Turtles and Working hard

Dear family,

This email might not make sense because it's kind of all over the place.... I'll try to practice my English during language study so that I can write more fluently ;)

I love how the Lord blesses us with tender mercies. This week was a week were we worked our hearts out, and even though our investigators have their own agency (what a wonderful thing!) and they all disappeared Sunday morning, the Lord blessed us with other mercies to show that He is watching out for us. 

Monday, after writing early to you all, my companion and I went to spend some time with an investigator and her two adorable little girls. Claudia is eager to learn more and has accepted everything we have taught, but slept in on Sunday (stinkers!!!!!). We made a cake with her and then went to Parque Sinaloa (look it up) to finish our P-day in the afternoon.

They rest of the week was full of visits, service, helping out with mutual, and the wonderful life of missionary service. Our lunch was cancelled on Saturday, so we got to work even more after we quickly ate Mexican sushi :). Really, it felt so good working this week! It was such a contrast from the week before! The tender mercies arrived in it's full glory yesterday, as Hna. Pech and I went to pick up Claudia and a few others to go to church. THERE WAS NO ONE TO BE FOUND! It was crazy! We called their phones, knocked doors... all the many people who had said that they would come to church were fast asleep.... haha things got even better when we found out that the members who were to help us out with lunch on Sunday were out of town :). We hopped on a bus to get to church, only to discover that we got on the wrong bus! haha the joys of missionary life! 

The tender mercies go as follows:

1. With hopping on the wrong bus, we still were able to make it to the church! We walked all the way through the center of Mochis, arriving at the Chuch exactly at 9.

2. A less active came to church with her whole family! The oldest son, Javier, hasn't been baptized and is super excited to come back to church and to go to mutual on Saturday. We'll be visiting them on Thursday. We stopped by their house yesterday afternoon and they gave us a cupcake!

3. We were able to eat lunch with the bishop and his family. The spirit was so strong! The bishop is super smart and it was mind blowing talking about the eternities with him. He shared with us a scripture that completely blew my mind (DyC 132:26). 

4. We visited a less active, Hna. Socorrito, that is a hoot and a half. She's slowly reactivating, and was eager to give us more food than our stomachs could stand to thank us for the visit (don't worry, I'm not going to get sick again)

5. The tenderest mercy of all: We helped out with mutual on Saturday, heading over with a member and an investigator in the bus (we all contacted the bus, super fun!) The mutual turned out great, but it ended at 8:30ish and the buses don't pass at that hour. Hna. Pech and I began to quickly walk home, realizing that it was probably a 45 minute walk. A BUS PASSED! But, it wasn't just any bus, it was a bus that wasn't on the right route. It was a miracle when the bus driver stopped, asked us where we were going, and took us directly to our home! I knew the bus route the bus driver should have taken, and it wasn't where he was going, not in the slightest. It was such a miracle to have the bus driver take us directly were we needed to go! We ended up arriving at home exactly at 9! 

Yes, the area isn't progressing right now as far as investigators go (why do people sleep in, why?), but the Lord blessed us with many miracles this week and I know that He is preparing the hearts of his children. I love this work and I love knowing that the Lord is always watching over us!

Love you guys!

Hermana Zubeldia

 

Parque Sinaloa. Here I am, at the famous park of Los Mochis. I have no idea whose head this belongs to.

PS: I put turtles in the subject line... there were turtles in the park and I picked one up.... but I forgot to write about it :)

Suero!!! (IV)

Dear family,

Haha where do I even start in describing this week? Let's see if I can start from the beginning....

Okay, so last Monday, my companion and I were so busy with "resting," we didn't bother about lunch or anything. We got everything done early so that we could climb the hill located in the center of Los Mochis with some members. The Lord loves us, so he provided an abundance of food from every person we saw. We were given hamburgers, tortillas, frijoles... you name it, it was given (so great!) to us.

But then... not so great.... Tuesday was a day of complete unrest where my body was crying, "oh no, these things do not belong." I had a wonderful case of stomach flu and a high fever rolled into one. After receiving a blessing, I spent the afternoon in the hospital (Never again will I spend an afternoon in a hospital here). The hospital was clean and all, and they all knew what they were doing, but they gave me an IV and made it seem like I was dying. Ridiculous! Then, around 8:30 that night, the doctor told me that I couldn't leave because I had a minor fever and that I needed to be in "observation." There was no way! They had "observed" me enough (and they basically left my companion and me all by ourselves, so.... so much for observation) We called the president and some members in the ward, got permission to leave the hospital, and arrived happily and home, my companion dying of hunger :)

The fever persisted the next day, but I was being taken care of quite nicely by my companion and the ward members. I was just so happy to be able to be in familiar walls, where doctors weren't using big words that I don't understand. The members were all too busy to help us with our appointments (we called everyone and only one was able to help for a couple of hours... but we kind of need two... one to babysit the missionary that's sick and one to work), so we watched The Testaments and all the other church videos we had in the house. 

And that was the great highlight of the week! To avoid similar problems in the future, I've put myself under restrictions as to what I can eat, so that I can work with all my heart, might, mind, and strength. It seams to be working... haha... I haven't gotten sick in a couple of days... :) I won't be getting sick again!

DyC 4:2

But really, I am still loving being a missionary! It's such a blessing to be able to work in this vineyard!

Hermana Zubeldia

 

After eating lunch with our Mission Leader, we celebrated his birthday with a cake.

Red to black, and fish :)

Dear family,

Thanks for the pictures and letter this week! You guys are all the best! Congratulations to Daniel for being able to work at camp Hobe this summer and getting ready for AP tests, for Carlos and being awesome in merit badges, for Sofía is sewing ten times better than me, and for Soraya in reading so well! Also, congratulations to my little (but taller) brother Levi for getting 2nd place in state in his category for science olympiad! I love my nerdy family!

This week was pretty crazy! We were all over our area and we found so many new people to teach! I'm really excited about two youth we found who are friends with members in our ward, and two young mothers who are super willing to listen and learn. We searched our Area Book and found less actives that were baptized three years ago, and we've been working hard to invite everything/everyone that breathes to listen to the glorious message about the Gospel. Sadly, due to rainy weather, no one came to church. But that's okay, they will be saved next week ;)

Speaking about rainy weather, it was cloudy all week (which was excellent because we still don't have air conditioning and the heat should be coming really soon). The sky finally exploded Sunday morning while Hna. Pech and I were walking to get investigators. The lightning and thundering was impressively terrifying, but I'm still alive :) We are truly protected as missionaries. The turnout in church wasn't too bad either: 38! Almost everyone was there! I love this ward!

Call my companion and me crazy, but we did something completely off the wall this morning! Hna. Pech has been dying to dye her hair and she had a box of dye from Obregón. So she asked me to dye it!!! We dyed it before our studies, and it came out jet black! Hna. Pech used to have reddish hair (I'll try to send a picture)... haha it makes me think of the time Susana and I used henna.... Silly missionaries....

I got to go to a place called Topolobampo Saturday morning to pick up Hna. Pech after splits. Topo is so pretty! Look it up! (Topolobampo, Sinaloa) It was the first time in around a year that I got to see the ocean. The town is made up of three hills and a dock. Everything for the sister missionaries there is either uphill, or downhill, and they have a total of two gas stations and a grocery store that is similar to a Wallgreens. It makes me feel blessed to be in my area, where we have paved streets and real grocery stores. The thing I loved about Topo though is that everything smelled like the sea and the was the wonderful aroma a cooked pescado.

While on splits, the sister I was with gave me some wonderful advice (well, not really advice, but that's okay). The sister has 17 months on her mission and is going home home the same day as Pablo (I think... I don't know when Pablo is going home....). She said that one of the things she has learned is the power of repentance and the reality of God's love for us. It made me think of an article I read today in the Liahona of this month. President Packer explains the reality of the Savior's sacrifice, saying that we all live on spiritual credit that needs to be paid daily (repentance). If we are willing to accept out Savior, we may be forgiven of our sins. I know this is true! As Pres. Packer states, "I promise that the brilliant morning of forgiveness can come.... How will you know? You will know! (See Mosiah 4:1-3)"

I love that Heavenly Father has provided us a way to return to Him through His son. Christ paid the price, and it is up to us to accept that price and strive to be like Him. I love that Heavenly Father loves us so much as to sacrifice His only begotten Son so that, someday, we may all have the opportunity to be by His side. What a marvelous work and a wonder!

I love you all! Have a great week!

Hermana Zubeldia

General Conference!

Dear everyone I love,

Thank you so much for your letters! I opened my email to find a wonderful amount of pictures and letters, and it was such a treat to see that everyone is loving life! Thank you!

Hna. García is now in the Mission President's ward, getting excited for the heat of Obregón. Good luck to her!  

Conference was amazing! I don't even have words to describe how special it was. The twelve and the seventy spoke harsh and loving words; reprimanding us for using cell phones and technology wrongly... truly being witnesses of Christ (Elder Holland and Elder Ucthdorf are amazing!!). I have been studying my notes ever since conference ended... wow! I can't wait for the Liahona to come!

The sad moment is that Hna. Pech and I missed the first hour on Saturday. We got confused with the time change and we didn't realize that Utah time changed 3 weeks ago! In the words of Hna. Pech, "tristes misioneras!"

Hna. Pech is, as everyone else has told me, "un amor!!!" Really, she is such a sweet girl! She's 21, from Yucatán, and has won the hearts of all the members in just one week. She has 2 more transfers than I on the mission, and we have been having such a great time together. These next weeks are going to be great and full of miracles. 

The three year old nephew of our converts, José and Claudia, passed away this week. In between the Sunday sessions, we went to the funeral, where all the members rallied around to support these young members and their less-active older sister. I love the church so much! Everyone helped out to make sure they were provided for and taken care of. One of the Elders gave a small talk, while I helped lead the music. It's crazy to think that, exactly 6 months ago in the last session, I also helped out with a funeral by playing the piano. The messages at conference were powerful about the importance of defending the family and attending the temple, and I am so glad that I have already been sealed to my wonderful family. Mosiah 15:25 is a scripture that Hna. Pech shared with Claudia, José, and some of their family members, after watching "Because He Lives."

I love you all! Have a great week!

Hermana Zubeldia