Monday, August 25, 2014

It`s a Wonderful Life :)

Dear wonderful people in my life,

This email is going to be short because we went to the Laguna today, cutting some writing time. It's crazy to think that I've been here three months (my companion has been here for almost 5) and we haven't made time to visit until today.

This week was a good one in finding a golden investigator and helping our other investigators learn to love the gospel more. Maria Jesus is excited for her baptism and was very excited to tell us that her husband has been reading the Book of Mormon without her knowing about it. He says that he will eventually join the church when he feels ready and plans to be at her baptism.  We are excited to help him follow her example.

Sadly, we weren't able to get in touch with la Familia Castro Morales. We stopped by their house every day and would call and such, but they never answered. This often happens here in Obregon because everyone is hiding in their homes to escape the heat, with the AC on full blast. No matter how many times you knock, some people just don't answer. We have yelled "Buenas tardes" into windows many times :)

Yesterday, we went with a sister (Hna Olivia, Laurita's mom) to pick up an investigador, Maria Teresa, to go to church. Sadly, she was not home... Happily, we arrived at the church with her sitting there, waiting for us! It was a wonderful experience, and a great reminder that the Lord knows what He's doing.

Like I might have mentioned before, I love seeing how the gospel touches peoples lives. We missionaries are put in the right place at the right time to touch the lives of people who have already been preparing themselves to receive the gospel. Even then, it's the Spirit that converts these people, not the missionaries. Alma 26:12

I love you all!

Hermana Zubeldia

Here is my fantastic district. Also, my hair is being bleached by the sun. I might come home a blond!.. Well, what the people here consider blond.

Monday, August 18, 2014

Onward, ever onward!

Dear wonderful family and friends,

How is everyone? I hope that you are all safe, sound, and enjoying the blessings you have. I know that the Lord is blessing you because he loves you dearly. He loves you more than I do, and that is saying a lot!

Laurita came back this week and I heard that she loved seeing everyone in Utah. I haven't been able to talk to her a lot about you all, but her mom has been telling me how much Laurita loves you guys every time she sees me. Who wouldn't love the Zubeldias, right? You are all fantastic! Also, we're hopefully going to be able to do another FHE with her family soon. Pray that her dad participates!

This week was a pretty interesting week. My dear companion, Hna. Shiraki, got sick. She wasn't super happy, poor thing. Out of the four sister missionaries in my ward, 3 got sick this past week. Laurita's mom found out and made us a wonderful caldo de pollo. I love people! Everyone has been asking how the sicklings have been doing. The church is a second family, that's for sure. I love how the gospel brings people together. Luckily, I evaded the diseases in the air, and I thank my lucky stars that I was raised in a family of many siblings where I could build up my immune system. Also, I want to counsel everyone to take their vitamins every day (they actually work! It's not a joke!) :)

Even though everyone was sick, we had wonderful lessons. I realized that I haven't been super specific on who we are teaching, but I want to share 3 amazing people with y'all. We are preparing Maria Jesus and la Familia Castro Morales for their baptisms in 2 weeks and I am more than excited to see them this week. Maria Jesus is a gem! She has wonderful questions for us at the beginning of every lesson, and she has a strong desire to learn more. The ward is really welcoming her in and her little kids are loving coming to church. Her little boy is Soraya's age and he just started kindergarten today, too! It's so cute to see him not want to leave his mom to go to primary, just like Soraya. We're going to go with them to a Primary activity this week, so we'll see if he becomes more comfortable with the new people he meets. All we have to do now is get her husband to listen to us! He hasn't wanted to participate yet, but Maria Jesus keeps on telling us that she has faith that he will accept the gospel in the Lord's time.

La Familia Castro Morales is a chosen couple! La Hermana Aida is so ready to be baptized, it's almost like we're teaching with a member present! She has a cousin who is a member of the church, and they have been talking about the church and all. This gospel is reaching everyone! I love seeing how the truth is spreading throughout the world. El Hermano Patricio is also building his testimony. The Spirit really worked with him this week because he readily accepted the need for a prophet (something that did not happen last week). Last time we met, they were talking about temples (her cousin brought it up with her), and la hermana was very animated about the idea of being sealed to her husband for eternity. It was so tender! Then they said that they want us to be there! Hermana Shiraki could probably be there because she goes home in a year, but I might miss it. That's okay; I'll be there in spirit!

Recently, I've been studying about the importance of obedience and keeping the commandments. A scripture I found and loved was John 7:17 (El que quiera hacer la voluntad de Él conocerá si la doctrina es de Dios o si yo hablo por mí mismo). We must remain obedient to the Lord if we want to know whether or not the commandments given to us are from him or made up by man. I want to testify that I know we have been given commandments for a reason. If we stay true to the Lord, we remain true to ourselves.

I love you all!

Hermana Zubeldia

Todo está bien en Sión!

Monday, August 11, 2014

This church is so true!

Hello wonderful people!

Here I am, in a fantastic cyber-café in Obregón, writing all of you people in the States. It's so weird to think that I left before school ended for my siblings and the summer is almost over for them now. Enjoy learning new things!

Speaking of new things, I feel that I have learned many new things this week. The first one is that they people here lied about the weather. They told us that it would only rain at the end of June. It has been pouring here in Obregón, something that should not be happening in August. We have welcomed every drop! We have been caught time and time again in the rain and it has been great having a week of cooler weather.

The picture on the right... Oh yes. We were soaking wet and the water was at our ankles (we didn't test many places to see how deep it could get). Thank goodness we have some fantastic ward members who helped us get back to our house that night! Blessing sure do come with the rain!

Something I already knew, but I feel should be repeated, is that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet of God and Joseph Smith was called of God to restore Christ's church. We are teaching an older couple that have a baptismal date set for the end of the month, and the Hermano has a few problems with accepting the Restauration and our beloved prophet. We, including his wife, have told him time and time again that the best way to understand Joseph Smith and his role as prophet in our church is to read the Book of Mormon. Dear loved ones, read the Book of Mormon! If the Book of Mormon is true, Joseph Smith was a prophet who received revelation from God. This is the true Church of Jesus Christ and I am so happy to be helping others understand that!

This letter is short and very much all over the place. Let me just say that I love this gospel, I love this work, I love you all, and I hope you all have a wonderful week of miracles!

Alma 34:8-10. Here is one of my favorite scriptures of the week. La expiación es un sacrificio infinito y eterno.

Hermana Zubeldia


We came home one night to find couches in our house! Our house is owned by the ward members who live next door and I guess they decided that we needed couches. And a coffee table. And a fireplace :)


We made a great fruit salad for breakfast today. Mango has definitely become one of my favorite fruits!

Monday, August 4, 2014

It`s already August!

Dear everyone,

I can't believe it's already August! That means that there are only two more months of intense heat! It has been a pretty great summer of serving the Lord. I feel like my motto has been, "Dios nos protege" because that is my common answer to people asking how we "survive." Really, Heavenly Father has blessed us more that I think I can imagine. I am so grateful to be doing the right thing by serving a mission right now. It will be amazing to see how the Lord continues to bless us.


La Laguna del Nainari
This week, I realized that I have not said anything to my family about my area. Here in Obregón, there is only one tourist attraction: La Laguna. My companion and I are the lucky ones who have this man-made lake in our are area. I don't really know how to describe the rest of my area, so the lake will have to suffice.

I feel that I have learned the true importance of reading the Book of Mormon in becoming converted to the gospel. We are teaching a older married couple who have enjoyed their past two Sundays in the ward. It's amazing to see how the wife, who has been reading the Book of Mormon, has fully accepted what she has learned, desires to learn more, and feels good about a baptism. The Book of Mormon changes lives! It's such a testimony builder to me to hear people say that they feel God speaking to them when they read the Book of Mormon. Every answer to any question can be found in The Book of Mormon. We need to read this book everyday!

I love you all!

Hna. Zubeldia

2 Nephi 33:10

People love to go strolling around the park in La Laguna.

There are some towers like these and a couple of zip-lines.

Can you see the zip-lines?

And there are paddle boats to relax in La Laguna.

At the entrance of the park there is a Discobolus. El Discóbolo.