Another Week in Navojoa

Dear Family,

Another week has come and gone. What?! When did that happen? I'm glad that everyone is doing well and that everyone is excited with school. Keep on being smart!

My companion and I got caught in the rain

This week was full of crazy miracles. But, it's hot and I can't remember all of them. I think my brain is half fried, literally, but that's okay :) Only a couple more weeks of heat and then we get to less heat.

We had divisiones this week and I got to work with Hna. Rodriguez, an amazing missionary from California. She started the mission at the same time Hna. Garcia (¡mi hijita!) started. I can't believe that they have 9 months out in the field! They all grow up so fast!  We both got a bit sick the night of divisiones, but we both woke up the next day healthy and sound, so all is well :)

Kenia's baptism. She was so excited! (I'm also sunburnt)

Kenia was baptized on Saturday! Oh my goodness gracious she was so excited! She was a bit worried that she wasn't "perfect" before her baptism, but the Spirit, and a few amazing scriptures, helped her out to make the decision to be make covenants with our Heavenly Father.  Of course, Satan wasn't happy with her decision, so he made Saturday crazy for us missionaries in preparing her baptism. Many things happened (such as finding a messy font an hour before the service that someone forgot to fill with water, not finding a shirt for her to be baptized in (My companion and I had to run to our house to find one of my shirts), and a few other crazy things) The baptism was one of the most stressful baptisms I've seen on the mission, but the light on Kenia's face was priceless and made everything worth it. The ward is ecstatic that she is now a member, and she is equally excited to start a new page in her life. I love her and everyone here so much!

We've been working other friends who are equally interested in knowing if this church is true. Wow! I love seeing people eager to learn about the gospel and ask Heavenly Father if what we teach is true! From the short time I have out in the field, the key ingredients to gaining a testimony are essential for someone to progress: they NEED to prayer; they NEED to read the Book of Mormon; and they NEED to go to church to know if this is right. Joseph Smith really did see Heavenly Father and His Son. He really did translate the Book of Mormon. This really is the true church. But, people need to figure that out for themselves. The most amazing thing out here is seeing people figure that with the help of the Holy Ghost. Their whole face changes. Their lives change. Heavenly Father's plan is so amazing!

If you guys can, please pray for Remedios. And Esperanza, Kitzia, and Yaveel. And Martha and Maria Teresa. Pray that they read the Book of Mormon. If they do, the Spirit will fill in the gaps they are missing, I just know it.

Alma 23:6-8

I love you guys! Good luck with the week!

Hermana Zubeldia

Mud, beautiful mud!

Dear family,

It sounds like everyone had a wonderful summer, which is fantastic! Everyone here is starting school as well, so we've been having to make better plans to catch the youth we've been teaching. Good luck with school, everyone! I'll just keep on studying my scriptures and PMG everyday ;)

This week had its up and downs, but, in the end, it's all going as it should. The ups included finding some fantastic people to teach! Really, I can't believe how much the Lord is helping us! We found a family thanks to our wonderful new friend and member, Mónica, and everyone is very excited to learn more about the gospel. Mónica invited her friend to our English classes, her friend liked them, and now the whole family is on board! One of the girls in the family goes to school with our ward mission leader and was very excited to learn about why we act different and why we are happy people :) I love how every member is a missionary here! The down with this situation is that, due to uncontrollable issues, they couldn't go to church yesterday. The Lord knows what's up :)

Another up is that we visited our wonderful friends, Esperanza and her family! We got to teach her husband, José, and he told us that he felt something inside his heart when we talked about the gospel. Esperanza immediately let him know that he was feeling the Holy Ghost (!!!!) I love her so much! The Holy Ghost is working wonders here and it's wonderful seeing people grow and learn. 

Kenia, a wonderful 17 year old, is still progressing and investigating. She has stopped drinking coffee and easily accepted the law of chastity. She's super excited to join JAS some day Pray for her!!! We're going over to her house tonight to talk about her her goals, plans, the Sabbath day, and tithing.

We had divisiones this week with two wonderful sisters. We all learned a lot and we all found things that we can improve on, which was great. It's always great doing divisions because all of us can apply what we learn to our areas.

And well, that was my week! It's been raining tons and I almost lost my shoes last night in the mud. Haha everything is so muddy! I am never going to forget these wonderful moments! One knows when it is about to rain because everything get muggy and super hot, and then... it pours like cats and dogs!

Read D&C 84:80. It's super great :)

I love you guys!

Hermana Zubeldia

 The "lake" below used to be a street :-)

Because I'm Happy :)

Dear family,

Where do I even begin? Really, this week was a week to remember. The Lord showered us with tender mercies and I reminded me again that I will always be in His debt.

On Tuesday, a young woman, Selma, walked into the church after our district meeting and asked us about the church. We gave her a tour and she asked us to teach her, saying that she wanted to better her relationship with God. We went to her house on Wednesday and she was so receptive! We were able to set a date for her to prepare to be baptized and she has tons of potential! Wow! 

On Wednesday, we discovered three new members in our English class: Esperanza, Kitzia, and Yabel. We contacted Kitzia last week and invited her to our English classes, and she brought her family! They loved the church instantly and found faces they knew.

On Friday, we were able to help our dear friend, Rosario, enter the waters of baptism. It was such an amazing service! He invited Kitzia, Esperanza, and Yabel and they were able to witness his baptism. Afterward, Esperanza was without words as she tried to describe to me the "fire" she had felt in witnessing the baptism of one of her friends. She said that she didn't now if she wanted to laugh or to cry because she could't describe her feelings. After helping her understand that this was the Holy Ghost, we scheduled an appointment the next day. They were all very so happy! The Spirit touched their hearts in such a way that they accepted to be baptized in September. 

Sunday was a day of even more miracles! All our friends who came to church were just glowing!!! The members were amazing and helped us help our friends go to Primary, Young Women, Single Adults, Priesthood, and Relief Society. The Spirit was so strong and testified to our friends that this church is true. This church is so true!!! I know it is!! The gospel we know is the true gospel of Christ and it is changing lives!

Looking back on the week, I am still stunned to see that the Lord loves us so much! This isn't my work, this isn't my companion's work. Everything that happened this week was done through the tender hands of He who loves all of us. I can't believe my Heavenly Father as allowed us to witness so many miracles! It makes me want to strengthen my relationship with Him much much much to be able to thank Him for all that He has done.

I love you all! I invite you guys to visit with the missionaries this week! It will help make the day of the missionaries, of the investigators, and yours as well!

Hermana Zubeldia

This is how we have fun in Navojoa

Ándele!

Dear Family,

This week was super great! We went to Obregón on Monday night and got back on Tuesday, where we were finally able to get to work and help Hna. Ortiz get to know the area. Hna. Ortiz is such a sweetheart! She's a bit shy, but she works really well with investigators and is an amazing teacher! She's also a fantastic listener. We're going to have a lot of good times this transfer, I just know it.

Throughout the week, we focused much of our efforts on our friends who have made the decision to make commitments with our Heavenly Father. We went with young women and young adults and helped our friends, Osmara and Kenia, make more friends and get more excited about coming to church. They are both loving church! Really, I love seeing Kenia's face as she meets new people and I love helping Osmara see that she can change her life, little by little. I also love involving the other sisters in the ward! My goal is to have all the young women and YSA sisters excited about missionary work! Please pray for Osmara and Kenia (especially Osmara so she can get over some bad habits). Also, please pray for Rosario, un viejito, that now has many more "viejito" friends.

We had our zone conference on Thursday and I got the package the family sent! Thank you so much! I now have good socks! Hooray :)

I want to share my testimony on the amazingness of this gospel and missionary work! In PMG, it says, "our main task is to declare the gospel and do it effectively. We are not obligated to answer every objection. Every man eventually is backed up to the wall of faith, and there he must make his stand.... The Book of Mormon is a springboard to testimony and personaly revelation... investigators must resolve for themselves their concerns and objections... the first question for an investigator to answer is whether Joseph Smith was a prophet, and he or she can answer this by reading and praying about the Book of Mormon." These words are so true! The Book of Mormon is the perfect way to know if the church is true. I know that my testimony started when I began to read the Book of Mormon, and I know that the Lord WILL help us if we want to know the truth of this gospel. I love this work and I am so excited to keep on working this week!

Hermana Zubeldia

Week of Miracles!

Dear Family,

This week was so busy, but so much fun! It was the last week of the transfer and we made sure that it was the best week ever for Hna. Carvajal's last moments in Mexico. Also, I feel like this letter is going to be full of grammatical errors, so hang in there.

Monday: We celebrated P-day by eating salads! (crazy right...no?!) The salad we ate was 100x better than Zupa's and it was the most amazing thing ever! Afterwards, a sister invited us to Dairy Queen. 

Tuesday: Worked super hard, super hard! Hna. Carvajal worked as hard as her little body could all week and we helped prepare the wonderful people of Navojoa.

Wednesday: We prepared for our "act" in the ward talent show. Us missionaries did a sketch about Nephi retrieving the plates from Laban. Since there aren't many "girl" parts, I was Sam. Oh my goodness, I had so much fun with that part! Sam doesn't say much in the Book of Mormon, so the elders decided to "ignore" everything I said doing the sketch and it was pretty hilarious.

Thursday: The sisters in the ward and I prepared a surprise farewell dinner for Hna. Carvajal and the Elder that left. They were so surprised! They thought it was a "service project" and were surprised with a room full of members, dinner, and cake!

Friday: Hna. Herlinda (bless her heart!) took us to Hna. Carvajal's favorite pizza place for lunch and we had more cake :). We also had the ward talent show and a wonderful youth, Kenia, came. She made friends fast with the members and had a wonderful time.

Saturday: We ate lunch with Hna. Herlinda and had the famous meal of Sonora: tacos de carne asada. Then, an ice cream cake. 

Monica, the sweetest girl in the world.
What a special day for her!
She's so happy!
(even though people don't smile in pictures here)

Also, on Saturday, we helped Monica, a fantastic 17 year old, get baptized. Monica was so excited for her baptism!!! She didn't get baptized with her mom and brother a month ago because she got sick, and Saturday night was specially done to help her feel the spirit. The hug she gave me before entering the font was something that I will never forget! It's moments like that that make every moment in the mission field totally worth it. After the baptismal service, we had Hna. Carvajal's "last supper" with Monica and her family. More tacos de carne asada and more cake!

Sunday: Hna. Carvajal left and I stayed with Hna. Herlinda in the morning. She gave me left over cake for breakfast! We went to pick up Kenia to go to church and she loved her first Sunday :) It was so great! Miracles also were provided because many others made it to church, including Rosario (a 70 year old) and Osmara (15 years old). After church, I worked with a recent RM, Nicol, from Chihuahua (she knows Elder Womack!). She and I worked all afternoon until it started to rain really hard and the lights went out in our area, making teaching impossible because it was so dark in the homes. We got permission from Pres. Munive and she stayed the night with me. She loved being back in the mission life for a day!

Today, I picked up my new companion, Hna. Ortiz. She is from El Salvador and has around the same time in the field as me. She's super sweet and I'm super excited! It was pouring cats and dogs when she arrived and we were soaking wet to the bone in seconds. All the clothes I washed this morning are now soaking wet outside :)

And that was my week of miracles! I almost cried when the week was over because I loved this week so much! I'm super excited for the month of August and I know that more miracles are about to come. 

Also, I am so tired of eating so much cake this past week! 

Love you all,

Hermana Zubeldia