was Rosa, it was her first time, and she said she felt peaceful there and learned a lot.  So we have a lot of hope for this next month, I think we will have a few baptisms.  And yesterday we were walking and we saw a woman who we had contacted about a month and a half ago, but she wasn't really interested because she is catholic and isn't willing to change her religion.  But we just asked her how she was doing and said if she ever needed help with anything we are here, not just only to preach but to serve.  And she opened up to us about how her life has been really hard lately and she started crying and said she was praying for God to put someone in her path.  So that was a cool experience, even if she doesn't want to accept our message, we can at least help her in some small way...and if nothing else the seed has been planted.  

And in bad news...we planned on going to the Zocalo today (the main city center) but we called the president and he told us that unfortunately the Zocalo is no longer in our mission :( so that is really sad).  But we will do something else fun I guess. And in funny news...we had the talent show last Tuesday, my companion and I sang If you could hie to kolob in Spanish.  And the primary did this hilarious dance, where they had boxes over there heads so that you could only see them from the waist down and they had sweatshirts tied around theeir waists with fake hands on the end of the sleeves...they looked like funny creatures.  And at  the very end three of the hermanas in the relief society came out with masks on and crazy wigs and were dancing to this song called ¨que se mueran los feos¨ which means ¨may all the ugly people die¨ and they were pointing to all the people in the audience...but at the end they fell on the ground like they were dead (this is Mexican culture for you).  It was funny though.  

Well that was my week, que tengan una semana bonita! 

Well, Yaxkin and Alberto didn't get married or baptized the last week, but they are going to get married tomorrow and baptized this Sunday.  And tomorrow we have the talent show, and we are going to sing if you could hie to kolob in Spanish.  I am excited it will be very fun.  Today it is RAINING a lot, so I want to but some boots or something and a new umbrella, because I left my umbrella at an investigators house, and who knows when I'll get it back...plus he's moving in a week, so I may never get it back.  But yeah, when it rains here...it RAINS! But this past week was good, we have a few new people and families we are teaching and I am very hopeful that we will have three baptisms this week.  Yaxkin, Alberto, and Nelly their daughter.  Today will be an interesting pday, because my companion accidentally left our keys in the house and we are locked out until 4 when the land lady can come. So we can't do our laundry or put the food we buy in the house until later...not sure what we`re gonna do.  But I'm sure it will be an adventure haha.  And we are planning on having a family home evening later with a family in our ward and an investigator, so that should be fun.  Anyways, that is about all. Hope you have a great week. 

Love you!! 

Mariah

P.S.

 Luckily, Hermana Marcela came to our rescue, she just called us and said that she would do our laundry for us and we can pick it up tomorrow! She is an angel! haha And after we write we are going to go eat with her and her family, she is a really good cook.  Her son is leaving tomorrow for his mission, he is going to veracruz.  And she has a daughter already out on the mission, so I think that is why she always spoils us. 

Hermana Medwin and I are still in Zaragoza,  this is our third transfer here, so probably after this one of us will get transferred.  Yesterday Yaxkin, Alberto and Nelly had their baptismal interviews! They are going to get married this week and get baptized this Sunday!!! yayaya I am very happy for them. I cant believe the school year is already over! That went by so fast, partly because I'm on a mission and partly because the older you get the faster time flies.  But yes we are doing well, we have some good goals for our investigators and they are progressing.  Also we are having a talent show in our ward next week and my companion and I will probably sing something.  We basically sing at every event, its fun.  Oh and tell Ty and Jessica congratulations, a girl that is so precious. Anyways keep doing well and have a great week! Love you

Mariah 

the first pic is of our zone (from the last transfer) the next is a pic from a zone activity and the last is a baptism of Jesus (an investigator of the elders) in our ward and one of me in Mexico City

My week was good, we had more investigators in church yesterday! Oh and if you got a friend request from Yunuen Bulhuesen (not sure how to spell it) but she is a recent convert of one year who is in our ward and we visit her a lot, she is very funny and nice, she has three kids and a husband who aren't members, and its hard for her because her husband doesn't want her kids to go to church.  But she is very sweet...she said she added you as a friend, and theirs a picture of me and my companion and the elders that were in the ward with us our first transfer here, but they are gone now.  And today is the last day of this transfer, I'm pretty positive I'm staying but we haven't found out yet.  They should call us really soon though to let us know, if I'm still on the computer I'll tell you...if not I'll tell you next week.  This week no we didn't have a baptism, but we have been working hard, if I'm still here in the next transfer I think we will have a lot.  Including Yaxkin and Alberto (the family in the photo I sent you) they still need to get married, but the bishop is willing to help them pay half, and the only thing is that Yaxkin signed a contract to work every Sunday for  4 months!...but she miraculously came to church yesterday and stayed all three hours and participated a lot in relief society, I can really see a big change in their family, since they have started striving to live the commandments! And Claudia and Rodrigo, our recently baptized converts are both doing great.  Rodrigo gave a talk yesterday on repentance and it was really good, and Claudia has been participating in everything and having a lot of fun.  We haven't had any service projects yet, we were planning on having one this transfer in our zone but we weren't super organized about it and no one found anything to do but, I hope we do one soon, I think it would be very fun. As for today, we are going to go buy food from Walmart after this and then go do our laundry at Hermana Marcela´s, she is my favorite I will definitely miss her when I leave this ward.  Last night she called us and came to hour house and brought us empenadas haha, she also is going to draw us pictures of of the temples we got endowed in...I'm excited.  And we always do our laundry at her house and she feeds us yummy things.  Haha my companion just looked up on google translate how to say bowel movement in Spanish...evacuación intestinal...equals intestinal evacuation lol! Ok well this is my email have a good week! 

Hola, come le va? 

Well, this week was good, our main problem that seems to keep happening is that we meet people and talk to them and they are very receptive and interested and really need the gospel in their lives...definitely prepared.  And then we ask them where they live and they live in a different area :(. Its great still though, because of course we can give their info to other missionaries, but sometimes I get so excited to get to start teaching this person...but then yeah, we cant.  Another thing is that it it so hard to get all of our investigators to actually come to church, they say they will, we pass by their house to pick them up and then they don't.  But we did have 4 investigators come this last Sunday, which is better than none.  But our goal in the mission is to have a baptism every week...before I came on my mission I told myself I would be satisfied if I helped even one person get baptized (which of course I still would be) but now, I know that its possible to baptize every week if we really work hard.  But our zone improved a lot this past month, we had 17 baptisms in our zone, and the month before we had 7...so we are really improving.  The biggest problem is investigators coming to church, because if they don't come they cant get baptized.  But I know that as we work hard and pray and talk to everyone and follow up on commitments, it really is possible.  So yeah, Claudia was baptized on Tuesday and confirmed yesterday! She was so happy, and then afterwards the relief society were practicing a folkloric Mexican dance for a talent a show and Claudia joined them, it was so funny, I feel like our ward is improving and more members are working with our investigators and recent converts. We have transfers coming up this next week, Its very possible that either me or my companion will get transferred...but I really have no idea, I will be happy with whatever happens though.  Our district leader who is in our ward, and has been in the ward for 6 months is getting transferred today, early, its a special circumstance, so he might become zone leader or something....but it will be weird without him in our ward.  Anyways I will attach pics of the baptism, and some pics from last pday when we went to the centro.  It was pretty fun, we went with the other Hermanas in our district and we ate subway and Wendy's frostys and krispy creme donuts lol...we were happy to be in real civilization with familiar foods lol.  Well it sounds like you are doing good, have a great week! 

Love, Mariah 

Lion Dog

Well my week was good!, Tell everyone at church I say hola.  Im sorry I don't have a lot of time now I have to go. We are having a baptism this Sunday.  On Thursday I threw up in a bush.  Ok that's is my week in a nutshell.

(From Mariah's Mom:...That was last week's email from Mariah ... she wrote some other stuff in answer to my email but it was more private so here's this weeks email oh and by the way I was in my friends wedding and we did a choreographed dance so you know what Mariah is referring to  ;)

 I'm glad Teahna and Jayda went to mutual, that's great.  I'm sure your dance looked wonderful, I mean you must be a good dancer...look at who your daughter is lol.  Oh and my throwing up in a bush story...well I woke up feeling kinda nauseous and icky, so I didn't exercise, and I felt kinda bad the whole day and didn't have much energy, but I hate staying home when I'm sick because then we get nothing done, and I hate having to make my companion sit at home all day too, so I just tried ignoring it.  But after about 2 o clock I decided I needed to go home a rest for a while.  So we went home for a couple hours but then we had an important lesson at 5, so we left and I was feeling really queasy, then the family wasn't even home, so we decided to go back home and on the way home I really knew I had to puke, and then I puked in a bush, and then we went home and I slept the rest of the day and I felt better the next day. I don't know if it was something I ate or just a stomach flu.   This was last week, the day after we had exchanges...also the picture of the lion dog is from last week, I was in exchanges with Hermana Bright and we were walking and all of a sudden we see this ridiculous dog trotting down the middle of the street, and we were cracking up...I think people thought we were weird, but we chased it until it stopped so we could take a picture lol.  Sooo funny.  Oh and the picture look great! Looks like you had fun.  

This past week was good, we have a baptism for Claudia tomorrow! and today we are going to the zocalo (the city) with Hermana Marcela (the yw pres in our ward, shes the one who let us use her Skype,  and she lets us wash our laundry at her house every Monday), and with Claudia, and two other companionships of hermanas in our district. I'm excited, I'll take pics and send you next week.  And we only have 2 more weeks left in this cycle! It goes by so fast! I sent Montreal a letter on Wednesday, so it should get there in a month or so haha.  Well I love you and I'm glad your doing better this week! 

Until next week,

Love Mariah 

This week has been good, we are having trouble finding new people to teach who are really interested, a lot of times we´ll make appointments with new people and then they aren't home when we go to visit them.  And we have decided to stop teaching a few people who just aren't progressing or doing anything to show an interest.  So we have hope that this week we can find new people and the investigators who are progressing will continue to progress.  We are planning on asking members for references and to come with us to contact the references...I think this will work really well, because if it is someone they know they will be more willing to really listen.  Also, it is always better when we have members with us for lessons. It is so much more effective when members and missionaries work together! So remember.. give reffernces and go teach with the missionaries! Oh and for 5 de mayo, well, I don't really know what people do here to celebrate...but its not as big of a holiday here as it is in the states lol...but tonight we are having a family home evening at the relief society presidents house, with a less active member and her grandchildren and with a family of investigators that we are teaching.  So that should be fun.  Other than that, I don't know what else is new, but I'm good and I wish you all a great week. 

Oh and yes I got your package! Thank You, everything was still in it, the crackers are delicious, and the shirt is really cute thank you! And me and Hermana Medwin are still in Zaragoza, One of the elders stayed and we have one new one in our ward.  Ok and we are planning on Skyping on Sunday (mothers day) at 4pm our time...which I believe is 2pm your time...I can't remember when church starts for you so...I hope that that works, I'm not sure what the time difference is but you can look it up on google haha....so 4pm mexico city time! and I don't remember my Skype, so I will probably be using the Rodriguez Family Skype but I'm not sure yet.  OKay I'm excited to talk to you!