Week 28

Alright. This week was filled with a bunch of crazy, sad, and awesome things. Here you go:

Lunes: Today was so fun! We hurried and cleaned the house, then went to the doctor for Hermana Molina. Dr. Morales looked at her ultrasounds we took last week and said she has a ball of fat in her back that's going to keep growing if she doesn't get it taken out... EEP!  So going to have to have surgery, we just don't know if she will have it done here or at her house. Then we hurried and bought a new chair for her too because it completely collapsed our first week together. And then... ¡Centro! We totally pumped some tags and went thrift shopping:) I found this really cute shirt shirt for Sept. 11. Then we went around to other shops, and we found this shop with tons of cheap Mexico decorations for Independence Day so we're going to dec-out our house:P But ya... We were in Centro for about 6 hours... Walso had a really good lesson with Hugo today. We talked about following the prophet and we added in that conference is in a few weeks! Best birthday ever! But he loves the idea that he can listen to the prophet and he's going to prepare for it by thinking of questions he needs answered.

Martes: Today we started out with our district meeting and we talked more about working with the members and helping them with their fear of sharing the gospel if they have that. Afterwards we walked a lot trying to find people in their houses, but no one was there, which was kind of sad. We had some good contacts with a couple of construction workers. They were taking a break and we started to talk to them about their work and then into the gospel. They seemed very interested, but they work all day, but they immediately asked where the church is! Ahh! We also ate with the familia Corso. I found out that when they went to Utah last month they tried JCWs and loved it. Yay! Then we had a lesson with member with Hermano Pavey and we saw a new investigator named Vicente. But this lesson was kind of hard because he has tons of energy and loves to talk, so we didn't really get to say anything. And he thinks there are no good people in the world, that the Bible was written by people who wanted money, and when we tried saying differently, he didn't exactly listen. Luckily we had Hermano Pavey with us because he's calm and is such a friend to everyone. We also had a good experience with Hermano Pino today. We got to the church for our meeting, but he wasn't there. So we called him and he told us that the other Hermanas told him that we changed times and that we were going to call him to confirm that... We didn't hear anything about this... But he came and we had an awesome meeting. We put together his goals with numbers and our goals of visits and we now have an awesome plan.  And We talked about how we're going to reactivate a less active family in the ward. Everything is really coming along for us and Hermano Pino.

Miercoles: Haha! Today was fun:) We walked all over today... Again... And no one was home! Why?! We ate with Hermana Sollo in her restaurant and course I had my favorite: torta de tasajo y quesillo. And while we were there we saw the rain come, so we went home, grabbed our umbrella, and went out to Loma Linda. We had a cita with Marcos, but he didn't show up. Then we went to see Bruno because we had a cita with him... He left for Chiapas three days ago!! What?! Gah! So frustrated... And as we walked away, it was like Heavenly Father was crying for us because we hadn't visited anyone all day. It was raining so hard!! Our umbrella weren't doing anything for us, so we headed home. And that walk was like we were on Splash Mountain. We were jumping over puddles, no lakes, crossing the streets, and when cars passed by, waves crashed on us like the sand. It was crazy! And when we got home I geared up like an army man, with my rain jacket and my wellies. I was so prepared:) We tried visiting Hugo, but he had to leave, so we visited Hermana Margarita. It was super sweet. She gave us a little bit of food and this drink with hot water, sugar, and oats. Super good:) Then we shared a message about how she's helping Jesus Knock on the doors of other people when she shares her testimony:)

Jueves: Today was pretty great. We first had our weekly planning and then we went to Hermano Hugo's house and taught him about the 10 commandments. I'm not sure if he understood it all or what because when we asked him questions, he gave us answers that really didn't relate to the lesson... But afterwards we went to the bishop's house for the comida and it was super good. It kind of reminded me of this teriyaki/Asian food my mom makes. Then we shared with them a message about sharing our testimonies. And we tried inviting them to a couple of lessons, but they couldn't. So we went to Julia's house for her cita and we talked about how she feels the love of God in her life. She shared with us her thoughts, but she also confided in us with some things that are going on in her life. Then we went to our ward activity, but none of our investigators or converts were there, so we had to leave. We tried seeing if Hugo was home and could go, but he wasn't home. So we decided to go get a cita with Velia and go home and dry off because it was POURING RAIN. But when we got there she had us get into the house and she gave us a towel and pan dulce with tea. And we just talked with her. It was a really good day:) Oh ya! And I wore red, white, and blue:)

Viernes: Today was a little rough... We left early for a cita fija with Marta, but of course she was there. So we went home until about 12 when we left for Hermano Hugo's. But he wasn't there. Then we tried the familia Martinez. But they weren't there. So we tried contacting. And there wasn't anyone on the streets. There was no one to talk to this morning! We walked everywhere, knocking on doors, everything and nothing came out of it. So we went to the comida with Hermana Margarita. And of course it was amazing! I'm stealing recipes from her:) And we had a good talk with her. She was a bit frustrated with what happened at the activity yesterday. It was a Noche Mexicana and the bishop only told certain people about it, but she's one of the people in charge of activities. But then because everyone hangs out in their social groups. So we talked about how one of our goals is to help fix the social class problem in our ward and help others feel comfortable around each other. And she said she could come with us to see la familia Martel. So we went up to Loma Linda to see if we could find people there, but the same thing happened! Every single house we passed no one was home! Gah! And when we met up with Hermana Margarita and her grandson we walked forever to get to the Martel's house.... And they weren't there wither! In fact they moved! None of their stuff was there, so we walked to their old house and luckily we found some of their kids there, but it was kind of awkward. So we got a cita for when their whole family is there. Then we left for Reforma again and we saw a couple of black 7ft. basketball players near an OXXO. It was pretty great:) We ended our day trying to see Hugo again, but he still wasn't there. But ya... Today was a bit sad...

Sabado: Today I felt something different when we walked out of the house. I prayed the night before asking why we aren't having success in the area, what we need to do, and if we can help make someone's day today. And when we went out we immediately started contacting. We contacted this old Catholic man who really didn't want anything, and then this old lady who was interested in the plan of salvation, so we're going to pass on her address to the Hermanas in her area. Then there was a little boy, younger then Ian, that asked us if we could buy some bread from this basket he had. We didn't have money, so we gave him a pamphlet with our names and number and told him that if his family ever needs anything to call us. He was all smiles with that:) We tried visiting Hugo, but he wasn't home, so we headed out to the Ferra's house for the comida.... And they forgot... But they let us in and we ate Tlayudas and talked about how I look like Katy Perry and how we need to put it in the news to freak her out. We decided that I need to buy a shirt that says "I'm not Katy Perry" in Spanish because people keep staring at me on the street and telling me I look like her. And I got eaten by their dog! I was just playing with it like we normally do, and he snapped with half my hand in his mouth! But I survived:) Then we had a lesson about the Fall with Marcos. He is so intelligent! He knew all the answers to our questions and everything. And when we were walking around today, we got followed by a drunk... We saw him walking towards us, so we turned down the road on the right. And when we tried going back, we saw him waiting at the corner for us... Scary!! We ended the day trying to visit Hugo, but he still wasn't there. But today was really good. But I think my favorite part was the little boy with the bread:)

Domingo: Today was pretty good:) The talks in sacrament were full of inspiration and we talked more about the family in gospel principles. David came today! And Relief Society was good too. We talked about the importance of temples in family history. Then we had comida and it was awesome because we went to the house of Julia:) It was super good! But the best part was her agua. It was agua de avena but with walnuts in it:) I drank a ton. Then we had a lesson with her about families, but it got really off track because she just went on and on about her own thing and by the end we weren't talking about families. Then we went to Hugo's house and talked about the law of chastity. We thought this was going to be a bit awkward, but it wasn't. He understood it all and we had a nice flow within the lesson:) To end the day we found Marta on her porch and we just started talking to her and we were able to turn the focus of the conversion onto families and she loved it. She loves her family a lot:)

Well that was my week... Full of experiences:)) And I hope that you are all still doing the Book of Mormon challenge. Just know that I am doing it with you. I'm just a little behind because I'm doing it in Spanish:) But this week we will be reading the first 10 chapters of Mosiah. Enjoy! Love y'all!

Hermana Walker

Week 27

Wow!! I still can’t believe it’s already been 6 months. I do not want my mission to go by this fast! I only have a year left! Lol :) I’m having so much fun, and am still doing well! I’m healthy, I absolutely love my companion and we work so well with each other. I love all of my fellow missionaries and I am so impressed with my Mission President, President Madsen and his wife. I especially enjoy all those who I come in contact with, teach and visit. Many of the locals are ready to learn and take the true words of the Lord into their life. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to be able to teach the gospel to such amazing people here in Mexico.

It’s been fun to be able to have the occasional opportunities to eat and visit at members’ homes and get the sustenance I need. I have always been interested in different foods, but I have ALWAYS hated Mexican food. Since I have been here, I have learned and found that real, authentic Mexican food is the BEST! Spending time with the members has definitely been a blessing. I’m glad I have all these families who always have my back and Hermana Molina while we are serving and sharing the gospel.

Sorry this is so short! The computer I was using crashed just before I was going to send my big Week 27 email and I lost my entire letter!! Grrr! Lol :) so I ran out of time. Needless to say, I am never using that Internet Café again!!

I hope you all are doing well and are up to date with the Book of Mormon Challenge!! You should be finished with Words of Mormon by the end of this week!! :)

Love ya’ll!!

Hermana Walker

Week 26

Alright this week.... Was full of great stuff:)) Sorry I just feel weird because I have exactly a year until I will be in my house.... I don't want that to happen yet!

Lunes: Today was so much fun! We woke up and did our grocery shopping and washed our clothes. Then we got together with Hermana. Salcedo and her comp to do hair. Best day ever! I cut her hair and then I dyed and cut my comp's hair. I absolutely love doing this sort of thing on people:) Then we went out to write y'all. We tried to go out and work today, but it started pouring rain, like super hard! So we stayed in to do our analysis of our numbers to see if the rain would die down, but it didn't. So I introduced my comp to the music of Sons of Provo and the dance to Word of Wizzum.... Let's just say I was on something today....:))

Martes: Today we had a really good district meeting about contacting, because our district is having a hard time finding new people to teach. And our practices went really well. And I got to use my muscles today in carrying this huge box of Book of Mormons home. We have an activity on Thursday about the Book of Mormon and we're going to watch The Testaments:) Today we were able to go visit Hno. Hugo and we taught him about baptism. He was able to understand a lot more about the importance of baptism and was able to appreciate more that he took that step. Today we ate with Hermana. Sollo and we had memelas and tasajo. Tasajo is kind of like a really thin steak and memelas are tortillas with whatever you want to put on it and then you heat it up a little bit more on a stovetop thing.... We tried contacting a lot and we found a new investigator named Norma. We contacted her a few weeks ago and we went to her house to teach. She's very religious and had a lot of questions about the rules of our church, so we helped clarify a lot of things she has heard about the church.

Miercoles: Today was really good. We were able to have mormon.org time and I was able to get some music I want to listen to:) We also ate in the house because we didn't have a member to eat with. We made spaghetti with avocado:) We were able to teach Hermano. Hugo today about the gift of the Holy Ghost. he had a lot of questions this time, so we answered them and he had a better appreciation that he has the spirit with him always. We also met with Hermana. Margarita today. She is just like my Bunka, it's ridiculous... She was making little stuffed bears and rabbits to sell in a shop. We taught her about the importance of the members, because there are a lot who think that this work is for the missionaries and they don't have a part in it. But that's not true. They can share this gospel as much as they want. She really loved it and is willing to come with us to lessons:)

Jueves: Today was super great! We had our weekly planning session that went great! And we also had comida with the Familia Martinez which was amazing as always:) We also taught about the importance of the members with her and she really opened up about this with us and how she feels as a convert to the church how important it is for the members to make the investigators feel comfortable. We also went up to Loma Linda to find a reference and we have a cita with her today! Then it was time for our activity! It went so well! We had tons of members and investigators there and by the end there were tons crying. And they were all willing to take books to give to their friends and everything. And I got to bear my testimony of the Book of Mormon, which was a great experience:)... But we were late to get home.... And Elder Wagner was not happy...... I'll just end it with that...

Viernes: Today was quite a day. We went to the offices to get a name of a doctor Hermana. Molina needs to see for her back. And I found out that Mexico is keeping one of my packages because it has my retainers in it.... Bizarre.... Then we went to comida with the bishop and his family. It was super good!! We also taught them about the importance of the members and it was great because we had their son in the lesson who is a returned missionary and he gave a lot of good comments. Then we visited Hermano. Hugo and taught him about enduring to the end. He was a lot of doubts about this because he feels he has a lot of problems and can't. So we helped him feel better and know that he can! Then we spent the day contacting.... It was a long day... But we were able to contact almost 20 people in 4 hours!:)

Sabado: Today was pretty good. We started our day with Hermana. Marta and we talked about Heavenly Father and families. She absolutely loves her family and wants all the love for them. She did talk a lot again though so that was a little hard.... Then we went to Hermano. Hugo and we taught him about obedience. This was a pretty good lesson because it was pretty self-explanatory to him. We ate with the familia Montalvo and we had pizzoli, which was so good! And we had a really good lesson on faith. We had to go home after that because there was rain and Hermana. Molina has a cold. But when the rain died down we went out to contact again. It was hard though because no one was outside.....So we didn't have much success...

Domingo: Today church was great! Julia was there and in the middle of Sacrament meeting Marta showed up! It was so great! We taught the gospel principles class and it was about the law of sacrifice. They understood it and we had a good discussion. The third hour we had an awesome lesson by the bishopric about how everyone has problems, but we can be lifted up by the love of our Savior:) We had comida with the familia Ferra and we were able to teach one of their friends who has been coming to church with them. His name is Marcos and he's 12 years old and loves the church. He's going to get baptized on 11 de octubre:) We also saw Edgar and helped him feell better. He has a problem with his brothers right now and we taught him about the atonement to cheer him up. And we're going to bring him a pizza for not drinking for almost 2 months in our next cita:)

Well I hope y'all had a good week. I know I did:) And I hope that the Book of Mormon challenge is still going. The next section is Enos-Words of Mormon. I know that reading this book will bless your life. Read it and love it!

Love Hermana Walker

Week 25

Alright everyone! I just started a new transfer so hopefully everything goes well with my new, and first, Latin companion Hermana Molina:)

Lunes: Today we started out with cleaning the house for the other Hermana’s and after that we left for the ADO to get our temporary companions for the day. I stayed with Hermana Martinez while Hermana Delgado went with another Hermana that's going home. We were at the ADO for a bit of time, talking with other missionaries and taking pictures... I have a feeling I'm going to be the one leaving from this place in six weeks... After that we went emailing and rested at the house in the other area. Then we all left to go back to the ADO to get our companions. Hermana Molina came here with 7 months in the Istmo and she only has one more transfer than I do. When we got to the house we unpacked (because I had my stuff still packed from the week before) and we bought a pizza because we hadn't eaten all day. It was pretty great:)

Martes: We didn't have a district meeting today. Instead we took our 3 hours of study and then went out to buy food because there wasn't any in the house, like our fridge was literally empty... And I love that Hermana Molina eats so healthy too. All fruits and veggies:) Afterwards we went to la familia Pino for the comida. Super good entomatadas:) Teaching today was a little hard because no one was home.... Weird... It's Martes... We did get to teach Hermano Hugo before our meeting with Hermano Pino. This meeting was really weird... He only wanted to meet with us because of what happened last week. But he made it really secretive with us... And consejo was awesome! We were able to get a lot across for the things our investigators need.

Miercoles: Today we didn't have district meeting either because we found out that we were going to have a zone conference en Viernes. So we did our 3 hours of study. I love doing language study with my comp because she seriously wants to learn English and she really wants to help me with my Spanish. So we work really hard in this study:) Today was just like Martes... No one was home and no one was on the streets to contact... We had comida with la familia Padilla and that was really good as well... Tacos durados:) Afterwards we needed to go see Dr. Morales for Hermana Molina. I guess she has like a cyst or something that's growing and keeps hitting her spine so sometimes it hurts to walk and sit up. He told her it needs to come out, so he's going to talk to President Madsen about it.... Not another comp!!! We were able to go meet with Hermano Hugo and then we were told to go home so Hna Molina could rest.

Jueves: Today we did our studying and after we started on our weekly planning.... Took almost 4 hours in the morning to do and we still didn't finish... But then again I had to introduce our investigators and we're also planning an activity for next week. We're going to watch The Testaments movie:) After we went and tried to contact a reference that went all wrong. They didn't want anything to do with us and they told us this in an English southern accent I want to steal... Then we went to the Pino's house for the comida and after that we went to go teach, but literally no one was home.... We met with the familia Maison and tried to meet with Eufemia, but she seemed to be very standoffish to us and said she was leaving.... Weird.... We finished our weekly planning that night and found a bunch of old investigators that we're going to try finding and teaching.

Viernes: Today we had our zone conference and it WAS AWESOME!! It was all about how we can better our teaching in specific principles, how to drop investigators nicely, and that the line of authority really isn't something to worry about because all missionaries are equal. It was so great, especially with dropping investigators because I feel that the people I've been teaching here for a long time haven't been progressing and I don't know what to do with them. After we went out searching for these old investigators and it was hard. Some only had phone numbers, some only had house numbers, some didn't want anything, some houses didn't exist, or they weren't home. Ooh! And I had my first soft pretzel in a long time! It was so good! Again we tried with Eufemia, but she still seemed standoffish and wouldn't give us a day that we could come and pass by... So weird...

Sabado: Today we stayed inside for the most part. Dr. Morales still hasn't talked to the president so the sister training leaders wanted us to stay home. So we stayed until the comida. We went to the familia Ferra. And it was really good and super healthy:) After this we had no idea who to teach. No one was around, but also we were having a meeting for stake conference, so anyone we could teach would be at that. We tried to see if Eufemia or Martin were down by the bridge, but they weren't. Just the borrachos. We talked to them and one had this big issue that all women have wickedness because his wife left him for someone else. We tried teaching him about the responsibilities of the family, but he still doesn't believe that women are equal to men. We did find a new one who wants help with his drinking problem. He's from Italy! And he introduced us to him mom as well:) And the meeting for stake conference was awesome too.

Domingo: Today we went to stake conference and Julia came this week. This conference was so awesome. We were taught that each person in the church has a responsibility, with a calling or not, especially with the mission work. There was another talk about the temple and that we don't know our Heavenly Father is we are not going to the temple because there we earn the most sacred knowledge. It was so great!! We didn't have comida with anyone, so we went to la familia Limon with the other Hermana’s. But afterwards they told us to go home because they don't want hermana Molina working with her back......

Well, I hope y'all had a good week. And remember the Book of Mormon challenge. Now we are going to read Jacob in a week:) Good luck!

Love ya'll!

Hermana Walker