The Atonement is for everyone!

Dear family,

Thank you for such wonderful letters! I loved hearing about chinese new years, robotics teams, science olympiads, and knowing that my family is safe, sound, and happy. Haha I've been getting a few emails from people talking about when I'm coming home.... That's such a long ways away, so don't worry about it! Enjoy the moments without me because I'm enjoying every moment of the mission. The Lord has given missionaries the opportunity to preach the gospel! What a blessing!

This week was absolutely amazing! The spirit was in the air, and it was everywhere. We've been inviting everyone to watch "Conozca a los Mormones." The movie that everyone saw in the US and will be in theaters here in Los Mochis on the 27th. On Thursday, we had a conference with the president where we were able to watch it! Wow! What a fantastic movie! I love how the church is reaching out to people in a way that people are used to. Our friends and members are so excited to go see the movie this Friday and throughout the week next week.

Speaking about our friends, Lucila is absolutely amazing! She has watched practically every movie the church has made (she loves "Charly") and is asking for more things she can find on line. I think she's going to watch The Work and the Glory this week... any movie ideas???? Also, she has been listening the the Book of Mormon on her cellphone and read Ether 12, as we asked. She was so great, she said (translated), "of course I read it! All about faith!" even her daughter read the chapter. We're hoping to get through to her daughter, Adilene, more by going with a couple in our ward that are waiting to get married in the temple. This young couple has a similar story as Adilene and lived together before they were married, and they are excited to motivate Adilene to aim for the temple. Lucila is trying to change her life and has demonstrated her desire to repent and become closer to God. She and her nephew are both preparing to be baptized in March.

Something I realized this weekend is the power of the atonement in our lives. There were so many instances this week where we talked about the repentance process and the happiness of feeling clean again. Heavenly Father does not want us to be unhappy! He wants us to come closer to Him so that he can bless us. Lucila, like all of us, wants to change. She IS changing. And, SHE IS HAPPY! Heavenly Father has a plan of happiness. The center of this plan, is the atonement of Jesus Christ. We all must use it to live with Heavenly Father again. 

I also realized this last night, as we were talking to a young woman who wants to go to the temple with the ward in March. We are at peace with ourselves and with God when we choose to repent, and the spirit was so strong as we were talking about the power of repentance with her. God gives us weaknesses so that we can trust Him. Once we trust Him and repent, He helps us turn those weaknesses into strengths. 1 Cor 10:13

I love you all! Have a great week!

Hermana Zubeldia

 

 

 

 

 

We made chocolate cake in the microwave today! We are that cool :)It was a mixture of egg, oil, chocomilk powder, sugar, water, and pancake mix!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don't know if I've sent this one, but it's a pretty picture! Here's an "andador" in our area. It's safe during the day ;)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I´m still in Macapule!

Dear wonderful people,

I'm still in Macapule! Hooray! We received transfers yesterday and both Hna. García and I are staying. I get to learn more with my hija! That's 3 transfers! We are both so excited! The crazy thing is that Hna. García needs to have her wisdom teeth taken out today... hooray? Her dentist in Utah told her she didn't need to take them out, but they started bothering her out here. The crazy part is that it only cost 500 pesos to take them out (just for supplies, we have a mission dentist helping us out). That's less than 40 dollars! Crazy! I think I'm going to live in Mexico ;D 

Because Hna Garcia is going to be in some pain (haha she still doesn't know how much), we've made plans so that I can keep on working with a member in the ward and she'll have a sister watch over her. I'm going to be taking some awesome pictures and videos in a couple of hours :D

We've been teaching two wonderful women: Adilene and Lucila. Adilene is a less active and is almost 20. Her mom, Lucila, is 36, and is trying to change her life with the help of our wonderful Heavenly Father. They came to a ward activity and watched "The Testaments" and are now reading 3 Nefi 11. They came to church with us yesterday, we visited them yesterday, and will be visiting them tomorrow. They have loved the church websites and have already watched the movie about Joseph Smith. We gave them some more movie titles and we are so excited to be working with such fantastic people! Lucila texted us 20 minutes ago saying that her prayers have been answered when she discovered that we're both staying. I love missionary work!!!!

Hna. Franco (Argentina), Hna. Cook (Colorado), and me.
These two are the most amazing missionaries!

This week, Hna. Franco and I did splits so that she and I could surprise a companionship in the morning. We woke up super early to travel an hour by bus to an area to make breakfast for the sisters (one was my companion in the CCM) and to study with them. It was fantastic! We're planning on doing this with all the sisters, not just to eat pancakes or french toast, but to help them learn the importance of effective study. Our studies in the morning are so important in the work. If we study effectively by ourselves and with our companions, we will have the guidance of the Holy Ghost more abundantly in our lives. My goal this next transfer is to strengthen my relationship with Christ and further my understanding of this gospel during my studies. A missionary once told me that a mission helps us learn 30 years worth of doctrine in less than 2 years, but we can't do that unless we use every second of our studies effectively. Alma 17:2

I love you guys so much! Talk to you on Monday! I'll see if Hna. Garcia will let me send some of her crazy pictures.

Hermana Zubeldia

Life is still great!

Dear family,

This week was a week of ups and downs. As I said in a letter to my sister, I am still excited to keep on serving the Lord. I trust that He knows what He's doing. He prepares those who are ready with his Holy Spirit. All we can do is keep on working until we find the people He prepares.

This week was super special because I got to go to Obregón for a day!! Hooray! Making sure Hna. García was safe and sound with other sister missionaries in another ward, I set off to go to a conference in Obregón. The tender mercy was that I got to sleep in the same house I stayed in for 6 months! It was marvelous! The sister missionaries who are know serving in Barrio Mayo have really put their spin on the house and it looks fantastic! They even opened up another area for the ward! There are now 6 missionaries working in Barrio Mayo!!! And the new companionship is staying the house Hna. Rojas and I found! I am so excited for them! We weren't able to visit any of the dear friends I met, but I did get to see our wonderful neighbors, Hna. Olivia and Laurita! What a treat :)

We had an amazing conference in Obregón where we learned how to work better with the members, where we focused on how we can study more effectively, and talked about the importance of family history. I am so excited to work on family history here on the mission! Family history isn't just a program in the church, it's part of the Gospel. We can't be perfect without our ancestors, and they cannot be perfect without us. (D&C 128:15)

We got to experience a tender mercy yesterday. After trying to find our investigators, but to no avail, we set off for church. I was thinking to myself, "Why? Why is it so hard to go to church for these people? They were excited about going and then... poof! They're nowhere to be found." Well, with faith, all things are possible. At the last minute, the husband of one of the members walked through the door! We've been working with him, and he came! The Lord knows exactly what He's doing.

We've been working with 3 college roommates: Areli, Estefani, and Sonia. We read 3 Nephi 11 with them last night and it was such a spiritual experience! We're going to be visiting them again tonight, Wednesday, and then they will be coming to a ward activity where we will be watching "The Testaments“ (perfect!). Areli is also making plans to not go home on the weekend so that she can come to church with us.

Fun moment of the week: WE MADE BANANA BREAD! I asked my mom to send me my banana bread recipe, and we taught the young women how to make it. It was so good! And we made so much bread!

I love this work! I wish I could describe my happiness in eloquent words, but I can't. I love being a missionary!

Hermana Zubeldia

Obedience and Miracles

Dear wonderful people,

This week was absolutely amazing! We found so many new people to teach! Sadly, no one showed up to church on Sunday because it was raining, but we aren't going to stop working until we help everyone we can understand the importance of the Gospel. There was a total of 27 in sacrament meeting and practically everyone got to bear their testimony. I love Fast Sunday! To break the fast, we ate lunch with one of my favorite friends in our ward, where we experimented in our cooking skills and made food with the random things Hna. Sarahí had in the house. So fun!

Speaking about food (as always), we celebrated the 2nd of February by buying tamales. When eating the rosca on día de los reyes, both Hna. García and I found the little toy dolls in our slice of cake. Here in Mexico, if you find the plastic dolls, you have to throw a tamale party on the 2nd of February. So we did!... in our house... by ourselves....  super fun! We're planning on having an awesome P-day next week: One of our friends, who's reading the Book of Mormon and praying, works in a Mortuary by the church and prepares the bodies. It's super weird, but pretty awesome at the same time. He invited us to visit and see(?). There no rule against visiting mortuaries, so we're planning on going with a member who has been accompanying us when we visit him to see what he does every day. haha we're both excited to find out if we'll be able to go!

Also, like Elder Zubeldia, I've had a bit of a cold. It's been great! The weather goes from hot to cold rapidly, and it's taken its toll. I'm getting better. I will survive!

The most spiritual moment of the whole week was Saturday, all day. Hna. García and I found ourselves in a situation where we were put to the test by Heavenly Father to see if we believed in exact obedience. To make a long story short, I'll tell you the story after the mission. Haha just kidding!... But really. We were caught in a situation where it could have been very easy to bend the rules out of the goodness of our hearts, but we decided to turn to the Lord in prayer before saying "sí" or "no". After turning to the Lord, we tried calling a leader, but to no avail, and we found our answer to our question in the mission manual, where we decided that if we wanted to be on the Lord's side, we had to keep HIS rules. In the end, we decided that exact obedience was what we needed. It was hard, trust me, but it was worth it. Our whole Saturday morning was consumed with our decision, and we set off after lunch to go teach. I have never received so many blessings in one afternoon in my whole mission! We were able to find new people, run into people who asked us to return, discover that our investigators were reading and praying, and so much more!

From our Saturday experience, my companion and I have found deeper testimonies in faith in keeping the commandments. I know that if we are obedient in life, we receive blessings. I also know that if we are exactly obedient, we see miracles. I testify that Heavenly Father gave us commandments for our safety, to guide us in our lives so that we can live with Him. They are not suggestions and should not be taken as such. We one wants to know if a commandment comes from God, LIVE IT! You will receive testimony afterward. John 7:17

I love you guys! Have a great week!

Hermana Zubeldia

We were playing around with the camera before writing to you all.

Hermana García and me. We were still having fun

Our wonderful and humble abode.
We've started watering the plants (and the dirt) and
it's finally looking like a home inside and out!

Eight Months!

Dear family,

I can't believe I'll be celebrating my 8th "birthmonth" this week! Time is flying way too fast, but I am enjoying every second the Lord is giving me. Every day, whether it be during our morning studies, during a lesson, or while we are on the streets, I am reminded that Heavenly Father is helping me feel His love. He truly loves and wants the best for us! What more can we ask?

These people are absolutely amazing!
And yes, the tres leches cake was absolutely delicious :)

Last Monday, after I wrote to y'all, is when the party actually began ;). It turns out that Hna. García, the Elders, the ward mission leader, and his wife, put together a little surprise birthday party for me. We were told that our weekly meeting was changed to Monday, so Hna. García and I headed over to the Elders' area to have our missionary meeting. All the lights were off, we open the door, and SURPRISE! There was cake, hot chocolate, and lots of laughs. Everyone was so sweet! I love being a missionary!

Something I love about this ward is the spiritual power the leaders have during ward council. This ward may be small, but the leaders are spiritual giants! Ward council is a time when all the leaders of Macapule come together to discuss problems, find solutions, and then...ACT! I absolutely love how this ward is so active! There are some wards that will discuss the problems for over an hour in their councils, never find solutions, then continue discussing about the problems the next week. This ward is just the opposite! They focus on how they can help the members, allowing the Lord to bless their efforts and find success. Barrio Macapule is finally recovering from their years(?) of trial, and it's amazing to be part of their ward as they are getting back on their feet. The Lord is providing this ward with so many miracles!

This little kiddo decided to be baptized!
The whole ward worked together to make this miracle happen.

The highlight of the week was the baptism of our wonderful friend, Alex. The baptism went smooth and spiritual and, best of all, Alex was so excited! He was just jumping for joy when he was waiting in the church, telling us that he couldn't wait until it was 6 pm (the time of his baptism). He was even more excited when his mom showed up, showering her with hugs. The moment that hit me the most was when he came out all in white. In my mind, I was thinking, "it was all worth it!" Alex, the little stinker :) was a handful at the beginning of our meeting with him 2 months ago, but he has completely embraced the church and the gospel! Teaching him was a roller coaster, but I wouldn't change a thing. The whole ward got a laugh when we saw him in the font and he was practically jumping for joy (and he's a shortie, so the water was probably at his chest, super cute).

Yesterday, Alex was looking sharp in his white shirt the elders got for him, and his tie that we found (with the help of a member). We have talked to the ward council to make sure he stays active for the rest of his life :) I think Alex is going to help the ward a TON! The ward now has a wonderful little boy who wants to go to church every Sunday, they have all been "called" to serve, and all of the ward members have rallied together to make sure he gets the help he needs.

I was reading about the different apostles in Jesus the Christ this morning and I found something that really touched me. Thomas, one of the apostles, was a devoted follower of the Savior (even though, like everyone, he had his faults). He had planned to follow the Lord till the end of his days (John 11:16). I got to thinking, "wow, he had planned to continue following Christ until he died! Am I prepared to do that?" Are we prepared to leave everything behind, no matter the circumstances, and follow our Savior? The apostles, as well as the missionaries in the BoM, had planned on leaving their lives behind to help others. Not knowing when they would return home, they set off to preach and to testify. What amazing conviction! I know when I am returning home, but I hope we all have the same conviction throughout our lives in serving our Savior.

I love you all! Have a great week!

Hermana Zubeldia

Hna. García and I. We have fun :D

Be happy!

Dear family,

My companion is so sweet! Today, she sacrificed a bit of sleep to make me breakfast in bed! We had so much fun eating pancakes at 6 in the morning before getting ready for today. Hna García is such a solid missionary who knows exactly why she's out here. If only we could all be like her! As my brother once said about one of his companion, "I wouldn't mind serving with her the rest of my mission!" She's full of action, reading to teach the world and really knows how to touch others with her sincere and sweet testimony.

This week wasn't as action packed as last week, but, just like every day in the mission, there are many stories and experiences to share.

We were able to do divisions this week with some other sisters, and I just have to say that I love serving and learning from others! Each missionary in the world has different family backgrounds, different personalities, and teaches the Gospel differently, but we all teach the same message. Each one of us has been prepared to help certain people while we are serving, helping more and more people come unto Christ.

Alex, our dear friend, is so excited to be baptized this Saturday! We were planning on having his baptism on the 31st, but he practically picked his own baptismal date and told us and his whole family that he will be baptized on the 24th! We made a few phone calls and we are planning on working hard to get the ward involved to help with the baptism and help Alex stay active afterward. Alex has a crazy family situation (his mom is a less active member) and we are going to be planning with the bishop and other leaders to help him grow up within the Gospel. Our job as missionaries is not just to baptize people, it is to keep them firm and strong afterward as well. I have come to realize that Satan works hard to bring people down after they have been baptized, but I have also come to realize that we, with God's help, can work harder to keep our converts active in the faith. Pray for us and Alex this week!

We got to paint blue angels. It was so fun!

We are teaching a Lamanite family! Literally! We found a family that has been prepared by the Lord to accept this Gospel. We found Alfredo, the grandpa of them all, who introduced us to those in his home, who then introduced us to their family who lives down the street, and so on. They speak Tarascan, as well as Spanish, and the lessons we have had with them are so full of the Spirit! When we ask them a question, they first discuss it in Tarascan with one another before responding to us, and Hna. Garcia and I try to follow the conversation by their facial expressions. It's so cool! At the end of the two lessons we have taught to the families, they prayed in Tarascan. It has been such a neat experience teaching them! The challenge we have with them is that they don't really know how to read. A 16 year old son, Oscar, is one of the few who can read, so he's been reading out loud to them.

They didn't come to church yesterday, but I have a feeling that they will be sending one of the family members this week to church to bring back a report of what they learned. After our lesson with one of the families, we were able to help paint the ceramics they do for their earnings.

I know this church is true! Reading the Book of Mormon, one can feel the spirit that radiates from each word. Everyone who is willing and has the desire to discover for themselves if our church is true, can read this book. The spirit WILL testify that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, meaning Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, meaning the Lord continues revealing to His prophets, just like He did in the Bible.

Mormon 9 - read it!

I love you all!

Hermana Zubeldia

We found a pile of fire today... I´m still so confused why people burn EVERYTHING they don´t want! We found a burnt Christmas tree today.

We shop here every Monday. We can buy food for the whole week for under 200 pesos! That's 20 bucks!

I finally found the picture of Claudia and José's baptism! I don't know how we found it, but here it is! They were baptized around a month ago.

Marvelous Macapule

Dear family,

This week was full of work, work, and more work! We had days were we were teaching every hour nonstop, and days where no one was home. This week we were able to feel every emotion under the sun, but my favorite moment was when Hna. García said, "me encanta ser misionera!" (I love being a missionary!) She didn't think a mission could be as fun as it is. Which is so true: Missionary work is AMAZING and so much fun! The comment got me to thinking as to why she would say such a truth, and we came to the conclusion that it's fun doing the right thing and working for the Lord. Yes, there are hard days without much success, but every day is a miracle within itself. It's humbling to know that the Lord will lead us to the people who are ready to progress, but only if we give him all our heart, might, mind and strength. As one of my past leaders said, we must do everything, "con TODO su corazón!" (with all your heart!).

Here is el cerro (the hill) that is in Mochis. We live on this side of it.

The crazy moment of the week was when Hna. García and I had to go to another church building to talk to some other sister missionaries. We finished our meeting around 1:30, so Hna. García and I headed to the bus stop to go back to our area and eat lunch with the bishop's family. We're still a bit new to Los Mochis and have only been in that area once. We found the bus stop (by the merciful hand of the Lord), but got on the wrong bus! We discovered our mistake a bit too late, and found ourselves on the other side of the hill (there's a big hill in the middle of the city). We called the bishop's wife and told her that we would be a bit late because we were lost. She, in turn, laughed at us and said to not worry, that they would wait for us (We were glad to hear that). We got off the bus, found another bus, talked to everyone on the 2nd bus to get help and find the bus stop we needed, got off that bus, found the right bus, and made it back to our area safe and sound around 3pm. What an adventure! Moral of the story: ALWAYS ASK THE BUS DRIVER where he is going, just in case. We discovered later that we had never left the zone, which is fantastic. The Lord was helping us every step of the way!

This past week, I've been reading a talk given by Elder Lawrence Corbridge, "El Cuarto Misionero" (The fourth missionary) It's an amazing talk about how we can learn to consecrate our service as missionaries, changing other's lives and ours throughout our missionary service. From what I have learned, everything is based on our desires to serve. If we serve, we must do it with all our heart, being willing to submit ourselves to the Lord's will with no regrets. The Lord wants us to give our hearts to Him so that He can bless us in ways we can't even imagine. I invite you all to really think about how you can give your heart to our Heavenly Father. If you do so, you will find that He will give you a heart that is like His, a heart that is full of faith, hope, charity, and everything else we aspire to be in this life and in the life to come.

DyC 4:2

I love you!

Hermana Zubeldia