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.

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!

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!

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.

Two months!

Hola Queridos!!!
 
Today has been a great day for two reasons: I entered the MTC exactly 2 months ago and it's my two adorable little sisters' birthday today! Happy birthday Sofía and Soraya!!! I love you two so much! Eat a good homemade cake for me!
 
We saw so many miracles this week! Eight of them is that eight of our investigators came to church!!! O my goodness gracious! The Lord has blessed this area more than I can even imagine. One of them, María Jesus, came for the second time even though we weren't able to teach her at all last week. She and her kids are loving going to church and we are going to be working on getting her husband to accompany her this Sunday. She tells us that he'll come around. I love seeing her faith!
 
Another investigator, the great guy with the Word of Wisdom problems, also came :). La Famila Castro Morales came with three friends from out of town. La Familia Castro Morales is an elderly (well, not really elderly... late 60s...) couple who saved us from a rainstorm two weeks ago. They were very interested in the church because they have family who are members. They asked if someone could bless their home and we went with a member of the bishopbric this week. When we arrived, they had their three guests there. The Spirit was super strong and la Hna. Shiraki and I discovered that all five of them are "escogidos". Sadly, their guests are not from Obregon, but I have no doubt that they will accept the Gospel as soon as they go home and we pass their references on. Like I have been telling my ward here for the past two Sundays, some plant the seeds, some nourish the seeds, and some reap the fruit. I feel so blessed that the Lord has allowed me to help plant and nourish the seeds in this family!
 
A funny moment of the week was yesterday when a sketchy black car stopped by us. The driver, a guy in his early 20s, rolled down his window and started talking to us in English. The first thing he said was, "You're from SLC! Me too! Fistbump!" He told us that he had attended SLCC, had lived in Utah for two years, and that he had bought a car in Kaysville. He then asked Hna. Shiraki if she was a Mexican because she is insanely tan right now. Hna. Shiraki and I had a good laugh about it after. I feel like we're going to be fistbumping each other for the rest of our missions.
 
So, we totally condemned a woman and her son this week. They were lively Catholics and were interested in hearing out words. We gave them the first lesson and they believed what we were saying, but they happily rejected the Book of Mormon. They accepted the truths, but rejected knowing more or try to gain their own testimonies. It was so weird. They were so happy to invite us in and deny the true church. Oh well, I guess we will see what happens on judgment day... I feel that 2 Nephi 33:10-15 explains how I felt.
 
Love you!
Hna. Zubeldia

Carne asada! It's steak in a taco! Genius!

This is the one and only day on my mission that I had my hair down. A member of the 70 came to speak with us and all of us sisters got dressed up. Hna. Shiraki and I enjoyed our only glamour shot of the mission.

Transfers and Miracle Tamales

Dear everyone,

Thank you for your letters! I think this might have been one of the happiest weeks of letter receiving! Family, thank you for keeping me updated with your lives and for the wonderful photos you sent this week. Yes, I was/am very happy indeed!

We had a wonderful investigator family come to church yesterday! And the little kids came as well! The mom is very interested in the church and how we help children learn about Christ. We will be visiting them again later this week :)

I am also very happy that I get to stay in Obregon for another transfer! I even get to stay with my same mom, Hna Shiraki! It's common for the new missionaries in this mission to have two trainers, and I am very pleased to say that I have another 6 weeks to learn as much as I can from Hna Shiraki. We're looking forward to miracles in this transfer and I want to share with you the first miracle we witnessed...

Like one of my previous miracles, this miracle also includes food. Trust me, I am eating well, we have food, and we have miracles that do not include food, but this experience is one I will never forget. Yesterday was a kind of crazy day when most of the ward kind of disappeared and the people we were supposed to eat lunch with had to go out of town. They had given us money Saturday night, but it was too late to buy anything for Sunday. Hna Shiraki and I were against buying food on the Sabbath when we knew we could make do without, so we made sandwiches for the four of us and brought them to church. We ended up giving 2 sandwiches to the APs because they were pacing around the church working out transfers, and we went back to the other sisters' apartment to eat(?). None of us were super thrilled that we wouldn't be eating much for lunch, and I was hoping and praying that no one would cave into temptation. We're missionaries, we will live without a meal! Here's when the miracle occurs: When we got to their house, their neighbor told us she had made tamales for us. We looked at one another and thought, "yes, this is really happening! The Lord loves us and works miracles!"

Family and friends, I want to bear witness that the Lord knows the desires of our hearts and will bless us if we keep his commandments. Heavenly Father will shower us with blessing and with miracles if we are willing to do our part. I am so grateful to know that I am here to serve Heavenly Father. He truly exists. This work is real.

1 Nefi 3:7
Alma 37:35

I love you all! Thank you for your love and support! Until next Monday :)

Love,

Hna Zubeldia

I love this mission!

Dear family and friends,

What a week! The Lord sure has us working hard to bring everyone the gospel and I am loving every second of it! Like Susana said in one of her emails (a month ago? time is kind of fuzzy now), missionary work is nothing like she expected. Truer words have never been said (besides the Book of Mormon, of course). Missionary work is nothing what I expected... I think it's better than what I expected. It's hard work, hot work, and long work, but it's good work.

We've been working with a wonderful investigator who has now attended church 4 times. He is a cheery fellow, and Hna Shiraki and I have had the pleasure of teaching him the Word of Wisdom more than once. We got him a calendar with motivational quotes and such to help him out and he has been putting checks on the days he has kept the Word of Wisdom. The best part is that it's working!!! His family is very supportive of him investigating the church and we're planning on working with them ASAP. Ward members have also been getting involved in being his friend and being amazing. President Hinckley was right in saying that every new convert needs a friend, a calling, and the word of God.

A lesson I learned this week is that it's important to get the members involved in helping with missionary work. It is VITAL to the success of the mission. We were able to get the Bishop to accompany us to teach someone... the spirit was so strong!!! Not only did the presence of the Bishop help motivate our investigator to learn more, it helped get the Bishop very excited about missionary work! We now have a ward-wide plan to have an open house where all the members will bring someone to investigate the church. I am so excited to see how this plays out! Even if I leave with the upcoming transfer, I am super excited to hear about what happens!

Elder Valenzuela (setenta) came to speak to us this week! It was pretty amazing! He focused on the importance of involving the members in missionary work and the importance of teaching when you find and finding when you teach. We should always be asking for references when we visit members. I hate to admit this, but back in Utah, I was always hesitant to give the missionaries references (there aren't many people I know who aren't members over there, but still). I have repentented of my ways and I promise on giving the missionaries references whenever I can when I come home! Member references are amazing because they already have a support system in the church. Elder Valenzuela brought a great spirit and got everyone excited to continue working. It was all pretty amazing!  Him coming also meant that we got to look our very best for the conference. Yes, we should look our very best everyday, but it's not super easy with the heat and all... Anyway, we all had a wonderful time trying to look like ¨perfect¨ missionaries :)

2 Nephi 25:26

Love you!

Hna. Zubeldia