Navojoa!!!

Dear Family,

I love Navojoa!! This place is as dusty as can be, but it's dry instead of humid, making it feel like I'm in Utah. We have around 5 paved roads in our area and the people here are so amazing! I hope the Lord allows me to stay here for a long time. Also, there is a recently returned missionary here who served in the same mission as Elder Womack! I'm so excited to get to know the ward better.

My companion, Hna. Carvajal, is absolutely amazing!!!! She's 4 feet 7 inches tall, from Colombia, is 23 years old, and is finishing up her last transfer before going home. Haha every time I saw her in meetings throughout the mission, I thought she was quiet and reserved. I was totally wrong! Once you get to know Hna. Carvajal, you can't get her to stop talking :) She's super spunky, hilarious, very spiritual, great teacher, and is such a wonderful companion!

I'm learning the area bit by bit. We've been teaching English at the church twice a week, so I've been given the opportunity to brush up my English skills. I accidentally had a dork moment when I started teaching English wrong and an Elder (from Layton. Crazy, right?)  had to correct me. Perdón! No entiendo inglés...

We had the most amazing experience this week. We were helping a family, la familia Duarte, prepare to make sacred covenants with our Heavenly Father on Saturday. Two hours before the baptism, we got a text from the mom, Azucena, telling us that her two children weren't going to be baptized that day. She said that her son didn't feel ready to make such a decision. Not knowing what to do, we told Azucena that we were on our way to her house. Before going over, we said a prayer asking for the Lord's help. When we arrived, everyone was happy and ready to head over to the church for the baptism (!!!). Her son, Sebastián, said that he felt much better than he did earlier and that he was ready to make the decision to be baptized. I don't know what the Lord did to solve the problem Sebastián had, but I know that He does His work much better than we do. Missionary work could never be done without help from the heavens. I am so grateful to be part of this marvelous work and a wonder. 

In the end, Azucena and Sebastián had a wonderful baptismal service. The daughter, Mónica, was sick and wasn't able to get baptized, but we are helping her prepare for a later date. We are also working with the father of the household and have bright plans and goals for July.

I love you all! 

Hermana Zubeldia

So much, so much!

Dear family,

There is so much to say about this week! I don't even know how to start!

1. We found a new house! I have an apostolic friend here who found us a house. I love my connections :). It's a one room place, but it has air conditioning and it's all new. We moved in on Thursday! Haha Hna. Pech was sad to leave her wet mattress and open door at night. She wanted to turn off the air and use her fan in the new house. Haha she is so fantastic :)

I love the Macapule ward!!! These people are
going to be my friends for the eternities.
Here are the wonderful sisters of our ward...
and a few brothers!

2. After 7 and a half months in Macapule, I received transfers!!! All the members thought I would stay there for 9 months, but oh well. We took so many pictures on Sunday with all the members. My time in Macapule has strengthened my testimony so much. I learned so many things there that I could never have learned anywhere else. Even though the transfer didn't go as I planned, it went exactly as the Lord planned. All the questions I had for Him were answered these past weeks, and I am beginning to see and understand how thorough He is and how complete and perfect His plan of Salvation is for us and our lives.

3. Miracle: we had 52 people at church yesterday! That's the most attendance we have had in Macapule for months!

4. We found the most amazing investigator this week. She felt the spirit so strongly and was so eager to have us come back this Wednesday. I can't wait to hear what happened with her the next time I see Hna. Pech! I testify that street contacting works!

5. Miracle, at church yesterday an old investigator found his way into the chapel. Hna. Garcia and I contacted him around 4 months ago, and he completely disappeared after our first lesson. Turns out, he went to the States and is back in Los Mochis. He, Diego, is eager to talk to the missionaries and come unto Christ. 

6. I'm in Navojoa, Barrio Aeropuerto. I'm in the dry, dusty area of the mission, and I am so excited! My companion is Hna. Carvajal, a delightful sister from Colombia who will complete her mission at the end of this transfer. I am so excited!!! Also, the house has air conditioning ;)

7. Elder Benjamin de Hoyos came to our mission this week. Wow! It was such a fantastic week! Everything he said, everything that the Spirit said, boggled my mind. The Lord is changing the way He wants us to teach, helping the investigators learn to teach themselves. Really, the conferences we had with Him were going with the Spirit. It was like we were having a council with Elder de Hoyos and the Holy Ghost. Every time someone made an inspired comment, Elder de Hoyos would ask, "who taught you that?" Where the reply would be: the Spirit! It was such an amazing week! 

8.... I think that's everything... I love serving the Lord! Time is going by way too fast. Every moment is important and heaven sent!

Love you all,

Hermana Zubeldia

PS: Happy birthday to my mom and my sweet brother!!! I love you guys!

Onward, ever onward, as we glory in His name!

Sleeping in a Spa

Dear family,

Okay, I know that many missionaries don't share all the crazy things that happen, but this week has been one I will remember for the rest of my life and I want to share some of the crazy missionary experiences that we've been having. I'll share much more in the years to come, but here's a bite of what we've been up to in Los Mochis:

1. The Lord blessed us with many opportunities of finding new people to teach. We had/have so many references! I love knowing that we're helping these people come closer to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Sadly, almost everyone told us they were not interested and wouldn't let us walk through their doors, but that's okay. We're still excited to find many new people and Hna. Pech and I have faith that Macapule is going to flourish.

Haha I'm kind of sunburned in the picture,
but here we are, sleeping in the spa

2. It's still crazy hot at night, but the Bishop's wife helped us out a ton when she discovered how we have been sleeping in wet mattresses the past 2 weeks. She owns a spa close to our home and, because we don't sleep in the homes of members, offered us to sleep in her spa. Haha. We spent half the week sleeping on massage beds! What a wonderful sister she is! We would arrive at night and leave as soon at 6:15 in the morning to go home and shower, eat, and study. What a crazy experience!

3. This week, as well as working as hard as we could, we tried looking for a new house. We would contact people asking to share the gospel, and would add the question at the end, "and do you know of any house that is for rent?" We found a few options and will find out later today where we'll be moving. We've become pros at house finding.

4. For our last Monday of the transfer, we spent the morning cleaning the house and packing. We're hoping to move as soon as possible.

With everything that is going on, I am as happy as can be! Don't worry a bit about how I'm doing. I have never been happier or more at peace! The Lord has blessed us so much this transfer and He has answered all the questions I had for Him when we started this transfer. He knows exactly what we need and He knows how to teach us in His perfect and loving way. Our Heavenly Father loves us so much that He sent us His son, a son that has felt everything we feel. We are so blessed! 

Also, I invite you all to read the Liahona for this month. It is so inspired! There is an article about the Prophet Joseph Smith that is absolutely amazing. This is the best work in the world!  Wow! We're in the right place! I love you all and I hope that you have the best week ever!

Hermana Zubeldia

Time Flies

Dear Family,

Time flew by way too fast this week! I can't believe it's Monday again! It probably went by so fast because we went to Obregón on Tuesday, had the zone conference on Thursday, and then had "divisions" on Friday. Or, it might have gone by so fast because my brain is melting with all this heat :). All the short moments we had in our area were dedicated to strengthening investigators, members, and finding the "escogidos" that are waiting for this gospel.

Here we are in Obregón. We had a water activity
before the meeting and were soaking wet. :)

We had the most amazing meeting in Obregón! Every moment was filled with the Spirit and the part I enjoyed most was the practice we did of "finding the escogidos." Heavenly Father truly puts the prepared in front of us and knows exactly who is and who isn't ready to hear this Gospel. Every day, He helps us find those who are looking for the truth. It's up to us to find, teach, and continue to find and teach. It is so fun contacting, trying to find the Lord's prepared people! 

This is how we sleep at night.

Haha. We're still sleeping in the kitchen and front room. We've learned how to handle the heat missionary-style: We pour water all over our mattresses and put wet towels on the fans, then wake up at 3 in the morning to re-wet everything again. Haha every night is an adventure! A member came today and helped us fix our AC again.... pray that it works!

We are working with many people, but our friend that is progressing most is Gonzalo, the husband of a member. He has come to love going to church every week and he is a riot! Really, he is super funny and you never know what he's going to say. On Saturday, he wanted us to visit his neighbor, but he didn't want to go visit his neighbor with us (he wanted to see what would happen...), so he watched us walk down to his neighbor's house and watched us knock his door. When the neighbor didn't answer, Gonzalo started making huge arm movements and yelled at us to knock harder, but to no avail. Then Gonzalo made motions for us to walk under the garage door and find him. Haha we were dying with laughter. His neighbor never heard us (he was in the back of his house with the AC on), so we're going to pass by later today. Our goal is to help him finally make the decision to be baptized on the 19th of July. Please pray for him!

Lots of stuff happened this week :) I'm so glad that the Lord is helping me the way He knows I need to be helped. We had the normal ups and downs of missionary life, but I learned a great lesson this week: the importance of integrity. If we are true and honest with ourselves, we will always be honest with those around us. Yes, sometimes it's inconvenient doing what's right, but (as said by an elder here), if we are a leader that everyone likes, then we're not being a good leader. We, as disciples of Christ, need to be true to the Lord at all times and in all things. In the October(?) conference of last year, there was a talk that discussed the importance of representing the Lord (Which Way do you Face). I am so glad that I am here to represent my Savior and Redeemer!! This work is so amazing!

Have a great week!

Hermana Zubeldia

Another picture in Obregón. I'm having fun finally figuring out my camera! Hooray for black and white!

In Obregón

The city has been displaying their pride and we found this on our way home from church.
How cool is this picture, right?

Novela Mexicana

Dear Family,

I can't believe Pablo is home!!! Really, this is so crazy! Give him a bigger hug than the ones he is giving you!

Man o man o man, this week was full of excitement. I've never seen a Mexican novela, but I feel like I was in a missionary novela this whole week!

The picture doesn't show the length,
sorry about that. La Hermana wanted to
style it when she finished cutting it.

So, let's start with Monday: I've been need of a trim, so I went to a recently married sister in the ward to have her trim my hair (Hna. Pech needed to cut her hair, too). Ahhh! The wonderful sister CUT MY HAIR OFF! She decided to turn the trim into a brand new hair style without telling me (there was no mirror in front of me, I didn't know!). My hair now is now a bit below my shoulders and she gave me bangs! my hair was past my elbow.... and alas! Haha. I wanted to cry in shock and despair! Oh well, hair grows. The good thing is that she did a good job, that it doesn't look bad. Also, it's gotten even a bit more curly because there's less hair (sniff sniff). She did a great job, but both Hna. Pech and I have been struggling all week trying to find a way to "work our new do."

Tuesday, we had a day long "seminary" with another zone. It was absolutely amazing! We had trainings, spiritual activities, etc. It was a great reminder that we all need to improve the way we teach so that our lessons can be more spiritual and more powerful.

Then, we had "divisions" with the most amazing sisters ever! Really, I love my zone so much. The two sisters are perfect examples of diligence and obedience, it was so much fun being with them. 

Also, Lucila was supposed to have her interview on Thursday, but, due to work and a phone that didn't work, she couldn't make it to the church and couldn't contact us. We went over later in the afternoon to see her, when she told us that she was getting married!! WHAT?!?! It was such a huge surprise, and there was no time on Friday, due to her surprise wedding, to have the interview.  I feel like the Lord is telling us, once again, that we need to let Him take control of the situation. The Spirit was telling me these past days that we needed to wait another week, and I'm glad that things are working out as they need to. So, part 2 of this continuing story will take place next week.

Me cleaning the bathroom.

We had a combined activity with another Ward on Saturday to deep clean the church building. Hna. Pech and I were stressing a tad to make sure everything was in order for the activity, but in the end, it turned out FANTASTIC! Both wards were so excited to clean the building, and it was a wonderful experience serving all together. Haha. I volunteered us to clean the bathrooms :) (I'm so glad that my parents taught me to clean!)  We had less actives and investigators come, so it was even more meaningful. Our wonderful friends had a great time getting to know all the other members. Everything is looking brighter in Macapule! 

To celebrate the wonderful 12 months that have past, Hna. Pech and I burned skirts! We both have skirts that can no longer be used, so we used the numbered matches we have to try to make a small fire in the back of our house. Guess who are not boy scouts.... ya... we had no idea how to make a fire, it was so sad! But we did the best that we could. Haha. Hna. Pech tried burning her skirt while wearing it... it wasn't the best idea, but no one got hurt :)

The heat has started up again. Wow! It gets so hot! Our air conditioning worked only once, so we've been using fans and have opened the windows to not die of heat. It's around 97 degrees in the house when we go to bed, and around 88 when we wake up. Haha. We've decided to move our mattresses to the front room to open more windows and take advantage of the cooler air that's outside. 

We had an awesome Gospel Doctrine class on Sunday about repentance. Every week, more and more people have decided to join the class. Our new friends are loving it! Haha. The members are loving it too because we bring cookies once in a while.

We had the most amazing lesson with an amazing family this week! I felt like I was in "The District"! The dad got everyone together to listen and we were able to teach the whole family. They asked amazing questions, understood, and are accepting to learn more. There were so interested in reading the Book of Mormon, it blew my mind! It's amazing helping people learn how to make covenants with our Father in Heaven.

I love this work! This week was absolutely crazy, but I wouldn't change it for the world. It is such an honor to be able to serve the Lord and to literally be put into the refiner's fire to discover how to better appreciate the Savior's atonement.

Hermana Zubeldia